02/26/10 CIS has cooked up a plan to try to convince us that a majority of Latinos support the mass deportation of the 12 milllion immigrants living and working in the U.S. without authorization. Half-baked polling and research is nothing new for these folks, but onto the real research... A May 2009 poll of Latinos nationwide conducted by Latino Decisions found that: "...over 80% of Latino voters said they supported Obama's plan that included increased border security, fines for undocumented immigrants, and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants meeting certain requirements – just 14% of Latinos opposed the president's plan."
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02/26/10 Chief Lisa Womack of Elgin, IL; Sheriff Richard Wiles of El Paso, TX; and Chief Sam Granato of Yakima, WA, participated in a telephonic press conference yesterday sponsored by the Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative (LEEI). They called on President Obama and Congress to (in Chief Granato's words) "step up to the plate" on reform. Meanwhile, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran told the Chicago Tribune that he supports comprehensive immigration reform, calling it "morally the right thing to do."
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02/26/10 A report commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security and conducted by the research firm Westat reveals defects in E-Verify, the immigration status verification system. E-Verify "doesn't get it right half the time," the AP writes, while Univision.com headlines its article "E-Verify's certainty in doubt."
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02/26/10 This week I was struck all over again by the power and courage of a very simple act: four young people who decided to take matters into their own hands and make an epic journey from Florida to Washington DC, on foot. Their goal? To raise awareness about the Dream Act and show the urgency of real immigration reform for youth who were brought to the U.S. at a young age.
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02/25/10 On Sunday March, 21st tens of thousands of people will flood the National Mall in our nation's capitol, demanding immigration reform now. From the We March FOR America site: Our vision of reform includes immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens working shoulder to shoulder to achieve better wages, working conditions, and labor protections. As activists, organizers and communities ramp up efforts leading up to the march, I want to make sure we highlight the great work happening at the local and state levels too.
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02/25/10 The buzz continues in the Spanish-language press around actions in support of immigration reform and the March 21st march in Washington. EFE recounts an interview with a cook on a food-service truck in Los Angeles who told the news service, between preparing orders of tacos and burritos, how happy he is to be participating in "Tacos for Justice" ("Tacos para la Justicia") because the movement will allow him to do his part "to win immigration reform and keep families together." Articles in Hoy (Laredo, TX), Noticia Hispanoamericana (New York), La Prensa (Orlando) and Frontera (Tijuana) also refer to pro-reform activities.
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02/24/10 The Spanish-language press continues to anticipate the march for immigration reform planned for March 21st in Washington. Notimex quotes Margarita Ramon of Inquilinos y Trabajadores (Tenants and Workers) saying: "We will demonstrate the power and the collective importance of this discontented community."
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02/24/10 As we mentioned briefly yesterday, Columbian-Lebanese pop superstar Shakira (Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll) is the latest public figure to call on President Obama to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation with a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Which is pretty significant, considering Shakira got the full Oval Office treatment yesterday. "White House officials told Shakira that they hope to reach an agreement this year with the Republican Party to legalize undocumented immigrants, her representative said."
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02/23/10 "The GOP expressed worries that the $15 billion jobs package crafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), does not go far enough to ensure that businesses don't use new-jobs tax credits in the bill to write off jobs given to illegal immigrants." Sound familiar? It should. Restrictionist members of the GOP have been playing the 'immigrant' card on nearly every major piece of legislation that's come before Congress this session. They started off playing politics with sick kids, but now they are holding jobs for unemployed Americans hostage in order to score cheap political points on the backs of America's most vulnerable workers and families.
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02/23/10 Today, the Spanish-language press highlighted a protest in Georgia by members of the Ku Klux Klan against the walkers of the "Trail of Dreams" who advocate for the DREAM Act.
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02/23/10 Papers is an exciting new documentary that focuses on the unique challenges that approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduating from high school every year in the U.S. face as they turn 18. Without the legal status necessary to secure their future in the United States, many of these youths are at risk to be exiled from the only country many of them have ever known as home. The film is produced by Graham Street Productions, in conjunction with Film Action Oregon and is premiering tonight at the E-Street Cinema in Washington, DC.
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02/22/10 Henry Bonilla, a Texas Republican whose district ran along the Mexican border, won seven straight elections to the House by relying on retail politics in Hispanic communities where GOP candidates had rarely bothered to tread. He thrived in Congress and co-chaired the two Republican National Conventions that nominated George W. Bush. In a period when the party sought to telegraph a vision of diversity, however spotty its record, the effort yielded Hispanic votes in Texas and beyond. That was then.
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02/22/10 At a town-hall meeting held by Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) in Los Angeles, attendees pressured the congressman to lead the fight for comprehensive immigration reform in the House. Univision.com notes that the forum was held three days after a bill was introduced in the House that would deny citizenship to children born in the United States of undocumented parents.
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02/19/10 Republicans are facing a major fork in the road on immigration, highlighted this week at CPAC (the major conservative conference in DC right now). Does the GOP choose the backward-looking, anti-immigrant route led by former Congressman, now Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth, or the path toward real immigration solutions, led by Grover Norquist, who is supporting Hayworth's primary opponent John McCain?
