The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Percy Sutton, a prominent civil rights lawyer, politician, and successful businessman, died this past weekend. He was 89.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D. Ill., introduced a bill last week to reform the nation's broken immigration system. The legislation includes provisions that would provide undocumented immigrants with a pathway to citizenship and establish a commission to determine the future flow of workers into the United States.

"Our nation's immigration policies should be pro-family, pro-job and pro-security," Gutierrez said at a press conference. "This bill accomplishes all three."

Under the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP), immigrants would have to satisfy certain requirements before legalizing their status, including learning English, passing a criminal background check, paying a fine and any back taxes, and proving they were legally present in present in the United States continuously since the day the bill was introduced. On the security front, it provides additional funding to beef up port and border security infrastructure, and to assist states fighting drug smuggling and human trafficking.

The House on Wednesday passed another six-month extension of unemployment benefits and extended the COBRA health care subsidy that was set to expire at the end of December.

The COBRA benefit — created under the stimulus bill earlier this year — pays for 65 percent of a laid-off worker's cost of continuing coverage under an employer's health insurance plan. For many families, it is the only way they can continue to pay for coverage. According to Families USA, the average cost for family coverage under an employer COBRA plan was $1,111. The bill now moves on to the Senate.

The unemployment and COBRA insurance extensions are critical lifelines for millions of Americans trying to survive the worst recession since the Great Depression. But they are only stop-gap measures.

A broad coalition of 60 organizations, including The Leadership Conference, is calling on Congress to pass legislation now that will put millions of Americans back on the job.

The American Bar Association, American Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Drug Policy Alliance, and The Sentencing Project are urging Congress to pass legislation that would restore the right to vote in federal elections to formerly incarcerated citizens.

The Leadership Conference's president and CEO, Wade Henderson, received the Cornelius R. "Neil" Alexander Humanitarian Award today from the District of Columbia Commission on Human Rights and the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights for his commitment to advancing the civil and human rights of all Americans.

"The fact that this award commemorates Neil Alexander means a great deal to me. As the human rights commission's chief hearing officer for 20 years, Neil Alexander was a tireless and largely unsung champion of civil and human rights. Our city and the struggle for equal justice benefitted immensely from his legal expertise and his leadership in enforcing the District's human rights law," Henderson said in his acceptance speech.

Calling the current jobs crisis affecting millions of Americans a "continuing human tragedy," President Obama this week outlined a series of steps intended to boost job growth and continue relief for the unemployed.

The plan includes expanding tax breaks and incentives to small businesses, increasing spending on infrastructure, and a new program of tax rebates for retrofitting homes for energy efficiency. The president also called for the extension of emergency benefits for the unemployed and support for local governments facing budget shortfalls and layoffs.

"We avoided the depression many feared," Obama said in a speech at the Brookings Institution. But, he stressed, "Our work is far from done." 

John Payton, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that will limit Americans' access to courts.

The Treasury Department unveiled a new plan yesterday seeking to make a $75 billion federal program to help struggling homeowners more effective.

To date, more than 650,000 mortgage holders have been granted temporary modifications on their mortgage loans under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). But as of September 1, only 1,711 mortgage modifications had been made permanent.

The latest plan will encourage lenders to make more of those modifications permanent.

"We are taking additional steps to enhance servicer transparency and accountability as part of a broader focus on maximizing conversion rates to permanent modifications," said Treasury spokeswoman Meg Reilly.