View the America’s Voice statement here. Below, check out what other organizations are saying:
Sen. Harry Reid:
Instead of voting on the Senate’s bipartisan bill to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system, House Republicans voted once again to deport DREAMers and their families. I will not bring this bill up for a vote in the Senate since it tears families apart while doing nothing to fix the real problems we face.
Unfortunately for anyone who wants to see Congress fix our broken immigration system, the Republican approach is being dictated by the most extreme voices in their party. Republicans’ knee-jerk resistance to working with Democrats to fix this problem left the President with no option but to take action to protect families from being separated.
United We Dream:
Today’s Republican vote to undo this protection is a direct attack on Latino, Asian and other immigrant communities and parents like my mother, Chela Praeli and the parents and members of United We Dream. This bill doesn’t actually punish the President; it punishes our families. So, for us this is personal, which is why we posed an important question to Republicans: do you want to deport Dreamers? Do you want to deport our parents?
The immigration policy changes we have won are an important first step on immigration and the far right is, once again, trying to take us backwards. United We Dream will fight to protect our victory and continue the fight to protect the millions more who were not included. Republicans—Bring it on!
Fair Immigration Reform Movement:
The longer House Republicans let the vehemently anti-immigrant faction of their party be in charge, the sooner they will find themselves on the wrong side of American opinion on immigration reform. The irony is that the party that prides itself on family values is bent on tearing millions of immigrant families apart.
FIRM calls on Republicans to show that they are not puppets of their anti-immigrant, anti-family colleagues and vote against the bill that would undo administrative relief. Millions of immigrants have come out of the shadows to fight for their rights. It’s time for level-headed Republicans who support immigration reform to do the same. Don’t let a small group of lawmakers clearly on the wrong side of history govern your party.
SEIU:
For more than a decade, the immigrant families have worked hard to build better lives for their families, our neighborhood and our country. And in the last two years, Republicans have tried repeatedly—without apology—to roadblock any solution that would open a new path into our democracy and mend our outdated immigration system.
Their actions hold no place in the future the American public dreams.
Instead of seeking to pass a lasting solution, Republicans in Congress want to send a message that they are prepared to derail the president’s action that will strengthen both nation and American families. Unacceptable.
It’s time to start passing bills that make America stronger. They can start with immigration reform.
Mi Familia Vota:
MFV would like to introduce Congress to some of the children and young adults the conservatives want to deport.
Nadia Huerta is an honors student at the University of Northern Colorado majoring in Communications. She qualified for DACA and her three younger siblings are U.S. citizens. The family is realizing the hopes and dreams carried by their parents to the U.S. when Nadia was 3-years-old.
Brayan Cruz, also a DACA recipient in California, was brought to the U.S. by his mom who was escaping domestic violence. Brayan was the first member of his family to graduate from high school and now attends UC Riverside, majoring in political science, while also working as a social worker. Of the five children in the family, the two youngest are U.S. citizens.
Iridane Sanchez was thrilled to see President Obama in Las Vegas, NV, where he outlined his program to prioritize immigration enforcement and defer deportations for almost 5 million people. Iridane was a newborn when her family came to the U.S. and she qualified for DACA. While her parents clean houses and work in the construction industry, Iridane is in college and hopes to attend law school.
Steven Arteaga Rodriguez also has DACA, works full-time to support his family while attending school and volunteers with MFV in Texas. The prosecutorial discretion program is his “American dream” for his parents, so that they can come out of the shadows, out of the underground economy, pay taxes, and better the lives of their family.
All of these kids are as hard working as their parents and share the dreams of all Americans for advancement and prosperity. But the conservatives in Congress want to take that away.
Americans United for Change:
In this one vote, House Republicans sent many clear messages to voters. One, the anti-immigrant elements of their caucus call the shots and they are, and for the foreseeable future will be, the Party of Mass Deportation. Two, they are not concerned about further alienating the fastest growing voting block or thumbing their noses at the business, faith, the law enforcement communities that wants comprehensive reform. Three, they’re not serious about national security by voting to take away the administration’s ability to conduct criminal background checks on undocumented immigrants. Four, they don’t care about the deficit or the economy by voting to make it harder for millions of people to work legally and pay taxes. Finally, they’re simply not interested in governing.
CHIRLA:
The bill presented by Rep. Yoho for a vote in the House does nothing to advance a solution for the issue of immigration in our country. We expect solutions not political posturing that works contrary to positive steps towards a comprehensive immigration bill. The President’s current and past actions help to strengthen our economy and communities. By attempting to undo progress on immigration, this bill is clearly a step in the wrong direction.
Civil and Human Rights Coalition:
In looking at the provisions of the bill, it is difficult to know where to begin. The findings in the bill contain numerous errors of fact and law. The operational parts of the bill appear to have been hastily drafted, and they certainly have not been subjected to any meaningful hearings or bipartisan negotiations. Because the language is so sweeping and so poorly thought-out, it is unclear whether it would go beyond the president’s recent policies to eliminate other long-established forms of relief, such as Temporary Protected Status. In the rush by House leadership to pass this measure, we do not expect today’s debate to shed any light on the impact of the bill or to seriously consider any alternative approaches.
For years, President Obama has expressed a sincere desire to work with Congress on a more comprehensive approach to immigration. Rep. Yoho’s bill is yet another example of House Republicans playing politics instead of working to find a solution to a national problem. House members of good conscience should vote against it.
When Congress returns next year, we sincerely hope the House leadership will finally take the president up on his offer and work on lasting solutions to the many problems that plague our current immigration system.
