Join the Call: Include All Families in Immigration Reform

You're invited to join Representative Mike Honda (CA), Bishop Minerva Carcano, and families impacted by our broken immigration system on a special grassroots call designed for advocates and concerned community members like you!

Learn about the moral imperative to move comprehensive immigration reform forward this year, and hear stories about why LGBT families need your support to make sure their immigration rights are protected.

Comprehensive immigration reform isn't truly comprehensive unless all families, gay and straight, are included. We hope you can join us for this important nationwide call!

To register and receive materials for the call, please go to www.LGBTforCIR.org. You'll also have the unique opportunity to submit questions to Rep. Honda before the call.

Senator Franken Introduces HELP Separated Children Act

Today, Senators Al Franken (MN) and Herb Kohl (WI) introduced the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections (HELP) for Separated Children Act. FCNL is proud to support this legislation. Here is Senator Franken's press release:

Franken, Kohl Introduce HELP Separated Children Act
Legislation Would Ensure Children’s Safety During Immigration Raids

WASHINGTON, D.C. [06/22/10] – Today, U.S. Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) introduced the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections (HELP) for Separated Children Act to keep kids safe, informed, and accounted for during Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.

According to the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service, 108,434 parents of U.S. citizen children were deported in the past 10 years.

On December 12, 2006, ICE carried out enforcement actions on Swift & Company meatpacking plants in six states, including a plant in Worthington, Minnesota. The raids left numerous children – most of them citizens and legal residents – without their parents and with no way of finding them. One second-grader in Worthington came home that night to find his two-year old brother alone and his mother and father missing. For the next week, the second-grader stayed home to care for his brother while his grandmother traveled to Worthington to meet them.

“Four million U.S. citizen children in our country have at least one undocumented immigrant parent,” said Sen. Franken. “Forty-thousand of those children live in Minnesota. They should not have to live in fear that one day their parents will simply not come home. They deserve much better than being abandoned without explanation.”

“Under no circumstances should children have to fend for themselves. Child welfare is one of my highest priorities and it is essential that children are protected and cared for when their parents are detained,” Sen. Kohl said. “This legislation offers safeguards for children whose parents are placed in federal custody so they are not left on their own.”

On June 22, 2007, ICE agents staged a raid in the Jackson Heights Manufactured Home Park in Shakopee, Minnesota. Early that Friday morning, around 6:00 am, federal agents seized a husband and his wife for suspected immigration violations. They didn’t notice the couple’s daughter, who was sleeping. Later that morning, the seven year-old girl was found wandering the park, looking for her parents. It wasn’t until some neighbors saw her and called the authorities, that she learned what had happened to her mom and dad.

The HELP Separated Children Act strengthens humanitarian protections enacted by the Bush and Obama administrations and extends them to any enforcement action. Specifically, it:

· Keeps state and local authorities in the know. It’s state schools and child welfare agencies that address the aftermath of immigration enforcement actions. Building on existing standards, this bill makes sure that state authorities are notified before or soon after enforcement actions.

· Effectively identifies at-risk kids. Detainees are afraid to tell ICE that they have kids at home. This bill permits child welfare agencies and local NGOs to screen detainees to identify parents and locate at-risk children.

· Allows parents to arrange for care of their children. Detained parents must receive free, confidential calls to arrange for their kids’ care. They should not be transferred unless they know how to contact their kids – and what will happen to them. No matter where they are, parents must be allowed daily calls and regular visits with their children.

· Protects kids during interrogations. Kids should not be forced to witness their parents’ interrogations or translate for ICE agents.

· Allows parents to participate in family court proceedings – and alert authorities to abuse. This bill requires authorities to help detained parents participate in family court proceedings affecting their children. It also gives parents free calls to report child abuse.

· Protects the best interests of children. This bill requires ICE to consider the best interests of children in detention, release, and transfer decisions affecting their parents.

The HELP Separated Children Act is also co-sponsored by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.). Related legislation was introduced in the House by Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.).

FCNL Joins More Than One Hundred Thousand Supporters to March for Immigration Reform

Change takes courage and faith. On Sunday, March 21st, more than 100,000 supporters of humane immigration reform gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC, to send this urgent message to Congress. This rally, which attracted news coverage from New York to California, brought together people from all corners of the country to stand in solidarity for immigrants' rights.

From day laborers and union organizers, to children whose parents had been deported, to people of faith striving to welcome the stranger, to students whose lack of papers prevents them from attending college, all came together with one unified message: Immigration reform can't wait.

Recently we've seen President Obama meet with Senator Schumer (NY) and Senator Graham (SC) to discuss immigration reform. We've seen an op-ed outlining the bipartisan Senate bill, which has not yet been introduced. We've seen a Senator Reid commit to make time on the Senate floor for a debate on immigration reform. But we haven't yet seen the political will - the courage - to take the critical next step.

As Representative Gutierrez (IL) said at the rally, "Justice for immigrants cannot wait. It cannot be delayed because of the fears of politicians."

Now is the time for bold leadership. Now is the time for the introduction of a humane and just immigration reform bill in the Senate. Why? Because it's the right thing to do.

Couldn't make it to DC? Check out this video from Democracy Now. And take a look at these photos, taken by FCNL's Rebecca Sheff, of the many thousands of supporters who made the trek to DC for this historic day.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Rep. Gutierrez Responds to State of the Union

Today, Representative Luis Gutierrez (IL), author of the CIR ASAP bill introduced in December in the House, wrote a powerful op-ed piece in the Huffington Post.

Rep. Gutierrez expressed concern that President Obama "did not go far enough for the four million American citizen children whose parents face deportation; the millions of Americans waiting to be reunited with loved ones overseas; hardworking Americans whose security is undermined in the workplace; women who are physically and sexually exploited on the floors of meatpacking plants; or the $1.5 trillion lacking from our Gross Domestic Product, all in the absence of real reform."

He argues, "Congress cannot wait for the President to lay out our timeline for comprehensive reform." His bill, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009, would fix the broken immigration system by keeping families together, allowing immigrants to integrate more fully into society, and protecting immigrants from detention.

