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GAO Report Slams Immigration Enforcement Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Community organizers call for comprehensive solution to immigration
Statement by Marissa Graciosa, FIRM campaign coordinator and Maria Rodriguez, FLIC’s executive director
WASHINGTON – Today, the Government Accountability Office released a report that finds what so many other reports have: Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287g program that gives local and state law enforcement agencies authority to enforce immigration law has strayed from its stated mission of targeting dangerous criminals. The following is a statement from Marissa Graciosa, campaign coordinator for Fair Immigration Reform Movement, and Maria Rodriguez, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC).
“It’s become abundantly clear immigration enforcement by local and state agencies is an abject failure that should be stopped immediately,” said Marissa Graciosa, campaign coordinator for FIRM. “The program’s stated purpose is to pursue dangerous criminals, but in practice it has become an excuse for local law enforcement to selectively detain people suspected of speeding and other minor infractions.
“This latest failure should put to rest all notions that the nation can solve its immigration crisis through enforcement only. It should now be obvious that any viable solution must have a comprehensive approach. President Obama has said he would pursue immigration reform this year, and the GAO’s report starkly illustrates why the nation needs for him to follow through on that promise.”
“Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has asked for a review of all of the department’s policies, including 287g. But the mounting evidence should be enough for Ms. Napolitano to pull the plug on the program immediately, or at the very least put the program on ice until she’s satisfied it is not being misused,” said Maria Rodriguez, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC).
“ICE’s enforcement program might have seemed a good idea in theory, but in reality it hasn’t made our communities safer and has led to the harassment of Latino communities. The GAO’s report is just the latest stack of evidence that piecemeal solutions to a federal problem don’t work. Instead of wasting resources on failed programs, Congress and the Obama Administration should focus on just and humane immigration reform.”
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Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) is a coalition of grassroots community organizations nationwide, including statewide immigrant rights coalitions, organizing networks, faith-based groups, and low-income and other networks organized around ethnicity or national origin, working on behalf of comprehensive immigration reform and immigrant rights. FIRM is convened by the Center for Community Change.
Florida Immigrant Coalition seeks equal rights for immigrants and integration into the civic and cultural life of our communities. We accomplish our mission through coordination of immigrant organizations and community education, organizing and advocacy. FLIC is a member of FIRM.
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