Below is a press release from immigration advocates in Nevada, who held a press conference today asking Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) where he stands on immigration reform:
Leaders from Nevada’s Latino, Asian and immigrant communities gathered on a conference call with reporters on Wednesday to ask where Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) stands on the bipartisan immigration bill working its way through the Senate, and call for his support.
Nearly a month has passed since a bipartisan group of Senators introduced immigration reform legislation and last week the Senate Judiciary Committee began a detailed mark-up of that bill. As the bill gets closer to a Senate floor vote, Senator Heller has yet to say whether he supports the bipartisan bill that would reform the country’s broken immigration system and help both Nevada’s economy and tens of thousands of Nevada families.
On the call, speakers identified some of the reasons why Heller should support the bipartisan Senate immigration bill. Here are just five:
1. The number of Latino and Asian voters is growing rapidly in Nevada
- According to the Census Bureau, the number of Nevada Latino voters jumped 32%, and the number of Nevada Asian-American voters more than doubled, from the 2008 to 2012 elections
- In 2012, Latino voters comprised about 15% of the Nevada electorate, up from 11.6% in the 2008 election and just 7% in the 2000 election
- In 2012, Asian-American voters comprised about 7% of Nevada’s 2012 electorate, compared to 3.4% in 2008
2. Latinos and Asian-Americans in Nevada care deeply about immigration reform
- Latino voters in Nevada care about – and vote on – immigration issues. 2012 Election eve polling of NV Latinos conducted by Latino Decisions found that 61% of Latino voters in NV said President Obama’s deferred action announcement for DREAMers made them “more enthusiastic” about supporting him, and the same number said Mitt Romney’s support for hardline immigration policies made them “less enthusiastic” about supporting him.
- According to a recent study released by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), 87% Asian-American voters in Nevada support immigration reform, including 68% of those who voted for Sen. Dean Heller. In addition to these high levels of support for reform, Nevada Asian-Americans were less likely to support the Republican candidate for President in 2012 than Asian-American voters in most other states.
3. Nevada has the most to gain from immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
- With 7.2 percent of its population living in the shadows, Nevada is the state with the highest percentage of undocumented immigrants
- Even with no state income tax, families headed by undocumented immigrants in Nevada paid $133.5 million in state and local taxes in 2010, according to analysis by the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy and Immigration Policy Center.
- If Congress passes immigration reform, that contribution would only grow. Writing for the Center for American Progress, Professor Raul Hinojosa calculates that the wages of currently undocumented workers in Nevada would rise by $970 million if they were legalized. They would contribute to the creation of an additional 23,000 jobs, and grow Nevada’s tax coffers by another $249 million.
4. Nevadans across the political spectrum support reform with a path to citizenship
- In addition to labor unions and others who have been leading the charge, the Nevada Republican party endorsed a pathway to citizenship in January 2013
- By a 37-3 margin in the Nevada Assembly and unanimously in the Nevada Senate, the Nevada state legislature passed a resolution in April that calls on the federal government to pass comprehensive immigration reform
5. Senate Republicans who oppose immigration reform are among the party’s most extreme members – a position that won’t fly in Nevada
- The vocal opponents to immigration reform legislation are Republican Senators like Alabama’s Jeff Sessions and conservative organizations and figures like the embattled Heritage Foundation, Rush Limbaugh, Pat Buchanan, and the sponsor of Arizona’s SB1070 ‘papers, please’ legislation, Russell Pearce. Those positions and associations won’t fly in today’s Nevada.
Said Yvanna Cancela, Political Director for the Culinary Union Local 226 and moderator of the call:
This is a very exciting moment because we have an opportunity to make history with immigration reform. This is not only important for the country but is particularly important for us in Nevada,” “We’ve seen here in Nevada that there’s a true political imperative for Republicans to support immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship and we’re looking for Senator Heller to get behind real reform.
Astrid Silva, from Dream Big Vegas and organizer for PLAN said:
Deferred Action is a temporary fix that protects me, but DREAMers in Las Vegas and all over Nevada want assurances from Senator Heller that he will fight for us, and support the Senate bill that provides a permanent solution to our immigration problem to help not only us, but our parents, who are the original DREAMers.
Juan Serafica, Secretary of OCA Las Vegas, an Asian Pacific American advocacy group, said:
I am not alone in my story; in fact, there are far too many Asian immigrants who share my struggle. Right now, there is an estimated 4.3 million Asian immigrants waiting in line, waiting to be reunited with their families. These are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters who only want to work hard and live the American Dream. The Asian and Pacific Islander community represents nearly eight percent of Nevada’s population. From students to small business owners, these communities want reform and want a fair immigration system.
Maria Mares, a housekeeper at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas also joined the call and said,
This is the right thing to do for Nevada and the right thing to do for the rest of the country. We cannot let politics or opponents tear apart this issue. We’re making sure that our voice on this issue is heard and that Senator Heller hears us loud and clear: the time is now.
Fernando Romero, Regional Field Coordinator in Nevada for National Council of La Raza, said:
Although Senator Heller has acknowledged that he supports comprehensive immigration reform, he has done so quite tacitly and without any fanfare. It behooves Senator Heller to stand more solidly with Republican Senators Rubio, Graham, McCain and Flake and publicly support and advocate for a viable immigration reform bill.
Wednesday’s call was part of a day of action where Nevadans from across the state will call and fax Senator Heller’s office asking him to publicly endorse the Senate bipartisan immigration reform bill.
