Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative:
On behalf of our 3 million members and the 50 million students they serve, we urge you to oppose the budget reconciliation legislation, to be marked up tomorrow, that seeks to discourage legal immigration while ramping up immigration enforcement by billions of dollars. Votes on this issue may be scored in NEA’s report card for the 119th Congress.
The bill would introduce steep fees that turn legal immigration into a luxury only the wealthy can afford—among other things, a minimum $1,000 asylum application fee, a $3,500 sponsorship fee for unaccompanied children, and a $550 fee for work permits. It would also expand mass detention, including the detention of children and family units in unlicensed and unsafe tent cities.
This approach would make a bad situation even worse. All across America, ramped up immigration enforcement is traumatizing students and educators at all levels. Every day, educators encounter students terrified by threats of mass deportation. They worry that their loved ones will be targeted and their families broken up. Some refuse to leave their homes—even to go to school.
They are right to be afraid. The Trump administration has repeatedly attacked immigrants, failed to provide them with due process, and violated court orders. These actions threaten the checks and balances central to our Constitution and undermine the rule of law that is the foundation of our democracy.
In closing, we again urge you to oppose budget reconciliation legislation that effectively forecloses the American dream for immigrants and ramps up immigration enforcement by billions of dollars.
Sincerely,
Marc Egan
Director of Government Relations
National Education Association
