Include US Citizen Rights in Immigration Reform
Tell the Senate: equal treatment for US citizen spouses in immigration reform
US Citizens are the most neglected constituency in our debate over immigration reform. Currently proposed legislation for other classes of immigrants includes waivers or exemptions that are not available to US citizens spouses. This petition asks for equal treatment for US citizen spouses. Please sign this petition to help!
View Jason Rochester's story here:
To the United States Senate,
The highest priority for legal immigration includes Americans' spouses and children. That isn’t an opinion. Here’s how it works: while there are exceptions, the rule that distinguishes legal immigrants from illegal immigration is that legal immigrants are invited – by Americans.
The only numerically unlimited category includes the spouses of US citizens. It is our right as Americans to marry for love without being forced to choose between marriage and our country.
A failed immigration law passed in 1996 destroyed the balance between the right of a US citizen to sponsor their wife or husband, and immigration offenses that do not rise to the level of crimes. Rather than enact effective steps to stop illegal immigration, Congress persists in pointless cruelty.
Every plan to legalize the undocumented population, including DREAMers, includes 'waivers of inadmissibility'. We want those same waivers to be available to US citizens who sponsor their spouses. Whether it is a narrow 'stepping stones' bill or comprehensive immigration reform, the rights of US citizens must be included.
We want whatever they get.
Signed,
CLOSED: Oppose Public Charge Rule. Support Immigrants, Citizens, and Children.
*** THESE COMMENTS WERE SUBMITTED TO DHS ON REGULATIONS.GOV ON DECEMBER 10,2018 ***
On October 10, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a rule change that would reinterpret existing law. For 22 years, the United States has had a clear-cut rule to prevent immigrants from receiving public assistance. But the rule change means bureaucrats will be making unguided judgements on who is too poor to be American.
The rule change means deportations, denials of green cards, and denials of citizenship to immigrants who were invited to live in America and have earned their place in American society. It means more separations of families, including those of US citizens.
Read more from these respected, non-partisan organizations:
The Center for Migration Studies -- Proposed Public Charge Rule Would Significantly Reduce Legal Admissions and Adjustment to Lawful Permanent Resident Status of Working Class Persons
The Migration Policy Institute -- Gauging the Impact of DHS' Proposed Public-Charge Rule on U.S. Immigration
The Urban Institute -- By targeting SNAP, the expanded "public charge" rule could worsen food insecurity
Please join us in opposing this proposed rule by December 9, 2018. We will submit signatures to DHS on December 10.
We the undersigned, submit the following comments in opposition to the proposed "Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds" rule change, DHS Docket No. USCIS-2010-0012:
This proposed rule means bureaucrats making unguided judgements on who is too poor to be American, all in the face of a rule that has worked for 22 years. This is not solving a problem. It is creating one.
Sincerely,