BILL ANALYSIS Ó
HR 51
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Date of Hearing: August 19, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Bob Wieckowski, Chair
HR 51 (V. Manuel Pérez) - As Amended: August 14, 2014
As Proposed to be Amended
SUBJECT : IMMIGRATION
KEY ISSUE : SHOULD THE ASSEMBLY RECOGNIZE THAT ALL CALIFORNIANS
HAVE A CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY TO RESPECT THE HUMAN DIGNITY OF
IMMIGRANTS SEEKING REFUGE IN THE U.S. AND TO ENSURE THAT THEY
ARE AFFORDED DUE PROCESS AND EQUAL PROTECTION?
SYNOPSIS
This non-controversial resolution is addressed to the recent
increase in the number of immigrants entering the United States
from countries in Central America - many of whom are minor
children coming without their parents reportedly to escape
violence and threats in their countries of origin. The
resolution makes specified findings regarding these events, and
declares that all Californians, as residents of the United
States, have a civic responsibility to respect the human dignity
of immigrants seeking refuge in the United States and to ensure
that those immigrants are afforded due process and equal
protection under the laws of the United States, including safe
passage to medical care, as well as access to a mode of
communication to facilitate their repatriation back to Central
America when doing so does not endanger their lives and safety.
The Committee has received no opposition.
SUMMARY : Makes specified findings and recognizes that all
California residents have a civic responsibility to respect the
human dignity of immigrants seeking refuge in the United States,
and to ensure that they are afforded due process and equal
protection. Specifically, this measure provides:
1)Inscribed on our nation's Statue of Liberty are the words,
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning
to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp
beside the golden door!";
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2)The number of unaccompanied Central American children fleeing
violence and entering the United States has resulted in 52,000
apprehensions by United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, with a projected total of 90,000 apprehensions of
unaccompanied minors expected by the end of September 2014;
3)Approximately 28 percent of the children detained this year
have been from Honduras, 24 percent from Guatemala, and 21
percent from El Salvador, countries whose respective murder
rates are among the top six highest murder rates in the world;
4)The prevalence of gang violence, sexual assault, political
corruption, as well as poverty in Central American countries
has prompted unaccompanied minors to leave their home
countries and immigrate to the United States;
5)The President of El Salvador and Minister of Foreign Relations
of Guatemala acknowledge that pull factors, such as family
reunification, economic opportunity, and improved quality of
life are driving unaccompanied minors to immigrate to the
United States;
6)The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees urges the United States to grant refugee status to
Central American children who have crossed the border,
estimating that 60 percent of the children who have fled into
the United States have been forcibly displaced, qualifying
them for asylum under international law;
7)In accordance with the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, and other laws, the
United States must ensure that these unaccompanied children
have access to due process, lawyers, a judge, and justice;
8)Central American governments take full responsibility for the
flow of unaccompanied children to the United States,
recognizing that their respective countries could and should
do more to mitigate the push factors driving so many children
to flee to the United States, including lack of economic
development opportunities, rampant poverty, and political
corruption;
9)Central American countries acknowledge their responsibility to
ensure successful integration for the unaccompanied children
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who are repatriated back home;
10)Central American countries are working toward improving their
socioeconomic conditions by implementing measures that will,
over time, help improve the quality of life of their people
and curtail mass immigration. These measures include
increased access to education by implementing longer school
days, access to school uniforms and lunch programs for
children, health clinics, and grants and loans to farmers to
develop the agricultural economy;
11)The Assembly supports both state and federal efforts to
formulate strong partnerships with Central American countries
to promote economic development, education, and the rule of
law as a means to improve, stabilize, and democratize their
institutions, which will in turn help promote public safety
and curtail mass immigration; and
12)Declares that all Californians, as residents of the United
States, have a civic responsibility to respect the human
dignity of immigrants seeking refuge in the United States and
to ensure that those immigrants are afforded due process and
equal protection under the laws of the United States,
including safe passage to medical care, as well as access to a
mode of communication to facilitate their repatriation back to
Central America when doing so is consistent with their rights
and does not endanger their lives and safety.
EXISTING LAW , pursuant to the U.S. Constitution, locates the
authority to regulate immigration and naturalization exclusively
with the federal government. (U.S. Const., art. 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 United States or the several states.")
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this measure is keyed
non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : The author explains the reason for the resolution as
follows:
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An unprecedented influx of unaccompanied minors from
Central American countries have migrated into the United
States at the Mexican border, creating a 'humanitarian
crisis' and requiring immediate action by the United
States.
The purpose of this resolution is to educate the public on
the root causes driving the diaspora of immigrants from
Central America to the United States, and spur compassion
and a sense of responsibility toward vulnerable people
caught up in a situation not of their making. At the same
time, it also calls for their humane and fair treatment, to
ensure they have access to due process and equal protection
under the law.
This house resolution additionally recognizes this
humanitarian crisis as an opportunity to build partnerships
with the Central American respective countries to ensure
stronger ties with the United States in fostering future
sustainable economic growth to create jobs and
opportunities.
The author goes on to state:
Since October 2013, more than 52,000 children traveling
from Central America have been apprehended. Approximately
28% of the children detained this year have been from
Honduras, 24% from Guatemala, and 21% from El Salvador,
countries whose respective murder rates are among the top
six highest murder rates in the world.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees has urged the United States to grant refugee
status to Central American children who have crossed the
border, estimating that 60 percent of the children who have
fled to the US have been forcibly displaced, qualifying
them for asylum under international law.
Central American nations have struggled to provide gainful
employment for their citizens, in turn displacing people
from their homelands, disintegrating families, destroying
civil society and further perpetuating the perfect climate
for poverty, drug trafficking, gangs and violence to
flourish. Forced recruitment practices utilized by gangs
have driven these unaccompanied children to embark on the
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perilous journey to the United States to avoid gang
involvement.
In this context, House Resolution 51 outlines the role
American foreign policy has played in creating the
instability and violence that is driving so many young
people to leave their homelands. Moreover, it raises the
urgency to respect the human dignity of the immigrants
seeking refuge in the United States and to ensure they are
afforded due process and protection under law. In
addition, it raises the need for state and federal
governments to increase efforts in promoting stability,
economic development, education, and the rule of law in
these sending countries as a means to improve public safety
and curtail mass migration.
Author's Technical Amendments. In order to correct drafting
errors, the author proposes the following technical amendments:
WHEREAS, In accordance with the William Wilberforce Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, and other laws,
the United States must ensure that these unaccompanied children
have access to due process, lawyers, a judge, and justice; and
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the
Assembly declares that all Californians, as residents of the
United States, have a civic responsibility to respect the human
dignity of immigrants seeking refuge in the United States and to
ensure that those immigrants are afforded due process and equal
protection under the laws of the United States, including safe
passage to medical care, as well as access to a mode of
communication to facilitate their repatriation back to Central
America when doing so is consistent with their rights and does
not endanger their lives and safety.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
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Analysis Prepared by : Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334