Comprehensive Immirgation Reform

Immigration Reform

President Barack Obama at the NALEO 25th Annual Conference addresses the issue of comprehensive immigration reform.

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund strongly opposes Arizona’s SB 1070.

SB 1070 is an unconstitutional and costly measure which will jeopardize the public safety of
ALL Arizonans. It gives local police responsibilities for enforcing immigration laws that will divert them from the important job of protecting our neighborhoods. It will deter immigrants from cooperating with police to help them solve crimes.

SB 1070 is a terribly flawed law that violates the civil rights of ALL Arizonans and individuals
visiting Arizona. It allows local law enforcement officials, who are not trained in federal
immigration law, to make intrusive and unnecessary inquiries into the immigration status of residents
and travelers. It presumes everyone is guilty, contradicting the fundamental American belief of
innocence until proven otherwise.

SB 1070 subjects Arizona’s Latinos and newcomers to discrimination and racial profiling.

SB 1070 contains several unconstitutional provisions that attempt to supersede federal
immigration laws and violate free speech protections. Several lawsuits have already been filed,
and more are pending, including from the U.S. Department of Justice. This will result in
expensive litigation for the state when it can least afford it.

Several of the provisions include:

Allowing Arizona to regulate immigration by making any undocumented
immigrant guilty of trespassing.

Providing local police officers with the authority to conduct warrantless arrests of persons if
the officer has “probable cause” to suspect the person is in the country illegally.

Imposing criminal penalties for the solicitation of work by undocumented
immigrants.

Generally requiring police officers to make a reasonable attempt to determine
the immigration status of a person whenever there is “reasonable suspicion”
that the person is undocumented.

SB 1070 would require local government to spend scarce revenues enforcing this law,
rather than on critical community services when the state and localities can least afford it.

Proponents claim SB 1070 is needed to curb crime. This is simply not true. FBI data show
a steady decline in Arizona’s crime rate in the last several years. The U.S. Department of
Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics show the state’s crime rate at its lowest point in decades
and below the national average.

SB 1070 significantly impairs the ability of local police to effectively protect the communities
and neighborhoods of Arizona. It makes immigrants mistrust local police, as immigrants will
likely assume police are only interested in detaining them. Immigrants will be reluctant to
report crimes or provide information about threats to public safety that affect all of the
residents of their communities.

Community groups, elected officials and police have worked tirelessly to ensure immigrant
communities trust local law enforcement authorities. SB 1070 undermines that trust.
Local police lack the specialized training required for the enforcement of federal immigration law.

SB 1070 would allow persons to sue localities for violating some of the provisions and this could
lead to costly and frivolous lawsuits.

The state of Arizona has made some changes to SB 1070 to address some of the legislation’s
flaws. However, these changes are merely cosmetic and actually make the bill worse.
For example, the bill allows police to check the immigration status of individuals under the
pretext that they have violated minor local ordinances, such as failure to tend their property
or maintain their vehicles.

The enactment of SB 1070 highlights the need for comprehensive immigration reform.
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
Educational Fund is actively working with a coalition of organizations to implement
strategies to combat SB 1070.

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
Educational Fund is supporting efforts to challenge SB 1070 in court.

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
Educational Fund is dedicated to facilitating the full participation of Latinos in the
American political process. The NALEO Educational Fund is committed to
supporting and strengthening civic engagement in the state of Arizona.

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
Educational Fund calls on the Obama administration to use its authority fully to ensure
that the civil rights of individuals in Arizona are not violated and are protected under the
U.S. Constitution.

Our Principles of Comprehensive Immigration Reform
NALEO Board of Directors

Our nation’s immigrants have made invaluable contributions to the progress of the United States,
and immigrants continue to enrich the social, economic, cultural and civic life of our country.
Our immigration policies must recognize these contributions, as well as the important role that
immigrant workers and their families play in the future growth of our nation. In order to best ensure our
nation’s security, our immigration enforcement measures must be effective, fair and humane. Thus,
we believe that comprehensive immigration reform must be accomplished in accordance with the
following principles:

A. Comprehensive immigration reform must provide law-abiding, tax paying immigrant
workers and their families with an opportunity to pursue U.S. citizenship. Currently, there are
millions of immigrants who have been here for several years, pay taxes, raise families, and contribute
to their communities, including many who do not yet have immigration status. It is essential that our
immigration policy recognizes the contributions of these newcomers by providing them with an
opportunity to obtain legal permanent residency and eventually U.S. citizenship, through an “earned”
legalization program with fair and reasonable requirements.

