National Council of La Raza President Calls For Smart, Humane, and Effective Enforcement of Immigration and Labor Laws

Today at a hearing before the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee to address the impact of immigration raids on the workplace, children, and families, Janet Murguía, National Council of La Raza (NCLR) President and CEO, expressed concern that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) current immigration law enforcement strategy is both undermining other important federal law enforcement responsibilities and wreaking havoc on communities throughout the country.

NCLR believes that the United States can and should enforce its immigration laws. But as with any set of laws, our nation should enforce them wisely and well,” said Murguía. During the hearing Murguía spoke of substantial and growing evidence that the use of workplace raids as an immigration enforcement strategy is causing great harm to children, schools, child care centers, and community service agencies.

For example, Murguia testified that a recent raid by ICE at a meat-processing plant in Postville, Iowa has eviscerated a current investigation by state authorities of child labor law violations. Agriprocessors, Inc. was under investigation for allegedly employing underage children to work in the plant. Some of the children who were in a position to testify about the abuses have themselves been detained.

To place children in detention while their exploitative employer regroups and reopens within a day is a clear indication that our enforcement strategies need to be reassessed and our enforcement priorities need to be reexamined,” continued Murguía.

In her testimony Murguía also shared examples of ICE’s failure to follow its own procedure when it comes to enforcement. Despite ICE’s longstanding guidelines about not conducting enforcement activities in or around schools, Murguía cited examples of ICE targeting migrant Head Start programs in eight states. In some instances ICE vans were parked near Head Start centers at drop-off and pickup times.

We need to make sure we do not undercut the best interest of our children and to think carefully about how we enforce our immigration laws,” concluded Murguía.

Read a copy of Janet Murguía’s testimony“*

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