Saturday, March 23 - Tuesday, March 26 in Washington, D.C.
Build Bridges Not Walls: Report on Spring Lobby Weekend 2018
Right before a major spending vote in Congress, 425 young adults came to Washington, DC from across the U.S. to lobby for a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers without hurting border communities or immigrant families.
‘They tried to bury us. They did not know we were seeds.’ - Greisa Martinez Rosas, quoting a Mexican proverb.
We spent Saturday and Sunday hearing from powerful speakers about immigration policy, discussing the stories we bring, training on lobbying, and learning from experts about our policy ask: Provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers without militarizing border communities or making changes to family-based immigration.
On Monday and Tuesday, we flooded Capitol Hill with that message, visiting 180 congressional offices representing 39 different states in the days before Congress voted on major spending legislation, ultimately rejecting the president’s most extreme immigration policy proposals and budget requests.
Highlights
Greisa Martinez Rosas, Deputy Executive Director for United We Dream, delivered a moving and inspiring address about her experience as a Dreamer and her work advocating for justice for immigrants.
Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY), the first formerly undocumented immigrant to serve in Congress, encouraged participants in a rousing speech.
Congressman Jim Himes (CT) stopped by on the last day of lobbying to reinforce the urgency of the moment.