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NALEO: Senate Legislation Offers Opportunity for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, But Bill Is Flawed by Unfair Measures29 May 2006
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) released the following statement in response to the U.S. Senate's passage of S. 2611, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006:
"The Senate's passage of comprehensive immigration reform legislation provides an opportunity for our nation to ensure that millions of tax-paying law-abiding newcomers who contribute to life in the United States can eventually pursue U.S. citizenship. Many of the provisions of S. 2611 are positive steps towards fixing our broken immigration system. In addition to the bill's earned legalization program, the legislation also includes measures that would reunite immigrant families, assist undocumented farm workers in pursuing legal status, and help many undocumented students have a meaningful opportunity to obtain a college education.
"But S. 2611 also contains flawed requirements that would erect insurmountable barriers for most immigrants who attempt to become legal permanent residents under its provisions. In particular, the legislation imposes an unfair English and civics proficiency test on these immigrants, without providing opportunities or resources for them to improve their skills before they apply for permanent residency. Newcomers know the importance of learning English, and take classes to gain mastery of the language, but many are not yet ready to meet S. 2611's unfair requirements. These mandates will put legal permanent residency out of the reach of the very immigrants the legislation is intended to assist.
"In addition, we strongly oppose the provisions of S.2611 which could place unnecessary restrictions on the ability of federal, state and local governments to provide vital information to newcomers in the languages they best understand. Millions of Americans could be denied access to medical care and information (such as immunizations and the treatment of communicable diseases) that would not only affect their own health, but the health of all of our communities. S. 2611's restrictions would jeopardize the safety of all Americans by impairing effective communication about emergency preparedness and national security.
"We are also deeply concerned about S. 2611's provisions that expand state and local law enforcement agency involvement in immigration enforcement. If this occurs, it will undermine the relationship between immigrants and those agencies in local communities. Newcomers will be fearful of reporting crimes or cooperating with local law enforcement if they know those agencies are also enforcing immigration laws. As a result, local police may not be able to obtain information they need to solve crimes, combat terrorism, and keep our communities and neighborhoods safe.
"In addition, S. 2611 requires the Census Bureau to consider excluding undocumented immigrants from our Census enumeration for the reapportionment process. This exclusion would prevent our nation from obtaining an accurate Census count and achieving fair apportionment and representation in our nation. Finally, S. 2611 includes provisions that would jeopardize the due process of rights of newcomers and erect unfair barriers to naturalization.
"S. 2611 represents significant progress toward fair and effective immigration reform, but it is critical for Congress and the President to address its serious flaws. A Congressional conference committee will now work to fashion a final immigration bill from S. 2611 and H.R. 4437, the House of Representative's harsh immigration enforcement bill. As the conference approaches, we urge President Bush and the Senate conferees to demonstrate leadership by rejecting unfair and ineffective immigration policies, and working to achieve true comprehensive immigration reform."
About NALEO
NALEO is a non-partisan membership organization whose constituency includes the nation's more than 6,000 elected and appointed officials.
http://www.usnewswire.com/
Source: usnewswire
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