In America we believe that everyone is equal, period. But that's not how our current immigration system works. Under our current immigration laws, immigrants currently living in the US without papers have no way to fix their immigration status and pursue the rights obtained through citizenship. These immigrants -- many of whom are American in every way but on paper -- are doomed to a life in shadows. They are prevented from doing things many US citizens take for granted, like driving, working, applying for credit cards, and even from visiting sick family members overseas. The Senate just passed an immigration bill that will would fix this tragedy by creating a pathway to citizenship for these 11 million Americans without papers. Through this pathway, students, workers, family members, and even some immigrants with deportation orders under the previous broken system would finally be allowed to pursue their American dream and eventual citizenship. Advocates have been fighting for these reforms for years, and we have never seen a better chance for making these dreams a reality. But some anti-immigrant members of Congress -- lead by legislators like Rep. Steve King -- are trying to kill reform by destroying the path to citizenship and promoting inhumane policies that would keep these 11 million people in the shadows so they "self-deport." Our movement has reached a tipping point and we need your help to finish the job. We need you to tell Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to support immigration reform with the pathway to citizenship, now more than ever. It's time for Congress to pass this bill. Please tell your representative to vote YES on immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million Americans without papers.

On Thursday, June 27th, Senator Richard Burr voted against S. 744, the bipartisan comprehensive immigration bill. Senator Burr justified his vote by stating that this bill does not provide “real enforcement” for border security. In response to the Senator’s concern that the additional surge of 20,000 armed border patrol agents, increased drone surveillance, and up to 700 miles of border fencing at an estimated cost of $48 billion over 10 years is still not sufficient to secure the border, we are delivering bricks to his office in Winston-Salem to help him build a bigger wall. However, the real wall that is being built, is the wall between Senator Burr and the best interests of North Carolina.

Jerry Ssebugwawo (A#073-676-752) came to the U.S. 22 years ago as a young man looking to build a life free from the violence in his home country of Uganda. Since then, he has accomplished a lot: He worked nights to put himself through school and did so without taking out a single loan. After getting his degree, he started work as a caregiver, helping people’s final days be dignified and comfortable, and he still works there, now promoted to a Unit Manager. He has paid his taxes since 1992 and in 2003, bought a home with his wonderful wife, Lydia. He is the loving father of three American born children -- 6 year old Israel, 4 year old Zion, and 17 month old Judah. He has been an active member of his community, devoting 14 years of volunteer service to the Jubilee Christian Church of Boston. “Having been here for 22 years, I have spent most of my life here. My family is here. This is where I feel like I belong.” Jerry was detained January 5th, 2012 and held in detention for months before being released due to the tremendous community advocacy that set him free to reunite with his family. He is a survivor of detention: during his detention he witnessed and experienced the inhumane treatment of detainees in detention, everything from physical and mental brutality, transferred to detention center to detention center shackled by his hands and feet, allowed only 1 bottle of water during a 14 hour bus ride to a Southern detention center. Unfortunately Jerry’s family is being threatened by separation again! Currently he is released with deportation proceedings still in progress. He has until July 31st, 2013 to put an end to these proceedings or he will be deported. “Knowing that any minute they can pick me up and take me away from my family and my life here, I feel hopeless and powerless. I think all the time: “What can I do?” I was a model citizen. I stayed out of trouble and have always tried to do the right things. I paid taxes since 1992. But if I’m sent home, everything will be gone. Everything I’ve worked for here, I would lose. My whole life: gone.” His deportation will not only negatively impact his community, but also devastate his family. Jerry is the primary earner in his household, working as a nurse to provide for his family. If Jerry does get deported, he would be eligible to come back to the United States under the family reunification plan in the immigration reform bill. Deporting him is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Furthermore, if he gets deported, the Ugandan government would imprison him for leaving without documentation, and Jerry would be unable to work and provide for his kids. “If we are forced to go back to Uganda, we can’t take care of the kids. We can’t send money to them. There is nothing that we could do to take care of our kids. Who will take care of them?” Jerry’s deportation will unjustly cause great financial hardship for his family, sever 21 years of community ties, cause the healthcare workforce to be down one hard-working employee, and leave three young children without a father. Deporting him will destabilize a family and community and leave only a trail of broken hearts. As a community, we must advocate for Jerry and stand up to this unjust immigration system. Please sign and share widely. Jerry and his family need your support!

