Migrants, civil rights, Mideast preoccupy Jewish solons

U.S. Senate sealhouse of representatives logoWASHINGTON, D.C. (SDJW) — Immigration, Civil Rights and the murder of a Palestinian teenager were among the preoccupations of Jewish members (names in boldface type) of Congress in the week leading up to the nation’s Independence Day holiday on July 4th.

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) released a statement on efforts to address the humanitarian crisis at our nation’s  southwest border. It came in response to reports that three buses carrying Central American migrant families were  forced to turn away from a Border Patrol station in Murrieta, California after protestors blocked the road, raising safety concerns for the migrants and Department of Homeland Security agents.

“If the Republican House had just taken up and passed the bipartisan Senate immigration bill, the angry and unfortunate demonstration in Murrieta  would not have occurred,” she said.  “That is because the Senate bill greatly enhances border protection while setting up clear and fair rules for immigrants.”

Boxer is the lead sponsor of the Humane Short Term Custody Act, legislation that would require all Customs and Border Protection short-term detention facilities holding migrants apprehended at our borders to meet minimum standards ensuring that they receive basic and humane treatment.

Her Senate colleague, Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) earlier in the week sharply criticized the decision by House Speaker John Boehner not to hold a vote on immigration this year. The  decision came days after Bennet marked the one-year anniversary of the Senate’s passage of a bipartisan bill to fix our broken immigration system.

“It is reprehensible that Speaker Boehner and House Republicans would choose the status quo rather than working to secure our border, boost  the economy, reduce the deficit, and protect millions of families. What’s most frustrating about this is that we agree on both sides of the aisle that our current immigration system is broken. We agree that it’s critical for our economy and for our country. Yet the House of Representatives
refuses to move forward.

“If the House needs a model to get this done, it can use the bipartisan and transparent process the Senate used to pass a bill with the support of almost 70 senators. And that was done with the leadership of four Republicans who came to the table to do what was right for their country and for their party.

“It’s not a matter of if we get this done, but when. Today’s news only sends the message that the House of Representatives would rather play politics than focus on the country’s needs. With the House affirmatively announcing it will allow the burden to continue to grow for a broad spectrum of businesses and workers as well as  families, it is time for the President to use the limited legal authorities granted to him by the Constitution to take steps to ease those burdens on our businesses, workers, and families.”

Bennet is a member of the bipartisan “Group of 8” that introduced the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 last April following several months of discussions and negotiations with a diverse group of stakeholders. According to Bennet, the bill secures our borders, includes a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, makes reforms to an outdated visa system to ensure businesses have  access to the workers they need, and includes important worker protections. The Senate passed the bill last June.

Congressman Eliot Engel (D-New York),  a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the leading Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says House Republicans’ refusal to work towards a comprehensive immigration solution has forced President Obama to take executive action.

“There are an estimated 11.5 million undocumented immigrants living in the proverbial shadows of our democracy. House Republicans have been ignoring the need to fix our broken immigration system for reasons known only to them. This problem isn’t going away, nor can it be ignored.

“Those living on the margins of our society are still here. Their fear and frustration grows each day Congress refuses to take up legislation that would give them a chance to earn American citizenship by paying back taxes and getting in the same line as everyone else. Closing our borders to those in need is not the American way.

“I regret that President Obama feels that executive action is his only recourse, but House Republicans have given him little choice.”

On the civil rights front, Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee) ton Wednesday, July 2, marked the 50th anniversary of the signing the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. Congressman Cohen made the following statement 50 years to the day after President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill into law:

“The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is among the most significant laws in our nation’s history, representing a culmination of years and years of a difficult struggle. Many brave Americans were mistreated, hurt, and even killed as they fought for the rights we hold dear, and each of us owes a debt to the courageous leaders of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.”

“While the landmark civil rights law helped bring an end to the Jim Crow era by banning discrimination and segregation in public places, 50 years later vestiges of injustice still remain. I was proud to author the first and only official Congressional apology for slavery and Jim Crow, but we can still do more to rectify the lingering consequences of these travesties of justice.”

“One year after the Supreme Court struck down critical components of the Voting Rights Act, efforts to once again curtail the right to vote can now be seen throughout the country. It is as important as ever that the law’s protections are still critical in the fight against discrimination. As we reflect upon the hard work and bravery that led to Civil Rights Act 5 decades ago, we must recognize that this fight for our rights is ongoing and unfinished. Every Congressperson should support the Voting Rights Amendment Act to restore the full protections of the Voting Rights Act. Doing so would be in the spirit of the Civil Rights Act and would help America better live up to our creed that all individuals are created equal.”
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In Illinois,  Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky released the following statement commemorating the civvil rights anniversary: “The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is one of the most significant laws in our nation’s history. It finally banned discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.  On this 50th anniversary we must remember the tremendous debt we all owe to the brave activists of the Civil Rights Movement. Many of them were beaten and bled, others died fighting for equal rights.

“Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney were three civil rights workers who were killed. These men were organizing for the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) on June 21, 1964 when they went missing – just two weeks before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 became the law of the land. In August of that year they were found buried in an earthen dam near Philadelphia, Mississippi. Although they did not get to see the Civil Rights Act become law, their efforts and the efforts of many like them did not go in vain.

“Earlier this year I joined Congressman John Lewis, other members of Congress and people from across the country for the annual Civil Rights Pilgrimage. We toured historic civil rights sites in Mississippi and Alabama. I walked with Congressman Lewis and hundreds of others across the Edmund Winston Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. In 1965 Congressman Lewis led a march across that same bridge – pushing for voting rights. He was beaten so badly his skull was fractured and he almost died. The march became known as ‘Bloody Sunday’ because so many peaceful marchers were subject to horrific violence that day. Yet, Congressman Lewis and others have never stopped fighting. It is up to all us to continue this fight and fulfill a vision where all people are treated equally.

“We must continue the fight to provide quality education for our children, to establish pay equity for women in the workplace, to achieve for equal rights for LGBT Americans and to ensure that voting rights are protected for all Americans. This is the best way to truly honor the anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. We must continue to progress and truly become a nation that provides liberty and justice for all.”

In Louisville, Kentucky, Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth also released a statement:  “Today we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, a triumph in the long march for equality and a signal to the world of our commitment to honoring the freedom and liberty of every American. The Civil Rights Act moved us forward, but it did not perfect us. Racism and discrimination remain stubbornly with us, and we must continue working to improve our laws to combat injustice while never forgetting the extraordinary sacrifices that brought us to this point.”

Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-New York), who earlier in the week had  mourned the death of three Israeli teenagers, issued the following statement in reaction to the murder of Hussein Abu Khdeir, a Palestinian teenager:  “I join the Administration in condemning the murder of the innocent Palestinian teenager and calling for a thorough investigation of this horrible act. The unimaginable pain now felt by a fourth family should propel all the parties involved to deescalate tensions in the region. No one will benefit from the continuation of senseless violence, which is why restoring calm must take priority going forward. Justice for all of the victims can only be served through the appropriate legal process.”

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