Action Alert from Church World Service

NEW YORK -- Humanitarian agency Church World Service is calling on its constituents to advocate for humane, equitable immigration reform with its June 5 - 8 "Take 5 for Immigrants" campaign.

Participants will take five minutes on each of those days to call their senators about key amendments being voted on that very day. "Action alerts" will be available by 11 a.m. (Eastern) each day at www.cwsspeakout.com

"The week of June 4 could be crucial in determining what kind of immigration reform the U.S. Senate will pass," said Joe Roberson, Director of the CWS Immigration and Refugee Program. "If all goes according to plan, senators will be voting on different parts of the bill (S. 1348) each day, aiming toward final action as early as June 7."

The goal of the "Take 5 for Immigrants" campaign is to proactively bring to the immigration reform debate the values of the U.S. ecumenical community to promote family unity, a workable immigration system, and the humane treatment of all individuals.

"There is so much at stake in every section of the bill that it would be irresponsible for us not to educate and advocate about each part as it comes before the senate for action," Roberson said. "Members of Congress need to bring their common sense, human empathy, realism, and fairness to the immigration policy debate."

Since the beginning of the debate, Church World Service has been calling for reforms that would:

• Improve our family-based immigration system to significantly reduce waiting times for separated families who currently wait many years to be reunited.

• Create legal avenues for immigrants to safely and legally work in the United States, with their employee rights fully protected.

• Provide an opportunity for earned legalization for all persons who already contribute to our economy as a necessary way to keep families together and remedy the abuse of undocumented workers.

• Implement smart, targeted enforcement, not fences.

• Safeguard asylum seekers by ensuring a fair legal process without penalizing them with increased, unnecessary bureaucracy.

Church World Service is the relief, development and immigration and refugee resettlement agency supported by 35 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican denominations in the United States.