In 2010, Veronica's son, Damian, accidentally broke his ankle while in the care of a babysitter. Like any mother would, Veronica immediately took him to the hospital for medical care. The police investigated both Veronica and the babysitter, and the babysitter wrongly accused Veronica of being responsible for the accident. Child Protective Services investigated the situation and found no evidence to press charges against Veronica. But due to the Secure Communities program, which is implemented in her home state of Texas, she was sent to a detention center by ICE anyway. After her family paid a $1,500 bond release, she began a long and arduous struggle to stop her deportation. In desperation, Veronica hired an attorney to defend her case whom she later found out has had his license revoked twice. Although she felt he was not representing her case effectively, her immigration judge denied her the right to hire another attorney. Veronica has lived since 2002 in San Antonio, Texas, where she is a valued member of the community, with strong ties in her church. She works hard as a waitress to provide a better life for her son, who has a speech delay and needs special treatment. Veronica has no criminal history and represents no threat to her community or to this nation. Veronica has received an order of voluntary departure from ICE with a deadline of August 1. If Veronica is forced to leave the country, she will be separated from her whole family and will have to take Damian to a country he doesn't know, away from their family and community in Texas, or risk never seeing her son again. Please sign and ask Norma Lacy, ICE public advocate in San Antonio, Franciso Venegas, deputy field office director, and Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, ICE public advocate, to grant deferred action and stop the deportation of Maria Veronica Ayala (A# A200595406).

In less than 2.5 hours, the Senate will be voting for cloture (to close debates, followed by a series of more votes this week) on the bipartisan Senate bill, with a final vote by the Senate on Thursday or Friday. We believe the following measures must be included in any immigration reform package. We urge you to fight to require all border patrol agents to wear lapel cameras and grant greater authority to the newly-created Border Task Force. As New Yorkers, we are here to support you to get these critical fixes into the bill

Members of Congress should represent all of their constituents -- but that's not how Darrell Issa, a Republican Congressman from Southern California, apparently sees it. Recently, Rep. Issa's staff kicked one of his constituents out of a scheduled meeting simply because of their immigration status. If that's not bad enough. Rep. Issa claims to support immigration reform. In the past, Rep. Issa has said, "We're party of Lincoln, and the party of Lincoln would not accept people living in our country and not being citizens, or not being given the opportunity to become citizens." But systematically discriminating against an entire block of people is becoming a disturbing trend among Republican members of Congress. One Republican member of Congress even recently tweeted, "Illegal Aliens' Are Invading My Office!" when young undocumented immigrants tried to meet with him.

Remember what Reagan said! Walls are a symbol of a closed and fearful society. What do we fear that we are putting up this ugly 700-mile-long wall? Could it be that we KNOW that we are the cause of many of these peoples’ arduous and dangerous attempts to find work in the United States because of our trade policies, our racist drug wars, and our insatiable need for fossil fuels? And could it be, Senators Cornyn, Cruz, Rubio, Corker, and Hoeven, that you are obligated to line the pockets of your defense industry pals with contracts to militarize the border at the expense of the lives of our neighbors in Mexico and Central and South America, thereby destroying cultural & familial ties that have existed for decades? Tear down this ugly wall – better yet, don’t build it in the first place.

We feel that to begin to repair our badly damaged immigration system, reform must be just and effective. S 744, he Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, is the best chance we've had in decades to address what most Americans consider to be a broken system. We urge Senators Chambliss and Isakson to vote yes on S 744 and begin allowing new Georgians to step out of the shadows and have the opportunity to earn a path to citizenship.

The Congressional Budget Office just said that the Senate immigration bill will save the federal government $897 billion over the next 20 years. Now, it's on the Senate to lower the costs of applying for legal status. No one should be left out because they can't afford the $4,000 in fees and fines to apply for legal status in the current bill.

I am urging you to support amending HB 786 by adding the following principles: 1. Racial profiling should be explicitly prohibited in the bill. In fact, measures to address the practice of racial profiling by police officers should be included in the bill. 2. Data collected through this process should be used only to determine permit eligibility and should be kept confidential. 3. Law enforcement officers should not be allowed to confiscate the vehicles of drivers who are found driving without a permit. 4. Those seeking eligibility to obtain a driving permit should not have to pay insurance premiums up front. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I believe we can work together to make this bill the best bill it can be and in doing so, help keep families together.

Congressman Kevin McCarthy's vote to defund Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was a major disappointment to me and other constituents of the Central Valley. These students want nothing more than to contribute as productive citizens to the country they call home. His vote proposes to deprive the world of the contributions these young people could make in the future. ¡Sí Se Puede! Dolores Huerta President Dolores Huerta Foundation

Senator Rubio is trying to make major changes to the bill. It is looking like he is trying to score political points without actually passing a bill.