NILC and The Leadership Conference Letter to the Honorable John Boehner

Recipient: The Honorable John Boehner

The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner,

On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write to express our concern about media reports that the House of Representatives plans to cite Attorney General Holder for contempt.  This action would unprecedented and unwarranted.  Therefore, we urge you not to take such a radical step.

During his tenure, Attorney General Holder has been a champion for civil rights, voting rights, consumer protections, and fair and just immigration enforcement.  Under his leadership the Department of Justice has reestablished its reputation for fairness and integrity by increasing the Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking; ensuring the rights of all Americans, including members of the military and overseas civilians, to vote; negotiating settlements with banks that had preyed on Latino and African American homeowners; and, challenging discriminatory laws, such as S.B. 1070 which unfairly target Latino individuals and immigrant communities.  These issues impact the daily lives of millions of Americans and are of pressing importance.

We understand that certain members of Congress may want additional information from the Department of Justice; however, we would ask that you encourage those members to work with the Department to obtain the information they seek, rather than rushing to cite the Attorney General for contempt. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Don Lyster with the National Immigration Law Center at 202-384-1279 or Lisa Bornstein with The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights at 202-263-2856.

Sincerely,

A. Philip Randolph Institute

CASA de Maryland

Center for Community Change

CHIRLA – The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles

Japanese American Citizens League

Latino Justice PRLDEF

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

National Association of Human Rights Workers

National Association of Social Workers

National Fair Housing Alliance

National Immigration Law Center (NILC)

Poverty & Race Research Action Council

Somos America Coalition

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)

Cc: The Honorable Eric Cantor

The Honorable Darrell Issa

The Honorable Elijah Cummings

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

The Honorable Steny Hoyer