To show to Congress that you support comprehensive immigration reform, urge your representative to co-sponsor CIR ASAP.

I'll leave you with one other quote from Rep. Gutierrez's article. He writes:

"They care that we do the job we've been elected to do. But if we walk away from the tough fights --like immigration reform-- because it's hard or because it's politically risky, we're not just writing our own political eulogy; we're sentencing millions of families to a life of injustice."

In Our Community: Immigration News

With the State of the Union coming up this Wednesday, people across the country are reflecting on President Obama's first year in office. While health care and the economy are understandably the first issues on everyone's mind, let's not lose sight of the ongoing injustices against our neighbors. Immigrant families' burdens may be less visible, but they are no less significant. With that in mind, here is the news on immigration from Monday, January 18 to Monday, January 25.

Having granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitian immigrants on January 15, the Obama administration has now started the registration process. Haitians who are already in the United States can now apply to stay and work here for the next 18 months as Haiti recovers from the earthquake. The U.S. government is also offering humanitarian relief for Haitian orphans who are already in adoption proceedings, allowing them an accelerated path to come to the United States from Haiti.

However, most Haitians are unable to enter the United States. Advocates and certain members of Congress are now urging the Obama administration to allow two groups of Haitians to immigrate: individuals with family members legally in the United States, and children in need of emergency medical care. While it is unlikely that Congress or the Department of Homeland Security will act on these recommendations, the international community continues to provide emergency humanitarian relief to the people of Haiti.

On the state level, undocumented immigrants in Nebraska received an unwelcome surprise -- the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services announced that around 1,000 pregnant women who are undocumented will no longer receive prenatal services through the federal-state Medicaid program. These individuals will lose their benefits starting in March. At that point, Medicaid in Nebraska will only cover the cost of the delivery and the cost of treating emergency complications of pregnancy for undocumented women.

As for news on the U.S.-Mexico border, the New York Times has just published an article highlighting the damaging effects of the so-called "border war" on Indian reservations. The Tohono O'odham Nation spans the border and has become host to a number of unwelcome visitors, including Border Patrol agents and drug smugglers. Residents report even being afraid to walk in the desert during daylight for fear of running into members of the drug cartel or being caught in the middle of border security operations. The border militarization has caused residents to live in a perpetual state of fear -- as a result, residents recently agreed to create a "virtual fence" along the border, which they had previously been able to cross without disruption.

The immigration detention system continues to play host to a variety of abuses. On Tuesday, ICE agents clad in riot gear forcibly disrupted a detainee hunger strike at the Varick Street detention facility in Manhattan. About 100 immigrant detainees had gone on a hunger strike to protest detention policies and practices. ICE responded with force, using pepper spray on detainees, taking many to solitary confinement cells as punishment, and transferring about 17 to immigration detention centers in other states. This unwarranted use of force against unarmed detainees engaging in nonviolent protest should not be tolerated.

This episode comes on the tail of a recent article in the New York Times revealing that immigration officials have strenuously tried to cover up the broken immigration system -- most shockingly, by covering up the deaths of immigrants held in jail-like detention centers. Rigorous studies have shown that detention alone puts immigrants at higher risk of mental illness. What's more, as NPR reported, most detainees are non-violent yet cannot afford to make bail -- and most immigrant detainees can't even afford a lawyer. The poor standards, lack of oversight and transparency, and tolerance of mistreatment in immigration jails should no longer be treated as business-as-usual.

For those of you concerned about immigrant families being separated because of the broken immigration system, the Immigration Policy Center has put out a new report for you. This short report outlines the key principles for family immigration within the context of comprehensive immigration reform.

Finally, the Center for American Progress reports on a new poll showing that the public still continues to support comprehensive immigration reform. In fact, 87% of respondents supported a path to legal status and eventual citizenship for undocumented immigrants, as long as they completed non-punitive requirements like paying taxes and learning English. This kind of legalization program would put an end to today's two-tier society which treats undocumented immigrants as second-class contributors to society.

A Rare Glimpse Into Life in Jail: Visiting an Immigration Detention Center

On any given day, about 30,000 immigrants are held in jail-like detention centers across the United States. Most of them have never committed a crime yet they are treated like criminals, isolated from their families, and often unable to get lawyers to represent them. These are the real victims of the broken immigration system.

Detained immigrants are unable to tell their own stories because of the conditions of their confinement. In Minnesota, a group of concerned citizens is taking it upon themselves to work to ease their suffering.

These individuals have created the Interfaith Coalition on Immigration Ramsey County Jail Immigrant Detainee Visitation Project. They are in the process of launching a visitation program in which local residents would go to the jail and meet with immigrants there, to provide some human comfort and solidarity.

The core members of the coalition toured the jail on Wednesday. Their experience offers us a rare opportunity to peek into the world of immigration detention. I'd like to share with you some of their reflections:

Ramsey Jail Visitation Project Update

JAIL TOUR!

On Wednesday, January 20, four core group members had a tour of the Ramsey County Jail. We met the three primary administrators and the two programming personnel. All were gracious, welcoming, and clearly dedicated and committed to their work. Before scheduling the tour we were told it usually takes one hour; our tour took two hours and included a long pre-meeting. We were never rushed; there was ample time for questions and conversation. Our tour included a brief conversation with one of the facility's nurses who overheard one of our questions and gave a response.

THE JAIL POD

Our group was taken into the 'A' area where new criminal detainees are held and where we got a sense of what it meant to be in jail: it was lunch time, but while we were there, all were locked in their cells (which are typically two bunk cells with a thin mattress, a small table, and stainless steel toilet; the cells appeared to be about 6 X 10 feet ['guesstimate,' but it seemed smaller than the small 8 X 12 feet home study where I prepare this report!) where they were kept, their lunch stacked and waiting on the cart.

