(HR-5)

With respect to the movement of people through the world, the Friends Committee on Legislation shares the long-range ideal of the Friends Committee on National Legislation a world of open borders in which, through international cooperation, pressures for migration will be reduced by more equitable enjoyment of the world's resources and of human and civil rights. Meanwhile we recognize that the continued existence of borders and the will to control them create problems which must be conscientiously addressed. In general any desire or effort to Limit immigration must be balanced against the need to preserve the legal rights of all those affected by measures for control, citizens as well as non-citizens. We are moved above all by our conviction that the peoples of the world share, a common humanity and must be treated accordingly.

Accordingly FCL's policy with respect to the treatment of Immigrants is as follows:

a) We urge the full recognition of the contributions of immigrants to our communities' economic and cultural well-being: We encourage and support efforts to develop a more positive climate of relations with immigrants.

b) Fair employment practices and fair labor laws as well as health and safety standards in the workplace should be enforced to prevent the exploitation of immigrant workers.

c) Any measures to control the passage of persons and goods across our borders should be carried out by federal agencies with personnel trained to carry out their responsibilities with due regard for the rights of all with whom they deal. We oppose militarization of our borders and the use of the National Guard or state or local police to assist the Immigration and
Naturalization Service or the Border Patrol.

d) We deplore the current lack of proper training or accountability of Border Patrol personnel, as well as the inadequate recruiting standards. We support proposals for a federally sponsored Immigration Law Enforcement Oversight Commission as well as State support of local efforts to establish civilian review boards to hear complaints of civil rights violations by
enforcement agents.

e) We oppose any attempt to impose on the California-Mexico border measures comparable to the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez blockade instituted in 1993, which has had serious negative effects on the civil rights, international relations, and economic conditions in the area.

f) We oppose any law requiring the populace to carry national identification.

g) We oppose the imposition of a border crossing fee as an unjustifiable burden on the many who daily cross the border and on the border economy.

h) We believe that public services available to citizens, including education, health care and access to public facilities, should be available ~o all residents without regard to citizenship status, and that all should have a corresponding responsibility to pay taxes.

i) We oppose any effort to amend the United States Constitution so as to deny citizenship to children born of undocumented residents.

j) We oppose legislation which, in attempting to make life more difficult for undocumented migrants, would have adverse effects on legal residents. Examples would be requiring proof of legal status to establish eligibility for a driver's license, or depriving education and
medical services.

k) We oppose any abridgment of the rights of asylum guaranteed by the United Nations Protocol on Refugees, ratified by the United States: Care must be taken that the expediting of asylum hearings not violate due process of law.

l) States and local governments most impacted by immigration should receive reimbursement from the federal government. Most of the taxes paid by immigrants are federal taxes, whereas most public services they use are dependent on state and local
revenues.

Approved at FCL Statewide 12/3/94.