Reject the Politics of Hate
Dear Representative Madigan,
Senate President Cullerton and House Speaker Madigan:
Several members of the Illinois General Assembly have filed bills that attack immigrant workers,
homeowners, and families. These bills purport to protect American citizens, when all they do is hurt families, drive up business costs, depress housing markets, and turn government agencies and many private organizations into immigration cops.
These bills would:
- Disenfranchise elderly, low-income, and minority citizens, including many native citizens (SB2083-Lauzen)
- Turn schools (including private schools), human services offices, and the Department of Motor Vehicles into immigration inquisition offices, gathering information on immigration status that they would then turn over to ICE (HB 4142--Ramey).
- Deny immigrant children health coverage, and thus place the health of these children and all people that may come into contact with them, in danger (SB 2007 and 2028-Pankau).
- Deny emergency medical care to many immigrants (SB 2152-Lauzen)
- Deny mortgage assistance to many legal immigrant families and households with US citizen children (SB 1588-Brady; SB 2083-Lauzen).
- Deny excellent immigrant students the chance to go to college, unable to get even private scholarships (HB 4142--Ramey).
- Drive up costs of doing business with the state and in certain municipalities by forcing companies into an unreliable federal database (HB 1146--Ramey; HB 4142-Ramey).
- Make it impossible for many businesses to fire US citizens who punch out their bosses, trash their workplaces, or commit other harmful deeds (HB 4142--Ramey).
Illinois was built by the hard work and contributions of immigrants, and our state has always welcomed immigrants. We do not need or want this kind of legislation.
I ask that you work hard to defeat these bills and protect IL families and businesses.
* This message was sent with the help of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Questions or comments can be addressed to advocate@icirr.org.
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