PA Legislative Update on Immigration—Tell Legislators to #StoptheHate

From the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition (http://www.paimmigrant.org):

Beginning in January, Pennsylvania legislators joined the White House in attacking immigrant and refugee communities. They started the year in the Senate by introducing and voting on SB10, a bill attempting to punish municipalities that have policies limiting how local law enforcement will work with federal immigration enforcement (ICE). This bill was quickly followed by legislation attempting to punish universities and colleges attempting to create welcoming and safe campuses for immigrant communities, several bills mandating the use of E-Verify and attempting to punish employers who employee undocumented immigrants, and two bills that would require additional proof of legal status to obtain public benefits.

Read summaries of the bills and download the #StoptheHate toolkit

In response to these legislative attacks, PICC began organizing bi-weekly calls to bring together community groups and allies to push back against these attacks. In the last few months over 120 activists across the state have participated in these calls, and have then met with legislators that voted for anti-Sanctuary City bills in 2016, generated hundreds of calls and emails to legislators across the state, and organized dozens of local marches and rallies.

These collective efforts have slowed the anti-immigrant momentum in the legislature, and in at least one case has changed the mind of a legislator! Pittsburgh activists created enough local pressure to force Rep. Dom Costa to reconsider his views. In 2016 he voted for HB1885, an anti-Sanctuary City bill, and just a few weeks ago released a public statement that he would not be voting for SB10 if it comes up for consideration.

Not everything is doom and gloom! We do have two pro-immigrant pieces of legislation in the House that need our support: HB1042, the “Pennsylvania Tuition Fairness Act” which would provide in-state tuition for all students regardless of immigration status, and the soon to be introduced “Support the Police and Community Safety Act” which would limit collaboration between local law enforcement and ICE statewide.

We are so inspired and encouraged by everyone who has stepped up and decided to make their voices heard this year. If you want to get involved with advocacy efforts, please join our bi-weekly strategy calls! These calls are an opportunity to hear policy updates, learn about how groups across the state are taking action locally, and share lessons learned. Register today for the April 28th call!

In the meantime, send a quick email to your Pennsylvania representative at http://statevoices.salsalabs.com/o/11/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=1040 to let him/her know you expect support for immigrant and refugee communities in PA!