The Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs (CHA) was created by a Governor's Executive Order and established in statute in 1971. As mandated by the state legislature, the Commission's functions are to improve public policy development and the delivery of government services to the Hispanic community through the following means:
1. Identifying and defining issues concerning the rights and needs of Washington State's Hispanic Community.
2. Advising the Governor and state agencies on the development of relevant policies, plans and programs that affect Hispanics.
3. Advising the legislature on issues of concern to the state's Hispanic community.
4. Establishing relationships with state agencies, local governments, and members of the private sector.
WHEREAS, the United States is a country rich with a history of immigrant contribution, dedication, and sacrifice;
WHEREAS, Latino immigrants risk their lives to cross the border to work in under-appreciated, low-paying, and often dangerous jobs;
WHEREAS, the economy of our country, particularly the agricultural industry, depends on the work of Latino undocumented immigrants;
WHEREAS, current immigration policy divides families, stifles the rights of workers, drives communities underground; and threatens the overall health of our country;
LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Commission advises our Congressional delegation on the necessity of a comprehensive immigration reform, a reform that addresses the barriers faced by all immigrants to our country, the recently-arrived, the long-term resident, and those to come in the future; the farmworker and the non-farm worker; the families of immigrants that reside within the United States and those outside the United States; and a reform that recognizes the dignity of work, and protects the immigrant worker and family just as all other workers are protected.
