St. Charles Advocacy Supplement--February 20, 2012

[St. Charles Social Justice]

ST. CHARLES ADVOCACY SUPPLEMENT—February 20, 2012


[Since this issue may be considered in a Virginia Senate committee as
early as Wednesday, we are sending it around today.]


II. STATE

--II. A. URGENT! STOP EXPANSION OF IMMIGRATION STATUS CHECKS IN BILLS
HB 958 AND HB 1060

VACALAO (Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations) urges you to
contact your Senator today and urge him/her to vote against HB1060 and
HB 958. These bills have passed the House and crossed over to the
Senate; a hearing by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee is
expected soon, perhaps as soon as this Wednesday. The bills would
broaden the requirement of law enforcement officers to check
immigration status of those arrested. This would be the Secure
Communities Program “on steroids.”

The essential message to convey is that HB1060 and HB 958 would take
the identification of undocumented persons from the jails to the
streets. As VACALAO points out, currently all persons arrested and
taken into custody, as well as those convicted of crimes, have their
status checked on admission to jail or prison. The proposed
legislation would require every law enforcement officer (state or
local) who places a person under arrest to initiate an inquiry into
the person's immigration status. This would jeopardize public safety
by taking the officer off the street while the inquiry is being
conducted, and by discouraging persons in immigrant communities from
cooperating with local law enforcement in the effort to fight crime.
In addition, the legislation is likely unconstitutional and will
embroil the state in expensive litigation if passed, VOCALAO argues.
The real answer to our country’s immigration concerns is comprehensive
immigration reform at the federal level – not short-sighted state
policies.

The bills could be considered as soon as Wednesday, February 22, by
the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. Please contact the Committee
Chairman, Sen. Thomas Norment, Jr. (R-3rd) - 804-698-7503,
distr...@senate.virginia.gov, to urge the committee to disapprove
these bills.

Additionally, please contact your state senator to urge him/her to
vote against the bills on the Senate floor if they make it through
committee. Find the contact information for your senator through the
“Who’s My Legislator” icon, accessed via the link to the Virginia
General Assembly in the contact information at the end of this item.

If your senator is a member of Courts and Justice, even better. Here
is the contact information for the committee members besides Chairman
Norment:

Richard L. Saslaw (D) (804) 698-7535 distr...@senate.virginia.gov
Henry L. Marsh III (D) (804) 698-7516 distr...@senate.virginia.gov
Janet D. Howell (D) (804) 698-7532 distr...@senate.virginia.gov
L. Louise Lucas (D) (804) 698-7518 distr...@senate.virginia.gov
John S. Edwards (D) (804) 698-7521 distr...@senate.virginia.gov
Linda T. Puller (D) (804) 698-7536 distr...@senate.virginia.gov
Mark D. Obenshain (R) (804) 698-7526 distr...@senate.virginia.gov
Ryan T. McDougle (R) (804) 698-7504 distr...@senate.virginia.gov
A. Donald McEachin (D) (804) 698-7509 distr...@senate.virginia.gov
Richard H. Stuart (R) (804) 698-7528 distr...@senate.virginia.gov
Jill Holtzman Vogel (R) (804) 698-7527 distr...@senate.virginia.gov
William M. Stanley, Jr. (R) (804) 698-7520
distr...@senate.virginia.gov
Bryce E. Reeves (R) (804) 698-7517 distr...@senate.virginia.gov
Thomas A. Garrett (R) (804) 698-7522
distr...@senate.virginia.gov

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HOW TO CONTACT YOUR GOVERNOR, AND STATE SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVE –
INCREDIBLY EASY WAYS!

- To contact Governor McDonnell, use the following link:
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/Contact.cfm or

The phone number for Governor McDonnell is (804) 786-2211.

- Find your senator at http://sov.state.va.us/SenatorDB.nsf/$$Viewtemplate+for+WMembershipHome?OpenForm

- Find your representative at http://dela.state.va.us/dela/MemBios.nsf/MWebsiteTL?OpenView,

OR

Go to “Who's My Legislator” icon on the General Assembly website at
http://legis.state.va.us to find or confirm who your delegate or
senator is, and his or her contact information.

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[NOTE: We encourage you to forward this e-mail to others you think
would be interested. Persons wishing to subscribe may email
elise...@gmail.com.]