Eight U.S. Senators presented an immigration reform bill on Wednesday, April 17. A bill is NOT A LAW, and does not create any new rights. Instead, a bill is like a proposal for a new law. Every bill must pass three stages before it becomes a law, and even once it is a law, there is usually a delay before it goes into effect.

STEP ONE, the Senate: The first step is that either the House of Representatives or the Senate has to vote to approve the bill. Because this bill is being proposed in the Senate, it is the Senate that will decide whether to approve it. Between the first presentation of the bill and the final vote, there are usually changes to it, because usually there are Senators who won’t approve it unless some things are added, or taken out. Therefore, the bill that gets voted on can be quite different from the bill that was first proposed.

STEP TWO, the House of Representatives: If the Senate approves this bill, it will then have to be approved by the House of Representatives, which is the second step in the process. If the House of Representatives does not approve the bill, then that is the end of it – unless the Senate starts the process all over again.

STEP THREE, the President: If the House of Representatives approves the bill, then the third step is the President. If the President signs the bill, it then becomes a law.

THEN, we wait: Even after the bill becomes a law, we will probably have to wait a while before anyone can apply to change their immigration status under the law. We expect to have to wait at least six months, but we won’t know how long the wait will be, until there is a new law.

Here is a link for a cool info graphic made by our friends at Immigrant Law Group with a timeline of the legislative process: Immigration Reform Info Graphic.

Below you may find information on how you can start preparing for a possible legalization:

Preparing for a Possible Legalization Program

1. Participate. Be engaged with your immigrant rights advocacy organization and in rallies, marches, lobbying and voter registration efforts they organize.
2. Get news you trust and pass it on. Your immigrants’ rights advocacy organization will know what, if anything, is certain, such as when a law actually passes and what it says. Don’t rely on gossip, rumors or media alerts you may hear.
3. Stay away from “notaries”. Even rumors of legalization will bring out exploiters who promise quick action and charge large sums. Check with a community organization or attorney you trust before paying any money. Check out this cool tool to prevent notario fraud made by our friends at Immigrant Law Group:  Don’t Get Screwed
4. Apply for an “ITIN”. An “ITIN” is a number issued by the IRS for an individual’s use opening a bank account or filing taxes. Having a bank account established could assist you in accessing the financial services (such as debit cards or lending circles) which might make the application process smoother for you.
5. Save money. No one yet knows how much legalization applicant fees might be or when they might be due. A legalization process that may take many years, involve multiple fees and cost a few thousand dollars.
6. Gather up and keep safe evidence of your presence in the country. Evidence can include pay stubs, bills, credit card receipts, medical appointments and letters, your children’s school records, date-stamped photos in an identifiable location, and more.
7. Get identity documents. If you don’t have it, send for your birth certificate and get a photo identification, such as a consular ID and/or passport.
8. Volunteer. Qualifying for legal immigration status sometimes requires individuals to show they are of “good moral character”. By volunteering your time, you demonstrate that you are a positive figure in your community.
9. Continue your learning. If you are currently enrolled in school, graduation with the highest grades possible should be your goal. Continue your education if you have the opportunity to do so.
10. Follow the law and don’t commit fraud. If there is a legalization, criminal convictions or making false statements might disqualify you and subject you to deportation.

For questions you may call us at 503-409-2473.

MAY DAY:  Latino Spring 2013
March and Rally for ONE OREGON

Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

Time: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Front Steps of the Oregon State Capitol
900 Court Street NE, Salem, Oregon
Issues: 
1. Driver’s License for ALL immigrants
2. A Path to Citizenship for ALL 11 MILLION Undocumented Immigrants in the US
3. Keeping Families Together

- On May First: Take your kids out of School and bring them to the Oregon State Capitol
- On May First: Ask your employer for permission or a DAY OFF and come to the Oregon State Capitol.
- On May First: NO SCHOOL AT UNIVERSITIES OR COLLEGES and come to the Oregon State Capitol

LETS MAKE HISTORY IN OREGON ON MAY FIRST 2013!

