Florida Voices for Immigration Reform is an interactive report featuring the real stories of Floridians who have been impacted by our nation’s broken immigration system. The report calls on Congress to pass legislation reforming our nation’s broken immigration system and including a path to citizenship for America’s aspiring citizens.
In creating the report, the ACLU of Florida established a toll-free hotline which individuals used to share their personal story of how the immigration system has impacted their lives. These stories were collected by the ACLU of Florida and the Florida Immigrant Coalition as part of the “Say Yes” campaign. Dozens of stories were collected, describing the experiences of aspiring citizens and their families who have faced hardships, been kept from participating in our economy, and even broken families apart. Many of these individuals shared their stories anonymously or under pseudonyms because of the fear that comes with living in the shadows as our current laws force millions of aspiring citizens to do every day.
All of the collected stories will be submitted to the Library of Congress to be preserved as part of the record of our nation’s ongoing legislative debate over immigration reform.
Based on the personal stories shared with the ACLU and research by public policy groups, and by business and faith leaders on the impact of various immigration reform proposals, the report makes policy recommendations for members of Congress on various specific issue areas including the path to citizenship, protections for workers, the so-called SAFE Act, and due process rights for immigrants. The ACLU also collected the names of over 2,000 Floridians who signed a petition calling on Congress to pass common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform which provides aspiring citizens with a path to citizenship.
Download the interactive PDF of the report
Hear the stories shared with the ACLU of Florida
Read the transcripts of the stories shared with the project
See the over 2,000 Floridians who called on Congress to pass reform with a path to citizenship.