Detainer Compliance Bill Testimony of Monica Kamen
DC City Council hearings, January 13 2012

My name is Monica Kamen. I’m a community organizer  with Jews United for Justice, a Washington-based volunteer-driven organization that  represents thousands of people in the local Jewish community who are fighting for social and economic justice in the DC area.  The work of Jews United for Justice is founded on the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, repairing the world, which teaches us that we have a responsibility to stand up for the principles of justice, fairness, and dignity, both within and outside of our community.

We are also a community descended from immigrants. My own great-grandparents came to this country in the beginning of the 20th century, fleeing religious persecution in Russia and looking for greater economic opportunity here in America. They settled in South Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maine, and though speaking only Russian and Yiddish, they opened up small businesses and worked tirelessly to provide for their families. Ultimately, they prospered, and my family became fully integrated Americans, many of whom served in the military during World War II.

My story is very typical of the Jewish community here in America.  Because of our community’s immigration history, combined with the Biblical mandate not to oppress immigrants in our midst, we care deeply that today’s immigrant communities receive the same protections and opportunities that our own families received when they immigrated to America.  The Immigration Detainer Compliance Act will help move DC one step closer toward that goal.

This Act is about restoring basic fairness to the treatment of immigrant communities here in DC, helping  to mitigate the harm already done by the Secure Communities program, which causes more harm to our immigrant communities than it secures them. It will also help keep DC’s families together, as they should be, by slowing the rapid and unnecessary deportation of the hard-working immigrant parents of American-born children.  Most critically, the Immigration Detainer Compliance Act will restore public trust in our criminal justice system, allowing the police to focus on their rightful job of keeping our city safe and secure, rather than forcing them to do the job of Federal immigration policy enforcement.  

We trust that you will do the right thing and do everything in your power to protect DC’s immigrant communities and families, as well as all of us who live in DC.  Thank you for your time and your thoughtful consideration.