LANSING — State Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D-Dearborn) has introduced a resolution asking Congress and the Michigan Legislature to adopt compassionate, responsible immigration practices instead of those that lead to discrimination and exclusion. The resolution is in response recent executive orders that infringe on the constitutional rights of Michigan residents, and threaten local governments that don’t comply with federal immigration authorities.
“Policies like these go against the principles of inclusion and diversity that America claims to stand for,” said Hammoud, whose parents emigrated from Lebanon separately and met in the U.S. “Dearborn, in particular, thrives on its cultural vibrancy and diversity in very large part due to its immigration population.”
Hammoud’s resolution points out that policies like last week’s executive orders not only perpetuate negative and inaccurate stereotypes about immigrants, they undermine the mission of state governments to provide the fair and effective administration of justice. Local law enforcement agencies operating as immigration agents can destabilize the relationship between those agencies and the communities they serve.
“There is no America without immigrants. The cultures and ideas from people all over the world have made our country great,” said Hammoud. “Gov. Rick Snyder has extolled the virtues of immigration for Michigan, and I fully agree with him. I hope my colleagues will as well.”