CU community writes letter asking Rep. Rodney Davis to visit
Photo Courtesy of Anita Say Chan
Champaign residents gather at the Champaign Public Library to write letters to Rodney Davis encouraging him to come to Champaign on Monday, Feb. 13th.
February 14, 2017
Passionate members of the Champaign-Urbana community joined together on Monday to participate in C-U Immigration Forum’s “Dear Rodney: Where are you?” letter writing campaign.
The campaign, which took place at the Champaign Public Library, was directed toward Representative Rodney Davis as a way to pressure him to take a stand against President Trump’s executive orders about immigration.
“(We want constituents) to make their voices heard about various immigration issues that (Davis has) historically been on the fence about,” said Megan Flowers, secretary officer of the Immigration Forum board of governors..
“We survived the Republicans before and we’ll survive again,” community member Patricia Larsen said. “But we need to make sure that we let them know that we’re watching.”
The C-U immigration forum is calling for “humane immigration” as well as an open dialogue about these issues.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-Ill) meets with student leaders and university officials to talk about issues including sexual assault and safety at the Illini Union on Tuesday, April 5th, 2016.
“(I want to) get everyone together and have an Illinois town hall meeting,” Flowers said. “We’re encouraging a traditional and personal town hall to speak with (Davis’) constituents.”
Demonstrations against Trump’s executive order on immigration have popped up in recent weeks, with protests occurring on the Quad as well as at the Champaign airport.
“We have to keep the momentum going to let Trump know that we are not going to stand by and let them take actions against the people that we love,” Larsen said.
Sample letters were provided for any community member unsure of what to write.
“Your representatives work for you, so it’s important to add your voice, whether it’s calling or writing a letter,” Flowers said. “(Davis) is representing us so we need him to speak for our district.”
Larsen has never taken the time to write directly to the government before but could not resist this time.
“(Letter writing) is a small thing, but if we get a lot of people doing it, it makes a difference to the people who are in power right now,” she said. “Everybody in this room is a descendant of an immigrant, we’re all working together.”
