The Message
We will send this message to Cecilia Munoz and the White House
Dear Ms. Muñoz:
We know that before joining the Obama Administration, you made a career out of defending the rights of immigrants. You know our struggles and you have been a witness to the terrible pain that the failed immigration system has inflicted on our community. Families torn apart, children left parentless, rampant racial profiling and a climate of hate that has left our youth with a sense that they and their parents are somehow less worthy of the American Dream than their classmates.
When you were appointed the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs of the Obama Administration, we applauded. When we heard the announcement that you'd been appointed the President’s right hand person on immigration policy, we thought that was a positive step.
However, since your appointment it has become clear that your true role at the White House is to serve as the chief Latina defender of immigration policies that have devastated our community. It has left us confused and heartbroken.
The data shows that the pace of deportations under the Obama Administration did not slow, but grew dramatically from day one and continues to grow to this day.
The record shows that decisions were made early in the Obama Administration to expand shameful and discredited programs like Secure Communities (S-COMM) which rely on racial profiling to rip families apart.
In 2008, you left your job as an advocate for the Latino community to work in the White House. Ms. Muñoz, it is time for you to come home to your community. It is time to tell the truth and stop defending the indefensible.
We hereby call on you to renounce the discredited S-COMM program and to resume your previous role as a forceful voice for justice rather than your current role as a defender of S-COMM and other policies that wreak havoc in the lives of our communities.
