Advocacy Update
April 2006

Immigration Reform in the 109th Congress: What Cost America?
By Emily Butera, LIRS Policy Advocate

"When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt (Leviticus 19: 22-24).” Such is the biblical mandate to welcome the stranger. Yet America in 2006 is engaged in a great debate about the future of immigration in this country. Will we continue to welcome the migrant to our shores, recognizing the vital contributions immigrants and refugees make to the social, economic and cultural fabric of the nation? Or will we adopt harsh and restrictionist laws that do nothing to make us safer, and could fundamentally alter the nature of our society?

Despite tremendous efforts by advocates including LIRS, we watched as H.R. 4437, The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act, introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI5), passed the House in December. Now as the Senate considers its version of the bill we advocate for passage of rational, humane and comprehensive legislation in the full Senate.

The landscape in Congress is troublesome. There is significant pressure to pass an enforcement-only bill. But such legislation would not fix our broken immigration system. Rather than providing a path to citizenship for migrants who contribute to our economy, it would perpetuate the existence of a second-class America and add 11 million undocumented noncriminal migrants to our already overburdened criminal justice system. Rather than providing a legal way for migrants to join family members already in the United States, the Sensenbrenner bill would fine and imprison those who assist undocumented relatives. Without legal channels to immigrate to the United States, more people will resort to traffickers to avoid long separations. Yet under this bill the victims of such crimes would be ineligible for immigration benefits or other protections.

An enforcement-only approach does not provide a mechanism for addressing our economy’s dependence on foreign labor. The pull of better paying jobs will not disappear. However, without a temporary worker program that allows foreign workers to come here legally and change employers freely, migrant workers will continue working under the table, unprotected and often exploited.

Rather than protecting the human rights of migrants, provisions in the bill would erode due process and judicial review, fundamental principles of U.S. and international law. Equally frightening, provisions in the bill would criminalize churches, social service providers and Good Samaritans who provide assistance to the undocumented.

Enforcement-only is an approach grounded in fear. LIRS recognizes the responsibility of the United States to protect its borders. Yet our faith and our concern for safety calls us to advocate for a more comprehensive approach—one that welcomes the newcomer, builds strong families and recognizes the fundamental dignity of every human being. Safety is not simply secure borders. Safety is protecting America’s tradition as a nation of immigrants that welcomes newcomers who value the rights, freedoms and obligations our nation holds dear.

Read past Advocacy/Washington Updates.