Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Faith-Based Perspectives on Immigration Reform

The Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security just held a hearing this afternoon on "Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Faith-Based Perspectives." Senator Schumer invited witnesses from the evangelical faith community to speak on the need for comprehensive immigration reform. Prior to the hearing, we at FCNL and our colleagues at other faith-based advocacy organizations were concerned that this panel did not represent a diversity of faith leaders, and thus was not a truly interfaith panel. However, I am pretty satisfied with what I heard expressed at the hearing today. Let me share some of the remarks of the witnesses with you:

Michael Gerson, a senior research fellow at the Center on Faith and International Affairs in Washington, DC, said that a relatively open immigration system is good for the economy. He sees bigotry in current arguments against immigration reform and sees a need for unity, saying, "No one is illegal. They are human beings with stories and struggles. Every alien is a neighbor."

Leith Anderson, the senior pastor of the Wooddale Church in Minnesota, said of immigrants that "they are us," meaning that many Christian evangelical denominations are growing largely due to immigrants. He also said that it is important to prioritize family reunification in immigration reform. His priorities for reform include: ensuring fair and humane treatment of immigrants, creating strong borders, promoting family unity, and creating a reasonable path to legal status and eventual citizenship.

Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus Theodore E. McCarrick recognized the need to welcome the stranger, a teaching that is common to many faith traditions. He said - and this is a great quote - that immigration reform is ultimately a humanitarian issue, and this issue is "the axis around which other aspects [of reform] should revolve." He is also committed to creating pathways to citizenship and family unity. In his remarks, he mentioned the need to reduce the number of deaths on the border; to protect asylum-seekers and refugees; to ensure due process so that each individual immigrant has his or her fair day in court; and to restore the rule of law. Most importantly (in my view), he said that the United States must be willing to work with its international partners to address the root causes of immigration, including trade issues.

Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said that this is an issue of "moral and spiritual imperative, an issue of justice." Similarly to the other witnesses, he supports an earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

James Tolle, the senior pastor of the Church on the Way, called on Americans to love thy neighbor as thy self. He recognizes that undocumented students are caught in a paradox, in that once they have degrees in higher education they are unable to get jobs to implement their skills. He also spoke about how his community was personally affected by raids, in which Hispanic citizens were detained as they waited to prove their legal status. He sees undocumented immigrants as exploited, when they should be able to enjoy equality and human rights. He reminded the subcommittee that the overwhelming majority of the undocumented population are not criminals -- undocumented immigrants are seeking safety and want to obey the law.

I am very heartened to hear these faith leaders speak strongly about the need to see immigrants as people who deserve to be treated with dignity, regardless of their legal status. I am still concerned that immigration reform must include reasonable pathways to legal status and eventual citizenship -- there was some concerning talk at the hearing about the extent to which undocumented immigrants should be required to "pay their debt to society." However, I am glad that Senator Schumer and the subcommittee have recognized the voice of the faith community in advocacy on immigration reform, and I hope that this hearing indicates that Senator Schumer will be introducing a humane bill on comprehensive immigration reform in the near future.

In Our Community: Immigration News

As the fall foliage emerges in D.C. and mark-ups on the health care bill draw to a close, immigration issues still continue to make headlines. Here's the news on immigration from Monday, September 28 to Monday, October 5.

The Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security, chaired by Senator Schumer (NY), has rescheduled its hearing on "Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Faith-Based Perspectives." This hearing will now take place on October 8 at 3:00 PM. To watch the hearing live on webcast, click here. There is not yet an updated list of speakers giving testimony at the hearing. When the original list of speakers was released, the majority of those selected were from an evangelical background. Here at FCNL, we appreciate Senator Schumer's willingness to include faith-based communities in the conversation on immigration reform. However, we are concerned that for this hearing to be an interfaith hearing, leaders of diverse religious backgrounds must be invited to give testimony. In order to offer our perspective, we have submitted a statement to the Subcommittee to go on the record for the hearing.

