IN-DISTRICT ADVOCACY TOOLKIT:. IMMIGRATION REFORM 2013.

CRC Office of Social Justice crcjustice.org

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Table of Contents

Requesting Your Visit ................................................................................................................................ 3-4

This is a template letter that you will send into your Representative’s district office to request a

meeting. You should follow-up with a phone call a few days later to see if they received the letter

and to confirm a date for your visit.

In the Meeting ......................................................................................................................................... 5-10

Agenda, Purpose, and Tips ..................................................................................................................... 6-7

A purpose statement for your visit, a draft agenda for your meeting, and other helpful tips for

meeting with your Representative.

Talking Points ............................................................................................................................................ 8

Additional information regarding our two specific policy recommendations that you will use during

your meeting to explain your position.

Frequently Asked Questions & Myths ................................................................................................. 9-10

A collection of common questions and myths regarding immigration. Use these to address

questions your Representative may ask or myths s/he may purport. It is not exhaustive, so feel free

to do some research on your own to prepare for your meeting.

Before You Leave ................................................................................................................................... 10-11

A document detailing the CRC’s history on immigration reform advocacy, as well as a reiteration of

our policy position and our “ask”. Leave this with your Representative’s office when you leave your

meeting.

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REQUESTING YOUR VISIT…

A template letter that you will

send into your Representative’s

district office to request a

meeting. You should follow-up

with a phone call a few days

later to see if they received the

letter and to confirm a date for

your visit.

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[Representative’s name] [Address] [Date] Dear [Representative’s name], As people of faith and members of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, we are writing to ask you to take into account the biblical values of compassion, justice, and hospitality as you consider urgently-needed reforms to our nation’s immigration laws. The Christian Reformed Church comprises nearly 300,000 members in the United States and Canada. We believe that Scripture holds ultimate authority over our lives and, as such, must be the primary lens through which we engage social and political issues. Immigration is no exception, and our denomination has affirmed, at the highest levels, the need for real immigration reform in the U.S. Specifically, we have affirmed the need for bipartisan immigration policy that will:

Establish an accessible pathway to citizenship for all aspiring citizens Protects the integrity and unity of immigrant families

Our Christian faith compels us to advocate on behalf of the immigrants who are part of our churches and our communities. The Bible tells us that God has a special concern for the foreigner (Deut.10:18, Psalm 146:9), and He commands His people to take special concern for them as well, particularly as people with an immigrant history of our own (Lev. 19:33-34, Ex. 23:9). Furthermore, immigrants—including many who are presently undocumented—form integral parts of our church communities, and as we see them suffering under the dysfunction of our current system, we all suffer (1 Cor. 12:26). We also see the ways that the current system, where our laws our regularly ignored by both employers and immigrants, mocks the God-ordained rule of law (Rom 13:1). Most undocumented immigrants want to become right with the law and embrace the responsibilities of citizenship, but present law provides no mechanism for that reconciliation to be possible. For these reasons, we urge you to support reforms to our nation’s immigration laws that meet these principles. As you do, know that you have our support and our prayers. We continue to work to further educate and mobilize our congregations around this pressing issue. We would also like to request the opportunity to meet with you at your district office in [location] at your earliest convenience. Please contact [Mobilizer/coordinator name] at [email and telephone number] to let us know when you may be available to meet. Thank you for your service to our communities and for taking the time to consider our concerns. Respectfully, [Names and church name of each person who wishes to participate]

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IN THE MEETING…

Agenda, Purpose, and Tips ……………………………………… 6

Talking Points ……………………. 7

Frequently Asked Questions &

Myths …………………………… 8-9

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Agenda, Purpose, and Tips Purpose To communicate to your Representative the growing consensus within her district that common sense, humane immigration reform is necessary. To express your uniquely Christian and biblical concerns for our broken immigration system and to communicate your perspective from a particularly CRC perspective. To emphasize a desire to see her support reform that provides an accessible pathway to citizenship for all aspiring citizens and that protects the integrity and unity of immigrant families. Agenda

1. Introductions and Thanks a. Introduce yourselves and share why this is an important issue for you personally. b. Introduce your church and why immigration reform matters to your particular faith

community. 2. Share a personal story

a. If someone is willing and has a story to share, tell it. Help them put a face to this issue and tell them how our broken system has affected you or someone in the life of your church.

3. Policy principles (see Talking Points sheet) a. Share the Leave Behind to let them know where we stand on the specific policies. b. Highlight family unity and an accessible pathway to citizenship as our key policy “asks”

(consult Talking Points for details) 4. Make the “Ask”

a. “Will [name of Representative] support legislation that will create an accessible pathway to citizenship for all aspiring citizens and that will protect the integrity and unity of immigrant families?”

b. Ask how the legislator is participating in the on-going talks on Capitol Hill. “What is the Representative doing to help accomplish immigration reform this year?”

