Bill Text: IL HR0318 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the U.S. Congress to take action in passing the necessary legislation to advance the human rights and protections of the immigrant community in the United States.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 37-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-05-30 - Resolution Adopted [HR0318 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HR0318-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Illinois is home to a large immigrant community | ||||||
3 | that has contributed tremendously to our State; in 2018, 1.8 | ||||||
4 | million immigrants comprised 14 percent of the population of | ||||||
5 | the State of Illinois; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Throughout the last year, the immigrant community | ||||||
7 | has been on the front lines in the fight against the COVID-19 | ||||||
8 | pandemic, including, but not limited to, making up a large | ||||||
9 | portion of the essential workforce as the country and the | ||||||
10 | State went into a lockdown; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Nearly six million essential immigrant workers in | ||||||
12 | the United States are uncertain about their future ability to | ||||||
13 | reside in the country; some individuals are employed as U.S. | ||||||
14 | temporary workers, while others have a protected status, and | ||||||
15 | still others do not have documentation of lawful immigration | ||||||
16 | status; and
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17 | WHEREAS, A large population of undocumented immigrants has | ||||||
18 | lived in the U.S. for more than a decade and are caregivers for | ||||||
19 | children who are U.S. citizens; in 2017, approximately 5.9 | ||||||
20 | million children who are U.S. citizens had at least one | ||||||
21 | caregiver who did not have legal status in the U.S.; and
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1 | WHEREAS, One in seven State residents is an immigrant, | ||||||
2 | more than one in six workers is an immigrant, and close to | ||||||
3 | one-third of all business owners in the Chicago metro area are | ||||||
4 | immigrants; and
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5 | WHEREAS, The immigrant community has contributed | ||||||
6 | significantly to Illinois in many ways, including the | ||||||
7 | community's contribution to the State's economy; in 2018, | ||||||
8 | immigrant-led households in the State paid $12.7 billion in | ||||||
9 | federal taxes and $7.7 billion in state and local taxes; | ||||||
10 | 137,907 immigrant business owners accounted for 23 percent of | ||||||
11 | all self-employed residents and generated $2.8 billion in | ||||||
12 | business income; and
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13 | WHEREAS, The effects of immigration enforcement actions | ||||||
14 | are felt by the individual, their family, and the larger | ||||||
15 | community; it is undisputed that the separation of a child | ||||||
16 | from a parent due to immigration enforcement action is | ||||||
17 | associated with economic hardship, housing instability, and | ||||||
18 | food insecurity; in addition, following an immigration | ||||||
19 | enforcement action against a family member, children have | ||||||
20 | demonstrated numerous emotional and behavioral challenges, | ||||||
21 | even if the children are reunited with the family member at a | ||||||
22 | later point; and
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23 | WHEREAS, Historically, U.S. policies have deeply impacted |
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1 | the stability, economic conditions, and violence in countries | ||||||
2 | from which many immigrants originally migrated to build a home | ||||||
3 | in this country and this State; and
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4 | WHEREAS, The immigrant community and its allies have | ||||||
5 | continuously fought to advance human rights and protections | ||||||
6 | for individuals living in the U.S. who live in constant fear of | ||||||
7 | law enforcement and cruel immigration enforcement actions; and
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8 | WHEREAS, It has been decades since the enactment of any | ||||||
9 | major reform to our nation's immigration laws; this inertia | ||||||
10 | has deeply impacted immigrant communities, as demonstrated by | ||||||
11 | the continuous harsh ICE enforcement actions and separation of | ||||||
12 | families; in 2019 for example, ICE carried out 226,000 | ||||||
13 | deportations; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Congress has debated numerous immigration reforms | ||||||
15 | over the last two decades without great success, which has led | ||||||
16 | the courts and the executive branch to take some temporary | ||||||
17 | measures to address certain aspects of this nation's | ||||||
18 | immigration law; and
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19 | WHEREAS, There is significant public support for the | ||||||
20 | reformation of our country's immigration laws and the | ||||||
21 | advancement of immigrant rights in the U.S. and Illinois; 81 | ||||||
22 | percent of Americans support a path to citizenship for |
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1 | undocumented immigrants; and
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2 | WHEREAS, There are currently several bills before Congress | ||||||
3 | that will help advance the rights and protections for the | ||||||
4 | immigrant community in the United States, including HR1435 | ||||||
5 | American Right to Family Act, HR536 New Way Forward Act, | ||||||
6 | HR1537 Farmworker Modernization Act of 2021, HR6 Dream & | ||||||
7 | Promise Act, HR161 Venezuelan TPS Act of 2021, HR530 REUNITE | ||||||
8 | Act, HR1177 U.S. Citizenship Act, S264 DREAM Act of 2021, and | ||||||
9 | S291 National Office of New Americans Act; and
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10 | WHEREAS, These bills currently before Congress present an | ||||||
11 | opportunity for our nation to take the necessary action to | ||||||
12 | move our country forward and recognize the human rights of the | ||||||
13 | immigrant community in our country and State of Illinois; | ||||||
14 | therefore, be it
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15 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
16 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
17 | we urge the U.S. Congress to take action in passing the | ||||||
18 | necessary legislation to advance the human rights and | ||||||
19 | protections of the immigrant community in the United States; | ||||||
20 | and be it further
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21 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
22 | delivered to the President of the United States, the U.S. |
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1 | Senate Majority Leader, the U.S. Senate Minority Leader, the | ||||||
2 | U.S. Speaker of the House, the U.S. House of Representatives | ||||||
3 | Minority Leader, and all members of the Illinois Congressional | ||||||
4 | Delegation.
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