QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“These people have established lives, they’re a part of our culture, they’re a part of our country — we need to get over it.”
— DeWayne Loggins, Gainesville, Georgia resident, on undocumented immigrants, June 1
SUMMARY
Discharge Petition Approaches 218 Signatures
The discharge petition Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Florida) filed May 9 is up to 213 of the 218 signatures required to force votes on immigration bills that address the future of Dreamers.
Rep. Jeff Denham (R-California) introduced the “Queen of the Hill” resolution that would lead to votes on the four bills. This discharge petition, should it reach 218 signatures, would bring the resolution to the House floor for votes. Denham said he and Curbelo have secured five more would-be signatories but are holding pending a Thursday Republican member conference. At that meeting, House leaders will try to reach a compromise that would circumvent the discharge petition.
Should the discharge petition advance, the Queen of the Hill resolution would lead to votes on the bipartisan DREAM Act and USA Act, as well as the restrictionist Securing America’s Future Act, introduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), which would dramatically reduce legal immigration to the U.S. and fails to provide a permanent solution for Dreamers. The fourth bill would be a bill of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wisconsin) choice that would possibly mirror President Trump’s immigration framework.
Veterans, faith, law enforcement and business leaders from across the U.S. have voiced their support for a permanent solution for Dreamers living in limbo amid the ongoing legal battle over Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), underscoring the urgency of legislation.
Family Separation Policies Continue to Raise Concerns
The Trump administration’s new zero tolerance policy at the border, which separates parents — including those seeking asylum legally — from children as young as 18 months continues to spark outrage and condemnation.
Prominent evangelicals sent a letter to President Trump on Friday urging him to reconsider the new policy, emphasizing the biblical significance of family unity. The letter asks the administration to protect families by reversing the policy and resuming a robust refugee resettlement program that provides families fleeing persecution with options other than seeking asylum at the U.S. border. An opportunity for local pastors and other evangelicals to sign on is the next phase of the effort.
They join other faith leaders, child welfare experts, conservative commentators, immigration advocates and other prominent voices who have decried the separation of families. In addition, last week immigration advocates filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against the U.S. government. And on Friday, advocates gathered in more than two dozen cities across the country to protest the policy.
Although President Trump has attempted to blame Democrats, analysts noted that no law mandates family separation and that the recent increase is the direct result of Trump administration policies.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) said last week that she plans to introduce legislation to “prevent the intentional separation of families.”
LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN
Summary of immigration legislation introduced and government reports on immigration: https://immigrationforum.org/article/legislative-bulletin-friday-june-1-2018/
MUST READS:
NEW YORK TIMES: Fewer Immigrants Are Reporting Domestic Abuse. Police Blame Fear of Deportation.
By Cora Engelbrecht
June 3, 2018
For years, she slept with a gun under her pillow, living in fear of a boyfriend who beat her, controlled her life and threatened to kill her and her children. Domenica, who came to this country illegally from Mexico in 1995 and became part of the booming immigrant community in Houston, said her partner was a United States citizen, and often reminded her that she could be deported if she went to the police.
“He told me nobody would help me, because I don’t have papers,” said Domenica, 38, who has a son and daughter with her boyfriend, and asked that her last name not be used in order to protect them. “I was with him like that for a pretty long time. I felt like there was no help for me.”
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/03/us/immigrants-houston-domestic-violence.html
HOUSTON CHRONICLE (Opinion): Taking immigrant kids from parents shows contempt for families.
By Dr. Reshem Agarwal and Dr. Marsha Griffin
June 3, 2018
We go to work each day as pediatricians to promote the health and well-being of children, and we form relationships with families from all walks of life. We see rich and poor, immigrant and native-born parents provide the steady love and care necessary to help their children heal from the simple fractures of childhood, endure the side effects of leukemia treatment or recover from surgeries. A new government policy of separating immigrant children from their parents shows contempt for this basic impulse of a parent to protect a child and fosters deep and lasting harm for children who may end up as our patients.
ARIZONA REPUBLIC (Editorial): What you have to lose in this toxic immigration war (hint: it’s a lot)
June 3, 2018
Our national decency is at risk in the toxic political wars over immigration.
But don’t just wonder how vicious it will get this election year.
Instead, demand some real leadership.
OK. OK. We know.
There’s little hope politicians will rise to the occasion.
Yet there is a big need for them to act in the national interest – instead of their own.
And it’s time to hold them to a higher standard.
WASHINGTON POST: Answering the call
By Tim Craig
June 1, 2018
Three months into the job, Lupe Avalos still hears from the skeptics.
His twin brother and Latino friends wonder why a 20-year-old man born in Mexico decided to volunteer for one of the oldest, clubbiest small-town traditions — the American firehouse.
“They are like, ‘Oh, you are over there being white again with your firefighter friends,’ ” said Avalos, who was born in Mexico and brought to the United States by his parents when he was 4 years old. “But I like it, and I’m learning a lot of new things by getting involved in the community.”
This town in the center of Oklahoma’s panhandle has seen a huge demographic shift, flipping from majority-white to majority-Hispanic in the span of two decades. It’s a transformation reflected across many parts of America, one that is reshaping core community institutions, including those that provide the most critical services.