"Amnesty [for undocumented migrants] was a clear differentiator between myself and Eric Cantor, because it fits into the narrative that Eric has not been present in the district, and was out of touch – he was supporting the Chamber of Commerce agenda on that one".
The workers, who were undocumented, felt they had little choice but to stay quiet and continue to work for such low pay.
"We are undocumented but that doesn't mean they have to profit from our hunger".
The group sought to share stories from contributors who are undocumented, thereby attaching sympathetic faces to the fractious immigration debate.
The migrants and their sympathisers therefore prefer "without papers" or "undocumented".
In June Mr Obama said his administration would not deport undocumented immigrants who arrived in America as children.
And, since migrants working abroad send hundreds of millions of dollars home every year, the decision amounted to substantial disaster relief.By August 5th over 88,000 Hondurans had applied for TPS, and some 5,000 Nicaraguans (most undocumented Nicaraguans qualify for permanent residency rights under a separate programme).
Efforts to crack down on the larger pool of undocumented immigrants could be a distraction.Henry Cuellar, a Democratic congressman from Laredo, Texas, says that he would break immigration reform into three component goals: securing the border, creating a guest-worker programme and figuring out what to do about the estimated 12m people who are already in America, undocumented.
Unbanked immigrants make good marks: they carry a lot of cash, especially after payday, and if they are undocumented they may be reluctant to go to the police.A study in North Carolina found that in counties with branches of the Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU one of America's fastest growing credit unions, which serves North Carolina's growing Latino community robberies fell steadily.
In fact, though, immigration reform is becoming harder.The immigration bill that died in 2007 would have legalised undocumented workers, stepped up enforcement of existing laws and increased the supply of immigrant workers.
During his tenure, extensive environmental legislation passed to protect the Chesapeake Bay, gay marriage was legalized, the minimum wage was raised, the death penalty was abolished and undocumented immigrants were allowed to receive driver's licenses.
