Position on Immigration Reform
New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice
September 20, 2013
After a quarter century of only minor adjustments to our immigration system, the U.S. Senate
passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744)
in June 2013. Currently, the House of Representatives is considering multiple immigrationrelated bills. The New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice (NMFCIJ), though heartened
by this long overdue effort to improve our immigration system, is disappointed by the piecemeal
nature of the proposed legislation. The NMFCIJ advocates for reform that honors the values of
the many faith traditions we represent. And, as people of faith, we are committed to promoting
comprehensive, humane immigration reform. We work on behalf of those who are affected by
unjust laws that do not reflect these higher values: unity of family; freedom of the pursuit of
purpose; dignity of each person; and richness in diversity. These core values inform our
view of the current congressional proposals for immigration reform.
Therefore, the NMFCIJ believes that immigration reform should be addressed to promote:
1. Family Unity
*** Guarantee that immigration reform policies support family reunification and American values.
We are troubled by the House SKILLS Visa Act (H.R. 2131) that would drastically reduce familybased visas in favor of more employment-based visas. While the Senate proposal eliminates
the valuable Diversity Visa and limits which family members are eligible for visas, we do
applaud the Senate’s insistence that the current backlog of family petitions be addressed and
that processing of immediate family member visas be accelerated. The Senate proposal further
offers family visas to both skilled workers, as well as agricultural laborers. Family plays a major
role in the ability of immigrants to adapt and prosper. These concerns are of gravest
significance.
2. Freedom of the Pursuit of Purpose
***Ensure that the legal immigration system meets the needs of the American economy,
simultaneously offering sufficient worker protection.
The Senate bill provides a good model for meeting the economic needs for immigrant workers
as well as making provisions to increase the number of employment-based visas for both highskilled and low-skilled workers (tied to employer demand and the federal unemployment level).
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that S. 744 will grow the nation’s economy and
reduce the federal deficit by $158 billion over the next 10 years and $685 billion more over the
following decade.
The NMFCIJ believes it is necessary to provide protection for prospective immigrant workers,
particularly low-skilled and agricultural workers. The Senate bill includes safeguards from
wrongful termination and wage theft, access to legal assistance and worker mobility so that
workers are not forced to stay with an exploitative employer. Notably lacking, the House’s
Agricultural Guestworker Act (H.R. 1773) does not include these crucial safety mechanisms that
safeguard and respect the dignity of immigrant workers.
***Eliminate Employment Eligibility programs, particularly ones without an appeal process.
The NMFCIJ laments the mandatory implementation of an Electronic Employment Eligibility
Verification System (EEVS). Both the Senate and House support EEVS programs, like E-Verify,
which create greater potential for worker exploitation of undocumented immigrants. Alarmingly,
House Bill 1772 includes no appeal process for those who lose their job due to EEVS, even if
the problem is a system inaccuracy or minor discrepancy such as a name change. Neither U.S.
citizens nor immigrants should lose their job due to an obligatory (and expensive) EEVS
program.
***Address the root causes of migration and our country’s role in producing these calamities.
Immigrants frequently leave their home countries because of economic, environmental and
political conditions, rather than a desire simply to migrate. The U.S. role in Mexico’s weapons
trade cannot be denied. Likewise, it is estimated that more than one million Mexican farmers
were left without work as a result of free trade agreements such as NAFTA. Trade strategies
driven by greed and lacking in respect for workers, have grave effects on migrants’ homelands.
The NMFCIJ strongly encourages U.S. foreign policy makers to seek effective ways to invest in
environmentally sustainable economic policies that preserve the basic human rights of all. By
addressing the U.S. role in financial systems worldwide, we can reduce the need for migration
and family division. While we understand that this will not be part of an immigration reform bill,
we insist that policy makers hold U.S. corporations and financial systems accountable for the
negative effects they have created worldwide. We must not punish the immigrants who migrate
as a result of these systems.
3. The Dignity of Each Person
***Invest in trainings that provide transparency and accountability measures for U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) Agents rather than infusing unnecessary money for more agents
and militarization.
Present laws proposed by the Senate and House would allocate an additional $6.5 billion to
Border enforcement. Noteworthy in the Senate’s bill is a valuable requirement for a complaint
procedure, provisions to stop racial profiling, as well as use-of-force and misconduct trainings.
