Updated April 17, 2017
Take Action: Federal Budget
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Understand the Issues
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Oppose Criminalization of Immigration Offenses/Increased Deportations
This month U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced new policies that would prioritize the prosecution of individuals who have committed immigration-related offenses, effectively criminalizing the treatment of many such violations. Because most immigration offenses are currently civil offenses, they have traditionally been handled administratively through the federal immigration court system, separate from the criminal justice system.
An internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report indicates that the White House is planning to expand infrastructure to detain and deport undocumented immigrants, hire more Border Patrol agents and begin construction on a wall or fence along the Southwest border. The report states that DHS is developing options to temporarily hold up to 12,500 undocumented immigrants in short-term custody at the border; and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has expanded immigration detention by 1,100 beds and has identified 27 potential detention facilities capable of providing 21,000 additional bed spaces. All is contingent on funding from Congress, and we must act now to prevent this funding.
Your Congressperson and both U.S. Senators are home on recess this week. Call, email or visit each of them. It takes just a few minutes, and is so easy to do. Simply state: :
- Your name and zip code. Calls from outside their district are not counted.
- That you oppose funding an extension of the wall with Mexico, the hiring of an additional 15,000 federal immigration personnel and criminalizing immigration offenses
If the phone lines are blocked or voice mail box is full, cut and paste the bullet points from above into their email templates on their websites!
Contact Information:
US House of Representatives from this area
Kathy Castor
visit website and complete template http://castor.house.gov/contact/
Phone: (202)225-3376 or (813)871-2817
Charlie Christ
visit website and complete template https://crist.house.gov/contact/
Phone: (202) 225-5961 or (888) 205-5569
US Senators for Florida
Bill Nelson
visit website and complete template www.billnelson.senate.gov/contact-bill
Phone: (202) 224-5274 or 813-225-7040
Marco Rubio
visit website and complete template http://www.rubio.senate.gov
Phone: (866) 630-7106 or (202) 224-3041
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Follow LWVF Immigration Committee on Facebook. Then “Like” so we know how many people we have reached and “Share” with friends and other groups to help educate a larger audience.
Understand the Issues
The League of Women Voters is here to help you understand this complex subject. As a national organization we have studied this issue and developed a position that forms the framework for our advocacy and education.
Due to the considerable amount of misinformation being spread about immigrants and the economic and social costs of suggested solutions — our Immigration Committee has developed an educational campaign to provide you with facts you should know about these aspects of immigration:
- Birthright Citizenship
- Border Wall with Mexico
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — DACA
- Deferred Action for Parental Accountability — DAPA
- Dream Act
- Immigration Law
- Refugees
- Undocumented Immigrants
Get Involved — Make a Difference
Join an Immigration Action Group: Building Coalitions, Gathering FACTS, Executive Orders/Federal Legislation and Florida Bills. email Karen Coale at immigration@lwvspa.org