May 1st Civic Event in Madera

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

MADIA ADVISORY

Juan Santiago, (559) 706-9582 – juansantiago@live.com

Jose E. Chavez, (559) 416-6266 – chavezjoseeduardo@live.com

Local youth group in Madera will organize a civic event on May 1^st to provide an opportunity for the rural community of Madera to participate on a nationwide call for comprehensive immigration reform as debates on immigration policy begins in Washington. 

Date: May 1^st — Time: 5pm-7pm Location: Madera Court House Park 

As the U.S. Congress begins to debate policy on immigration reform in Washington, members of Central Valley Youth Association believe it is important to organize our communities here locally to continue providing a space for immigrants to share their stories and to demand Congress to deliver a fair, humane and workable immigration reform that would include a path toward citizenship for our families.

The current immigration system is negatively impacting our communities and our economy. Recently, the Madera Tribune, a local newspaper, published an article, “Fear of suspected crackdown hurt businesses” describing the situation of fear in which many of our families go through when rumors are made that immigration officers are in town. Most of this people are farm laborers, who play a key role in the agriculture industry here in the Central Valley.

The current immigration system also negatively impacts students.  “I have lived here for more then 19 years, and recently I graduated from Fresno State with a B.A. in political science, yet, because of the current immigration system, people like me could not pursue our professional careers after graduation because we lack proper documentations…. fortunately, I no longer live in fear of deportation but many people like my parents do, this is why we want to reform the immigration system” — Luis Ojeda 

For these and for many other reasons, we will join other civic events alike to demand U.S. Congress to do the right thing by passing comprehensive immigration reform this year.

This event will feature personal stories of the immigrant community, provide an opportunity for local folks to get involved civically, provide an update on immigration proposal and inform immigrants on their constitutional rights. 

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