Asian Americans Advancing Justice Says No to Compromising Our Values
Senate Bill Pitts Undocumented Youth Protections Against Lives of Other Immigrant Communities
Washington, DC — February 15, 2018 — Today, the Senate is expected to vote on a compromise that offers a path to citizenship for a large portion of undocumented youth who would qualify for the DREAM Act, but it comes at too high a cost. The latest amendment offered by Senators Mike Rounds and Angus King ends one category of family-based visas, includes $25 billion for border security, and blocks undocumented youth from sponsoring their parents in the future.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, releases the following statement in response to this bill:
“Congress needs to check its moral compass in the amendments offered this week. The protection and safety of undocumented youth must not come at the expense of more mass deportations and change the future composition of our country. Asian Americans Advancing Justice condemns any trading on the lives of immigrants who have lived and worked in the U.S. for decades or pitting parents, family members, and other immigrant communities against the people that we seek to protect.
The Rounds-King amendment gives into white nationalist demands to cut family immigration by ending one category of sponsorship. The amendment also includes restrictions on the parents of undocumented youth’s ability to be sponsored for permanent residency. Additionally, the proposal would not offer a path to citizenship for all the undocumented immigrants that would be covered by a clean DREAM Act, which also has had bipartisan support.
The $25 billion for border security would result in more deportations and harm to border communities and the environment. It is a wasteful and bad policy. Nobody but the President thinks that a wall is a good policy. We do not need an immigration system imposed by militarized force.
While we acknowledge the Democratic and Republican Senators who negotiated the deal truly care about undocumented youth, they have gone too far in giving into White House demands that are rooted in white supremacy.
Congress needs to send a message that it clearly sees through Trump’s manipulations that began when the administration ended the DACA program on September 5th. Asian Americans Advancing Justice calls on Congress to stop the horse trading and politicking and protect undocumented youth and all immigrant communities from these blatant attacks.
Pass the clean DREAM Act, the only bipartisan bill where Congress’ moral compass points in the right direction.”
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Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice | AAJC (Washington, DC), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Advancing Justice – Atlanta, and Advancing Justice – Chicago.