Text Messaging Vital in the Fight for Immigration Reform
Filed under: Cell Phones If you thought text messaging was just the most recent way to fill your life with regret , you’ll be happy to know the innovation is doing some good. The ease, speed, and relatively low cost of texting has made it an ideal tool for grassroots organization. It has proven particularly useful in the movement for immigration reform , as many activists and beneficiaries living illegally in the U.S. have limited access to tools such as the Internet. The Center for Community Change organized the Fair Immigration Reform Movement ( FIRM ), a group dedicated to giving voice to those who are often not free to come forward themselves. The most important tool in FIRM’s arsenal has been a text messaging network, now managed by the Reform Immigration for America campaign ( RI4A ). Rachel LaBruyere, Deputy Online Director of RI4A, told the Huffington Post , “Texting from a mobile network makes it possible for the community to quickly respond in real time when President Obama or another legislator makes a controversial or important comment about immigration reform.” The ubiquity of cellular phones, and text messaging, has been crucial to the network’s success. In one case, the network was used to ask members of RI4A to call the White House and express gratitude towards President Obama’s pursuit of immigration reform. The request was met with over 30,000 phone calls being placed. Continue reading Text Messaging Vital in the Fight for Immigration Reform Text Messaging Vital in the Fight for Immigration Reform originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read
