To: Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX-35)
Congressman Doggett, Support a Discharge Petition
Representative Doggett, in your role as a progressive leader in the House of Representatives, you often have shown great personal courage standing up to special interests and right wing bullies in order to do the right thing for Texans and the American people in general. As you well know, immigration reform will be front and center when the House returns to work in September.
We cannot continue to allow the fate of 11 million immigrants and the safety of our border communities, to be held hostage by a right-wing fringe. The signers of this petition including 8 million members of MoveOn.org, call on you to take a strong and principled position for sane and comprehensive immigrants' rights legislation.
Please take the lead by introducing a discharge petition to bring the Senate immigration bill (minus the Corker-Hoeven amendment which calls for the hyper-militarization of the border and border communities) to the House floor, if Speaker John Boehner refuses to do it himself. We desperately need a firm but fair immigration policy, and we can't count on Republicans to pass it.
We cannot continue to allow the fate of 11 million immigrants and the safety of our border communities, to be held hostage by a right-wing fringe. The signers of this petition including 8 million members of MoveOn.org, call on you to take a strong and principled position for sane and comprehensive immigrants' rights legislation.
Please take the lead by introducing a discharge petition to bring the Senate immigration bill (minus the Corker-Hoeven amendment which calls for the hyper-militarization of the border and border communities) to the House floor, if Speaker John Boehner refuses to do it himself. We desperately need a firm but fair immigration policy, and we can't count on Republicans to pass it.
Why is this important?
Most Americans are immigrants or descendants of immigrants. We or our ancestors arrived to fashion their dreams on this land. Many of us still work tirelessly so that our children and grandchildren may have a better life. The same is true of all immigrants who have come to our country from any nation and under any circumstance. They are willing to work hard and provide for their families in the best way they can. Some have difficulty with a new language; most of us would were we to be transplanted to another country. In short, their dreams are now what our dreams were.
For many years our country’s immigration system has been slowed by inefficiency which throws up barriers to new immigrants who want to become citizens. Many are taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers who threaten them and pay them miserly wages. They play on the fact that many of these immigrants have entered the country without proper documentation and are vulnerable, since they can't complain. We all want safe and secure borders. This does mean that we should remain vigilant and create obstacles to undocumented entry into this country. It does not mean that we should create a hyper-militarized zone along our southern border and through the various border communities not unlike what we saw in Iraq during the conflict there.
Earlier this year, the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill that is a good first step and a framework for a lasting immigration reform bill. It also includes an onerous amendment, the Corker-Hoeven Amendment, that would cost us about $47 billion over the next ten years to include doubling the number of Border Patrol Agents and also result in the militarization of many of the communities along the U.S. side of the border with Mexico. This is money wasted and money that many believe will eventually find its way into the pockets of various politicians' friends and companies.
The House of Representatives "led" by John Boehner, is dragging its feet on any sensible reform legislation. We need to hold his/their feet to the fire when they return from their August Recess. Besides fixing the system so that those who already have been waiting in line for citizenship for far too long have an expedited access through the process, Congress needs to develop a system where those here already who are undocumented, have a reasonable pathway to obtain their own citizenship while avoiding the present practices of breaking apart families..
If the Republicans refuse to bring the Senate bill to the floor for a vote and refuse to introduce their own bill, Democrats can use a tactic called a discharge petition to attempt to move the Senate bill to the House floor for a vote.
We urge you to join us in calling on Representative Lloyd Doggett from CD-35 in Texas to champion this move toward a discharge petition.
For many years our country’s immigration system has been slowed by inefficiency which throws up barriers to new immigrants who want to become citizens. Many are taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers who threaten them and pay them miserly wages. They play on the fact that many of these immigrants have entered the country without proper documentation and are vulnerable, since they can't complain. We all want safe and secure borders. This does mean that we should remain vigilant and create obstacles to undocumented entry into this country. It does not mean that we should create a hyper-militarized zone along our southern border and through the various border communities not unlike what we saw in Iraq during the conflict there.
Earlier this year, the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill that is a good first step and a framework for a lasting immigration reform bill. It also includes an onerous amendment, the Corker-Hoeven Amendment, that would cost us about $47 billion over the next ten years to include doubling the number of Border Patrol Agents and also result in the militarization of many of the communities along the U.S. side of the border with Mexico. This is money wasted and money that many believe will eventually find its way into the pockets of various politicians' friends and companies.
The House of Representatives "led" by John Boehner, is dragging its feet on any sensible reform legislation. We need to hold his/their feet to the fire when they return from their August Recess. Besides fixing the system so that those who already have been waiting in line for citizenship for far too long have an expedited access through the process, Congress needs to develop a system where those here already who are undocumented, have a reasonable pathway to obtain their own citizenship while avoiding the present practices of breaking apart families..
If the Republicans refuse to bring the Senate bill to the floor for a vote and refuse to introduce their own bill, Democrats can use a tactic called a discharge petition to attempt to move the Senate bill to the House floor for a vote.
We urge you to join us in calling on Representative Lloyd Doggett from CD-35 in Texas to champion this move toward a discharge petition.