American society has grown complacent with relegating to pariah status a shadow work force and population that today numbers 11 million people. This is unacceptable. This is immoral. This goes against the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence.

My name is Reyna Avila and I live in Phoenix, AZ. I am a student at Phoenix College. I am one of the thousands of DREAMers granted Deferred Action here in Arizona. I was only eight months old when my mother and father made the heart-wrenching choice to leave their own families behind to make a new life and to work for a brighter future for me here in the U.S. They have worked every day of their lives to provide for me and my three brothers and sisters, who are U.S. citizens. Thanks to their sacrifice, I have grown up a strong person, I have seen all they have been through, and I want to achieve more and do more, to honor them. Everything I am, I owe to my parents. They are my heroes. Now it's their turn. For my undocumented parents, for so many undocumented parents and families trying to stay together, we need real immigration reform. I am asking Senator McCain and Senator Flake, through this petition, to do what is right for Arizona, and take action NOW to create a transparent and accessible path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented men, women, and children in our country. The time is now. Will you join me by signing this petition?

After hearing Alaska Representative Don Young speak in such cavalier terms about the migrant workers employed on his family's ranch--"We used to hire 50 to 60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes”--we call upon you, Speaker Boehner, to remove him from his assignment as chair of the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. He clearly lacks both the professionalism and diplomacy required for any leadership position, particularly one which requires empathy for the dignity of others.

A bill to fix our broken immigration system is being created in the U.S. Senate by the bipartisan "Gang of Eight." It would be unjust to support a bill which would result in a second class tier of workers who would most likely continue to be victims of poor working conditions, threats, detention centers, and extremely low pay by U.S. employers and private prisons who take advantage of the present immigration system.

Chuck Schumer is the lead Senate Democrat working on immigration reform--he gets to decide whether millions of undocumented immigrants will be imprisoned or legalized. Yet he’s also taken over $100,000 in campaign contributions from the private prison industry. Is it any surprise he’s pushing for billions more dollars spent on increased enforcement and detention of immigrants? We can’t trust Sen. Schumer to push for fair legislation when he’s accepting money from private prison companies that have a strong interest in jailing as many immigrants as possible. How much of an interest? The two corporations from which Sen. Schumer took money, GEO Group and CCA, made $296.9 million in profits from the jailing of immigrants last year. Tell Sen. Schumer to return this money immediately. If 15,000 people sign, we'll personally deliver your petitions to Sen. Schumer and demand a response.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Comprehensive immigration reform should include basic elements that provide not only an earned pathway to citizenship with full rights in a reasonable time frame, but it should also end practices that separates families, cease programs such as 287(g) and “Secure Communities” that result in racial profiling, offer the promise and opportunity of this nation for those who were brought to the country as minors, end the use of excessively high fines to exclude applicants, and correct the problems with work visa quotas for low and high-skilled workers in order to help meet the needs of business as well as other measures recommended by The Committee for Immediate Comprehensive Immigration Reform, which can be found on their website at http://ucanfixitnow.org/index.php/about/basic-requirements.

We need a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants already living in the United States. Senator Rubio is playing a key leadership role in drafting the bill for immigration reform, so we are asking him to commit to keeping families together and put aspiring Americans on the road to citizenship. The petition creator, Lizbeth Cosme, said, "I was brought to this country at the age of 8. I am 33 years old and a mother of three, and it is frustrating not being able to go with my children on field trips and participate in school activities due to the lack of a Social Security number. My children and their education are my top priorities. Immigration reform is needed so I can help my kids achieve their goals. They are DREAMers; I myself am a DREAMer!"

11 of us met in Delray Beach FL recently to discuss our support for immigration reform and how it should look. This is what we came up with and decided to create a petition for others to be able to join us with our directives to our elected officials in DC. We all shared our immigrant histories from recent immigrants to many generations and all agreed that current immigrants deserved respect for their contributions to our country and a pathway to citizenship.

I am a US citizen born and bred, and my foreign husband of four years has been denied his marriage visa to come live with me in the US because of a loophole in US immigration laws. He lives in Germany and has one minor infraction on his police record, for which he only had to pay a fine. Because German law does not break down the severity of different offenses like US law does, this infraction has a maximum penalty of 5 years in jail. In Washington D.C., the same offense has a 6 month maximum sentence. US immigration law states that any infraction can not have a maximum sentence of more that 1 year in jail in the country where it took place! That means that anyone with a small infraction in countries with laws like Germany CAN NOT get a US visa, while in other countries it is not an issue. This is clearly unfair. Please petition Congress to completely review US immigration laws and change these inequities that break up families.

Sojourners, a national organization committed to faith in action for social justice, was shocked when Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions recently said there is no “moral or legal responsibility to reward somebody who entered the country [without documentation].” We know we must care for every human being, regardless of their documentation status. Immigration reform is not about politics. It is about the well-being of our communities, and we have a moral responsibility to fix the broken immigration system that is hurting our brothers and sisters. Both Republicans and Democrats agree that a solution should include a roadmap to citizenship for the 11 million aspiring Americans who are contributing to our society. Senator Sessions’ statement cannot go unchallenged. Tell the senator that you believe we have a moral responsibility to care about ALL our sisters and brothers.

Senator Rob Portman could be a key vote this year on legislation to fix our broken immigration system, but we don't know where he stands on the issue. We need Senator Portman to publicly support a pathway to citizenship for ALL immigrants currently living in the United States without papers. Most of these immigrants have lived in this country for more than a decade and have come to America to seek a better life for their families. They are Americans-in-waiting who are ready to fulfill the requirements of our citizenship process - to study English, pay taxes, maintain a good record and be of good moral character. Instead of focusing only on the border, we need a new approach to immigration reform that includes families and helps the economy too.