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AJC's Bridging America Project and Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research co-sponsored a one-day conference, “The Cost Savings from Implementing Immigration Reform,” in Houston on January 10, 2012. Over 300 diverse stakeholders impacted by the U.S. immigration system attended. AJC Houston will communicate with all participants on future advocacy efforts concerning immigration reform, and will discuss expanding this initiative to other cities in Texas.
Conference speakers addressed five themes:
Social Services: Deacon Joe Rubio, Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, reviewed the impact on the budgets and resource limitations of the non-profit community
Health Care: David Lopez, CEO, Harris County Hospital District, assessed the system’s costly inefficiencies
Law Enforcement: Alberto P. Cardenas, Jr., attorney for V&E and chairman of the Harris County Sheriff's Office 287G advisory committee, examined security concerns.
Education: Juliet Stipeche, board member, Houston ISD, discussed creating a system of education for all, while recognizing the emotional impact on students and families who are living in fear
Business: Larry Kellner, chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership and former CEO of Continental Airlines, analyzed the impact on unemployment and loss of tax revenues
 Dr. Stephen Klineberg of Rice University presents the demographic history of immigration in Houston. To his right: Beto Cardenas, Harris County Sheriff Department and David Lopez, Harris County Hospital District 2012 Immigration Summit Speaker Bios
2012 Program Guide - Immigration Summit: The Cost Savings of Implementing Immigration Reform
Opening Remarks
Closing Remarks
Read our press coverage:
Rice University Panel Explores the Future of Immigration Policy Beyond Partisan Politics,
Houston's Daily Digital Magazine, CultureMap, January 15, 2012
Summit at Rice Tackles Immigration Reform in Texas,
The Venture, January 12, 2012
Report: Legalizing Houston-area workers would create $1.4B in tax revenue,
Houston Chronicle, January 10, 2012
Texas can reap benefits of fair immigration reform,
Houston Chronicle, January 7, 2012
Summit pushes for new approach to immigration reform,
Jewish Herald-Voice, December 29, 2011
Houston KPFT Radio Show on AJC Houston Immigration Summit
Click here for more information on AJC's National Immigration Summit in Washington, June 2011
Read our press releases from the June 2011 summit:
The Bridging America Project
The Bridging America Project provides communities with the skills and structures necessary to achieve local support for immigration reform and counter the anti-immigrant fervor with programs and public education.
Starting in 2009, the Bridging America Project has convened leaders in Chicago, Phoenix, Houston, New Jersey, Denver, Atlanta, New York, Miami, and Washington, DC for Latino-Jewish Leadership workshops and Immigration Task Force meetings for the purpose of creating unexpected coalitions among committed and diverse community leaders. For more information about the programmatic components of this initiative, click on the links below. The declarations of principles were the outgrowth of successful policy discussions and relationship building which took place in 2009-10.
For more information, contact Ellen Carmell, Project Manager at carmelle@ajc.org | Immigration News
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