The board of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation on Dec. 11 unanimously approved a “Position Statement on Immigration.”
And on Dec. 12, the Midwest Region of the League of United Latin American Citizens of the State of Wisconsin released a statement praising the JCRC’s action.
The JCRC statement said the organization “supports compassionate immigration policies, including a systematic, fair path to citizenship for immigrants” and will work toward “the goal of fashioning an immigration system that facilitates legal status and family unity in the interest of protecting the dignity and civil liberties of all people.”
The statement calls for “comprehensive immigration reform” that:
• “Provides a systematic, fair path to citizenship for undocumented residents.”
• “Ensures swift family reunification.”
• “Prevents the exploitation of undocumented immigrant workers and protects the labor and human rights of all immigrants.”
• “Ensures that humanitarian workers and others who provided basic support and services to undocumented immigrants are not subject to criminal prosecution.”
The statement further says that the organization:
• “Supports the advancement of firm, reasoned policies that protect homeland security and opposes measures that stigmatize immigrants or undermine civil liberties.”
• “Opposes policy measures that, without appropriate safeguards, seek to expand the authority of state and local officials to enforce immigration law violations.”
• “Supports asylum policies that protect those fleeing from persecution in their countries.”
The statement’s preamble refers to “the American Jewish community’s long history of support for generous and rational immigration laws and policies. That support is rooted in large measure by the experiences of Jews seeking asylum, refuge, and immigration over the course of centuries in an America that has at times closed its doors with tragic results due to anti-immigrant sentiments.”
Darryl Morin, LULAC national vice president for the Midwest region, issued his own statement praising the JCRC’s action.
“On behalf of the thousands of LULAC members across the 12 states that comprise the LULAC’s Midwest Region, I express my gratitude to the [JCRC] for taking a formal and public position on the need to pass common sense immigration reform that provides for our economy, our security, and equally as important, our humanity,” he wrote.
“This act underscores the growing interest and partnership between Milwaukee’s and Hispanic communities in collectively working to improve our shared community,” Morin wrote.
In an interview in her office on Dec. 19, Elana Kahn-Oren, JCRC director, said there has been “a consensus in the Jewish community locally and nationally” that there is a need for reform of U.S. immigration laws.
“We in the last year or so have gotten requests to become vocal and involved in work related directly to immigration,” she said. “Some leaders and individuals in the Jewish community and some in the Latino community wanted us to be in the coalition” around these issues.
While the Milwaukee Jewish community has been active in working with immigrants, the JCRC did not “have a policy on the books” until now, she said.
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