To: The United States Senate
Put the Humanity Back into Immigration Reform
We, the undersigned, support a humane, streamlined, path to citizenship for over eleven million Aspiring Americans, and we ask you to do the same.
We disagree that there should be some kind of arbitrary quantitative border security attained before the over 11 million would be eligible to apply for citizenship. We also believe border communities should have citizen commissions set up to hold the border patrol accountable.
We disagree that there should be some kind of arbitrary quantitative border security attained before the over 11 million would be eligible to apply for citizenship. We also believe border communities should have citizen commissions set up to hold the border patrol accountable.
Why is this important?
The Immigration system in this country is a mess. In Florida, we've seen forced slave labor camps, people separated from their families because they are forced to leave their homes seeking living wages, only to find terrible working conditions, low-wage servitude, sub-human living conditions, human trafficking, and mistreatment by abusive employers. What we don't need in this country is a designated third-class population that by all standards, has no legal protections and are freely exploited by thoughtless employers.
We need a compassionate, family-based immigration plan that encourages undocumented workers to come out of the shadows and allows them to work legally, and with full rights of American citizens. We believe DREAMers, who came to this country as minor children should be processed into the system quickly because this is the only country they know.
21st century immigrants, just like our immigrant parents and grandparents, have come to this country to escape conditions that have made it impossible to support their families. Imposed free trade agreements and other violent political environments have created conditions in other countries that have forced people who otherwise would be gainfully employed in their countries of origin, to risk life and limb coming to a country where they might be able to work hard, contribute to the fiber of this country, and hopefully, earn a living while elevating economic and social possibilities for their children and grandchildren. Its time we stop being border hypocrites and vote for comprehensive immigration reform.
We heartily disagree with the provision in the current bill that border militarization and drones will be increased by an additional $3 billion- on top of the $11 billion already spent on border enforcement in 2012 by the Obama administration. We feel this amount of money for border patrol and prisons, spent on a branch of security that spends more than all other law enforcement agencies combined is ridiculous, and a waste of taxpayer money and has very little accountability. We further disagree that there should be some kind of arbitrary quantitative border security attained before the over 11 million will be eligible to apply for citizenship. We also believe border communities should have citizen commissions, local police, faith and other local groups set up to advise the border patrol, ensuring accountability, which is so lacking in border communities today.
We need a compassionate, family-based immigration plan that encourages undocumented workers to come out of the shadows and allows them to work legally, and with full rights of American citizens. We believe DREAMers, who came to this country as minor children should be processed into the system quickly because this is the only country they know.
21st century immigrants, just like our immigrant parents and grandparents, have come to this country to escape conditions that have made it impossible to support their families. Imposed free trade agreements and other violent political environments have created conditions in other countries that have forced people who otherwise would be gainfully employed in their countries of origin, to risk life and limb coming to a country where they might be able to work hard, contribute to the fiber of this country, and hopefully, earn a living while elevating economic and social possibilities for their children and grandchildren. Its time we stop being border hypocrites and vote for comprehensive immigration reform.
We heartily disagree with the provision in the current bill that border militarization and drones will be increased by an additional $3 billion- on top of the $11 billion already spent on border enforcement in 2012 by the Obama administration. We feel this amount of money for border patrol and prisons, spent on a branch of security that spends more than all other law enforcement agencies combined is ridiculous, and a waste of taxpayer money and has very little accountability. We further disagree that there should be some kind of arbitrary quantitative border security attained before the over 11 million will be eligible to apply for citizenship. We also believe border communities should have citizen commissions, local police, faith and other local groups set up to advise the border patrol, ensuring accountability, which is so lacking in border communities today.