Jul 31, 2014 - NATIONAL HISPANIC LEADERS OPPOSE BILL TO BLOCK EXECUTIVE ACTION ON DEPORTATIONS

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July 31, 2014

National Hispanic Leaders Oppose Bill to Block Executive Action on Deportations
Bill would prevent relief to families torn apart by current deportation policies

Washington, D.C. -- The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 37 of the nation's preeminent Latino organizations, sent a letter to every member of the U.S. House of Representatives today expressing strong opposition to H.R. 5272, a bill that would block federal agencies from issuing any new policies that defer deportation and would prevent any future grants of work authorization to new recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The House of Representatives was scheduled to vote on H.R. 5272 today in conjunction with H.R. 5230, the House border supplemental funding bill, which NHLA strongly opposes as well.

As NHLA members have stated previously, placing more armed agents and soldiers along the border to confront children is an exaggerated and politicized response that misses the reality of the refugee crisis and will do nothing to reduce the number of children seeking refuge here. Blaming the increased migration of children to the United States on the DACA program is baseless and equally misplaced. Blocking the ability to grant deferred action to those who have already been in the U.S. for years will not change a situation which has its roots in the violence and instability in Central America.

The text of today’s letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives follows below:

July 31, 2014 House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510

Re: NHLA Opposition to Legislation that Would Prevent Future Grants of Deferred Action

Dear Representative:

We write on behalf of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 37 leading national Latino nonpartisan civil rights and advocacy organizations to urge you to vote against H.R.5272, the No New DREAMers Act, or any legislation that would end or limit future grants of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or deferred action in general. This legislation would subject millions of individuals, who are peacefully contributing to our economy and community to ongoing poverty, deportation, and exploitation. Furthermore, if enacted, this legislation would cause irreparable and disproportionate harm to Latino families and children, who are the primary likely recipients of deferred action.

NHLA’s mission calls for unity among Hispanics nationwide to provide the Latino community with greater visibility and a stronger voice in our nation’s affairs, including the pressing need to reform our nation’s immigration laws. NHLA will soon issue a scorecard assigning members of Congress a grade on their immigration record to give Hispanic voters and other interested voters a clear picture of their elected officials’ positions on immigration reform. Our forthcoming scorecard will place significant weight on this vote.

Since the announcement of DACA on June 15, 2012,1 USCIS has accepted 642,685 requests for deferred action and approved 553,197 of those requests.2 DACA represents one of the Administration’s most successful—both in policy and actual implementation—programs to assist the undocumented and Latino communities. DACA has allowed high-achieving undocumented immigrants to obtain formal employment, expand the tax base, provide for themselves and their families, and achieve economic self-sufficiency. Moreover, DACA reflects the bipartisan understanding that undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children—commonly known as DREAMers—should be afforded protection from deportation. This legislation would bar new DACA recipients from work authorization, stripping the program of its most important benefits to the nation and to struggling families.

H.R. 5272 would also bar the use of deferred action to provide similar opportunities to other deserving populations, including many who have suffered unfairly from the nation’s current discriminatory and unjust immigration system. In the absence of congressional action, our system permits the executive branch to administer the immigration system in the manner it believes most efficient and effective. At present, that means preventing further disruption of families and communities nationwide.

NHLA finds it incredibly distressing that instead of voting on legislation that would fix our our nation’s broken immigration system, the House would instead vote to prohibit future grants of deferred action, to the nation’s great and ongoing detriment.

Please contact NHLA through James A. Ferg-Cadima, of MALDEF, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 202-293-2828 ext. 11, or Bertha Guerrero, of the Hispanic Federation, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 202-641-7186. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Saenz MALDEF, President and General Counsel NHLA Immigration Committee Co-Chair

Jose Calderon Hispanic Federation, President NHLA Immigration Committee Chair

1 See Memorandum from Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children (June 15, 2012), http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/s1-exercising-prosecutorial-discretion-individuals-who-came-to-us-as-children.pdf.

2 See Number of I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals by Fiscal Year, Quarter, Intake, Biometrics and Case Status: 2012-2014, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, March 2014, http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/Reports%20and%20Studies/Immigration%20Forms%20Data/All%20Form%20Types/DACA/I821d_daca_fy2014qtr2.pdf.

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. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and LatinosUnited.org and follow @NHLAgenda. ###

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