Ward Connerly, Chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute, along with 25 national and local leaders in the movement to end race preferences, signed an open letter for publication in the Washington Times calling on Congress to exempt immigrants that might be naturalized by the immigration legislation currently before the United States Senate from receiving preferences based on race, sex, national origin, or color.

Below is an excerpt from the open letter that was published in the Washington Times:

Immigration and race preferences cannot be considered in isolation. Under existing laws and policies, the majority of immigrants coming to America will automatically be eligible for race preferences and privileges not provided to the great majority of Americans. This is unfair.

We the undersigned hold a variety of views on the immigration issue but we are united in conviction that each individual should be judged on his or her merits. Accordingly, we believe any legislation addressing immigration should make explicit that while immigrants and their descendants should be afforded the right to compete fairly and freely in every aspect of American life, they should receive no special benefit on the basis of race, ethnicity or national origin.

Ward Connerly joined 25 leaders from around the country on the ongoing debate surrounding race preferences in signing the letter. He pointed out that, although the individual members of the group hold many diverse opinions on the overall immigration debate, and that the group is not in any way endorsing the current bill, they are united in their staunch support of adding a provision to any immigration bill that would prevent any individuals granted citizenship from receiving preferences based solely on physical characteristics.

The American Civil Rights Institute is a national civil rights organization created to educate the public on the harms of racial and gender preferences.