By Susan F. Martin and Lydia Zepeda, "Protecting the Rights of Immigrants" study co-chairs, LWV of Washington

This is a busy and consequential month for the League of Women Voters. On June 6-7, the Washington state League will hold its biennial council meeting in Lacey, where members and leaders come together to learn, share and shape the future of the League. On June 25-28, the U.S. League of Women Voters will hold its biennial convention in Columbus, where members will vote on the program of work for the next two years.  

Immigration policy and the rights of immigrants in the United States will play an important role in upcoming activities for Leagues. The US League already has a position on immigration policy — for example, rules for admission of immigrants — but it does not have a position on the rights of immigrants living in the U.S.  

This may change at the national convention, at which League members from across the country vote to concur with the LWVWA position, “Protecting the Rights of Immigrants.”  

The U.S. League has already recommended adoption of the position, recognizing that it complements the immigration position and fills gaps in the ability of the League to lobby for legislation protecting immigrant rights. 

The consequences of current immigration enforcement and the attack on immigrant rights go well beyond undocumented migration. Since most immigrant households are of mixed status, immigration policies affect U.S. citizen spouses and children, often leading to family separation.  

Businesses and universities are also affected when pathways to legal entry for employees and students are blocked, as is the case today. Moreover, lives are at risk because of new restrictions on entry and the status of refugees and asylum seekers. For example, hundreds of Afghans who worked for the U.S. military have been barred from entry despite threats to their safety at home. In addition, many Afghans already admitted are being detained and facing deportation. 

Adopting a position on the rights of immigrants is a tremendous first step.  

However, positions have no impact without action. Programs to educate the public about immigrants and immigration policy, effective advocacy and lobbying, as well as partnerships with like-minded organizations are essential. The LWVWA has been working on each of these steps, seeing many wins and some losses during the most recent Washington legislative session. 
 
To increase our efforts, the LWVWA will hold a workshop at the state council to discuss how we can strengthen our efforts to protect the rights of immigrants as well as the integrity of the U.S. immigration system.  

We hope the workshop will result in three outcomes: an affinity group on immigration and immigrant rights; recruitment of members to the immigrants issues lobby team to track state legislation that affects immigrants and refugees; and a committee to track city and county ordinances and policies that affect immigrants and refugees. 

The LWVWA immigrant rights concurrence group and the LWVUS Discussion Group on Immigration will host back-to-back breakout sessions at the June Convention. The LWVWA’s session will focus primarily on concurrence, to buttress the number of members who will vote ‘YES’ on Protecting the Rights of Immigrants.  

A second session hosted by the discussion group will focus on issues affecting the lives of immigrants country-wide, such as the impact of mass deportation, both human and economic; the role of sanctuary jurisdictions; detention of migrants; curtailment of legal immigration; and barriers to the protection of asylum seekers, refugees and persons granted temporary protection.  

Martin also is a member of the Board of Directors of the LWVWA and the Donald G. Herzberg Professor Emerita of International Migration at Georgetown University. Zepeda is an Issue Chair  of the LWVWA Lobby Team, professor emerita of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.