This morning, I was honored to convene a Google+ Hangout with leaders, and Keep Us Here coalition partners, from across the country to talk about immigration reform. As we reach a pivotal point in the political process, we spoke about the state of play on reform in Washington and, more importantly, about about the tools that allow ordinary Americans to be a part of that debate.
Engine Advocacy's Immigration Hangout from Engine Advocacy on Vimeo.
I was joined by Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, Jeremy Robbins, Director of Partnership for a New American Economy, Mahrinah von Schlegel, Founder and Managing Director of Cibola, a tech incubator in South Side, Chicago, with PandoDaily’s Hamish McKenzie moderating. You can watch it for yourself here to find out more on what we’re all doing and how you can get involved.
Overall, our remarks centered on the uniqueness of the moment we’re seeing right now in Washington, with a coalition being built across the aisle and from every corner of America, speaking on the need for reform to our broken system. This morning, the coalition was able to push 82 Senators to begin debate on this critical issue, While that in itself was an historic achievement, we still have a lot of work left to do.
As you know, Engine launched Keep Us Here to provide a focal point for lots of that activism, but we can’t do it without our coalition partners, and especially, all of you. Everyone on today’s Hangout independently made the point that unless Senate offices -- and soon, hopefully, House offices as well -- hear from all of us about why this issue matters in our daily lives, we run the risk of losing this moment and the promise of building an immigration system that works.
Only you have the power to make that a reality. So take action, join us at Keep Us Here, join with coalition partners like BBB, March for Innovation, Cibola and so many more, and let your voice be heard. Pledge to call next week on our day of action, and send a tweet or a letter.
Stand up and be counted. We’re closer than we’ve been in the last half century to meaningful reform. Don’t let this moment pass us by.
