Change.org's Immigration Blog

Students in California Fight Back Tuition Hikes

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-20T17:07:00-08:00

In response to the failed anti-immigrant tea parties last week, more than 60,000 people joined the call for immigration reform with Rep. Luis Gutierrez this past Wednesday. The momentum is clearly on the side for reforming America's broken immigration system.

Rep. Gutierrez reiterated his support for immigrant youth and even though he has yet to co-sponsor the DREAM Act, he clarified that his immigration reform bill would strengthen the DREAM Act, making it quicker and easier for undocumented students to legalize their status.

In the long run, undocumented youth don't just need legalization; all American students need access to affordable and quality public education. And that is why student activists across California occupied their schools this week to present a list of demands in response to the rising costs of public education, specifically the 32% tuition hike approved by the UC Regents.

AT UCLA, cops tasered and hit students with batons. The actions were repeated at Wheeler Hall in UC Berkeley. Reportedly, well over a hundred students have been arrested for protesting.

The majority of the students occupying halls at UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Santa Cruz are not undocumented, but providing a safe environment and accesss for undocumented students and workers is also high on the agenda.

In this AP video, UC Regent Mark Yudof deceptively points out that fee increases are only for those who earn above a certain income level, but he forgets that undocumented immigrant students in California are ineligible for financial aid to offset the increasing costs. Undocumented UC San Diego student, Facundo, testified yesterday as to how he would need to drop out of school in the face of new tuition increases.

For many undocumented students in California, the cost of college is already a prohibitive barrier to an education, with only 5-10 % of such students graduating with higher education degrees. Increasing tuition and fees does nothing to solve the state's budgetary problems caused by Prop 13, let alone provide affordable access to all qualifying students.

It is time to make higher education accessible to all students. Follow http://twitter.com/studentactivism/ucwalkout2 for latest information and updates on the situation unraveling in California as students fight back.

(Video Credit: asiu1990)

"I Think About Killing Myself Everyday"

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-20T12:21:00-08:00

[This week's guest Dream Act guest post is written by Lily, an undocumented student whose life took another course when her parents left behind a good life to come to the United States for her sibling. Visit Dreamactivist.org to find out how you can help pass the Dream Act and give students like Lily an opportunity to contribute to this country].

Back home my Dad was a pilot. My mom was a stay-at-home mother and was treated like a queen. I have a brother who is 14 months older than me. I always knew he was different. When playing hide and seek he could never find anyone, so I remember being loud on purpose so that he would find me. It was obvious he had learning problems, and one day we found out his teachers were beating him in school.

My parents had decided to come to California in order for my brother to have something to do through out his days, because it was obvious he could no longer attend school back home. My parents told my brother and I that we were going on vacation (which we always did.) I was 8 at the time and my brother was 9.

We got on a plane and came to California and we were enrolled in school immediately. I knew we weren't going back anytime soon. Life was hard. My parents hired an attorney to help us get our green cards. Little did we know that this guy was fake and not even an attorney. Things just took a turn for the worse from there.

My dad who was a pilot was now a truck driver. My mom started doing hair and has been ever since. Her legs are covered in veins, and she goes to work from 8 am sometimes until 11 pm everyday. My Dad doesn't have a job anymore and is depressed. He is a brilliant man who went to school in Oxford, became a pilot and for the past 4 years he has been sitting on the couch. I cry for him all the time.

I am now 24. I do not have an I.D., I do not have a driver's license. I cannot work. I think about killing myself everyday. They only thing that stops me is my brother. How could I leave him? He has no one. I go to bed crying. I wake up crying. I feel as though I was robbed. My life was stolen from me. I feel like I could have been at a higher place in my life at age 24. it drives me crazy thinking about it. I still cannot believe our lives ended up this way. It wasn't suppose to happen this way. I feel like a loser and feel that my entire life was a mistake.

We lost everything because my parents had a disabled child. All we wanted was to help a member of our family.

(Photo credit: CSUN DREAMS to be Heard)

Massachusetts Looks to Revive Instate-Tuition

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-19T12:07:00-08:00

Governor Deval Patrick is looking at another push to grant in-state tuition to undocumented students in Massachusetts as per the recommendations of a year-long study conducted on how to improve immigrant integration in Massachusetts.

In light of federal inaction on immigration, 11 states with growing immigrant populations have already approved in-state tuition for undocumented students who attend high school in those states.

More than 910,000 immigrants live in Massachusetts, which is 14 percent of the population, and the numbers are increasing. 1 in 5 immigrants—well below the national average—are currently residing in the state without legal status.

Anti-immigrant advocates are furious, given their recent string of dismal losses. They are screaming about the supposed additional tax-burden. In these ignorant spew of copy-paste words, ‘the taxpayer’ is constructed as some mono-lithic, angry, usually white American citizen shouldering the burden of free health care, welfare and now education for those damn ‘illegal aliens.’

Not a shred of credible evidence is presented to show how granting in-state tuition to undocumented students in Massachusetts would burden this monolithic taxpayer, assuming we grant the existence of such a being given that even undocumented immigrants pay taxes.

