By Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 4:28pm
As we all know, in order to save the U.S. from fiscal ruin, Congress is desperate to cut federal spending.
That’s why the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, a bipartisan 12-member group also known as the “Super Committee,” has been tasked with proposing how to cut $1.2 trillion over the next decade. There will certainly be a lot of difficult choices to make.
But here is an easy place for the Super Committee to start: cut funding for out-of-control spending on three immigration programs – 287(g), Secure Communities (“S-COMM”) and detention.
By Chris Rickerd, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 3:22pm
As we remember the victims and heroes of 9/11, we're reminded that people of all colors and creeds died on that horrific day, including more than 100 undocumented immigrants. We also remember the courage of survivors, emergency responders, family members, and soldiers — who, like the victims, reflect the diversity of America. Their sacrifice enabled our country to move forward in a spirit of healing and unity.
By Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 5:39pm
The ACLU wholeheartedly agrees with the White House’s August 16 Secure Communities blog post that, "in the debate over immigration and deportations, the facts matter." Under Secure Communities, local jails run all arrestees’ fingerprints through not only criminal databases, but also immigration databases, in an effort to deport convicted drug traffickers, gang members, and other violent criminals. The problem is too many innocent people, or those who are not "the worst of the worst" as the White House says, are being deported. If you look at the entire universe of facts concerning immigration enforcement, not the limited set of facts the administration highlights, you'll see why.
Ariadna Recinas, a single mother, small business owner, and the sole breadwinner for her six children, including four US citizens, was granted cancellation of removal, an important form of immigration relief that allowed her to stay in the U.S. and continue to support and care for her family. The Board of Immigration Appeals concluded that, in this particular case, deporting her to Mexico would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to her children. But under Rep. Lamar Smith’s (R-TX) “Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation” (HALT) Act, Ms. Recinas would have no immigration options and would certainly be deported, thereby leaving four U.S. citizen children with no parent in the U.S.
By Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 6:05pm
Last Friday the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced their proposed changes to the much-criticized Secure Communities (S-Comm) program, the centerpiece of the Obama administration's immigration enforcement program. The administration's proposals, including statistical monitoring of the program, development of training modules for local law enforcement jurisdictions, and formation of an advisory committee, amount to nothing more than window dressing and fail to answer the growing tide of criticism by the governors of Illinois, Massachusetts and New York, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, law enforcement officials, civil rights advocates, and immigrant communities across the country.
By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office & Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 1:56pm
Clashing perceptions of our Constitution last week led to dissonant messages about the importance of defending our founding charter. The new 112th Congress kicked off the session with a reading of the document in the House of Representatives, a laudable expression of fidelity to first principles of American law and government. Describing the impetus behind the House's homage, Speaker John Boehner said that a core theme of his tenure will be "respecting the Constitution." We commend showing respect for the Constitution and hope that both parties will work to uphold the whole document.
By Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office at 1:22pm
Should an accident victim be taken to jail by a state's highway patrol to check his or her immigration status?
Should undocumented residents who are victims or witnesses be afraid to report crimes to the police, creating public safety and national security gaps that trouble law enforcement leaders (PDF)?
