DO YOU wish to support the cause of our kababayans, who will benefit from the passage of a true comprehensive immigration reform?
Do you email? Are you on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media platforms?
Then, there is something you can do.
As we reported on The Filipino Channel’s Balitang America last Monday, high-tech leaders — including the former heads of AOL (America Online) and Mozilla — are organizing a “virtual march for immigration reform.”
The goal of this action is to pressure lawmakers to enact sweeping changes to the nation’s immigration laws.
The focus of this effort is to make it easier for America to attract highly-educated immigrants and those who work in high-tech fields.
The organizers want more visas for high tech workers; a new visa for entrepreneurs; and permanent resident status for immigrants who graduate from US universities with degrees in science, technology, engineering and and math.
This action is supported by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The “virtual march for immigration reform” hopes to flood Congress with messages of support for immigration reform via Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms — very much like a “peoples’ lobby,” to push Congress to finally pass the bill.
“What we’re essentially doing is having tech leaders use technology to influence the debate,” explained Bloomberg’s Chief Policy Adviser John Feinblatt. “In the in the old days, people used to hire a lobbyist.”
“We’ve got to make the case that in today’s economy the currency is talent, and we need the talent in this country if we want to continue to be the great economic leader that we are,” Feinblatt added.
More than other areas of the immigration debate (such as border security and a path to legalization for the 11 million undocumented immigrants already here), these measures that boost high-tech immigration are less contentious and tend to enjoy bipartisan support in Congress. They are also supported by President Barack Obama.
The debate is on how to accomplish the goal.
However, the efforts of PEOPLES’ LOBBY need not be limited to the agenda of these high-tech companies.
Whether you are for or against the passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill, we Fil-Ams need to use every tool possible to make our representatives in Congress know what we think and how we feel about this issue.
After all, we sent them there to fight for what will be good for our state in particular, and for America in general.
Big corporations such as these high-tech companies, or those in health care, firearms manufacturing and sale, etc. have such powerful voices and influence in Congress, through lobbying efforts.
New communications platforms such as emails, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites can very well be our equalizers so that we, the people, may also be heard by our Congressmen and Senators in Washington.
In relaying our message to our Representatives, we can be as vocal and as strong in our advocacy– fighting FOR or AGAINST immigration reforms.
However, our level of engagement need not be that polarized, as we can also express our views for certain specific elements of the bill being debated in Congress.
For example, some may not be that supportive of granting pathway to citizenship to the 11 million undocumented immigrants because they deem it unfair to those who waited for many years to get their visas, either via employment or family petition.
But these same people may, in fact, be compassionate enough to agree to such a measure, but ONLY after those with legal immigration petitions have already gotten their green card.
Therefore, they may want to petition Congress to reduce the backlog in the processing of legal immigration by adding more visas to both the family and employment categories.
Or perhaps, some of our kababayans believe it would benefit the country more if these undocumented immigrants already here in the country should be given work permits, as their green cards are being processed.
In this case, they can already contribute to the revenues of the state and the federal government, pay social security and medicare contributions.
We may also voice our support for the stricter implementation of existing laws against hiring of undocumented immigrants “under the table,” which affects the wages of those who are legally in the payroll.
We may also share our personal life story and make Congress realize how their actions and decisions impact real people and real families, hoping these will help them in their discernment process.
WHATEVER our stand may be in the issue of immigration reform, WE, Fil-ams, should be fully engaged in this debate. We need to use every tool we have to make government hear our voice in this democratic process.
The United States, after all, is the government of the people, for the people, by the people.
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go towww.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