PERSONAL NOTE: I was uncomfortable in this situation and conscious of my privilege and, I guess, my power. They were in their cells so we could wander around. It was an accident of timing, perhaps, but in an already difficult situation, it was unfortunate that even this small experience was added to their troubles. For those waiting to eat, this must have seemed arbitrary, which might also be the feeling experienced by ICE detainees and their families: the subjects of 'arbitrary' power who are experiencing a complete loss of control of their lives and have become 'objects' in a deportation system that has taken charge of their future. This was also a reminder that when we get visiting privileges (I am optimistic) we must be careful to not intrude on meals and normal visiting and recreation times.

MEDICAL CONCERNS - Tour Observations

1. Our guides made repeated reference to the ICE mandated 14-day physical-medical assessment that all civil immigrant detainees get. They want us to know they both know about and are in compliance with this standard, which has not always been the case (as reported in an ICE Inspector General report, June, 2008, available on-line).

2. New medical request cards are being prepared that will state the ICE detainees do not have to make a co-pay. They are not in place yet: existing stocks without this notation are to be used first. All jail leadership personnel also made a point of telling us that they know ICE detainees do not have to make a medical co-pay.

3. Since the death of Maria Inamagua from a parasite originating in her country of origin and which is not common in the United States, there have been investigative reports stating the importance of ICE medical evaluations including screening for such exotic diseases (diseases or medical conditions originating in a person's country of origin) or that responses to health issues arising during detention include such screening, especially when the diagnosis proves difficult. The response to a question about this did not seem to reflect an awareness of this issue nor a specific knowledge of medical screenings.

HEAT - Personal testimony

I wore a short sleeve shirt. We were often moving and walking. My attention was usually directed to the speakers. Under these conditions, I was never cold. HOWEVER, as we were leaving, I observed someone in a holding cell just outside of the 'A' pod area. He was wearing the jail's mandatory orange short-sleeve coveralls. He was cold, his sleeves empty, both of his arms having been drawn upside his jump suit where he held them against his torso for warmth.

(Related note: no action or decision has been made per issuing long-john shirts to detainees. Pending that and the new requirement that all laundry be processed at the Ramsey County Workhouse, the option of purchasing a long-john shirt has been suspended; clothes cannot be brought into the jail.)

VENDING MACHINES - Personal observation

There are vending machines in the 'pods.' Prices are roughly $1.50 to $1.75 for snacks and soda (what I call 'motel' or 'airport' prices). I noticed that the same vending machines in areas serving only jail personnel were less expensive.

TOUR PARTICIPANT REPORT (I have not asked permission to share this person's name, hence it is not included; these are brief excerpts from a longer report)

It comes as no surprise that a jail is not a happy place. While I believe the staff “manage” (their word) the inmate population with the best intent, the conditions of a jail must be unnecessarily traumatic for an otherwise innocent immigrant.

Throughout my experience at the jail, despite being flanked by two or more official tour guides and 3 other tour participants, my awareness was heightened and I was on edge. I cannot imagine being placed in this facility when my only crime is trying to keep my family together or trying to find work that will sustain my children. I believe that the visitation program could be beneficial in easing the trauma of being placed in such a facility. However, for the long-term, I would like to see policies changed to eliminate jailing detainees without criminal offenses.

Aftershocks: A Haitian Message of Resilience

I'd like to share with you a beautiful op-ed piece written by Evelyne Trouillot and published today in the New York Times. While her message does not directly address the plight of Haitian immigrants, their future - and ours - are bound together.

Aftershocks
By ÉVELYNE TROUILLOT

THE family has set up camp in my brother’s house. I live just next door, but it makes us feel better to be all in the same house. My brother, a novelist, is writing his articles; I am writing mine. From time to time a tremor will make us pause and run back outside, just in case, to be safe. I wonder how long we will have to be so cautious, and I long for normalcy.

We sleep; we listen to the radio; we exchange information. Mostly, we have been trying to stay alive and sane since that Tuesday afternoon a week ago when the earthquake changed our lives forever. It doesn’t help that the earth continues to convulse. Just this morning, we felt another tremor, the most violent since the earthquake itself. Let us hope it did not cause more deaths and damage.

I do not recognize the streets of Port-au-Prince. In front of what used to be a school, three corpses are covered demurely by a blue sheet. Feet and eyes carefully avoid the small cadavers.

A few miles down, the Sacré-Coeur church, where the upper-middle class used to be baptized, married and buried, is a big pile of rubbish.

Under the broken glass and bricks of the five-story Caribbean Supermarket — which carried the most varied imported products and where foreigners were most likely to meet one another — women, men and children lie trapped, given up for dead. On Monday, rescuers managed to free from the site a young woman who was still alive. That same day, a grief-stricken family identified the body of a 27-year-old mother of a 6-month-old girl, who was not so lucky.

In the evening, the digging for bodies ceases, as does the search for drinking water and food, for news about missing parents and friends. Tired; terrified of the dark and its dreams of tremors, of the morning and its bad news; secretly — or not — relieved to be alive, we try to sleep.

In the background, the few radio stations that can still broadcast convey the messages of agonized families and friends. A father comes all the way from a little village in the south of Haiti looking for his two daughters. Although his voice is breaking, he manages to enunciate their names and please could somebody, anybody tell him if they are alive? The newscaster quickly repeats the message and introduces someone else. There are so many of them, a litany of desperate voices.

Night settles. The stars provide the only light; the electricity has not been restored. We save the energy from our Inverter generator system to run the Internet, so we can stay in contact with friends and family. The telephone lines are unreliable.

But we Haitians are nevertheless connected — regardless of our social conditions, our economic status, our religious beliefs, if only because we share the same uncertainties, the same fears about the monstrous size of the task at hand.

Although the earthquake does remind us of our common and fragile destiny, the fact that the earth trembles and destroys with equal brutality luxurious and shabby houses, small and huge enterprises, does not obscure the inequalities that divide Haiti. Social and economic disparities, the unjust distribution of our resources and the dire poverty of the majority of the population cannot magically evaporate with the dust. But maybe this disaster will constitute a new beginning. Maybe the reconstruction effort that is now so urgent will also work to narrow the gaps between us.

