In 2019, CRLN supports the following Latin America- and immigration-related bills, all of which are still in Committee. Has your member of the U.S. Congress from Illinois introduced or co-sponsored any of them? If not, call your Senators or Representative and ask them to co-sponsor. You can be connected to their office by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 1-202-224-3121.

Check out the chart below for your member of Congress’ name and current record:

U.S. SENATORS FROM ILLINOIS ON CENTRAL AMERICA AND IMMIGRATION

S.428 – Freedom to Export to Cuba Act of 2019: To lift the trade embargo against Cuba.

S.716 – Guatemala Rule of Law Accountability Act: To impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to combat corruption, money laundering, and impunity in Guatemala, and for other purposes. The bill was proposed in response to President Jimmy Morales’ expulsion of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala and to the charges of corruption against him and other government officials.

S.874 – DREAM Act of 2019:  With some conditions, this bill would give lawful permanent residency to any immigrant who entered the U.S. before turning 18, who has had continuous physical presence in the U.S. for 4 years, is law-abiding, and is enrolled in high school or higher education or already has been granted DACA status.

SECURE Act of 2019: Would provide a pathway for people from countries granted Temporary Protected Status (in Latin America, that would be people from El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua), who have been ordered by the current administration to leave the U.S. by specific dates, to apply for lawful permanent residency.

S.80: To create the John S. McCain III Human Rights Commission in the Senate, a counterpart to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the House, to serve as a bipartisan forum for discussion and promotion of human rights and awareness of human rights violations.

U.S. REPRESENTATIVES FROM ILLINOIS ON LATIN AMERICA AND IMMIGRATION

H.R. 1945 – Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act: prohibits funds from being made available to Honduras for the police or military (including for equipment and training) and directs the Department of the Treasury to instruct U.S. representatives at multilateral development banks to vote against any loans for the police or military of Honduras until the Department of State certifies that the government of Honduras has ended impunity, protects human rights defenders, and taken the military out of domestic policing.

 H.R. 1630 – Guatemala Rule of Law Accountability Act. Companion bill to S.716 to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to combat corruption, money laundering, and impunity in Guatemala, and for other purposes. The bill was proposed in response to President Jimmy Morales’ expulsion of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala and to the charges of corruption against him and other government officials.

H.R. 6 – American Dream and Promise Act: Companion bill to S.874 and SECURE Act of 2019 to provide a pathway to lawful permanent residency for those currently covered by DACA or other immigrants who were brought here as children who meet the DACA requirements AND those for who had Temporary Protected Status as of a certain date.

H.R. 1898 – Cuba Agricultural Exports Act:  would modify the prohibition on United States assistance and financing for agricultural exports to Cuba.

The Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, which would cut off military and police aid to Honduras until impunity for their human rights violations ceases, is due to be reintroduced in a couple of weeks. Rep. Hank Johnson has contacted the 70 Representatives who co-sponsored the bill with him during the last session of Congress to ask them to sign on again to show strength of support when the bill is reintroduced. Those from Illinois who signed on in the 2017-2018 session of Congress are Reps. Rush, Lipinski, Quigley, Danny Davis, Schakowsky, and Foster.

The bill never got out of the Foreign Affairs Committee during the last two sessions of Congress with the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. There is a chance that with a Democratic majority and new progressives in office, it will advance to the floor of the House for a vote. In Illinois, we must contact new Representatives Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (IL-4) and Sean Casten (IL-6) for their support on this bill.

CRLN staff and board members will be in DC April 4-8 and will take letters to all Illinois members of Congress at that time. The letters will include a request to support this bill if it has been reintroduced by then, or to cut off military and police aid by other means if the bill has not been reintroduced yet. Email shunter-smith@crln.org with name and address if you give us permission to add your name to your members of Congress’ letters.

Berta Caceres was an inspired feminist, indigenous rights and environmental activist and leader who was murdered on March 2, 2016. While her case went to court and some of those involved in her assassination were convicted, the intellectual authors of her death have yet to be held accountable, according to her family and an international panel of experts who investigated the case. Berta’s family’s and her organization COPINH’s persistence, along with International solidarity efforts with the family and COPINH, was key to getting her case tried in court at all.

Honduras now has an illegal President, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who “won” an election for a second term that was prohibited by the Honduran constitution, and who shut down the vote counting computers repeatedly to tamper with the election results. He is one of the golpistas, one who was behind the 2009 coup, and he is already planning his re-election campaign for 2021. He has consolidated power through appointments of friends in all branches of government and is a dictator in everything but name. There is a direct connection between his misuse of power and the tens of thousands of people leaving Honduras in a mass exodus on the “caravans.” His brother, a former Honduran Congressman, was recently arrested in Miami and charged with being a major mover of cocaine into the U.S., and his personally appointed national police chief has a history of accepting bribes from drug cartels. He has sought the arrest and conviction of journalists and opposition political figures who try to bring such crimes to light. The corruption of his administration is another reason we should not be sending aid to Honduras.

Articles:

Unavision:  “Judge denies bail  to brother of Honduran president arrested on drug charges”

AP:  “Honduran lawmaker faces defamation trial after naming names”

See previous posts on Honduras on the CRLN website for background on the 2017 Honduran presidential election and the international investigation into Berta’s murder, 

University of California at Santa Cruz Professor of History Emerita, Dana Frank, was in Chicago on February 27 and was interviewed by WBEZ’s Jerome McDonnell on the program “Worldview.” Here is the link:

https://www.wbez.org/shows/worldview-podcast/historian-dana-frank-on-honduran-politics-us-intervention-food-mondays-can-romanstyle-pizza-make-it-in-chicago/662032dc-bc70-4e42-b647-a7709d8f429a

Professor Frank has just published another book, The Long Honduran Night: Resistance, Terror and the U.S. in the Aftermath of the Coup.  CRLN has 3 copies for sale. Please contact Sharon at shunter-smith@crln.org or call the CRLN office at 773-293-2964 if you would like to buy a copy.