National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health Condemns Immigration Bills, Urges Congress to Reject Both

WASHINGTON, D.C. — House moderates have agreed to vote on two extreme Republican immigration bills to provide Dreamers access to a legal immigration status after President Trump upended the DACA program on September 5, 2017 — the Ryan bill and the Goodlatte bill, which include dangerous provisions that hurt Dreamers, asylum-seekers, and children. Yesenia Chavez, policy analyst for the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, issued the following statement:

“Contrary to what Republican leadership want us to believe, there is no “compromise” bill. The Ryan bill and the Goodlatte bill are one in the same, neither is less worse than the other. These bills are nonstarters for our communities and include draconian provisions that will hurt hundreds of thousands of Dreamers, indefinitely detain immigrant families and children, and turn away asylum seekers. While the right is touting the Ryan bill ends family separation, it instead actually increases the well-known and criticized practice of family detention. Republicans effectively killed the Dream Act and are once again using Dreamers as bargaining chips for their anti-immigrant, xenophobic agenda by pitting them against their families. A vote for any of these bills is not the solution for Dreamers.

“We urge all Members of Congress to not only vote against both of these bills, but also to speak out against them. NLIRH also calls for a defunding of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agencies whose jobs are to target, apprehend, and detain black and brown people. It is time for Congress to demand the Trump administration end the family separation policy they chose to implement, the detainment of children, and the criminalization of our immigrant communities. ”

For more information on NLIRH’s fight for health, dignity and justice, visit us at latinainstitute.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @NLIRH.

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The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is the only national reproductive justice organization dedicated to building Latina power to advance health, dignity, and justice for 28 million Latinas, their families, and communities in the United States through leadership development, community mobilization, policy advocacy, and strategic communications.