Fix our Immigration Laws Now

TEXT OF LETTER SENT TO CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP October 7, 2002

Dear Leader:

We, the undersigned organizations, are writing to express our views on immigration reform. As Congress moves forward with consideration of immigration reform legislation, we wanted to make clear our position on two important issues. We believe that central to any immigration reform effort is a realistic and appropriate effort to provide an adjustment of status, or legalization, to as many of the undocumented who reside within our borders as is reasonable. If, upon entering this country, they have been law-abiding contributors to the American economy and to our society, they should be afforded an opportunity to have legal protection, as well as the rights and responsibilities of other immigrants.

At the same time, we oppose expansion of existing temporary non-immigrant worker programs, and the creation of any new such programs. The current foreign worker programs contain many of the shortcomings of the notorious "bracero" program, which began in 1943 as a wartime emergency program, but continued amid great controversy until 1964. Guestworkers, historically and legally, are not afforded the same workplace protections as domestic workers, and, as non-immigrants, are denied the democratic rights and economic bargaining power of domestic workers. Their vulnerability leads to employer abuse, government neglect, and inevitable exploitation. Rather than expanded, the current guestworker programs should be reformed to provide for essential labor market and workplace protections for both domestic and non-immigrant workers, as well as a path for adjustment of status and citizenship.

We are aware that the road to immigration reform is complicated by economic, social, and political considerations. We also know that in order to succeed, consideration must be given to many perspectives. It is our collective view, however, that if we do not provide for undocumented workers within our borders to adjust their status, we will have failed within our own communities. Similarly, heeding calls for new guestworker programs will simply add another shameful chapter, like the bracero program, to our nation's history.

Thank you for your consideration of these views.

LIST OF SIGNATORIES TO LETTER SUPPORTING LEGALIZATION AND OPPOSING GUESTWORKER PROGRAMS SENT TO CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP
 

Farmworker Justice Fund (FJF)
Food and Allied Service Trades, AFL-CIO (FAST)
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
United Food And Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), AFL-CIO
Department of Professional Employees (DPE), AFL-CIO
United Farmworkers of America, AFL-CIO (UFW)
National Center for Farmworker Health
Hispanic Organizations Leadership Alliance (HOLA)
National Employment Law Project (NELP)
American Friends Service Committee
United Auto Workers (Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America International Union, UAW)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
ACORN
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
9to5, National Association of Working Women
Association of Farmworkers Opportunity Programs (AFOP)
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE)
Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
Global Exchange
Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Council of the UFCW, AFL-CIO
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
Student Action with Farmworkers
Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers International Union, AFL-CIO
Jobs with Justice
Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union, AFL-CIO
National Farmworker Ministry
NETWORK, A Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Unitarian Universalist Migrant Ministry
National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice (NICJ)
A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI)
Communication Workers of America, AFL- CIO (CWA)
International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO (IUOE)
Catholic Migrant Farmworker Network
National Consumers League (NCL)
Unitarian Universalists Service Committee
National Council of Churches
The Swedenborgian Church of North America
Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)
United Latinos of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW)
Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE!), AFL-CIO
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, APALA
Justice For Our Neighbors, (JFON) a program of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU)
Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (HERE), AFL-CIO
Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), AFL-CIO
Farmworker Coordinating Council of Palm Beach County
Sin Fronteras Organizing Project, El Paso, Texas
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Center for a Changing Workforce, Seattle, WA
California Institute for Rural Studies
Michigan Migrant Legal Assistance Project, Inc.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas
Hotel and Restaurant Employees, Local 17, Minneapolis & St. Paul, Minnesota
Northwest Federation of Community Organizations
Washington Citizen Action
Idaho Community Action Network
Hotel and Restaurant Employees, Local 11, Los Angeles, California Oregon Action
El Pueblo, North Carolina
North Carolina Justice and Community Development Center
Equal Justice Center, Texas
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Illinois
La Ermita, Macon, Georgia
Centro Campesino, Owatonna, Minnesota
Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, Minnesota
School for All, Austin, Texas
Philaposh, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Jewish Labor Committee
Pennsylvania Alliance For Retired Americans
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Casa Marianella, Austin, Texas
Daughters of Mary and Joseph, California
Orange County Interfaith Committee
Diocese of Raleigh, Hispanic Ministry Office, Raleigh, North Carolina
Sustainable Agriculture of Louisville, Kentucky
Florida Council of Churches
Florida Council for Peace and Justice
Office of Social Concerns, Diocese of San Bernardino, California CAUSA, Oregon
Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, (PCUN), Oregon
Oregon Farm Worker Ministry
Hispanic Ministry Leadership Team and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota
California Church Impact
Office of Hispanic Ministry, Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
Gray Panthers of Sarasota-Manatee, Florida
Leadership Team of the Sisters of the Divine Saviors, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Great Lakes Regional Council of Carpenters
Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA)
Catholics for Justice, Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
Catholic Charities of the East Bay, California
Central Indiana Jobs With Justice
Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center
School Sisters of Notre Dame, SHALOM North America/USA
Conexion Americas
Washington Alliance of Technical Workers, WashTech
Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation  Committee, Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, Milwaukee,  Wisconsin
The Central Leadership Team of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky
The Methodist Church, New Paltz, New York
The Independent Farmworker Center, (CITA), New York
Farmworker Legal Services of New York
Rural and Migrant Ministry, New York
Justice for Farmworkers Campaign, New York
Illinois National Organization for Women, Illinois
Latinos Unidos (Southern Empowerment Project), Tennessee
Latino Memphis
North Carolina Farmworkers' Project