For more info call at Causa Oregon (503)409-2473 or www.causaoregon.org | www.oregonmayday.com

RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/348425728607955/

Primero de Mayo: La Primavera Latina 2013
Marcha y Rally por un SOLO OREGON

Miércoles Primero de Mayo del 2013

Hora: 11:00 a.m.
Lugar: Capitolio Estatal de Oregon
900 Court Street NE, Salem, Oregon

Demandas:
1. Licencias de Manejo para todos los inmigrantes
2. Camino a la CIUDADANIA para los 11 MILLONES DE INMIGRANTES INDOCUMENTADOS
3. MANTENAGAMOA NUESTRAS FAMILIAS JUNTAS Y UNIDAS

- El Primero de Mayo: Saque a sus niños de las Escuelas y tráigalos al Capitolio de Salem
- El Primero de Mayo: Pida el día libre o permiso en el trabajo y vengase al Capitolio en Salem
- El primero de Mayo: No vaya a la Universidad o Colegio y vengase al Capitolio en Salem

¡EL PRIMERO DE MAYO haremos historia en OREGON!

RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/348425728607955/

For the 1,100 undocumented immigrants deported each day and the thousands of families torn apart by the Senate’s failure to act, this is unacceptable.

Please join with Causa as we hold our Senators in Washington D.C. accountable for the promises they have made.

On Thursday, March 21, 2013, please call and send an email to Oregon U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden asking them to urge Senator Harry Reid, Senator Patrick Leahy and the Gang of 8 to introduce an immigration reform bill now without delay.

Also,  remind them:

• - Every day Congress fails to move forward on an immigration reform bill, 1,100 families are torn apart through deportations
• - There is a moral urgency for action
• - Our Nation’s broken immigration system and the families being torn apart by it doesn’t go on recess.
• - Any bill introduced must include legalization for all 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. with a path to citizenship and no obstacles.

Senator Ron Wyden: (202) 224-5244

Senator Jeff Merkley: (202) 224-3753

Please use our online form to send an email to Senators Wyden and Merkley by clinking HERE and entering your zip code.

Dates: Monday, April 1st – Friday, April 5th, 2013

Time:  Everyday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Every day will be a different sector advocating for Drivers License and Tuition Equity:
April 1: Youth and Young Adults (DACA, DREAMers, and others)
April 2: Naturalization Clinic and newly naturalized US Citizens and Registered voters
April 3: LGBT Latino Community
April 4: Latina Women
April 5: Children

Spanish

JPEG Flyer: http://causaoregon.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013-Advocacy-Week-ESP.jpg

PDF Flyer: http://causaoregon.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013-Advocacy-Week-ESP.pdf

Rural Organizing Project, Causa Oregon, PCUN & United Farmworkers Union invite you to join the

March for ONE Oregon Bus Tour

From March 5th to March 9th, 50 Oregonians will get on a bus to travel Central and Eastern Oregon for the March for ONE Oregon to raise up the sanctity of families, show that we are one community, one Oregon, AND united to win dignity for all of our community members.

March for ONE Oregon
Bus Tour March, Rally & Send-off
March 5th, 2013 at 10am
Social Justice Center
155 NW Irving
Bend, Oregon

Do you want to help support this effort? Please click here to make a donation or click on the donate button on the right!

Tour Schedule

March 5th
BEND, OREGON 10AM
10am Rally/Letter Writing at Social Justice Center
155 NE Irving, Bend
11:30am March to Trinity Episcopal Church
231 NW Idaho Ave, Bend
Bus Tour Send-off at Noon

MADRAS, OREGON 5pm
Dinner to Keep Families Together * Dinner Provided
St. Patrick’s Catholic Church: 341 SW “J” street, Madras

March 6th
HOOD RIVER, OREGON 12pm
Strengthening Our ONE Community * Lunch Provided
Riverside Community Church: 317 State St, Hood River

HERMISTON, OREGON 5:30pm
March and Celebration for Unity * Dinner Provided
Beginning 5:30pm Hermiston City Hall
Dinner at 6:30pm El Chaparral Shopping Center
305 SW 11th St, Hermiston

March 7th
LA GRANDE, OREGON 12:30pm
Uniting for Home Grown Prosperity
Rally at Congressman Walden’s office
1211 Washington Avenue, La Grande

ONTARIO, OREGON 5pm
March and Dinner to build Welcoming
Communities
Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church
829 SW 2nd Ave, Ontario

March 8th
NAMPA, IDAHO 12pm
Northwest Immigration Reform Bus Tour Stop
Hispanic Cultural Center: 315 Stampede Drive

