PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
May 15, 2013

NHLA releases its analysis of the second day of the Senate mark up

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 34 pre-eminent Hispanic organizations in the United States, continues to be encouraged that the Senate Judiciary Committee is moving forward in considering the bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform proposal, S. 744. At the conclusion of second day marking up the legislation on Tuesday, no amendments have been adopted that would slow progress of the legislation.

NHLA issued letters to Senate Judiciary Committee members last week and earlier this week in which it made recommendations on how to vote on 28 amendments offered to Title I of the bill, dealing with border security, and 19 of the amendments offered to Title IV of the bill, covering non-immigrant visas. The committee on Thursday took action on six of the Title I amendments that carried over from Tuesday and six of the Title IV amendments yesterday. All NHLA recommendations on amendments to Title IV were adopted in committee.

NHLA will be making recommendations on additional amendments as the committee process moves forward. NHLA will use its vote recommendations on the amendments to S. 744 as the basis for a scorecard that will grade Senators on their immigration reform record.

Earlier this year, NHLA launched Latinos United for Immigration Reform, a grassroots mobilization campaign which includes an online platform at LatinosUnited.org for the public to engage Members of Congress, over 60 town halls across the nation – of which 40 have already been held, phone banks, and dozens of meetings with congressional offices. All these efforts combined are expected to generate over 100,000 pro-immigration reform contacts directed at Congress.

Established in 1991, The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and follow @NHLAgenda.

###

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

| Melody Gonzales | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 508-6917 |

| Brenda Arredondo | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (915) 373-1483 |

__________________________________________________________

American GI Forum | ASPIRA Association, Inc. | Casa de Esperanza | Cuban American National Council | Farmworkers Justice | Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities | Hispanic Federation | Hispanic National Bar Association | Labor Council for Latin American Advancement | Latino Justice PRLDEF | League of United Latin American Citizens | MANA, A National Latina Organization | Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund | NALEO Educational Fund | National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives | National Association of Hispanic Publications | National Association of Latino Independent Producers | National Conference of Puerto Rican Women | National Council of La Raza | National Hispana Leadership Institute | National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators | National Hispanic Council on Aging | National Hispanic Environmental Council | National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts | National Hispanic Media Coalition | National Hispanic Medical Association | National Institute for Latino Policy | National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health | National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc. | SER – Jobs for Progress National, Inc. | Southwest Voter Registration Education Project | United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce | United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce | U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute