MICA Statement on Executive Actions Offering Relief Options to Undocumented Immigrants:
MICA Project statement on formation of Missouri Interim Committee on Illegal Immigrant Crimes
August 30, 2024
As the largest not-for-profit immigration legal services provider in the St. Louis region, the MICA Project
unequivocally rejects the formation of the Missouri House of Representatives Interim Committee on
Illegal Immigrant Crimes. This committee aims to target undocumented immigrants across the state.
We should collectively work to strengthen the fabric of our community by ensuring that our institutions
and public spaces are entities that all of us can trust. Instead of doing this work, this committee seeks to
erode trust within our community by working with law enforcement agencies to target undocumented
immigrants. This strategy will ensure that immigrant families and individuals will further distrust the
institutions that are supposed to be in place to protect our communities, and ultimately make our
communities less safe.
At a time when Missouri is experiencing a critical decline in population, we should be looking inward,
asking ourselves hard questions, and working to ensure that our policies and institutions make this a
region that people want to call home. Instead, efforts like the formation of this committee further target
those who have already chosen to call Missouri home.
Further, the justification for the formation of this committee rests on flawed and downright poor
reasoning. First, the press advisory that announced the committee cites a series of “high profile cases” of
crimes committed by undocumented immigrants. We know that certain cases gain a high profile due to
political motivations, racial animus, and pre-existing stereotypes in the media. The fact that a case
becomes widely covered does not mean that there is a real and material pattern to be afraid of.
Second, some of the cases highlighted in the press advisory, and which have been used to justify the
formation of this committee, are currently being litigated. By citing them in this way, the committee is
irresponsibly playing judge and jury in the court of public opinion to demonize an entire subset of our
community.
Third, and most importantly, the committee is justifying its own creation using national data out of
context and simply incorrectly. When we focus on the state of Missouri, which members of the Missouri
House of Representatives should be doing, we see that violent crime in the state has decreased year after
year since 2021. What becomes evident is that the committee is seeking to create a problem in order to
target a specific immigrant population. In so doing, committee members have demonstrated an
embarrassing inability to understand basic statistics and have unintentionally revealed the racist
motivations behind this unnecessary spectacle.
This is simply not good governance. Missourians should be united to solve problems, not create false
narratives for political gain. The MICA Project opposes the premises of this committee and will continue
working to send the message that immigrants are welcome here.
As the largest not-for-profit immigration legal services provider in the St. Louis region, the MICA Project
unequivocally rejects the formation of the Missouri House of Representatives Interim Committee on
Illegal Immigrant Crimes. This committee aims to target undocumented immigrants across the state.
We should collectively work to strengthen the fabric of our community by ensuring that our institutions
and public spaces are entities that all of us can trust. Instead of doing this work, this committee seeks to
erode trust within our community by working with law enforcement agencies to target undocumented
immigrants. This strategy will ensure that immigrant families and individuals will further distrust the
institutions that are supposed to be in place to protect our communities, and ultimately make our
communities less safe.
At a time when Missouri is experiencing a critical decline in population, we should be looking inward,
asking ourselves hard questions, and working to ensure that our policies and institutions make this a
region that people want to call home. Instead, efforts like the formation of this committee further target
those who have already chosen to call Missouri home.
Further, the justification for the formation of this committee rests on flawed and downright poor
reasoning. First, the press advisory that announced the committee cites a series of “high profile cases” of
crimes committed by undocumented immigrants. We know that certain cases gain a high profile due to
political motivations, racial animus, and pre-existing stereotypes in the media. The fact that a case
becomes widely covered does not mean that there is a real and material pattern to be afraid of.
Second, some of the cases highlighted in the press advisory, and which have been used to justify the
formation of this committee, are currently being litigated. By citing them in this way, the committee is
irresponsibly playing judge and jury in the court of public opinion to demonize an entire subset of our
community.
Third, and most importantly, the committee is justifying its own creation using national data out of
context and simply incorrectly. When we focus on the state of Missouri, which members of the Missouri
House of Representatives should be doing, we see that violent crime in the state has decreased year after
year since 2021. What becomes evident is that the committee is seeking to create a problem in order to
target a specific immigrant population. In so doing, committee members have demonstrated an
embarrassing inability to understand basic statistics and have unintentionally revealed the racist
motivations behind this unnecessary spectacle.
This is simply not good governance. Missourians should be united to solve problems, not create false
narratives for political gain. The MICA Project opposes the premises of this committee and will continue
working to send the message that immigrants are welcome here.
Working Together
The MICA Project works with immigrant communities to address the issues affecting people's lives. We work with community members and leaders to determine what these issues are and to decide how to address them.
Community Advisory Panel
The MICA Project seeks the input of immigrant community members as it plans its programming. If you are interested in providing feedback or participating in a Community Advisory Panel meeting, please contact Jessica at [email protected].
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Grassroots CommunityThe goal of the MICA Project is to not only be a resource for the community, but also to be part of that community. This grassroots philosophy serves as the foundation for our organization and helps to focus our efforts on the promotion of human dignity through a variety of strategies.
Community Outreach
Here are some of the ways the MICA Project works in and with our immigrant communities:
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