Temporary Victory for the Civil Rights of Every American

Washington D.C.  – Today, Federal Judge Susan Bolton prohibited the most controversial portions of Arizona’s SB1070, a harsh anti-immigrant law, from taking effect agreeing with Department of Justice attorneys who argued that the law represented “an unprecedented package of enforcement measures … in explicit disagreement with the federal government.” The following is a statement from Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum.

“We continue to believe Arizona’s law is misguided and unconstitutional and today’s ruling demonstrates we were correct. Judge Bolton’s decision to block portions of the Arizona law demonstrates that the state’s leadership over-reached with SB1070 and consequently stumbled into unconstitutional and hazardous legal territory.

Judge Bolton prevented the following areas of SB1070 from taking effect: requirements that an officer make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person stopped, the creation of a crime for the failure to apply for or carry alien registration papers, the creation of a crime for an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply for, or perform work, and finally, authorizing the warrantless arrest of a person where there is probable cause to believe the person has committed a public offense that makes the person removable from the United States.

Meanwhile, local law enforcement will struggle to interpret the remaining portions of SB 1070 and provide training to officers. This will lead to confusion on the ground since it will require Arizona’s police agencies to create a patchwork of guidelines based on varying interpretations of the law that will be burdensome and costly.

As the country waits for the courts to sort out the legal issues stirred up by SB 1070, the federal government must act immediately to fulfill their responsibility and reform our broken immigration system. While we are pleased that Judge Bolton agreed in part with our position to prevent this law from going forward, today’s ruling only underscores the desperate need for comprehensive immigration reform.  Many Americans supported - out of frustration and anger - Arizona’s unconstitutional attempt to create a separate immigration system. However, even greater numbers of Americans support comprehensive immigration reform.

We are grateful the Department of Justice filed suit and the President has voiced his condemnation of SB1070, but it is time for the President to take a more forceful lead on this issue and for Republicans in the United States Senate to come to the negotiating table in good faith. The federal government must lead on immigration reform and it must do so immediately.  To delay only invites other jurisdictions to follow in Arizona’s misguided footsteps, and leaves the underlying problem - our dysfunctional immigration system - to worsen.

Pastor Warren H. Stewart of Phoenix’s First Institutional Baptist Church characterized the fight to fix our broken immigration system and its consequences best when he called it the civil rights struggle of the 21st Century. Like all great struggles, the battle over our broken immigration system will be long and difficult, but we’re confident that we’ll succeed in creating a system that is fair, just, and values the rights and dignity of all.

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PRESS CONFERENCE AUDIO AVAILABLE AT:

http://www.immigrationforum.org/images/uploads/2010/PressConf_10-0716.mp3

Washington, D.C./Salt Lake City UT – Today a bipartisan coalition of the Utah’s Republican Attorney General, the Bishop of Salt Lake City, a Democratic State Senator from Salt Lake City, and other prominent Utah and national leaders gathered on a national telephonic press conference to denounce the immigrant blacklist circulated by the so-called “Concerned Citizens of the United States” and to announce that the Attorney General’s office would begin its investigation next week.

“We will begin an immediate aggressive investigation. Beyond the legal nature of this, we condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the generation and dissemination of this list and the spirit behind it,” said Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. “It calls upon a large group of Utahns to observe, watch, and report men, women, pregnant women and children. I want to make it clear that’s not the way we do things in Utah. This is not a blacklist, this is a hit list.  We call upon the federal government to take the lead on comprehensive immigration reform.”

During the press conference, Attorney General Shurtleff discussed the legal ramifications of the list, the potential next steps with the Governors office and the involvement of U.S. Attorneys. The Attorney General indicated that the Governors office would hand over the investigation to the Attorney Generals office on Monday.

Other Utah and national leaders condemned the law and the serious breaches of privacy.  “This list has been very shocking and sends a very negative message about the safety of the privacy of every individual in the state of Utah,” said State Senator Luz Robles. “This was a very violent and aggressive way to send a message. I think most people not only in Utah but around the country are looking to comprehensive immigration reform from the federal government.”

“It seems to me that as a citizen of Utah, if I can feel vulnerable because of this type of action, I can only imagine what some of Utah’s immigrants must be feeling and it must be a very difficult time for them,” said Bishop John Wester of the Salt Lake Diocese. “This just underscores the need for our federal government to act on comprehensive immigration reform.  We can solve this problem.”

