The recent blow to immigration reform in Arizona shows that now more than ever we need to send a strong message to our officials in Congress that the time to wait for comprehensive immigration reform is over – we need to act now.

“The overlying mantra is that we belong here, this is our country, too,” said Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations “That’s something you do not through assertive statement, but assertive action.”

Sign-up and Participate in Muslim Action Day!! Meet with elected officials and make your voice heard. Join Muslims from across the state, of all backgrounds and ages, for a day at our state capitol. Hear from State Senators, Representatives and other officials while having the opportunity to stand up for yourself and your community to the officials that represent you.

CBS 2’s Roseanne Tellez says Arab Americans are told to check white for race. But for many of the estimated four million Arab-Americans – that doesn’t seem to be telling the whole story.
Reema Ahmad is with the Council on American Islamic Relations. She says the most important thing, is civic duty. Especially since some Arab pockets of the city had low participation for the last census.

Tuesday, February 2nd, is your chance to have your voice heard by our representatives. Click here to read a lists of some of the candidates running for office.

If you are in need of a ride to your polling site contact CAIR-Chicago to coordinate transportation.

“Change” is the word that still lingers the minds and hearts of over 400 Chicagoans who gathered on November 3 at the Spertus Institute and Grant Park to commemorate the election of President Barack Obama. And they wanted to make sure that the word remained important to Obama as well.

Ahmad congratulated officials at the 2009 Illinois Committee for Honest Government’s (ICHG) Distinguished Service Awards Reception, saying their service to the people of this state “is to be commended and emulated by us all.” She also encouraged elected officials to approach their Muslim constituents who are becoming increasingly involved in the political arena and are actively serving their local communities.

“Surely Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) did not intend on peeling the scab off of a healing wound when he spoke last Thursday at a conference in Washington D.C., but his comment, drawing a contrast between being Muslim and being ‘good,’ has done just that.” -Gov. Affairs Coordinator Reema Ahmad. Read the rest of Reema’s article on her blog, The Mobilizer.

“This is not just an immigration issue; this is a human rights issue. All Americans should unite to fix this broken system that currently denies America a realistic, fair and humane solution to the issue of 10 million undocumented residents of the US,” says CAIR-Chicago Government Affairs Coordinator, Reema Ahmad.

Support CAIR-Chicago and other individuals of conscience today, and all through September, in making comprehensive immigration reform a priority in Congress.