H-1Bs to rally in Washington DC next week

H-1Bs to rally in Washington DC next week

Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 3:20 AM


<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1753 -- 9/11/2007

I have information from a credible source that next week corporate lobbyists
will descend on Capitol Hill for a major new push to get an H-1B increase. If
that wasn't bad enough, a bunch of dissident H-1Bs are going to DC next week
to stage a major protest. The new corporate lobbying campaign will coincide
with what is described as a huge rally of thousands of protestors who want
more H-1B and green card visas. The political action campaign called
"Immigration Voice" claims that they will rally 10,000 plus members at the
Washington Monument next Tuesday, September 18th.

Their estimates of turnout are wildly optimistic. My guess is that they will
be lucky to get several hundred protestors to DC. That said, even if they
manage to get a couple hundred H-1Bs to protest that would be quite impressive
considering that the largest protests that Americans have been able to garner
against H-1B have numbered less than a couple dozen.

To learn more about IV go here:

http://immigrationvoice.org/

Immigration Voice activities will start with a "Lobby Day" on 9/15 that will
consist of visits to members of Congress. Various lobbying efforts will
continue through 9/19.

Here is a brief itinerary:

9/15-9/16 Volunteers arrive in Washington DC and will set up banners, posters,
displays etc.

9/17: Lobby day

9/18: Rally at the Washington Monument

9/19: Second Lobby day


The first question that came to my mind when I heard about the protest is
whether a nonimmigrant and/or non-citizen can do such a thing. In Mexico it's
illegal for foreigners to engage in political activity and they will be
arrested if they are caught participating in protests or rallies. Not so in
the USA. It appears that the H-1Bs have already figured this one out, at least
according to the infamous immigration attorney Greg Siskind:

http://blogs.ilw.com/gregsiskind/2007/09/more-details-on.html

Folks - The issue has been raised about whether non-citizens are
allowed to participate in rallies. The answer is an emphatic
YES!
The main restrictions you have in participating in the world's
oldest democratic republic is in your ability to vote and your
ability to donate to election campaigns. You are most
definitely allowed to go to a rally and press your case to the
government.

Question: How much do you think Siskind charged Immigration Voice to research
this legal opinion?


<<<<< WARNING TO THE WISE! >>>>>

For those of you that want to go to DC to do a counter protest, and I haven't
heard from a single person that has planned for one, note that the DC police
are not going to be your friend and protector. This excerpt is from the IV
website at:

http://immigrationvoice.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12749

ALL PERMITS ARE IN PLACE FOR THE RALLY- METRO POLICE, CAPITOL
POLICE and NATIONAL PARKS.
NO ANTI IMMIGRANTS WILL HAVE PERMITS FOR A RALLY THE SAME DAY
IF ANYONE DISRUPTS OUR RALLY THEY WILL BE ARRESTED
OUR RIGHTS TO RALLY HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED.


The email below was sent to Immigration Voice members. They refer to a
lobbying campaign where they sent white flowers to USCIS director Emilio
Gonzalez. You can read about that in the archived newsletter titled:

2007-07-18 lawsuits filed over green cards


..... ADDITIONAL RAMBLINGS .....

I apologize for the late notice on this protest, but I just found out about it
myself. Immigration Voice, to their credit, has been organizing this thing
completely under our radar screen. It seems that even the Washington DC based
immigration reform groups have been caught off guard by this one.

What can I say? We have all been caught with our pants down!!!


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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Immigration Voice Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 13:30:19 -0700

Dear Member:

As you may already know, Immigration Voice is having a rally and gathering in
Washington DC on Sept 18th 2007.

Event details: Immigration Voice will be doing a huge rally of thousands of
members in Washington DC on September 18th. First, we would all convene at the
Washington monument at 9:00 AM. Around 11:00 AM, we would start our peaceful
protest march from Washington monument to Capitol building and reach there
approximately at 12:30 PM. Once we gather on the lawn of Capitol, a few
members of Congress would address the crowd. More details will be in
subsequent emails.

Immigration Voice will arrange for banners and placards for the rally. All you
have to do is show up. There are hundreds of members traveling from as far
away as California and Texas to attend this rally, and you shouldn t hold
back. This is rare opportunity to stand up for what you want and what you
believe in.

Lobby Day: While you are in Washington DC, if you would like to meet with your
congressman or senators then please email us at lobbyday@immigrationvoice.org
the following details:


1). Name (First name and last name).
2). Total Number of individuals with you including yourself.
3). Zip code of your residence.
4). State you live in.
5). Phone number (preferably cell-phone so that you can be reached on lobby
day if needed).
6). Date/time preference for the meeting based on your availability and travel
plans. Choose between 17th, 18th afternoon and 19th.
7). IV login handle.

We would prefer to arrange meetings and centralize this process so that we can
avoid redundant meetings and also have IV members go to different offices in
same proportion. Once we get a meeting arranged for you, we will email you
back with meeting details as well as directions on lawmaker meetings and drop-
off material that would help you make the case for skilled legal immigration
reform.

Why you should attend: Every member must participate on Sept 18th in this
rally in DC. Congress will be back from August recess in early September and
there will be a fresh look at smaller pieces of immigration related issues,
including high-skills immigration.

After having favorable consequences from the flower campaign and the San Jose
rally, it is now time to have a big event in the front-yard of congress in
Washington DC, so that the long ignored issue of visa backlogs
(retrogression) is addressed.


Please plan to take a day off on September 18th to attend this event. If you
do not live within the driving distance of DC, then there is ample time for
you to book travel by air or by train ahead of time. If you book your travel
and accommodation ahead of time (and there is plenty of time still) then you
can participate with minimal expense.

Immigration Voice wants to do something as consequential as the flower
campaign and the San Jose rally but only this time, it will be much bigger and
much more consequential aimed at congressional action on visa backlogs and
broken system of high-skills immigration. We aim to resolve this issue but we
cannot do it alone and therefore it is imperative for every one, and by that
we mean EVERY ONE to show up. If you wanted to be a part of San Jose rally but
couldn t, then now is your chance to protest peacefully and fight for a fair
system and just process.

Always remember, we are in United States legally and at the invitation of our
employers and our employers have filed our green card petitions in order to
retain us. It is only fair and only just to ask for a system that achieves
that objective without delays and without putting the immigrants in
probationary limbo for 6-12 years. And it is your obligation to yourself and
your family to stand up for your rights and ask congress to legislate and fix
the system so that it works the way it was originally intended to work.

Thanks,
Immigration Voice.


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