It is with a sense of warmth that I think of all the messages of solidarity I have received from around the world. Like most Haitians, I marvel at the signs of humanity — fund-raisers, simple letters of sympathy, offers of help: “Just tell me what you need!” But it is our government’s responsibility to help those most in need.

I am focusing now on what is essential in life: love and friendship. Like most people here, I am not watching the news. We have limited power, and anyway it seems futile and even absurd to be a spectator of my own life, especially when the TV images highlight only the misery of our country. Many of us Haitians are offended by the coverage of the earthquake. Once more, a natural disaster serves as an occasion to showcase the impoverishment, to exaggerate the scenes of violence that are common to any catastrophe of this type.

No, I am not watching the news. I am too busy trying to find a way to keep my hope alive because the work in front of us is humongous. I am busy rejoicing in the laughter of the children in the camp near our house, smiling at the comical reactions of a passer-by after a recent aftershock. I am busy shedding tears at the news of a miraculous rescue of six students from the wreckage of a university building. I am busy collecting the fragments of life that reflect the enormous courage and resilience among us.

I am busy loving life and my country.

Évelyne Trouillot is a novelist whose short stories have appeared in English in the collection “Words Without Borders.”

In Our Community: Immigration News

Welcome back to your local source for immigration news and updates! Since the holiday break, there's been a lot to report so grab your cup of coffee, sit back, and enjoy. Here is your news from Monday, January 4 to Monday, January 11. Happy reading!

It's been a mixed bag this week for the Department of Homeland Security. Starting on January 4, 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) changed its policies on asylum-seekers. People who enter the United States and demonstrate a credible fear of persecution or torture will now be automatically considered for parole, instead of detention. Holding asylum-seekers for months or even years in jail-like detention facilities has been proven to aggravate post-traumatic stress disorder, so this policy change is an important step in the direction of reducing our nation's dependence on detention.

However, the New York Times and ACLU have revealed a shocking story in which immigration officials had actively tried to cover up details about some of the 107 deaths in immigration detention since October 2003. Records show that one detainee was held in isolation for 13 hours with a head injury before treatment was sought, and another was deprived of prescription painkillers for a broken leg. Both died, yet the agency's main concern was apparently not how to prevent their deaths but how to avoid unwanted publicity. See this video from the New York Times for details.

The inhumane treatment of immigrant detainees indicates the real and urgent need for immigration reform. Rep. Luis Gutierrez's has introduced the CIR ASAP Act of 2009, a bill that would reform the immigration system to keep families together, protect workers' rights, and promote immigrants' human and civil rights. FCNL urges you to contact your representative and ask them to cosponsor this bill. This bill offers practical solutions for the broken immigration system, which will hopefully be incorporated into the final immigration bill passed by Congress.

The Immigration Policy Center and the Center for American Progress have introduced a new report, which finds that legalizing undocumented immigrants through comprehensive immigration reform would yield $1.5 trillion for the U.S. economy over the next 10 years. While some are understandably hesitant about reforming the immigration system during a recession, this report indicates that immigration reform would actually help promote economic growth. Immigrant workers would be better positioned to contribute to the economy, and the U.S. government could direct resources away from enforcement and towards the public's urgent needs. For more information, check out the Immigration Policy Center's top 10 resources of 2009.

In fiscal year 2009, the number of federal prosecutions reached an all-time high, due in large part to a flood of immigration prosecutions. Immigration prosecutions started climbing after the 1996 immigration laws were passed, and then prosecutions skyrocketed under the Bush administration. Now, immigration prosecutions make up 54% of federal filings. If immigrants had reasonable legal avenues to come to the United States and integrate into their communities, then the government wouldn't have to devote so many resources to these prosecutions.

Four immigrant students are taking a bold step - several thousands of bold steps, as a matter of fact. These students have embarked on the Trail of Dreams, a 1,500-mile walk from Florida to Washington, DC. Their goal is to promote the DREAM Act, which would allow undocumented students who came to the United States as children to pursue an accelerated path to legal status and eventual citizenship. To support them on their journey, visit the Trail of Dreams website.

I'll leave you with a surprising tidbit: a clip of Lou Dobbs on the Bill O'Reilly show. If you listen carefully and brush past their anti-immigration rhetoric, you'll find that they're actually stating their support for a workable, non-punitive legalization program. They also support family members joining their loved ones in the United States through the legal visa system. Who knew these two could be so liberal?

In Our Community: Immigration News

Here it is, your immigration news from Monday, December 7 to Monday, December 14!

Very exciting news! Tomorrow, Representative Luis Gutierrez (IL) will introduce his progressive comprehensive immigration reform bill, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP). In a press statement released today, Representative Gutierrez said: "We have waited patiently for a workable solution to our immigration crisis to be taken up by this Congress and our President. The time for waiting is over. This bill will be presented before Congress recesses for the holidays so that there is no excuse for inaction in the New Year. It is the product of months of collaboration with civil rights advocates, labor organizations, and members of Congress. It is an answer to too many years of pain —mothers separated from their children, workers exploited and undermined security at the border— all caused at the hands of a broken immigration system. This bill says 'enough,' and presents a solution to our broken system that we as a nation of immigrants can be proud of." FCNL congratulates Representative Gutierrez on his bill and looks forward to working with him and other members of Congress toward humane and fair comprehensive immigration reform in 2010. Read this op-ed to learn why immigration reform is the "right stuff."

The introduction of Representative Gutierrez's bill comes at an important time, on the heels of a major raid in California that serves as a reminder of the urgent need for immigration reform. Nearly 300 immigrants were detained in this three-day raid and at least 100 have already been removed from the country. Meanwhile, advocates in New Jersey have been working tirelessly to keep Indonesian Christians in their community out of detention and state employees in Arizona are struggling to provide public services under new state requirements to report undocumented immigrants to ICE.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding an important hearing on December 16, "The Law of the Land: U.S. Implementation of Human Rights Treaties." This hearing, the first of its kind, will examine how the United States can fulfill its international obligations under human rights law. FCNL has submitted a statement for the record about our concerns regarding arbitrary and indefinite detention as well as the need for due process protections for detained immigrants.

