The Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act, sponsored by Rep. Heath Shuler, is moving through the House, and Republicans are attempting to pass around a discharge petition to bring it back to the floor again. The SAVE Act is a harsh piece of legislation that furthers the myth of enforcement and does little to address the complicated circumstances that cause migrants to come here and stay, nor does it address the unique situation of young people brought to and brought up in the United States illegally. Here are a few things that the SAVE Act would do:

• Criminalize friends and family members of undocumented immigrants, as well as humanitarian aid workers, by targeting anyone who:

`(1)(A) Whoever, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an individual is an alien who lacks lawful authority to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowingly--

`(i) brings that individual to the United States in any manner whatsoever regardless of any future official action which may be taken with respect to such alien;

`(ii) recruits, encourages, or induces that individual to come to, enter, or reside in the United States;

`(iii) transports or moves that individual in the United States, in furtherance of their unlawful presence; or

`(iv) harbors, conceals, or shields from detection the individual in any place in the United States, including any building or any means of transportation, or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished as provided in subparagraph (C).

There's even a part for people like me. Yay. 

(C) A violator of this paragraph shall, for each alien in respect to whom such a violation occurs--

`(ii) if the offense involved the transit of the defendant's spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, or niece or nephew, and the offense is not described in any of clauses (iii) through (vii), be fined under title 18, United States Code or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both;

 So, I could be imprisoned for one year just for taking my husband to work. They basically want to turn us against our families. Just one more form of tearing families apart.

• Makes the E-Verify system, which is riddled with problems, mandatory for all employers.
• Turn local police into immigration enforcement officers.
• Throw more money at the border wall.
• Build more detention centers.

Democratic Rep. Joe Baca of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus intends to add on an amendment which would offer undocumented migrants a five year visa, but we do not know if the amendment could be added or what would happen after the five years were up.

The SAVE Act is everything that is wrong with our immigration conversation. It attacks the symptom, not the problem. It destroys the people who are often simply the victims of circumstance, forced to make a difficult decision that American citizens should thank their stars they will never have to be faced with. We cannot let this pass. Call your representative and ask them not to sign the petition to bring back the SAVE Act.