“This is about us as a people, about who we are as Utahns. We are a welcoming people here in Utah,” said Paul Mero, President of the Sutherland Institute, a Utah-based conservative think tank. “This list in Utah is reprehensible. It makes me sick to my stomach, and I know that the good people of Utah won’t have anything to do with it. We’re for comprehensive reform, not enforcement only. We think comprehensive reform is the true conservative position.”

“What happened in Utah is not an immigrant problem or a Latino problem.  When private information is compromised every citizen should be concerned. After all, who is next?” said Clarissa Martinez, Director of Immigration and National Campaigns at the National Council of La Raza.  “But the failure of our federal government to fix our broken immigration system will continue to unleash misguided actions that terrorize whole communities—we hope this experience compels Utah Senators to deliver the solution our country needs.”

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DREAM University Spotlights Hurdles to Higher Education Experienced by Immigrant Youth

Washington D.C. – Hundreds of young immigrant students from across the country are gathering this month in Washington, D.C., to pressure Congress for swift passage of the DREAM Act, bipartisan legislation that will benefit talented undocumented immigrant kids who yearn to attend college or serve in the United States military.

Today, these young students will be part of the inaugural class of the “DREAM University”. The “DREAM University” is a forum for immigrant students who yearn for higher education but are denied access due to their immigration status. Young participants will not have to prove citizenship status in order to attend free lectures by educators and organizers.

“We congratulate these inspiring students for their courage and determination to bring national awareness to their struggle to  access higher education and a fair opportunity to succeed,” said Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum and Chair of the Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign. “The DREAM Act is an integral component of comprehensive immigration reform and these young activists are key allies of the coalition fighting to fix our broken immigration system. “

Young immigrant students are the overlooked casualties of the immigration debate’s overheated rhetoric. They were brought to the U.S. as children through no fault of their own, were raised in America, educated in America and think of themselves as Americans. Many long to earn a college degree or serve the country in uniform but they face a dim future of dead-end jobs because they are stuck in a paperwork trap.

The DREAM Act addresses the purgatory-like status of these young immigrant students who are ready to give back to America – their home – through hard work and service. This bipartisan bill offers a practical solution. It defies common sense to put higher education out of reach for hard working immigrant students.  Doing so won’t force them to leave our country—the only country they call home. It would, however force them to remain in the underground workforce while America is deprived of the increased economic productivity and tax revenues provided by a better-educated workforce.

“Congress should emulate the courage of these young people, set political gamesmanship aside and pass comprehensive immigration reform this year” added Noorani. “Unless Congress acts swiftly to address illegal immigration with pragmatic and long lasting solutions, some of our best and brightest immigrant students will have their potential cut short. The DREAM Act guards our nation’s investment in the education of its youth, and ensures that America will reap the benefits of those investments.”

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For more information on the DREAM Act mobilization contact Tolu Olubunmi, United We DREAM Network

 Lawsuit Against Arizona Reasserts that Immigration is a Federal Responsibility

Washington, D.C. — Today the Department of Justice announced that it will file suit against the state of Arizona based on the Constitution’s supremacy clause stating federal preemption of immigration regulation and enforcement by the states. The following is a statement by Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan, non-profit, pro-immigrant advocacy organization in Washington.

We fully support the Department of Justice’s decision to put the brakes on Arizona’s discriminatory and unconstitutional immigration law. It is critical for the administration to send a clear signal asserting that state and local laws that attempt to regulate immigration, such as the Arizona SB1070 law, will not be tolerated.    

Don’t just take our word for it. Leading police chiefs across the country have voiced their opposition to the Arizona law because it will burden local law enforcement, undermine community policing, and harm public safety.  George Gascón, Police Chief of San Francisco, CA voiced his concern that SB1070 will redirect police from fighting crime,

“SB 1070 . . . creates a resource allocation problem. Police departments in Arizona, already spread thinly and underfunded, now have an added responsibility — to enforce federal immigration law”  He added, [P]olice officers cannot take on immigration enforcement without taking substantial time away from priorities that are more central to a local law enforcement agency, such as investigating and preventing violent crimes and property crimes.

The resulting harm to public safety will not only impact immigrant communities, but all communities in the state of Arizona because it creates a vacuum in law enforcement.”