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02/19/10 Arizona's La Voz writes that representatives of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) have arrested 141 undocumented immigrants in Arizona in the last 30 days. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who announced several days ago that he plans to train 900 of his deputies to perform immigration enforcement exercises on the streets of Phoenix, said the arrests will continue. La Voz publishes statistics about the most recent arrests, including 35 undocumented immigrants arrested during routine traffic stops.
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02/18/10 Check out our new report entitled, "J.D. Hayworth - Leading the GOP Into a Political Wilderness on Immigration." It's telling that Hayworth's Senate bid has already been endorsed by notorious anti-immigration crusaders Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (under several federal investigations for racial profiling) and Minuteman Civil Defense Corps co-founder Chris Simcox.
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02/18/10 In Pittsford NY yesterday a strong and hearty contingent of the Raging Grannies joined us in the snow to lift our spirits with a tune they penned themselves in support of immigration reform. Their tune is followed by words from Gary Pudup director of NYCLU's Gennesee Valley chapter. We went straight from this song to meet with Representatives Lee and Massa! Thanks for the warm-up ladies!
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02/18/10 Today, the Spanish-language press takes up the story of two Argentinians, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) informants, who now face deportation themselves. Brothers Emilio and Analía Anaya had made an agreement with the federal agency to identify undocumented immigrants involved in the drug trade, gangs, human trafficking, prostitution and other crimes, in exchange for S-visas which would give them a path to citizenship. The Anayas' case, initially brought to light by El Diario-La Prensa (New York), has also revived interest in Salvadoran national Ernesto Gamboa, who is also on the verge of being deported, and whose situation was revealed by an NPR investigation. La Raza carries an exclusive interview, with La Opinión writing on the Anayas as well.
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02/17/10 90 year old Robert Morgenthau, New York's legendary District Attorney for 35 years is recently retired, and has already dived into his new role at law firm Wachtall, Lipton, Rosen and Katz where he has committed to fighting for the rights of all immigrants in the United States. Considered the inspiration for Law & Order, New York's highest prosecuting office was presided over by Morgenthau, and was responsible for tens of thousands of cases, including many high-profile trials. That's why, when he speaks of the need to ensure the basic constitutional rights of every single person, particularly those at the margins, we need to pay attention.
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02/17/10 A group called the American Principles Project aims to promote conservative values among Hispanics and defend comprehensive immigration reform among those same ultraconservatives who have rejected it in the past. According to EFE, Alfonso Aguilar, who served under the Bush administration as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said that "immigration reform is the issue keeping Latinos from supporting the conservative movement." To bring them into the fold, Aguilar said, it is "extremely important" that legalizing undocumented immigrants become a policy and messaging priority for conservatives in the future.
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02/16/10 There's a very strong editorial today in La Opinion on the issue of immigration reform. Translated, the title reads, "No More Empty Words." It lays responsibility for any inaction on immigration this Congress squarely at the feet of Democrats. It notes that in the past Democrats were able to blame Republicans for blocking comprehensive immigration reform, but not now, not with control of the White House and solid majorities in both chambers. Now, most politicos won't read this editorial because it's in Spanish. So allow me to translate.
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02/16/10 Two editorials in La Opinión in the last few days have discussed immigration reform: "No more empty words" ("No más palabras vacías") and "The moment for reform" ("El momento para la reforma"). "Campaign promises have attracted supporters and raised hopes. The votes cast for candidates committed to immigration reform were key in winning elections for them, and millions of working people sustained their hopes.
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02/12/10 Lots going on today in immigration-- here's a quick recap. Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced a set of new farm worker rules, including the rollback of a 2008 Bush-era reversal in labor oversight for agricultural workers in the United States. The measure was promptly heralded as a victory by many farmworker advocates, including the United Farm Workers (UFW).
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02/12/10 In today's New York Times, Nina Bernstein reports on the tragic consequences the broken immigration system has had on one American family: In July 2006, when Mrs. Encalada (a native-born citizen) was pregnant with their third daughter and immigration crackdowns were sweeping the country, her husband was ordered by immigration authorities to take "voluntary departure" back to Ecuador.
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02/12/10 Today's top story in the Spanish-language press is Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart's (R-FL) announcement that he intends to retire from the House of Representatives when his current term expires in 2011.
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02/11/10 A La Opinión interview with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, titled "Pelosi advocates reform" ("Pelosi aboga por la reforma" ), appears today in all impreMedia publications. Pelosi is quoted as saying that "I hope to pass immigration reform this year" and "Last week I spoke with the president about the issue, and he reiterated his promise to work with both houses (of Congress) to create a bill that could be passed."
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02/11/10 David Dayen reports for Firedoglake, in Latino Vote Could Hinge On Immigration Reform Efforts: On a conference call yesterday put together by America's Voice, immigration reform advocates released a study called "The Power of the Latino Vote," looking at this constituency and their impact on the 2010 midterms. Despite having swung to Democrats decidedly in 2008, almost single-handedly giving Nevada, Colorado and Florida to Barack Obama over John McCain, a substantial portion of the Latino electorate, foreign-born but naturalized US citizens, has shown the propensity to switch parties from election to election.
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