Washington, DC – Yesterday, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard expressed her disappointment in the House Republicans’ failure to present a bipartisan homeland security funding bill. Instead, the traditionally bipartisan bill was used as a vehicle to attack immigrant rights. Late last night during debate of the bill, the House adopted a succession of extreme GOP amendments that will exacerbate the worst aspects of our broken immigration system and limit the Obama administration’s ability to shift the focus of our enforcement efforts from families to felons.
“Once again, my Republican colleagues have used a bipartisan bill to safeguard our homeland as a way to assail the rights and well-being of immigrant families,” said Rep. Roybal-Allard. “Instead of concentrating on the violent extremists who threaten the American people, the House GOP elected to push through a series of harsh anti-immigrant amendments. These misguided measures will force undocumented workers deeper into the shadows while doing nothing to fix our broken immigration system.”
Among the Republican amendments adopted was a provision preventing the Obama administration from using its powers under current law to close the deportation cases of immigrants with deep ties to the United States. Republicans also sought to halt the implementation of a new regulation enabling families to remain together while they seek visa waivers. In addition, House GOP members voted overwhelmingly in favor of a proposal to prevent the administration from terminating immigration enforcement partnerships with local police, even if they are suspected of engaging in racial profiling.