Leading Republicans have also voiced their opposition to Arizona’s draconian law. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (SC) has stated that he thinks the law is “unconstitutional” and that “it doesn’t represent the best way forward” when it comes to addressing illegal immigration.

Republican Congressman Connie Mack (FL) wrote on an op-ed titled “Why conservatives should oppose Arizona’s immigration law”,

“The Arizona immigration law reminds us of how fear and distrust can lead to bad laws and even more government overreach into the private sector and our private lives…trampling on the rights of some Americans to protect the majority conflicts with the values our nation was founded upon.”

Arizona’s law is a clear example of the chaos created by the federal government’s failure to fix our broken immigration system and the need to prevent the spread of Arizona-type legislation to other states..  Our broken immigration system is a national problem that requires a federal solution. Allowing a state to craft and pursue its own immigration policies conflicts with the federal government’s exclusive authority to enact a uniform set of immigration laws and execute them in a just manner.  We don’t need a muddled patchwork of conflicting immigration policies; we need a national standard and a workable system of immigration laws. 

Public frustration over illegal immigration will only increase unless the federal government steps in and solves this complex problem once and for all. This frustration is not solved by states and localities attempting to pass and enforce their own immigration laws.  In order to significantly reduce illegal immigration, restore the rule of law, and replace the chaos of the status quo with a functioning, practical system, we need comprehensive immigration reform – the only sensible and lasting solution. 

By reminding the nation that the federal government has the sole authority to set immigration policy and enforce immigration laws, the Obama Administration can close the door on the surging numbers of localities attempting to take immigration policy into their own hands.  Until Congress acts, the Obama Administration must accept full responsibility for carrying out the immigration laws of this nation in a manner that upholds America’s fundamental values of equality, fairness and dignity. 

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Washington D.C. – Today, in a major address, President Obama reiterated the urgent need to fix our broken immigration system through comprehensive immigration reform. The following is a statement by Pastor Warren H. Stewart Sr., of Phoenix’s First Institutional Baptist Church and Member of the National Immigration Forum Board:

“The Presidents speech today was a welcome break from the stale and sometimes hateful rhetoric that has paralyzed our national immigration debate. He is right that the time for fixing this broken system is now and we welcome his engagement in the debate. We hope that today’s words and call for a comprehensive fix to our broken immigration system will be met with concrete action by his administration and renewed political will and commitment from members of both parties in Congress.

Arizona - my home - has focused the eyes of the nation on our broken and immoral immigration system. The President called Arizona’s new immigration law understandable but ill-conceived. It’s worse than that. It helps create a poisonous environment of distrust and fear, terrorizes communities, and causes extreme hardship and trauma for immigrants and citizens alike and divides everyone. Arizona hasn’t just triggered a national crisis; it has triggered a moral crisis.

Even after the potential implementation of state measures like Arizona’s, we would still have a broken and immoral federal immigration system that tears families apart, wastes our tax dollars, and divides our communities. This is a federal problem that will require a bipartisan solution. Republicans should join the President and offer their best ideas to truly reform our broken system once and for all. Only with both parties working together can we find a long term solution to this problem.

Comprehensive immigration reform is a humane and practical solution to our broken immigration system that honors our best traditions as a nation of immigrants and of laws. It’s fair, tough, and practical and will end the patchwork fixes, the family separation, and the vacuum created by federal inaction.”

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Forum presents Economic Benefits Of Legalization To Commission On Fiscal Responsibility

Washington, D.C. — Today, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform held a public forum on our nation’s fiscal challenges and how to identify policies to achieve fiscal improvements and sustainability.  Grisella Martinez, Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs of the National Immigration Forum, testified before the commission about the deficit reducing impact of legalization and fiscally-sound enforcement policies that are smart, targeted and effective.

Today’s Congressional Budget Office report paints a grim picture on the rising national debt. As policymakers struggle to craft policies that would improve our national fiscal situation over the long-term, they should be reminded that comprehensive immigration reform remains one of the best ways to improve our national balance sheet because it would substantially increase federal revenues and decrease costs. Robust reform of our immigration laws with a path to legalization would add $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product over 10 years, support nearly a million jobs, increase wages and generate at least $4.5-5.4 billion in additional tax revenue after just the first three years of implementation.

