Action Alert: Calls Needed TODAY, Thursday, June 20

The Senate will continue to vote on amendments to the bipartisan immigration bill S.744 today, Thursday, June 20th. Yesterday your calls make were successful! Paul #1200 which was tabled, which would have hurt refugees and delayed the path to citizenship, and Lee #1208 failed, which would have delayed the path to citizenship.

Please call TODAY and keep calling to defeat negative amendments and win sensible improvements to the bill!

Call

1-866-940-2439


to be connected with your Senators.

You can also call the Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 or find Senators’ direct lines at

http://www.senate.gov/

Feel free to use this sample script:

“I am from [City, State, Congregation], and I support

immigration reform.

As a person of faith, I urge the Senator to vote


NO


to

amendments sponsored by Senators


Cornyn, Inhofe, Cruz, Rubio,

Fischer, Grassley, Wicker, and Sessions

,

which would expand detention,

significantly delay the path to citizenship, and prevent many of our community

members from accessing the path to citizenship.

 

I also ask the Senator to


SUPPORT Senator Hirono’s

amendment #1403


to help women and families access the visa system, and

Senator Boxer’s #1240


to ensure training for all officials along the

border.”

OPPOSE AMENDMENTS THAT

WOULD EXPAND DETENTION AND DELAY THE PATH TO CITIZENSHIP

 

SENATOR CORNYN’S “RESULTS” AMENDMENT #1251

would mandate unreasonable triggers that could inevitably

delay the path to citizenship and increases enforcement costs without a clear

strategy and purpose. The Department of Homeland Security would have to ensure

100% situational awareness of the border, full operational control, and fully

implement a nationwide employment verification system and biometric entry and

exit system at all air and sea ports of entry. This would cost around $24

billion, mostly for adding 10,000 officer and agents. These are extremely high

costs lacking clear justification. Cornyn may file another amendment to be

considered today that would narrow who is eligible for the path to citizenship.

SENATOR INHOFE’S AMENDMENT #1203

would radically expand immigration detention, including arriving asylum seekers

and longtime lawful permanent residents with misdemeanor offenses, and remove

basic due process. It would extend mandatory detention to individuals with old

convictions who have been free for years and leading productive lives, and

would bar Immigration Judges from ordering the supervision of immigrants on

secure and cost effective alternatives to detention. It would also authorize

the indefinite-or potentially lifelong-detention of broad categories of people,

without meaningful judicial review.

SENATOR CRUZ’S AMENDMENT #1320

would

replace current border provisions with more burdensome requirements and delay

the processing of applications for RPI status until these border security

requirements are met.


OPPOSE AMENDMENTS THATWOULD PREVENT MANY FROM ACCESSING THE PATH TO CITIZENSHIP

SENATOR RUBIO’S AMENDMENT #1225


AND


SENATOR FISCHER’S AMENDMENT #1348

would

require individuals to pass the English and civics exam currently required for

citizenship in order to even receive RPI status (Fischer #1348) or adjust to

LPR status (Rubio #1225). These amendments would restrict many of our community

members from accessing RPI and LPR status, and thus prevent them from

sponsoring their family members for reunification. The standard currently set

in the bill, to allow people in RPI status to adjust to LPR if they

are “satisfactorily pursuing a course of study…to achieve an

understanding of English and knowledge and understanding of the history and

Government of the United States” should remain, so individuals can adjust

to LPR and continue learning English to prepare for the citizenship exam.

 

SENATOR GRASSLEY’S AMEDNMENT #1299

would bar individuals who have been a member of a gang from entering the U.S.

or, for those who are here, pursuing the path to citizenship. It would expand

the term “criminal gang” to mean an ongoing group, club,

organization, or association of 5 or more persons that has as 1 of its primary

purposes 1 or more criminal offense”. This could prevent access to the

path to citizenship for many individuals who were members of gangs in their youth

but who have changed their lives and are contributing members of our

communities.

SENATOR WICKER’S AMENDMENT #1229

would revoke RPI status from someone who

leaves the U.S. for more than 180 days, utilizes Federal means-tested benefits,

uses a fraudulent document, or is no longer eligible for such status. This

could prevent people from traveling to see a sick family member and or from

finding health services for their children.

SENATOR SESSIONS’ AMENDMENT #1334

would change in the definition of “aggravated identity theft” from

the possession of the identification “of another person” to the

possession of identification “that is not his or her own”. This would

eliminate the ability of many immigrants who have used fake documents to get by

from ever applying for RPI status.

SUPPORT AMENDMENTS TO HELP WOMEN, FAMILIES AND BORDER COMMUNITIES

SUPPORT SENATOR HIRONO’S AMENDMENT #1403

to help women and families enter through the merit-based system.

This amendment is sponsored by 12 women senators, including Senator Murkowski

(R-AK).

SUPPORT SENATOR BOXER’S AMENDMENT #1240

This amendment

would require that all National Guard and Coast Guard officials who are

stationed along the border receive the same training programs in immigration

law enforcement, vulnerable populations, and responding to children and victims

of crime. The current bill requires this training for border patrol agents, but

leaves out these National Guard and Coast Guard officials. Everyone patroling

the border should be specifically trained in these issues.

Find Your Senators’

Twitter

names on their websites (

http://www.senate.gov/

) and urge them to support positive

amendments and oppose negative amendments by tweeting @[their twitter name].

Ex:

”



@


Sen_JoeManchin





As a WV person of faith I

support



#


immigrationreform



.

Please oppose Grassley #1195 which would delay



#


pathtocitizenship






#


cir



”

 

All amendments filed can be found at

http://1.usa.gov/14im8Gp

. Please note that this list takes time

to update, so it is possible that amendments being considered may not appear at

this link until 24 hours after they have been filed.