FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: W. Patrick Bryan
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PARSIPPANY, NJ — A resolution drafted and passed at Lambda Theta Phi’s National Convention in Miami Beach, FL states disappointment with the inaction of Congress and the Supreme Court to address needed immigration reform in the United States. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s split decision on Thursday, many members of the Fraternity found it necessary for the organization to draft a resolution speaking out against the federal government’s continued complicit support of policies that divide families, endanger human beings and the stability of immigrant communities:
WHEREAS Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. is an organization formed to advance identity and equality,
WHEREAS the U.S. Congress has not passed, or considered, any comprehensive reforms to U.S. immigration policy,
WHEREAS the U.S. Supreme Court has been held hostage to a dysfunctional senate that will not consider the president’s nominee to fill the Court’s vacant seat,
WHEREAS a vacant seat in the Supreme Court has allowed the Court to render a decision without actually rendering a decision at all,
WHEREAS inaction on the behalf of the U.S. Congress and U.S. Supreme Court are tantamount to a complicit support of existing dehumanizing laws and policies,
WHEREAS over 11 million human beings are undocumented in the United States and forced into the shadows of American society as a result of their undocumented status,
WHEREAS there is no logical reason undocumented human beings must be, or stay, undocumented when steps toward a solution could easily be developed and voted upon by Congress,
WHEREAS Lambda Theta Phi is a Latin Fraternity comprised of many, but not limited to, Latino members,
WHEREAS many brothers of Lambda Theta Phi are directly impacted by the effects of the dysfunctional U.S. immigration system,
BE IT RESOLVED that Lambda Theta Phi, and the delegates present at the 2016 National Convention in Miami Beach, FL representing Latin@ college students and alumni from over 140 American institutions of higher education; professions as diverse as the arts, sciences, business, engineering, education, medicine and law; and brothers with political affiliations that span beyond the Democrat/Republican and liberal/conservative partisan binaries voice disappointment and disapproval with the Supreme Court and U.S. Congress’ inability to consider and/or pass common sense immigration reform measures.
Although the case, United States v. Texas, is largely focused on the powers of the executive with the DAPA executive order as a vehicle for a ruling, the effect of the ruling is that Latin@s and other undocumented human beings are being used as a pawn in partisan politics that are largely unrelated to immigration reform.
“Although the Fraternity does not issue political stances, it does advocate for human rights and dignity: both of which were at stake here with this case,” said José G. Grajales, National President.
Lambda Theta Phi as a national organization has been involved in advocating for undocumented human beings for many decades, with the most recent action being the development of the Lambdas for Immigration Reform program focusing on education and action in support of the humanitarian crisis that is the dysfunctional U.S. immigration system.
Founded on December 1, 1975 at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. is the first nationally recognized Greek-letter organization founded as a Latin fraternity. The membership of Lambda Theta Phi is open to all college men who support its values of scholarship, respect for all cultures, community service, and the advancement and fair treatment of Latin@s in the United States. Lambda Theta Phi was the first Latin Fraternity to be recognized by the North-American Inter-Fraternity Conference (NIC) and has over 160 Chapters and Colonies across the United States. More information about Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. can be found at www.Lambda1975.org.