Fact Check: A 2009 report by the Institute for Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts found that immigrant-headed households paid $1.2 billion in Massachusetts state income taxes in 2005, $1.06 billion in local property taxes in 2007, and $346 million in sales and excise taxes in 2006.study by the Immigrant Learning Center shows that immigrants paid $1.2 billion in taxes to the state of Massachusetts in 2005. They also comprised 16.4% of the state income tax filers in 2005, higher than their 14.1% share of population, which demonstrates that they are more likely to file taxes than those 'native' to Massachusetts.

Fact Check: In-state tuition comes with a positive fiscal note. The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation conducted a study which indicates that the state could pull in an additional $2.5 million by allowing in-state tuition for undocumented student.

But if Massachusetts does pass in-state tuition, studies estimate that only up to 600 students could benefit from this proposal, which is too low a number to really affect college enrollment or roll-back the disparities between Whites and Latinos when it comes to attaining higher education degrees. It poses little cause for concern for taxpayers and college-enrolled students in Massachusetts.

In the past, Governor Deval Patrick has tried to find ways to bypass the Massachusetts legislature to enact this common-sense policy. Lets hope Governor Patrick does the right thing for the people of Massachusetts and initiates this policy.

(Photo Credit: Office of Governor Patrick)

Axelrod Backs Away from Committing to Immigration Reform in 2010

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-18T08:00:00-08:00

While we listen to Representative Luis Gutierrez giving yet another talk for immigration reform today, the Obama Administration has slowly backed away from a firm promise, which sends us mixed signals. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano is confident that Congress can take up immigration reform in early 2010 but David Axelrod, the top political advisor to President Obama, refused to make any such commitment when he appeared on the State of the Union this past Sunday with John King:

KING: The secretary of homeland security, Janet Napolitano, says you will, early next year, come forward with a plan for comprehensive immigration reform that would have a plan in it, a path in it for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in this country to have a pathway to status -- to legal status. Will you make the political commitment that no matter what the politics of January and February, the administration will go forward with this early next year?

AXELROD: John, what the president has said is, and he said it to both Republicans and Democratic members of Congress who have worked on this issue is, come to him, let's come together around something that both parties, or at least elements of both parties say they can agree on, so we don't reach the same impasse we've reached before and then he'll be willing to go forward on it.

I think some good work is being done on both sides of the aisle to achieve that. And Secretary Napolitano is getting that done. But what we want is a system that holds everybody responsible and everyone accountable.

[...]

If we can get a group together to give it the momentum to pass in Congress, then we're going to push forward with it.

In other words, don't expect President Obama to show leadership or spine on the issue of immigration reform and work actively to initiate change. He has squarely dropped the ball on Congress, which is unlikely to act without the pressure that DREAM Act-eligible youth, Ju Hong, talks about in this interview.

(Photo Credit: WhiteHouse Flickr PhotoStream, US Government Work)

Korean-American Student Shares More Than Secrets

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-17T19:00:00-08:00

Ju Hong, an undocumented student at Laney College, just launched his personal website (JoinJu.com) to garner support from the Korean American community for the DREAM Act and immigration reform. He has regularly given powerful speeches in support of this cause, taking grave risks to come out as an undocumented immigrant. Maria at DreamActivist remarks that Ju is not a spectator, but rather a gladiator for the cause. In his circles, Ju is known as 'The Beast.' I'll leave everyone to hear what Ju has to say.

1. What's your theory of change regarding immigration reform? How do you think we can make real change happen?

My theory of changing the course of immigration system is to pressure Senate and President Obama to pass the DREAM Act as well as comprehensive immigration reform. I believe that this is only way to solve our solutions because our representatives are the one who make ultimate decisions. So it’s really up to us how hard we can pressure Senate and President Obama to pass the DREAM Act.

However, this is not going to be easy. It takes time and dedication. There are several ways to pressure Senate and President Obama to make real change happen. One way is to educate other people and the community by having a workshop or a mini conference to bring social awareness and urge them to call/send letter to representatives. Second, share your story. You can always share your story in school, church, or local community to educate about our side of story. Third, join organizations and clubs to advocate about this issue. Lastly, embrace online blogs like facebook, myspace, wordpress, and twitter to reach out people and encourage them to support the DREAM Act. These are very important tactics and great effective ways to bring awareness and pressure senate and president Obama to be on our side. In short, we must come together and start to organize, mobilize, and take collective action to fix our current immigration reform. That’s the only way to make real change happen.

2. What initially led you to get involved in immigration activism?

I knew I had to do something when my mother was losing her job, and when my sister was dropping out of college. I didn’t have time to wait and wishing for politicians to do something for our family because our situations were getting worse. That’s when I initially get involved in immigration activism. First year in college, I began to join different organizations and participated in different activities to advocate about this issue. I spoke to various workshops and gave speeches to community and local churches.

3. What has inspired you to come out and be so open about your status, especially since most DREAMIEs who are speaking out publicly tend to be fighting deportation?

