Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center congratulates President-Elect Barack Obama and Vice President-Elect Joseph Biden on their historic victory.  The National Immigrant Justice Center welcomes the election of two leaders who have championed broad reform of our broken immigration system, protection for victims of human trafficking, and safety for immigrant victims of domestic violence.

 

Both Senator Obama and Senator Biden supported attempts by the Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform in 2006 and 2007.  Senator Obama fought to ensure that labor and wage protections were included for all workers.  He also introduced legislation to facilitate the naturalization process for eligible applicants.  Senator Biden's record includes enactment of legislation containing special protections for immigrant victims of crime and abuse.  

 

Unfortunately, Congress has failed to pass meaningful comprehensive reform and immigrants in the United States face an increasingly hostile environment. The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to operate with little transparency, raiding workplaces and neighborhoods, tearing apart  families, and warehousing men, women, and children in a detention system that has seen more than 80 deaths in four years.  On Election Day, when thousands of newly naturalized U.S. citizens lined up to vote in their first national election, ICE raided the Agriprocessors, Inc., meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, in a follow-up to the raid that took place there in May 2008.

 

The Bush Administration's highly aggressive enforcement strategies must be reviewed by the President-Elect.  America can do better by enforcing the laws in a manner that protects our borders while respecting constitutional and human rights, and operating in a cost-effective manner.  President-Elect Obama campaigned on principles of transparency and oversight in government, both of which are critical to the fair and efficient operation of ICE. 

 

Exit polls from throughout the United States show that Latinos and newly naturalized Americans helped Mr. Obama win this historic election.  Members of this voting bloc, like all Americans, embrace the ideals cited in Mr. Obama's acceptance speech:  democracy, liberty, opportunity, and hope.  These ideals are embraced by those who support reform of our immigration system to reflect fair and humane treatment of non-citizens, respect for due process rights, and protections for asylum seekers, refugees, and other vulnerable populations.

 

The National Immigrant Justice Center looks forward to working with the Obama Administration and the 111th Congress to enact legislation such as the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act and the Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act, two bills introduced in recent months that provide important oversight of the U.S. immigrant detention system, protect the rights of individuals detained in immigration enforcement actions, and access to legal counsel and medical care for detained immigrants.