COMMUNITY
ORGANIZING
Myths
& Realities about Immigration Today
Vets Affairs Testimony
National
Statement Supporting Human Rights by NNIR
The
Struggle to Pass the Equity Bill
Strive
Act a False Promise
Vets Affairs Testimony
2
National Statement
to Support Human and Civil Rights for All Immigrants And
to Oppose Compromise Immigration Reform Proposals
April 2006
Fair and Just
Immigration Reform for All
We stand together
as immigrant, faith, social justice, labor, peace, human
and civil rights organizations and other concerned communities
to support human and civil rights for all immigrants and
to oppose the immigration “reform” proposals
presently in the U.S. Senate. We oppose H.R. 4437, the immigration
bill passed in the House of Representatives in December,
as well as all of the compromise bills presented in the
Senate.
We call upon
members of Congress and the Administration to stop masquerading
these proposals as immigration reform. We demand nothing
less than immigration policies that are fair and just, and
that respect the rights and dignity of all immigrants and
other members of our society.
The rush to reach
a bipartisan accord on immigration legislation has led to
a compromise that would create deep divisions within the
immigrant community and leave millions of undocumented immigrants
in the shadows of our country. We oppose the behind-the-scenes
brokering currently playing out in the legislative process.
These trade-offs and deals are based on election-year campaigning
and demands by business lobbyists, rather than on the best
interests and voices of immigrant communities. We say, “No
deal!”
In a re-ignited
civil rights movement, millions of immigrants, their families,
neighbors and co-workers, along with faith and labor leaders,
peace and justice advocates, have marched and rallied in
cities across the U.S. The mobilizations have served as
a wake-up call for the whole country to acknowledge the
vital role of immigrants as co-workers, neighbors and members
of our broad society. And, as details of the current legislative
compromise have become known, the voices of immigrant communities
are rejecting the proposals for a so-called legalization
program, and are denouncing the further erosion of human
and civil rights through the enforcement and criminalization
provisions. The stakes are considerable, and affect all
of us.
This year is
the 20th anniversary of the 1986 legalization and employer
sanctions law, and the 10th anniversary of the restrictive
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility
Act. We cannot allow the current proposals to be enacted
as this generation’s flawed immigration reform legacy.
What We Want: Fair and Just Immigration Reform
Fair and just immigration reform means:
Genuine legalization and opportunities to adjust status
for all undocumented immigrants, including youth and farmworkers
Preservation of due process, including restoration of access
to the courts and meaningful judicial review for immigrants.
No indefinite detention or expansion of mandatory detention
No expansion of guest worker programs
No more wasted resources allocated to further militarize
our borders and to contribute to the crisis of human rights
and lives in the border regions
An end to employer sanctions and electronic worker verification
systems
The strengthening and enforcement of labor law protections
for all workers, native and foreign born
No use of city, state or other government agencies in the
enforcement of immigration law
No more criminalization of immigrants, or their service
providers
Expansion of legal immigration opportunities, support for
family reunification and immediate processing of the backlog
of pending visa applications
Elimination of harsh obstacles to immigrating, including
the HIV ban, “3 and 10 year bars,” and high
income requirements for immigrant sponsors.
The Current ‘Legalization’
Proposal is Unacceptable
The proposed 3-tiered temporary worker program offers little
hope for broad, inclusive legalization of undocumented immigrants.
What some are calling a “path to citizenship”
in the last Senate bill is merely a massive temporary worker
program without worker protections, and contains numerous
hurdles that will drastically limit the number of undocumented
immigrants who can actually legalize. Such a program would
divide communities, including mixed-status families, erode
wage and benefits standards, and place a greater burden
on safety-net services.
The Enforcement
Proposals Undermine All of our Rights
Significant provisions in the current Senate proposals would
dramatically undermine a broad array of rights, increase
the criminalization of all immigrants, result in mass deportations,
and unfairly exclude millions from eligibility for any legalization
opportunity. The expansion of expedited removal would eliminate
the right to a court hearing, while the broadened definition
of “aggravated felony” to include many minor
offenses would result in mandatory detention and mass deportations.
The proposals also seek to reinstate indefinite detention
and increase detention facilities, including the use of
closed military bases. Encouraging local police to enforce
immigration law would not only add an additional burden
that detracts from current responsibilities, but would discourage
immigrant access to public safety institutions.
