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For Immediate Release Press contact: Miguel Ayala |
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| (Washington D.C.)-Citing the destructive impact of immigration raids on families and the high cost of conducting raids during such difficult economic times, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) has sent a letter to President Bush calling on his Administration to refrain from further workplace immigration raids. The CHC emphasized the need for a Comprehensive Immigration Reform package that would address this breakdown in our immigration system and prevent the needless effects it has on communities, families and local economies. “As people hide in the shadows and children are kept home from school, the entire nation suffers,” said Congressman Joe Baca, Chair of the CHC. “I met with the people affected by the raid in Postville, Iowa. I heard about their suffering, as they were subjected to ridicule in their community and propositioned by men who knew they were unable to work or feed their children. Is that the kind of environment we want to create in America?” "President Bush stood before the American people and stated, 'America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time... An immigration reform bill needs to be comprehensive, because all elements of this problem must be addressed together, or none of them will be solved at all,'" said Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez, Chair of the CHC Immigration Task Force. "However, we are neither lawful nor welcoming when we implement fear-tactics and deportation-only policies, or railroad men and women through the judicial process, without adequate representation or a full understanding of their rights. This letter demands accountability for the President's promises and commitments to comprehensive immigration reform, which he made while in office. (Text of letter below) (###) |
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The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is comprised of Members of Congress of Hispanic descent. Since 1976 the CHC has been addressing the needs of the Hispanic community in all areas of American life. For more information on the CHC, call (202) 225-2410. |
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| October 8, 2008 The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: As Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), we write to express our serious concerns regarding the significant increase in immigration raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As Members of Congress we all defend and support our nation’s duty to enforce our immigration laws, but it is also our duty to defend and support our nation’s cherished values. We appeal to your past and sensible commitment to comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) as the only way to fix our broken immigration system, and ask that your Administration refrain from conducting further raids on immigrant workers and families who pose no threat to our national security. Let us be clear. We believe that the Department of Homeland Security has an essential mission to fulfill. We must secure the borders. We must ensure a legal workforce. We must hold abusive employers accountable for exploiting workers, whether they are immigrant or native-born. Enforcement alone, however, no matter how well formulated or funded, is doomed to fail. We cannot deport our way out of this problem. The more we pursue millions of immigrants for simply working, the fewer resources we will have to root out terrorists, bring drug and human smugglers to justice, and deport those who are truly violent and dangerous to our communities. Our call to cease workplace raids comes from our experience with their toll on communities and families, and our belief that they are ineffective law enforcement tactics. Each of us has witnessed the human and economic fallout from workplace raids and home- and community-based arrests of our constituents. We have visited Postville, Iowa, and met with immigrant and nonimmigrant families who have been deeply impacted by the ICE raid that was conducted in this small town in May. We heard horrific stories of sexual exploitation, wage and hour violations, and the illegal employment of children forced to work long and dangerous hours on the slaughterhouse floor, violations that have gone unpunished to this day. Rather than hold the employer to account, the Postville raid compounded the suffering of workers who were exploited in the workplace. And their neighbors shared in their pain: Postville locals expressed disbelief that the destruction of their small Midwestern town served any constructive purpose, and only brought sorrow and instability to their community. Head Start Centers in our own communities have also appealed to us for help, as ICE agents conducted surveillance and enforcement activities close by, scaring children away from essential childcare and a good education. And all of us have had to face the U.S. citizen child, spouse or parent whose loved one was taken away in the middle of the night and deported, as they were left behind, angry and confused as to why the federal government found it necessary to treat their hard working family member like a dangerous criminal or terrorist. In the end, your Administration's immigration raids represent a shortsighted approach to a long-term challenge. Expending millions of dollars on sweeps that result in the arrests of hard-working immigrants will not fix our nation's broken immigration system. As you know and have publicly stated, comprehensive immigration reform is the only real solution. Mr. President, we need your leadership on this issue. Our nation is in the throes of a heated, but historic, immigration debate. We ask that your Administration promote a climate that allows America to embrace its proud immigrant history and the U.S. Congress to embrace a solution on a bipartisan basis, rather than terrorizing communities with immigration raids that might lead to catchy headlines but solve nothing. We ask you to end the immigration raids that sow fear among immigrant workers, tear families apart, but fail to bring us closer to a solution to the broken immigration system. We support enforcing our immigration laws and protecting our country from terrorists, smugglers, and violent criminals, but we do not support spending millions of dollars on ineffective raids that harm communities and solve nothing. Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to your response. Sincerely, Joe Baca Luis V. Gutierrez Chair Chair Congressional Hispanic Caucus CHC Immigration Task Force |