Pathways to citizenship were all over the news this week! U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) announced that, in anticipation of immigration reform, they would be preparing to process an increased number of visa applications. The bureaucratic backlogs in CIS have contributed significantly to the delays that immigrants experience in seeking green cards and, eventually, citizenship. However, for the moment, citizenship applications require such high fees that many immigrants, at least in Massachusetts as this article reports, may be discouraged from applying. According to this article, in the past twenty years, U.S. fees for citizenship have risen from $60 to $675. By giving immigrant families a stronger sense of stability, reasonable pathways to citizenship strengthen communities and promote integration.

Congratulations to Framingham, MA, and Barnstable, MA, for choosing to no longer have local police enforcing immigration laws! Two years ago, Framingham Chief Steven Carl had agreed to partner with federal immigration authorities under the 287(g) program but, just this week, he decided to withdraw his agreement. The reason? Federal officials had asked him to expand his enforcement activities by detaining immigrants, transporting them, and testifying in immigration courts. Barnstable's local enforcement program is also shutting down. We commend these police departments for recognizing that immigration enforcement activities should only be carried out by federal authorities, not local police officers. As Carl said, "It doesn't benefit the police department to engage in deportation and immigration enforcement."

A U.S. government task force also recommended that the Department of Homeland Security scale back the 287(g) program, which currently allows local police to enforce immigration laws. This program has frequently been used to justify racial and religious profiling.

In more sobering news, the number of undocumented immigrant deaths have increased along the Arizona-Mexico border by 20 percent this fiscal year. Humanitarian organizations regularly put water and other essential supplies on routes frequented by undocumented immigrants. However, 191 deaths have been recorded this year so far, and when accounting for unrecorded deaths, the number must be even higher.

So what's going on with immigration in the health care bill? Among hundreds of amendments considered by the Senate Finance Committee, two important ones were voted down. These amendments would have required people to present photo ID when signing up for health insurance programs. Democrats in the Committee rejected the amendments as unnecessarily stringent, saying that they would unintentionally restrict access for poor U.S. citizens, who sometimes do not have IDs. (The bill already requires people to verify their names, places of birth, and Social Security numbers.) The Committee also rejected amendments that would have required legal immigrants to wait five years before accessing health care benefits. Under current law, legal immigrants must wait five years to receive Medicaid benefits.

The Supreme Court is back this week, and it will be examining a case in which a man in U.S. immigration custody died because of insufficient medical treatment. Held in a detention center in California and suffering from cancer, Francisco Castaneda did not receive appropriate medical care even though several doctors in the detention system recommended treatment. He died in 2008. The case is being filed on the grounds of medical negligence and the violation of Castaneda's constitutional rights.

We still expect that bills on immigration reform will be introduced in Congress soon, and organizations are calling for speedy action. This article reports that local churches are holding events designed to increase public awareness about the need for immigration reform. This article tells the story of one family's experience of immigration and their commitment to ensuring dignity and fairness for all who are affected by the U.S. immigration system. And, finally, this article draws connections between the experiences of Chinese immigrants in the early 20th century and the experiences of undocumented immigrants today.

FCNL Submits Statement on Comprehensive Immigration Reform to Subcommittee

The Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security (in the Committee on the Judiciary, in the Senate) will be holding a hearing on "Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Faith-Based Perspectives." The hearing was originally scheduled for tomorrow, but has been postponed because of the ongoing mark-ups of the health care bill in the Senate Finance Committee. No new date has yet been selected.

However, FCNL has submitted a statement to the subcommittee, which will go on the record for the hearing. This statement in support of comprehensive immigration reform is available on the FCNL website. It outlines our organization's priorities regarding immigration reform.

Senator Charles E. Schumer (NY) is the chair of the subcommittee, and it is expected that he will be the one to put forward a bill in the Senate on comprehensive immigration reform.

Senate to Hold First-Ever Hearing Addressing Anti-Gay Discrimination in US Immigration Law

So check out this exciting news...the Senate is going to hold its first-ever hearing addressing discrimination towards LGBTQ persons in immigration law!

