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Raleigh. As part of Immigrant Rights Advocacy Day organized by a coalition of organizations from across the state, the non-profit organization El Pueblo rejects the advancement of four anti-immigrant bills in the North Carolina General Assembly. Bills HB318, SB153, HB261 and HB690, which seek among other things to expand the collaboration of law enforcement agencies and other state entities with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), were approved in one of the two chambers before the May 8 crossover deadline, so they are eligible to become law at any time.
In this regard, El Pueblo issued the following statement: “Following the lead of extreme anti-immigrant policies at the federal level and ignoring the enormous contributions of immigrants to the state economy, leaders in the state Legislature are pushing dangerous legislations that are going to cause a lot of harm not only to immigrants but to every community in the state. Expanding the forced collaboration of local agencies and authorities with ICE (HB318 and SB153) will only increase community fear and distrust of law enforcement, discourage victims and witnesses from reporting crimes, and make us all more unsafe. Aggravating penalties for certain crimes based solely on the immigration status of defendants (HB261) and forcing state agencies to audit social programs to verify that undocumented immigrants do not receive public benefits (SB153 and HB690), are policies based on anti-immigrant rhetoric that seeks to criminalize immigrants. Immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, are our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and go with us to church and school. They deserve respect and equal treatment before the law.” During today’s rally at the General Assembly and the state Capitol, as part of Immigrant Rights Defense Week, El Pueblo was present along with other organizations in the state. Fernanda Ortiz, one of our volunteers who was part of the organization’s Youth Program, spoke on the stage in defense of immigrant families, calling on Legislators and the Governor to stop the anti-immigrant policies that the General Assembly is trying to pass. To watch Fernanda’s speech: El Pueblo also joins a coalition-driven call to action and invites community members to reach out to their legislators and the governor to ask them to stop these anti-immigrant bills. Call to action https://secure.everyaction.com/PBgVp7E4vUed3yIJr1BJRA2 |
