Lobbying 101
Last week, my colleagues and I traveled to Washington D.C. to visit our Senators and Representatives offices and talk with them about immigration reform. It takes a lot of effort to make that trip, and it costs time/money, but it is well worth doing.
Here is what I learned: Senator Roberts from Kansas is truly on his way out of office – he had a young staffer meet with us who didn’t know a thing about Kansas, much less our complicated Immigration Laws. Rep. Sharice Davids’ office has a knowledgeable Immigration staff member who was interested in hearing from Kansans about real stories on the ground. Please call that office or drop in to the Overland Park office to express your concerns about our broken immigration system.
On the Missouri side, we were stood up by Senator Josh Hawley’s staff – a statement loud and clear that Immigration attorneys are a low priority. Opposite experience at Senator Moran’s office on the Kansas side, where the staff was anxious to find ways to fix the problems with our worker visas, etc.
Taking the time to visit, call, write, e-mail, does make a difference. You do not have to be a citizen to express your opinions to the staffers, and as the saying goes – “the squeaky wheel gets the oil.”
Speak up!
