BILL ANALYSIS �
AJR 49
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AJR 49 (Gonzalez)
As Amended August 19, 2014
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 7-2
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|Ayes:|Wieckowski, Alejo, Chau, | | |
| |Dickinson, Garcia, | | |
| |Muratsuchi, Stone | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Wagner, Maienschein | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Makes certain findings and calls on President Barack
Obama to take certain actions regarding deportation of specified
immigrants. Specifically, this resolution provides:
1)According to the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2011, there were 11.1
million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States
(U.S.);
2)Deportations have reached record levels under President Barack
Obama, rising to an annual average of nearly 400,000 since
2009;
3)According to Members of Congress Raul M. Grijalva and Yvette
Clarke, although the Obama Administration reportedly
prioritized deporting only criminals, many individuals with no
serious criminal history consistently have been deported;
4)Increased deportations and a continuously broken immigration
system exacerbate the living conditions of U.S. citizen
children whose parents have been deported;
5)Separation of children from their parents, irrespective of
immigration status, always results in severe consequences for
young children, who are often left with no parental guidance
or care and a highly unstable financial situation;
6)As immigration continues to be at the center of a national
debate, President Barack Obama and Congress must implement a
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more humanitarian immigration policy that keeps families
together;
7)California is home to approximately 10.3 million immigrants of
which approximately 2.6 million are not authorized to live in
the U.S.;
8)Many Members of Congress recently signed a letter requesting
President Barack Obama to suspend any further deportations;
and
9)Since California is home to a large number of unauthorized
immigrants from all parts of the world, this state should make
it a priority to keep families together and continue to press
President Barack Obama and Congress for a solution to our
broken federal immigration system.
10)Urges President Barack Obama to take executive action to
suspend any further deportations of legalization-eligible
individuals with no serious criminal history.
EXISTING LAW , pursuant to the U.S. Constitution, locates the
authority to regulate immigration and naturalization exclusively
with the federal government. (U.S. Constitution Article I,
Section 8, Clauses 3 and 4; LULAC v. Wilson, (1995) 908 F. Supp.
755, 786-87; See also Takahashi v. Fish & Game Commission (1948)
334 U.S. 410, 419 (because the federal government bears the
exclusive responsibility for immigration matters, the states
"can neither add to nor take from the conditions lawfully
imposed by Congress upon admission, naturalization and residence
of aliens in the U.S. or the several states.")
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : The author explains the reason for the measure as
follows:
Under President [Barack] Obama, deportations have
risen to an average of 400,000 a year since 2009.
Increased deportation and a broken immigration system
harm the living conditions of U.S. citizen children
whose parents have been deported. Separating families
because of deportation can have severe consequences,
especially for those children who are left without
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parental care in a highly unstable financial
situation.
Therefore, it is vital that the state Legislature
support an end to the deportation of
legalization-eligible immigrants and back a more
humanitarian immigration policy that keeps families
together. The fiscal and social cost to California due
to family separations and the loss of their children
is enormous and inhumane.
AJR 49 calls upon President [Barack] Obama to expand
temporary protective status to all
legalization-eligible immigrants through an executive
action. This would initiate a "deferred action"
legalization process and cease the deportation of all
eligible immigrants and families who have no serious
criminal history, until Congress adopts humane and
inclusive comprehensive immigration reform
legislation.
The need for comprehensive immigration reform has been at the
forefront of national debate for many years. As the resolution
cites, based on data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau as of
March 2010, an estimated 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants
reportedly live in the U.S., making up 4% of the nation's
population, and 5.2% of the nation's workforce.
According to a 2011 research project, California has by far the
largest unauthorized-immigrant population (2.55 million), which
accounts for 6.8% of the state's population, and is among the
states where unauthorized immigrants constitute the largest
shares of the overall populations. (Passel and Cohn,
Unauthorized Immigrant Population: National and State Trends,
2010 (February 1, 2011) http://www.pewhispanic.
org/2011/02/01/iv-state-settlement-patterns/.) Further,
unauthorized workers constitute roughly ten percent of
California's labor force and are especially likely to hold
low-skilled jobs. (See Pew Hispanic Center, A Portrait of
Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States (April 14, 2009).)
On June 15, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security issued a
directive creating deferred action for certain undocumented
individuals who came to the U.S. as children and who have
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pursued education or military service. Under this federal
program, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA),
approved applicants are granted deferred removal action, which
may stop pending deportation proceedings or preclude the federal
government from starting deportation proceedings against them.
DACA does not grant lawful permanent residence or citizenship to
these individuals, but if their applications are granted, they
are lawfully permitted to work in the U.S. for a period of two
years and may apply for renewal. Notably, one of the
qualifications is that the individual has not been convicted of
a felony offense, a significant misdemeanor, or more than three
misdemeanors, and does not pose a threat to national security or
public safety. At the same time, deportations have reached a
record level, rising to an annual average of 400,000 since 2009.
(Lopez, As Deportations Rise to Record Levels, Most Latinos
Oppose Obama's Policy (December 28, 2011)
http://www.pewhispanic.org/
2011/12/28/as-deportations-rise-to-record-levels-most-latinos-opp
ose-obamas-policy/.) According to the National Immigration Law
Center, more than 1,000 immigrants are separated from their
families and communities each day.
This resolution would urge President Barack Obama to take
executive action to suspend any further deportations of
legalization-eligible individuals with no serious criminal
history. Given that DACA provides for suspension of deportation
of individuals with no serious criminal history and California's
legislative history supporting the enactment of DACA and urging
immigration reform, this resolution is arguably consistent with
current public policy and prior legislative findings and
declarations regarding immigration reform.
Analysis Prepared by : Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0004864