May 11, 2007 - The Polish American Congress, Arizona
division has had the opportunity to send a signal to the lawmakers in
Washington, D.C. that the Polish community in Arizona is united behind
the concept of changing the Visa Waiver Program within the USCIS. Led by
President Nick Horchem, the Polish American
Congress of Arizona has drawn attention to the Polish visa waiver cause
by recruiting the efforts of State Representative
John Kavanagh of Arizona, a brother Knight of the Knights of
Columbus, to introduce a resolution before the Arizona Legislature
demanding a immigration reform. Rep. John Kavanagh introduced House
Resolution HCR 2007 (“Resolution”) before the Arizona House of
Representatives which sent a signal to the Secretary of State of the
United States, and both Houses of Congress that Poland should be part of
the visa waiver program.In the mean time, the Polish American
Congress actively recruited both those of Polish origin and of other
ethnicities to sign a petition in support of the Resolution. The
Resolution was introduced before the House Committee on Homeland
Security for debate. Lukas Grabiec, current
1st Vice-President of the Polish American Congress, presented the case
for the Poles of Arizona before the Legislature. He alluded to the fact
that Poland is one of the closest allies of the United States in Europe
and worldwide. As a member of European Union, Poland is a free-market
economy, and Poland’s integration within the European structure has had
a stabilizing effect on its economy. The diplomatic, political, military
and economic status of Poland has never been better in history. He
commented, however, that personal contact between families of ordinary
individuals is lagging behind because of the burdensome process of
obtaining visas for those wishing to visit relatives in this country and
those wishing to come here as tourists. Polish citizens have to go
through long, capricious, complicated and expensive processes to obtain
visas to come to the U.S. Mr. Grabiec mentioned that since the
Solidarity Movement led by Lech Walesa spearheaded the downfall of
Communism in Europe in 1989, Poland has undergone great social political
and economic changes and is a nation committed to traditional values,
rules of law, freedom and democracy, the same values as in the U.S. He
stated that on April 15, 1991 Poland unilaterally repealed its visa
obligations for U.S. citizens wishing to travel to Poland for a period
of ninety days. This repeal has not yet been reciprocated.
His comments and those of Rep. John Kavanagh were met positively
before the committee which voted unanimously that the Resolution should
be passed. This success did not stop as both the House of
Representatives and the Senate passed the Resolution on February 12,
2007 and April 2, 2007 respectively. This unicameral piece of
legislation has been passed on to the respective parties in Washington
D.C. As a result, the Arizona Polish community has displayed and
demonstrated a united voice behind the much needed changes in the
immigration laws of the U.S.
On April 29, 2007 the Polish American Congress, Arizona division was
able to celebrate this success during its annual spring picnic whereby
Rep. John Kavanagh presented the Polish American Congress with an
official framed print of the legislation passed. During this picnic the
Poles of Arizona were able to thank Rep. Kavanagh for his work for the
Polish community.
Lukasz Grabiec
1st Vice-President Polish American Congress Arizona
See also: State Resolutions
for Including Poland in Visa Waiver Program