MEDIA ADVISORY

U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee to Speak at Oakland Community Forum on Her Immigration Proposal, the “Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2005”

Location: First Congregational Church, 2501 Harrison St.; Oakland
Date and Time: July 16, 2005; 10 am to 3:00 pm

Press Availability: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee will be available to the press from 9:30 – 10:00am on July 16, the day of the event.

Oakland, CA – U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) will address Bay Area residents from the labor, faith, African American, and immigrant communities on her proposal for federal immigration reform. She has taken a stand for the rights of immigrants, workers, and their families. Representative Jackson-Lee is the ranking Democrat of the House Subcommittee on Immigration, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and is identified as one of the most progressive members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In an era when immigrants are facing attacks on both the federal and state levels, Representative Jackson-Lee has proposed legislation called the “Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2005” that would re-unite families, protect workers, and bring stability to the lives of the 10+ million undocumented persons living in the U.S. today. Event planning member Lillian Galedo from Filipinos For Affirmative Action remarked, “We welcome Rep. Jackson-Lee’s bill with open arms. She takes a bold position in favor of the human rights of immigrants and sends a strong message to the rest of Congress.”

Representative Jackson-Lee will keynote an all-day forum, “A Community Dialogue on Immigration Reform.” Forum participants will discuss controversial immigration reform issues such as employer sanctions and guest-workers, and also will discuss finding common ground among African Americans, labor, and immigrants.

Planning committee members: Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition, Coalicion Nacional de Inmigrantes Guatemaltecos, Communication Workers of America District 9, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, East Bay Jobs with Justice, Filipino Civil Rights Advocates, Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Labor Council for Latin American Development – SF, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Northern California District Council of Laborers, Oakland CAN, Priority Africa Network, UC Berkeley Center for Labor and Research, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 428.

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