5. Thank her staff for their time a. There is a good chance that your Representative and/or her staff will not give you a

straight answer to the “ask” in the meeting. Make sure to tell them that you look forward to hearing from them soon with an answer. Leave the contact information of the leader and tell them that you will call them in a week to follow-up if you have not received an answer from them. This might feel pushy, but it is standard practice.

Additional Tips

Be sure to have someone be the lead and direct the meeting according to the agenda. This can be anyone that is comfortable guiding the meeting.

Assign someone to take notes so that we can hold the Representative to what her staffers tell you.

Trade contact information so you can follow-up on the meeting.

If you don’t know the answer to a question, don’t make it up. It is perfectly appropriate to tell them, “I’m not sure of that answer, but I can look into it and get back to you”. Just make sure to get back to them with it!

As research, find out how your Representative voted on the DREAM Act of 2010: o tinyurl.com/njaln79

Be sure to report back to the OSJ (osjha@crcna.org) to tell us how it went! Have fun! Direct access to our legislators is a beautiful part of our democracy. It is their job to

listen to us—so let your voice be heard!

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Talking Points FAMILY UNITY

1. Families are the fabric of strong communities and economies. Immigration reform must facilitate family reunification. Family unity spurs integration, as families provide strong foundations for learning English, purchasing a home, pursuing employment, starting a business, preparing children for school, and contributing to communities.

2. We are supportive of fixes that would reunite green-card holders with their spouse and minor children more quickly and clear the current backlog. However, we are opposed to proposals that would eliminate the ability of U.S. citizens to sponsor their sibling or married child over 31. A child is a child, regardless of age or married status, and brothers and sisters should be able to be together.

3. We are not opposed to increases in employment-based visas, but they should not come at the expense of family visas - it's not a zero-sum game. People want to join their families through legal channels, but with exorbitant wait times as long as 24 years, have no real options to do so. To fix the immigration system, we need to recognize the God-given desire to be with one's family.

PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP

1. People of faith strongly support a pathway to full citizenship for our undocumented community members. Such a pathway should be clear, timely, direct, and accessible. Proposals that would create a pathway to legal status but stop short of citizenship are not consistent with who we strive to be as a nation, nor with how people of faith live out the scriptural commandment 'to welcome the stranger'.

2. Many CRC churches are daily witnesses to the opportunity and pride that gaining citizenship brings to our immigrant brothers and sisters. They are also witnesses to the fear and shame that comes about from remaining in the shadows of our society. A path to a second-class status would simply perpetuate this hurt by forever telling them "you'll never really be an American." This is contrary to the principles upon which our country was built, and it is contrary to a Gospel of love and inclusion.

3. Any pathway created must not be contingent upon enforcement measures. Many have proposed keeping the pathway closed until certain levels of enforcement along the border and within the interior of the country are met. While border security is important and necessary, so is allowing our brothers and sisters the opportunity to come out of the shadows as quickly as possible.

4. More than 7 in 10 Americans support a pathway to citizenship (Gallup News Service, 2/5/13).

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Frequently Asked Questions & Myths This page is intended to provide you with some answers to questions that your Representative may ask or myths she may purport. It is not exhaustive, so feel free to do some research on your own to prepare for your meeting. Economics Q: Don’t illegal immigrants in the work force mean less Americans have job opportunities? A: Immigrants typically do not compete for jobs with native-born workers and immigrants create jobs as entrepreneurs, consumers, and taxpayers. Q: Don’t immigrants drive down wages for American workers? A: Immigrants give a slight boost to the wages of most Americans by increasing their productivity and stimulating investment. Q: Won’t increasing immigrant visas over-populate the U.S. and saturate the work force? A: Immigrants will replenish the U.S. labor force as the Baby Boomers retire. Myth: Undocumented immigrants don’t pay taxes. Fact: Undocumented immigrants pay billions of dollars in taxes each year, often for benefits they will never receive (Medicaid, SNAP, Medicare, Social Security). Myth: Immigrants come to the United States for welfare benefits. Fact: Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federal public benefit programs, and legal immigrants face stringent eligibility restrictions. Myth: Immigrants send all their money back to their home countries instead of spending money here. Fact: Immigrants do send money to family members, making it possible for more people to stay in their home countries rather than migrating to the United States. However, sending remittances home does not keep immigrants from spending money in the United States. Integration Q: Why can’t immigrant just get in the back of the line and immigrate legally? A: Practically speaking, there is no “line” for poorer and low-skilled workers to get into. Generally, to gain access to the U.S., one must be (1) highly trained in a skill that is in short supply here, (2) escaping political persecution, or (3) joining close family already here. Myth: Immigrants don't want to become citizens. Fact: Many immigrants to the United States seek citizenship, even in the face of difficult requirements and huge backlogs that can delay the process for years. Myth: Today’s immigrants are not assimilating into U.S. society. Fact: Today’s immigrants are buying homes and becoming U.S. citizens. Myth: Immigrants are more likely to commit crimes than U.S. natives. Fact: Immigration does not cause crime rates to rise and immigrants have lower incarceration rates than native-born Americans. Myth: Immigrants—particularly Latino immigrants—don't want to learn English.