An op-ed in the New York Times calls for "Coverage Without Borders," addressing the issue of access to health care for immigrants in the United States. A key quote: "It certainly does not help Americans as a whole to remain healthy when millions of people, including schoolchildren, cannot get basic preventive care like immunizations and medications." The Senate is expected to finish debating the health care bill by the end of the month and - hopefully - the final version of the bill will remove the 5-year bar on Medicaid for green card holders.

Undocumented students are speaking out in unison about the need for immigration reform. In this remarkable story, students who may risk deportation by identifying themselves are coming out en masse in support of the DREAM Act, a bill that would put eligible undocumented students on a fast track to legal status and eventual citizenship. Carlos Roa, from Venezuela, says: “The undocumented youth are losing our fear of being undocumented. I’m public with this. I’m not hiding anymore.”

Why do we need comprehensive immigration reform in a recession? Well, the Boston Globe says, more immigrants are leaping into business ownership now than ever. Immigrant-owned businesses create millions of jobs in the United States each year. Check out FCNL's new document, "Immigration Reform is Key to Economic Recovery," for more information.

I'll leave you with an incredible story by the Washington Post on how second-generation immigrants struggle to find their footing in communities in which they are only partially integrated. Another Washington Post article points out that the children of undocumented immigrants are twice as likely as others to live in poverty. Comprehensive immigration reform would permit families, such as those featured in this article, to fully integrate into the community and contribute more robustly to the U.S. economy.

In Our Community: Immigration News

From Monday, October 19th to Monday, October 26th, here is your one-stop-shop for summaries of immigration stories in the news. Happy reading!

First of all, let's celebrate, because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill just passed with even more money allocated for alternatives to detention than originally requested. The alternatives to detention program received $70 million, $6 million above the initial request. This money will permit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to take vulnerable people - asylum-seekers, torture survivors, families, and others - out of immigration detention centers. Alternatives to detention are an effective, cost-efficient, and humane way to treat people going through immigration proceedings.

However, ICE is getting shaken up a bit - this week, a second high-ranking official left the agency. Cree Zischke has just left her job at the ICE Office of Detention Policy and Planning, only a few weeks after her boss, Dora Schriro, also left the agency. Schriro's report on U.S. immigration detention facilities, which was released on October 6, called for significant and immediate reforms to the detention system. It is concerning that Schriro and Zischke have left ICE at this critical moment when these reforms need to be implemented.

Another reason to celebrate: The DHS appropriations bill also included a provision that ends the "widow penalty." Before this bill passed, immigrants married to U.S. citizens faced an awful legal problem: If their U.S. citizen spouse died before they received their green card, they and their children would automatically be deported. Now, the DHS appropriations bill fixes that problem and permits grieving immigrant families to stay in the United States as they continue to petition for a green card.

Faith communities around the country continue to speak out in support of comprehensive immigration reform. In preparation for the introduction of Rep. Luis Gutierrez's (IL) upcoming bill on immigration reform, people of all faiths are speaking out about the need to fix the broken immigration system in order to welcome immigrants into U.S. communities. Police leaders from across the country have also called for fair and humane immigration reform, saying that these reforms would restore public trust in police enforcement and promote public safety.

Recognizing that undocumented children need to be supported in the public education system, the National Education Association and National School Boards Association jointly produced a report offering advice to schools with undocumented students. Undocumented children grew up in the United States and often don't even remember their countries of origin. This important guide will help schools meet the needs of undocumented students who are trying to integrate into U.S. education systems and communities.

The 2010 Census is around the corner, and Senator David Vitter (LA) has introduced an amendment in the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill that would seriously disrupt the Census process. He's trying to cut off financing to the Census unless it includes a question on whether the respondent is a U.S. citizen or not. Now, questions for the 2010 Census had to be finalized in March 2008, so Sen. Vitter is a little late on this one. However, if the Vitter amendment passes, it would cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars. New studies on the questionnaire would have to be run, all the Census forms would have to be reprinted, trainings would have to be redone, and all the technology set up to process the Census would have to be altered. Not only would this cost the United States billions of dollars that could be better used elsewhere, but it would significantly delay the 2010 Census process and discourage immigrants from participating in the Census. Rep. Joe Baca (CA) introduced a bill to counter the Vitter amendment, and the New York Times put out an editorial called "How to Waste Money and Ruin the Census." Latino pastors in California have also come out against the amendment. Please join FCNL and others to encourage your Senators to oppose the Vitter amendment.

Brookings Institute Releases Report Calling for Restrictions of Family-Based Immigration

Today, the Brookings Institute released a report titled "Breaking the Immigration Stalemate." The Institute claims that this report brings together people from both sides of the debate on immigration reform. Their website claims that the report identifies areas of agreement where policies could be advanced. However, in reality, the report calls for a nearly complete elimination of family-based immigration. I hope that you find this as concerning as I do.

Recommendations in the report include changing the family immigration system so that only the spouses and children under 21 of green card holders could legally immigrate. Millions of unmarried adult children of green card holders, and adult children and siblings of U.S. citizens, would no longer be eligible for visas.

The report also perpetuates incorrect myths about immigration, including the myth of chain immigration. One quote: "These are difficult and contentious policy choices which directly address critical linkages in the chain migration that results in ever-expanding family-sponsored immigrant networks." This is simply incorrect. It takes so long (between 5 and 22 years) for family members to reunite with their loved ones that it is simply not feasible for chain migration to take place on the scale described by Brookings.

It is neither good policy nor good ethics to separate families. Families are the fundamental unit of this country. Strong families make for stable communities and dynamic local economies. Strong families create support systems for individuals. The solution to the current backlogs in family-based immigration is not to cut out entire populations, making them ineligible for legal immigration -- instead, the solution lies in reforming the visa system for families in order to align it with demand. Legal immigrants in the US should be able to bring their loved ones here to join them, and including the Reuniting Families Act in comprehensive immigration reform would achieve just that.

