Pennsylvania Immigration & Citizenship Coalition

Pennsylvania Immigration & Citizenship Coalition
Tell PA Legislators to #StoptheHate!

This year Pennsylvania legislators have already introduced five (5) bills that target immigrant and refugee communities in the state. Many state legislators believe that because both President Trump and Senator Toomey campaigned on the idea of punishing “Sanctuary Cities” in particular and immigrant/refugee communities in general, that they should follow suit and introduce and support punitive, discriminatory policies that target immigrant and refugee communities.

Now is the time to tell our elected representatives to #StoptheHate!

On February 7, 2017, the PA Senate passed SB10, a bill targeting the many counties and cities in Pennsylvania that have policies limiting local law enforcement collaboration with ICE. This bill must be considered and voted on by the PA House before the Governor can sign or veto. We believe that legislators should be focusing on issues that will help our communities – raising the minimum wage, funding for public schools, increasing access to healthcare – not passing punitive and discriminatory policies like SB10 or the many other anti-immigrant bills currently introduced in both the House and Senate.

Stop PA Anti-Immigrant Legislation (2017)

Please enter your address, including zip code, to pull up the information for your representatives.

We have written two short, basic emails for you to use. One email will be sent to your PA House Representative and the second email will be sent to your PA Senator. Please personalize the emails! We have posted summaries of all current anti-immigrant legislation that you can use if you would like to refer to specific bills.

Once you’ve completed the email, consider calling the offices as well.

In order to address your message to the appropriate recipient, we need to identify where you are.
Please look up and use your full nine-digit zip for the best results.
Please enter your zip/postal code:
Some additional talking points you can use:

Immigrants are an important part of local community revitalization: The arrival of immigrants has spurred economic growth and helped revive cities and towns across Pennsylvania.

New job growth, new businesses and purchasing power: Immigrants are a critical component of Pennsylvania’s labor force and business community. Immigrants comprised 7.1% of the state workforce in 2011. Latinos and Asians wield $26.4 billion in consumer purchasing power, own businesses with sales and receipts of $14.8 billion and employ more than 73,000 people.

Filling the gap created by an aging workforce and urban population loss: Without immigrants, Pennsylvania’s population would have declined between 2000 and 2013.

Paying taxes: Immigrants pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits. Undocumented immigrants paid $135 million in Pennsylvania state and local taxes in 2010 and undocumented immigrants contribute approximately $8.5 billion in Social Security and Medicare funds each year.

Immigrants feed Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania’s $6.7 billion agriculture and food production industry is key to the state remaining competitive in the global economy. Leaders in Pennsylvania’s agribusiness sector have testified to the need for immigrant labor to supplement waning domestic interest in farming jobs and sustained expansion of this sector.
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Sources:
[1] Immigration Policy Center, “New Americans in Pennsylvania”, May 2013.
[2] Humphreys, J.M., The Multicultural Economy 2010, Selig Center for Economic Growth, University of Georgia, 2010.
[3] Bipartisan Policy Center, “Immigration in Pennsylvania”, January 30, 2014.
[4] Immigration Policy Center, “Unauthorized Immigrants Pay Taxes, Too”, April 2011.
[5] Eduardo Porter, “Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security With Billions, New York Times, April 5, 2005.
[6] Howells, M., “Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs.” PLS Committee News, Pennsylvania Legislative Services, Oct. 23 2007; Carl Weiss, “Immigration Reform Will Help Pennsylvania Agriculture”, PennLive Op-Ed, October 23, 2013; Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, 2014 Agricultural Labor Reform, January 2014

2100 Arch Street, 4th Floor | Philadelphia, PA | 19103
Phone: (215) 832-0636 | Fax: (267) 256-2119 | E-mail: admin@paimmigrant.org
Copyright © 2014 Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition
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