IAF STATEMENT ON TODAY'S EXECUTIVE ORDER

Joe Rubio, IAF, Co-Director, West/Southwest Region:  602-350-4589

Elizabeth Valdez, IAF, Senior Organizer, West/South Region: 832-651-7505

 
The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) condemns today’s Executive Order that prohibits undocumented residents residing in the US from responding to the census.   This is an order designed to sow fear and mistrust between peoples and becomes a matter of life and death as the US battles a deadly pandemic.
 
This is un-American and unconstitutional.  The measure is timed to stoke partisan resentments, distracting attention from a major public health crisis, of which minorities, people of color, and essential workers are disproportionately bearing the brunt. 
 
We implore all public officials from both parties to speak out against this effort to dehumanize whole segments of people in our communities.  This is an affront to the dignity and personhood of the most vulnerable in our midst.  Fear will drive immigrants further into the shadows at the exact time that they most need to be able to trust government, public health, and law enforcement.