BURLEY, IDAHO 7pm
Northwest Immigration Reform Bus Tour Stop
Location TBA

March 9th
WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON 1pm
NW Immigration Reform Bus Tour Stop
Jefferson Park, S 9th Ave & Malcolm St.
Walla Walla

FOLLOW THE BUS ON THE OREGON TOUR TUMBLR PAGE AND ATOUR TWITTER PAGE HASHTAGS: #M1OR / #orbustour / #keepingfamiliestogether

For more information on the March for ONE Oregon Bus Tour, please contact Amanda Aguilar Shank at 971-645-5279 or Greg Delgado at 541-390-6213

Become a U.S. Citizen!

With the help of partnering organizations across the state, Causa can help you with the naturalization application and provide a legal review free of cost.

Throughout the year Causa will be hosting one-day events (citizenship clinics), in which we will assist Legal Permanent Residents (“green card holders”) who wish to apply for naturalization with the help of an immigration attorney.

The legal assistance is completely free!

Portland: 
March 9, 10 am
11229 NE Prescott St. St. Matthews Episcopal church

Salem: 
April 2, 10 AM
900 Court St. NE Oregon State Capitol Cat

Beaverton: 
Location and time TBA

To attend any of our one-day naturalization assistance events you must go through a pre-screening process and receive a reservation. In the case that we can’t help you, you will be referred to a private immigration attorney.

To make a reservation for an event, call 503-409-2473

To qualify for the naturalization process, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old;
• Have been a legal permanent resident for at least the last five years (or three years if married to a U.S. Citizen);
• Have been physically present in the U.S. for at least a total of two years and six months during the past five years (or one year and six months if married to a U.S. Citizen);
• Have not been outside the U.S. for more than a year at a time;
• Be able to speak, read and write conversational English (with exceptions);
• Be able to pass a U.S. Civics and History exam (with exceptions);
• Be a person of “good moral character”;
• Be willing to take an oath of loyalty to the U.S.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services filing fee for the naturalization application is $680.00; you may be eligible for a fee waiver to file at no cost if you receive DHS public benefits.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Portland:
March 9, 10 AM
St. Matthews Episcopal Church, 11229 NE Prescott St. 

Salem:
April 2, 10 AM
Oregon State Capitol 900 Court St. NE 

Beaverton:
Día y localidad por determinarse

Para asistir a cualquiera de los eventos necesitamos aprobar su caso para este servicio y necesita hacer reservación. En el caso que no califique para nuestro servicio se le referirá a un(a) abogado(a) de inmigración privado.

Para hacer una reservación para un evento llame al 503-409-2473.

Para calificar para el proceso de naturalización, usted debe:

• Tener 18 años o más;
• Haber sido residente por lo menos 5 años o 3 años si esta casado con un ciudadano;
• Haber estado presente en los E.E.U.U. por lo menos 2 años y 6 meses durante los últimos 5 años requeridos o 1 año y 6 meses si esta casado con un(a) ciudadano(a);
• No haber salido del país por mas de un año;
• Poder hablar, leer, y escribir Ingles (con excepciones);
• Ser capaz de realizar un examen de la historia y el gobierno de los E.E.U.U;
• Ser una persona de “buena conducta moral”;
• Estar dispuesto a tomar el juramento de lealtad hacia los E.E.U.U.

La oficina Federal de Inmigración y Servicios Migratorios cobra $680.00 por aplicación, si recibe beneficios de DHS puede calificar para tramitar la aplicación gratis. 

Salem, Ore. — On Saturday, Causa, Oregon’s Statewide Immigrant RightsOrganization, held it’s 15th Annual Immigrant Action Day at Chemeketa Community College in Salem. 400 Causa affiliates and allies from around Oregon attended the morning event to get information and to hear plans for 2013 actions to advocate for a Legalization Program at the Federal Level, and Driver’s License Restoration and Tuition Equity in Oregon.

Speakers this year included Francisco Lopez, Executive Director of Causa Oregon, Ramon Ramirez, President of PCUN, Laura Isiordia, Executive Director, of the CAPACES Leadership Institute, Causa Board Member and attorney Barbara Ghio and several panelists.  Topics covered ranged from Driver’s License Restoration, Tuition Equity, Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the national Keeping Families Together Legalization Campaign. Family Unity, and Civil and Human Rights for Farmworkers, Children, Women and members of the LGBT community.

