Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) expressed their disappointment that President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act into law today.

Noting that the construction of 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border will do little to fix our broken immigration system or deal with the 12 million undocumented immigrants who live and work in this country, the leaders of the nation’s leading Latino organizations made the following comments:

Janet Murguía, President and CEO, NCLR
“This law doesn’t solve the immigration issue, it makes it worse. By authorizing 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border without appropriating any funding, this law reflects everything that is wrong with the immigration debate. It is a symbol of Congress’s and the Administration’s failure to achieve meaningful immigration reform.”

John Trasviña, Interim President and General Counsel, MALDEF
“The Secure Fence Act should be called the Secure Election Act. It is a travesty that Congress utterly failed in achieving comprehensive immigration reform and could only pass in its waning days a bill for a fence that will take years to complete and does nothing to address America’s immigration or labor needs. The President’s signing into law of this bill simply reiterates that failure.”

Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, NALEO
“The President committed himself to passing a fair and complete immigration package, but the border fence bill takes us farther away from achieving that goal. By signing the bill into law, he has clearly taken a step back from his commitment. We will continue to work with Congress and the President for effective immigration reform that recognizes the valuable contributions newcomers make to our nation’s economic and civic life.”

Brent Wilkes, Executive Director, LULAC
“The Latino community expected Congress to enact feasible and humane immigration policies that would restore the rule of law and enhance security, reunite families, protect workers, promote citizenship and civic participation, and help local communities. Instead, the House leadership played politics with the issue and ended up with this meaningless gesture.”

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