PLG Resolution Against Anti-Immigrant Legislation 2006
Resolution Against Anti-Immigrant Legislation 2006
Whereas, the Progressive Librarians Guild supports immigrants’ rights,
Whereas, anti-immigrant measures deleteriously affect the immigrant community, regardless of legal status or citizenship status,
Whereas, the Sensenbrenner Bill – H.R. 4437 is totally punitive in trying to make felons out of undocumented immigrants, denying them any human, civil, working, or due process rights; seeking to make criminals out of people who aid undocumented immigrants, including clergy, health care workers, teachers, and possibly librarians; gives no recognition of the significant contributions immigrants make to our local and national economies and to our communities; and was passed by the United States House of Representatives on December 16, 2005 by a vote of 239-182 http://www.nclr.org/content/policy/detail/35618/ and has been sent to the Senate,
Whereas, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Specter (R. Pennsylvania) has drawn upon existing bills and the Sensenbrenner bill into a draft bill, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which is currently being debated in the Senate,
Therefore be it resolved that, the Progressive Librarians Guild does not support Senator Specter’s bill, the Comprehensive Immigration
Reform Act of 2006;
Be it further resolved that, the Progressive Librarians Guild will take immediate action to alert the Senate about their position on this legislation;
Be it further resolved that the Progressive Librarians Guild will alert and encourage its members to contact the Senate in opposition of this and any future similar anti-immigrant legislation; Be it further resolved that the Progressive Librarians Guild will alert its members to take an active part in the education of members’ communities about immigration and social justice for Latino and other immigrant communities;
Be it further resolved that the Progressive Librarians Guild will promote libraries as sites and library workers as providers of citizen education about immigration issues and encourage library workers to act as advocates for the education of undocumented immigrants about their human rights.
—
The Progressive Librarians Guild’s Coordinating Committee overwhelmingly passed this resolution today, March 15, 2006. We thank Isabel Espinal for bringing the issue to our attention and writing the original draft of the resolution.
6 comments on “PLG Resolution Against Anti-Immigrant Legislation 2006”
We should also thank Oralia Garza de Cortes, who sent an urgent message on Reformanet urging all librarians to act and give their patrons the informtion they need in order to act. She forwarded a message from a Farm Labor organiztion:
“We ask that you also
take the following action now:
1. Contact the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee with the following
message:
* You are fed up with the hateful approach Congress is taking towards
immigrants, and you
will remember this in the Fall elections.
* The only bill you find acceptable is the McCain-Kennedy Secure America
and Orderly Immigration
Act S.1033, because it includes a positive means for undocumented immigrants
to seek legal
residency and integration into the American economy and society.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are:
Alabama: Senator Jeff Session’s office at (202) 224-4124
Arizona: Senator Jon Kyl’s office at (202) 224-4521
California: Senator Feinstein’s office at: (202) 224-3841
Delaware: Senator Biden’s office at: (202) 224-5042
Illinois: Senator Durbin’s office at: (202) 224-2152
Iowa: Senator Grassley’s office at: (202) 224-3744
Kansas: Senator Brownback’s office at: (202) 224-6521
Massachusetts: Senator Kennedy’s office at: (202) 224-5251
New York: Senator Schumer’s office at: 202-224-6542
Ohio: Senator DeWine’s office at: (202) 224-2315
Oklahoma: Senator Coburn’s office at: (202) 224-5754
Pennsylvania: Senator Specter’s office at: (202) 224-4254
South Carolina: Senator Graham’s office at: (202) 224-5972
Texas: Senator Cornyn’s office at: (202) 224-2934
Utah: Senator Hatch’s office at: (202) 224-5251
Vermont: Senator Leahy’s office at: (202) 224-4242
Wisconsin: Senator Kohl’s office at: (202) 224-5653 & Senator Feingold’s
office at: (202) 224-5323
2. Contact your own Senators and tell them the same message:
* You are fed up with the hateful approach Congress is taking towards
immigrants, and you
will remember this in the Fall elections.
* The only bill you find acceptable is the McCain-Kennedy Secure America
and Orderly Immigration
Act S.1033, because it includes a positive means for undocumented immigrants
to seek legal
residency and integration into the American economy and society.
To find your senators, go to
* http://www.senate.gov/, and click on your state in “Find Your Senators” in
the upper
right corner. When you click on the Senator’s name, you will go that
Senator’s web
site, which usually gives contact information.
* You can also go to: http://www.commoncause.org/FindElectedOfficials
and enter your ZIP code.
* In addition, you can look in the Blue Pages of your phone book and find
the local office
of your U.S. Senator.
3. Next week, contact your Senators in their local offices during the
congressional recess with the same
message, as indicated in the message sent out a couple of days. (if you
would like to receive this message
again, please let us know.)”
By Ken Barger
FLOC Communications
kbarger@floc.com
UPDATES:
1. Here’s an even easier way to contact Senators on the immigration question. Go to http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/action.html
It lets you put in your zip code to send emails to your senators AND it also includes emails of the Senate Judiciary comittee.
2. It looks like the Kennedy bill is actually getting the upper hand! The NYTimes posted a Reuters report a few hours ago. “Senators Near Compromise on Immigration.
Published: March 16, 2006
Filed at 6:19 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Under pressure to produce broad immigration reform legislation by the end of the month, a U.S. Senate panel on Thursday neared agreement on a proposal that would give some of the 12 million illegal aliens living in the country an opportunity to earn citizenship.”
This is by no means final and it’s important to keep up the pressure, especially considering that the vote in the House in December was so different. And scary.
Thanks for posting this in Library juice!
Happy to help!
IMPORTANT TO KEEP UP THE PRESSURE: FURTHER UPDATE
This posted this morning. Looks like Frist is pushing the divisive and disinformative “immigrantas as criminals” approach. And trying to bring an anti-immigrant bill to the full Senate. SO – *everyone* — contact your Senators TODAY and tell them to say NO to this possibility!
http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/action.html
NYTimes
March 17, 2006
“As Senators Debate Immigration Bill, Frist Offers His Own
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
WASHINGTON, March 16 — Senator Bill Frist, the Republican leader, introduced a stringent border security bill on Thursday, rejecting pleas from senators in his own party who appealed for more time to finish legislation that would create a guest worker program for foreigners and a legal remedy for millions of illegal immigrants already in the United States.
Mr. Frist said his bill would include several measures already hammered out in negotiations under way in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which had included an increase in the number of border guards, more fencing along the Mexican border and faster deportation of illegal immigrants. But Mr. Frist’s bill would not create the temporary worker program that President Bush has urged to legalize the status of the 11 million illegal immigrants thought to be in this country.
“Our country needs security at our borders in order to slow the flow of illegal immigration and make America safer from foreign criminals and terrorists,” said Mr. Frist, of Tennessee.”
Comments are closed.