Family Unity Act introduced to protect immigrant families

Technical fix would lead to protect more families

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KYMA, KECY) - On December 9, three representatives, including Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), introduced the Family Unity Act to ensure due process for immigrant families.

“Families deserve to stay together,” said Rep. Grijalva. “The Family Unity Act will provide an important clarification to immigration law and provide clarification for our court system and ensure due process. I am proud to-co-lead this effort to ensure families remain together.”

This act would help certain interpretations of a phrase used in the Immigration and Nationality Act.

“Our immigration system is broken and the fact that we have federal agencies ignoring settled case law is indictive of needed change,” stated Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-13). “The unjustified, expansive interpretation of this INA section that has provided ICE with the ability to rip immigrant families apart without due process. This has put faith-institutions in the predicament of being accused of harboring fugitives when they are just providing shelters to families who want a better life in the United States. I’m thankful for Reps. Grijalva and Johnson’s leadership and partnership on this bill.”

A technical fix in the bill would lead to more families being protected, as the scope of how the bill was interpreted led to some confusion.

“As a nation founded on the principles of humanity, kindness, and dignity towards all human life, we should be doing everything in our power to keep immigrant families together -- not tear them apart,” said Rep. Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04). “Our nation was founded as a refuge to the tired, the poor and the huddled masses who simply yearned to breathe freedom. That’s why I’m proud to introduce the Family Unity Act with leaders like Reps. Tlaib and Grijalva, so we can provide due process to families facing deportation and ultimately separation from their loved ones.”