Latinos United for Healthcare

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

October 15, 2015

 

LATINO LEADERS CALL ON SENATORS TO STAND AGAINST ANOTHER ANTI-IMMIGRANT MEASURE

S. 2146 is another attempt to undermine safety while punishing the immigrant community

Washington, D.C. –The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 40 of the nation’s preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, wrote to members of the U.S. Senate this summer urging them to oppose S. 1814, the “Stop Sanctuary Cities Act.” This week, the bill has resurrected as S. 2146, the “Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act,” also authored by Senate Vitter. Much like its predecessor, the bill seeks to cut off vital funding to local governments when local law enforcement exercise their right to promote community trust by not cooperating with federal immigration authorities. These communities, commonly and inaccurately known as “sanctuary cities,” have proven to foster safety with immigrants, who are empowered to report crimes without the fear of deportation.

S. 2146 capitalizes on the tragic death of a San Francisco woman. The bill moves in the Senate this week, while providing no solutions to enhance public safety or promote immigration reform.

This vote will be scored and included in NHLA’s congressional scorecard as a reflection of the Senator’s support of the issues important to the Latino community.

“This bill targets the Latino community and offers no viable solutions in addressing our broken immigration system or community safety. Instead, S. 2146 creates mistrust between the immigrant community and law enforcement. As I have stated many times, studies show that undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans,” said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. “Immigrants, whether undocumented or not, live in peace and are contributing members of our society. It is time to act humanely and pass real immigration reform.”

“Intermingling local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement undermines public safety, full stop,” stated Thomas A. Saenz, NHLA Vice Chair and MALDEF President and General Counsel. “This bill will make folks everywhere less safe, and it should be flatly rejected.”

"This bill represents the latest appalling attempt to criminalize how we treat our nation's immigrants," stated Jose Calderon, President of the Hispanic Federation. "The Senate leadership needs to show that they're serious about leading and categorically reject this effort to tear immigrant families apart and undermine the public safety of cities across our nation.” 

Full text of letter here and link:

October 15, 2015

U.S. Senate

Washington, DC 20515

Re: NHLA Opposition to S. 2146, Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act

Dear Senator:

We write on behalf of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 40 leading national Latino nonpartisan civil rights and advocacy organizations, to strongly urge you to vote against S. 2146, Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act. S. 2146 would impose mandatory minimum sentences for illegal reentry and withhold federal funding for states and local jurisdictions, characterized as “sanctuary cities,” that limit interaction between federal immigration agencies and local law enforcement agencies in order to build trust in the community and promote local public safety goals. NHLA recommends a “no” vote on S. 2146, the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act, and any similar legislation, including amendments. NHLA will closely monitor any votes on S.2146 for inclusion in future NHLA scorecards evaluating Member support for the Latino community.

Such legislation to mandate that states and localities comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests, despite their unconstitutionality, is misguided and scapegoats immigrants by making sweeping and false generalizations, particularly of Latino immigrants. Numerous studies have shown that immigrants are less likely to be incarcerated than native-born Americans, less likely to commit crimes, and less likely to be repeat offenders. Detainer requests and requests to notify blur the distinction between local police and federal immigration enforcement, severely undermining community-police relations and trust.

This legislation would withhold law enforcement funding for states and local jurisdictions through the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, making it harder to keep our communities safe. More troubling still is that it would also withhold Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds used to address affordable housing shortages and support anti-poverty initiatives. Using immigration penalties and policies as a means to target criminal activity is not the solution, particularly by compelling local law enforcement to comply with unconstitutional detainer requests. To make it harder for communities to foster trust with local law enforcement or obtain necessary federal support to improve our most underserved communities would only result in greater distrust of law enforcement agencies and increase the number of unreported crimes.

Most concerning are those provisions that would require greater penalties for illegal reentry cases, along with a mandatory sentence of at least five years imprisonment for certain offenders. At a time when America’s focus should be on decreasing the use of mandatory minimum sentences, legislation such as this is in direct conflict with those efforts, and the communities likely to suffer the most will be primarily Latino. Provisions such these only serve to increase criminalization of our immigration population, and would tear families apart. In order to effectively address problems with our broken immigration system, Congress should resume the effort started in the 113th Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

We appreciate your attention to our concerns. Please contact NHLA through Andrea Senteno, of MALDEF, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or Richard Morales, of Hispanic Federation, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., with any questions regarding this letter. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

                                                 

                       

Thomas A. Saenz                                                                    

MALDEF, President and General Counsel                    

NHLA Immigration Committee Co-Chair 

 

 

Jose Calderón

Hispanic Federation, President

NHLA Immigration Committee Co-Chair

###

Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. In 2013, NHLA launched the Latinos United for Immigration Reform campaign. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and LatinosUnited.org and follow @NHLAgenda.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

| Teresa Acuña | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 508-6917 |

| Estuardo Rodriguez | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202)463-4806 |

 

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