Jewish Groups Stand Up for Immigration Reform

Lena Salzbank — June 27, 2013 – 12:40 pm | Civil Rights | Congress Comments (0) Add a comment

We as Jews have a unique understanding of the immigration system and the need for reform. We have reached a time to finally pass comprehensive immigration reform and that is why Rabbi Mark Diamond, the American Jewish Committee’s Los Angeles director, arranged a fact finding mission of 25 religious leaders in the hopes of creating a more fulfilling life for millions of noncitizens in the United States and a more robust economic country.

Jewish groups around the country including The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, are actively engaged and working together in the fight for immigration reform. The Senate is set to vote on the most comprehensive immigration reform legislation in 27 years.

The Senate vote will represent the completion of a sustained campaign by the Jewish community for immigration reform. This struggle has been building momentum over the past decade, particularly in the Southwest. Aiding in the struggle for immigration reform is not only the right thing to do, it will be socially influential beyond the issue of immigration.

According to The Forward:

California, with 2.6 million undocumented residents, is a front line in the battle for this reform. And a Jewish establishment ever mindful of its need to operate through alliances and coalitions to advance its own interests is not blind to the implications of the issue in a country whose demography is shifting rapidly. In addition to working with Latino groups, the AJC’s Southern California office has forged alliances with Asian groups representing undocumented Koreans, Chinese, Filipino and other Asian Pacific immigrants in the Southland

“It is the ethical thing to do,” said Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, president and CEO Mark Hetfield, “It’s in our strategic interest.” Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles, Angelica Salas, believes that the immigration is not a one-way street.

In 1989, Jews won an important immigration fight when the late Senator Frank Lautenberg helped to pass an amendment that granted immigrant status to victims of religious persecution in their native lands. This law allowed immigration for hundreds of thousands of Soviet Jews and allowed religious minorities to flee Iran. The law continues today to assist other religious minorities but needs to be renewed annually by Congress. Comprehensive immigration reform will make these provisions permanent and would be a tribute to the late New Jersey senator.

As NJDC Chair Marc R. Stanely wrote, “Allowing deserving immigrants the chance to gain permanent status is imperative. With momentum in Congress and the support of the President, now is the time for change.”

 

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