Press Release

Monday, June 1st, 2009

For Immediate Release
Elias Feghali, (615) 775-1069, elias@tnimmigrant.org

Momentum for Immigration Reform

builds in Tennessee, throughout
Nation
Community leaders join together in national Reform Immigration For
America campaign
Nashville, TN–Local labor, faith, business, and immigrant leaders from throughout Tennessee
gathered today to proclaim their support for immigration reform. As partners of the Reform
Immigration FOR America Campaign, a broad-based national effort to fix the broken immigration
system through a comprehensive legislative approach, these community leaders demonstrated
the diverse coalition that is spearheading the movement for reform.

Avi Poster, president of the Coalition for Education about Immigration, kicked off the event,
saying, "comprehensive immigration reform is long overdue, as evidenced by the increasing
rancor that has defined national and local conversations about immigration and the regressive
ways in which communities have responded to the problems created by our broken national
immigration system." He continued, "unfortunately, the absence of reform has given rise to the
adoption of local public policies that aggravate rather than solve problems.”

Throughout the conference, speakers kept returning to one central theme: “Immigration is what’s
right for the economy, it’s what’s right for our families, and it’s what’s right for America,” said
Remziya Suleyman, policy coordinator for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

The Vice-President of Program Service for Community Nashville, Anthony Johnson, added,
“America is built on a system of values that embraces everyone. Unfortunately, the current
system is an affront to those values, and needs to be reformed immediately.”

Some of the leaders are headed to Washington, D.C. this week as part of a national summit on
immigration reform. Coming exactly a week before President Obama holds a top-level meeting
about immigration with key Congressional members, the conference and the summit serve as

The Coalition for Education about Immigration (CEI) is a grassroots organization devoted to facilitating educated, rational
and informed conversation on immigration and related issues. www.educationaboutimmigration.com
clear indication that there is broad support and building momentum towards reform legislation
this year.
###

For media inquiries to the Reform Immigration For America Campaign National Press Office,
please contact: Shuya Ohno, cell (202) 309-5645, sohno@immigrationforum.org

The Coalition for Education about Immigration (CEI) is a grassroots organization devoted to facilitating educated, rational
and informed conversation on immigration and related issues. www.educationaboutimmigration.com