RIFFA CIR ASAP confidential talking points 4 your i’s only, Carlos, disclose with caution!

To: Carlos Velasquez, enlavidanueva@yahoo.com

From:  Tim Paynter

Carlos,  Here are the confidential RIFA Cir talking points I promised you.

• The average English speaker does not know what immigration reform is all about.  It is time English speaking citizens start talking with each other.  Information is power.
• The bill provides comprehensive immigration reform, which means it addresses conservative concerns about border security while resolving immigration problems in the U.S.
• Section 101 of the act addresses border security.  It provides a billion dollars a year to beef up security in major sea ports.  It provides bullet proof vests for all border patrol agents.  It provides a comprehensive assessment of our current border security plan so we don’t spend money foolishly and we make our security investment dollars count.
• We are spending billions of dollars a year catching and rounding up undocumented workers.  The money could be better spent targeting drug traffickers and terrorists instead of chasing down poor people.
• The law in Arizona will make reporting a crime as serious as rape difficult.  A child who is raped or molested will be reticent to report it as the entire family could be deported.  The perpetrator would get away since there would be no witnesses.  Other problems exist including straining police protection and racial profiling.  Immigration reform is badly needed to combat abusive legislation.
•  
• The bill includes provisions of the Dream Act, which is legislation that will allow immigrant children to go to college and break the chain of poverty.
• While the bill provides an eventual path to legalization, it is not amnesty.  The process requires passing a background check, payment of a fine and on paper will take 6 years.  With backlogs, the process could take 10 to 15 years.  
• The total potential fines could be over 2.5 billion dollars!
• With the recession ending, the U.S. will have difficulty providing adequate labor for retiring baby boomers.  The law provides for how new labor will be admitted to the U.S.
• ICE Raids are on the increase during the Obama administration.  Currently, ICE prides itself on massive round ups which yank mothers and children out of bed at 4:00 in the morning. 
• ICE claims it has a program targeting criminal illegal aliens but you don’t need to break much of a law to considered criminal and therefore worth tracking down.  A simple DUI may be enough, even if it happened years ago.
• Deportations break up families.  They often leave a mother here fending for her children with the father in Mexico.  In other scenarios, a child is deported to Mexico while his mother, father and siblings remain in the U.S. 
• A U.S. citizen child who returns to Mexico with his undocumented mother or father will grow up in the Mexican culture, learn Spanish and not understand the U.S. system.  At age 18 he may re-enter the country and claim his citizenship.  This is a horrible way to treat a U.S. citizen.  A simple solution is to allow his family to complete their migration process and allow the U.S. citizen a chance to grow up in culture of America. 
• Family values don’t support breaking up of families.
• RIFA Stands for Reform Immigration For America.  I think the Spanish version is Reforma Migratoria Pro Amercia.  This is a national movement comprised of several civil rights groups who banded together to bring the message of immigration reform to you and me.

     There are a lot more items you might talk about.  These will get you started.  You will be amazed at how many people are misinformed.  Years of conservative talk radio without a counter-balancing point of view have caused confusion about the issue.

     I wish you the best of luck.  I won’t say guard these with your life, but I can tell you a person with a closed mind will not be able to understand the points.  You might as well not waste your time on them.

     The Philadelphia Immigration Examiner has a good article on the matter.

Here is a real fun one: RIFA Nevada

Some other great resources: 

     The National Immigration Forum

     The Center for American Progress

     The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
     These are my own points of view. I don’t speak for the Reform  Immigration For America people ( RIFA ), or Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR ASAP) proponents.  You can check the RIFA website.  By the way, there will be marches and events on May 1st throughout the nation.  Anyone who is interested in learning about immigration should attend one.  

     Sincerely,

     Tim Paynter

c.c.  Mike Stevens, Phil Shorter, Miguel Aguilar, Raul Serengati, Steven B. Serious, Jes I. Can @ indonesia center for fair treatment

The contents of this communication are confidential and intended for the person addressed only.