American Families United

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Framework Announced

2010-04-30T16:05:00.001-04:00

Yesterday Senators Reid, Schumer, Menendez, Feinstein, and Durbin released a conceptual framework for immigration reform. One of American Families United's Washington representatives was quoted in a front-page story in the New York Times: "Mr. Schumer 'made an effort to fix every piece of the system that doesn’t work right,' said Paul Donnelly, an advocate for legal immigrants."

Fixes for all of our urgent issues are on the table.

Reuniting citizens with their immigrant spouses
We know that Senator Schumer supports reuniting citizens with their immigrant spouses, and this is definitely on the table. There's already legislative language that contains fixes to reunite US citizens who are separated from their immigrant spouses. Our Senators just need to continue to hear from us that our families are affected by the current broken immigration system.

Reuniting lawful permanent residents with their spouses and children
The framework proposes "Spouses and children of lawful permanent residents will be classified as 'immediate relatives' to promote the efficient reunification of families."

Ending stepchild deportation
The framework proposes that immigration reform "... would address several other technical issues related to stepchildren and adoptive children."

CIR ASAP Act Introduced: Great Step Forward for Family Unity

2009-12-15T17:04:00.001-05:00

Congressman Ortiz and 91 co-sponsors introduced HR 4321, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009. For the first time ever, all of our urgent issues are addressed in one bill, some to a greater extent than others.

As constituents and voters, American Families United applauds Congressman Ortiz, Congressman Gutierrez and other co-sponsors of the bill for their strong support of family values, and we urge the Chairwoman of the Immigration Subcommittee in the House of Representatives to include these family values reforms in the final comprehensive immigration reform bill to come out of committee.

The full text of the bill is available at the Library of Congress:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.4321:

Our issues are addressed in the following sections of the bill:
End Stepchild Deportation - complete solution in sections 311 and 312
Reform Hardship Waivers - partial solution in sections 304 and 305
Reunite Green Card Spouses - complete solution in section 302
Improve Name Check Delays - partial solution in section 604

Denied! An Immigration Story of Faith and Hope

2009-12-03T17:06:00.005-05:00

Today Keith Campbell began marketing his book, "Denied!". Long-time members may remember Keith and Akiko in the press two years ago. Now is your chance to read the full story of their 10-year, bitter fight to be together, and maybe pick up a copy for a friend as well, to help educate the public about the reality that faces far too many families today.

Denied! is available on Amazon.com

P.S. Please don't forget to sign on to www.igive.com/afu before making your purchase to earn a donation to American Families United.

Avon Fundraiser to Benefit American Families United

2009-12-01T17:10:00.002-05:00

Now through December 16, Christy, a member from Indiana, is sponsoring an Avon fundraiser to benefit American Families United.

As a reminder, if you sign up on iGive first, you can qualify for an additional $5 donation on your first purchase.

LOVE and DOCUMENTS @ the Egyptian Theater -Hollywood-tickets now online!

2009-11-30T17:12:00.001-05:00

For those in Los Angeles, our short (puppet) documentary highlighting the waiver issue was accepted to the 6th Annual Artivist Film Festival! Ben Fine, the director, will be there for Q & A afterwards!

DHS Secretary Nepolitano Starts Push for Immigration Reform

2009-11-14T17:25:00.001-05:00

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Nepolitano said in a speech today that President Obama has asked her to take a lead role is pushing for immigration reform early next year. Statements from some key players in Congress were reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Holiday Fundraiser

2009-11-03T18:13:00.002-05:00

We've made great strides this year, and we want to keep going in 2010 until all our urgent issues are solved. In addition to the support of the Circle of Hope, we need to raise $17,000 to enable us continue to help more families by:

* Keeping a seat at the table in Washington, DC
* Enabling our volunteers to organize to push through laws

As soon as we meet this goal, we plan to organize our next national lobby day.

P.S. You can also donate by shopping.

Note: we have moved our website since this post. Approximately $7,800 was raised during this fundraiser.

