This sign-on letter is addressed to House Leadership and supports the introduction of H.R. 15, addresses its strengths and weaknesses and calls on the House to take action on comprehensive immigration reform that reflects the needs and contributions of women and families.  If you have any questions, please email Jessica Scruggs Juarez at Jessica@webelongtogether.org.  Deadlines for to sign-on is 5pm EST on Friday, October 18th.


National Women, Immigrant Rights, Faith and Civil Society Organizations Applaud Movement on Immigration Reform and Call for a Vote on a Bipartisan Bill

To the Leadership of the House of Representatives,

We, the undersigned organizations, welcome the introduction of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, H.R. 15, a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. Each provision of this bill has been approved with bipartisan support in the Senate or the House.  For too long, our immigration system has ripped families apart, stunted our economic growth, and allowed some of the harshest consequences of failed policies and practices to land on the shoulders of women and children.  The 113th Congress has a responsibility to remedy this system with an inclusive, comprehensive approach and we urge all members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, and especially those who have publically stated their support for comprehensive reform, to co-sponsor this bill and help to move it to the floor for a vote.
Women and children make up 75% of all immigrants to the United States and bear many of the burdens of a failing immigration system.   Immigrant women are entrepreneurs who create jobs, pay taxes and support their families.  They are mothers, sisters, daughters and partners who work to build a better life for their families.  They are caregivers looking after our children and aging relatives.  

Despite their contributions, immigrant women bear the burden of our failed immigration system. Many women face decades-long separations from their families because of backlogs in our family-based visa system and detention policies that threaten their parental rights.  They face difficulty in obtaining employment authorization and claiming back wages because of a lack of parity and protection in our employment and visa laws.  They are taxpayers and wage-earners too often denied access to vital healthcare and safety net programs. And immigrant women survivors of domestic violence and other crimes fear they could be detained or removed if they seek assistance from law enforcement.  

Women—immigrant and US-born alike—know that immigration reform is central to advancing women’s equality.  We are confident that a sensible solution is in reach that recognizes the courage, contributions, and commitment of the millions of women who support a common-sense approach to comprehensive immigration reform.  

H.R. 15 is based on the Senate’s comprehensive immigration bill, S. 744, which passed with strong bipartisan support in June. The bill reflects the tough compromises worked out in the Senate earlier this year, and also includes a bipartisan border security measure, which the House Homeland Security Committee unanimously approved this past summer (Border Security Results Act of 2013, H.R. 1417).  H.R. 15 is by no means a perfect bill.  Instead, it reflects the good-faith negotiations of the U.S. Senate and the difficult concessions already made by women’s and immigrants’ rights advocates.  However, a strong coalition of women’s organizations worked closely with Senators on both sides of the aisle to ensure that the bill’s essential provisions recognize the particular priorities and needs of immigrant women.  

Specifically, this bill:
* Includes a pathway to citizenship with flexible proof of employment for the millions of women who work in informal industries, which are often paperless, and exceptions to employment requirements for primary caregivers;
* Reunites millions of families separated by our failed immigration system as backlogs are cleared, and expedites the visa process for spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents;
* Expands protections for survivors of domestic violence and trafficking, and for exploited workers, many of whom are women;
* Provides stronger protections along the border, strengthens parental rights, and allows waivers in certain hardship cases; and
* Allows certain removed relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents to safely and lawfully return to the U.S. and apply for legalization.

At the same time, we know that the bill must still be strengthened in order to sufficiently address the concerns and needs of women and children.  We are committed to continuing to ensure that any bill that comes to a vote is the best possible bill.  Specific areas that we would urge Members of Congress to improve in this bill include:

* Ensure that the family-based immigration system stays strong by continuing sponsorship of adult children and siblings;
* Ensure that border communities are not subject to continuing militarization and harsh treatment, and include strong due process protections for border communities and migrants seeking asylum and other forms of humanitarian relief;
* Ensure that the path to citizenship is not obstructed by onerous fees, penalties, and other obstacles, which would exclude millions of aspiring citizens and their families without individualized consideration; and
* Ensure that women and families can live with health and dignity, and fully contribute to and participate in our health care and family support systems.

We believe this bill advances many comprehensive, sensible, and humane solutions that improve our immigration policies in ways that treat women and children fairly.  We simply cannot continue to live with a deeply flawed system that keep millions of women and children in the shadows, separated from their families, and highly vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and denial of basic human rights.

H.R. 15 stands on the common ground that has already been laid by bipartisan votes in the House and the Senate. We thank the bill’s sponsors for their dedication to achieving comprehensive immigration reform.  We urge the twenty-six Republican members of Congress who publicly support a pathway to citizenship to join the five original sponsors of H.R.15 in supporting this bill.  And we call upon the House leadership to respect the will of the American people and bring comprehensive immigration reform to a vote. Women and children around the country are depending on you.

Signed,