{"id":443475,"date":"2010-03-19T15:37:28","date_gmt":"2010-03-19T19:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"tag:blogs.rj.org,2010:\/rac\/\/2.2584"},"modified":"2010-03-19T15:44:45","modified_gmt":"2010-03-19T19:44:45","slug":"an-appeal-to-bagel-lovers-and-their-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/443475","title":{"rendered":"An Appeal to Bagel-Lovers (And Their Friends)"},"content":{"rendered":"

 Update on Immigration Reform:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesterday, the chief authors of much anticipated comprehensive immigration reform legislation, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), published an op-ed in the Washington Post<\/em> outlining their framework for action on repairing our broken immigration system.<\/p>\n

Despite our nation’s opposition to illegal immigration, the majority of Americans support legal immigration and the Senators have introduced four pillars for reform that will protect workers, secure borders, and create a path to citizenship for those already contributing to our country:<\/p>\n

\u2022 requiring biometric Social Security cards to ensure workers are properly documented
\u2022 fulfilling and strengthening the commitment to border security and interior enforcement
\u2022 creating a process for admitting temporary workers
\u2022 implementing a tough but fair path to legalization for those already here<\/p>\n

The Senators’ blueprint for reform is not perfect.  Though I praise their inclusion of a temporary worker program, a path to citizenship, and a commitment to border security, it remains to be seen whether a biometric employment verification system will be effective in protecting legal workers.  A biometric system based on Social Security numbers must safeguard individual privacy and ensure that all who are eligible to work are in no way disadvantaged by human or systematic error.<\/p>\n

Sen. Schumer and Sen. Graham have introduced a realistic proposal for immigration reform.  Now they must take the next step; they must heed the calls of their constituents on the National Mall this coming Sunday and introduce comprehensive immigration reform legislation.<\/p>\n

Below is a statement from President Obama on Sen. Schumer and Sen. Graham’s framework for immigration reform:<\/p>\n

In June, I met with members of both parties, and assigned Secretary Napolitano to work with them and key constituencies around the country to craft a comprehensive approach that will finally fix our broken immigration system. I am pleased to see that Senators Schumer and Graham have produced a promising, bipartisan framework which can and should be the basis for moving forward.  It thoughtfully addresses the need to shore up our borders, and demands accountability from both workers who are here illegally and employers who game the system.<\/em><\/p>\n

My Administration will be consulting further with the Senators on the details of their proposal, but a critical next step will be to translate their framework into a legislative proposal, and for Congress to act at the earliest possible opportunity. <\/em><\/p>\n

I congratulate Senators Schumer and Graham for their leadership, and pledge to do everything in my power to forge a bipartisan consensus this year on this important issue so we can continue to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform.
<\/em><\/p>\n

This Sunday, I’ll be eating bagels<\/a>. I won’t be seated in my grandmother’s dining room or slouching in a diner booth, I’ll be in downtown DC with Jewish people from all over the country preparing to rally for immigration reform. Though I eagerly anticipate learning, poster-making and marching with my friends, colleagues and fellow-advocates, I won’t lie, I’m excited about the noshing too. There are few activities that unite and elate the Jewish community quite like a bagel brunch with assorted cream cheese, and this weekend there will be bagels galore! <\/p>\n

On Sunday, March 21st tens of thousands of passionate advocates are expected to descend on the National Mall (between 7th and 14th streets from 2-5pm) to remind President Obama and Congress that comprehensive immigration reform must happen in 2010! It is time to revamp a system that leaves our country less secure, separates families, encourages unscrupulous employers and consigns 12 million individuals to the shadows of society. <\/p>\n

We must alleviate the backlog that keeps families apart for decades at a time. It is essential that we establish humane and effective measures to ensure the security of our borders. And our economy only stands to benefit from temporary-worker programs that respond to the needs of the labor market and strengthen our industries. <\/p>\n

This Sunday is your opportunity to show our nation’s leaders that we’re not intimidated by tough issues; we’re ready to fight for immigration reform. Fueled by bagels, passion and a vivid connection to the immigrant experience (read: Passover), join your Jewish community as we March for America! Cherish your chametz while you still can and join us beforehand at Hillel International (800 8th St NW) for the Jewish bagel brunch<\/a>. March 21st is three days away. Will you harness your bagel power? <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\"Bagel<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

 Update on Immigration Reform: Yesterday, the chief authors of much anticipated comprehensive immigration reform legislation, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), published an op-ed in the Washington Post outlining their framework for action on repairing our broken immigration system. Despite our nation’s opposition to illegal immigration, the majority of Americans support legal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4317,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-443475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4317"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443475\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}