MILLIONS OF IMMIGRANTS DID NOT MARCH LAST YEAR TO SETTLE FOR THE “STRIVE” ACT

The “STRIVE” Act—Security Through Regularized Immigration & Vibrant Economy—was introduced in Congress in March 2007 as a possible solution to our broken immigration system. Allied groups all around the country, including a diverse coalition of grassroots immigrant organizations representing immigrants from dozens of countries in New York City—Immigrant Communities in Action—are standing up against settling for crumbs that will exclude millions of us while subjecting us to detention, deportation and death at the border for decades to come.

THE STRIVE ACT IS NOT A LEGALIZATION BILL: IT IS A “REPORT TO DEPORT” SYSTEM FOR MILLIONS OF IMMIGRANTS THAT CANNOT MEET PERILOUSLY HIGH HURDLES AND INNUMEROUS BARRIERS TO LEGALIZE BECAUSE, AMONGST DOZENS OF REASONS, WE:

 will not be able to leave the US to “touch-back” since we are not guaranteed the right to return to the US or cannot afford to leave  will not be able to pay thousands in fees, fines, and lawyers costs because so many of us live in extreme poverty as the low-wage backbone of the economy & will not be earning money if the “head” of our households must leave the US  will not qualify because we have penalized by routine violations of the law as part of our work as street vendors or cab drivers, as examples.  will not qualify because we are elderly and have been unemployed  will not be able to demonstrate our work history, even if we have worked, because of uncooperative employers  will not pass medical requirements because of our HIV+ status and current HIV bans & bars  will not fit legal definitions of “family” because of our gender identity or sexuality  will not fit arbitrary date restrictions  will have to go to the “back of the line”—this feeble “path” to citizenship will take decades of further fear and suffering

FOR THESE REASONS, MILLIONS OF IMMIGRANTS WILL CHOOSE NOT TO RISK APPLYING AND WILL CONTINUE TO WORK IN THE SHADOWS AS AN UNDERCLASS OF EXPLOITABLE WORKERS.

THE STRIVE ACT FAILS TO FIX THE BROKEN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM AND EXPANDS EXPLOITATION OF IMMIGRANTS BY:

-Forcing community members who want to reunite with their families to wait for years to first get a green card and then file petitions for relatives -Imposing excessive employer control on workers through the use of verification databases and penalties for employers which will expand their ability to exploit immigrant workers. -Increasing the numbers of young immigrants in the military by requiring them to register for the army in order to legalize as the only option if they cannot afford tuition for college -Expanding the number of temporary workers who will live in slave-like working conditions and deported for speaking out, without expanding labor protections

THE STRIVE ACT WILL EGREGIOUSLY TEAR OUR FAMILIES APART BY MASSIVELY INCREASING RAIDS, DETENTION AND DEPORTATION BY:

militarizing the border which will produce more deaths—already, over 4,000 have died at the border since 1994—and increase profits for a multi-billion dollar smuggling industry as higher fees are extorted for an even riskier north-ward journey. encouraging local & state police to act as federal immigration agents and placing thousands of border patrol & ICE agents in communities and worksites, making our communities more vulnerable to abuse, racial profiling, harassment and lead to wide scale detention and deportation further criminalizing immigrants for an even longer list of minor offenses that has already led to the mass deportation of over a million green-card holders since 1996 exposing future immigrants to 10-year bars on legalization if they enter without documents after a new law passes expanding expedited deportation which provides no due process protections such as access to a lawyer or hearing before a Judge providing limited civil or human rights protections, basic due process rights, or constitutional safeguards despite a clear history of violations by the Department of Homeland Security

For the above reasons and beyond, we CALL ON CONGRESS TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD TO CRAFT A REAL SOLUTION

with humane principles at the forefront, as outlined by Immigrant Communities in Action’s “People’s Platform for Immigration Reform” [see our pamphlet or website]. JOIN Immigrant Communities in Action in fighting for a fair legalization for ALL immigrants and a movement to end deportations & detentions—not a law that will hurt us for YEARS to come. Overall, the STRIVE Act indefinitely delays pseudo-legalization until “interior enforcement”, “employer verification” and “border security” milestones are in place, which could take years. Immigrant communities are in crisis as our families are being torn apart—we desperately need legalization & an end to raids, deportations, detentions & policing. The truth about this bill is that it will be VERY difficult to get papers and MORE of us will be at risk of deportation & detention.

