Dear Governor Roy Cooper,
Every Day, thousands of North Carolinians face an unclear future due to their immigration status. Lacking a clear pathway to citizenship, a large community of our state population is under constant threat from xenophobic attacks at the state and local levels of government as well as in their daily lives.
Due to this crisis, undocumented immigrants in North Carolina have recently been unjustly accused of being threats to the public safety of our state, of being a strain on our social safety net, and of weakening “the rule of law in our country”. Whereas those of us who are immigrants, have loved ones who are, or work with the immigrant community know that this is not the case. Governor Cooper, you also know this is not the case as you have stood by this community time after time to ensure North Carolina remains a safe place for all families by vetoing bills such as HB370 (2019) and SB 101 (2022) that sought to force sheriffs to collaborate with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Tim Moore has recently pushed for legislation on this again, declaring a crisis caused by immigration at the U.S.-Mexican border.
This crisis is not real. The only crisis at the southern border that exists is a humanitarian one, faced by people who are fleeing their home countries. In contrast to what Moore has declared, several studies have shown that immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes, even in Texas. There is no data to support Moore’s xenophobic claims of risk to public safety from immigrants.
Concerning our social safety net, the immigrant community in North Carolina makes vast contributions to the state’s social welfare programs without ever being able to qualify for these themselves. For example, taxes are paid every year by immigrants who will never receive social security and businesses are opened that create jobs and stimulate the economy of our state. In North Carolina, the labor force participation rate of foreign-born individuals averaged 68.6% in 2022 compared to 59.8% for those native-born (Department of Public Commerce, 2023).
As for the rule of law in our country, in 2023 NC sheriffs opposed collaboration between local police and ICE saying that such policies would create distrust between their agencies and the communities they serve making all communities more vulnerable to exploitation, sexual assault, trafficking, domestic violence, and more.
Governor Abbott of Texas has wasted the resources and tax dollars of the good people of his state on an anti-immigrant project and now Representative Tim Moore would like to do the same with North Carolina’s resources. We trust that you will not allow that to happen.
Our state must invest in our community’s future by using tax dollars to fund public education, affordable housing, after-school programs, and more initiatives that make North Carolina a place for all communities to thrive.
El Pueblo and Partners call on you, Governor Cooper, to continue standing with the immigrant community as you’ve done in your years as Governor of the state of North Carolina.
Sincerely,
El Pueblo
Cosigners and Partner Organizations:
Fayetteville PACT
Pro-Choice North Carolina
Red Wine & Blue
Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy
Action NC
Muslim Women For
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic
Advance Carolina
Education Justice Alliance
Carolina Abortion Fund
NC PUBLIC SERVICE WORKERS UNION- U.E. LOCAL 150
Party For Socialism & Liberation
Interfaith Clergy Standing for the Community
NC Environmental Justice Network (NCEJN)
Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of NC
Equality NC
Speaking for the Speechless
Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of NC
Democracy Out Loud
NC Budget & Tax Center
ACLU of North Carolina
Mujerxs Organizando Oportunidades Notables
NC A. Philip Randolph Institute
Durham Workers Assembly
United For A Fair Economy
Muslims for Social Justice
BWFJ (Black Workers for Justice)
NC People’s Power Agenda Coalition (PPAC)
Carolina Jews for Justice
FRUIT OF LABOR WORLD CULURAL CENTER
NC Triangle DSA
Indivisible Guilford County
Hispanic Federation
North Carolina Asian Americans Together
Charlotte-Metrolina Labor Council
Asheboro Latinxs Services
Faithaction International House
El Vínculo Hispano
Student Action with Farmworkers
La Fuerza NC
El Centro Hispano, Inc.
Hendfact Henderson Fuerza Activa
Venezuela Para Ti
CIMA
SisterSong WoC Reproductive Justice Collective
Asociación de Dominicanos en Raleigh (Adora)
North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Winston-Salem DSA
Toxic Free NC
AMEXCAN, Inc.
FUM (FUERZA Y UNION MULTIPLE)
Justicia y Esperanza
Comite Popular Somos Raleigh
North Carolina Council of Churches
Pi Iota Chapter of Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad
Mi Familia Vota
Latin American Coalition
NC Counts Coalition
SEAC Village
Iglesia La Semilla UMC
Duke Define America
Mi Gente
North Carolina Immigration Law and Justice Center
North Carolina League of Conservation Voters
Students for Immigrant Rights & Equality
Angeles Latines
LatinxEd
Haciendo El Cambio – Making a Change
Acción Hispana
Latino Civic Engagement Committee
Acción política latina
MomsRising/Mamás Con Poder
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