The Multiracial Activist - www.multiracial.com

 

 

 

December 4, 2007

Dear Member of Congress:

We, the undersigned organizations, write to express our strong opposition to H.R. 4088/S. 2368. The Secure America through Verification and Enforcement Act, introduced by Representatives Heath Shuler and Tom Tancredo, as well as Senators Mark Pryor and Mary Landrieu, offers a false promise to the American people and will not solve the issue of undocumented immigration.

We demand more from our leaders in Congress than harsh rhetoric and ineffective solutions. Congress needs to fix our immigration system in a smart way, not just throw more money at the problem. For the past twenty years, the Federal government has dramatically increased immigration enforcement and yet, enforcement-alone has not worked to stem undocumented immigration. There are now more than 12 million undocumented immigrants living and working in this country. They are here because our economy is beckoning them and because we do not have a channel for hard-working people to come here legally. Yet, the Shuler-Tancredo bill and the Pryor-Landrieu bill do nothing to address that, nor the devastation that this broken system creates: exploited workers, thousands of deaths in the desert, and over three million U.S. citizen children living in constant fear that their parents will be deported.

These problems exist because Congress has failed to update our immigration laws. Unfortunately, H.R. 4088/S. 2368 is not a solution or even a stop-gap measure. If enacted, these bills would simply make a bad situation worse, providing a windfall to bad employers by making workers more exploitable, pushing them deeper underground and off the tax rolls. It would harm U.S. workers displaced by the flawed employment verification program, and divert more U.S. tax dollars away from apprehending terrorists in order to detain and deport undocumented workers such as landscapers or dishwashers.

H.R. 4088/S. 2368 is a misguided political response to a policy problem where voters have already spoken. The vast majority of Americans think that rounding up and deporting 12 million undocumented immigrants is a fantasy and a waste of federal dollars. Furthermore, Americans do not want to wait an estimated 91 years and spend the projected $200 billion it would take, to roundup undocumented immigrants who are mostly hard-working people. They want real solutions.

H.R. 4088/S. 2368 is not only about preserving the failed status quo on immigration, but about intensifying its negative effects. We urge Congressional leaders from both parties to get to work and pass the type of immigration reform legislation that addresses the issue at its root, not ineffective laws that waste resources and offer false promises to the American people.


Respectfully,

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
American Friends Service Committee
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
American Jewish Committee
Anti-Defamation League
Asian American Justice Center (AAJC)
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
Center for Community Change
Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for National Security Studies
Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR)
Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism
Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM)
Democratic Socialists of America
The Episcopal Church
Episcopal Migration Ministries
Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM)
Farm Worker Justice
Friends Committee on National Legislation
General Commission on Religion and Race, The United Methodist Church
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
Immigrants’ List
Interfaith Worker Justice
International Immigrants Foundation
Irish Apostolate, USA
Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR)
Jesuit Conference
League of Rural Voters
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
Legal Momentum
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Medical Mission Sisters, Alliance for Justice
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Coalition of Latino Clergy & Christian Leaders (CONLAMIC)
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
National Immigration Forum
National Immigration Law Center
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
NDN
Pax Christi USA, National Catholic Peace Movement
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Sikh Council on Religion and Education
Social Justice Committee of the Skagit Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT)
Tahirih Justice Center
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
United Farm Workers of America
United Farm Workers Foundation
UNITE HERE International Union
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)

REGIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS

Alabama
Alabama Appleseed
Central Alabama Fair Housing Center
The Huntsville Immigration Initiative
Latinos Unidos de Alabama (LUDA)
United Methodist Hispanic Ministries of North Alabama

Arizona
Arizona Interfaith Network
Neighborhood Ministries
Northern Arizona Interfaith Council
Pima County Interfaith Council
Valley Interfaith Project
Yuma County Interfaith

Arkansas
Arkansas Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), Arkansas
Hispanic Women's Organization of Arkansas
La Casa Health Network

California
Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
Blue Skies Landscape Maintenance
Camacho Non-California Resident Scholarship
Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
Center for Social Advocacy
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)
Fr. Jon Pedigo, Diocesan Director for the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform,
Diocese of San José
International Institute of the Bay Area
Korean Resource Center
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, San Francisco Chapter
La Red de Pastores y Lideres Latinos del Sur de California
National Lawyers Guild, LA Chapter
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA-SGV-IE), San Gabriel Valley, Inland
Empire Chapter
Out4Immigration
Pax Christi, Fremont
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 1877
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Healthcare Workers (UHW) West
Southwest California Synod, ELCA
Thinking Voters of Conscience

Colorado
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC)
H. S. Power & Light - Latino Faith Based Initiative
Metro CareRing
The Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center

Connecticut
El Camino United Methodist Church
The Hispanic Advisory Council of Greater Stamford
Orion Music Inc
United Action of CT

Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
DayWithoutAnImmigrant Coalition of NJ, PA, and DE

District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia
National Capital Immigrant Coalition (NCIC)

Florida
Central Florida Jobs with Justice
Centro de Orientacion del Inmigrante (CODI)
El Paracaidista
Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami/Haitian Women of Miami (FANM)
Farmworker Association of Florida
Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC)
Hispanic Coalition, Miami
Honduran Unity-Unidad Hondurena
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Florida Public Services Union
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Healthcare Florida
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 11

Georgia
Coalición de Líderes Latinos (CLILA)
Cobb-Cherokee Immigrant Alliance
Development Fund
Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) & the GALEO Latino Community
Georgia Rural Urban Summit
Latinos United of Carroll County, Inc

