Sanctuary Cities
With Immigration Reform in Limbo, Churches Offer Sanctuary
Immigration reform legislation remains stalled in Congress, and the Obama administration has yet to announce what executive actions the president will take on immigration after the election. In response to the lack of reform, churches across the country are sheltering undocumented immigrants who face imminent deportation by providing them with… Read More
In California, TRUST Act One Step Closer to Becoming Law
The California state Senate overwhelmingly approved the TRUST Act on Thursday, marking a significant step for a piece of legislation aimed at limiting the humanitarian impact of the Secure Communities program. The bill must still pass the state Assembly and be signed by Gov. Jerry Brown to become law, but its success thus far represents an important victory for the immigrants rights movement and has positioned California as the “anti-Arizona” among states frustrated with Washington’s failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform. Read More
Sanctuary Cities and the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program: Two Things that Do Not Go Together
The Center for Immigration Studies recently released a report entitled Subsidizing Sanctuaries: The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which claims the federal government is giving State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) grant money to “sanctuary” cities. The problem with this argument is that the very fact these cities (San Francisco, Chicago, Arlington, VA) are receiving SCAAP money means that they are not providing sanctuary to immigrants. SCAAP money goes to localities to reimburse them for the costs of jailing immigrants. Read More
Georgia Board of Regents Attempts to Ban Undocumented Immigrants from University System
Last week, the Georgia Board of Regents decided to effectively ban undocumented students from attending 5 of the 61 Universities and Technical College Systems of Georgia starting in the fall of 2011 through a series of admissions provisions. Georgia becomes the second state (after South Carolina) to attempt to prevent undocumented students from attending its universities. This effort comes despite the fact that of the 310,000 students in the Georgia system, only 501 are undocumented—all of whom pay out of state tuition (which more than covers the cost of their instruction). Read More
U.S. Border Czar Calls on Congress to Get Serious about Immigration Reform
While some candidates continue to make political fodder out of immigration and border security on the campaign trail, administration officials are pushing Congress to get real about overhauling our broken immigration system. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner, Alan Bersin, recently commented that Congress needs to ‘get serious about a post-election immigration overhaul if the nation is to deal with the duality of enforcing border security while facilitating trade.’ In the wake of the nation’s SB1070-inspired border frenzy, some may be surprised to learn that there’s more to immigration than targeting undocumented immigrants and securing the border. A big part of Bersin’s job also involves regulating the flow of trade and commerce across the border, as well as expediting travel—priorities that tend to get lost in empty debate over who's the toughest on undocumented immigration. Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