California Assembly Supports Uniting American Families Act

Good news! The California Assembly's Judiciary Committee passed a resolution in support of the Uniting American Families Act! This resolution was introduced by Assemblymember Kevin de León (Los Angeles) and co-sponsored by Equality California as well as Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality. The resolution constitutes a formal request to Congress and the President to pass into law the Uniting American Families Act (S.424 and H.R.1024), a bill that would recognize permanent same-sex partnerships as of equal standing as opposite-sex partnerships. If this bill becomes law, U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents will be able to petition for a same-sex partner to immigrate to the United States. Currently, it is only possible to file a visa petition on behalf of an opposite-sex partner. The Uniting American Families Act is an important step toward eliminating discrimination in the federal immigration system. Congratulations to the California Assembly for making such a strong statement of support!

Keeping Families--All Families--Together: A Personal Story

- a recent blogpost on "Of Peace and Politics" by my wonderful colleague Stephen Donahoe, Campaigns Program Assistant, Friends Committee on National Legislation

As a white male, I haven't had the experience of dealing with prejudice, racism or sexism that many people face every day. While I certainly try to understand how they feel, I have not been able to really know the struggles of women or people of color because I haven't experienced it myself.

I have also not truly felt the effects of laws that have been changed or created in order to create more justice for oppressed people. For example, I celebrated the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, but not from the perspective of someone who's life would be affected personally because of the law. While I know that all laws that promote justice have an impact on the world (and thus impact my life), I have not had the experience of feeling that my life would be made different if a law were passed.

The Reuniting Families Act, recently introduced by Rep. Honda, is changing this for me. This law would allow gay and lesbian Americans to sponsor their immigrant "permanent partners" for legal U.S. residency.

As a gay American with an Indian partner, this bill would make a tremendous difference in my life. This has an impact on many more things than I would have previously imagined, all the way from the big question of where my partner and I live down to the mundane details. For example, today my partner is spending the day at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles getting his license renewed because as a foreign national he has to get his license renewed more frequently than citizens or legal residents. He also has to go to the BMV in DC for foreign nationals which normally has a much longer wait than other BMVs. One of the most important differences this would make would be that my partner and I would not have to worry about him getting a work visa in order to stay here. It is extremely unnerving to think that if he lost his job and couldn't find another employer to sponsor his visa he would be deported to India.

Most importantly, the Reuniting Families Act would be a tremendous step toward the equal rights that gay couples deserve. There is no reason why my partner and I or any other gay couples should be discriminated against because of our sexual orientation. We should all be accorded the same fundamental right to choose our own relationships.

FCNL has taken the lead among faith-based organizations in lobbying for the Reuniting Families Act. I am so thankful to work for an organization that is working for my rights. As a matter of fact, FCNL hosted the press conference with Rep. Honda for the release of the bill. To find out more about the work of FCNL on this issue, check out our immigration blog--"Immigration: It's Our Community."

Faith Leaders Announce Support for the Reuniting Families Act

Rabbi, Quaker, United Methodists and Eucharistic Minister Call on Congress to Uphold Family Unity

Listen in!

Washington, D.C. – Today, several leaders from diverse faith denominations joined with Congressman Mike Honda at a telephone press conference to announce their support of his bill, the Reuniting Families Act (H.R. 2709). If enacted, this bill would implement critically needed reforms to the U.S. family immigration system and restore family unity as a fundamental principle of U.S. immigration policy. At least 10 mainstream faith organizations support this bill.

“Family is the fundamental unit in society through which individuals are able to grow and experience the love of God,” said Joe Volk, Executive Secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. “As people of faith, we are given hope by Congressman Honda’s introduction of the Reuniting Families Act. The passage of this bill would offer pragmatic solutions to a broken system and ensure that families are reunited in a timely and humane manner.”

The Reuniting Families Act, introduced on June 4, 2009, reforms the U.S. family immigration system to end the lengthy separation of loved ones, promote family stability, and foster economic growth. There are 5.8 million people caught in the backlog of family immigration cases waiting unconscionable periods of time to reunite with their relatives. The current immigration system has not been updated in 20 years – keeping spouses, children, and their parents separated for years and often decades, despite the fact that the family has played by the rules. The Reuniting Families Act takes important steps toward fixing the broken family immigration system by reducing wait times for legal immigrants and ending discrimination against same-sex, permanent partners and their families.

“The United States is based on family values,” said Congressman Honda. “Upholding family is the American thing to do.”

This sentiment was echoed by other faith leaders during the conference. “The fair treatment of the stranger, the sojourner, the immigrant is a core concern of biblical religions and the Bible itself. This is part of the reason why we who are Christians care so much about this legislation,” said Rev. Dean Snyder of the United Methodist Church. “Keeping spouses, children and their parents separated for years and often decades is unnecessary and unacceptable.”

“For the Jewish community, immigration is a core concern. So rarely have we been accepted openly, yet this is one country that did,” said Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. “We came for love of our families, to create for them the life that families deserve. To have an immigration system that tears and keeps families apart is counterproductive.”

Shirley Tan, a Filipina and Eucharistic minister from the Good Shephard Catholic Church in Pacifica, California, also shared her personal story of getting caught in the broken family immigration system. “Our lives were almost perfect until January 28, 2009 when Immigration and Customs agents came to our door. I was handcuffed and taken away like a criminal,” she said. “My partner and my children are all US citizens, yet none of them can petition for me to stay in the United States.”

Rev. Bud Heckman of the World Conference of Religions for Peace concluded by stating, “Why should religious communities speak up about this issue? Because immigrants and their families are also people of faith.”

The faith leaders expressed their hopes that the Reuniting Families Act will be included in a broader comprehensive immigration reform bill this fall.

For information: http://www.honda.house.gov/rfa
Contact: alexandra@fcnl.org/202.903.2513

# # #

The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) is the oldest registered religious lobby in Washington, DC. Founded in 1943 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), FCNL staff and volunteers work with a nationwide network of tens of thousands of people from many different races, religions, and cultures to advocate social and economic justice, peace, and good government. FCNL is a nonpartisan 501(c)4 public interest lobby.

