raise awareness

The only way this campaign will be effective is to get as many people informed about this problem and urge them to contact their legislators as well as local media.  The more people that contact legislators, the more likely they will act.  Here are some ways to raise awareness.

talk to friends, relatives, and coworkers

Friends, relatives, and coworkers are the best people to talk to.  They know you well and are more likely to listen to you and write their legislators.  Explain the problem to them.  Point them to this web site for more information.  Ask them to write a letter to their Congressperson/Senators expressing their concern about this problem.

Ask your friends, relatives, and coworkers to sign the online petition.  Take a printout of the paper petition and ask your friends, relatives, and coworkers to sign it.

local media

Your local newspaper, radio station, or TV channel may be interested in running a feature about this pressing problem.  Reporters are interested in immigration stories once in a while.  Sometimes, these requests are sent to our discussion group.

A reporter may be researching a story on some aspect of immigration.  It is useful to contact them about our problem.  They may or may not express interest.  But it is worth a try.

You may want to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.  A lot of readers will know about the issue if your letter is published.  You can cite this web site in your letter.

You can call into local radio stations when they discuss immigration or family unity issues.

When writing to your newspaper or calling into radio stations, be prepared for negative remarks from other readers/listeners.  There is significant misunderstanding of immigration issues in the U.S.  It is best to remain calm and explain the problem in greater detail if given an opportunity.  Our talking points may help.

Some noteworthy items:

• Most people equate immigration with illegal immigration.  However, 80% of immigration is legal.
• The spouse/minor children of a permanent resident are not here to steal jobs from Americans.  Quite the contrary.  A permanent resident united with his/her family is likely to be more productive and generate more jobs.   The spouse/minor children become additional consumers.  They are not likely to depend of welfare for sustenance.
• Permanent residents are now faced with the tough choice of either leaving the U.S. to be with their family or remain in the U.S. and be separated from their loved ones.  Many permanent residents choose to abandon their permanent resident status -- something that they struggled for several years to attain.  Their jobs often follow them as do their investments.  The U.S. does not gain anything.
• What kind of message is the U.S. sending to its future citizens?

national media

It may be harder to get national media interested in this issue.  But their area of coverage is hard to beat.  It may be useful to write a letter to the editor.  Do not expect much though.

immigrant support organizations

There may be several immigrant support organizations in your area.  These typically take the form of:

• Local church groups helping immigrants.
• Hispanic organizations that lobby for amnesty/earned legalization.

These organizations are well versed in lobbying techniques.  They can take up our case with legislators and have a lot of influence.  Since their focus is not necessarily the same as ours, it is best to contact them and explain our issues to them.