World Relief Refugee and Immigration Advocacy Update June 2, 2011-Part 1

STAND/for the Vulnerable--from World Relief's Policy and Advocacy Director:


World Relief Refuge and Immigration Advocacy Update, June 2, 2011

This information is provided by World Relief's Policy and Advocacy Director, Jenny Yang.

1. Remarks by President on Need for Immigration Reform
2. Immigration Enforcement Funding
3. Reintroduction of the DREAM Act- take action now!
4. Introduction of the Domestic Refugee Program Reform bill- take action now!
5. Refugee Funding Update for FY11 and FY12- take action now!
6. UnDocumented.TV- Updated Blog!

1. President's Travels to the Border, Speaks Publicly on Need for Immigration Reform

Over the past couple months, the President has publicly renewed his committed to Comprehensive Immigration Reform. On April 19th, President Obama met with business, community, faith, and other leaders, and also with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on May 3rd. President Obama also gave a commencement address at Miami Dade College on April 29th where he continued to speak of his commitment to passing immigration reform and the DREAM Act.

On May 10th, 2011, President Obama traveled to El Paso, TX, where he made his second major public speech on immigration during his time in office.

This speech outlined the Administration's work in securing the border and the need for comprehensive immigration reform as an "economic imperative" for our country.

He mentioned the wide breadth of support within various sectors of the American community, including the business community, political leaders from both sides, police chiefs, labor unions, and "evangelical ministers like Leith Anderson and Bill Hybels."

During the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast on May 12th, 2011, President said that "immigration reform is a moral imperative, and so it's worth seeking greater understanding from our faith. As it is written in the Book of Deuteronomy, 'Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.' To me, that verse is a call to show empathy to our brothers and our sisters; to try and recognize ourselves in one another."

The President mentioned the work of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) and UnDocumented.TV in his remarks, saying that it's "that moral compass, that conviction of what is right is what led the National Association of Evangelicals to shoot short films to help people grasp the challenges facing immigrants."

The White House's blueprint for reform called Building a 21st Century Immigration System [link downloads a .pdf]  reviews what the Administration has done so far in enforcing immigration laws and sets out a series of principles and policies for reforming the current immigration system.  The document
ends with a Call to Action, which lists a series of events the White House is leading that will bring together Administration officials and community leaders to discuss immigration reform.

More information on the White House efforts can be found here.

Jenny Yang is Director of Advocacy and Policy at World Relief. Jenny has provide the information in these posts to people how have signed up for advocacy updates on World Relief’s Advocacy website. She is also co-author with Matthew Soerens of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate.