With each passing month, it becomes clearer that the current administration and Congress are committed to undermining our immigration system at every turn. In June, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in a statement that the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program would be rescinded; in July, the Trump Administration introduced a budget resolution that would dramatically increase immigration enforcement and border security; and throughout the past year, anti-immigrant rhetoric has surged to a higher level than in recent memory.
This week was not devoid of immigrant-related news, both inspiring and disappointing.
- On August 1, Rabbi Esther Lederman joined interfaith clergy and activists in front of the White House to deliver a letter signed by 1,600 faith leaders calling for the continuation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. She spoke powerfully about the essential nature of this program and demanded that it be maintained under the Trump Administration. "This morning, I ask you, President Trump, to use the power of your office to do what is right."
- But then, the following day, Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA) introduced the “Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy” (RAISE) Act (S.1720). This bill, which has been formally endorsed by President Donald Trump, would permanently cap refugee admissions at 50,000 per year, the lowest resettlement goal in U.S. history, and reduce legal immigration channels by 50-70%, with an 85% cut to family-based immigration. This plan would enact the most far-reaching changes to our legal immigration system in decades, and allow the government to drastically stem the flow of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers into the United States.
Jewish tradition is very clear about the way immigrants, both legal and undocumented, should be treated. Leviticus commands, “When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (19:33-34). This teaching permeates Jewish tradition and is echoed 35 times in the Torah – the most repeated of any commandment.
The Reform Movement remains committed to an immigration system that provides a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, a plan to address border security, a means to meet the needs of employers, and a method of keeping families together. That is why we support the DREAM Act, a bipartisan bill that would provide certain immigrants who were brought to the United States as children with a pathway to legalized status and eventual citizenship, and why we vehemently oppose the RAISE Act.
There has never been a more important time to stand up for the rights of immigrants in the United States. Take action today by urging your members of Congress to support immigration reform that is truly comprehensive, and that reflects our values as Americans and as Reform Jews.