SAN DIEGO (January 11, 2017) – Today, Councilmember Alvarez joined a national letter signed by 60 local elected officials to President Obama calling on him to protect hundreds of thousands of immigrant families by issuing a pardon for lawfully present immigrants.

It kicks off a week where the President's legacy on immigration will be at stake, with confirmation hearings and a national day of action that will highlight his record of both deportation and protection.

The White House has rejected previous calls for pardons for undocumented immigrants, asserting that a pardon cannot be used to grant people lawful immigration status. However, for legally present immigrants who already have status, but who face the risk of deportation based on minor or old convictions, a presidential pardon could provide durable protection against the deportation program proposed by President-elect Trump.

Trump has proposed the most sweeping deportation program seen in decades and modeled after Operation Wetback in the 1950s.

Many of those who would be affected by the pardon were convicted of minor and nonviolent offenses, such as jumping a turnstile, decades ago. The letter joins elected officials with over 100 immigrant rights groups who made the same request to the President late last month.

"We must protect the legal permanent residents of our City," said Alvarez.

"President-elect Trump proposed a deportation plan modeled after Operation Wetback from the 1950s. Dividing families by recklessly deporting hundreds of thousands of legal permanent residents would be morally wrong and economically destructive."

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Lisa Maytorena Schmidt|Deputy Chief of Staff

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