The “Peoples’ Platform for Immigration Reform: Grassroots Voices of Immigrants” is Immigrant Communities in Action's uniquely developed vision for immigrant justice. Our platform was developed through a long-term community consultation & consensus process across diverse immigrant community organizations in NYC, prioritizing the voices of immigrant workers and families who are directly affected by detention and deportation and urgently need legalization. Immediate Legalization: The over 14 million undocumented immigrants in the US deserve a fair, simple, non-punitive and immediate path to legalization. We reject any program that: • Distinguishes amongst immigrants with “tiers”—which will lead to mass deportations • Places undocumented immigrants “at the back of the line,” when we have already contributed to the US for years • Penalizes and places undue burdens on immigrants for past immigration cases, ex: not enrolling in “Special Registration” • Forces immigrants to pay thousands of dollars in fines and fees, penalizing us despite making up the backbone of the economy and living in poverty from low-wage sector jobs • Forces us through bureaucratic hoops that limit our opportunity to legalize, ex: Employer sponsorship, English, and requirements to “touch base”/return home Protecting Our Families, Our Future Global economic pressures continue to force workers to migrate. New immigrants must have opportunities to legalize without requirements that exploit workers. For a lasting solution, new immigration laws must: • Include fair, simple, permanent and non-punitive paths to legalization in any guestworker programs—requiring immigrants to return home without the opportunity to settle or right to change jobs is exploitative and will only create a new class of undocumented workers • Expand fair, simple and non-burdensome legalization provisions for relatives, extended families, and domestic partners so that communities can be reunited and whole • Clear backlogs immediately, which urgently requires that USCIS increase personnel to process new and old applications • Change foreign policy (military, political and economic) which creates global migration, especially to the US End the Human and Civil Rights Crisis At the borders and in our cities, homes and workplaces, immigrants increasingly face expanded detention and deportation which tears our communities apart, in the face of limited legal process. In the name of civil and human rights, the broken immigration system must be repaired to: • Ensure human rights and end the militarization of our borders so that over 400 people do not continue to die every year crossing the border • End the detention system which uses taxpayer money to profit private prison corporations; create humane alternatives to detention • End deportations in order to keep families together • End immigration enforcement practices and its climate of fear; stop religious and racial profiling through the Department of Homeland Security’s collaboration with state, local, and federal police, as well as public agencies • Stop eroding human and civil rights through enforcement and criminalization Fix the Broken Immigration System by Repealing Unworkable, Unjust Laws Decades of unjust immigration laws have created a crisis in immigrant communities, forcing millions of families to separate. Several laws must be repealed or modified: • Implement a moratorium on detentions and deportations during the waiting period for a new legalization program • Repeal the REAL ID Act as unworkable and unfairly targeting immigrants—provide access to drivers licenses for all • Repeal the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which has deported 1.5 million green card holders since 1996 due to minor criminal convictions for which time has been served • End expedited removal, mandatory detention & deportation, and unfair adjudication of immigration claims, which systematically neglect due process • Stop indefinite detention based on the Military Commissions Act, which violates international human rights law • All immigration-related legal processes must ensure due process and a fair trial, including meaningful access to courts, right to counsel, right to know the charge against them, and right to a fair bond. End secret trials, secret detentions, and secret arrests • End selective enforcement of laws, including immigration laws based on race, HIV status, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, religion, speech or belief • Protect right to privacy and right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures; uphold constitutional limits on surveillance • Repeal naturalization and travel bans for people living with HIV • Humanize the asylum process, and provide refugees with immediate access to social services Full Worker Rights for Immigrants Immigrants, undocumented and documented, deserve full labor rights. Immigration and labor policy must: • Enforce existing labor laws that protect immigrant workers • Repeal employer sanctions (from the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act & others) and punitive electronic worker verification systems • End raids, penalties and restrictions on licensing which hurt formal and informal workers, street vendors, and small, immigrant businesses • Grant equal pay for equal work and stop dividing citizen and immigrant workers by forcing workers to sell their labor to the lowest bidder • End the use of “No-Match” letters, which is a de facto immigration enforcement tool—the IRS and ICE must not collaborate to arrest and cause termination of immigrant workers Immigrants in our Communities Local and State governments must stand up to protect the rights of constituents through active legislation that protects immigrants through non-cooperation with unjust federal laws. City, state or other government agencies must not be used to enforce immigration laws.