I, too, just like any other undocumented students, afraid to come out from the shadow. But if nobody else is going to come out, then who will? There are several reasons that I decided to come out from the shadow, and speak on behalf of undocumented students. First, I wanted to bring social awareness and educate other people about OUR situation. Secondly, I wanted to reach out organizations and other DREAMIE’s to build social network. Thirdly, I wanted to show examples and encourage other fellow DREAMIES to come out from the shadow and talk about their story. Lastly, foremost important reason why I decided to come out from the shadow is because it affects my mom, my sister, and me. I don’t want to sit and wait for another ten year to fix the broken immigration system. It’s challenging and risky to come out from the shadow, but I believe this is only way to gain our rights.

4. What do you say to those who ask you to go back to Korea?

It’s very hard-breaking when I hear these things from Korean American citizens. In fact, I had couple of Korean friends who asked me to go back to Korea. I was angry and felt betrayed by my own friends, but I knew they didn’t know my whole side of story. So next time, when other people ask me to go back to Korea, I would surely tell them to listen to our side of stories first before make a judgment call.

5. Your message for other undocumented students.

For the next couple of months, we have to come out from the shadow and work together to pass the DREAM Act as well as Comprehensive immigration reform. We can reach goals only if we start to organize, mobilize, and take collective actions to let our voice be heard. Time is so critical, so we must come together and take direction actions starting today!

Please check out JoinJu.com where Ju blogs regularly.

(Video Credit: BayAreaS4FC)

Anti-Immigration Forces Dwindling

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-17T08:00:00-08:00

The anti-immigration movement is in complete disarray. While tea-baggers are fighting other tea-baggers, Jim GilChrist from the Minutemen has continued to distance himself from William Gheen, labeling him as someone who is simply in the anti-immigrant business for money.

In growing desperation, William Gheen, founder of anti-immigration organization called Americans for Legal Immigration (ALIPAC), probably thought that the best way to get more publicity and more than a dozen protesters to an anti-immigration rally was to unite with tea-baggers.

Now the Tea Party Patriots, led by former House Republican leader Dick Armey of Texas, don't really have an official position on the issue of immigration. In fact, Armey has blatantly stated his opposition to anti-immigrant politics noting that it is a divisive issue for the GOP. How does Gheen expect to fit into the picture by driving a wedge into tea-bagging politics?

With tea-bagger rallies against illegal immigration this past weekend, most tea-baggers opted to stay home. Among those who did make an appearance, the numbers were reminiscent of other times that anti-immigrants tried to hold a rally. Hardly anyone showed up. At a scheduled event in San Francisco, no one showed up.

The best news coverage comes from Minnesota where the anti-immigrant tea-baggers were duped by a protestor going by the name of 'Robert Erickson' who pretended to rail against Latinos, while directing his comments towards European invaders. It was not till he had finished speaking and rallying for Columbus to go home that most of the crowd realized the error in giving him the platform. In Fort Lauderdale, nativists attacked pro-immigrant counter-protesters, exchanging a few blows. So much for believing in law and order.

With this level of (dis)organization, anti-immigrant forces need all the luck and support they can get to fight off the coming 'amnesty.'

(Picture Credit: InfoShop)

Why Hasn't Rep. Loretta Sanchez Co-Sponsored the DREAM Act?

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-16T12:41:00-08:00

The Orange County DREAM Team has been lobbying Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) for quite a few years to co-sponsor different versions of the DREAM Act. She has refused to do so, stating her preference for comprehensive immigration reform.

I didn't get the memo stating the mutual exclusivity between actively supporting the DREAM Act and wanting comprehensive reforms for the broken immigration system. Did you?

Her flawed logic sends an erroneous message that politicians who do co-sponsor the DREAM Act don't want comprehensive reforms. Really Loretta?

There is actually a Facebook Cause devoted to get Loretta Sanchez to co-sponsor. Why is it so important that politicians like Rep. Sanchez sponsor the DREAM Act rather than get away with merely saying that they support it? Because not holding Rep. Loretta Sanchez accountable gives other non-Latino Democrats with less immigrant constituencies an excuse to not sponsor the bill. Words are simply not enough.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez, please pull out some common sense from that big bag and send an early Christmas present to Santa-Ana. Your constituents are waiting for a bit more than cosmetic change.

(H/T: LatinoPoliticsBlog)

Napolitano Says "Hands Tied?" We Don't Think So.

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-15T14:25:00-08:00

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has expressed support for the DREAM Act but making excuses for inaction does nothing for her credibility. When asked about the plight of undocumented students in an interview with Think Progress, Napolitano backed away from immediate solutions:

Watch it here:

"This illustrates again, why we need immigration reform. And the DREAM Act should be part of any bill that comes out of Congress. It is heartbreaking when you have a case of a young person who has been raised in this country, wants to go to college and can’t — or commits a minor crime and must be deported. And our hands are tied, we have very little discretion in those matters. So if we want to change that, we need to have the reform. And I think the members of Congress who are working on this all agree that some form of a DREAM Act-type provision would be an important inclusion."

-Janet Napolitano

With all due respect Ms. Napolitano, the Department of Homeland Security has absolute discretion in immigration cases. Rather than practicing this discretion to keep DREAM Act eligible gems in our country and refrain from silent raids that still hurt our communities, the agency would rather detain, separate and deport us from our families at their discretion.