Immigration Equality, an organization I work with that focuses on ending discrimination in US immigration law and helping obtain asylum status for LGBT and HIV+ persons persecuted in their home countries, just sent me this press release:

For Immediate Release Contact: Steve Ralls
May 28, 2009 (202) 347-7007 / sralls@immigrationequality.org

Senate to Hold First-Ever Hearing Addressing Anti-Gay Discrimination in U.S. Immigration Law
June 3^rd Judiciary Hearing Will Debate Uniting American Families Act

What: The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its first-ever hearing on The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), a bill to end discrimination against lesbian and gay Americans in U.S. immigration law and allow lesbian and gay citizens to sponsor their partners for residency in the United States.

Who: The hearing was scheduled by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the lead Senate sponsor of UAFA. Witnesses will include binational couples who have been separated, or face separation, because of discriminatory U.S. immigration law.

Why: An estimated 36,000 binational couples are impacted by U.S. laws prohibiting gay and lesbian Americans from sponsoring their partners for residency. Countless lesbian and gay families, including many with children, are torn apart by U.S. immigration law, or are forced to leave the United States in order to remain together. While 19 other nations allow lesbian and gay citizens to sponsor their partners, the United States continues to discriminate against tens of thousands of families. As the nation prepares to consider immigration reform, the Judiciary Committee hearing will provide an important opportunity for lawmakers to hear from some of those families.

When: Wednesday, June 3, 2009

10:00am

Where: Room 226 – Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.

For more information, please contact Steve Ralls, with Immigration Equality, at (202) 347-7007, or email sralls@immigrationequaltiy.org.

# # #

Immigration Equality is a national organization that works to end discrimination in U.S. immigration law, to reduce the negative impact of that law on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV-positive people, and to help obtain asylum for those persecuted in their home country based on their sexual orientation, transgender identity or HIV-status. Through education, outreach, advocacy, and the maintenance of a nationwide network of resources, we provide information and support to advocates, attorneys, politicians and those who are threatened by persecution or the discriminatory impact of the law.

Check back in next week and I'll make sure I get you full coverage of the hearing!

Senate Hearing-- Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2009: Can we do it and how?

Today the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration held a hearing on the possibilities of comprehensive immigration reform in 2009. It only just wrapped up after having gone on for about 4 hours! But it was exciting....

They had an amazing line-up of witnesses--from Alan Greenspan, to Chief of Police Manger, to Rev. Joel Hunter, to Doris Meissner, to Eliseo Mendina, to many others. What was amazing is that the witnesses represented business, labor, immigrant, faith, police, civil rights, and other communities and everyone was coming together to call for comprehensive immigration reform!

It was encouraging to see people come together like that--especially Sen. Schumer (NY), Sen. Feinstein (CA), and Sen. Cornyn (TX).

If you get the chance you should definitely check it out. A video is available from the Senate Judiciary website and America's Voice was also live blogging throughout the entire hearing.

Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security Holds Hearing on Border: "Secure Border Initiative--Its Impact and Evolution"

"$3.6 billion dollars. "

That's how Chairman David Price (NC) began his opening remarks at the hearing I attended to yesterday on the Secure Border Initiative.

"That's what Congress provided in the past three years to the Border Security Fencing, Infrastructure, and Technology (BSFIT) account, targeted at securing around 6,000 miles of land border as part of the Secure Border Initiative (SBI)....Today we will take stock of this program. How is it progressing? Is it working? Are we spending enough or too much?"

The subcommittee members and those testifying seemed to measure the notion of progress with very different strides.

Some members, like Ranking Member Rogers, believe there are "unacceptable" delays in development of Border Patrol along both the northern and southern borders. Others--quite shockingly to me--believed we should look to Israel's development of the Jericho Wall for technology and manning tips.

On the other side of the spectrum, members like Congressman Rotham (NJ) seemed dismayed that the Chief of U.S. Border Patrol could not report whether the border wall actually stemmed or deterred the flow of undocumented migration. The witnesses also could not tell Chairman Price what percentage or to what extent the increase in "effective control" over the last few years has related directly to the building of the border wall and physical barriers vs. increased number of agents, the economy and a downturn in immigration to the United States, etc.

