Progress by Pesach -- for just and fair immigration reform
The Jewish Labor Committee is part of a coalition of Jewish organizations' campaign aiming for "Progress by Pesach" on comprehensive immigration reform. The campaign will call on the new Administration in Washington to direct Immigration and Customs Enforcement to curtail the use of workplace raids as a primary tool of immigration enforcement. "PbyP" has a goal of 10,000 signatures on a petition -- see below -- by April 8, the first night of Passover.
Your participation would be very helpful - and simple. Please print out this petition {note: 8-1/2" x 14"} and background article {8-1/2" x 11"} - you may want to print more than one of each - and add your name to our petition. If you can secure the support of others willing to sign on, that would be great. But please send the petitions -- even if not all of the spaces are filled in, even if it's just one person - you - signing onto the sheet -- back to us soon. Send it back to us via fax -- 1-212-477-1918.
If you can secure additional signatures, make more than one copy of the petition, send in what you can by then, and then send the rest in as soon as you can - but by he end of the day, Sunday April 6th.
And please feel free to forward this to others who may be interested in supporting this campaign, and signing the petition.
* text:
Progress by Pesach -- for just and fair immigration reform
I encourage the new administration and congress to choose humanitarian immigration reform in 2009. Our Jewish faith scripture tells us to "Welcome the Stranger" with love and compassion. However the singular focus on aggressive enforcement of outdated immigration laws creates a sense of fear and animosity between communities and the law enforcement that serves them. The policy of relying on raids and enforcement tactics as the sole means of controlling immigration has clearly failed.
Raids create trauma and hardship for undocumented immigrants and their families, by separating families and threatening the basic rights of immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.
The suffering caused by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in homes and workplaces underscores the problems with current U.S. immigration policies and the urgent need for reform. Please work to ensure our country sees progress in the direction of humanitarian immigration reform in time for Passover, in April 2009.