Action Alert: Immigration Reform
On May 17, 2007 a group of senators and the White House introduced a "grand compromise" Senate bill on immigration reform: Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007. Polls show that 60% of the US public support a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants in the US. Much of the vocal opposition to the bill has come from those who oppose legalization of any kind. Our concerns are about the threat to civil liberties and human rights for immigrants; the move away from family reunification as a priority for immigration policy; the potentially impossible hurdles for legalization; and the expansion of guest worker programs that undermine labor rights. It's important for us to communicate what we see as critical for just, fair immigration reform.
This bill is not good for non-citizen immigrants or for U.S. citizens who value human rights, labor rights, due process and family unification. It was rushed to the Senate floor for debate this week and next, with limited room for amendments. The process is moving very quickly. Please contact your Senators to let them know this bill does not represent just and fair immigration reform. See Advocating for Just and Fair Immigration Reform for detailed analysis of the bill and United Methodist Church policy.
We Affirm:
- The human rights of all immigrants, documented and undocumented.
- Genuine legalization for all undocumented immigrants, including youth and farm workers without onerous obstacles.
- Civil liberties and due process rights for all, including undocumented immigrants, and the end of mandatory and indefinite detention.
- Strengthening labor law protections for all workers, including undocumented workers because all workers need a just wage, fair working conditions and right to organize. The U.S. government should not expand the guest worker program.
- Developing just U.S. economic, trade and military policies with poor nations that address root causes of immigration, rather than ineffective enforcement policies including larger walls, militarization of the border, involvement of local police, centralization of data on immigrants, special ID cards, as well as efforts to criminalize undocumented immigrants.
- Welcoming new immigrants who seek to contribute to our country, including: expansion of opportunities for legal immigration, elimination of harsh obstacles to immigrating such as high incomes for sponsors, support for family reunification and addressing the backlog of visa applications.
The Senate Bill:
- Replaces the 40-year-old family-based immigration system with a new point system for visas, which prioritizes skilled, educated, English-speaking immigrants. This will undermine family unity for millions of immigrants and citizens. It commits to eliminating the backlog of current visa applications for family members, yet because caps on visas each year continue, the backlog of applications will grow again.
- Creates a guest worker program with no direct path to citizenship, which will create a permanent underclass of workers with few rights or recourse. It expands employer sanctions, which have been ineffective over the past 20 years, have hurt undocumented workers more than employers, and have hurt U.S. workers by creating a two-tier workforce.
- Offers a path to legalization that is so burdensome that few of the 12 million undocumented in the United States will be able to achieve it, meaning that many will remain in the United States without legal status, facing greater obstacles, while many others will be deported.
- Establishes the guest worker and legalization programs on the condition that there be massive new enforcement provisions, including: a doubling of border patrol, expansion of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, millions for further militarization of the border and expansion of detention beds to house up to 27,500 immigrants per day.
- Declares English as the language of the United States and calls on the U.S. government to preserve and enhance it, posing English requirements for immigrants and urging their assimilation rather than respect for cultural and language diversity, a long-standing U.S. value.
- Further erodes the civil rights of immigrants, both documented and undocumented. Visa applicants have little recourse if applications are rejected. Some with legal violations are subject to deportation without a hearing. It creates a new electronic ID card that will centralize data on immigrants, opening the way for surveillance abuses. The lack of accountability by judges, police and immigration officials opens the way for race and class discrimination.
Called by Faith to Action
As we respond to this and other efforts at immigration reform, we ground ourselves in the Gospel message of love for our neighbors and affirmation for all of God's people. As our nation seeks to build barriers that exclude people from enjoying equal rights within our country and to keep others out - particularly the poor and people of color - we are reminded that as Christians it is not about us and them. We are one people of God, called to love one another with compassion and respect. This poses profound challenges to us as we respond to this critical moment in our nation's history. Who are we called to be as a nation? One that is welcoming, or one that excludes in increasingly mean-spirited and violent ways? How can we, as Christians, help to redefine the immigration debate and allow healing to take place?
Call Your Senator
You might tell them:
"I am a member of United Methodist Women from_______. I oppose the current Senate compromise bill on immigration reform. It creates more walls and obstacles to legal status and legal entry and does not represent the best values of our nation. I want just and fair immigration reform that offers real legalization for undocumented immigrants in the United States; expanded opportunities for legal residency; labor rights for all; family reunification; respect for civil liberties and due process. There should be no new guest worker program, border militarization or further undermining of civil liberties. Security should not come at the expense of human rights for all people."
To find contact information for your senators go to: Contacting Congress.
Other Action Steps
- Find out if there are immigrant-rights groups in your area and reach out to them. They may be holding vigils and demonstrations that you can join to call for just and fair immigration reform.
- Write letters to the editor and take part in the immigration debate.
- Join the Immigration Community at United Methodist Women's Online Community to share your perspectives with members of United Methodist Women across the country.
- Let us know what you are doing so we can share with others: Racial Justice Program, Women's Division, 475 Riverside Drive, Rm. 1502, New York, NY 10115, 212-870-3732, cbarton@gbgm-umc.org, umwmission.org.