On January 12, 2010, AJC Los Angeles Regional Director Seth Brysk joined academics, labor and community leaders, students, and grassroots activists to kick-off 2010 as the year when comprehensive immigration reform will finally be passed in the United States Congress. Professor Manuel Pastor of the University of Southern California presented results from a study finding that authorizing undocumented immigrants will add significant income tax revenue to the California State and Federal governments and will eventually benefit California's economy by $16 billion annually. READ REPORT

Seth spoke about the history of the Jewish people as an immigrant nation, starting with our forefather Abraham and more recently as immigrants to the United States. Watch the Youtube video of Seth's remarks or read the transcript below. Following his remarks, a rally was  held to announce the kick-off of a coordinated, 50 state effort to lobby Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2010.

BBC Mundo covered the event and wrote this report.

Transcript of Seth Brysk's Remarks

My name is Seth Brysk, I am Regional Director for the American Jewish Committee Los Angeles.

I am proud to stand here today as the son of immigrants, representing one of our country’s many immigrant groups – the Jewish community. Abraham, the forefather of the Jewish people, is seen as the first successful immigrant. Abraham says, and it is written in the Bible: ‘ger ve-toshav, ger’ or ‘I am a resident alien among you’. From this initial encounter, Jewish tradition taught us that "strangers" are to be welcomed and valued, as we were once "strangers in the land of Egypt."

AJC has long supported a fair, safe and comprehensive immigration policy because we understand the struggle many immigrants face in pursuit of the American dream – a struggle our people faced in the 19^th and 20th century when they immigrated here to seek safe haven from the persecution abroad. For many years, Jews in America fought to be treated with dignity and respect. Today, we are fortunate to count our community as one of the most prosperous, well-educated, and philanthropic of all the diasporic communities.

But our struggle cannot, and will not end, just because the Jewish community is no longer considered "strangers" in this land. As Dr. Martin Luther King said to a group of AJC leaders over 40 years ago, "Jews cannot ensure equality for themselves until and unless it is ensured for all." America is prosperous and strong because of its rich, vibrant and diverse culture – a culture directly linked to our immigrant past. We can only maintain our prosperity if we ensure the same rights and opportunities my parents received when they immigrated to America for current and future immigrants.　 So I stand here today, as the son of immigrants, and on behalf of an immigrant community, to fight for fairness, dignity, and respect in our laws and discourse towards immigrants. Thank you.