SB 833 passed in the Senate plus trip to Washington DC

This week was busy, busy, busy. Our bill, SB 833 passed in the Senate! Huge accomplishment for us! Next, the bill will be voted on in the House this week and it will be off to the Governor's office for his signature. The Governor has expressed to Causa that he would like to sign the bill at our annual grand march and rally on May 1st, very exciting!

At the federal level, my work continued to advocate for a comprehensive immigration reform. I had coffee with the staff person who works with immigration issues from the office of Congresswoman Bonamici. I had a great time meeting with her and talking about the immigration reform bill's provisions that Causa likes and dislikes. It was good to hear from her what the Congresswoman thinks of the bill. Aside from the politics talk, I enjoyed speaking with her about our personal lives and why we are so interested in politics. I was able to relate more to her and I think the feeling was mutual. It's always great when you can build relationships with people to grow your network of contacts. Two days later, I saw her again at the Congresswoman's town hall meeting in Beaverton. The town hall meeting went great, we had about five or six of Causa's supporters there asking questions about the immigration reform which was good so that both the public and the Congresswoman knew it is a priority for the community.

I was also able to go to Washington DC this week with my mom and baby sister. We attended a briefing with all of the Oregon Congressional Delegation where a student from Willamette University presented a study about mixed-immigration status families. My mom and I shared our experiences living in such a family. Following the presentation, we had meetings with the office of two of Oregon's Congressmen. It was very powerful for me to see my mom give her input and voice her opinions with such confidence to the Congressmen staff. I loved seeing her feel empowered despite the language barrier being that she only speaks Spanish. I had been in other meetings with federal legislators before, but this one was special to me because I was able to advocate next to my mom and baby sister.