Community Leadership Team member Larissa Reza Garcia announces a Clean Dream Act resolution at the Dec. 6 Education Results Network Meeting in Renton.
The Road Map Project recognizes the roots immigrant families have built in our region. Everyone in our community — including undocumented immigrants — deserves to live and thrive. Since Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was rescinded, it is critical that the final piece of legislation passed covers the most undocumented immigrants, has the shortest pathway to citizenship, does not include dangerous interior enforcement components, and promotes family unity. In support of our undocumented youth and their families, the Road Map Project Community Leadership Team has passed a resolution calling for the Congressional Delegation from Washington State to pass a Clean Dream Act by December 2017.
A RESOLUTION expressing the Road Map Project’s support of immigrant communities, particularly the undocumented community; stating its support of a Clean Dream Act; recognizing the roots and community that immigrant families have built in the Road Map Project region and beyond; and the Road Map Project’s commitment to youth and families living free from fear of deportation, free from discrimination, and having equitable access to quality public education.
WHEREAS, on September 5, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the current Trump Administration’s rescinding of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provided over 800,000 undocumented youth temporary employment authorization and temporary protection from deportation, and are now vulnerable to deportations and need immediate protection;
WHEREAS, migration to this country is often propelled by social, economic, and political factors that have led to there being approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants across the nation, the majority of whom did not qualify for the DACA program, yet still need and deserve the same basic protections to live and thrive in the community;
WHEREAS, there are approximately 250,000 undocumented immigrants in Washington State; of which 140,000 are from Mexico, 40,000 are from Asia, 15,000 are from Central America, 13,000 are from Europe, Canada, or Oceania, 8,000 are from Africa, and 3,000 are from South America; a total of 77,000 undocumented immigrants reside in King County (Migration Policy Institute, 2016);
WHEREAS, over 170,000 U.S. citizens in Washington live with at least one family member who is undocumented; of which 130,330 are U.S.-born children who live with at least one undocumented family member (American Immigration Council, 2017);
WHEREAS, we are presented with the unique urgency to decriminalize undocumented youth because many of our undocumented students are caught in the school-to-prison-to-detention pipeline, ultimately leading to their deportation;
WHEREAS, undocumented educators who serve our students will also be affected by immigration policies and it is our duty to ensure they have access to adequate support;
WHEREAS, the Trump Administration continues to compel local municipalities to collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to expand its deportation powers through local enforcement of immigration law, therefore eroding community safety and trust;
WHEREAS, we continue to see the misuse of law enforcement against immigrant communities in the Road Map Project region, including unlawful search and seizure, illegal detainment, and the use of taxpayer dollars to invade privacies and liberties afforded to United States immigrants;
WHEREAS, this current social and political situation has caused tremendous fear, trauma, and anxiety among our students, youth, families, and all undocumented immigrant communities, as well as disruption in our classrooms, schools, and communities;
WHEREAS, our region has a moral obligation to provide adequate learning environments where all youth and their families are free to live and thrive; and to recognize that undocumented youth and families are more than immigration statuses or economic contribution;
WHEREAS, we take a strong stance against using the word “DREAMer,” as this word alienates so many undocumented immigrants; and will refuse to use the phrase “through no fault of their own” as this continues the criminalization of undocumented parents and perpetuates the myth of the deserving and undeserving immigrant dichotomy.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Road Map Project Community Leadership Team will do our utmost to ensure the constitutional protection for every student, including undocumented students, without regard to race, religion, national origin, or immigration status, and will urge the seven Road Map Project school districts and numerous partner organizations to do the same (Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202, 1982);
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Road Map Project Community Leadership Team supports the Clean Dream Act of 2017, introduced on July 20, 2017 by Senators Lindsey Graham (R- South Carolina) and Dick Durbin (D- Illinois) (S. 1615, 2017) and Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R- Florida) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D- California) (H.R. 3440, 2017) to provide 2 million undocumented immigrants a direct pathway to citizenship;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Road Map Project Community Leadership Team urges the Congressional Delegation from Washington State, and specifically asks U.S. Representatives Dan Newhouse, Dave Reichert, Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, and Jaime Herrera-Beutler to commit their vote to pass a Clean Dream Act by the end of December 2017; because every day Congress fails to act, 122 more undocumented immigrants lose their DACA protections (United We Dream, 2017);
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED it is critical the final piece of legislation passed covers the most people, has the shortest pathway to citizenship, does not include dangerous interior enforcement components, and promotes family unity;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that signed copies of this resolution shall be sent to the United States Congressional Delegation from Washington to ensure that the views and opinions of the Road Map Project Community Leadership Team are known.
ADOPTED this 5th day of December 2017.
Road Map Project Community Leadership Team
Zahra Al-Najaf, Erin Ambrozic, Sebrena Burr, Freda Crichton, Regina Elmi, Karly Feria, Mary Fertakis, Greg Garcia, Sean Levias, Mirya Muñoz-Roach, Larissa Reza Garcia, Kevin Truong, Catherina Willard
DOWNLOAD THE RESOLUTION
Posted in: Community Leadership Team