by Emma Buckhout, LAWG Intern, with contributions by Ruth Isabel Robleson February 26, 2013
President Obama, Congress, and a growing majority of American voters agree that the U.S. immigration system is broken and must be fixed. However, more than a month into the president’s second term and an unending national debate, the question remains: will anything actually happen on immigration reform? Recent events, including a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” held February 13th provided us with an inkling of what we might have in store. Committee Chair Senator Leahy (D-Vt.) echoed President Obama saying “Now is the time” for immigration reform. Meanwhile, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) saw “overconfidence on this (immigration reform) bill” and asserted that he and others will continue to fight it over issues of earned legalization, enforcement, and border security. While Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), one of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” senators working on their own comprehensive immigration framework, indicated support for making reform happen, he also noted that any discussions thus far include “triggers that need to be trippled in terms of border security...”
To read the MPJD's next steps, outlined at the press conference on Monday, January 28, 2013, click here. Para leer la declaracion del MPJD, haga clic aqui.
To read The Pain Caused by Guns Has No Borders, click here. (In Spanish and English)
To read the salute to the Congreso Nacional Indigena, click here. (In Spanish only)
To read the Platform for Memory and Documentation, click here. (In Spanish only)
To read the Drug Regulation Platform, click here. (In Spanish only)
To read the Solidarity Statement by Asamblea Popular de Familias Migrantes, click here. (In Spanish only)
“We embrace the pain of the mothers and fathers in the United States who have lost children to gun violence, because my own son was disappeared in Michoacán with a firearm,” said Araceli Rodríguez, mother of Luis Ángel León Rodríguez in a statement from Mexico’s Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD). Just like parents who lost children in the horrific Newtown shooting, victims across Mexico who have lost their sons and daughters to gun violence are calling for action to prevent future tragedies.
On Monday, February 4th people of faith and people of conscience from all over the country are participating in an Interfaith Call-in to Prevent Gun Violence. Follow the easy steps below or go to www.faithscalling.org. Lend your voice to the many grieving in Mexico and the U.S. due to gun violence by calling your Senator and insist that they act to prevent gun violence on both sides of the border!
Save the Date & Kick off your Holiday Season in a Spirited Fashion!
Join the Latin America Working Group Education Fund staff, friends, and fellow Latin Americanists for our holiday happy hour at The Passenger in Washington, D.C.
Why: To support the Latin America Working Group Education Fund, mix and mingle with LAWGEF staff and fellow Latin Americanists, and kick off your holiday season in a spirited fashion!
The Latin America Working Group Education Fund will receive 10 percent of the total sales from our group during this special time. We hope that you will join us and bring along a few friends!
For more information, please check out our Facebook invite or contact Ruth I. Robles at
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or 202-546-7010 ext. 103.
See you there!
P.S. In the spirit of the holidays and OUR way to show appreciation of you all, the first 10 people to purchase a drink will receive a LAWG tote bag!
We were proud to join with YOU and so many partners and allies in hosting Mexico’s Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity here in our nation’s capitol last month. Highlights of their 3-day stop in Washington, D.C. included a TV-camera crowded press conference on the steps of a Capitol Hill church and a ‘lobby day’ where teams of victims and advocates deployed all over Capitol Hill to tell their stories to individual members and congressional aides. The historic visit ended with a moving vigil and march through Columbia Heights to a final event in Malcolm X Park, a dramatic poetry reading by the Mexican poet Javier Sicilia, whose reaction to his son’s murder sparked the movement, and a stirring speech by the legendary farmworker union leader, Dolores Huerta.
In September, LAWG and other partners hosted Mexico's Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity for their 3-day stop in Washington, D.C. In D.C. the Caravan was a success thanks to your support and that of the greater D.C. community. Watch this slideshow to learn more about how they spent their time in D.C.
Our Campaigns 
ovember 19, 5 – 8 p.m. 
