LEGISLATIVE UPDATE:  January 2006

By Ellie Azoff

U.S. House Passes Immigration Bill

Guatemala Update

Funding Plan Colombia

U.S. House Passes Immigration Bill

On December 15, 2005, the House of Representatives passed the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437). The bill was subsequently introduced in the Senate on December 17, 2005. If the Senate passes the House version of the bill, there would be devastating consequences for immigrants in the United States. The bill will criminalize 11 million undocumented workers for being on U.S. soil. Family members, employers and religious institutions that are in contact with undocumented workers would also be subject to criminal penalties under the broad provisions of smuggling, harboring, and transporting. There is non-partisan agreement on the need for comprehensive immigration reform. However, H.R. 4437 does not provide a just and workable solution to the situation of so many people migrating to the U.S. Please contact Senators Salazar and Allard today and demand reasonable and fair immigration reform.

Guatemala Update

On November 4, 2005 the 2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill was passed through Congress. This bill covered many different items including the International Military Education Training (IMET) Bill for Guatemala. The DJPC has been campaigning against IMET as the Guatemalan military has not yet made substantial reforms that would indicate they deserve support from the United States. The Guatemalan military has not yet been held accountable for their past abuses of human rights and is still carrying out abuses against the Guatemalan people. We are happy to announce that IMET was defeated in Congress. We extend our thanks to our members who participated in the letter writing campaign to convince our legislators that the IMET ban should be maintained.

Currently the DJPC is working to convince Congress and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, that Guatemalans currently in the United States without citizenship should receive Temporary Protective Status (TPS). This is vital to Guatemalan's well being because of Hurricane Stan which hit the country on October 4, 2005. As a result of this massive hurricane entire communities were buried and declared mass graves, vital infrastructure and crops were destroyed and there are thousands who are now displaced and living in temporary shelters. By granting Guatemalan's TPS those living here will be able to send much needed funds back to their relatives who are struggling to get the country back on its feet. Also, if the United States were to send back Guatemalans so soon after the disaster the country could become even more instable. It is a country not only recovering from a hurricane but also a civil war. If you would like to urge the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff to grant TPS to Guatemalans contact his office at (202) 282-8495.

Funding Plan Colombia

  On November 4, 2005 the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill was passed through Congress. Although this meant that IMET was defeated, it also meant that Plan Colombia was passed. The language of Plan Colombia is complicated due to concerns over policy, but as an organization we believe the bill could have ultimately supported human rights in a much stronger manner. For example, although the Senate originally proposed to put a cap on military and police aid to Colombia and to set a minimum bar for aid to be spent on development programs, the House rejected this notion. In the end, 80% of U.S. aid to Colombia will go to military and police forces. These are the same forces that have been sighted for tremendous human rights abuses against the civilians of Colombia.

Plan Colombia, however, does have a few provisions that are positive for the people of Colombia. For instance, there is now a stricter policy towards paramilitary demobilization. This means that members of paramilitary forces will be held accountable for their crimes and will be required to renounce violence. In the past paramilitaries have been able to walk straight into amnesty, hopefully now the stricter policy will eliminate impunity. It is important to mention however that Congress plans to take the $20 million allocated for this program out of the already limited funds for development programs that support important progress for civilians of Colombia. Please visit DJPC's website to find a listing of contact information for your legislators to express your disappointment that Plan Colombia was passed through Congress.