City of LA says ‘No’ to the Save Act

The Los Angeles City Council Resoundingly Votes for a Resolution Against the SAVE Act.

Los Angeles – The City Council voted on a resolution opposing the Save America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act (HR 4088) sponsored by Representatives Shuler (D-NC) and Tancredo (R-CO).  American Jewish Committee was the lead organization ensuring this resolution’s immediate passage. Seth Brysk, Executive Director of American Jewish Committee (AJC) Los Angeles Chapter issued the following statement in response:

“AJC understands this is not a Latino-American issue, an Asian-American issue, nor a Jewish-American issue, this is an issue that should concern all Americans. Today, AJC stood with organizations representing the whole community and the City Council to stand up against the SAVE Act, a disastrous bill that will further undermine an already broken immigration system”

“American Jewish Committee has long supported fair and generous immigration policies because we understand the struggle many immigrants face to pursue the American dream,” said Brysk. “This legislation erodes the very values upon which our nation was built.”

AJC seeks an immigration system that achieves the delicate balance required to maintain our pluralistic identity and our homeland security, supporting strong, fair, and effective enforcement coupled with humane reforms that protect families, ensure workers' rights, and end marginalization of immigrant communities.

The city council recognized that the SAVE Act is not the solution because it compounds dysfunction in our current system, undermines our national security, and erodes values upon which America was built. The SAVE Act relies on an inaccurate database to verify an immigrant's legal status.  This flawed legislation could be detrimental to the employers and families of legal residents who might be incorrectly identified as being undocumented.

Passage of the SAVE Act would also require local law enforcement to take on the additional responsibility of enforcing immigration law and in many cases align religious sanctuary with “alien smuggling”. The SAVE Act would overwhelm already overextended state and local police forces, distract focus from serious crimes beyond the sphere of immigration, destroy fundamental relationships that police have cultivated with their communities, and increase incidents of racial profiling.

“AJC thanks the Los Angeles city council for moving decisively to stop this attack on immigrant families and our fragile economy,” said Brysk.   

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