This week, our Affiliates in California, Texas, and North Carolina hit the pavement to continue the drumbeat for action on immigration reform. Below are highlights of our third week of action.
Monthly Archives: August 2013
Put South Florida’s Families Before Politics
By Natalie Carlier, Florida Regional Coordinator, NCLR
It’s been over five months since sequestration—the automatic budget cuts to federal programs which began in March—went into full effect, causing devastation thoughout Florida. On Tuesday, August 13, NCLR and Centro Campesino Farmworker Center Inc.—an NCLR Affiliate in Florida City dedicated to improving the quality of life and self-sufficiency of migrant and seasonal farmworkers, their children, and other low-income families—met with Senator Bill Nelson’s Regional Director, Pedro Villa, to shed light on the impact that federal budget cuts have had on Florida’s South Dade community.
During the legislative visit, Centro Campesino’s Executive Director, Diane Cantor, and fellow staff members discussed how the federal budget cuts have impacted the housing and education programs they offer Florida City residents, a largely Latino population. As a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-certified housing counseling agency, Centro Campesino helps community members become mortgage-ready by offering guidance for first-time homebuyers and counsels homeowners through foreclosure. Additionally, Centro Campesino houses a 21st Century Community Learning Center led by AmeriCorps members which provides day care and education to children in the area. Hardworking individuals and families in Florida are already struggling in this economy to avoid foreclosure, manage their household budgets, and raise their children. The additional stress that these cuts have placed on our families and their children is unnecessary, unwarranted, and unwelcome. Continue reading
A Look at Who Supports Immigration Reform
Why the “California Homes and Jobs Act of 2013” is Needed
Last year, we and our Affiliate Network worked feverishly to get the California Homeowner Bill of Rights passed and signed into law. The work was hard and the hours were long, but ultimately we prevailed. When Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed the bill, he instantly gave California one of the country’s strongest laws to protect homeowners from shady lending practices. It was a great victory that showcased the power of our Affiliate Network.
Our work isn’t over, though. Continue reading
Immigration Reform=Jobs
October 1: A New Opportunity to Take Care of Yourself
By Jennifer Ng’andu, Director, Health and Civil Rights Policy Project, NCLR
In Spanish, the phrase cuidaté tells someone “to take care of yourself” It also lets them know you care for them. In the 2.5 years since passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a number of the law’s measures have been implemented to provide the same message. These measures have quite simply improved the health care experience for millions of Americans, including insured and uninsured Latinos. Continue reading
On Saturday We March!
It was nearly 50 years ago on August 28, 1963, that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The riveting words he delivered are still relevant today:
“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’…I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”