The year: 1986. Pound Puppies and the Garbage Pail Kids are flying off the shelves of your local toy store. Eggs cost $0.87 a dozen, and gas costs $0.93 a gallon. You’ve just heard about this new TV program called the "Oprah Winfrey Show," and you have plans to see "Top Gun" in theaters, but first you have to look up the times in the newspaper, not the internet. Very few people have a mobile phone – and nobody has heard of companies called "Facebook", "Amazon", or "Google."  

This isn’t just a nostalgic throwback to memories from 36 years ago – it’s also what the world looked like the last time we passed meaningful major immigration reforms. 

Act now and urge Congress to pass immigration reforms.  

While our world – from grocery bills to movie times to mobile phones – have changed dramatically, our country’s immigration policies have not: even though the United States faces a looming demographic crisis, with population growth at just 0.1% a year, and critical labor shortages, which both could be addressed through increased immigration. Meanwhile, there is overwhelming support for legislation that would address key components of our broken immigration system.   

In 2021, the House of Representatives passed legislation that received bipartisan support that would provide permanent solutions for Dreamers, those with Temporary Protected Status, and the agricultural workforce – communities that have proven essential to our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R – FL) introduced the Dignity Act – a constructive and welcome step towards negotiating a bipartisan bill for needed reforms.  

Take action and tell your Senators to pass bipartisan immigration reform.  

It’s past time to permanently solidify the contributions of immigrants who are integral to our communities. Commonsense solutions are popular, practical, and will allow immigrants to fill important workforce needs – and enrich our culture and our communities. Now more than ever, Congress must take long-overdue action to pass needed immigration reforms.  

Your voice is crucial to making these reforms happen. Public pressure is key to urging members of Congress to act, and to help them understand how important these issues are to their constituencies. Act now to contact your Senators and urge them to bring our immigration system out of the mid-Eighties into the 21st century.  

Thank you for all you do for immigrant communities,  

Laurence Benenson
Vice President of Policy & Advocacy
National Immigration Forum