LAWG Blog - Latin America Working Group

DREAM Act Vote SATURDAY Morning in Senate

by Jenny Johnson and Ben Leiter on December 17, 2010

Monday, December 20 – SPECIAL UPDATE: On Saturday morning, the Senate failed to gather the 60 votes needed to break a Republican-led filibuster and move the DREAM Act forward for a final vote. Despite this disappointing outcome, we are encouraged that a majority of Senators supported the DREAM Act on Saturday by a vote of 55-41, including several unexpected “yes” votes from Democrats who voted against the bill just two years ago. Even more inspiring was the dedication and courage of the DREAMers—mostly young undocumented students—who led a nonviolent moment across the country, and took great risks to support this legislation. The LAWG remains committed to standing alongside these young people in their struggle for sensible and humane immigration reform that will allow them to pursue their dreams. Thanks to everyone who joined us in our commitment and made a call, sent a fax, or wrote an e-mail in support of the DREAM Act this year.

This is it. Your Senators will be voting tomorrow morning on the DREAM Act. We need your help to make sure we get the 60 Senate votes to make the DREAM Act a reality.

Please call your Senators now and urge them to support the DREAM Act (S.3992)!

Find your Senator’s contact information here, or click here to be directly connected.

:2010, Resources for Activists

Push Congress to Pass the Dream Act

by Jenny Johnson and Ben Leiter on November 22, 2010

As we join with our families to celebrate Thanksgiving, we also remember the many thousands of immigrant families who continue to suffer and struggle in the absence of needed immigration reform. The passage of the DREAM Act can make a huge difference in the lives of undocumented youth who were brought to the U.S. by their parents and now, after working and studying hard to graduate from our neighborhoods’ high schools, confront obstacles to their future because of their legal status. By removing such barriers, the DREAM Act will allow immigrant students to pursue their dreams.

:2010, Resources for Activists

Rights Groups to President Obama: End Violence Against Migrants on Both Sides of the Border

by Ben Leiter on November 12, 2010

Migrants in our region are experiencing a human rights crisis, particularly those who journey northward through Mexico en route to the United States. Just this past August, 72 migrants from Central and South America were found massacred in northern Mexico. Far from an isolated occurrence, this incident is a terrifying example of the experiences that countless migrants suffer on a daily basis.

Click here to read the letter that LAWG and concerned faith, labor and human rights groups sent to President Obama urging him to demonstrate leadership at home to promote and protect the migrants’ human and civil rights, as well as work with counterparts in Mexico to ensure that migrants receive the basic rights inherently afforded to all humanity.

:2010, Resources for Activists

LAWG and NGO Partners' Joint Statement on President Calderón's White House Visit

by Brian Erickson on May 19, 2010

In response to President Calderón's meeting with President Obama and address to Congress, LAWG, WOLA, and our counterparts in Mexico issued a joint statement urging our respective elected officials to move beyond the empty platitudes that typically characterize such meetings and instead capitalize on this historic visit to make concrete and meaningful commitments to transform the rhetoric of shared responsibility into reality. Given the shared challenges posed by organized crime, arms trafficking and illicit drug use, it is critical that both countries move beyond ineffective and worn-out strategies and propose concrete, comprehensive solutions to address the root causes of these problems.

To read the full statement, click here.

:2010, Congressional Letters, Statements, and Resolutions, Resources for Activists