A highlight of League conventions is the workshops and caucuses on timely issues of interest. Members attend these to acquire information and deeper understanding from the program presenters and from one another, to exchange ideas and opinions, and to hear about examples of effective advocacy undertaken by local Leagues. This is where we see the value of the convention experience for grassroots members and local Leagues.

The May 2023 League of Women Voters of California (LWVC) State Convention took place while major changes at the border were developing. These will have a significant impact on immigration reform going forward. Members of the LWVC Immigration Interest Group presented an overview of the situation:

• International migration has grown dramatically, driven by climate change, economic hardships, crime and violence, and political persecution.
• Policies of the previous presidential administration dramatically restricted the ability of migrants to secure asylum in the United States.
• The current presidential administration announced a goal to facilitate legal entry for asylum seekers, to improve detention conditions, to expand avenues like refugee status and humanitarian parole, and to tighten control of the border.
• These goals have so far been advanced by executive actions, required by the impasse over immigration reform in Congress, although recently there has been some tentative progress toward a bipartisan solution.
• Meanwhile, the number of encounters at the border with people attempting to enter the United States has grown dramatically, and there remains an enormous backlog of cases pending in the asylum courts.

The LWVUS position on immigration supports humane access to asylum, family unification, and a path to citizenship. Based on this, LWVUS has advocated for immigration reforms—for example, supporting the Dream Act, which gives recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA recipients) access to legal status.

The states could expand immigrants’ access to health care, food assistance, and other benefits, as well as drivers’ licenses, in-state tuition at state universities, and other state benefits. California is a leader among the states, and LWVC has advocated in favor of many such bills.

League members who would like to learn more, to stay informed about immigration issues, and to support LWVUS and LWVC advocacy are urged to join the two grassroots immigration interest groups—the LWVUS Immigration Interest Group and the LWVC Immigration Interest Group—by contacting Jane Andrews (LWV San Diego) at jmlandrews [at] gmail.com or Katherine Gavzy of LWV-PA at katherineg [at] lwv-pa.org. The PowerPoint file presented at the caucus is available upon request.

—Katherine Gavzy