August 25, 2009
August 25, 2009
Baltimore, August 20, 2009–At a White House meeting today, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) continued to call for fair and humane immigration reform. LIRS Director for Access to Justice Leslie Vélez, participating in today’s meeting with administration officials, offered, “People of faith recognize the moral imperative and are looking for practical solutions. We must be humane and just to newcomers while assuring orderly migration. We must also recognize that newcomers are integral to the social, economic and cultural fabric of America’s communities.”
Hosted by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, today’s immigration discussion brought together law enforcement officials, religious groups, immigrant rights advocates and members of the business community. The main focus of the meeting was to reaffirm the administration’s commitment to immigration reform and to encourage dialog among all parties involved in the complicated issue of fixing our broken immigration system.
President Barack Obama closed the session, offering a glimmer of hope for those committed to reform: “We need sensible and humane immigration reform that reflects our nation of laws and of immigrants.” Obama called the immigration issue a “problem begging to be fixed” and shared that Napolitano is on the job because she knows how to get things done. “In the meantime, we need to work administratively to fix the problem,” the president continued. “Ultimately, the American people want the right thing done.”
The Rev. David Vasquez, a Lutheran pastor, witnessed firsthand the humanitarian crisis and economic devastation caused by a large-scale workplace raid in Postville, Iowa, last year. “Rather than recognizing immigrants’ vital contributions, our current broken immigration system punishes many as they seek safety and a better future for themselves and their families,” Vasquez explained. “Our immigration policies should be shaped by intentional commitments and values rather than fear. While guarding our safety, our policies and laws should capitalize on the contributions of immigrants willing to join in the work of building our shared future.”
Earlier this week, voting members at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s 2009 Churchwide Assembly voted overwhelmingly to urge reform of our nation’s current immigration policy and to call for suspension of immigration raids until reform is enacted. The assembly is the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, the largest U.S. Lutheran church body with 4.8 million members in 10,500 congregations across the country.
“As members of an immigrant church, Lutherans recognize that welcome begins in our communities, in our neighborhoods and in our churches-with each one of us.” Vélez continued. “LIRS looks forward to working with the administration and Congress to create meaningful reforms that restore a rule of law that reflects the realities in which we live in our communities.”
Since 1939 LIRS has created welcoming communities for America’s newcomers. It is one of the nation’s leading agencies serving refugees and immigrants. The organization resettles refugees, protects migrant children, advocates for just treatment of asylum seekers, seeks alternatives to immigration detention and stands for unity for families fractured by unfair laws. To learn more about LIRS’s work of welcome, please visit www.lirs.org.
Instead of pandering to the business community, our elected politicians must execute E-Verify as permanent tool to draw illegal workers away from the workplace? It must not be voluntary to be enforced, with serious penalties for employers who disregard the law. Heavy fines should be imposed, along with asset confiscation and for hiring a large force of illegal foreign workers a lengthy prison sentence. Nobody in the workplace should be exempt from being positively identified as a Citizen or a US permanent resident. Even the longest employed worker should be checked through the system. E-Verification should be built upon, with any new innovations desired to stop jobs being stolen from those legally allowed to work.
Many ICE raids across the nation have proved beyond doubt the extent of illegal nationals taking jobs of citizens and how expeditiously these unfilled jobs were taken back by bona-fide workers in the poultry industry. Americans in the working environment should report any illegal activity to ICE, so they can investigate. E-Verify is the only substantial program in immigration armory that must not be weakened. It is evident that it’s operational owing to the tireless assault of the ACLU, US Chamber of Commerce to silence its function in the courts. Now is the time to pressure your reluctant elected official, specifically in California. This Sanctuary Refuge for illegal aliens and their families have been overloading schools, hospitals and government welfare benefits to pacify special interest lobbyists. Voters should also immediately mandate installation of E-Verify nationwide in vetting the janitor to an engineer, from a sheet metal worker to an advertising executive.
When the welfare state of California nearly financially collapsed, it can be partially attributed to the massive population of illegal immigrants. The time is ripe to shout aloud of the decades of inflated taxes supporting education to K-12, free medical care and considerably more which stays intentionally undisclosed to the public. MAKE A NOTE OF THIS WASHINGTON SWITCHBOARD NUMBER 202-224-3121. Like never before we need the Nation Guard to patrol the border on a permanent basis, to support the undermanned region. Democrats declare in the town hall meetings, that foreign nationals have–NO–access to benefits in Obama’s health care reform.
But if a path to citizenship or AMNESTY is not–TABLED–in the coming Immigration Reform session, then one-and-all, will automatically be provided for as new citizens into the health care program. In addition we must consider the gigantic onslaught of millions more who will try to join those already here? WE CANNOT EVEN PROVIDE MEDICAL FOR OUR OWN POPULATION? I CONCUR WITH A PUBLIC OPTION-BUT NOT FOR FOREIGN NATIONALS.
STOP IT ONCE AND FOR ALL NOW AND START A POINTS SYSTEM FOR HIGH ECHELON WORKERS. The poor, uneducated will never stop breaking our laws, for an opportunity reserved for AMERICANS AND LEGAL RESIDENTS. LEARN THE CONSEQUENCES OF IRREVERSIBLE OVERPOPULATION, THE COSTS TO TAXPAYERS AT NUMBERSUSA, HERITAGE FOUNDATION & JUDICIAL WATCH.
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I think it’s time obama and his thugs realize that the American people will not allow any type of amnesty for these illegal aliens.
I can’t say the ILLEGAL ALIENS are completely to blame for the shape of our economy, but they are a BIG part of the problem. The ILLEGAL ALIENS send BILLIONS upon BILLIONS out of this Country every year, money we will NEVER see again. Does this help our economy?
How about the BILLIONS the American taxpayers fork out for the ILLEGAL ALIEN BABIES, the schooling of them, the medical care and the list goes on, and on, and on.
How about the MILLIONS upon MILLIONS paid to jail ILLEGAL ALIENS for the crimes, then the cost to deport them. Does this help our economy?
Then you have these activist groups, the Catholic Church and the ACLU that want AMNESTY for these ILLEGAL ALIENS. It would be absolute suicide for this Country if AMNESTY were granted to the 20 million or so ILLEGAL ALIENS. We have more and more people out of work everyday and they want to add another 20 million to this Country? I say, “NO”!
If AMNESTY were ever granted to these 20 million ILLEGAL ALIENS, you can bet big money that 3 years from now, there would be ANOTHER 3-5 million ILLEGAL ALIENS demonstrating on our soil for AMNESTY.
An end MUST come to this illegal immigration. The perfect tool we have so far is E-Verify. It MUST be used by ALL businesses and Government Social Services. EVERY employee must be checked! If they are illegal, they are to be dismissed!
I believe it is time for all 50 States to pass a State law, like Arizona, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina and a few others. It is time for these ILLEGAL ALIENS to go back to their home Country and get out of this Country. The problems they are causing will not go away until the ILLEGAL ALIENS are out of this Country. I think that is plain to see.
It’s time for ZERO TOLERENCE with these ILLEGAL ALIENS. It’s time for them to get back to their own country where they belong. When we get rid of the illegal aliens, we get rid of all the problems that go with them. THAT IS A FACT!