The potential impact of fixing and modernizing our immigration system is too big to ignore. If we are to balance the budget, decrease the deficit and meaningfully improve our nation’s economic outlook, we must reform our immigration laws to raise wages, increase consumption, create jobs, and generate additional tax revenue. In addition, the government must engage in more precise and accountable spending of discretionary funds dedicated to immigration and border enforcement.

 “We cannot continue to think that we can enforce or spend our way out of our illegal immigration problem; we’ve been trying to do that for 15 years without success,” stated Grisella Martinez. “Fixing our broken immigration system does require targeted and smart spending on enforcement, but it also demands that we reform our laws so that we can reap the economic benefits of bringing 11 million people out of the shadows and onto the tax rolls.”

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Additional Resources:

Full text of testimony submitted to Congress: http://bit.ly/GMTestimony   

Real time counter of lost tax revenues because of inaction on immigration reform: http://bit.ly/FiscalCIR

Continue to Call For Urgent Changes, Additional Accountability, and Transparency in Immigration Enforcement

Washington D.C. –Today, in remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano outlined the Administration’s progress in implementing tough, smart border and interior immigration enforcement and security measures.  The Secretary rejected the notion that states can implement their own immigration enforcement policies, asserting that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and mandate.  She also squarely asserted that the entire immigration system must be fixed in order for border/interior enforcement to be effective, and renewed her call on Congress to implement changes to our nation’s immigration system with a comprehensive set of reforms.

The following is a statement from Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum:

We welcome Secretary Napolitano’s rejection of bumper-sticker enforcement slogans and her assertion that effective immigration enforcement requires comprehensive immigration reform.

While we continue to work with Members of Congress and the Obama Administration to achieve comprehensive immigration reform, we also renew our call on the Administration to immediately address a variety of enforcement concerns and abuses that we have brought to their attention over recent months.

Secretary Napolitano reasserted in her remarks today that the Administration’s enforcement efforts will continue to prioritize cross-border human, drugs and arms trafficking by criminal syndicates, and removal of immigrants convicted of violent crimes. 

However, it has been apparent that the Obama Administration continues to target undocumented students, workers and families.  Recent examples include: 

• a husband in Manhattan was jailed as a result of his wife’s written request for help to President Obama
• a leaked ICE enforcement policy memo emphasized high volume for enforcement actions rather than adherence to stated priorities
• Haitian evacuees that the U.S. rescued from the earthquake were jailed upon arrival in the U.S.
• questionable use-of-force policies at the border have resulted in unnecessary deaths
• an Office of the Inspector General report on the 287(g) program harshly criticized a terribly implemented and misguided program

These examples all point to a rudderless, scattershot and harsh enforcement approach rather than the smart, rational set of priorities that Secretary Napolitano described today.

We outlined our deep concerns about the Administration’s enforcement actions in a meeting with a broad array of advocates with President Obama this spring.  In a series of subsequent meetings with Administration officials, we offered our proposals and joined several of our colleagues in a united call for more effective enforcement.

We continue to demand a meaningful review of immigration enforcement policies, with changes implemented swiftly and uniformly. 

We renew our call for the following:

• end the deeply flawed 287g program
• ensure that programs that partner with law enforcement, such as the “secure communities” program, operate in accordance with enforcement priorities and in no way encourage, condone, or tolerate racial profiling
• fully enact the much publicized yet still anticipated detention reforms
• rescind the Bush-era OLC memo purporting to give state and local law enforcement the “inherent authority” to enforce civil immigration laws
• implement professional training and oversight programs coupled with robust complaints and redress processes to make sure that enforcement is done with respect for enforcement priorities and human and civil rights
• establish Border Community Liaison Officers in every border sector to institutionalize and promote community consultation with residents, private landowners, businesses, local law enforcement, local elected officials, civil and human rights advocates, faith leaders, environmental advocates, immigration advocates and other stakeholders.
• revisit and make transparent, standards of professional conduct and training in use –of-force policies for ICE, Border Patrol and other DHS enforcement agents.

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Background materials from the National Immigration Forum:

Backgrounder: The Border Security Buildup: True Border Security Requires Reforming Our Broken Immigration Laws

Backgrounder: Secure Communities

Forum’s press release on 287 (g) program deficiencies: 287 (g) on Thin ICE

Forum’s press release on detention reforms: Detention Policy Changes Welcomed

Washington, D.C. — Two weeks ago, in an interview in Ecuador Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asserted that the Obama administration would sue to block Arizona’s SB1070.  The next day, a “Senior White House Official” confirmed Secretary Clinton’s assertion that the administration was preparing to sue. The following is a statement by Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan, non-profit, pro-immigrant advocacy organization in Washington.

