New “Surge” For Immigrant Rights in the Senate in the Offing?

Los Angeles-- The Echo Park Community Coalition (EPCC) and the Coalition in Defense of Immigrant Rights (CDIR) warmly welcomes the statement of Senator Alan Specter, ranking Republican supporter of immigration reform that he and six other lawmakers are ready to reopen and start the debate on immigration reform when the Senate opens September.

In an interview with CNN today, August 7 at 2:00AM with anti-immigrant anchor Lou Dobbs, Specter laments that the comprehensive immigration reform act was not passed in the Senate this year. He said he was hopeful that the debates will rekindle the interest and will make the lawmakers informed about the need to pass this law.

In reply to Lou Dobbs questions why lawmakers stands for illegal immigrants and not for the law abiding population, Specter explained that the 12 million undocumented immigrants are also a part and parcel of the U.S society and needs to be integrated into the mainstream.

Despite the upsurge in immigrant rights advocacy and mass actions that saw millions mobilized last year and hundreds of thousands this year, on two occasion and despite President Bush support , the Senate refused to act and killed the immigrant reform bill during the Senate’s last session in June.

A new immigrant rights upsurge is being organized and formed in the major cities of the United States. While the U.S. Congress is mired in the Iraq debates saw no results.

The more than 12 million "illehal" immigrants and their families are getting restless over the non-action of the do-nothing U.S Congress whose popularity plunged lower than the highly unpopular U.S. President George Bush.

The cities of Los Angeles will hold pro- immigrant mass actions on August 18, Seattle on August 14 and other cities are like Chicago, Phoenix, New York will soon to announce their respective mass actions for immigrant rights.

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