This year’s Immigrant Action Day was special as it included the first-ever wedding ceremony and celebration as part of the day’s activities. Carmen Gutierrez and Jensi Albright, a same-sex couple with mixed immigration status, exchanged vows before the energetic crowd. The special occasion was part of Causa’s commitment to the gay and lesbian immigrant community.

In an interview with the Salem Statesman Journal, Causa’s Executive Director Francisco Lopez discussed the inclusion of the wedding ceremony in this year’s Immigrant Action Day and why it is important to Oregon:

“One of the things we want to do is (emphasize) legal rights should be for everybody,” Causa Executive Director Francisco Lopez said. “We have a couple that loves each other. One is a citizen of the U.S.; one is undocumented.

“Whether it’s men with men, women with women, it doesn’t matter,” he added. “We in Oregon need to get the message out that we do not discriminate.”

Our nation’s broken immigration system tears families apart. With 11 million undocumented immigrants in our country, the largest grassroots immigrant rights organizations are launching a new campaign to fix our patchwork of failed and mismanaged immigration policies so that families have a pathway to citizenship and can stay together.

These families will be the voice of the “Keeping Families Together” campaign. They will lift the veil on the moral crisis of family separation and tell their story of our broken immigration process to illustrate why we need change now.

Keeping Families Together highlights the stories of immigrant families who struggle to cope with the heartbreaking effects of our country’s broken immigration system. The website encourages people to share their personal stories and empowers them by building a community to advocate for immigration reform.

Uniting with immigrant activists, advocates and champions, these families will demand a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country. The Keeping Families Together campaign tour will stop in cities across the country, including New York, Detroit, Kalamazoo, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., among others. Family stories will be told at campaign rallies, vigils and community dinners and will be recorded and shared with policymakers.

Keeping Families Together is a project of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement and powered by the Center for Community Change. For more information, visit www.keepingfamiliestogether.net

OREGON CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF EVENT

Causa Oregon has partnered with immigrant activists, advocates and champions from across the nation in the Keeping Families Together Campaign. The campaign brings together individuals, community organizations and leaders, and elected officials from across the Nation who support humane immigration reform and policies to keep families together.

On January 15th, Causa, Oregon’s Statewide Immigrant Rights Organization, will hold a press conference in Portland launching the campaign in Oregon.

Keeping Family Together Campaign Kick-off
Tuesday, January 15th, 2013 at 10AM
Location: USCIS Building, 1455 NW Overton Street, Portland, OR 97209 

RSVP:  https://www.facebook.com/events/408187709265244/

This year, Causa continued to educate, mobilize, empower and  engage the immigrant community throughout Oregon. Not only did we continue those programs, but also we were able to start a new immigration legal service!

Help us advance the next generation of Oregon leaders

Causa responded to the need of providing legal services after President Obama announced the new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that gives deportation relief and work authorization to certain qualifying individuals that were brought to the U.S. as children. Since the announcement, Causa has hosted informational forums throughout the state educating over 2,000 Oregonians.

We are excited to have our legal office up and running in Salem, as we are now able to provide low cost legal services to hundreds of young Oregonians full of dreams and inspiration. Help us maintain our low costs as we continue to help hundreds of individuals apply for this program and create a foundation to help in other immigration matters in the years to come. 

Here are a few words from one of our applicants Antonia Hidalgo:

“I was brought to the U.S. at 14 months old. At age 4, I was diagnosed with Leukemia. Thanks to all the support I received, I am a cancer survivor. Now, at age 21, I am a single mother of a 1-year-old baby boy. Due to some obstacles, it has been difficult for me to fully accomplish my life goals. Since I do not have a Social Security number, I am unable to get a driver’s license or financial aid to continue my education.

I strive to motivate others to follow their dreams and work hard towards achieving them, to never lose sight of the “Si Se Puede” spirit. My dream is to become a bilingual Certified Nurse Assistant.  If I am granted DACA, I will have a Social Security number which will allow me to pursue my dreams.”

CAUSA’s work is only as strong as the community that supports us. Make your tax-deductible contribution today to help us advance the next generation of Oregon leaders like Antonia! 

Gracias from the Causa Legal Team,