The Valley’s Largest Neighborhood Council is Partnering with Congressman Tony Cardenas to Address Immigration Issues this October 29th
VAN NUYS, CA — The Van Nuys Neighborhood Council has officially confirmed the participation of Congressman Tony Cardenas’ Chief Of Staff Sam Jammal in its October Immigration Summit. This important workshop will focus on immigration issues and helping the majority immigrant community make adjustments to their immigration status. The Immigration Summit is being held on Wednesday, October 29th from 6:30pm – 9:30pm at 6262 Van Nuys Boulevard in Van Nuys, CA.
“Our country has always been a nation of immigrants and the current system is in desperate need of reform. Eleven million people currently work and raise families in our communities without the possibility of one day becoming citizens of the United States. Now that bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the Senate, we have finally begun to carve out a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and create common sense solutions to fix our broken immigration system. We need comprehensive immigration reform to create a fair and practical path to citizenship. We also need to ensure that we respect the human and civil rights of those who come here for temporary work because those are the core principles our nation was founded upon. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House on passing comprehensive immigration reform,” said Congressman Tony Cardenas.
“The population trends in Van Nuys show that our neighborhoods have increasingly become a community of Hispanics and Latinos. They make up the majority of the population, and many of them are foreign born and are English language deficient. We plan on increasing English language proficiency through partnerships with local non-profits and similar organizations that teach English. We are also going to start distributing bilingual materials and assistance for both government and social services,” said Council President George Christopher Thomas.
“The first challenge to reforming our broken immigration system is creating a path to citizenship for those who are already here, while not encouraging further unauthorized border crossings. That is why we must strengthen our borders and develop a strategy for achieving and maintaining effective security in our border communities. Additionally, I support commonsense solutions that utilize technology to track immigrants entering on visas and allow businesses to confirm they only employ documented workers,” said Congressman Tony Cardenas.
“The second challenge is reforming our country’s guest worker program. It is important that we protect the farm workers who provide the fruit and vegetables we eat every day. In reforming our guest worker program, Congress needs to be cautious about weakening the modest requirements in the current H-2A program. Any legislation must address the needs of agricultural workers such as, labor mobility, the opportunity to improve wages, safe working conditions, and a path to residency and ultimately citizenship, while treating the workers with respect and human dignity. These reforms will strengthen our economy and increase our competitiveness in the global marketplace. They will also protect our families who live in constant fear of being separated from their loved ones. Undocumented immigrants in our communities cannot achieve their full potential without having the opportunity to earn legal status,” said Cardenas.
“We are going to get more Hispanic and Latino constituents involved in the neighborhood council. The majority of the population in Van Nuys speaks Spanish as a first language, and our council will continue to represent all of the people in Van Nuys and throughout the San Fernando Valley,” said Council President Thomas.
The VNNC’s Summit and Workshop on Immigration is set for Wednesday, October 29th, 2014 from 6:30pm – 9:30pm. The location will be the Marvin Braude Constituent Services Center at 6262 Van Nuys Boulevard. The VNNC is currently seeking co-sponsors and speakers for the summit. If you would like to participate, please email Council President George Christopher Thomas at george.thomas@vnnc.org. For more information about the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council, please visit www.vnnc.org.