ADVISORY: FCNL Hosts Press Conference With Congressman Mike Honda

Hey all...sorry I've been MIA for a week. I was out in New Mexico with Intermountain Yearly Meeting (a yearly Quaker gathering of sorts). And then came back and had to catch up on all the madness I had missed in Washington last week.

But out of this madness has come something really exciting.

Today, FCNL will host a press conference with Congressman Mike Honda to talk about his bill, the Reuniting Families Act (H.R. 2709). On the call will be our executive director Joe Volk, Rev. Dean Snyder of the United Methodists Church, Rabbi Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and Rev. Bud Heckman from World Religions for Peace. We'll also hear from Shirley Tan, a Filipina woman who will tell her own story of dealing with the broken family immigration system.

I'll update you after the conference, but for now, check out the press advisory!

PRESS ADVISORY

Contacts: Alexandra Douglas 202.903.2513/alexandra@fcnl.org
- or - Caroline Anderson 202.903.2516

For Immediate Release

CONGRESSMAN MIKE HONDA AND FAITH LEADERS DISCUSS THE REUNITING FAMILIES ACT
June 18th media call includes Rabbi, Quaker, United Methodists

* * * PLEASE NOTE NEW START TIME FOR PRESS CALL * * *

WHAT: Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 4, 2009, the Reuniting Families Act (H.R. 2709) is landmark legislation, sponsored by Congressman Mike Honda (CA-15), addressing a broad range of obstacles families encounter in their efforts to remain together under U.S. immigration law. The bill contains practical solutions for reducing family visa backlogs and promoting humane and timely reunification of immigrant families.

WHO: Congressman Honda will be joined by Joe Volk, Executive Secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Other participants will include Reverend Dean Snyder from the United Methodist Church, Rabbi David Saperstein from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Reverend Donald “Bud” Heckman from the World -Conference of Religions for Peace. The call with also feature Shirley Tan, a Filipina and Eucharistic minister from Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Pacifica, California. Shirley will share her compelling story, including the overwhelming support she received from her pastor and faith community after being threatened with deportation and separation from her partner of 23 years and their 12-year-old twin sons.

WHY: There are 5.8 million people caught in the backlog of family immigration cases waiting unconscionable periods of time to reunite with their relatives. The current family-based immigration system has not been updated in 20 years – keeping spouses, children and their parents separated for years and often decades, despite the fact that the family has played by the rules. The Reuniting Families Act takes important steps toward fixing our broken family immigration system by reducing wait times for legal immigrants and ending discrimination against same-sex, permanent partners and their families.

WHEN: Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 10:15 AM [EST]

WHERE: Via Conference Call – To dial-in, call 480-629-9868 (or toll free at 1-888-561-1721) The conference ID is 4096721

WEBSITE:www.Honda.House.gov/RFA

###

The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) is the oldest registered ecumenical lobby in Washington, DC. Founded in 1943 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), FCNL staff and volunteers work with a nationwide network of tens of thousands of people from many different races, religions, and cultures to advocate social and economic justice, peace, and good government. FCNL is a nonpartisan 501(c)4 public interest lobby.

Uniting American Families--Equally and Fairly

This morning, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held its first ever hearing on LBGT discrimination in family immigration law.

The hearing in particular examined the Uniting American Families Act (S.424), a bill which would afford equal rights to same-sex partnerships under U.S. immigration law by allowing U.S. citizens and permanent residents to petition for their foreign-born partners under the family immigration system. Testifying were two bi-national same sex couples--one who has been issued orders of deportation that would separate her from her partner of 23 years and her twin sons and another who has moved abroad to be with his partner. Also testifying was a representative of the American Bar Association.

To share a couple of the key points of the testimony:

Gordan Stewart, a man who sold his family farm in Vermont and moved to London where his partnership with a Brazilian man would be recognized said--

"The United States' discriminatory immigration laws have also affected my extended family. I am lucky to have five siblings. In August, I will attend my niece's wedding in California. It will be a big family reunion but my partner will not able to join us. Renato cannot even get a tourist visa to visit the US. Imagine what that means.

If I want to be with my family for important occasions such as weddings, graduations, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the recent baptism of my godchild, I have to travel alone and leave Renato in London. Or if we want to celebrate an important occasion together, it is usually the two of us alone, far away from our family and close friends.

Recently, when my sister was diagnosed with cancer, Renato could not travel with me to visit her and I could not spend as much time with her as I wanted because I live and work in London. That is the reality of our life together.

Last year, I reluctantly and sadly sold our family farm in Goshen, Vermont because I cannot vacation there with Renato. Our family had the farm from when I was 6 years old, and our parents both died and were buried there. Imagine what it is like to own a property to which you cannot travel with your partner. It is impossible to maintain a 19th century farmhouse from the other side of the Atlantic. That is the reality of American immigration law for couples like us."

Shirley Tan, a Phillipino woman married to a US citizen who has two twin boys and cares for her partner's elderly mother shared--

"Our lives, I can say without any doubt, were almost perfect until the morning of January 28, 2009. That morning, at 6:30 a.m., Immigration Custom Enforcement agents showed up at my door. They were looking for a "Mexican girl," and, having nothing to fear, Jay did not think twice about allowing them into our home when they asked permission to search it. It turned out they were really looking for me.

The agents showed me a piece of paper, which was a 2002 deportation letter, which I informed them I had never seen. Before I knew it, I was handcuffed and taken away, like a criminal, as Jay's frail mother watched in hysterics. I was put into a van with two men in yellow jump suits and chains and searched like a criminal, in a way I have only seen on television and in the movies.

All the while my family was first and foremost the center of everything on my mind.

How would Jay work and take care of the kids if I was not there?

Who would continue to take care of Jay's ailing mother, the mother I had come to love, if I was not there?

Who would be there for my family if I was not there?

In an instant, my family, my American family, was being ripped away from me.

And when I did return home, I had an ankle monitoring bracelet. I went to great lengths to hide it from my children.

