MARYLAND DEMOCRATS THREATEN FUNDING OF IMMIGRANT RIGHTS GROUP THAT CALLED FOR GAZA CEASEFIRE – By Prem Thakker (The Intercept) / Nov 9, 2023
CASA, which receives state funding for its work with immigrants, had apologized for its statement even before the lawmakers’ threat.
A GROUP OF Democratic state senators in Maryland is threatening to strip state funding for an immigrant rights group after it called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and condemned the “utilization of US tax dollars to promote the ongoing violence.”
The nine lawmakers who represent Montgomery County — Maryland’s most populous county — said in a statement on Wednesday that the remarks by CASA were “hurtful, divisive, and antisemitic.”
CASA is a Maryland-based advocacy organization that also provides services for the state’s immigrant communities, and it receives millions of dollars from the state and local governments to do that work. The Democratic delegation, whose members sit on influential committees in the state legislature, suggested that it may cease state support for the organization. “This might be an appropriate time to reevaluate the state’s mechanism for providing financial aid and support to our immigrant community,” the senators wrote. “More specifically, we must ensure that public funds are not being used to promote antisemitism and Jewish hate.”
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