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Fact: Immigrants, including Latino immigrants, believe they need to learn English in order to succeed in the United States, and the majority uses at least some English at work. Myth: Most immigrants are undocumented and have crossed the border illegally. Fact: Two thirds of immigrants are here lawfully—either as naturalized citizens or in some other lawful status. Moreover, almost half of all undocumented immigrants entered the United States legally. Enforcement Q: Shouldn’t we spend more on securing our borders and enforcing our existing laws before we can create a roadmap to citizenship? A: We have never spent more on border enforcement, or deported more people, than we have in the last 5 years. Our borders have never been more secure—what more would you suggest we do? Myth: Weak border enforcement has led to high rates of undocumented immigration. We should increase enforcement and build a wall around our border. Fact: Increased border security and the construction of border fences have done little to curb the flow of immigrants across the United States border. Instead, these policies have only succeeded in pushing border crossers into dangerous and less-patrolled regions, and increased the undocumented population by creating an incentive for immigrants not to leave. Motivation Q: Why does immigration reform matter to you personally? A: This answer can vary depending on your experience, but should incorporate a distinctly Christian concern for the immigrant and the oppressed found throughout Scripture. Maybe you worship with immigrants at your church, or have seen members of your church deported—tell these stories. Q: Why does the CRC care about immigration reform? A: The CRC’s concern to see our immigration laws reflect more compassionate and humane biblical values arose out of CRC churches being presented with the realities of undocumented immigrants first hand. Many churches had undocumented folks worshipping with them and participating in their communities. Some saw these brothers and sisters deported or sent to detention centers. These experiences caused much soul-searching within the church, which finally adopted 13 recommendations at its synod (general assembly) in 2010, including advocacy for changes to our system: “We call on our elected officials to reform immigration laws in the United States and Canada so that they may be fair, just, and equitable regarding those without status.”

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BEFORE YOU LEAVE…

This document details the CRC’s

history of immigration reform

advocacy, as well as reiterates

our policy position and our

“ask”. Leave this with your

Representative’s office when

you leave your meeting.

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CRCNA Meeting at the Offices of [Representative’s name] [Date of meeting] Present: [Names of those participating in the meeting] Background

The Christian Reformed Church, a denomination representing nearly 300,000 members in the U.S. and Canada, has been engaging the issue of immigration reform for several years. Synod 2010 was presented with a report that looked at the causes of migration and the current situation of immigration in the U.S. and Canada. It concluded that the systems are deeply broken and recommended direct advocacy for reform from the Church and its members. Specifically, Synod 2010 encouraged congregations and church members to support and advocate for immigration reform that will reduce the number of undocumented workers, to speak out against laws and practices concerning immigrants that appear to be unduly harsh or unjust, and for the CRC to engage in policy development and advocacy strategies that will lead to the enactment of fair, just, and equitable laws regarding those without status.

These recommendations reinforced the ongoing work that the CRC has engaged in for years on behalf of immigrants and refugees. They have informed the CRC’s advocacy efforts on immigration reform and have served to further solidify the Church’s position firmly on the side of justice and compassion for our immigrant and refugee brothers and sisters. Policy Principles

Family Unity o Families are the basic unit of strong communities. A fair immigration system must

protect the integrity and unity of immigrant families

Roadmap to Citizenship o Any meaningful reform of our immigration system must include a fair and generous

process that allows undocumented immigrants and their families to earn lawful permanent residency with a pathway to citizenship.

o A program of legalization should be workable and accessible. It should not be hindered by overly punitive criteria or be contingent upon enforcement measures.

The Ask

Recognizing the CRC’s history of, and commitment to, advocating for more just and humane immigration policies,

Acknowledging the overwhelming public sentiment in favor of real immigration reform, Emphasizing that this issue is a matter of faith that is deeply important to millions of Christians

across the country,

We ask that [Representative’s name] support real, bipartisan immigration reform legislation that will provide an accessible pathway to citizenship for all aspiring citizens and that protects the integrity and unity of immigrant families.