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News Release

Esther Nieves, (215) 241- 7131, (215) 939-0676 (cell)

Philadelphia (October 5) - On October 4, while on a campaign swing through Arizona, President Bush signed a Homeland Security bill that will cost taxpayers nearly $35 million.

After months of national community action and public debate on the existing and flawed immigration system, the administration opted to ignore an outcry for reform by continuing to support punitive, enforcement-only measures that perpetuate the ongoing vilification of immigrants.

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an international social justice organization and long-time immigrant rights advocate, strongly believes that increased funding and stepped-up enforcement actions are not practical steps in an effort to fix our broken system of immigration. The Homeland Security bill only impedes the legalization of immigrants, ignores human rights and destroys families in the process.

It would be more effective to make much needed improvements to the system's existing backlog.

We must fix an obsolete quota system, and facilitate changing the status of 12-million undocumented workers and put a stop to the ongoing separation of family members who have diminishing hopes of eventual reunification with their loved ones.

Instead of helping solve the problems of immigration in a way that respects human rights and preserves dignity, the funds allocated will be used to raise security standards in chemical plants, augment other national security measures and increase border enforcement measurements - including more Border Patrol officers, expanded border facilities for detention, amplified technology monitoring systems, additional road and physical barriers and an extended border fence along the San Diego border.

Since 1994, when Operation Gatekeeper was launched along the California border in an effort to curtail undocumented migration, at least 4,000 men, women and children have lost their lives attempting to cross the southern border.

"Building physical barriers and a fence will not deter immigrants or diminish their desperate situation," states AFSC San Diego area director Pedro Rios, a member of the Project Voice Network for immigrant rights. "The administration's actions do not deal with the root causes of immigration to the United States."

"The current border fencing along the US-Mexico border is already known as the 'wall of death,'" Rios adds. "More fencing will only exacerbate the human suffering of children, women and men, either trying to re-unite with their family members or who are desperately searching for a better life. These actions will lead many to their certain death."

Despite voicing support for comprehensive immigration reform, the administration's actions have consistently fallen far short of what is needed to address the existing economic and social realities of the nation's undocumented immigrants.

The American Friends Service Committee joins the voices of border communities in their rightful demand for justice and dignity. For far too long border communities have been subjected to abuse and the erosion of human rights in the borderlands. The administration's approach to border security has the potential for creating a human rights nightmare along the US-Mexico border.

"Fences, walls, and technology aren't meaningful solutions to this serious problem; we already know that these have not worked in the past. AFSC stands with the many voices demanding logical, just and humane immigration policies," concludes Joyce Miller, AFSC assistant general secretary for justice and human rights.

Backed by an 89-year history working for peace, justice and reconciliation in troubled areas of the world, American Friends Service Committee is a faith-based organization grounded in Quaker beliefs respecting the dignity and worth of every person regardless of their immigration status. The AFSC Project Voice immigrant rights initiative presses for comprehensive immigration reform that does not diminish the civil and human rights of immigrants, refugees or asylees.

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