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Oppose S. 5, the Laken Riley Act [1]
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Date: 2025-01
View a PDF of this letter here.
Oppose S. 5, the Laken Riley Act
Dear Member of Congress:
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, and the 73 undersigned national organizations, we urge you to oppose S. 5, the Laken Riley Act. The senselessness of the murder of Laken Riley does not justify making unprecedented changes to immigration detention laws that – like all mandatory incarceration provisions – will only result in more discrimination while doing little to increase public safety.
As we reflect on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Congress’s consideration of S. 5, as amended in the Senate, stands in stark contrast to Dr. King’s dream of justice, equality, and liberation for all people, including immigrants, who seek freedom from oppression. Dr. King’s teachings remind us “that we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny” and that “anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider.” His words are a charge to Members of Congress to act with moral clarity in moments of consequence such as these and to base your vote in people over power and policy over politics.
S. 5 would require the mandatory detention – without any possibility of bond – of undocumented persons who are merely arrested for or charged with certain offenses, including misdemeanor shoplifting. It does not require conviction. There is no statute of limitations, and the bill does not specify any process by which a person might contest either their immigration detention or the underlying criminal charges (if charges are even pursued). Mandatory immigration detention on the basis of a mere arrest is unprecedented, and it would invite abuses that almost certainly would disproportionately impact people of color.
We are also concerned with language in the bill that would give states standing to sue the federal government over any allegation that the federal government is improperly implementing immigration laws, such as detention and removal provisions, visa provisions, or its discretionary parole authority. This language would open the floodgates to litigation, and it would enable individual states to shape federal immigration policies.
We urge you to vote against S. 5. The Leadership Conference intends to include your position on S. 5 in our voting record for the 119th Congress. If you have any questions, please contact Senior Counsel Rob Randhava at [email protected].
Sincerely,
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Advancement Project
African American Policy Forum
American Association of People with Disabilities
Arab American Institute
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO)
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Bridges Faith Initiative
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Center for Public Representation
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Coalition on Human Needs
Common Cause
Community Change Action
Demos
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)
Drug Policy Alliance
Empowering Pacific Islander Communities
Equal Rights Advocates
Hispanic Federation
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Indivisible
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Justice for Migrant Women
Justice in Aging
Juvenile Law Center
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Lawyers for Good Government
League of United Latin American Citizens
MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund)
Muslim Advocates
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF)
NALCAB – National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
National Asian Pacific American Families Allied for Substance Awareness and Harm Reduction
National Association of Social Workers
National CAPACD
National Center for Parent Leadership, Advocacy, and Community Empowerment
National Council of Jewish Women
National Education Association
National Employment Law Project
National Health Law Program
National Immigration Law Center
National Immigration Project
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
National Network for Arab American Communities
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women’s Law Center
NBJC
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
People For the American Way
PFLAG National
Public Citizen
Reclaim Our Democracy
Reproaction
Reproductive Freedom for All
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Southern Poverty Law Center
Take Back Christianity
The Advocates for Human Rights
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice
United Steelworkers
Voices for Progress
Voters of Tomorrow
Voto Latino
Western States Center
YWCA USA
[END]
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[1] Url:
https://civilrights.org/resource/oppose-s-5-the-laken-riley-act/
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