Ethnic Media’s Collective Message to the White House: Do It Now

Jan. 30, 2013 / By

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New America Media, Editorial

Editor’s Note: This editorial was produced in association with New America Media (http://www.newamericamedia.org), a national association of ethnic media, and was published by more than 50 ethnic media across the country to bring attention to the urgency of immigration reform. Ethnic media interested in running the editorial may contact[email protected].

The White House and Congress must move quickly to enact just and humane comprehensive immigration reform.

In the wake of the 2012 elections, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have expressed the need to act on the issue. The window for bipartisan legislation is now open.

Ethnic media have a high stake in the future of immigration policy in this country. That’s why we are joining together to take an editorial stand to urge Congress and the White House: Make 2013 the year of immigration reform.

This is not merely a question of politics. We are calling for comprehensive immigration reform because it is the morally right, economically wise and pragmatically sensible thing to do.

Our country is a nation of laws, and it is clear that U.S. immigration laws need to be overhauled. The immigration system is broken, not only for the 11 million undocumented immigrants, but for the thousands of immigrants who are unable to get visas to work in the United States; for American businesses that can’t hire the workers they need; for the families who wait for years to get visas to join their relatives in the United States.

We need comprehensive immigration reform that will reunite families, reinvigorate the economy, and revive our identity as a nation that thrives on the contributions of hard-working immigrants.

It’s clear that our federal immigration laws are not working. Federal inaction on immigration has led states from Arizona to Alabama to write their own legislation. Even the recently announced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is a temporary band-aid that does nothing to solve the larger problem of a broken immigration system.

Immigration has been portrayed as a divisive issue. In reality it’s not. All of us would benefit from an effective immigration system that responds to the needs of the market, protects all workers from abuse and exploitation and puts an end to the practice of separating parents from their children.

We need an immigration system that reflects the best traditions of our history — our belief in justice, equality, and economic opportunity.

And as we look to the future, we must make sure that we remain competitive in an increasingly globalized world. We need to continue to attract the best and the brightest, to be the destination of the world’s most innovative workers.

We must act now. Our economy and our future depend on it.

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Op-ed in Spanish
El mensaje colectivo de los medios étnicos a la Casa Blanca: Hazlo ahora

Op-ed in Chinese
族裔媒體同聲呼籲白宮和國會在2013年落實移民改革法案

Op-ed in Vietnamese
Thời gian đã đến: Truyền Thông sắc tộc Gọi cho cải cách nhập cư trong năm 2013

Op-ed in Korean
2013년 이민법 개혁을 위한 소수계 언론의 공동 선언

A partial list of media that have agreed to publish the op-ed:

African-American Voice (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Al Día (Philadelphia)
Arizona Informant (Phoenix)
Asian American Press (St. Paul, Minn.)
Asian Journal (Los Angeles and New York)
AsianWeek (San Francisco)
Balita Media Inc. (Glendale, Calif.)
Balitang America – ABS-CBN International – The Filipino Channel (Redwood City, Calif.)
Bangla Patrika (New York)
CaliToday (San Jose, Calif.)
Caribbean Today (Miami)
ChicoSol (Chico, Calif.)
Chinese Daily News (Las Vegas)
East Palo Alto Today (East Palo Alto, Calif.)
El Diario-La Prensa (New York)
El Hispanic News (Portland, Ore.)
El Perico (Omaha, Neb.)
El Tiempo Latino (Washington)
El Tiempo New Orleans (New Orleans)
Express India (Washington)
The FilAm.net (New York)
Filipino American Journal (Phoenix)
Future Newspaper (Tinley Park, Ill.)
FWN Magazine (San Francisco)
Hartford Guardian (Hartford, Conn.)
Hyundai News USA (Oakland, Calif.)
The Immigrant’s Journal (New York)
The Immigrant Magazine (Los Angeles)
India Journal (Los Angeles)
India West (San Leandro, Calif.)
Inquirer.net (Daly City, Calif.)
Jamaicans.com (Miami)
Jambalaya News (New Orleans)
Jewish News of Greater Phoenix (Phoenix)
KoreAm (Gardena, Calif.)
Korea Daily (Los Angeles)
Korean News Week (San Jose, Calif.)
La Voz (Phoenix)
La Opinión (Los Angeles)
La Raza News (Memphis)
Manila Mail (Washington)
Miami Diario (Miami)
Mundo Hispánico (Atlanta)
Nguoi Viet (Westminster, Calif.)
NM Compass (Albuquerque)
The Perspective (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Philippine News (Burlingame, Calif.)
Philippines Today (San Bruno, Calif.)
Rio Grande Digital (Las Cruces, N.M./El Paso, Tex.)
Rumbo (Houston)
Sada-e Pakistan (New York)
Sampan (Boston)
Siliconeer (Fremont, Calif.)
Sing Tao (San Francisco)
Sing Tao (New York)
Sound of Hope Radio (San Francisco)
Tribuna Newspaper (Danbury, Conn.)
Tri-State Defender (Memphis, Tenn.)
Two Rivers Tribune (Hoopa, Calif.)
Vida en el Valle (Fresno, Calif.)
World Journal (New York)
Zethiopia (Washington)

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New America Media

New America Media is the country's first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 3,000 ethnic news organizations. Over 57 million ethnic adults connect to each other, to home countries and to America through 3000+ ethnic media outlets, the fastest growing sector of American journalism. Founded by the nonprofit Pacific News Service in 1996, NAM is headquartered in California with offices in New York and Washington D.C., and partnerships with journalism schools to grow local associations of ethnic media.