|
April 3, 2006
Dear. Federal, State, Local Elected Officials.
This letter is to express our gratitude for your opposition and your vote against the punitive and less than comprehensive immigration legislation recently approved by the House of Representative.
The Immigrants Rights Defense Committee of New Jersey was created to defend the rights of immigrants because we believe that beyond the status issue, every person should be afforded and treated with dignity as well as having their human right respected.
The House Republicans passed a bill in December that would, among other things, make it a federal crime to live in this country illegally, turning the millions of illegal immigrants here into felons, ineligible to win any legal status. This legislation would fosters hate and discrimination against all immigrants irrespective of their status and would criminalize undocumented and those who assist them in a country that has characterized itself as a “land of immigrants” and of compassion.
We believe the Senate’s Judiciary Committee bill while not fully satisfactory is a more comprehensive immigration bill. The Committee’s voted to eliminate the provisions that would criminalize immigrants for living here without due process and made an amendment to protect groups and individuals from being prosecuted for offering humanitarian assistance to undocumented immigrants. The Committee’s version would allow immigrants who work, pay taxes and learn English to become fully incorporated into American society as citizens and would encourage the millions of immigrants to come out of the shadows. There would also be provisions for temporary guest work programs. This legislation also provides border security and would nearly double the number of Border Patrol agents over the next five years, criminalize the construction of tunnels into the United States from another country and speed the deportation of illegal immigrants from countries other than Mexico.
The United States has always been a nation of immigrants, and today the country has more than 33 million foreign-born residents, the largest number since the Census started keeping such statistics in 1850. An estimated 11 million are believed to be undocumented immigrants in the United States. The question is where is their home? We believe as Representative Graham said to his colleagues: "Their home is where they've raised their children. Their home is where they've lived their married lives." "Whatever we do," he added, "we have to recognize that for several generations people have made America their home." The majority of these undocumented workers are contributing to fueling our continued economic growth and support critical values that we treasure as American.
Your continued support in favor of our immigrant co-workers, colleagues, friends and family will be critical in finding an equitable, comprehensive and practical solution to this critical and defining issue.
To demonstrate our support for our new immigrants, the Immigrant Rights Defense Committee of New Jersey will conduct a march and rally in Newark, New Jersey, our largest city and gateway for many earlier immigrants, on April 23, 2006. We will assemble in Lincoln Park at 1PM with the march starting at 2PM and hold a rally near the Newark Federal Court House on Broad Street. And ending at Military Park. We ask that you join us. One of our committee members will be calling your office to ascertain you availability and to coordinate your role in our march and rally.
Sincerely,
President: Norberto Curitomai
Vice President: Lucilo A. Santos
Legal Advisor: Martín Pérez
Community Advisor: Raymond Ocasio |
