Las Americas IAC Reacts to Today’s Senate Vote; Further Evidence Congress Is Not Valuing Immigrant Lives

For Immediate Release: February 7, 2024

Media Contact: media@las-americas.org

El Paso, Texas — Today, a procedural vote to attempt to advance anti-immigrant provisions as part of a supplemental appropriations package failed with 49 votes in support. In response, Jennifer Babaie, Director of Advocacy and Legal Services of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, said:

“We will never forget the names of every senator who voted ‘yes’ today, knowingly choosing short-sighted political gains over community wellbeing. Immigration and border policy is a matter of life or death for our communities and for the mothers, fathers, and children seeking safety at our borders.

“This bill, endorsed by the White House and parroted by lawmakers across the political spectrum, has poisoned our politics with rhetoric alluding to a fabricated crisis at the border. These lies cost real lives and put our communities at risk. Just yesterday, a would-be mass shooter was prevented by the FBI before executing an attack on migrants. Two weeks ago, we watched as a mother and her children were left to drown in the Rio Grande while the Texas National Guard looked on.

“Although we take some solace that this hateful bill did not pass, we bitterly decry the process that got us to this point. This has brought lasting setbacks to our fight for justice and dignity for immigrant and borderland communities. This vote will stand as a mark of shame for all who supported these failed, destructive, and hateful proposals.”