For Immediate Release
Contact: SG Sarmiento, 202-746-2099, sgsarmiento@ndlon.org
July 23, 2015
NDLON reaction to HR 3009 Vote: All Eyes on Senator Feinstein
(Los Angeles, CA)—Today, the House voted to pass HR 3009, despite a very clear statement from President Obama that he would veto it. In reaction, Chris Newman, Legal Director at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, issued the following statement:
“While the vote did not surprise anyone, it reminded many of the need for more, rather than less, protective policies at the municipal and state level to shield communities from the dangerous combination of a broken congress, a rogue law enforcement (ICE), and a bigot billionaire who somehow has managed to set the national agenda. At least temporarily.
“It is important to note that we are not witnessing a backlash to so-called sanctuary cities. Progress in untangling civil and criminal law enforcement has come despite the Washington Beltway, not because of it, and going forward will be no different. Lawmakers in Congress and the Obama Administration’s Department of Homeland Security have always been opposed to municipal TRUST policies that protect immigrant families, defend civil rights, and advance public safety for all. Indeed, progress made in rejecting the catastrophic and unconstitutional Se Communities deportation program came from the bottom-up through community organizing and litigation in federal courts.
“The dysfunction on display in congress today stands in stark contrast to state and local governments that have passed rational policies to protect residents from hazardous consequences caused by federal government’s demonstrable failure. Five years ago, demagogues in Arizona threatened to bring a new normal, but the tide has turned, and the country rejected the criminalization of immigrants. Moving forward, the toxic atmosphere in DC will only strengthen the resolve of communities organizing in self defense, it will unify immigrant rights allies, and it will likely encourage more civil rights lawyers to take cases in defense of vulnerable immigrants.
“As attention now turns to the Senate, we call upon Senator Feinstein to rejoin members of her party and others who are seeking comprehensive rather than piecemeal enforcement approach to immigration reform. If Senator Feinstein continues to scapegoat immigrants and cities in her home state, her legacy as a California Senator will likely end in shame.”
###