End of Widow's Penalty signed into law

2009-10-28T20:06:00.002-04:00

H.R. 2892, which contained the reform to end the widow's penalty for spouses of US citizens, was signed into law by President Obama:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-press-secretary-hr-2892-and-hr-3183

Thank you Congressman Honda!

2009-10-23T18:15:00.004-04:00

American Families United would like to thank Congressman Honda for his recent op-ed in Roll Call where he speaks up for families and mentions two of our Circle of Hope members, Aung and Vivek.

VICTORY: WIDOW'S PENALTY ENDED!

2009-10-21T19:58:00.003-04:00

Congress approved a measure to end the Widow's Penalty yesterday. It will be signed into law shortly. Read the NY Times article for more information.

We are so excited that this bill has passed, both for the families affected, and for the implications for immigration reform -- Congress has just shown that it can get things done.

For more information please see Surviving Spouses Against Deportation, the organization that led this effort for the past 6 years.

Credit Card Design

2009-10-20T22:48:00.000-04:00

We're asking for your help creating the American Families United credit card. All you need to do is find a digital photo or image that you think represents American Families United. There is only one rule: you must own the picture you submit and agree that we can give it to the credit card company in order to print the cards.

Marco, an AFU member who is the graphic designer who developed our logo, will help put add our logo to the picture. An example follows:

We are able to present five different designs, and if more photos are submitted, we will hold a vote to pick the final five cards.

Please send your picture(s) to:
photos@americanfamiliesunited.org

Saturday, October 10th House Parties

2009-10-01T23:39:00.001-04:00

Saturday, October 10, 2009, American Families United is joining in house parties around the world to support the legal defense defense funds and advocacy efforts to help one of our member families -- Dan and Hoa Hanson. Please see http://freehoa.org for their story.

Attend one near you (see map below) or host a party. Contact info@hoadefense.org for party addresses.

Your party can be a small get together for coffee with 5 close friends, or it can be a big fête with 100 people – this is just a way to tell others about Dan and Hoa’s situation and families like them that are affected by the immigration policies in the United States. Write letters (see the templates on the site), encourage donations to Hoa and Dan and/or American Families United, and contact the media to share the story.

View Free Hoa Saturday in a larger map

ACTION ALERT - SENATE BILL NEGOTATIONS

2009-09-03T18:40:00.000-04:00

Senator Schumer is very engaged in bi-partisan negotiations to finalize the Senate immigration reform bill. Those negotiations are expected to extend past labor day, but we hope to see a bill by the end of this month.

In the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Lofgren has begun to draft a similar immigration reform bill.

Over the past two months, we've come together to urge Senators and Congressmen to include our families. We've raised thousands of dollars for professional representation, we're reached out to local organizations, and we've met legislators and their staff directly in home offices.

Our efforts are paying off. We are pleased to report that both Senator Schumer and Congresswoman Lofgren understand our issues and are sympathetic.

We are optimistic that we will see solutions to all of urgent issues that currently divide families in one of these bills (except the ending widow's penalty, which we hope will be addressed earlier).

But we're not there yet. The legislative process is long and complicated, and we have a lot to do in the coming months. Please join with us today to bring back family values in immigration.

ACTION ALERT - HELP END THE WIDOW PENALTY

2009-07-30T18:31:00.001-04:00

How does our government honor US citizens who die? Under current law, by deporting our spouses and children! Congress is finally considering an end to this widow penalty. Please sign the following petition to urge them to act:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/end_widows_penalty/

ACTION ALERT - SEN SCHUMER SAYS BILL WILL BE READY BY LABOR DAY

2009-07-09T18:34:00.002-04:00

Senator Schumer announced that the immigration reform bill will be ready by labor day.

But the stakes are high. Recently, Senator Graham warned that if the Senate is not able to pass immigration reform now, he believes it will not be taken up again for a generation.

Senator Schumer is writing this bill now, and he is considering solutions for all of American Families United's urgent issues. We need your support to make this opportunity a reality. If you're coming to this site, chances are we are talking about your family or the family of somebody you care about. We started this organization because no other group exists to focus on people sponsoring spouses and children. That's why we need your support so urgently.