I just need to give one example of abuse of this discretion although there are many others. Since the passage of the Child Status Protection Act in 2001, USCIS has gone against the spirit of the law to separate families rather than unite them. Thousands of taxpayer dollars are wasted each year in defending the agency from lawsuits filed by legal American permanent residents to either keep their adult unmarried children in the country or bring them to the United States as per the letter of the law, which allows even aged-out adults to retain their original priority dates. Yet, with the help of the Board of Immigration Appeals, USCIS continues to rewrite the law of the land at its discretion, asking adult unmarried children to go to the back of the line and wait another 10-20 years to immigrate.

That is the ultimate abuse of power and discretion. It is something that Janet Napolitano can take action on immediately.

Video Credit: Think Progress

Napolitano Speaks: The Price for Immigration Reform

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-13T17:00:00-08:00

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano spoke at a Center For American Progress conference revealing a three-legged stool plan on immigration reform that "includes a commitment to serious and effective enforcement, improved legal flows for families and workers, and a firm but fair way to deal with those who are already here."

After backing away from its promise of immigration reform in 2009 and revisiting raids, the President and his lackeys have persistently pointed to early 2010 as a timetable for reforming our broken immigration system.

With that timetable, comes a steep price. Can we afford the cost of immigration reform? This does not refer to monetary cost, since the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that a legalization program would bring an excess of $60-$130 billion into our coffers. Cost refers to the human cost of an enforcement and crimmigration regime, a get-tough crackdown mentality that increasingly targets people of color and their employers for alleged transgressions.

The question has been flipped by some to say, "Can we afford not to reform our immigration system?" Indeed, some are willing to pay the price, no matter what it entails. That's noble and understandable, given the desperation of a population denied the right to exist in a country they call home.

But what price does Napolitano have in store for undocumented immigrants to finally gain a pathway to citizenship?

Here is her mantra:

A tough and fair pathway to earned legal status will mandate that illegal immigrants meet a number of requirements—including registering, paying a fine, passing a criminal background check, fully paying all taxes and learning English.

Great. What's new about this that it needs to be reiterated a gazillion times without much action? Are we getting the chance to claim past taxes filed as social security credits too? The imposed English language hegemony is also getting quiet narrow-minded, disregarding the fact that 'living in the shadows' does not encourage people to fully integrate into society.

The entire discourse of get-tough immigration reform seems like a way to reduce the THEM/OTHER in society rather than look inwards to our own racism and prejudice regarding the treatment of difference. Lets try to fully integrate THOSE people to live in our English-only America--a fictional America, while we do nothing to stop the root causes of why THEY uproot themselves from their homes to come here and face dehumanization, among other things.

As Culture Kitchen writes, "what exactly is so dangerous about all immigrants that we need to have 'secure communities' all across the United States?" Reserving the term to just the criminalization and deportation of immigrants speaks volumes for why it isn't just about ejecting crime from society; it is also about protecting society from the 'mass terror' of difference.

Of course, the plea to review NAFTA and global economic policies that encourage mass migration is falling on deaf ears.

Here is a scoop of some proposals floating around on Capitol Hill:

If you are undocumented, get ready to plead guilty to a crime, even if you have not committed one.

The F4 (sibling) and F2B (adult unmarried child of legal permanent residents) categories might get scraped as family unity gets put on the back-burner.

The points system is probably making a come-back.

Through an expanded biometrics system, we face an increasingly securitized and ironically, fearful, America.

One thing is clear, like health care, there will be competing immigration bills ranging from more liberal to really conservative ones.

Take your pick and fight for the one you believe in most. What price will you pay?

(Photo Credit: Center for American Progress Flickr Photostream / CC Attribute)

My Name is Jamie and I am an Undocumented American

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-13T12:00:00-08:00

[This week's DREAM Act guest post comes from Jamie, who already has a BA and an important message of social change and action for all of us. Visit Dreamactivist.org to find out how you can help pass the DREAM Act].

I was brought here like many other undocumented students at a young age. My sister and I lived in East LA for a short time until we moved to a better part of Los Angeles. Unlike some others, I did know about my legal status from a very young age. Because of this situation, I was constantly living in fear of being exposed and was very shy as a result of it. I can truly say that living in the shadows of society has an effect psychologically. It feels like I am always hiding something from people that I wish I didn't have to. Despite these challenges I still have the ambition to prove to myself and others that we Dreamers can still get ahead in life.

I have noticed throughout this time that not only am I in the same situation as many others but I also have built the same character as them. We share the same ambitions to prove wrong to those that doubt us, to be something more than a stereotype we have been portrayed in the media. I learned to stop feeling sorry for myself and pick myself up from this mental prison we have all been placed in. Ironically in many ways it has made me stronger to deal with challenges in life. My hope is that it doesn't beat me to the ground.

The DREAM Act is currently the only hope we all have. Thanks to Senators like Richard Durbin (IL), we have a voice. Although I have a college degree and a mind that rivals others, it is standing idle. I can't get a job; I can't get an ID or travel outside the country. It's the things that are taken for granted that affect my life the most. I am tired of seeing my "legal" friends move on in life to better jobs, new experiences, and better opportunities while I watch them go. In the past years the DREAM Act has failed several times and each time our hope has been brought down.

