One week before Thanksgiving, MomsRising, SEIU, Herd on the Hill, Mormon Women for Ethical Governance, UndocuBlack, CASA and allies will visit Capitol Hill to tell members of Congress why they’re thankful for the immigrants in their lives. The groups will also remind members of Congress that the diversity of our nation is what makes us strong, innovative and prosperous – and we’re thankful to live in the United States of America together. The coalition will hold a news conference with Sen. Chris Van Hollen to talk about the many ways immigrants contribute to our nation’s success and encourage Congress to pass a clean DREAM Act and to take action to protect the legal status of 320,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients.
 
What:                 News conference on the importance of immigrants, followed by delivery to
                           members of Congress
When:                Thursday, November 16, 2017, 11:30 AM 
                           Deliveries will take place between 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM
Where:                S-115, U.S. Capitol
Speakers:            Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
                            Donna Norton, MomsRising
                            Jaime Contreras, SEIU
                            Sharlee Glenn, Mormon Women for Ethical Governance
                            Cindy Kolade, a DACA recipient and member of UndocuBlack
                            Gustavo Torres, CASA
 
Following the news conference, advocates will deliver Thanksgiving-themed cookies shaped like turkeys to dozens of senators and representatives, along with petitions signed by 25,000 people in support of the DREAM Act and protecting TPS recipients. They will also deliver personal stories of gratitude for immigrants from people in every state.
 
The group will meet with representatives of Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee and will visit the offices of Sens. Lamar Alexander, Susan Collins, Bob Corker, Dean Heller, John Hoeven, John McCain, Dan Sullivan, Thom Tillis, Pat Toomey and Rep. Paul Ryan.
 
MomsRising and Mormon Women for Ethical Governance have also organized visits to senators’ local offices in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Utah and Washington State to deliver their own stories of gratitude for immigrants and call on Congress to stand with DREAMers and TPS recipients.
 
MEDIA NOTE: MomsRising staff and other participants will be available for interviews in both English and Spanish. Contact Emily Hecker at 202-371-1999 or emily@prsolutionsdc.com to set up an interview. To see this advisory in our newsroom, click here.