We are lucky enough to be represented in DC by a former Congressman and Chairman of the House Immigration Subcommittee, who served in the House of Representatives with then-Congressman Schumer and who together passed major immigration reform in 1990. This is a huge opportunity for our families to be included in immigration reform and we don't want to find out if this is the one chance in a generation to have our issues covered. Please help us raise money to afford representation in DC to push this issue through Labor Day.

Senator Schumer Begins Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill

2009-06-24T18:52:00.001-04:00

Today Senator Schumer laid out a seven-point plan for comprehensive immigration reform that included as point number five: "Family reunification is a cornerstone value of our immigration system. By dramatically reducing illegal immigration, we can create more room for both family immigration and employment-based immigration."

AFU Attends Announcement of House Version of Reuniting Families Act

2009-06-04T18:54:00.002-04:00

American Families United was honored to be invited and attend Congressman Honda's press conference to announce the House version of the Reuniting Families Act. We applaud Congressman Honda and the many other sponsors of the bill:

HR 2709 Sponsors

Jaime, a long time member of American Families United, was able to attend on short notice and express our thanks and support in person. Jaime sent a quick first hand account and picture to us as the event was taking place:

Great conference!

Honda spoke beautifully about the bill and AFU is first on the list of immigration group supporters! (Ok, it's alphabetical, but...)

Go AFU!

Jaime

Great First Step for Families and a Major Victory for American Families United

2009-05-20T18:59:00.001-04:00

American Families United applauds Senators Menendez, Kennedy, Gillibrand and Schumer for the introduction of the Reuniting Families Act of 2009. The bill is a great step forward for American citizens and permanent residents legally sponsoring their spouses and young children to immigrate and live with them as fully integrated Americans.

How does the bill address the urgent issues faced by nuclear families?

Fiancée Visa Age Out Reform - for the first time, innocent step-children and their families threatened with 10 or more year forced separation solely because they turned 21 have hope of justice! Sections 8 and 9 of the bill would ensure that US citizens can sponsor their step-children up to age 21, regardless of whether a spousal or fiancée visa is used. These changes would be retroactive to protect families in crisis now. This is a major victory for American Families United, which first proposed a solution to this problem over two years ago: this bill marks the first time the issue has been addressed in a bill.

Waiver Reform - some Americans who are separated from their spouses because they have asked their spouses to return to their country of birth in order to sponsor them legally would find relief in section 5 of the bill. Those Americans whose spouses are barred for 3 years, 5 years or 10 years and need an I-601 waiver or I-212 permission to reapply because of a bar under section 212(a)(9) of the Immigration and Nationality Act would be eligible for a waiver without an extreme hardship requirement on a one-time basis. American Families United supports this reform and continues to work for permanent and fair solution to this problem, in particular to include those families who are permanently separated because they filled out an immigration form the wrong way and who would not benefit from the initial unamended version of this bill.

Green Card Family Reform - section 2 of the bill would completely eliminate quotas on spouses and children of permanent residents, giving them the same rights as temporary workers on H1B and other visas. American Families United first asked for this proposal in 2007, and we are very thankful again to Senator Menendez in particular for introducing this proposal for the third year in succession.

Surviving Spouses Reform - section 6 of the bill would protect the spouses and children of Americans and legal immigrants who die during the immigration process. American Families United is thankful to all those who have fought and continue to fight for this protection.

The Reuniting Families Act also contains several other pro-family provisions that would benefit American sponsors.

February 2nd, 2009 Lobby Day

2009-02-04T19:01:00.003-05:00

American Families United members in 2226 Rayburn Office Building

On Monday, we held our 3rd lobby day. We met with the staff of 29 Congressmen and Senators from around the country.

PARTIAL VICTORY: President signs bill to stop penalizing active duty troops

2008-06-18T19:16:00.005-04:00

Today President Bush signed the HEART act, fixing the problem we raised with the Reform the Rebate coalition, but only for active duty troops.

American Families United applauds Congress for stopping the penalization of active duty troops but expresses disappointment that the same was not done to treat all tax-paying, law abiding citizens and immigrants fairly.

