A week ago, the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security of the House of Representative’s Judiciary Committee was preparing to take the next step towards passing four pieces of legislation that would strip protections for migrant children traveling alone, harm migrants and the communities that welcome them, and create unnecessary barriers for people seeking asylum.
On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, the Subcommittee passed the “Legal Workforce Act” (H.R. 1147) and the “Protection of Children Act” (H.R. 1149). We expect that the Subcommittee will again consider the “Michael Davis Jr., in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act” (H.R. 1148) and the “Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act” (H.R. 1153) sometime next week. These bills will then be passed to the full House of Representatives for consideration.
All four of these pieces of legislation are similar to harmful bills introduced in the last session. Instead, we believe Congress should work to enact legislation that keeps families together, protects children, migrants, refugees and other vulnerable persons.
Please join us in continuing to tell Congress that the faith community stands together to oppose these bills in any form. Take action at LIRS’s Action Center by sending a message to members of the House Judiciary Committee. Urge them to stand with people of faith in opposing legislation that harms vulnerable migrants seeking safety. You can also call your Representative directly at (202) 224-3121 and use this sample call script to let them know that migrants and refugees should be welcomed, not endangered.
As always, we will keep you updated on the progress of these bills.