How the Immigration System Hurts Women and Children
FROM: We Belong Together: Women for Common-Sense Immigration Reform
MOTHERS, DREAMERS TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS ON HOW IMMIGRATION SYSTEM HURTS WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Undocumented women and youth will testify at Congressional Progressive Caucus hearing to push lawmakers to act on immigration reform and stop deportations that tear families apart
[Washington, DC] – Women and congressional representatives from across the country will testify about how current immigration policies disproportionately hurt women and children at a Congressional Progressive Caucus hearing on Thursday, May 29 at 9:30AM in Room 2226 of the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC.
While women and children make up three-quarters of our nation’s immigrant population, immigration policy has yet to address their specific needs. Even though women make up 51% of people migrating to America, they are granted only a quarter of the work visas distributed. Women who are able to work often do so in informal industries and are subject to exploitation and abuse with no recourse.
“The human face and anguish must be at the center of immigration reform,” said Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ). “The Congressional Progressive Caucus will bring the human and moral imperative to the discussion.”
Andrea Mercado of We Belong Together and Michelle Brané of the Women’s Refugee Commission, leaders in immigration reform research, will present on the negative impacts that immigration law, visa policy, and detention centers have on women and children.
At Thursday’s hearing half a dozen members of Congress will sit alongside immigrant mothers and DREAMers who face the day-to-day consequences of Congress stalling on immigration reform. Immigrant women and youth will share their stories about how current immigration policies tear families apart, cultivate a culture of fear and weaken American communities.
DATE: Thursday, May 29th, 2014
TIME: 9:30am–11:15am
WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building
Room 2226
SPEAKERS: Rep Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep Keith Ellison (D-MN)
Rep Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Rep Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Rep Mark Pocan (D-WI)
Rep Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep Judy Chu (D-CA)
Andrea Christina Mercado, We Belong Together
Dr. Hirokazu Yoshikawa, New York University
Michelle Brané, Women’s Refugee Commission
Megan McKenna, Kids in Need of Defense
Various immigrant mothers, DREAMers, and allies who have undocumented family-members
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