This morning, I read an article detailing how a faith community and their leader prevented the deportation of many Indonesian congregants at their church in Highland Park, NJ. Since his arrival at the church, Reverend Seth Kaper-Dale didn't give much thought to the Indonesian services held at the church. Then one day, Indonesian congregants begged to sleep at the church after a raid at a predominately Indonesian populated apartment complex resulting in the deportation of many men, while wives stayed with their American born children. The article accurately summarizes the state of affairs: "Suddenly a prosperous suburban congregation was confronted with the labyrinthine world of immigration law and detention."
What face can you put to the Indonesian immigrants detained and deported in Highland Park, NJ?
"Like most of the Indonesians, Mr. Assa and his wife, Grace, came on tourist visas that were suddenly easy for poor people to get in the 1990s, when a booming economy welcomed foreign labor with a wink and a nod."
Through negotiations with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the organization within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for enforcing federal immigration law, Reverend Kaper-Dale was able to negotiate temporary release from detention and permission to remain in the country for some of the immigrants. Other undocumented immigrants, "under the auspices of the church", turned themselves into ICE. Rather than being put into detention, they were granted temporary work visas and released under supervision. Some were even able to obtain a driver's license. Families remained in tact. National security was strengthened as immigrants present in the country were accounted for through state IDs. Due process prevailed when no one was detained for an indefinite amount of time as happens to many undocumented immigrants when detained by ICE.
What happened in Highland Park highlights exactly why we need comprehensive immigration reform, and why we need it now. Many of the over 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States find themselves in exactly the same situation as the Indonesians in Highland Park. Like you and me, immigrants, whether documented or not, work, support families, contribute to communities, and participate in faith traditions. When a broken immigration system comes face to face with these immigrants, families are torn apart, national security can be put at risk, and the Constitution is violated. For these reasons, we must fix our broken immigration, and we must fix it now.
If ICE, through conversations with a faith leader, can come to a humane agreement for how to address the plight of undocumented immigrants while honoring their due process rights, there is hope that Congress can do the same. The agreement in Highland Park did not require increased enforcement, or burdensome paths to citizenship, or denial of due process rights. Rather, reasonable people reached an agreement for how best to deal with a difficult situation.
Senator Schumer (D - NY) has committed to bringing CIR forward in the coming year. The White House supports this effort. Our office has heard this bill could move very early in 2010. In June, I went to DC with members of the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition (MIRC) to meet with Maine's Congressional Delegation to urge them to support CIR. Our coalition will discuss at our monthly meeting on Monday the work that needs to happen over the next few months. I urge you to call Senators Snowe and Collins, who will play pivotal roles in the upcoming effort to bring about Comprehensive Immigration Reform, and urge them to support and advocate for CIR that restores due process for immigrants without unnecessary enforcement measures like E-Verify or programs like 287g. You can leave a message for Senator Collins in her DC office at 202.224.2523, and for Senator Snowe at 202.224.5344.
To read about the ACLU's position on many of the known components of CIR, click here.