This time I am taking action and I urge all others to do the same. We can't stand aside and watch the opposition make calls to senators and get active while we stand around and feel sorry for ourselves. Action is the word to live by, nothing in history has been changed without someone taking action. So we must do the same and make the calls, send the emails, etc. I urge everyone to get up and do anything they can because I believe this time it is the last time we can really make a change.

(Photo credit: CSUN DREAMS to be Heard)

Transgender Asylum Seeker Speaks Out Against Detention

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-12T17:20:00-08:00

Courage comes in many different forms. For Esmeralda a transgender asylum seeker from Mexico who faced horrific circumstances in immigration detention, it came in the form of seeking justice. Kept in a segregated cell with other transgender detainees, Esmeralda never realized that her experience in detention would match the trauma of discrimination she had faced back home. But her story is also one of hope for change.

Esmeralda: A Transgender Detainee Speaks Out from Breakthrough on Vimeo.

While the Obama administration has pledged to reform the detention system, its promises do not go far enough. Spread over a patchwork of more than 500 county jails, privately run prisons and federal facilities, immigration detention is a $1.8 billion business estimated to hold 442,941 detainees in custody in 2009 alone.Transferred far away from their homes and families, stories are rife of how detainees are denied visitation, access to lawyers, medical care, and are subject to physical and verbal abuse. Many vulnerable people, including asylum seekers, pregnant women, children, lawful permanent residents and even U.S. citizens are among those detained.Listen to Esmeralda’s voice of courage and take action now to fix a broken detention system.

Crossposted from RestoreFairness

Victory: Lou Dobbs Takes Voluntary Departure from CNN

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-11T17:07:00-08:00

This just in - Long-time CNN anchor and anti-immigrant advocate, Lou Dobbs, has announced his resignation from CNN on his last show.

Dobbs claims that his 'resignation' is prompted by the "strong winds of change buffeting this country and affecting all of us." That is quite the compliment for promigrant allies such as BastaDobbs.com, DropDobbs.com, and Democracia Ahora, who have all worked hard to blow Lou Dobbs out the door.

Bye Lou. Your racism, fear-mongering, and distortion of facts won't be missed.

Update: The Onion did a hilarious, must-read satire piece on Lou Dobbs being deported from the USA.

(Video Credit: CNN)

Immigrants Serve Abroad While Fighting Deportation At Home

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-11T11:27:00-08:00

Pfc. Kham Xiong, was one of 11 children of Hmong refugees. He followed in the footsteps of a younger brother and his father, who fought Communists in Laos during the Vietnam War and fled with his family to Thailand, where Kham Xiong was born

Xiong was only 23 when he died in the gunfire at Fort Hood last week.

One bad apple does not represent all apples but it might be hard to gain that wisdom from mainstream media coverage around the Fort Hood tragedy, which gets no awards for racial or religious sensitivity. Today, as we honor our veterans and fallen soldiers, Muslims in the military fear a backlash in return of their service. It is crucial to lay rest to a cloud of xenophobia that threatens the safe existence of immigrants in the military, where they have served proudly since the Revolutionary War.

A newly released timely report from the Immigration Policy Center, Essential to the Fight: Immigrants in the Military, Eight Years After 9/11, highlights the critical role immigrants are playing in today's military. Non-citizens make up 5% of all troops in the U.S. military and since 9-11, over 150 immigrants have been killed while serving. The report notes that "without the contributions of immigrants, the military could not meet its recruiting goals and could not fill its need for foreign-language translators, interpreters and cultural experts."

Some notable statistics from the report:

As of June 30, 2009, there were 114,601 foreign-born individuals serving in the armed forces, representing 7.91 percent of the 1.4 million military personnel on active duty.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 alone, 10,505 members of the military were naturalized. Naturalizations of immigrants in the military are at their highest during times of war."

The report also regrets Congressional failure to pass the DREAM Act, which could have provided up to 279,000 newly eligible persons for service in the armed forces back in 2006 (Migration Policy Institute). The number of undocumented students eligible and willing to serve are probably higher now.

But while we lament this loss of human capital, a new adjustment of status bill (S.2757) introduced by Senator Menendez (D-NJ), gives a pathway to citizenship to the immediate families of immigrants serving in the military. Alemayehu Addis, an immigrant veteran, explains how and why passage of this bill is a great way to honor the service of immigrants in the armed forces

Simply, the bill aims to keep the families of US service members together while they fight for our freedom. At the very least, service members have earned the right to be united with their closest family members on a permanent basis without fearing that they will face unfair and unexpected deportation.:

We should continue easing the pathway to citizenship for immigrants who serve and their families. At the same time, we should also not place them in deportation proceedings without good reason. Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, a former National Guard soldier, is fighting deportation from the United States because he told the truth and failed to disclose old misdemeanor convictions in Australia when he applied for a visa a decade ago. His case illustrates the horror of an immigration bureaucracy that has entrapped thousands of perfectly legal immigrants till they applied for citizenship.

As Barack Obama noted in his weekly radio address:

They are Americans of every race, faith, and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers. They are descendants of immigrants and immigrants themselves. They reflect the diversity that makes this America. But what they share is a patriotism like no other.

