Immigration reform has taken the world of showbusiness in the United States by storm, with over 100 celebrities having signed a letter addressed to members of Congress and President Barack Obama urging them to pass into law an immigration bill that will offer a pathway to US citizenship for the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States.
High profile actors, artists, musicians, performers and producers were among those who signed the letter, wanting Congress to acknowledge the dignity and hope of American immigrants. “Some immigrants have waited almost a quarter of a century to be reunited with family members,” the petition, which can be seen at migrationisbeautiful.com, says. “With federal policy in tatters, states have passed immoral laws of questionable constitutionality that profile, isolate and criminalize immigrants. A broken and unjust immigration policy is bad for us all. It erodes the social fabric and undermines our shared values of equity and empathy.”
Celebrities who have put their names to the letter include Rosario Dawson, Sarah Silverman and the Roots, among many others.
The Executive Director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford University, Jeff Chang, who is also the founding member of CultureStrike and The Culture Group, has told Broadway World that the culture of the United States without immigrants would be diminished and that the celebrities concerned want to preserve the nation’s diversity. “We are all stronger when we celebrate our diversity,” Chang says.