The following article was first published in a newsletter on June 22, 2023.
Northern California Immigrant Communities Hold Press Conference on the Day Florida’s Anti-Immigrant Law Takes Effect And On the 11th Anniversary of the DACA Program to Call For the Need For Permanent Legal Residency of the 12 Million Undocumented, Not Temporary Programs, and To Announce a 40-Mile Walk Planned For This August In Support of the “Registry Bill,” Which Will Legalize 8 Million
On Friday, June 30, 2023, at 11am, in front of the San Francisco Federal Building, 90 7th St., in San Francisco, the Northern California Coalition For Just Immigration Reform (NCCJIR) will hold a Press Conference to call for the passage of H.R. 1511, the “Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929,” (HR 1511). or“Registry Bill.” The bill updates a 1929 law so that undocumented individuals may apply for legal permanent residency as long as they have lived in the country for at least seven years. It is estimated that approximately eight million of the approximately eleven million undocumented people in the U.S. will benefit under this new update of current law.
“Politicians like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis continue to scapegoat undocumented migrants as a way to flare up fears, justify human rights abuses, and get elected,” says Socorro Diaz, a Leader with ALMAS LIBRES in Sonoma County and member of the NCCJIR. “I am walking for three days this August to highlight the need for the “Registry Bill,” which will establish a fair process for undocumented people to apply for a path to citizenship and put a stop to the fear and exploitation for so many of us.“
Senate Bill 1718 (Florida), which takes effect on July 1, will limit social services for undocumented immigrants, allocate millions more tax dollars to expand DeSantis’ migrant relocation program, invalidates driver’s licenses issued to undocumented people by other states, and require hospitals that get Medicaid dollars to ask for a patient’s immigration status. It will also require private employers with 25 or more employees to use E-Verify, the federal online database for employers to confirm work authorization.
The NCCJIR is planning a 40-Mile Walk from Petaluma, in Sonoma County, to the San Francisco Federal Building, August 5-7, 2023 to condemn the Florida law and to demand that Congress put a stop to human rights violations through the passage of the “Registry Bill.”
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, now in place for 11 years, does not offer a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and undocumented people. Dreamers have been saying that DACA is no longer enough, and call on federal legislators to pass immigration reform policies.
DACA was created in 2012 as an executive action during President Barack Obama’s administration. The program allows individuals who were brought to the U.S. as children to live and work in the country legally, protecting them from deportation during a renewable two-year period. It is currently under review by a federal court judge.
NCCJIR is a coalition of immigrant rights organizations in San Francisco, East Bay, Sonoma and Humboldt Counties, which includes Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA), East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, El Porvenir, ALMAS LIBRES, Raizes Collective, Centro del Pueblo, Immigrant Defense Task Force of the North Bay Organizing Project, the North Bay Jobs With Justice, Lideres del Futuro, Witness at the Border, National Lawyers Guild (SF Chapter), and others.
“Enough is enough!” exclaims Daysi Carreno, a leader with the Immigrant Defense Task Force of the North Bay Organizing Project. “It is inhumane to continue to scapegoat and deny a path to citizenship for so many of us who have lived in and contributed to this country.” “We won’t allow Florida and other states to keep us in a state of exploitation and fear.”
Contact: Renee Saucedo, ALMAS LIBRES/Raizes Collective, 707-273-2974, reneesaucedo8@gmail.com
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