Los grupos que defienden los derechos de los inmigrantes en Estados Unidos multiplican acciones de cabildeo en el Congreso para pedir a los senadores que introduzcan modificaciones al proyecto de ley de reforma migratoria que resolvieron comenzar a debatir el lunes.

Algunas de estas agrupaciones organizaron este martes un evento en salas del Congreso para pedir cambios al proyecto, menos de 24 horas despu?de que el Senado abriera formalmente el debate sobre una iniciativa de ley que es producto de un acuerdo de democratas y republicanos, con apoyo de la Casa Blanca.

WHEREAS, the war on drugs has failed: every community in the US contends with the harmful effects of drug misuse and related problems, and while states have continually increased their expenditures to wage the war on drugs, policies which rely heavily on arrest and incarceration have proved costly and ineffective at addressing these issues and;

WHEREAS, the war on drugs is a major force driving the incarceration of over 2.3 million people in the United States, with Latinos disproportionately represented in our country's overflowing jails and prisons and;

WHEREAS, many states, like California, are facing crippling prison overcrowding crises, fueled by the over-incarceration of nonviolent individuals, especially people of color and;

WHEREAS, the war on drugs perpetuates mandatory minimums, felony disfranchisement, disproportionate over-incarceration, poor access to healthcare, under funded public education, widespread unemployment, and the general criminalization of communities of color in the US and;

WHEREAS, paying for the war on drugs means spending limited tax dollars on failed policies instead of proven solutions. Americans spend approximately $140 billion annually on prisons and jails including $24 billion spent on incarcerating over 1.2 million non-violent offenders. In many states (such as New York and California), spending on prisons far surpasses spending on education and;

WHEREAS, harm reduction strategies, including access to affordable community-based drug treatment, HIV Prevention, along with educational and economic opportunities, have shown to be successful at reducing the harms of drug misuse, yet more than half of those Americans in need of drug treatment do not have access to it and;

WHEREAS, Latinos are less likely to sell or misuse illicit drugs than white Americans, yet Latinos experience highly disproportionate levels of death, disease, crime and suffering due both to drug misuse and to misguided drug policies.

WHEREAS, our common goal is to advocate those policies which increase the health and welfare of our communities, and to reduce the unacceptable racial disparities both in criminal justice and in access to drug treatment and other services and;

WHEREAS, taking steps to reduce the incarceration of non-violent offenders and increasing the availability of treatment not only makes fiscal sense, but is sound public policy that is being implemented in states throughout the country (such as Maryland and California) and;

WHEREAS, this November, California voters will have the opportunity to reduce the incarceration of nonviolent offenders by voting yes on Proposition 5 -- the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act -- which will provide effective, community-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate drug treatment and supportive services to nonviolent offenders instead of prison; provide rehabilitation services to prisoners and parolees; prevent parolees from being returned to prison for minor violations; and ensure that youth inside and outside the criminal justice system are given early and effective treatment to prevent future addiction and crime and;

WHEREAS, we believe that nonviolent substance abusers are not menaces to our communities but rather a troubled yet integral part of our community who need to be reclaimed

1. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE National Latino Congreso, ASSEMBLED IN Los Angeles California, July 18-20, 2008 that the Latino Congreso:

Introduce and support legislation which will repeal mandatory minimum sentences, divert nonviolent drug offenders out of prison and into community-based treatment, and stop the flow of people needing treatment or transitional services from recidivating solely for positive urines. Ensure that this new legislation includes quantifiable, measurable goals, and is measured by a standard that reduces the effects of substance abuse and addiction and the harm of unjust drug policies while increasing public safety, thereby creating a New Bottom Line. Create state task forces to research and report on the allocation of state expenditures for all public education and health services and the war on drugs so that states can understand the real cost of the war on drugs in the state budgets and in their communities. Work with the Drug Policy Alliance to create seminars that provide a thorough overview on harm reduction principles and legislative initiatives.

2. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution seeks to advance a drug policy agenda that prioritizes a public health, not a criminal justice approach, to drug policy.

3. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Latino Congreso officially endorses the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act of 2008, Proposition 5 on the California ballot in November, as the first opportunity in the nation to implement this resolution’s recommendations by providing treatment instead of incarceration, by reforming sentencing and parole so that nonviolent offenders do not cycle in and out of prison for relapse or technical violations, and by creating a statewide system of treatment for youth at high risk.