Moreover, the
increased resources to militarize the border, which has
already cost over $30 billion in the past 12 years, has
not deterred unauthorized border crossings and instead has
caused a humanitarian crisis with the deaths of some 4,000
people in the desert. Current border enforcement practices,
without provision for safe and legal entry, have resulted
in the detention and criminalization of tens of thousands
of people at a significant daily cost to taxpayers.
The Proposals
Fail to Protect Workers
The current proposals would further erode already weak labor
protections and rights for immigrants and other workers.
Immigrant workers have historically been used as “cheap
labor” by employers and industries unwilling to pay
decent wages or to maintain reasonable working conditions.
These proposals continue in that same shameful vein, and
are designed to force and keep wages down to compete with
cheap labor suppliers globally.
Workers need more, not less, rights. A real legalization
proposal needs to be coupled with the repeal of employer
sanctions, the provision of the landmark 1986 Immigration
Reform and Control Act that has led to the criminalization
of immigrant workers, and which would be deepened through
an expansion of an employment verification system. This
program has done nothing in the last twenty years but increase
discrimination and abuse of immigrant workers. Employers
have had greater leverage to threaten and intimidate immigrant
workers, break organizing efforts, carry out unjust firings,
and lower wages and work conditions for all working people.
These abuses impact the entire American workforce, particularly
the most vulnerable toiling in low-wage jobs such as farmworkers,
day laborers and domestic workers.
No Expansion
of Guest Worker Programs
A key concern is the significant expansion of guest worker
programs found in almost all Senate proposals and supported
by the Administration. We oppose these programs both when
they are tied to legalization for undocumented immigrants
already living and working here, and as a means for managing
future flows of immigrants into the United States. The U.S.
does not have a shortage of workers; what we have is a shortage
of employers willing to pay a living wage and maintain decent
working conditions.
Guest worker
programs have been condemned by labor and immigrant communities
for their long record of violations of labor rights and
standards, including blacklists and deportations of workers
who protest. In 1964, Ernesto Galarza, Cesar Chavez and
other defenders of workplace rights won the abolition of
the old Bracero guest worker program. The purpose of that
program, they said, was the creation a vulnerable workforce
in order to drive down wages and break union organizing
efforts among immigrants and non-immigrants alike. The purpose
of current proposals is the same. Temporary, contract workers
are prevented the option of putting down roots and becoming
full and equal members of our communities.
Future migrants
should not be forced to accept a second-class status, violating
our country's most basic commitments to equality. They should
be given permanent residence status, allowing them to work
and travel freely, to exercise their labor rights, and to
live as any other member of our society.
No Compromise,
No Deal on Fair and Just Immigration Reform
In recent years, immigrant community members, including
youth and students, farmworkers and others, have effectively
organized and rallied in support of legislative proposals
to strengthen their rights and opportunities to be equal
members of this society. Despite the loud and determined
voice of immigrant communities, advocates and supporters
for fair and just immigration reform this year, we have
yet to see an acceptable proposal from Congress. And with
H.R. 4437 already passed by the House, we are very aware
that any proposal from the Senate would be subject to further
compromise in a Senate-House reconciliation process, and
would likely produce laws that would detrimentally affect
current and future immigrants for years to come.
Increased enforcement
does not address the complex issue of global migration.
Employer sanctions and beefed up border security have been
in place for decades as deterrents to migration, and yet
the number of undocumented continues to grow. The sources
of migration rest in the problems of economic and political
instability, poverty and war in migrant-sending countries.
Despite the urgency of the immigration issue in this country,
it is clearly not just a “domestic” issue and
our policies need to consider support for economic stability,
fair trade agreements and peace as vital to addressing the
migration of people in search of work, survival, and safety.
We will continue
to raise our voices for genuine immigration reform that
respects the rights and dignity of all immigrants, and is
fair and just. Immigrant workers, students and families
are making incredible sacrifices to raise their voices for
themselves and future generations, in the face of recriminations
and disciplinary actions from employers and schools. As
immigrant communities continue to mobilize for their rights,
on May 1 and beyond, we will support their right and choice
to express themselves.
We pledge to increase public education efforts and the building
and mobilization of meaningful alliances, and we will encourage
and support immigrant community leadership to advance real
immigration reform. We call upon Congress and the Administration
to heed the voices of immigrant communities demanding genuine
immigration reforms: real legalization, equitable inclusion
in our society, justice, and respect for human rights.
