Conexión Américas participated in the 2013 NCLR National Latino Advocacy Days, which brought together more than 400 leaders from Latino nonprofits and civic organizations throughout the country on Capitol Hill. The focus was to discuss comprehensive immigration reform with elected officials.
Executive Director Renata Soto and Cara Sweeney, Director of Advocacy and Community Relations, met with Tennessee Congressmen Steve Cohen and Jim Cooper and with staffers from the offices of Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander and Congressman Stephen Fincher.
Cohen and Cooper said they support comprehensive immigration reform, but staffers for the other lawmakers did not offer specific opinions on the matter.
Joining Conexión Américas in the meetings was the organization Latino Memphis and a group of high school students — some of whom are undocumented — from Kingsbury High School in Memphis.
Conexión Américas is an affiliate of the NCLR, which is the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. Soto also is the vice chair of the NCLR Board of Directors.
Conexión Américas staff and members of the Board of Directors also spent a day on the Hill in Nashville March 20, meeting with state lawmakers to discuss local and state issues affecting the growing number of Hispanics in Middle Tennessee.