9/25: The Immigrant Battle Shifts to the Senate – More Calls Needed!!!!!
Urgent Alerts from National Immigrant Solidarity Network _http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org_ (http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/) Dear immigrant activists: The coming week will be the critical moment for the immigrant struggles, despite the opposition from the immigrant activists, the U.S. House last week passed several outrageous racist anti-immigrant bills: H.R. 6061 - Border Fence Bill H.R. 4844 - Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006 ("Voter ID bill") H.R. 6089 - Illegal Immigrant Deterrence Act H.R. 6090 - Immigration Enforcement Act H.R. 6091 - Border Security Enhancement Act The next struggles will be at the Senate, we need to spare no time to non-stop calling the Senate: - Tell your Senator that he or she should not allow enforcement-only legislation to be attached to spending bills. - Also tell your Senator that the enforcement-only approach taken by the House will only make matters worse, and that only comprehensive immigration reform will fix our broken immigration system. - Tell your Senator to vote no on the Fence bill, H.R. 6061. The following Senators are key, as they are on the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee: Senator Judd Gregg (Chairman) (NH) Senator Thad Cochran (MS) Senator Ted Stevens (AK) Senator Arlen Specter (PA) Senator Pete Domenici (NM) Senator Richard Shelby (AL) Senator Larry Craig (ID) Senator Robert Bennett (UT) Senator Wayne Allard (CO) Senator Robert C. Byrd (Ranking Member) (WV) Senator Daniel Inouye (HI) Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD) Senator Herb Kohl (WI) Senator Patty Murray (WA) Senator Harry Reid (NV) Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA) You can find contact information for all Senators here: _http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm_ (http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm) Please tell us what happened by send us a copy of your messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) Please read the following excellent analysis from the National Immigration Forum: The Battle Shifts to the Senate – More Calls Needed National Immigration Forum September 21, 2006 With the House having passed their anti-immigrant legislation, it is now up to the Senate (where there is not as much of the panic about the _low regard of the public for Congress_ (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/us/politics/21poll.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) that is driving the House to spend so much time creating fear of immigrants) to stop enforcement-only legislation from passing. Still, it will take an intense battle to stop the House effort to ram through enforcement-only legislation at the end of the session. The good news is that at least in some offices we have heard that Senators are hearing from pro-immigrant voices, and there have been positive signs from some Senators that the Senate will not go along with what the House has done. For example, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), a key player because he is Chair of the Judiciary Committee as well as a member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, told reporters today that House Republicans would have no incentive to work out differences with the Senate on a comprehensive immigration overhaul if senators go along with the piecemeal approach of the House. "We have to take care of a guest worker program, we have to take care of employer verification, we have to take care of 11 million undocumented workers," Specter said. Other Senators who have made positive comments expressing concern about what the House has done, or about the need to reform the immigration laws in a comprehensive manner, include Senators Larry Craig (R-ID) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). House Measures May be Attached to Spending Bills The fence bill may pass when it is considered on Monday. The more worrisome scenario is that the state and local enforcement and anti-due process bills will be attached to bills allocating money for the Department of Homeland Security (or possibly for Defense). Once that is done, it becomes extremely difficult to stop, because that requires Senators to vote against funding for the entire Department of Homeland Security—a politically difficult move. The object, then, is to prevent the House measures from being attached to the Spending bills in the first place. That will take calls to your Senators and to Senate appropriators. Continue your calls to Senate offices!!!!! § Tell your Senator that he or she should not allow enforcement-only legislation to be attached to spending bills. § Also tell your Senator that the enforcement-only approach taken by the House will only make matters worse, and that only comprehensive immigration reform will fix our broken immigration system. § Tell your Senator to vote no on the Fence bill, H.R. 6061. The following Senators are key, as they are on the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee: Senator Judd Gregg (Chairman) (NH) Senator Thad Cochran (MS) Senator Ted Stevens (AK) Senator Arlen Specter (PA) Senator Pete Domenici (NM) Senator Richard Shelby (AL) Senator