FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2017
CONTACT
Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149, gastelum@nilc-ijf.org
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is considering a slew of bills today that, if enacted, would militarize our borders, encourage civil rights abuses through massive expansion of a deportation force, and strip local law enforcement of the ability to enact policies that keep their communities safer and that uphold federal law and the Constitution. Below is a statement from Kamal Essaheb, policy and advocacy director of the National Immigration Law Center Immigrant Justice Fund:
“President Trump’s mass deportation agenda has proven to be inhumane, fiscally reckless, and unconstitutional. Today, House Republicans are embracing that agenda by moving forward legislation that doubles down on Trump’s promises to arrest, jail, and banish immigrant families. In rubberstamping Trump’s deportation wish list, House Republicans are proposing to spend billions more in taxpayer dollars and expand unchecked and abusive authority of federal immigration officials in our backyards.
“Our country needs sound policies that invest in schools, roads, and better access to affordable health care. Immigrants are an inextricable part of our families, communities, and economy. Any legislator who supports these bills is fully complicit in Trump’s mass deportation campaign and each will be held just as accountable as Trump for these failed policies that violate our Constitution, break our budget, and shatter our communities.”
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