- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A message from League of United Latin American Citizens
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
View as web page:
[link removed]
Photo Credit: Alfredo Estrella, AFP
May 11, 2023
Contact: David Cruz - (818) 689-9991 Mobile
[email protected]
LULAC WARNS BORDER HUMANITARIAN CRISIS URGENTLY NEEDS IMMEDIATE FEDERAL EMERGENCY
FUNDING
=================================================================================
Nation's Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Says Asylum Seekers
Have the Right to Due Process and Not Being Treated Like Criminals
El Paso, TX - The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) has issued one
of its most urgent calls for critical emergency federal assistance in its 94-year
history. The plea is on behalf of tens of thousands of migrants lawfully seeking
the chance to apply for asylum in the United States and be allowed to stay while
the courts hear their case. The unprecedented call from LULAC is for funding
relief to community-based organizations and communities at the epicenter of the
looming refugee crisis at the US-Mexico border. LULAC is taking this historic
action on the eve of the Biden Administration lifting Title 42 enforcement on
Friday, May 12. Tens of thousands of men, women, and children massed along the
US-Mexico border for weeks or months have desperately waited to see this moment.
"LULAC is here to warn that we are at a critical tipping point, and the situation
can only become more dire if the Administration and Congress do not act
immediately," says Domingo Garcia, LULAC national president. "They must authorize
significant federal aid to the impacted border regions specifically for
desperately needed resources. These communities are being overwhelmed and
urgently need government support to provide shelter, clothing, food, and medicine
for arriving asylum seekers. These refugees are on legal immigration parole while
the courts evaluate their applications. Those whose asylum petition the courts
affirm will be allowed to stay; those who do not meet the test, judges will order
returned to their country of origin. In the meantime, the need is massive and on
a scale not seen before while reports are that thousands more refugees are headed
here," says Garcia.
Photo Credit: Mike Blake, Reuters
LULAC supports comprehensive immigration reform to overhaul an outdated system
that is not working for applicants fleeing violence and oppression or for the
U.S. that can benefit from their contributions. People who apply to migrate to
the United States are often forced to wait for years, while others are deemed
permanently ineligible because of previous non-violent infractions. The result is
a severe increase in human trafficking, leading to crimes committed against
innocent migrant victims and even their deaths.
"Comprehensive immigration reform needs a fresh perspective," says Ray Mancera,
LULAC national parliamentarian and longtime LULAC member in his hometown of El
Paso. "We must look at arriving refugees who qualify for asylum as an opportunity
that benefits them and the United States economy. Immigrants have historically
been the lifeblood that replenishes our ranks of essential workers in jobs
Americans do not want to do,” adds Mancera.
Photo Credit: Justin Hamel, The New York Times
LULAC urges the Biden Administration and the government of Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador (AMLO) to work towards a bi-national framework that includes setting up
processing centers in Mexico like those in Colombia and Nicaragua to keep
migrants making the long, difficult, and dangerous journey north to the United
States.
Lydia Guzman, LULAC National Immigration Chair, announced that in a few days,
LULAC will hold the first border summit on refugee and immigration policies with
leaders gathered in Laredo, Texas. "No single step and no single person can
provide the total answer to a crisis of this magnitude that has developed over
decades of inaction," she said. "LULAC is taking the lead as it always has
because we must be solutions-focused instead of casting aspersions and treating
the masses of humanity on the other side of our border as a threat being met with
weapons and soldiers," says Guzman.
The LULAC Americas Plan:
* The League of United Latin American Citizens urges President Biden to
exercise presidential privilege to implement emergency measures to mitigate
the humanitarian crisis at the border.
* LULAC asks the Administration to expand the list of countries with TPS
protection status to include those from which the asylees are fleeing to come
to the United States.
* Provide more funding to border communities (NGOs, shelters, churches, local
governments) to better prepare for the influx – rather than sending National
Guard troops.
* Adequately support DHS agencies that perform intake duties and adjudicate
asylum cases – rather than sending national guard troops.
President Garcia concludes, "LULAC rejects the fearmongering and scapegoating
used by politicians for pure campaigning and political posturing. Using terms
like invasion, murderers, and cartels during a humanitarian crisis is
unacceptable and will not be tolerated. LULAC is focused on creating positive
solutions. We urge politicians on both sides to join the conversation to be a
part of the solution. Our failure to act on immigration reform will only increase
unlawful migration by blocking lawful pathways to protection. Migrants will be
forced to take dangerous journeys and fall prey to human traffickers that do not
care about their victims' lives. We must all be a part of the solution, not an
accomplice to unscrupulous human smugglers."
# # #
About LULAC
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and
oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans
and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000
councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and
advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of
today and the future. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org [ [link removed] ] .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Make sure you receive email from LULAC. Add
[email protected] to your approved senders list.
This email was sent to:
[email protected]
Click here to unsubscribe from email sent by LULAC.
[link removed]
Paid for by LULAC ( [link removed] ) and not
authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Contributions or gifts to LULAC are not tax-deductible.
Design by Plus Three [link removed]
Powered by ARCOS [link removed]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
