Immigration Reform 2013: In Veterans Day Postcards, Latino Community Groups Remind Congress Of Immigrant Service Members

Three national Latino community groups kicked off a campaign which they say is designed to keep hope alive in 2013 for the passage of immigration reform with a path to citizenship, Latinos across the United States will be sending Veterans Day postcards to their representatives in Congress on Monday to remind them of the contributions of immigrants who serve in the military. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the Hispanic Federation (HF), and Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) say Monday will be the first day in a week-long campaign in which Jesus Magaña - a 24-year-old US citizen and member of the Air Force whose sister, then a permanent resident, was detained and deported while he was overseas - will figure prominently.

"U.S. military service members fight for our freedom as Americans, even if not all of them are U.S. citizens," reads the message on the postcards. "Since September 2002, 89,095 military service members have become citizens. This Veterans Day, we honor those who defend our country and stand ready to defend their families' quest for American citizenship. Don't you think they have earned the right? The Time Is Now to pass commonsense immigration reform with a path to citizenship for families who contribute to our nation every day."

Jesus Magaña told VOXXI that two years ago, his 28-year-old sister, Alejandro Pablos, who came to the US at 2 months old and gained permanent residency at age 18 when her mother became a citizen and sponsored her, had been charged with two misdemeanors and held by authorities at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. Pablos, he said, then unknowingly signed a plea agreement which included an order of deportation. "It was like we were both fighting our own war," Magaña, who was deployed in Kuwait at the time, told VOXXI. "I was fighting for America and she was fighting for her own freedom." Pablos has since been released on bond after spending two years in detention but still faces possible deportation, as she awaits a court hearing on her appeal.

Some cities will see more locally-based Veterans Day-related mobilizations in support of immigration reform. In New York City, members of immigrant-advocacy groups and labor union the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will rally in front of Rep. Michael Grimm's Staten Island office on Monday to urge him to act on reform with a path to citizenship for the undocumented. St. Paul, Minnesota, will see a similar mobilization led by Senator Amy Klobuchar.

RELATED: New York City Unveils Pilot Program To Give Legal Representation To Immigrants Facing Deportation