Even so, the NMFCIJ sees this flood of money to an enforcement body that already costs $18
billion1 as a gross misuse of resources at a time when education and health care are being
slashed. Targets for border protection have been consistently met and exceeded in the past2.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, unauthorized crossing is at a 40-year low,
with a 500% increase in Border Patrol agents since 9/113. An infusion of billions more dollars
will only force migrants into ever-more-dangerous conditions adding to the 5570 migrants who
have died in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands since 19984. A surge of new agents may mean
insufficient use-of-force training, which has contributed to the death of 18 individuals by CBP
agents since 2010—including 5 U.S. citizens and 6 youth under age 215.
1
This is more than all other federal law enforcement agencies combined according to a January 2013 Migration Policy Institute report.
American Immigration Lawyers Association. “Border Security: Moving Beyond Past Benchmarks.” (January 2013)
3
Department of Homeland Security. “Border Security.” (2013) Available at http://www.dhs.gov/border-security-results
4
U.S. Border Patrol PDF Available at: http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/ usbp_statistics/
usbp_fy12_stats/border_patrol_fy.ctt/border_patrol_fy.pdf
5
American Civil Liberties Union Statement, “Human Rights Violations at the United States-Mexico Border” submitted to the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights (October 2012)
2
***Ensure that immigration enforcement enhances national security and community safety
without undermining due-process protections or criminalizing the undocumented and those who
serve them.
Most experts and analysts, including those in law enforcement, think legalization of
undocumented immigrants is one of the key elements to ensure our country’s safety because it
would allow the federal government to focus on genuine threats posed by those seeking to do
the country harm. For this reason, the NMFCIJ is alarmed at the mislabeled House “SAFE” Act
(H.R. 2278) that would make undocumented immigrants and those who support them felons
overnight. Neither group should be considered criminals. Unlawful presence in the U.S. has
always been a civil, not criminal, violation. Furthermore, faith institutions are among the few
places that provide social support for migrants separated from their families and exploited in the
U.S. Our work is not criminal.
The NMFCIJ believes Congress must call an end to the controversial 287(g) and Secure
Communities programs that respectively delegate immigration authority to local law
enforcement and require law enforcement agencies to send individuals detained (often including
victims of crimes) through immigration databases. These programs result in immense distrust of
law enforcement among immigrant communities and aversion to reporting serious crimes for
fear of wrongful deportation. In California alone, more than half of the 75,000 people deported
under the program since it began in 2009 had no criminal history or had only misdemeanor
convictions6. Since 2010, numerous cities and states have tried to “opt out” of the Secure
Communities program because it overburdens law enforcement and limits trust within
communities. For these same reasons, the NMFCIJ strongly disagrees with the “SAFE” Act
granting local law enforcement the power to determine penalties for immigration violation.
***Pursue the least restrictive option for those with immigration violations and hold immigration
detention facilities to a national standard.
Immigrants should only be detained when they pose a demonstrated security or flight risk. In
several case studies, 91%-97% of immigrants on Alternative To Detention (ATD) programs have
shown up for their immigration court hearings7. ATDs are efficient and significantly more costeffective, at a daily average of $22 compared to $166 for immigration detention.
We appreciate S. 744’s measures to provide greater access to bond and hearings in front of
immigration judges before determining a person will be deported. The bill’s call for annual
evaluations of detention centers is past due and much needed.
4. Richness in Diversity
***Create a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants that is fair and also feasible.
Today, the vast majority of Americans support some form of legalization for unauthorized
immigrants. A June 2013 Fox News poll showed 74% of registered voters favor legalization and
eventual citizenship for the undocumented immigrants. Given this, guidelines for the Senate’s
proposed Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status need not be cost-prohibitive. With S.
744, each applicant would need to pay $1000 and any previously owed taxes. In order to
become a permanent resident, she or he would need to prove consistent employment and an
income at least 125% of the federal poverty level. For many undocumented immigrants, this is
not realistic. The NMFCIJ cannot support these requirements.
6
7
Los Angeles Times “Secure Communities: The Trust Act fix” (July 2012)
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service “Alternatives to Detention (ATD): History and Recommendations” (March 2013)
RPI applications should not be tied to a set percent of border apprehensions as proposed by the
House. Mandating a fixed level of operational control without understanding costs and benefits
“wouldn’t make sense,” noted CBP Chief Michael Fisher. A totally sealed border is not realistic
and should not be the trigger for a legalization program.
***Set a long-term commitment to citizenship.
Although it frequently receives less attention, continued support of integration and naturalization
for immigrants remains a goal of systematic and comprehensive immigration reform. A truly
successful legalization program, for instance, should include support for teaching English as a
second language and civics education in order to ensure that new immigrants are fully able to
pass the citizenship test and successfully participate in American life.