HIAS Opposes Harmful Immigration Proposals

In anticipation of the House of Representatives' vote on the Homeland Security Appropriations bill (H.R. 240) and its accompanying amendments, HIAS’ President & CEO Mark Hetfield issued the following statement:
 
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill is being hijacked by members of Congress who have been derelict in their duty to repair the nation's broken immigration system. The President issued the “Immigrant Accountability Executive Action” only after waiting six years for Congress to present him with legislation to improve efficiency, humanity, and security in our country’s broken immigration system. If passed, the DHS Appropriations bill and its amendments would undo the executive orders without putting anything constructive in their place. It would harm immigrants who have resided in the U.S. for years, as well as those who have recently fled violence and persecution in their home countries. These measures would ramp up deportations of hard-working individuals that contribute to our economy, needlessly tearing them away from their homes, jobs, communities, and families.  

Hetfield added that “instead of fulfilling the shared American and Jewish value of treating the stranger as yourself, Congress' only solution has been to push twelve million people living among us even deeper into the shadows. It is too bad the new Congress does not have a new approach to immigration—this country deserves a strong and secure system that treats all refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants with dignity."