Senate passes HEART Act

2008-05-22T19:54:00.000-04:00

The Senate passed identical reform to what was passed in the house, clarifying that active military who file a joint tax return would be eligible for the stimulus rebate payment even if the spouse does not have a Social Security number.

House Passes Partial Rebate Reform

2008-05-20T19:48:00.002-04:00

Today the House voted address our concerns for members of the armed forces on active duty.

The story was covered by the San Jose Mercury News.

The relevant text of the bill follows:

H.R.6081
Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008

SEC. 101. RECOVERY REBATE PROVIDED TO MILITARY FAMILIES.

(a) In General- Subsection (h) of section 6428 (relating to identification number requirement) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES- Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a joint return where at least 1 spouse was a member of the Armed Forces of the United States at any time during the taxable year.'.

(b) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if included in the amendments made by section 101 of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008.

More information at:

http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.06081:

Reform the Rebate Coalition Launches Petition to Stop Penalizing Law Abiding Spouses

2008-05-07T19:12:00.002-04:00

We, the undersigned, demand that Congress fix the thoughtless mistake it made in the economic stimulus package that outrageously excludes LEGAL immigrants, US citizens and even military personnel who are defending us in Afghanistan, Iraq and all over the world, if their spouses happen not to have Social Security Numbers when they file their taxes as a married couple. This was done to deny illegal aliens rebate checks -- but there are many perfectly legal families where a spouse uses a tax id number instead of a social security number.

Americans who are defending freedom and risking their lives for us on duty in Afghanistan, Germany, Iraq, Korea, Japan and many other countries all over the world often fall in love and marry foreigners, and of course they don't have Social Security Numbers. When such married GIs file their taxes, their spouses have tax identification numbers, and Congress has never punished them before. A married GI doesn't lose his or her tax refund check. Yet Congress has excluded them from the rebate.

And it gets worse: those who filed as if we weren't married this year to get the rebate for its purpose, to get American families through these tough economic straits, lose the right to file jointly for an indefinite time. That will cost us money.

There are at least tens of thousands of service personnel all over the world whom Congress's mistake is costing thousands of dollars, and a million plus taxpaying legal immigrants and US citizens in America whose families have earned this money to get through tough economic times.

So WE are doing something about it. We are demanding that Congress fix this unfairness immediately through a technical corrections amendment at the first opportunity, whether as a freestanding piece of legislation or attached to some other must-pass bill.

Add your signature at:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/reformtherebate/

National Call-In Days to Fix the Name Check Problem

2007-11-08T12:00:00.005-05:00

Each day through Monday, November 12th please call your Congressman (find yours at www.house.gov or call 202-224-3121 to be connected) with the following message:

"National security requires that the FBI actually LOOK in the name check files. We want the House to make that change in the CJS appropriations bill. Please instruct the conferees."

If anybody has any questions (particularly from any Congressional staff) please contact us.

Urgent appeal for name check delay stories

2007-11-02T22:52:00.000-04:00

The best immediate opportunity for progress on the name check issue is the House/Senate conference on the Commerce, State, Justice appropriations bill. Senator Levin's name check amendment, which we strongly believe must be improved to be effective, is nevertheless very likely to pass the Conference. This means that the House will probably accept the Senate amendment.

We want to get the House side to ask that Levin's amendment be modified with our language requiring "supervisory review upon request."

We need your help to make it happen. Please email your story* to us if you live in one of the following districts:

Alan Mollohan, Chairman, West Virginia, district 1
Patrick J. Kennedy, Rhode Island, district 1
Chaka Fattah, Pennsylvania, district 2
Dutch Ruppersberger, Maryland, district 2
Adam Schiff, California, district 29
Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut, district 3
David Price, North Carolina, district 4
Dave Obey, Wisconsin, district 7
Rodney Frelinghuysen, Ranking Member, New Jersey, district 11
John Culberson, Texas, district 7
Hal Rogers, Kentucky, district 5
Tom Latham, Iowa, district 4
Robert Aderholt, Alabama, district 4
Jerry Lewis, California, district 41

* Please include your name, your Congressman, and the city and state where you live with your story. If you are unsure who your Congressman is, please go to www.house.gov.