In House Hearing, NCLR Warns Congress Against Delegation of Authority on Immigration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Joseph Rendeiro
(202) 776-1566
jrendeiro@nclr.org

Yesterday, Clarissa Martínez-De-Castro, Director of Immigration and Civic Engagement at NCLR (National Council of La Raza), testified at a House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary hearing on H.R. 2278, the “Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement (SAFE) Act.” During the hearing, Martínez-De-Castro warned that this legislation will expand many of the wasteful and misguided interior enforcement policies that have caused fear and insecurity in communities across the country, in part, by delegating immigration enforcement duties to state and local authorities.

“Rather than assert Congress’s role and responsibility to ensure we have an orderly and regulated immigration system, H.R. 2278 proposes a massive delegation of authority that is unnecessary,” said Martínez-De-Castro. “There is widespread evidence that interior enforcement of immigration laws generally, and its delegation to states and localities in particular, inherently threaten civil rights and violate other core American values. The effect of this delegation of authority will be to create a patchwork of laws that will add more chaos, not more order, to our immigration system.”

“Congress has a responsibility to fix our immigration system. It must not abdicate that responsibility, and it must not create a situation where there are 50 different ways to apply immigration laws in our country,” added Martínez-De-Castro. “We urge the authors, and this Committee, to exercise their leadership to deliver a modernized and effective immigration system for the 21st century, and do so in a way that respects the contributions of all Americans, regardless of their accent or appearance.”

To read the full testimony, please visit the House Judiciary Committee website.

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