12/10/2014
WASHINGTON – With drawings and more than 4,000 letters, thousands of children on Tuesday asked Republican congressional leaders for comprehensive immigration reform to complement the recent executive action by President Barack Obama, to whom they directed words of affection and thanks.
The “We Belong Together” organization collected 4,000 letters from boys and girls around the country and ensured that 400 of the missives were delivered to the White House and Congress.
House Speaker John Boehner, future Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell and the spokesman for the Republican majority in the lower house, Kevin McCarthy, are the Republican leaders to whom the children expressed their Christmas wishes, as if they were writing to Santa Claus.
Among the children who attended a press conference to present the initiative was Maria Jose, 25, whose father was deported two days before Obama announced his immigration measures, which could have benefited him.
Obama on Nov. 21 announced measures that will temporarily prevent the deportation of some 5 million undocumented foreigners, including the parents of U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
“The only thing I’m asking Obama and Republicans for is for our father to be with us and for happiness to return to our house,” Maria Jose – who lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and who, along with her 10- and 4-year-old brothers, is receiving psychological help to deal with the separation from her dad – told Efe.
Their father, Jose Ramon Muñoz Velasco, lost his left eye while working for a roofing company and was arrested by immigration authorities, who held him at a detention center for 17 months before deporting him.
“I hope they help me bring my father back. His health is not good. We’re very worried,” Maria Jose said, visibly emotional over the situation.
“My name is Nashali, I am 10 and I live in San Francisco. I want to thank Obama for his immigration help so my mother can take me to school ... without fear of being deported,” said the U.S.-born little girl with her letter clutched in her hand.
Her mother, Maria Hernandez, did not have a driver’s license because she was undocumented and was afraid that the police would stop her, fine her or even make her return to Mexico.
“Now, 20 years later, I’ve been able to come out of the shadows,” Hernandez told Efe, adding that the struggle would not be over until the other 6 million undocumented foreigners not covered by Obama’s measures can regularize their status and “live together” with their families.
“We Belong Together” estimates that there are 5 million women and 1.5 million children living illegally in the United States.
source
WASHINGTON – With drawings and more than 4,000 letters, thousands of children on Tuesday asked Republican congressional leaders for comprehensive immigration reform to complement the recent executive action by President Barack Obama, to whom they directed words of affection and thanks.The “We Belong Together” organization collected 4,000 letters from boys and girls around the country and ensured that 400 of the missives were delivered to the White House and Congress.
House Speaker John Boehner, future Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell and the spokesman for the Republican majority in the lower house, Kevin McCarthy, are the Republican leaders to whom the children expressed their Christmas wishes, as if they were writing to Santa Claus.
Among the children who attended a press conference to present the initiative was Maria Jose, 25, whose father was deported two days before Obama announced his immigration measures, which could have benefited him.
Obama on Nov. 21 announced measures that will temporarily prevent the deportation of some 5 million undocumented foreigners, including the parents of U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
“The only thing I’m asking Obama and Republicans for is for our father to be with us and for happiness to return to our house,” Maria Jose – who lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and who, along with her 10- and 4-year-old brothers, is receiving psychological help to deal with the separation from her dad – told Efe.
Their father, Jose Ramon Muñoz Velasco, lost his left eye while working for a roofing company and was arrested by immigration authorities, who held him at a detention center for 17 months before deporting him.
“I hope they help me bring my father back. His health is not good. We’re very worried,” Maria Jose said, visibly emotional over the situation.
“My name is Nashali, I am 10 and I live in San Francisco. I want to thank Obama for his immigration help so my mother can take me to school ... without fear of being deported,” said the U.S.-born little girl with her letter clutched in her hand.
Her mother, Maria Hernandez, did not have a driver’s license because she was undocumented and was afraid that the police would stop her, fine her or even make her return to Mexico.
“Now, 20 years later, I’ve been able to come out of the shadows,” Hernandez told Efe, adding that the struggle would not be over until the other 6 million undocumented foreigners not covered by Obama’s measures can regularize their status and “live together” with their families.
“We Belong Together” estimates that there are 5 million women and 1.5 million children living illegally in the United States.
source
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