April 10 is Immigrant Lobby Day and the Rally for Citizenship
On April 10, immigrant rights organizations and leaders from across the country will bring the fight for immigration reform to Washington, DC for a massive Immigrant Lobby Day and a Rally for Citizenship. The Center for Community Change/Fair Immigration Reform Movement, CASA de Maryland, and SEIU are working together to coordinate April 10 activities.
April 10 – in DC and around the country – will be a key date for our movement. Countless organizations and leaders are gearing up for the massive fight to win immigration reform this year.
Why April 10?
April 10 is the anniversary of the largest mobilization for immigrant rights in recent history (April 10, 2006) when over 70 cities across the US took action to defeat the most vicious federal anti-immigrant bill in decades: HR 4437, sponsored by US Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner.
April 10 is a Wednesday in the middle of the week after a Congressional recess. Many indications seem to be that the timing for April 10 will be just right: the US Senate may have introduced a bill into the Senate Judiciary Committee – and if they haven’t, they will have to contend with tens of thousands of passionate leaders on their doorstep demanding a bill!
The April 10 Rally for Citizenship will reassert public pressure in the middle of the debate by bringing tens of thousands of people to the West Lawn of the Capitol and ensuring national visibility through coverage in local and national news outlets.
The DC rally will culminate ten days of actions that will bring out hundreds of thousands out across the country in support of reform.
While final messages have not been developed and will be created in consultation with the Alliance for Citizenship campaign’s communications team, the major thrust will
1) lift up the power of the immigrant vote
2) demonstrate diverse support for our demands
3) be unwaveringly focused on the core demand of citizenship for 11 million.
Overview of April 10 Activities
1. Immigrant Advocacy Day 9:00am – 1:00 pm
April 10 activities will begin on Capitol Hill for a Massive Immigrant Advocacy Day! Please try and be in DC by 9am so that the delegation from your state can meet with as many legislators as possible. If delegations from every state traveling to DC visit their members of Congress, we can make this the biggest immigrant advocacy day in history. Together, we will infuse the halls of Congress with energy, urgency, and moral conviction, demanding that they pass just and humane immigration reform NOW. Leaders lobbying for immigration reform will be given materials and will have the opportunity to participate in lobby trainings at the Methodist Center on Capitol Hill before their legislative visits.
2. Rally for Citizenship 3:00pm-5:00pm
At 3pm, families and communities will gather on the West Lawn for a Rally for Citizenship. Tens of thousands of leaders will rally for reform and tell their stories of struggle and strength, standing up and demanding that Congress move on this legislation. Artists, Civil Rights leaders, and faith leaders will join these families in this mobilization for justice.
More Logistics for April 10 in Washington DC
More logistical details (including bus drop-off information, maps, etc.) are forthcoming. Key information can also be found on the April 10 website at www.citizenship-now.org. We urge you to check the site frequently for additional logistics updates.
3. Dreamer, a dramatic feature film about undocumented immigrants, will be screened at Georgetown University on April 10 at 9:30pm
The film presents the story of the shattered hopes and lives of those seeking a pathway to citizenship and the American dream of the 21st
century.
The Independent narrative film Dreamer, fresh from its World Premiere at San Jose’s Cinequest Film festival, tells the story of young immigrants
struggling to come out of the shadows and achieve legitimacy, a pathway to citizenship and the right to fulfill their stake in the American Dream of the 21st century. The film will be screened at the Lohrfink Auditorium, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University at 9:30pm on April 10. Admission is open.
This screening of “Dreamer” is co-sponsored by Georgetown University, Voto Latino, Hoyas for Immigrant Rights, the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and its Alumni Association and is scheduled to coincide with a rally for Comprehensive Immigration Reform taking place on the National Mall earlier that day.
Watch Dreamer’s trailer on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkDQT9PHgho See more information about Dreamer: www.dreamerfilm.com