B. Comprehensive immigration reform policies must help reunite families and reduce
immigration backlogs. Currently, large immigration backlogs prevent many U.S. citizens from
swiftly reuniting with their family members. It is important that our immigration policies recognize
the efforts of individuals that have petitioned for loved ones through legal channels, and that we
institute measures to ensure family reunification and a substantive reduction of the family backlogs.

C. Any temporary worker program must provide workers with full labor and civil rights
protections, and the opportunity to pursue legal permanent residency in the United States.
Comprehensive immigration reform must seek to improve the conditions for migrant and seasonal
workers, many of whom work in agricultural jobs. If these conditions are addressed through a
temporary worker program, it must provide labor and wage protections, and an opportunity for
workers to pursue legal permanent residency. In particular, we must provide temporary workers with
full labor and civil rights, including the right to organize, the right to change jobs, and the right to
remain with their families. In addition, such rights must be vigorously enforced.

D. Comprehensive immigration reform must provide a meaningful opportunity for immigrant
students to pursue a college education. Currently, thousands of undocumented immigrant students
that were brought to the United States at a young age face significant barriers when they try to obtain
a college education. These students, many of whom excelled in high school, lack access to the
financial aid and employment opportunities needed to pursue higher education. Our immigration
policies should enable law-abiding newcomers who have stayed in school to achieve their
educational aspirations. These students are an important part of our future workforce, and their
pursuit of higher education will make our nation more productive and competitive in the global
economy.

E. Our immigration policies must actively promote the civic integration of newcomers. Many
newcomers face significant barriers when they attempt to acquire the skills needed to participate in
our nation’s civic life. Immigrants who pursue English as a Second Language (ESL) and civics
instruction often face waiting lists or crowded classrooms. Comprehensive immigration reform
provides a critical opportunity to promote ESL and civics instruction and make more resources
available for adult education services.

In addition, our immigration policies must ensure that the naturalization process is fair and accessible
for newcomers. We oppose any efforts that would create unfair obstacles for naturalization
applicants. These include measures that would jeopardize the due process rights of applicants or
make unfair changes in the English and civics proficiency requirements for U.S. citizenship.

F. Our nation’s security and public safety are best protected by effective and fair immigration
enforcement measures. Thus, our immigration enforcement policies must not diminish the due
process rights afforded to our nation’s residents, including U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents or
other newcomers.

“Criminalizing” undocumented presence: In addition, we oppose measures that make undocumented
presence in the United States a crime – measures that would make millions of undocumented
newcomers into criminals, and virtually prevent them from ever obtaining legal permanent residence
in the United States. Our nation would be required to expend a significant amount of resources to
carry out these measures, including the deployment of enforcement officials, prosecutors, judges,
court-appointed counsel and the expansion of detention facilities. Ultimately, measures that
“criminalize” undocumented presence cannot be fully enforced, and our nation would squander
resources that could be better utilized for pressing public safety and security concerns.
Enforcement of immigration laws by state and local agencies, and by military personnel: We also
oppose the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local law enforcement agencies.
Many of these agencies have worked hard to establish relationships of trust with local immigrant
communities, which will be undermined by immigration enforcement activities. As a result,
newcomers will be fearful of reporting crimes or cooperating with local police, and they will not be
able to obtain the information they need to solve crimes, combat terrorism, and keep our
communities and neighborhoods safe.

In addition, our nation has traditionally maintained a separation between the personnel involved in
military operations and those involved in civilian law enforcement activities. Effective immigration
enforcement requires specialized training and experience. Enforcement personnel must not only use
specialized law enforcement techniques, but they must also have extensive expertise in immigration
law, border policies and human rights issues. Military troops and local law enforcement agencies do
not possess the training and experience required for federal immigration enforcement. In addition, if
military troops such as the National Guard are deployed to the border, they may not be available
when needed to respond to state emergencies or threats to public safety, such as natural disasters.

G. Comprehensive immigration reform must include a discussion of the fundamental cause of
migration to the United States – the need for sustainable social and economic development in
the communities where migrants originate. Our nation must more actively pursue partnership
opportunities with sending nations to determine feasible development strategies that would enable
them to better meet the economic needs of their population.