Immigration

Advocacy and League Principles, Positions and Resolutions

Advocacy by League of Women Voters is based on League Principles and Program Positions that have been developed by the members.  Principles are found in the LWV US Impact on Issues https://www.lwv.org/impact-issues and are used at all levels of the organization.  Positions are developed through an extensive study process that includes a final statement of opinion (the position) that reflects what most of the members think.  The positions are reviewed every year and any changes recommended by the Periodic Program Review Committee must be approved by membership at the local Annual Meeting.  The process is similar at state and national conventions.   Because the study process is such a long process the League also uses resolutions.   Resolutions express the will of the Convention body and are not intended to modify a position or circumvent the program planning process.

LWV US Position on Immigration 

LWVUS’s position focuses on due process and the humanitarian aspects of immigration.

LWV US webpage on immigration https://www.lwv.org/other-issues/immigration

LWVUS Principle on Immigration as published in Impact On Issues, 2024-2026, page 167 (171st page);

LWV TX Position on Immigration

Immigration is legislatively a national issue.  Therefore, LWV TX uses the national Principles and Positions. 

LWVD Position on Immigration

Immigration is legislatively a national issue.  Therefore, LWV Dallas uses the national Principles and Positions shown above.

Resolutions:

RESOLUTION passed at the 2022 LWV US Convention: 

Whereas the League of Women Voters has a long-standing immigration position since 2008 and a strong commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI); 

Be it resolved that LWVUS actively advocate for Immigration Reform as a legislative priority including support for

• increased pathways to citizenship, work permits, and legal permanent status;
• legislation to ensure DREAMers have stable documented status;
• safe and humane treatment of all residents and those seeking asylum;
• an efficient, expeditious, and fair system for immigrants to enter the US;
• keeping migrant families together; anda workforce sufficient to support our economy.

Also, be it resolved that LWVUS provide flexibility for state and local Leagues to advocate in support of long-established priorities on immigration in areas such as basic human needs.

RESOLUTION passed at the 2020 LWV US Convention: 

Be it resolved the League of Women Voters reaffirms our commitment to Immigration reform: laws that provide efficient, expeditious systems for immigrants to enter the United States. The League stands in solidarity with immigrants and our partners in the immigrant rights community. Congress must take immediate action to pass common sense, fair immigration policies that end the crisis at our borders, end the separation of families, ensure their health and safety, and provide a clear path to citizenship.

Resources

Articles written for LWV of Dallas

Know your rights

 

Several organizations have created "red cards" that anyone can print and distribute to immigrants who slide them under the door if an ICE agent arrives.  Red Cards inform ICE agents that the person is asking for basic human rights and knows the limits of ICE.  MIRA (Massachussetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition), which is listed below among National Coalitions, has especially concise cards in many languages at https://miracoalition.org/know-your-rights-print-materials-in-multiple-language/

Books & Articles on Immigration

• Tim Kane, The Immigrant Superpower, How Brains, Brawn and Bravery Make America Stronger. A conservative economist from the Hoover Institution at Stanford argues the case that expanding US immigration is a key strategic advantage in this 2022 book. 
• Center for American Progress, A New Paradigm for Effective Immigration Enforcement. November 2020 in depth report by Peter L. Markowitz, professor of law at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law and co-director of the Kathryn Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic.
• Susan F. Martin, a member of the Leadership of the LWVUS Immigration Discussion Group and a LWV Board Member in the San Juan Islands WA, wrote the book A Nation of Immigrants which has important perspective on the phases in US History when there were pushes for greater restriction. A Nation of Immigrants: Second Edition, Cambridge University Press. Susan is Donald G. Herzberg Professor Emerita of International Migration at Georgetown University.
• Susan F. Martin article on President Carter's legacy in protecting refugees
• Women in Texas History: “Tejanas and Civil Rights” https://www.womenintexashistory.org/audio/tejanas-and-civil-rights/
• What Broke the U.S. Immigration System? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJMtF7VjucM
• Photo essay on makeshift settlements in New Mexico, "At the Border of the American Dream".  https://searchlightnm.org/at-the-border-of-the-american-dream/
• ABA Commission on Immigration Know Your Rights Manual, American Bar Association 2013

Coalitions and Organizations

These coalitions and groups are working on the issue of immigration.  We are in the process of confirming how they align with LWV US positions.

 

Quicklink for this page: lwvdallas.org/immigration