For months, advocates have been waiting for the White House to intervene into the mess created in Arizona because of SB1070 via Justice Department lawsuit. We’ve gotten hints from Secretary Clinton and from an unnamed White House aide, but nothing official from the Department of Justice. We’re still waiting.

We have received mixed signals from the administration. The President has called Arizona’s law ‘misguided,’ but the administration has yet to take concrete steps toward preventing the implementation of this ‘misguided’ law. The Arizona law will take effect at the end of July. The time for delay, ‘further review,’ and speculative leaks is over. If the administration is to intervene, it should do so now.

Arizona’s law is the direct result of Washington’s failure to lead on immigration. By not intervening, the administration would be exacerbating one wrong by creating another. Whatever lawsuit the administration brings, it should send a very clear signal to others states considering similar measures that immigration is a federal responsibility. At the same time, however, the administration should redouble its efforts toward achieving comprehensive immigration reform in 2010.

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Washington, D.C. — The National Immigration Forum joins the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the international community in commemorating World Refugee Day. This day serves as a reminder of the bravery, courage and perseverance demonstrated daily by millions of refugees in the face of degradation, persecution and oppression. It also reaffirms America’s longstanding commitment to justice for displaced individuals who are forced to flee their home country due to the threat of persecution or torture.

A commitment to providing a safe haven to refugees and asylum seekers is woven deeply into our national fabric. Many of America’s founding fathers sought to escape intolerance and religious persecution by coming to our shores. This year’s commemoration of World Refugee Day is of particular significance, because it falls on the 30^th anniversary of the Refugee Act of 1980. Since the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980, America has continued its tradition of protecting individuals who have been forced to flee because of fear they would be persecuted and tortured in their home country.

The importance of providing refuge to those fleeing prosecution is underscored by the introduction of the Refugee Protection Act of 2010. The Refugee Protection Act would establish the necessary reforms to ensure that the most vulnerable amongst us have access to basic due process and justice. 

Refugees and asylees have made countless contributions to American life. They have entered diverse fields such as politics, academia, sports and music. As business owners and employees, they have contributed to America’s continued economic vitality. Perhaps most importantly, they have brought out the best in American citizens and government. It would not be possible for America to provide protection to displaced persons without the diligent and hard work of government officials and the generosity of everyday Americans and voluntary organizations, who aid refugees in making the difficult transition to American life.

As the world marks World Refugee Day, it is important for America to remain a beacon of hope for those facing persecution and violence in their home countries. It is indeed a moral, legal and historical legacy that deserves celebration and praise.

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Washington, D.C. — On June 9th, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a proposed new fee schedule for immigration applications.  Fees are proposed to go up by an average of 10 percent for most immigration applications.  However, the agency decided not to increase the price of processing an application for citizenship.  The following is a statement by Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan, non-profit, pro-immigrant advocacy organization in Washington.

We are relieved USCIS is not increasing the price of U.S. citizenship, recognizing that the fee hike has become a roadblock for immigrants who are eager to become Americans. Since the price for naturalization processing more than doubled in 2007, the dream of citizenship has been put out of reach for many hard-working immigrants who have demonstrated their commitment to America. Our democracy is strengthened and revitalized when we facilitate the citizenship and assimilation of immigrants into fully participating members of society. 

We continue to be concerned about the impact fees have on applicants for other immigration services.  For many years now, USCIS has been investing in infrastructure to make their processes more efficient, but we have yet to see the results in reduced costs.  In part, this is because USCIS has many responsibilities that are not directly related to the processing of immigration applications, but the costs are charged to applicants nonetheless.

It is time to address the fundamental flaws in our nation’s system of financing immigration services.  We are pleased that the Administration has asked for Congressional appropriations in the Fiscal Year 2011 budget to cover some of the costs that are not related to the processing of the applications of fee-paying applicants.  The National Immigration Forum supports the Administration’s request, and we will press for other reforms that will reduce unfair costs that have become disconnected from the services immigrants actually receive. America should be embracing those who want to be Americans, not erecting barriers to achieving citizenship and the American dream.