May Day, 2017

Here we are again, May 1, International Workers Day. As usual, there are the parades in cities around the world. Here, in this country, in addition to the pro-union speeches, Americans are taking to the streets to protest immigration enforcement. As they have throughout the last two Presidential eras, they are protesting the arrest and deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Why? These street protests are just a waste of energy. My generation learned that back in the 1960s.

All of the anti-war protest and pro-environment protest of that era accomplished nothing! Change came only when the protest moved from the streets to the offices of our members of the House of Representatives and of the Senate. Once our elected representatives saw the light, President Johnson had the rug pulled out from under him. President Nixon may have run on ending the Vietnam War, but Congress was already telling the military to shut the war down.

This is what needs to be done about undocumented immigrants: Congress must be pressured by ordinary citizens to tackle comprehensive immigration reform. The piecemeal approach of the last few decades since the last comprehensive reform has left us with the mess we have today. The power lays with Congress - according to the Constitution, only Congress can change the immigration laws to fix this mess.

If you feel strongly about any issue affecting our nation, call or write or email your Representative or Senator today!