Resolution
 

COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM 
 

WhereaS, The League of United Latin-American Citizens (LULAC) is committed to the protection and promotion of the rights and a living wage for United States workers; and 

WhereaS, LULAC is equally committed to protecting the human and civil rights of all immigrants living and working in the United States; and 

WhereaS, the exploitation of workers based upon their immigration status both violates the fundamental rights of these immigrants while also having an adverse impact on U.S. workers; and 

WhereaS, the vast majority of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States whose close family members are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents are nevertheless unable to legalize their status as a result of U.S. laws that bar their legalization because of their undocumented presence (commonly called the 3 and 10-year bars) and country quotas that cause disproportionate and extreme delays in legalization for immigrants from high visa demand countries, including Mexico; and 

WhereaS, the great majority of undocumented immigrant workers are unable to legalize their status under U.S. laws despite filling jobs offered by employers that U.S. workers are, for the most part, unable, unwilling or unavailable to fill; and 

WhereaS, undocumented workers are providing the Social Security and Medicare systems with a subsidy of up to $8.5 billion a year, but are ineligible for Medicare and almost all forms of public assistance other than emergency health care; and 

WhereaS, the inability of most undocumented immigrant to access health care program has an adverse impact on both these immigrants and the communities in which they work and reside; and 

WhereaS, immigrants contribute about $800 billion to the economy each year and both documented and undocumented immigrants pay far more in taxes than they utilize in government-funded social service programs; and 

WhereaS, millions of undocumented immigrants have young United States children who suffer a range of harms, disadvantages, and lost opportunities as a result of the inability of their parents to legalize their immigration status; and 

WhereaS, detention and deportations often result in the destruction of family unites that include U.S. citizen and lawful resident immediate family members; and 

WhereaS, the national security would be served if the Government possessed personal background information on the maximum number of immigrants possibly living in the United States; and  

WhereaS, post 9/11 national security measures taken by the U.S. government to better screen and track lawful permanent residents and non-immigrant visitors in the United State are of questionable value as long as the government possesses no information on millions of undocumented immigrants living in the country; and 

WhereaS, increased militarization and criminalization of the U.S. – Mexico border has not reduced the number of immigrants entering without inspection, but has destroyed border communities and dramatically increased the incidence of deaths and violence along the border, 

NOW tHEREFORE, be it resolved that:

1. LULAC supporters a legalization program for all undocumented immigrants who have resided in the United States for a reasonable length of time (perhaps in the range of two to three years) and who have in effect become permanent resident of this country, shown a commitment to its values, contributed productive labor or in other ways contributed to their communities, do not pose a national security threat and have not engaged in any serious criminal conduct.

2. LULAC believe that in order to best protect the national security of the United States and the rights and interests of U.S. workers, a legalization program for undocumented immigrants should include unambiguous eligibility standards satisfied by realistic evidentiary burdens, afford applicants full access to judicial review in the event application for legalization are unlawfully denied, should include the spouses and children of program beneficiaries, and should be a continuing program available in the future rather than a one-time program.

3. LULAC supports a legalization program that requires immigrants to perform a reasonable number of hours in community service rather than imposing high penalty fees which many hard-working immigrants with families to support are unable to afford.

4. LULAC supports a substantial increase in funding for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and U.S. consulates to effect a massive reduction in all back logged immigration-related applications and modification of existing quotas with the goal that no application or petition for immigration benefits filed by eligible applicant would take more than two years to adjudicate.

5. In order to fully protect U.S. workers and reduce to the maximum extent possible the unlawful exploitation of immigrant workers, LULAC supports revisions to the U.S. laws so that documented and undocumented immigrants have full and complete access to protective labor and health and safety laws and that penalties be increased for employers who illegally exploit workers based upon their immigration status.

6. As a matter of human and civil rights, and to avoid erroneous deprivations of rights, LULAC opposes any laws that permit the indefinite detention of immigrants and supports the right of apprehended immigrants, who are not a flight or national security risk, to release on reasonable bail, fair removal hearings, and the right to pursue administrative appeals without waiving grants of voluntary departure.

7. LULAC supports special protections for and opposes any reduction in the rights and procedural protection of uniquely vulnerable immigrants including students, asylum seekers, unaccompanied juveniles, victims of violent crimes and trafficking, and survivors of domestic violence.

8. LULAC supports immediate adjustment of status for thousands of Central American refugees who, many years ago, came to the United States and applied for legal status under several programs, including asylum, NACARA, ABC, and TPS.

9. LULAC opposed efforts to restrict or limit the ability of the judiciary to review and correct unlawful decisions regarding immigrants both in the form of national policies or decisions in individual cases.

10. Because of their lack of training in immigration matters and limited resources to fulfill their local duties, LULAC opposes the involvement of local authorities in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

11. LULAC opposes further militarization and criminalization of the U.S. – Mexico border and supports enhanced national security measures at seaports and U.S. Consulates that process applications for visas to enter the United States.

12. LULAC opposes legislation that fails to offer a comprehensive legalization program that would legalize the status of the majority of undocumented immigrant presently living in the United States, while adopting high repressive interior enforcement programs that will drive immigrants deeper underground, increase the fear and exploitability, eventually increase rather than decrease the size of the undocumented population, and result in widespread violations of human rights, all adversely impact on the national security of the United Stats and the rights and well-being of U.S. workers and their families.

Adopted this 1st day of July 2006.

Rosa Rosales
LULAC National President