Justice for Immigrants update
February 2008
Justice for Immigrants is a campaign of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
On January 29, the Bush administration released the Fiscal Year 2009 Federal budget. In the area of immigration enforcement, the budget requests $442.4 million to hire and equip 2,200 Border Patrol agents, representing the last increment to reach a total of 20,000 agents by the end of fiscal year 2009. The budget included $775 million for the Secure Border Initiative, including the installation of technology and technical infrastructure to help secure the border. It did not specify how much, if any, of that amount would go to the construction of a border fence.
On February 7, the Senate and House passed an economic stimulus package. The package included language to prohibit undocumented immigrants from receiving tax rebates. Bishop John Wester, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, wrote this statement opposing this provision of the bill.
On February 6, the Bush administration issued proposed regulations to loosen protections under the H-2A agricultural worker program. The regulation would eliminate the requirement that the Department of Labor certify the need for foreign-born workers in a particular region prior to issuing visas. This would allow businesses to bring in foreign-born workers without independent verification that such workers are needed, thus potentially undercutting the employment of U.S. workers. In addition, the regulation would alter the formula for determining wage rates for foreign-born workers, potentially lowering their wages significantly. It also would eliminate the requirement that employers provide housing to agricultural workers. To learn more about the proposed regulation, go to www.farmworkerjustice.org. USCCB will be submitting comments to the Department of Labor asking that the regulation be withdrawn.
HR 4088, the SAVE Act, introduced by Reps. Heath Shuler (D-NC) and Tom Tancredo (R-CO) now has 135 cosponsors, including nearly 50 Democrats. There is concern that this legislation could be considered before the end of the 110th Congress. We urge you to continue to ask your representatives to oppose HR 4088 as an enforcement-only measure that would fail to repair our broken immigration system.
Enforcement raids continue to occur throughout the nation. The most recent enforcement raid took place in Linden, Utah on February 7. Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) recently sent the attached letter to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff opposing the raids and asking that certain protocols be adopted to ensure that they are conducted in a humane manner that does not separate families. Contact USCCB staffer Kevin Appleby to receive a raids response packet.
Registration is open for the “Renewing Hope, Seeking Justice – National Migration Conference 2008” and can be accessed at www.nationalmigrationconference.org. The conference, to be held in Washington, D.C., July 28-31, will feature prominent national speakers, 50 workshops, and an advocacy day on Capitol Hill. Register early and often for this once in a lifetime event.