CNN Money: Zuckerberg Group Launches Immigration Reform App

Several months ago, when Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, launched a lobbying group – FWD.us – to push for immigration reform, his initial stumbles caused some observers to summarily dismiss his efforts as amateurish. Since then, Zuckerberg and his group have shown remarkable political aplomb, building support for immigration reform among high-tech industry leaders, and broadening their coalition by reaching out to Latino immigration activists. [See Zuckerberg Group Broadens Immigration Reform Lobbying Efforts, MurthyBlog, 06.Aug.2013.]

Given Mr. Zuckerberg’s technological savvy, it was probably just a matter of time before his group eventually rolled out its own app, which it recently did, in the form of Push4Reform, which will help immigration reform supporters to “connect with Congress members and take action,” according to CNN Money. [See Immigration Reform? There’s an App for That, by Laurie Segall, CNN Money, 23.Jan.2014.]

The new app reflects a keen understanding that good information is at least half the battle in any lobbying campaign; concerned citizens who want to influence the political process need to know who the players are in Congress, and where they stand, which is precisely where the new app comes in, as CNN Money reports:

“Push4Reform gathers information about members of Congress and their stances on immigration. People who use the app can enter their ZIP code to learn whether their representatives and senators support particular immigration reforms, what their reps have said publicly about the topic and find the best ways to connect with them.”

The story behind the app is interesting in its own right. CNN Money notes that Push4Reform was designed by a team of undocumented immigrants who were brought here as children – so-called DREAMers – who attended a FWD.us hack-a-thon in November, and were mentored by Mr. Zuckerberg and other Silicon Valley luminaries, like LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.

We salute Mr. Zuckerberg for staking his name, his credibility, and a chunk of his fortune to lobby for reforms that will benefit all of us.

We sense that the potential for apps and their usefulness is only at its dawn. Our own MurthyApp was recently released to provide easy mobile access to the wealth of free information available, as a public service, on MurthyDotCom, our award-winning website. The free MurthyApp is a great way to stay in-the-know on what’s happening in immigration law and policy.

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