Action NC believes in the dignity of all people, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity. As members of We Are NC, Action NC is working to raise awareness of the economic and social contributions of immigrants in North Carolina. In December, a new House Select Committee on the State's Role in Immigration Policy was formed at the General Assembly. This new entity was created to bring North Carolina into the national immigration debate. We are opposed to any rules and regulations that dehumanize and attack NC immigrants.

To this effect, we are working with allies and everyday people in the community to organize a movement that will be inclusive of immigrants and recognizes their contributions to our community. Please take the time to sign the petition and show that we all stand together and that We ARE NC.

We Are NC is an alliance of organizations and individuals working to shift the debate on immigration in our state. We are raising awareness about the efforts of some state legislators to enact discriminatory and harmful new laws that target the people of North Carolina. We believe in the contributions of all communities, including immigrants and refugees, who have worked hard to make NC what it is today.

We need to collect as many signatures as we can, before Wednesday, March 28!

We, the undersigned, are proud to call North Carolina home. Many of us are immigrants, and the children and grandchildren of immigrants. We are the friends, neighbors, family members, co-workers and classmates of immigrants and refugees. All of us, regardless of where we were born, affirm the dignity and the rights of all people in North Carolina.

We oppose the efforts of the current State Legislature to enact immigration policies that lead to discrimination, criminalization, racial profiling, hate and economic exploitation. We oppose policies like 287(g) and the so-called ”Secure Communities” program that separate families, deny due process and equal opportunity, and divide our communities along lines of national origin, immigration status, language, skin color, religion and culture. Such policies are a direct attack on immigrant communities, but they also erode the rights of all workers and result in the harassment of people of color, both immigrant and U.S.-born.

We have seen the negative consequences of anti-immigrant legislation in places like Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. In those states, the economy has deteriorated, lawsuits have been filed, and people are being treated in ways that concern us greatly. Children are afraid to go to school; farmers and workers are losing their livelihoods as food lies rotting in the fields; citizens and immigrants alike are being wrongfully arrested.

As concerned North Carolinians, we ask Members of the House Select Committee on the State's Role in Immigration Policy, and all Members of the North Carolina General Assembly, to heed the call of reason and fairness. Stop the dehumanization of immigrants in our community. Enough is enough. Immigrants want the same things as the rest of the people in NC: a roof over their heads, an education for their children, a steady job, and to live free of harassment and discrimination. Legislators should stop dividing our communities and instead, work for policies that unite us and make us stronger.

Immigrants and refugees in North Carolina contribute positively to the social, cultural and economic fabric of our cities, towns, state, and nation. In the coming months, there will be many opportunities to build bridges and to work toward reasonable and fair public policy decisions that create a stronger and healthier North Carolina -- the kind of state that we all need and deserve. Please join us.