I have a partner who is a U.S. citizen, and two beautiful children who are also U.S. citizens, but not one of them can petition for me to remain in the United States with them. Because my partner is not a man, she cannot do anything to help me. Nor can my children, who keep asking why this happened to us and what will ultimately happen to our family.

Passage of the Uniting American Families Act, UAFA, will not only benefit me, but the thousands of people who are also in the same situation as I am. And so I respectfully submit to the committee today that changing the immigration laws of this country to include permanent partners will serve in the long run to keep families like ours together. Americans will be able to live at home with their partners rather than living in fear or in exile."

One of the most encouraging points of the hearing was the emphasis that this bill is simply a matter of civil rights. As Senator Russ Feingold quoted the American Bar Association as saying, "The current failure to recognize same-sex permanent partnerships for immigration purposes is cruel and unnecessary." Senator Patrick Leahy said "unequivocally that the issue of gay rights is an issue of civil rights." He then quoted Chairman Bond as saying, "Gay and lesbian rights are not special rights in any way. It isn't 'special' to be free from discrimination. It is an ordinary, universal entitlement of citizenship."

FCNL applauds Senator Patrick Leahy for holding this hearing. To read the written testimony that we submitted for the hearing, click HERE.

A Growing Movement: People of Faith for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

There is a growing movement among communities of faith to stand with immigrants as they seek to come out of the shadows and become full members of our society.

This video made by America's Voice documents the growing participation of people of faith in the call for comprehensive immigration reform. Like the Reedwood Friends Church that saw a raid tear mothers and fathers from their children or the Mountainview Friends Meeting who saw one of their families separated due disproportionate immigration laws, people of faith have realized that immigration is an issue that deeply affects our communities and one which we have the moral obligation to respond to.



"My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together."

Family unity is a human value. And we should be holding our members of Congress accountable to passing just and humane immigration reform that aligns our countries laws with our fundamental values.

TAKE ACTION

Fighting for Family Unity: An Immigration Story from Denver

This story was shared with me by a Friend from Mountainview Friends Meeting in Colorado. The story told below is a moving individual account of a situation in which thousands of families in the United States find themselves.

The Friend has consented to the story being posted on the blog, but all names have been changed to protect their identity.

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Guillermo Rodriguez is my daughter’s husband and father of my grandson. We discovered that he is ineligible to receive a visa under the current Immigration and Nationality Act. He was told that since he had unlawfully crossed the border more than once that he would have to wait 10 years outside the before applying for a waiver. The waiver is needed because he was unlawfully present in the United States. After 10 years, the Attorney General has the discretion to grant a waiver if Guillermo's spouse or son can show extreme hardship. If he had unlawfully crossed the border only once, he could have received a waiver.

Guillermo first entered the United States from Mexico in 1995, when he was 18 years old, to work in Oregon agriculture. Since he missed his parents and little brother, he went home for Christmas in 1997. He was intercepted at the border upon his return in 1998 and voluntarily departed. He then reentered and returned to work in Oregon. Shortly after coming to the Denver area in 1999, he met my daughter Sarah at work. They married and had a son. They applied for a change in status for Guillermo shortly after getting married. He was hoping to receive a visa, green card and social security number to better provide for his American family.

Guillermo and I traveled to Mexico to receive his visa at the American Consulate. We thought he would have to be gone 30 or 40 days in order to receive a visa. But we were shocked to learn that under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1996,* Guillermo is now classified inadmissible along with Nazi war criminals, terrorist and those who have committed serious criminal offenses such as murder, drug smuggling and child abduction. For going home for Christmas and returning to his job of helping to provide food for the American table, our family must now be torn apart. He is permanently barred from the United States, unless after 10 years someone is very sick or dying. Then maybe a waiver would be granted.

Many US lawmakers talk about family values, but do not apply these values to our real world. Guillermo is a devoted and loving father. The family is inseparable. Guillermo is devoted to his Mexican family of origin and his American family. He was looking forward to taking his family to his parents’ home for Christmas and legally returning to the United States. As the grandfather to Guillermo’s son, I am heartbroken. My daughter and grandson have to move to Mexico in order to preserve family unity. I was so looking forward to being with my grandson as he was growing up. My other daughter, Jessica, was hoping that her baby son would have a cousin and good friend. Both sets of great-grandparents are having a hard time coping with this. We are all suffering the pain of separation caused by this Draconian law.

Everyone that hears this story cannot believe that such an anti-family law could be written in this country. This is cruel and unusual punishment not open to court review. The punishment is not for Guillermo alone. This punishment is for the whole family.

An American Consulate Officer told me that there are thousands of families in this situation. Please repeal Section 212 (a) (6) and related sections from the list of inadmissible aliens ineligible to receive visas. These sections refer to illegal entrants and immigration violators. Should they not receive visas if they otherwise meet all of the other qualifications for a visa? Unlawfully crossing the border more than once is just not in the same category as terrorism and serious criminal activity. Guillermo never misrepresented his status to an US official and admitted to his history. The law was made harsher in 1996. Sarah and Guillermo are young and knew nothing of this law change.

Please also allow applicants, who were previously found ineligible to receive a visa under these sections, the right to have their previous application for change in status reinstated with the American Consul with whom the application was filled. This repeal must have retroactive effect to help families caught in this unjust law.

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*References

Section 212(a)(9)(B)(II) of the Immigration and Nationality Act states that immigrants who have crossed the border undocumented only one time and have stayed for more than a year are subject to a 10 year bar of reentry from the date of the immigrant's removal from the United States. After 10 years, an immigrant under this section is eligible to apply for a visa as the spouse, son or daughter or child of a US citizen or Legal Permanent Resident.

Whereas, Section 212 (a)(9)(C)(I) states that immigrants who cross the border undocumented more than one time and have been present in the United States for an aggregate period of one year or more are barred from reentry for a period of ten years. After 10 years the immigrant may appeal to the Attorney General to issue a waiver of ineligibility IF the immigrant can prove that their citizen or permanent resident spouse or child is suffering from extreme hardship.