NILC: GOP-led House Vote Is Nothing More Than a Partisan Attack on Immigrants

WASHINGTON — In a mostly party-line vote, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved measures that would dismantle President Obama’s immigration initiatives going back three years — initiatives that help children, keep families together, assist spouses of U.S. military personnel, and provide humanitarian relief.

The anti-immigrant measures that would strip funding for the president’s immigration programs were inserted into the $39.7 billion spending bill for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The following is a statement by National Immigration Law Center Executive Director Marielena Hincapié:

“House leadership continues to say they want to find solutions to fix our immigration system, but their actions prove otherwise. There is no denying the intent of the legislation approved today by the GOP-led House: to push back against President Obama’s executive action on immigration by instilling fear in immigrant communities, and to advance policies that could result in millions of Americans who are part of our economic and social fabric being ripped away from their families and our communities.

“In its zeal to attack our immigrant families, the House imperils public safety, our economy, and national security. The bill would force states and localities to comply with failed immigration enforcement programs such as Secure Communities, even though local leaders know they harm public safety. It strips funding from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the proposed DACA expansion, and the new Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), even though the new DACA/DAPA initiatives would raise the GDP by $90 billion to $210 billion over 10 years.

“By starting the new congressional session with an attack targeted specifically against immigrants — and risking our national security in the process — the House has again provided us a sad reminder of why the public remains deeply dissatisfied with Congress and political gridlock. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s call for policies that encourage ‘self-deportation’ failed, and so will the House GOP’s call for mass deportation.”

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