Calls for U.S. Immigration Reform Continue to Intensify!
With immigration rallies taking place earlier this week throughout the nation, it is quite evident how much of an issue immigration reform has become. With that said, a recent Government Technology story put some interesting numbers to just how big immigration reform currently is in the United States.
Examining a new report from the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Government Technology story detailed that state legislators in all 50 states are currently considering nearly three times the number of immigration bills as compared to this time last year.
So just how many immigration bills have been proposed in 2007? The report revealed that at least 1,169 U.S. immigration bills have been introduced in all 50 states so far this year, more than twice the total of proposed immigration laws considered in 2006!
This April 20th story also said that at least 57 immigration bills have been enacted in 18 states. The list of states to enact immigration bills already this year includes Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Texas Senator and NCSL President Leticia Van de Putte was quoted in the story as saying that the fact that states have been addressing immigration issues is a reflection of the poor job that the U.S. Congress is doing in crafting a comprehensive immigration reform law.
Van de Putte was not the only person to express disappointment with the lack of a comprehensive immigration reform solution on Capitol Hill. Immigration activists speaking on behalf of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States went to work earlier this week to champion for pro-immigration legislation.
From New York to Los Angeles and cities in between, the message was quite clear: these activists are tired of how illegal immigration has been painted as the root of all evil and how people do not recognize the valuable contributions of U.S. immigrants, whom they feel should be granted legal status in the country.
Here are just a few examples of the events which took place this week throughout the United States on the behalf of pro-immigration reform.
• In New York, groups participated in an "American Family Tree" rally. Immigrants pinned leaves on a large painting of a tree to symbolize how strict U.S. immigration laws have led to the separation of their families.
• Protesters in Milwaukee demanded the end to illegal immigration raids, like the one last year in Whitewater, Wisconsin which led to the separation of mothers and their children.
• An estimated 150,000 protesters marched through downtown Chicago to a rally at a lakefront park to call for pro-immigration reform. Similar events took place in Detroit, Los Angeles and Phoenix. This year's Chicago immigration rally was slightly more than a surprising mass movement in the city in March of 2006 when more than 100,000 people demonstrated at a federal plaza against a proposed immigration law that would have made illegal immigration a felony.
Stay Updated on the Latest on Immigration at Total Lawyers!
As the above rallies and the total number of immigration bills reveal, immigration is a hot issue that promises many more developments. Stay tuned to the latest immigration news, whether it's newly enacted immigration bills, immigration protests or something else, at Total Lawyers.
And if you have immigration issues yourself, get in touch with a local immigration lawyer as soon as possible to learn more about your rights. An immigration lawyer may be able to help you with a visa application or extension of a visa, fight deportation charges or do something else.
