ACTION: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is providing a toll-free number to use to call the U.S. Congress and urge just and humane immigration reform.
On Wednesday, November 13 -- the feast day of St. Frances Cabrini, an Italian immigrant who was the first U.S. citizen canonized -- you are invited to use this toll-free number (1-855-589-5698) to call Congress.
When the call is placed, callers will hear a short recording with instructions to give this message to Members of Congress: "Support a path to citizenship and oppose the SAFE Act." Then enter your zip code and you will be connected to your Representative's office in DC. For more information, go to Justice for Immigrants.
CLICK HERE for a summary of the "SAFE" Act which is extremely detrimental to undocumented immigrants and to those who provide humanitarian assistance to them.
REASONS TO OPPOSE THE SAFE ACT:
The Strengthen And Fortify Enforcement (SAFE) Act, HR 2278, would permit state and local law enforcement officers, untrained in federal immigration law, to issue an immigration hold and detain an individual indefinitely, potentially resulting in prolonged detention for U.S. citizens and lawfully permanent residents. The proposed detention policy calls for:
- an increased number of detention facilities,
- an increase in the population to be detained (including all individuals awaiting a decision for removal)
- an increase in funding for state and local governments to detain individuals in local jails at a total cost of nearly $1 billion per year.
Provisions in the SAFE Act would:
- Criminalize religious leaders and houses of worship that provide humanitarian assistance to all persons regardless of their immigration status.
- Make it a crime to transport undocumented immigrants or to encourage or induce a person to reside in the United States if that person lacks immigration status.
- The penalties for engaging in any of these activities are steep, ranging from 3 to 20 years in prison.
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