After the inclusion of the REAL Id Act in President Bush's latest supplemental budget request for the Iraq war, the Michigan Organizing Project (MOP) used a press conference Thursday to call for genuine immigration reform rather than anti-immigrant legislation such as the REAL Id Act. The REAL Id Act has been criticized for provisions that link obtaining a driver's license with having a social security number, a provision that will deny some five million undocumented immigrants driver's licenses; in addition to other anti-immigrant provisions including denying due process for immigrants, waiving federal laws governing the construction of physical barriers to stop immigration, and requiring immigrants to carry identification at all times. The Real ID Act was strongly opposed by immigrant and civil rights groups, including the ACLU, who issued a statement outlining why they opposethe Act. Some states are considering challenging the new rules in court and possibly even disobeying them, due to the costs associated with the new system and questions about their effectiveness.

In light of the anti-immigrant REAL Id Act, the Michigan Organizing Project is calling for immigration reform and is supporting the recently proposed Kennedy-McCain Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. At yesterday's press conference, six different speakers including local religious leaders, immigrants, Mayor George Heartwell, and a MOP staff member spoke in support of the Kennedy-McCain bill and announcing a petition drive targeting Representative Vern Ehlers and Senator Carl Levin urging them to sponsor and vote for the Kennedy-McCain bill. The speakers repeatedly stressed that the United States is an immigrant society with a long tradition of immigration and that it is time to stop the criminalization of immigration and eliminate the constant fear of being deported that many immigrants face. Mayor Heartwell stressed that the citizens of Grand Rapids should "stand up for immigrants whenever and wherever we can," echoing comments he made at a march for immigrant rights organized last year by MOP.

Earlier this week, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops launched a campaign to pursue "justice for immigrants." The USCCB is calling for legislation built on four key principles:

• legalization for the undocumented
• expanded opportunities for legal entry for work and family reunification
• establishment of an appropriate and effective temporary workers program
• re-establishment of due process rights and other legal safeguards