Dear Representative:

On behalf of the 60 affiliated unions of the AFL-CIO, I urge you to oppose the No Bailout For Sanctuary Cities Act (H.R. 5717). This bill would threaten jobs and harm working families by denying many states, cities, and localities billions of dollars in federal funds for essential services.

This bill would force state and local governments to choose between protecting their residents or undermining services that provide for the health, safety, education, and economic wellbeing of their constituents. For many local and state benefits programs to be successful, it is critical that they extend to all community members, without exception. Creating exclusions based on immigration status would be unworkable, undesirable, and counter to the public good.

The provisions in H.R. 5717 would threaten federal funding for many of these vital services including education programs and grants for schools; food and nutrition programs such as the National School Lunch Program and funding for food banks; FEMA assistance; emergency Medicaid and funding for some public hospitals; transportation programs; programs for victims of domestic violence; and countless other programs on which our communities rely.

Not only are all of these programs crucial to the wellbeing of working families, but they are a critical source of employment for tens of thousands of workers across the country. Conditioning federal funding on increased immigration enforcement would place further strain on communities that are already struggling to welcome growing numbers of migrants humanely and with dignity. Now is the time for the federal government to provide additional support for cities and states across the country, rather than punish them for enacting community trust policies.

We urge you to protect jobs and safeguard communities by voting NO on H.R. 5717.

Sincerely,
Jody Calemine
Director, Government Affairs