Los Angeles, CA – The House of Representatives passed the Reconciliation Bill this week signaling a reign of terror on immigrant communities nationally by significantly increasing the immigration enforcement apparatus and by proposing steep cuts to healthcare and wellbeing program serving children, families, and working individuals to fill the pockets of the wealthy and powerful with tax cuts. The following statement can be attributed to Angelica Salas, Executive Director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA): “In an unprecedented move, GOP House members have voted to unleash terror upon immigrant communities everywhere. The House approved a $150 billion budget increase to help President Trump accomplish his cruel immigration agenda. Based on what we have seen in the first 100 days of the Administration, this would signify a significant increase in lawlessness and cruelty. The Administration will continue executing disappearances, arrests, and deportations of millions of immigrants who live and contribute positively to their communities. In addition to putting the deportation machine on steroids without any checks and balances, the budget slashes services in health care, food and nutrition, education, and other safety net programs for millions of the most vulnerable in our nation. And to what purpose? To give tax breaks to, and fill the pockets of, the wealthy and powerful and to please mega corporations who will also benefit from this taking from the needy to reward the greedy. This budget is a horrible testament to the Trump Administration’s misguided and elitist agenda making some sectors of the most powerful even richer and damning everyone else. A nation’s budget reflects its values and priorities. This is one of the most warped, cruel, and destructive budgets in our nation’s history and we urge the Senate to strike down this budget and call to question the disturbing pathway this Administration wants to drag us down, regardless of price, lives lost, and communities destroyed.” # # # | 
