Immigration Reform: My visit to the White House and the Capitol - Attorney Jessica Dominguez

Dear friends,

As many of you know, yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with republican House leaders and members from the Obama administration to talk about comprehensive immigration reform.

I began my day motivated by the support and prayers that each and every one of you generously offered on this occasion. I write to you in appreciation of your constant support to share the details of my meetings with legislators.

The White House confirmed what many of us have already heard, which is that Obama supports immigration reform that includes a pathway to legalization and citizenship.

The House holds a different position on this matter, specifically the republican leaders that I met with, which included House Speaker John Bohner, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and other republican members of the House.

In my meeting with republican members of the House – a key to passing an immigration reform bill in the House – they confirmed that they are willing to debate the following topics:

1. Improving border security and enforcing the nation’s immigration laws
2. Creating a pathway for legal immigration for people that want to come to the U.S. for employment
3. A pathway to citizenship for DREAMers
4. Granting a legal status (but NOT a pathway to citizenship) for millions of undocumented people in the U.S. that would permit individuals to work legally in the U.S., own businesses, and travel outside the country

Many of you want to know when immigration reform will pass and the answer that legislators gave is that they don’t intend to rush the process or set a deadline for a final vote. Most likely they will continue to debate the topics mentioned above piece-by-piece and we may come to see another bill in September by the House “Gang of 7,” which has been working behind closed doors for some time to come to an agreement on immigration reform.

Legislators shared that they have spoken with parents who have confirmed that they would be pleased to obtain a legal status without the promise of citizenship as long as their kids, the DREAMers, would be granted a pathway to citizenship, but DREAMers are not willing to accept this type of legislation.

I want to remind you that you can influence the final outcome of this debate. Don’t be discouraged by the negative comments you hear by House members because I have been told that these comments do not reflect the position of the Republican Party in the House.

There are republican House members that are working diligently to pass immigration reform, but they themselves told us that they need your help. They need you to start conversations in your community and meet with your district’s constituents.

Half of the members of the House are new to immigration and they have never debated the topic, nor do they know much about it. These members will have to do their homework, but they aren’t the only ones. You too will have to help and share your stories with them this August.

In August, House members will return to their districts and it will be of the utmost importance that the community get involved and make its voice heard to legislators in town hall meetings.

Legislators want to know what the American public has to say about immigration reform and it is our responsibility to share our stories and educate them about the struggle faced by millions of families who contribute to this country on a daily basis.

I know that there are many people disappointed by this legislative process, but I want to remind you all that this will not be an easy journey. The legislative process will be difficult and it is our responsibility to stay informed and participate in this process.

It saddens me when I read negative comments by members of our community. This is when I tell myself, “caramba, with so much negativity from our own, we don’t need negativity from anyone else, because we are destroying ourselves”. I challenge you to keep moving forward because millions of people are depending on us so that they can come out of the shadows.

We can influence the result of this debate. I leave you with these words, “never stop, never settle, never give up, we can choose to be winning warriors in our struggle.”

God bless you all.

I invite you to submit your questions to “Pregúntale a la Abogada” on http://jessicadominguez.com/.

Facebook: Abogada Jessica Dominguez

Twitter: AbogadaLatina

The information contained in this article is not to be considered legal advice for an individual, case or situation. This article does not pretend to create an attorney-client relationship with Jessica Dominguez. The sole purpose of this article is to offer gerenal information.