Overall, I felt the hearing ended without any sort of conclusion as to the effectiveness or progress of the Secure Border Initiative. In many ways, I felt the witnesses were trying to defend the use of their increased funding by pointing out that effective enforcement has dramatically risen during this time. However, they were also repeatedly reiterating that the wall itself was not enough, so as to stay off the record as saying the wall was the solution.

The one ray of light in the hearing was when Congresswoman Roybal-Allard (who recently introduced the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act, H.R. 1215) asked a question about what is being done to ensure that children and others are being well treated at the Border Patrol stations. While she did not press the witnesses much on the multiple reports of abuse and human rights violations, it at least placed the issues on Congressional record.

What Makes Communities Safe? A Review of Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Law Through the 287(g) Program

Yesterday, the House Committee on Homeland Security held a hearing (a recorded video of the hearing is now available) entitled "“Examining 287(g): The Role of State and Local Law Enforcement in Immigration Law.”

The highlight of the hearing was the release of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report "Immigration Enforcement: Controls over Program Authorizing State and Local Enforcement of Federal Immigration Laws Should be Strengthened" which emphasizes the lack of oversight Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has over its locally deputized officers in the 287(g) program.

The 287(g) program was created by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA, pronouced ir-ah-ir-ah), forming agreements which would allow local police officers to enforce federal immigration laws. But while the program was formed in 1996, no local law enforcement agency had applied for the program until after September 11th. The first program was then finalized in 2002 and today there are 67 287(g) agreement programs operating in 23 states.

The intent of the program was to provide local officers with the power to go after high-level criminals. Given that immigration law is extremely complex--many people consider it a legal equivalent to tax law(!)--delegation of authority was statutorily limited to a select number of officials who underwent a five-week training in immigration law and were subject to ICE's supervision.

However, the GAO report points out that:

1. The program lacks key internal controls
2. The program objectives have not been laid out or documented in program-related materials
3. Oversight on how (and when) to use immigration authority has been inconsistent
4. The structure of ICE's supervision of 287(g) programs has not been developed or defined
   
5. Consistent data collection, documentation, and reporting requirements have not been defined
6. Performance meters used to evaluate program progress are virtually non-existent

And most importantly, over half of the 29 state and local law enforcement agencies reviewed and interviewed by GAO for this report had documented complaints and concerns about 287(g) authority being used to apprehend, detain, and deport immigrants who had committed minor violations like speeding or running traffic lights, and/or to apprehend and detain in a manner consistent with racial profiling.

Among the other witnesses at the hearing were Sheriff Chuck Jenkins from Frederick County, MD and Police Chief J. Thomas Manger of Montgomery County, MD.

Sheriff Jenkins testified that they had no problems with the 287(g) program, arguing that it is "a strong and effective tool in safeguarding our national security at our borders." He also said that he believes "existing fear or distrust of law enforcement is generally cultural based, as most countries where immigrants originate from do have corrupt governments, corrupt and abusive law enforcement, which is all that they have been exposed to in their lives."

Meanwhile, Police Chief Manger--who is also a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA)--believes that the 287(g) program undermines trust, confidence, and cooperation between police and immigrant communities. He testified that through his experience, he concurs with what the MCCA has written:

"...without assurances that contact with police would not result in purely civil immigration enforcement action, the hard won trust, communication and cooperation from the immigrant community would disappear. Such a divide between the local police and immigrant groups would result in increased crime against immigrants and the broader community, create a class of silent victims and eliminate the potential for assistance from immigrants in solving crimes or preventing future terroristic attacks."

Police Chief Manger also noted Latinos are disproportionately targets of crime and in urban areas with large Latino or immigrant populations, programs like 287(g) would be destructive to community safety.

A similar report put out by Justice Strategies, a nonprofit research group, said that "comprehensive immigration reform, which Congress has failed to pass, should be the goal of the Obama administration... The 287(g) program 'amounts to a local and state bailout of the failed federal immigration enforcement business.'"


Links to media coverage of the GAO report and yesterday's hearing:

NY Times- Report Questions Immigration Program

Wall Street Journal- Immigrant Busts Faulted

Associated Press- House Panel Scrutinizes Immigration Program

Gannett Washington Bureau- Federal Immigration Officials Chided for Lax Control Over Local Police