Midwinter III

On January 20, 2007, REFORMA The Association to Promote Library Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking approved a Resolution in Support or immigrant Rights. It will be presented to the
COL and it is expected to be taken before Council.

I had the opportunity to present the resolution before Intellectual Freedom Committee and the Intellectual Freedom Round Table. These bodies gave their support to the resolution! Other ALA units, committees, and affiliates support this resolution as well.

Resolution in Support of Immigrant Rights 

WHEREAS, America’s immigrants are a strong and valuable part of the social fabric of this nation, and

WHEREAS, The ALA Library of Bill of Rights states that the person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views; and

WHEREAS, In 2006, the 109^th House of Representatives passed the Sensenbrenner Bill (H.R. 4437) which would have made felons out of undocumented immigrants if the law had stood, denying them any human, civil, working, or due process rights and seeking to make criminals out of people – including librarians – who aid undocumented immigrants; and

WHEREAS, This legislation set a precedent for a resurgence of anti-immigration action, such as the December 12, 2006 Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Raids; and

WHEREAS, This anti-immigration sentiment has resulted in funding cutbacks directly affecting library programs, services, and collections that would likely be utilized by the immigrant community; and

WHEREAS, This is a direct violation of the ALA Library Bill of Rights and Policy #60 on Minority Concerns, which states that “The ALA promotes equal access to information for all persons and recognizes the urgent need to respond to the increasing awareness of diversity among Americans; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That ALA strongly supports the protection of each person’s civil liberties, regardless of that individual’s nationality, residency, or status; and be it further

RESOLVED, That ALA opposes any legislation that infringes on immigrants’ rights to use library resources, programs, and services on national, state, and local levels.