Senate Joint Resolution No. 19
Introduced by Senator Cedillo
September 3, 2009
Senate Joint Resolution No. 19-Relative to immigration.
legislative counsel’s digest SJR 19, as introduced, Cedillo.
Enforcement of immigration laws.
This measure would condemn specified policies and practices of federal
agencies regarding the enforcement of immigration laws, and would urge
Congress and the President of the United States to declare an
immediate moratorium on those policies and practices until a
comprehensive reform of immigration laws is enacted and implemented.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, The State of California values all of its residents, whether
they be citizens, legal residents, or undocumented immigrants, and
strives to enable all residents to work and live free from
discrimination, exploitation, and repressive federal immigration
enforcement; and
WHEREAS, In California, the population of which is expected to
increase to 54 million by 2040-including a Latino population of 27
million, a Caucasian population of 16 million, and an Asian population
of 7 million-immigrants are and will continue to be a critical
resource; and
WHEREAS, According to the United States Census Bureau, 1 of every 8
people living in the United States is an immigrant and approximately
one-third of those immigrants are undocumented; and
WHEREAS, There are approximately 8.1 million undocumented workers in
the United States economy comprising 15 percent of the national labor
force with an annual federal tax contribution of more than $30
billion; and
WHEREAS, There is clear evidence that undocumented workers are
currently making great contributions to the national economy; and
WHEREAS, In California alone, there are 8.9 million immigrants, making
up 26 percent of the total population and one-third of California’s
labor force, who figure prominently in agriculture, manufacturing,
construction, and service industries. Those immigrants pay
approximately $4.5 billion in state taxes each year, significantly
contributing to California’s economy; and
WHEREAS, In California, the average immigrant- headed household
contributes a net of $2,679 annually to social security, which is $539
more than the average household headed by a person born in the United
States; and
WHEREAS, Immigrants are among California’s most productive
entrepreneurs, and have created jobs for tens of thousands of
Californians. By 2000, immigrant owners of Silicon Valley companies
created 72,839 jobs and generated more than $19.5 billion in sales.
Google, Sun Microsystems, eBay, and Yahoo! are all companies that were
founded or cofounded by immigrants; and
WHEREAS, In the absence of comprehensive federal immigration reform,
the program initiated under the Bush administration known as
“Operation Return to Sender,” the federal Department of Homeland
Security, through the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE), conducted aggressive raids in homes and workplaces in efforts
to locate, detain, and deport undocumented immigrants; and
WHEREAS, The Obama administration, in order to take action and
implement some type of enforcement while federal comprehensive
immigration reform is considered, has shifted its focus to an
“enforcement only” policy in the form of aggressive unprecedented
enforcement against employers who hire immigrants; and
WHEREAS, In order to achieve better enforcement, the federal
Department of Homeland Security and the federal Social Security
Administration seek to require use of the E-Verify system, federal
employment verification, audits of profiled companies that hire
immigrants, and expansion of police-ICE collaboration. As a result,
employers may well engage in prohibited behavior, such as using
verification programs for purposes other than verifying employment
eligibility or to prescreen employment candidates, resulting in
discrimination against workers; and
WHEREAS, Latino workers are among the most vulnerable and have a
higher likelihood of being disproportionately affected by these
programs; and
WHEREAS, The employer audits and the mandatory use of the E-Verify
system would affect millions of workers, and there is a concern for
the broader and negative implications that an expansion of the use of
E-Verify by all other sectors will have on the United States workforce
during this difficult economic crisis; and
WHEREAS, The Congressional Budget Office estimates that a mandatory E-
Verify employment verification program would decrease federal revenue
by $17.3 billion over 10 years because more workers would be paid “off
the books”; and
WHEREAS, In light of the economic crisis our country is currently
facing, excessive employer auditing and mandatory use of the E-Verify
system add an additional burden to businesses and employers as they
are being forced to lay off thousands of workers; and
WHEREAS, Companies such as Overhill Farms, American Apparel, Farmer
Johns, and Micro Solutions, among others, have been drastically
affected by the aggressive enforcement of immigration laws; and
WHEREAS, Raids, employer audits, and mandatory use of the E-Verify
system harm immigrants, their employers, their communities, and our
economy and are disruptive to communities where immigrants have
settled and contribute to the growth of local communities; and
WHEREAS, Trying to deport 10 million undocumented immigrants would
cost at least $206 billion over 5 years, according to a study by the
Center for American Progress; and
WHEREAS, If workers targeted by these enforcement efforts were removed
from the workforce, the effects would ripple through many industries
as they would face substantial shortages of workers; and
WHEREAS, We cannot speak of resolving the current economic crisis, or
important health or security concerns, without addressing the
interwoven issue of immigration; and
WHEREAS, The recent actions of ICE run counter to the principles of
this country, which was founded on immigration and where early Irish,
Italian, Asian, and African American families founded some of the
country’s most important institutions; and
WHEREAS, The increase and severity of ICE’s actions in our country
only underscores the absolute ineffectiveness of current federal
immigration policy and the urgent need for comprehensive immigration
reform; and
WHEREAS, Our current immigration system is broken and greatly in need
of reform. In order to create real, long- lasting reform, we must
create a pathway to legal status for the millions of undocumented
immigrants who have made lives for themselves and their families in
the United States; and
WHEREAS, After a meeting between President Barack Obama, Canadian
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon
in Guadalajara, Mexico, President Obama announced that immigration
reform legislation will have to wait until 2010; and
WHEREAS, If reform is not possible this year, relief in the form of a
moratorium on employer sanctions, raids, deportations, the use of E-
Verify, and prolonged detention for immigration-related offenses is
absolutely necessary to maintain stability in our communities and to
minimize economic disruption. A moratorium on the Obama enforcement
strategy will provide temporary relief from the policies and practices
that are tearing up the integrity and unity of our families and at the
same time provide the federal government the necessary time to
propose, debate, and enact comprehensive immigration reform; and
WHEREAS, Without a balanced approach on immigration and economic
recovery, security planning, public health, and the lives of 12 to 18
million people will remain in limbo; and WHEREAS, Former federal
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently announced that one of her
biggest regrets during her term of service for the Bush administration
was not achieving immigration reform. She also stated immigrants were
critical to the country’s financial health, and that reform was needed
to fuel the next round of economic growth, referring to immigrants as
“one of the strongest elements not only of our national wealth, but
also of our national soul”; and
WHEREAS, We are a nation of immigrants that continues to be a beacon
of hope and liberty, attracting the best and brightest from across the
globe who fight to start a better life in our country and take part in
the American dream; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and
the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature
hereby condemns the excessive employer audits, mandatory use of the E-
Verify system, immigration raids, arrests, detentions, and
deportations of undocumented immigrants conducted by the federal
Department of Homeland Security, through the Bureau of Immigration and
Customs Enforcement; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature
urges Congress and the President of the United States to declare an
immediate moratorium on the aggressive, unprecedented enforcement of
employer sanctions, including excessive audits of profiled companies
that hire immigrants, the expanded use of the E-Verify system, the
federal system of employment verification, the expansion of police-ICE
collaboration, and immigration raids in the State of California, until
our nation can enact and implement a comprehensive and just reform of
our immigration laws with a comprehensive immigration program that
recognizes the broad contributions immigrants have made to the fabric
of the country; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the
Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and the
Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and to each Senator and representative from
California in the Congress of the United States.
