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June 10, 2013

National Hispanic Leadership Agenda will Score Votes and Make Recommendations on Key Amendments, Leading 'Latinos United for Immigration Reform' Campaign

Washington, D.C. -- With debate of comprehensive immigration reform legislation, S. 744, set to begin on the Senate floor, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 36 of the nation’s preeminent Latino organizations, will continue its activity on Capitol Hill and across the nation to pressure lawmakers to support comprehensive immigration reform that will allow the 11 million undocumented immigrants in our nation to earn legal status and then citizenship and recognizes the unique situation of DREAMers and agricultural workers.

“Today marks another important stepping stone in the decade-long journey toward an immigration policy that lives up to our proud American ideals of compassion and opportunity for all. Today, the Senate begins debate on comprehensive immigration reform legislation that includes a roadmap to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are contributing to our nation and our economy,” said Brent Wilkes, Vice Chair of NHLA and National Executive Director of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).

“While the legislation is far from perfect, we are encouraged at the progress the Senate has made thus far. The Latino community and the organizations of NHLA will be carefully monitoring the floor debate in the days and weeks ahead and urging members of the Senate to support improvements to the bill and defeat any amendments that would depart from core NHLA policy views. We will ensure that the Latino community knows which Senators stand with us and which do not,” said Hector Sanchez, Chair of NHLA and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA). “Senators should have no doubt where our community stands. In case last November’s election results were not clear enough, Latinos have been making their voices heard in over 50 townhalls across 24 states this year, with more yet to come.”

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 and over 60 town halls across the nation – 52 of which have already been held in 24 states and Puerto Rico, with twelve more scheduled in the coming weeks. The next town halls will take place in Richmond, Virginia tonight and in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 20.

The campaign also includes phone banks and dozens of meetings with congressional offices on Capitol Hill. All these efforts combined are expected to generate over 100,000 pro-immigration reform contacts directed at Congress.

Throughout the Senate Judiciary Committee’s consideration of S. 744, NHLA’s Immigration Committee issued recommendations to Committee members on how to vote on 183 key amendments. The committee took action on 78 of those amendments; agreeing with NHLA more than 75 percent of the time. Votes on some or all of these 78 amendments, as well as the votes to be taken by all Senators during floor debate in the coming days and weeks may be used in compiling a scorecard that will grade Senators on their immigration reform record so that Hispanic voters have a clear picture of where their elected officials stand.

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 LatinosUnited.org and follow @NHLAgenda.

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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 |

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