|
Date:
January 29, 2007
The
Honorable Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
The Congress
Washington D.C.
Dear Speaker Pelosi
The National Immigration Solidarity Network is a
national coalition of multi-ethnic groups that include
grassroots community-based organizations, labor, student
and youth groups, human rights groups, and peace and
global justice organizations all of whom are united in
the defense of undocumented immigrants. We oppose
immigrant bashing, we support immigrant workers rights,
we say no to sweatshop exploitation and we resist the
perpetuation of racism in our communities.
It is our hope that in the coming 2007 legislative year
that through your leadership true comprehensive
immigration reform legislation can be passed by the
House of Representatives. Our areas of concern are the
following:
1) No to anti-immigrant legislation, and the
criminalization of the immigrant communities.
We oppose any immigrant legislation that will include
criminalization of the immigrant community,
"enforcement-only" bill, and the government
surveillance program, such as: H.R. 4844 - Federal
Election Integrity Act of 2006 ("Voter ID
bill"), H.R. 6089 - Illegal Immigrant Deterrence
Act, H.R. 6090 - Immigration Enforcement Act, and H.R.
5825 - Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act
("Wire Tap bill"); we also oppose any
government languages and legal terms that demonize
immigrant communities, such as: "aliens" or
"illegal aliens".
2) No to militarization of the border.
We oppose H.R. 6061 - Border Fence Bill that will fund a
border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and H.R. 6091
- Border Security Enhancement Act. It is believed that
these pieces of legislation will terrorize the border
immigrant communities. We believe this is a waste of tax
payer money, forces migrants to cross borders at more
dangerous and deadly locations, and fattens the profit
margin of migrant smugglers.
3) No to the immigrant detention and deportation.
We oppose any legislation that will empower state and
local law enforcement agencies to act as Federal
government to enforce Federal immigration law, such as
the CLEAR Act or legislation that authorize indefinite
immigrant detention, speedy deportation and immigrant
raids. We want the Congress to repeal these laws. We
demand an improvement of the conditions of current
immigrant detention facilities, we oppose future funding
to build immigrant detention centers.
4) No to the guest worker program.
We are against an immigrant worker visa program that
creates a two-tiered labor system, allowing corporations
to pay lower wages to the visa workers, without offering
strong labor protections to them including the right to
change jobs, and no chance to gain U.S. citizenship.
5) No to employer sanction and "no match"
letters.
We oppose any legislation to punish hard working
undocumented workers because of their immigration
status, and we want the Congress to repeal the employer
sanction law. Historically it is not the employers that
are punished by the law, but rather immigrant workers
themselves. We also oppose 'No-Match' letter that could
become de facto immigration enforcement tools since
employers could use 'No-Match' Social Security letters
to fire immigrants.
6) Yes to a path to citizenship for undocumented
immigrants.
We support one tiered legislation that would allow
undocumented immigrants in the United States to gain
legal status within a reasonable amount of time with an
opportunity for citizenship.
7) Yes to speedy family reunification.
We support legislation that provides additional visa
numbers and eliminates long and inhumane family
backlogs. We support the elimination of the 3 and 10
year bars for family members of citizens and permanent
residents. We support the reinstatement of 245(i)
adjustment inside the United States.
8) Yes to civil rights and humane immigration law.
Undocumented immigrants DO pay taxes, but are not
eligible to receive any government benefits and
assistance, we support legislation that would allow
undocumented immigrants in the United States to receive
government assistance and medical benefits, and
guarantee of civil rights and legal assistance when
immigrants are detained at immigration detention
facility.
9) Yes to labor rights and living wages for all
workers.
We support legislation which strengthens the enforcement
of existing labor laws to protect immigrant workers
rights. We support the right of workers to establish and
join a union REGARDLESS of immigration status. It is
important that undocumented immigrants do not face
harassment or threats from the workplace because they
are fighting for their labor rights and right to join
the union.
10) Yes to the DREAM Act and LGBT immigrant legislation.
We support reintroduction of the DREAM Act and the
extension of benefits to
lesbian-gay-bi-sexual-transgender (LGBT) families within
the family reunification laws, We support the passage of
the Uniting American Families Act, and the lifting of
the HIV ban on immigration.
Immigration became a divisive, wedge issue under the
Republican leadership. With this new Democratic Congress
and with you at the helm we believe that a balanced
civil dialog can be opened. It is our hope that the
suggestions we have offered can be incorporated to draft
a truly compassionate piece of immigration legislation
that will benefit millions of hard working immigrants in
this country.
Sincerely;
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
|
|
Publish to Newswire
Add an Event