Larry Craig (ID) Senator Robert Bennett (UT) Senator Wayne Allard (CO) Senator Robert C. Byrd (Ranking Member) (WV) Senator Daniel Inouye (HI) Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD) Senator Herb Kohl (WI) Senator Patty Murray (WA) Senator Harry Reid (NV) Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA) You can find contact information for all Senators here: _http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm _ (http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm) You can also check out this action alert from the American Immigration Lawyers Association: _http://capwiz.com/aila2/issues/alert/?alertid=9036716&type=CO _ (http://capwiz.com/aila2/issues/alert/?alertid=9036716&type=CO) More on what can be done, from AILA: _http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=20623 _ (http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=20623) If you can make additional calls other that to the offices of your Senators, call the Senators on the Appropriations Committee listed above. It would be good especially to thank Senators Specter, Feinstein, and Craig, for their comments in the press supportive of a comprehensive approach. House Passes Anti-Immigrant Legislation This afternoon, the House passed two enforcement bills that would, among other things, allow state and local police to enforce civil immigration laws and would shield the government from accountability for misdeeds or misapplication of immigration law towards certain immigrants. Since these bills were taken from the Sensenbrenner bill, H.R. 4437, which passed the House last December, it was not a surprise that the House voted for these measures again. Click on the links below to see how your member voted § _Community Protection Act_ (http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll465.xml) § _Immigration Law Enforcement Act_ (http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll468.xml) With no provision for increasing legal channels for immigration, and having passed a bill to construct fencing on the U.S./Mexican border, House leaders figured they would need an anti-tunneling bill. That bill, the Border Tunnel Prevention Act, also passed, by a _vote of 422 to nothing_ (http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll469.xml) . Background Information About H.R. 4844, H.R. 6089, H.R. 6090 H.R. 6091 _9/21: AAJC DENOUCES PASSAGE OF MORE ANTI-IMMIGRANT LEGISLATIONS BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES_ (http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Issues&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0592) _9/21: Republicans Reach Deal on Detainee Bill_ (http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Issues&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID =0589) By Sheryl Gay Stolberg - New York Times _9/18: Congress Aims to Require Voter ID H.R. 4844_ (http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Issues&report=SingleArticle&Artic leID=0587) _9/19: Analysis of H.R. 6089, H.R. 6090 and H.R. 6091_ (http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Issues&report=SingleArticle&Ar ticleID=0586) Immigrant Legal Resource Center _9/14: Immigration Policy Update_ (http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Issues&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0584) National Immigration Forum _9/14: CLEAR Act on House agenda; information and ideas_ (http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Issues&report=SingleArticle&; ArticleID=0582) National Immigration Forum _9/15: URGENT: Stop U.S. Authorization of Indefinite Detention_ (http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Issues&report=SingleA rticle&ArticleID=0583) Center for Constitutional Rights ================================================================= National Immigrant Solidarity Network No Immigrant Bashing! Support Immigrant Rights! webpage: _http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org_ (http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/) e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) New York: (212)330-8172 Los Angeles: (213)403-0131 Washington D.C.: (202)595-8990 Please consider making a donation to the important work of National Immigrant Solidarity Network Send check pay to: National Immigrant Solidarity Network/AFGJ Send check to: ActionLA / The Peace Center 8124 West 3rd Street, Suite 104 Los Angeles, California 90048 (All donations are tax deductible) *to join the immigrant Solidarity Network daily news litserv, send e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit: _http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/isn_ (http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/isn) *a monthly ISN monthly Action Alert! listserv, go to webpage _http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/isn-digest_ (http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/isn-digest) ============================================= The web page has been design by Activist Design Studio Please visit: _http://www.ActivistDesign.net_ (http://www.activistdesign.net/) Toll-Free: (888)635-3307 ============================================= **Please join our following listservs: Asian American Labor Activism Alert! 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