The most compelling and effective way at gauging the potential of a piece of legislation is by meeting directly with the members who are going to be voting on it. Doing so may sound scary at first but remember these people work for us and it is our job to make sure they know what is important to us.
Congressional Recess is happening in 2 weeks. That means from Apr 5th to Apr 19th, your congressional representative (Both House Rep and Senators) will be in town to meet people from their districts and hear issues that concerns them.
Call and make appointments today – DO not be scared or nervous.
If they have signed on to DREAM
- Thank them for signing on (this is incredibly important: to thank our supporters)
- Explain why this is important to you, your family, community and country. Ask if there is any way you could help support this bill and ensure its passage
- Ask them to urge their fellow members who have not signed on to sponsor this bill (remember, they have all worked together so sometimes, it is just a simple “Hey, I just spoke to a member of my district and he is affected by this issue, can you consider sponsoring this bill”)
- MAKE SURE TO GET THEIR BUSINESS CARD.
If they have not signed on to DREAM:
- Explain why this is important to you and your family and most importantly, to America
- Ask if there is any reason why they have not signed on and try to alleviate those concerns
- MAKE SURE TO GET THEIR BUSINESS CARD.
(DREAM Students Luke and Juan Gomez meeting with Senator Durbin)
Lobby Resources from the United States Student Association
Sending automated letters to your member of congress:
Using the capwiz software provided by larger immigration advocacy groups such as NCLR and even at Change.org you can send letters to multiple members, just include your own contact information and the make any changes to the form letters provided.
Sample written request for meeting with member:
Your request should be brief and yet thorough, include an introduction, mention that you are a constituent of the member. If you are a part of any organization be sure to mention this organization. If you helped out with any voter drives or anything similar make sure you mention “with organization XYZ we registered over 1,200 individuals to vote.”
Specifically mention what it is you wish to speak to the member about. List your availability in as much detail as possible, let them know if you want to meet with the member at one of his/her local offices or the DC office. Here is a sample letter:
The Honorable Cardoza
United States House of RepresentativesDear Ms. Tyle [the scheduler]:
I am writing to request an appointment with Representative Cardoza on Wednesday, April 16 between 10:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or Thursday, April 17 between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
INSERT SOME PERSONAL INFORMATION indicating that you are a constituent or have some other connection to the District/State. If you are active in any local organization, school club, voter drive etc. this is the place to mention it. I will be present at this meeting along with two other students, Same Adams and Rod Fraizer, both of which happen to also be constituents of the representative.
We would like to meet with the Honorable Cardoza in his Washington D.C. office to discuss his position on immigration reform, specifically the D.R.E.A.M. Act. The D.R.E.A.M. Act has been introduced in past sessions and this bill would allow for bright dedicated young people to give something back to the United States. For far too long, undocumented immigrant youth have been left with few options. The D.R.E.A.M. Act creates a pathway towards legalization for young people brought to this country as children through no fault of their own.
Please contact me at Michael@gmail.com or [INSERT YOUR PHONE] with any questions. Of course, if necessary, we will do all we can to modify our schedule to coincide with Representative Cardoza‘s availability.
Thank you for your assistance with this request.
Sincerely,
Michael Davis
A few tips would be to add some personal information about the members track record on immigration, if they are a supporter then mention how you know they’ve supported DREAM in session 109 or whatever the case may be. Remember you can use the same letter over and over again, just remember to change the names around and any personal info you might add about the member.