They deserve more than family separation, xenophobia, second-class citizenship and worse, deportation.

(Photo Credit: KevinDooley Flickr Photostream CC Attribute)

Letting the Right People Into San Francisco

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-10T08:00:00-08:00

The City of San Francisco has certainly been in the news lately for the power struggle between Mayor Newsom and the Board of Supervisors on the sanctuary city policy. I testified at the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission hearing yesterday where officials were gathered to hear recommendations on what role San Francisco should play in the immigration reform arena.

Stanford Law professor and entrepreneur, F. Daniel Siciliano, gave an enlightening keynote on how immigrants are net contributors to the United States. Praising immigrants for risk-taking and innovation, Siciliano urged people to focus on economic analysis rather than getting distracted by the fiscal side of the immigration debate. Everyone is a net user of resources and the irony is that immigrants consume fewer resources IF they are allowed to integrate fully into society.

Siciliano pointed out the fact that immigrants, regardless of status, were responsible for 25% of publicly traded companies and the same disproportion was apparent in the start-up of small businesses, which often employ American citizens. The heightened mobility of migrant labor also means that immigrants can move out of places with low demand for jobs into places with higher demand. Siciliano also claimed that 91% of Americans enjoy enhanced earnings due to immigration and even if one is a bad person who hates immigrants, s/he still stands to gain financially from immigration.

Letting the right people in helped the country more than keeping the wrong people out, although Siciliano did stress that the 'right people' constituted a broad and dynamic spectrum.

Thereafter, panelists and members of the community shared personal narratives, along with advocacy efforts and recommendations for the Commission. Active engagement with the federal government and immigrant communities was a popular theme among most panelists. Melanie Nathan, an attorney and member of the Marin Human Rights Commission, pressed San Francisco to "stand up to its LGBTQI icon status" and pressure Congress to include the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) in any comprehensive immigration reform bill. Latest reports indicate that including UAFA is unpopular among immigrant rights advocates, especially with faith-based groups.

The highlight of the night came from UC Davis Law professor, Bill O' Hing, who sounded alarm bells about the upcoming proposals for immigration reform that could do more harm than good. He pointed to the efforts in 2007 to erase the sibling (F4) and adult unmarried child of LPR (2B) categories, which rendered thousands of families without reunification options, noting that these empty proposals would likely make a comeback. O'Hing favors the family-unification options under the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill of 2006, and lamented at the loss of leadership in the Senate:

"Unfortunately, Senator Kennedy died. And then Senator McCain died too."

He remained skeptically optimistic about immigration reform next year, but concluded that it might be a bitter pill to swallow.

Representative Gutierrez is expected to introduce a bill for immigration reform in early December.

(Photo Credit: ParaFlyer Flickr Photostream / CC Attribute)

Best Twitter Lists to Follow on #Immigration

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-09T11:30:00-08:00

Immigrant rights is fairly new to the social media sphere hence many pro-migrant organizations are still trying to gain a foothold online. Twitter is the social network of choice for pro-migrant advocates. While technology is supposedly the 'great equalizer, Twitter is getting more exclusive by allowing users to filter 'noise' through the creation of lists.

Lists are useful if one uses Twitter online. They are particularly useful to curate during live streams and events. However, lists can invite drama at times; 140 character twidramas that are sometimes quite fun to follow. Just imagine if someone excludes you from a list that you should be listed in while putting you in some other category:

@anonymous You removed me from your immigrant rights list! What do you know about immigrants and our rights?
@desidyke You talk too much about Fiji and gay rights. I'll put you in some other category. Maybe the 'rainbow coalition?'
@anonymous Don't! The state already does so. I don't want to be categorized by you too!

Even a change in how the United States chooses to arbitrary categorize human beings and shift us around may cause drama:

@dreamact Why did you remove me from your DREAM Act list?!
@exdreamie Didn't you get your asylum application approved last month? You are no longer an undocumented youth!
@dreamact But I can't apply for a green-card for another year! I can still be deported if things change in my country. I am still eligible!
@exdreamie I'll have to review this new information and get back to you.
@dreamact What? Stop acting like USCIS on Twitter!
@exdreamie I can't even if I tried. They haven't twittered for four months now. Too busy with lawsuits.

Granted, the second bit was just for humor that I can envision sometime in the near future. However, I have actually seen people whine about what lists should be renamed and what categories certain people should be placed in. Lists give us all an opportunity to 'box' people in without requiring permission from them. That is why it presents us with a great opportunity to locate and question the prejudices of others while rethinking our own classifications.

Just last week I was pondering why @DreamAct was only listed under Latinos and not Asian, Pacific Islander and Blacks. It raised questions about both our marketing and outreach and the assumptions of the person categorizing us as such.

For now, here are some of the best twitter lists for immigration rights advocates in social media, in no particular order:

Dream Act Students (Dreamact)

Immigrant Rights (Willcoley)

Racial Justice (Mikhail)

Promigrant (blogdiva)

Human Rights (JonHutson)

Latinos (ColombianCoffee)

If you have a pro-migrant immigration-related list, please share the link here.

