Immigrants, refugees need our help

By Mark M. McDermott

Board Member, OneAmerica

Our immigrant and refugee friends and neighbors need your help to stop state budget cuts to programs that are critical to their ability to avoid hunger, get good health care, find employment, and get help in earning their citizenship.  Your voices are needed to stop these cuts and address several legislative proposals.

Governor Gregoire has proposed elimination of the following programs which provide:

•  Food assistance to 31,000 very low-income immigrants
  
• Interpreter services for Medicaid clients and their health care providers which help ensure effective communication about the patients’ health care needs and appropriate treatment.
  
• Preventative health care for 27,000 undocumented immigrant children.
  
• Employment and training services and English language instruction to help refugees find jobs.  This highly successful program has helped thousands of refugees find and keep jobs needed to support their families.
  
• The Naturalization Program of the Department of Social and Health Services, which has helped thousands of legal permanent immigrants get their citizenship.

The Legislature currently has 6 bills addressing driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. Senate Bill 5407 bans all licenses while House Bill 1577 allows a limited type of license.  These bills or others like them will increase the number of unlicensed and uninsured drivers on the roads.  We have too many drivers without licenses and insurance now.  The Legislature should not make this problem worse by passing any of these bills.  They should stay focused on road safety and let Congress deal with immigration policy.

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On a positive note, Senate Bill 5158 reduces the maximum sentence for a gross misdemeanor by one day.  Why is this important?  Federal immigration law calls for the automatic deportation of persons convicted of an “aggravated felony,” defined as any crime that results in a sentence of 365 days or more.  Currently, an immigrant convicted of a gross misdemeanor with a 365-day sentence might serve 30 days with the remainder suspended and then face mandatory deportation.  This bill will ensure that only felons face mandatory deportation.

Immigrants and refugees are our neighbors, friends, family, and co-workers.  They work, pay taxes, support local businesses and start their own businesses.  They are vital to the economic and social wellbeing of our state.  These proposed budget cuts are cruel, shortsighted and harmful to immigrants and our state.  I urge your opposition to these budget cuts.

We are told that we don’t have the money to pay for these successful programs.  This is nonsense.  Our state gives billions of dollars of tax breaks for corporations and has low rates of taxation for our many billionaires and millionaires.  We are a wealthy state.  We can afford to fund these programs if we have the will and courage to demand that the wealthy and powerful pay their fair share of taxes.

For more information go to One America’s website.  www.weareoneamerica.org

Please contact Washington State Legislators at 1-800-562-6000.  Ask them to protect our immigrant and refugee communities.