Written by: Sister Eileen Reilly, SSND
June 4, 2013
This morning, in the shadow of the Florida state Capitol in
Tallahassee, we gathered at a Presbyterian church to meet with a large group of
immigrant reform advocates including labor leaders and the NAACP. All of us
agreed that comprehensive immigration reform is a moral imperative. We were
delighted to hear that the NAACP has passed a national resolution in favor of
Immigration Reform because they recognize so clearly that we cannot and must
not have two classes of people in our nation.
From the church it was a short walk to the Capitol for a
visit with a staffer from Senator Marco Rubio's office. There we shared the
stories we have gathered on this trip - stories of young immigrants finally
receiving temporary protected status; stories of the boom in the real estate
market that will occur once immigrants feel secure enough to invest in a home;
and stories of U.S. citizen children being separated from their immigrant
parents.
Our message for the senator had two parts: thank you for all
your efforts to help write the Immigration Reform Bill AND please use your
leadership to see that the Senate passes the bill.
