Here is the letter Democrats representatives John Lewis (GA), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ), Jan Schakowsky (IL) and Judy Chu (CA) drafted to President Obama yesterday.
The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500Dear Mr. President,
We write today to address the future of undocumented immigrants in our country.
Every day, approximately 1,000 people are deported, amounting to roughly 50,000 people who will be forced to leave between now and November 4, 2014. While your administration has the authority to lessen the harm our broken immigration system causes, the decision to delay action exacerbates the fear and anguish felt in our communities.
As the threat of deportation lingers, we respectfully request that you meet with families who live with that fear every single day, and to listen to their stories. We hope you find a way to reassure these families —parents and children alike— that despite the delay, you will provide administrative relief to those desperate for hope and a legal resolution. Given the ever-rising needs of families caught in limbo, we believe that this gesture will provide solace to those who worry that executive action will never come.
Please know that we share your concerns and frustration with the House Republican leadership’s inaction on comprehensive immigration reform. We remain committed to fighting for this long overdue bipartisan legislation.
We hope you take every opportunity to reinforce the commitment you made in the White House Rose Garden in June 2014. We look forward to working with you to provide relief for families who are in dire need of clarity and hope.
Grijalva’s office also sent an email with a copy of the letter to the President. This is an excerpt of that email:
We write today to address the future of undocumented immigrants in our country. Every day, approximately 1,000 people are deported, amounting to roughly 50,000 people who will be forced to leave between now and November 4, 2014.
We invite you to join us in sending the following letter to President Obama asking that he meet with families who live with the fear of family separation due to our broken immigration system.
We want the President to be seen as the compassionate and committed person that he is on immigration reform and family separation. We propose that no elected officials be part of this meeting and that the meeting be entirely with the President and his family and the families dealing with separation from loved ones.