(Image courtesy: DreamActivist Flickr Photostream CC Attribute)

Efforts to Exclude Abortion From HCR Trumps Concern About Undocumented

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-07T19:20:00-08:00

By a vote of 220-215, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3962 (Affordable Health Care for America Act) with an anti-abortion amendment rather than adopting any anti-immigrant amendments or tort reforms from the GOP.

For some conservative Democrats and the GOP--appropriately identified by Representative Edward Markey as Grandstand Oppose Pretend party--veterans, working poor, women and undocumented immigrants are not a priority for health-care but the unborn have to be protected. Apparently, a fetus is the only category that cannot pull itself up by its bootstraps.

Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI) offered an anti-abortion amendment to the House health care bill last night as a compromise when 40 anti-abortion Democrats threatened to vote against the bill. According to Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), the amendment makes little sense since it prevents women who pay with their own money from getting a plan that covers reproductive care. For now, segments of the GOP and Bluedog Democrats have replaced their hatred of immigrants with their contempt of women and the right to choose. The amendment passed 240-194 with the help of 64 Democrats, making it next to impossible for low-income women who need abortion to afford health care in the United States.

Last month, Representative Luis Gutierrez (IL-4) blasted President Barack Obama for caving in to Joe 'You Lie' Wilson's inappropriate screams, stating that not only would excluding undocumented immigrants from buying insurance on exchange put the brunt of health care costs on taxpayers, but undocumented immigrants who currently had private insurance could possibly lose coverage due to rising costs of private health insurance.

Currently, the Senate bill includes strict verification measures to ensure that undocumented immigrants can neither access health care subsidies nor buy them on the exchange even with their own money. H.R. 3962 denies undocumented immigrants affordability credits while allowing them the right to purchase health insurance on the exchange market with their own money.

However, this move also creates an unfunded mandate for undocumented immigrants. They may be required to purchase health insurance with their own funds. But the mandate does not come into effect until 2013 so it allows time for comprehensive immigration reform to pass and for undocumented to qualify for affordability credits.

Pelosi did state that young people up to the age of 27 would be covered under their parents so undocumented youth with legal resident and U.S. citizen parents might not need to worry about losing their health care coverage or footing the cost of unfunded mandates on their own.

Insiders say that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus feared that a procedural motion from the GOP might derail health care for both legal and undocumented immigrants.

Update: The GOP went with motion to recommit on tort reform rather than place an anti-immigrant provision. The motion was rejected as was the GOP "plan" for health care reform.

(Photo Credit: Open Democracy Flickr photostream CC Attribute)

Nativist Tom Tancredo Chased off MSNBC

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-07T08:00:00-08:00

While arguing over health care, former Congressperson and wanna-be President-hopeful Tom Tancredo was chased off MSNBC in this priceless video whilst 'debating' Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos.

It's just as well that Tancredo saved some face and left after Markos pointed out how Tancredo was a pro-Vietnam War chickenhawk who got a 1-Y deferment. Given his rabid anti-immigrant views, if he had stayed on the show longer, it would have turned into another unworthy "illegal immigrants are taking over America" rant.

Just earlier this year, students shut down his anti-immigrant tirades at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Tancredo and his bandwagon of hate responded by slandering Dream Act students and blaming them for causing violence. Never mind that someone only threw a brick at the window and the person wasn't undocumented.

Tom Tancredo believes that it is completely fine to use Holocaust photos at rallies to oppose health care reform but college students who testify for the DREAM Act must be arrested and detained. He is now using the Fort Hood tragedy to make claims about a 'Muslim Mafia' attacking the United States domestically.

It's always good to see someone take Tom down a few more notches. Thanks for the comic relief Tancredo!

(Video Credit: Daily Kos)

My Name is Maria and I am Undocumented

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-06T15:00:00-08:00

[This week's DREAM Act guest post comes from Maria, who believes that undocumented students deserve the chance to prove themselves. Visit Dreamactivist.org to find out how you can help pass the DREAM Act].

The year of 1996 was the year when I began to try new things, the year when my mother, two-year old brother and I moved from Costa Rica to America. Moving to a new country as a six year-old was more than an adventure; it was a chance for me to reunite with my father again as he had moved to America two years before us. It was also the first time I met my dad’s family. It was the first time I had ever held the soft, pure, cold snow, the substance that made me fall in love with America. My love for America grew even more when I realized that I was now living in a country where all dreams could become reality; a country with golden opportunities.

That same love stayed with me through middle school even when I was isolated by my classmates because of a language barrier. That same love stayed with me when I was forced to sing the “Star Spangled Banner,” but did not know the lyrics. I wanted to be accepted by classmates, but they only knew me as the girl with an “accent.” I knew I needed to be the best in order to prove to everyone I was equally as good. With that realization, I tried my best to be on top of my class, and in seventh grade, I was encouraged by my teachers to apply to a program called NJSEEDS, a program that prepares economically disadvantage inner city students with strong grades to attend college preparatory boarding or day high schools. I was one of 200 students throughout New Jersey to be chosen for this prestigious program.

