PHILADELPHIA – Pennsylvania faith leaders are asking lawmakers to reject an anti-immigrant bill they say will make communities less safe. More than 200 faith leaders from across the state have sent a letter opposing House Bill 1885.

According to Peter Pedemonti, the executive director of the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, by encouraging police to question and detain those suspected of being undocumented, the bill would destroy trust between the immigrant community and police.

"This would push people back into the shadows, greatly increase fear in the immigrant community, increase racial profiling, and also, this would tear more families apart," he explained.

Supporters of the bill say it would protect the interests of Pennsylvanians over those of foreign nationals who are here illegally.

HB 1885 also would penalize localities that limit their cooperation in deportation efforts. Pedemonti said Philadelphia, which is a sanctuary city, is now growing for the first time in 60 years, growth he credits to a thriving immigrant community.

"So policies like sanctuary-city policies allow us to grow and to thrive," he said. "And I'm not talking just about the immigrant community; I'm talking about all of us."

Currently, there are 32 counties across Pennsylvania that have some type of restriction on their cooperation with immigration authorities.

Pedemonti said the faith leaders who signed the letter opposing HB 1885 come from all over the state and from a wide variety of religious denominations.

"The faith letter shows two things," he added. "One, it would greatly harm immigrants and non-immigrants throughout Pennsylvania, and, two, that this bill would be a serious violation of our faith values."

HB 1885 passed in the House last week and Pedemonti said it could come up for a vote in the Senate as soon as today.


get more stories like this via email

From construction and hospitality to business creation and consumer spending, a new report shows the oversized contributions immigrants are making to the labor force in New Mexico. The report shows that immigrants to Santa Fe County made up more than one in seven workers in 2019.

Asma Esa, manager of state and local initiatives with the American Immigration Council, explained their contributions cannot be overvalued in creating the area's vibrancy.

"Even though immigrants made up 11.1% of the county's total population, they actually made up 15% of its employed labor force, as well as 15.2% of the working-age population," Esa said.

The report, released by the American Immigration Council, also shows immigrants in Santa Fe County paid more than $122 million in taxes and held over $365 million in spending power in 2019.

Marcela Diaz, executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido - a statewide group founded in 1995 to promote worker and racial justice, said Santa Fe, like other cities, has an aging workforce and needs to employ and recruit younger workers - while also figuring out how to maximize the contributions of immigrants.

"And to be fully integrated into the city's economic development plans - we want to have more access to workforce development opportunities, and really be a part of the city's long-term vision, Diaz said.

According to the report, the 16,000 immigrants living in Santa Fe County in 2019 mostly arrived from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Roughly 93% reported they had lived in the United States for more than five years.


get more stories like this via email

A new survey found immigrant students need better help in school.

The YouthTruth, Re-Imagining Migration survey was designed to examine the perspective of immigrant students as to how they are doing in school. The survey showed immigrant students do not feel they can be themselves there. There were also middling scores when asked if they feel like part of their school's community.

Adam Strom, executive director of the nonprofit Re-Imagining Migration, described the importance of an immigrant student's native language to their education.

"If you're in a school where folks are encouraging you to speak your own home language when appropriate, your school experience is much better," Strom asserted. "You have a much stronger sense of belonging. You have a much stronger sense that your peers like you. You see yourself in textbooks more, you see yourself in the classroom more and what's being taught."

He noted if schools take the opposite approach, it can increase a students' sense of isolation. While there has been more attention paid to immigrant student's mental health, cultural and attitudinal barriers like stigma were a factor. Strom argued schools being more inclusive of immigrant students and their families can improve their education.

Though there are ways to ensure immigrant students feel included, there are some challenges to making the strategies work. Along with anti-immigrant sentiments flooding the country, teacher shortages mean educators cannot be one-on-one with their students.

Jimmy Simpson Jr., director of partnerships for YouthTruth, said another factor is immigrant students are more than immigrants.

"Thinking that there are migrant students also part of the LGBTQ community, Black immigrant students or brown, BIPOC immigrant students," Simpson outlined. "They have very different types of experiences than a migrant student who may be white."

Simpson added seeing people beyond just being immigrants goes a long way to creating a welcoming environment for immigrant students in schools.

Colorado's Omni-Salud program - which allows low-income undocumented Coloradans and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients to enroll in affordable health insurance plans with financial assistance - saw a surge in demand at the start of the state's open enrollment period.

Raquel Lane-Arellano - communications manager with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition - said the rush to enroll shows that word is getting out about the program, now in its second year.

"It also shows us that there is such a great need for the program," said Lane-Arellano, "given that the capacity - which is currently at 11,000 for the Silver Enhanced Savings Program insurance plan - filled up in two days, which was absolutely a record."

Lane-Arellano said the strong demand should move lawmakers to expand investments in Omni-Salud - which aims to reduce costs to taxpayers, including expensive emergency room care when patients without insurance can't pay their bill.

Critics say the program forces Colorado taxpayers to subsidize undocumented immigrants' health insurance against their will, and have called it a violation of the Affordable Care Act.

Undocumented Coloradans are also taxpayers, paying nearly $273 million in federal taxes, and $156 million in state and local taxes in 2018.

Lane-Arellano said as the pandemic made very clear, it's important to ensure that everyone - including front line low-wage workers - can access health care.

"Our communities are healthier and stronger when everyone can get the care that they need," said Lane-Arellano. "A lot of the folks who are here have been a part of our communities for decades, paying taxes, working, and contributing to our state and local economies."

Undocumented residents can still enroll for coverage through Omni-Salud. But unlike some other low-wage workers in Colorado, they will have to pay market prices without financial assistance.

Lane-Arellano said she worries that people may put off seeking care if they can't afford insurance, which can lead to a cascade of bad outcomes.

"They're forced to take leave from work," said Lane-Arellano. "They may need to seek emergency services, which costs more. And they may also end up in crushing medical debt due to the severity of the progression of their illness which in a lot of cases is preventable with early treatment."




get more stories like this via email