Idaho
The Idaho Community Action Network (ICAN)

Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
Northwest Federation of Community Organizations

Illinois
Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR)
Korean American Resource & Cultural Center
Latinos Progresando
Project IRENE
Su Casa Catholic Worker

Indiana
Indiana Immigrant Association
Indiana El Puente Project
El Puente Newspaper

Iowa
Immigrant Rights Network of Iowa
UN DIA (United Dubuque Immigrant Alliance)

Kansas
Grandview Park Presbyterian Church
Heart Ministries, Inc.
People of Faith for Hospitality and Justice

Kentucky
Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (KCIRR)

Maine
Centro Latino Maine
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project
Maine Council of Churches
Maine Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
Maine People's Alliance (MPA)
Mano en Mano / Hand in Hand
Peace Action Maine

Maryland
Casa of Maryland
St Matthew Immigration/Detention Committee
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas

Massachusetts
Alliance to Develop Power (formerly the Anti-Displacement Project) ADP Worker Center /
Casa Obrera
Berkshire Immigrant Center, 1st Baptist Church
Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups and Education, Inc. (BRIDGE, Inc)
Community Economic Development Center of SE MA
Guatemala Solidarity Committee of Boston
Immigrant Information Center
John Womack Jr, Professor, Harvard University
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Massachusetts Chapter
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA)
ONE Lowell
Full Revival Ministries
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), local 615
Work Rights Press

Michigan
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Service (ACCESS)
Latin Americans for Social & Economic Development, Inc
The Leadership Council of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Leadership Team, Sisters of Mercy Detroit
Michigan Organizing Project

Minnesota
CASA GUADALUPE
Centro Campesino Inc.
Centro Legal Inc.
Frey Law Office
Jewish Community Action
St. Ambrose of Woodbury Social Justice Committee
School Sisters of Notre Dame, Mankato Province, Office of Justice, Peace &
Integrity of Creation
School Sisters of Notre Dame, Mankato Province, Leadership Council
School Sisters of Notre Dame at St. Raphael's Convent

Mississippi
A Community of Biblical Hospitality
Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance (MIRA)
MPOWER Workers Center
Office of Hispanic Ministry, Catholic Diocese of Jackson, MS

Missouri
Missouri Immigrant and Refugee Advocates (MIRA)
Westside Community Action Network Center

Nebraska
Nebraska Appleseed
Cristo Rey Lutheran Church

Nevada
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN)

New Jersey
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), New Jersey
Casa de Esperanza
Hispanic Development Corporation
Interfaith Refugee Action Team – Elizabeth (IRATE)
Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry in New Jersey
New Jersey Immigration Policy Network (NJIPN)
St. Anthony's Social Justice Group

New Mexico
El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos
New Mexico Voices for Children
SOMOS Un Pueblo Unido

New York
Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN-NY)
Connie Hogarth Center for Social Action, Manhattanville College
CITA/Independent Farmworker Center
Empire Justice Center
Gay Men's Health Crisis
International Immigrants Foundation
Judson Memorial Church
Long Island Civic Participation Project
Long Island Immigrant Alliance
New York Immigrant Coalition (NYIC)
Oltarsh & Associates, P.C.
Organizacion Latino Americana of Eastern Long Island
Rockland Immigration Coalition
U. S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), Albany Field Office
Ursulines of Tildonk for Justice and Peace
The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring
Wayne Action for Racial Equality (WARE)
YKASEC - Empowering the Korean American Community

North Carolina
Bonilla Community Services
Coalición de Organizaciones Latino-Americanas (COLA)
El Pueblo, Inc.
Hispanic Liaison of Chatham County
The Latino Coalition of Randolph County
Mi Casa Su Casa Centro de Recursos
North Carolina Council of Churches
North Carolina Justice Center
The North Carolina Latino Coalition
Pax Christi - Central North Carolina

Ohio
Butler County Community Alliance
Coalition in Solidarity with Immigrants, Miami Valley
Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network Board of Directors
Hispanic Ministries of St. Paul United Methodist Church-Dayton
Hispanas Organizadas de Lake y Ashtabula (HOLA)
International Institute of Akron
International Services Center
Latino Connection Advocacy Committee
Student Activists for Language and Cultural Exchange
Su Casa Hispanic Center

Oklahoma
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Oklahoma, Council 19002

Oregon
CAUSA of Oregon
The Church of Divine Heart, Portland
Coastal Progressives from the central coast of Oregon
Rural Organizing Project
Northwest Workers' Justice Project
Oregon Action

Pennsylvania
Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Inc.
Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania
Latino Task Force of Monroe County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (PICC)
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Pennsylvania State Council
Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Healthcare
UNITE HERE of Indiana

Rhode Island
International Institute Rhode Island

South Carolina
The Coalition for New South Carolinians

Tennessee
Conexión Américas
Iglesia Cristiana Eben-ezer
Law Offices of Elliott Ozment
Law Offices of Sean Lewis, PLLC
Mid-South Interfaith Network for Economic Justice
Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition

Texas
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
La Fe Policy Research and Education Center
Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education: Gulf Coast Chapter

Virginia
El Pueblo Unido
The Multiracial Activist
Refugee and Immigration Services
Virginia Justice Center

Washington
Hate Free Zone
Northwest Federation of Community Organizations
Saint Matthew/San Mateo Episcopal Church and Jubilee Center
Seifert Law Offices
Washington Community Action Network
Washington Defender Association's Immigration Project
Washington State Jobs with Justice

Wisconsin
Centro Hispano, Inc.
Voces de la Frontera