19 APR 2023

Over 100 Advocacy Organizations Call on the House of Representatives to Vote Against Upcoming Anti-Immigrant Bills

Advocacy groups: “We must oppose the upcoming slate of racist, xenophobic, unconstructive proposals that adds fuel to hate and presents no constructive and moral solutions.”

WASHINGTON D.C — This week, 106 immigrant rights, civil rights, faith, labor and education organizations from across the country sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives for this week’s House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committee Markup. As the advocacy organizations outlined in the letter: The newly elected majority is driving an intentionally divisive agenda to amplify anti-immigrant animus without moral and effective policy solutions.

Among the organizations taking part in the letter are the Immigration Hub, ACLU, the Service Employees International Union, Church World Service, Save the Children, UnidosUS, and various other groups committed to combating the increasingly divisive and extreme agenda being pushed by the newly elected majority. The letter comes as House Republicans have continuously pushed anti-immigrant bills, with more expected in the next month.

The letter asks elected leaders to instead focus on solutions that fix our broken immigration system and reject any anti-immigrant bills that would include:

  • Ending or restricting asylum at the border;

  • Mandating E-Verify;

  • Harming or reducing protections for unaccompanied immigrant children;

  • Severely restricting parole authority;

  • Detaining families; and

  • Targeting immigrants compelled to overstay their visa.

Read the letter sent to the U.S. House of Representatives:

Dear Representative,

The undersigned 106 state, local, and national immigration, civil rights, public health, business, education, religious, labor, and other organizations write to respectfully request that you VOTE NO on the upcoming slate of bills in the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committee Markups this month that would harm immigrant communities. The newly elected majority is driving an intentionally divisive agenda to amplify anti-immigrant animus without moral and effective policy solutions.

  • End or Restrict Asylum at the Border. Bills seeking to restrict or end asylum would violate Democratic commitments to providing a fair asylum system and to standing with asylum seekers, immigrants, and communities of color. Such proposals include: implementing the failed Trump policy of Remain in Mexico (MPP), raising the credible fear standard, establishing unduly burdensome limits to asylum eligibility, and sealing off all borders and ports of entry to asylum seekers unless the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) meets the impossible condition of detaining or returning to Mexico all arriving asylum seekers and migrants. Bills that seek to restrict or end asylum violate our international obligations and will only sow chaos at the border, rather than ameliorating it. In addition, bills seeking to unilaterally expel asylum seekers to other countries without consulting the receiving country nor the migrant results in refoulement of the migrant to danger and potentially problematic foreign policy implications.

  • Mandate E-Verify. Requiring E-Verify will harm the economy, as it will result in increased unemployment and labor shortages and cost businesses billions of dollars to implement. E-Verify will harm small businesses and lead to job loss and unemployment among citizens as well as noncitizens. National implementation of E-Verify raises efficiency, due process, and racial profiling concerns and decreased employment among Latinos, regardless of status.

  • Harm Unaccompanied Children. Congress must reject any legislative efforts to eliminate or reduce protections for immigrant children in the 2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) or the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement (Flores) or to reduce government-funded legal representation for unaccompanied children. These protections are vital for children seeking safety, including survivors of violence. Flores and the TVPRA recognize that children are different from adults, and that immigrant children are uniquely vulnerable and at high risk for trauma, trafficking, exploitation, and abuse. Flores and the TVPRA provide critical protections designed to ensure that unaccompanied children receive proper screening to determine if they are victims of or at risk of human trafficking, that their treatment in government custody aligns with basic child welfare principles, and to help them navigate a complex system largely designed for adults. Congress should increase protections and legal representation so that all immigrant children are safe and treated fairly.

  • Eliminate Parole Authority. Parole is a valid, lawful mechanism under the federal immigration laws that expressly grants the Secretary of DHS discretion to allow non-citizens into the U.S. on a case-by-case basis for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or for a “significant public benefit.” The use of parole has been pivotal to protect thousands of non-citizens seeking humanitarian relief, including Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion who were paroled into the U.S. under the Uniting for Ukraine initiative and Afghan allies evacuated after the fall of Kabul. Bills that end parole are antithetical to a long and storied history of facilitating the welcome of U.S. allies from war torn regions. In addition, parole for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela presents an orderly process to ensure migrants can seek protection from the effects of political repression, natural disasters, and violence. Determinations for parole are individualized and consist of a multi-agency screening and vetting process. Parole should be protected as a vital authority for extending protection to the most vulnerable.

  • Detain Immigrants and Families. Bills that seek to increase immigrant detention and deportations undermine public safety rather than increase it by destabilizing immigrant families and their communities. Detention has also been shown to lead to a host of negative outcomes, including mental health deterioration for asylum seekers, survivors of trauma, and children. Immigration detention is unnecessary to support compliance with court hearings or other agency-imposed obligations. It is imperative to stop the growth of immigration detention driven by the profits of the private prison industry, not sound policy.

  • Target Immigrants Compelled to Overstay their Visa. The vast majority of nonimmigrant travelers to the US comply with the terms of their visas. Of the minority that overstay, many entered the U.S. for a lawful purpose such as business or education and many overstayed their visas due to family ties, employment, or to live in greater safety than in their home countries. The nexus to the situation on our borders and concerns about those who overstay their visas is dubious at best: those arriving onour southern border are seeking asylum, while individuals whose visas have expired are largely long-term residents in the U.S. Congress should focus on solutions that regularize the status of long-term residents by fixing our broken immigration system.

We urge you to vote in ways that protect immigrants and VOTE NO against any anti-immigrant bills in the upcoming markups in the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees. We must oppose the upcoming slate of racist, xenophobic, unconstructive proposals that adds fuel to hate and presents no constructive and moral solutions. Thank you for your time and attention.

Read the letter and full list of signatories here.

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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigrationpolicies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.