I attended Garrison Forest School, an all girl boarding school in Maryland. I felt more than honored to be selected among hundreds of applications to attend this private school. The love for America, which had grown over the years, stayed with me even as I applied to colleges my senior year at Garrison Forest, but had little hope of getting into them due to the fact that I was an undocumented student.

Senior year was a tough year for me, not because I had trouble with my academics, but because after going through the stressful process of applying to colleges for two months, I received letter after letter of rejection. I knew that I had not been rejected because the schools did not think of me as a strong candidate for their school. My strong academics, extra-curricular activities, and my teacher recommendations were also not the reason that I had not been accepted. I had been rejected for the sole reason that I lacked what every other classmate of mine had, a nine-digit code called a social security number. After reading each rejection letter, I naturally cried and became frustrated. I was afraid of the future that awaited me, a future without college or the opportunity to continue with my life. However, I knew that I was a strong person, and that I was not going to give up just because a few colleges had not accepted me.

It has now been two years since I have graduated from high school. During these two long years, my dreams have been put on hold. I have been living at home waiting for just one opportunity for me to continue with my education. Not so long ago a good friend of mine asked me, “Why do you want to go to college?” Though this may seem like a trivial question to ask someone, because the reasons would seem to be obvious, it is not the case for me. If most students were asked this question, their answer would most likely be along the lines of an opportunity for living away from their parents or a chance of meeting new people. However, for me, college is not just an experience; it is not just the next four years of my life, college is the opportunity of my lifetime. It is the chance that I have been so desperately waiting for the last two years of my life so that I may be able to finally realize my full potential as a student. I want to be able to experience new things that will help me grow as a student and as a person.

After graduating from high school and not having the chance to attend college, I felt as though I had been compressed into a small box with nowhere to go. It is like being stuck in one place, watching my friends’ lives continue. It has been so frustrating to see my friends grow as students and people, see them fulfill their dreams while I, on the other hand, have been stuck in limbo. If I was given just one chance, one opportunity for a college to see past my legal status and actually acknowledge all the hard work and dedication I put into my academic work all throughout high school, I would take full advantage of that opportunity.

When a person is given one shot at something that they have been denied all their life, that one person will not take such an opportunity for granted. A perfect example would be when African Americans were not allowed to attend the same schools as whites, and instead of giving up, they fought hard for that chance that they knew they deserved. Years later, we are in the 21st century where the first African American president has been elected. This would not have been possible had African Americans not fought for what they deserved, and had they not been given a chance.

Therefore, it is my firm belief that if undocumented students were to be given that same opportunity, other smart, driven, and successful leaders would emerge. I, as an undocumented student, will put all I have into becoming a successful student because I have been through a lot of hardship in reaching my goal of attending college. I have not given up hope in achieving this goal because I do not want the sacrifice that my family and I made in coming to America to be in vain. Even though colleges have said “No” to me numerous times, it does not mean I will say “No” to myself, “No” to my dreams.

(Photo credit: CSUN DREAMS to be Heard)

Senate Gets Rid of Vitter-Bennett Amendment

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-06T14:59:00-08:00

Good news for all pro-immigant rights advocates. The Senate voted 60-39 and refused to wreck the census, getting rid of the Vitter-Bennett amendment that would have discouraged undocumented immigrants from participating in the 2010 Census and wasted millions in redoing forms as well as trainings. Senator McCain missed the vote and given he also missed the DREAM Act floor vote two years ago, it doesn't bode well for the once-strong supporter of immigrant rights.

Today is the 23 year anniversary of the landmark immigration reform bill signed by President Reagan in 1986, which gave amnesty to 2.7 million immigrants. The Vitter-Bennet amendment, much like most GOP plans, threatened to wreck the inclusive nature of the Census while doing nothing of substance to rectify the issue of 11.8 million undocumented immigrants living and working in this country.

(Video Credit: SayItVisually)

Will Pelosi Cave to Anti-Immigrant Sentiments on HCR?

Prerna Lal — 2009-11-06T06:00:00-08:00

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is currently tussling with both the Speaker of the House and the President for a health care bill that includes undocumented immigrants. Currently, the House bill (H.R. 3962) has no bar against undocumented immigrants and toughening the health care bill with verification measures may lead to thousands of immigrants losing their access to private health insurance.

The question is simple: Do you want undocumented immigrants in your overburdened emergency rooms on 'taxpayer dollars' or do you want them buying health insurance to pay for their own medical bills? Never mind the fact that the undocumented pay taxes to mitigate the costs of receiving any so-called 'free health care' and are the least likely to use emergency health facilities.

Dragging undocumented immigrants into the health-care debate for political purposes is a way to derail health care reform without offering any real solutions for the estimated 11.8 million out-of-status immigrants in this country. Excluding undocumented from participating in public exchange while increasing costs of private premium health insurance due to competition threatens a loss of coverage for even those who have private health insurance. It goes without saying that including everyone in the marketplace of health insurance is far more economical than excluding given more people would carry the burden and hence, lower the costs of health care.

Lets see how long it takes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to ignore facts in the face of right-wing paranoia without putting forth a solution to fixing a failing system that prevents so many immigrants from adjusting their status to get health care.

Photo Credit: Neil Parekh/SEIU Healthcare 775NW / CC