Statewide Latino Advocacy Day - Pennsylvania: SB 9 Committee Vote Tomorrow

Tomorrow, February 12, 2008, the Pennsylvania Senate will be voting on SB 9, a bill requiring identification of lawful presence in the United States as a prerequisite to the receipt of public benefits. On Statewide Latino Advocacy Day we urged our legislators to view immigration as a federal issue. Now we are urging you to contact your senators and voice your opposition to this bill.

Below, we have included a sample letter provided by Community Legal Services, Inc. that advocates for the opposition of this bill. Join us – continue to have your voice heard! Cut and paste this letter into a word processing document, sign it, and fax it to your state senator today! Find your Senator here.

February 11, 2008

To: Members of the Senate State Government Committee

Hon. Jeffrey E. Piccola , Chair (Fax: (717) 896-7717)

Hon. Mike Folmer, Vice Chair (Fax: (717) 274-7702)

Hon. Anthony H. Williams, Minority Chair (Fax: (717) 772-0574)

Hon. Michael W. Brubaker (Fax: (717) 783-3156)

Hon. Jake Corman (Fax: (717) 772-3146)

Hon. Wayne D. Fontana (Fax: (717) 772-5484)

Hon. Vincent J. Hughes (Fax: (717) 772-0579)

Hon. Charles T. McIlhinney (Fax: (717) 783-5962)

Hon. Terry L. Punt (Fax: (717) 772-2753)

Hon. Christine M. Tartaglione (Fax: (717) 787-7439)

Re: Senate Bill 9 Scheduled for Committee vote 2/12/08

Dear Senators:

On Tuesday, February 12, the Senate State Government Committee will vote on Senate Bill 9, a bill requiring submission of government-issued ID as a condition of receiving a wide variety of public benefits. We urge you to vote no on this bill.

This bill would harm tens of thousands of low-income Pennsylvanians – citizens and legal immigrants alike – who lack government-issued ID or cannot easily get it. A study by New York University Law School’s Brennan Center for Justice in November 2006 found that 11% of all U.S. citizens do not have government-issued ID; 15% of citizens earning less than $35,000 per year lack government-issued ID; and 25% of adult African-American citizens lack government-issued ID. These Pennsylvanians, including victims of crime and domestic violence whose IDs have been stolen, are your constituents. The amendments that we understand will be offered to this bill do nothing to address this core problem.

At the same time, SB 9 would accomplish little or nothing. This bill’s intended targets – immigrants who are not lawfully present in the U.S. – are already ineligible for all major benefit programs. And no evidence has been presented of a problem with ineligible immigrants improperly receiving public benefits. At the State Government Committee’s October 17, 2007 hearing on this bill, no group or individual stepped forward with any evidence – not even one anecdotal example -- of undocumented individuals improperly receiving public benefits in Pennsylvania. No state-wide organization gave unqualified support for the bill. Almost all those submitting testimony were strongly opposed to it.