February 22, 2017 - Latino Leaders Urge Congress to Support Legislation that Halts Construction of a Border Wall

LATINO LEADERS URGE CONGRESS TO SUPPORT LEGISLATION THAT HALTS CONSTRUCTION OF A BORDER WALL
NHLA Supports the Build Bridges Not Walls and This Land is Our Land Acts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 40 of the nation’s preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives, urging the members to co-sponsor bills H.R. 837, Build Bridges Not Walls Act, and H.R. 739, This Land Is Our Land Act. These bills would halt actions taken in response to the executive actions that call for additional and unnecessary barriers along the United States-Mexico border. NHLA will be monitoring co-sponsorship of both of these bills for inclusion in the development of congressional scorecards.

NHLA strongly opposes excessive spending on border enforcement that fails to truly consider the current border community and their needs; this includes the construction of additional walls along the Southwest border. NHLA previously issued a statement condemning the executive actions that call for border wall expansion and support both the Build Bridges Not Walls Act and the This Land is Our Land Act as two bills that will counter these actions and halt excessive physical barriers. The existing barriers, including surveillance by motion sensors, radar and thermal imaging, are further indicators that additional construction would be costly to taxpayers, ineffective, and significantly disruptive to border towns and the surrounding environment.

“We urge all members of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor these pieces of legislation that would prohibit the construction of a continuous wall along the southern border. H.R. 837 and H.R. 739 are proactive steps in the fight for a humane border policy and they push back against the Trump administration's anti-immigrant actions. Trump’s executive orders have already had a drastic negative impact on the Latino community and nation as a whole; we must support legislation such as this to counter anti-immigrant policies,” said Hector Sanchez, Chair of NHLA and Executive Director of the labor Council for Latin American Advancement.

“The false narrative of a violent and insecure border region has long been used to justify and advance anti-immigrant, anti-border, pro-criminalization and militarization, and anti-environment legislation that has negative economic, and civil rights impacts on border communities. The wall, increased militarization of the border region, the criminalization of immigrants, and the destruction of wildlife habitat are all tools of radical politicians who seek to advance an extreme anti-immigrant agenda at the expense of our communities. Moreover, these measures have nothing to do with the security of the border region or our nation, are politically motivated, and wasteful,” said Laura M. Esquivel, Co-chair of the NHLA Energy and Environment Committee and Director of National Advocacy for Hispanic Federation.

"Instilling wide-spread fear in immigrants across the country, promoting anti-immigrant sentiment, destroying the environment, and wasting billions of dollars in the construction of a symbolic wall does nothing to make America great again. There are millions of immigrants that have been here most of their lives, including women and children, that while lacking formal documentation, have contributed to our communities, to the economy and to the betterment of what this country aspires to be. A wall and over-reaching deportation is not taking us in the right direction. This Administration needs to focus instead on comprehensive immigration reform in order to strengthen families, communities and our nation," said Patti Tototzintle, Co-Chair of NHLA's Latina Task Force and CEO of Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network.

“The construction of a border wall will have a chilling impact on the health and social well-being of women and families—of all immigration statuses—who live at the border. NLIRH works in the four counties along the border in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and we bear witness to the realities of a broken immigration system that leaves our communities lacking the resources for basic services and vital reproductive care. The result is that immigrant women disproportionately suffer from preventable diseases, have no healthcare provider, and are hindered in their ability to fully contribute to their families and communities. Building a border wall fails to address the healthcare needs of our communities, and instead it's an irresponsible, wasteful and harmful use of taxpayer money that does nothing more than trample on the fundamental human rights of border communities. We urge state and local leaders to resist bigotry and nativism, and exercise their constitutional authority to regulate for the safety and well-being of all its residents, regardless of immigration status,” said Jessica González-Rojas, Co-Chair of NHLA’s Latina Task Force and Health Committee and Executive Director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health.

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ABOUT THE NATIONAL HISPANIC LEADERSHIP AGENDA

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda is composed of 40 of the leading national and regional Latino civil rights and public policy organizations and other elected officials, and prominent Latinos Americans. NHLA coalition members represent the diversity of the Latino community – Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Latino Americans. NHLA’s mission calls for unity among Latinos around the country to provide the Latino community with greater visibility and a clearer, stronger influence in our country’s affairs. NHLA brings together Latino leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit: www.nationalhispanicleadership.org.

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