America's Voice Blog

Posted 03/31/10 at 04:58pm By Mahwish Khan

Justice Prevails With Supreme Court Decision on Immigration Counsel

The Supreme Court, in a vote of 7-2, has ruled that a lawyer for an immigrant charged with a crime has an obligation, constitutionally, to tell the client that a guilty plea carries a risk that he will be deported. 

In Padilla v. Kentucky, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Jose Padilla, a legal permanent resident and army veteran who has spent approximately 40 years of his life in the United States, could not take back a guilty plea – one that was made after counsel assured him that pleading guilty to a drug charge would not lead to his deportation.  

Needless to say, his trial lawyer was wrong. Padilla found a new lawyer who filed for an appeal, all while his client was facing deportation. According to the AP article:

His lawyer for the appeal told the Supreme Court that the incorrect information given Padilla was a violation of the Sixth Amendment right to “effective assistance of counsel.”

The Supreme Court’s majority agreed.

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Posted 03/31/10 at 02:35pm By Lynn Tramonte

Powerful Latino Voting Block of 2008 May Stay Home in 2010 Without Reform

New polling of Latino voters reveals that 1) this group is among the least energized heading into the 2010 elections; and 2) progress on comprehensive immigration reform is key to re-energizing these voters.

Latino Decisions researcher and Stanford University professor Dr. Gary Segura highlighted and analyzed the findings:

Among all the key constituents in the 2008 Obama victory, Latino voters appear to be among the least enthusiastic about voting in the 2010 midterm.

The poll found that just 49% of Latino registered voters who say they are very enthusiastic about voting, an all time low.  In the 2006 mid-terms, 60% of Latinos turned out, and their self-reported enthusiasm prior to the election was 77%.

Dr. Segura’s conclusion? 

For Latinos, there will have to be a genuine attempt on the part of the administration and Democrats in Congress to act on immigration.  Even if it fails, an honest effort (and the inevitable, ugly, GOP response) will help close the yawning enthusiasm gap between Latinos of 2010 and Latinos of 2006.  And should it pass, as it ought to, the rewards will be palpable.

According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice:

Just as the hope of genuine immigration reform motivated Latino voters to vote for Barack Obama and Democrats in 2008, the lack of hope threatens to keep them at home in the pivotal 2010 elections.  Latino voters may hold the keys to the congressional kingdom through their influence in many key swing races, but leadership on immigration reform will be needed to ensure an enthusiastic and mobilized Latino vote in 2010.

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Posted 03/31/10 at 09:41am By Rafael Prieto

‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration: Calls for Firing at ICE; Gibbs Talks Reform; Happy Cesar Chávez Day!

As the scandal over leaked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memos continues to unfold in the Spanish-language press, leaders of grassroots organizations are calling for the firing of ICE director John Morton. Meanwhile, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs comments on immigration reform, and eight states celebrate Cesar Chávez Day.

Calls for firing at ICE. Several pro-immigrant groups have called for ICE director Morton's ouster in the wake of last weekend’s scandal over leaked internal memos containing quotas for deportation. In an analysis titled “If the Administration can’t pass immigration reform, it can at least fix DHS’ problems,” EFE reporter María Peña writes:

“If the situation doesn’t improve, authorities might achieve the goal laid out in 2003 in ‘Operation Endgame’: deporting all undocumented immigrants over the next decade.”

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Posted 03/30/10 at 04:36pm By Frank Sharry

ICE Out of Control: Time to Rein in Rogue Agency and Pass Immigration Reform

Today, a group of grassroots leaders are demanding that the Obama Administration fire John Morton, the head of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the Department of Homeland Security. 

Deepak Bhargava of the Center of Community Change, a lead organizer of the immigration rally in Washington, D.C. on March 21st and a leader of FIRM (Fair Immigration Reform Movement), had this to say at today’s press conference:

"This agency has gone rogue and is operating in clear opposition to the direction President Obama has set."

What gives?  It seems the stated priorities of President Obama may not be in sync with the cowboy tactics of ICE agents in the field. 

The President gets it.  He has always gotten it.  In 2008 candidate Obama had this to say to the NCLR convention in San Diego:

"When communities are terrorized by ICE immigration raids, when nursing mothers are torn from their babies, when children come home from school to find their parents missing, when people are detained without access to legal counsel, when all that is happening, the system just isn’t working, and we need to change it.” 

Little more than a week ago, President Obama told a gathering of over 200,000 activists that he heard their plea and was standing as a partner with them in fixing the “broken immigration system.” Here’s part of what Obama said, via video, to the marchers:

I’ve always pledged to be your partner as we work to fix our broken immigration system and that’s a commitment that I reaffirm today. Nobody knows the cost of inaction better than you. You see it in the families that are torn apart and the small business owners who try to do the right thing while others game the system. You see it in the workers, who deserve the protection of our laws and the officers who struggle to keep our communities safe while earning the trust of those they serve.

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Posted 03/30/10 at 09:02am By Jackie Mahendra

Will RNC Chairman Michael Steele Keep Immigration Meeting This Wednesday?

In light of the recent, um, developments this week, I'm wondering if RNC Chairman Michael Steele will be keeping his hard-won meeting with grassroots Latino and immigration reform advocates on Wednesday. These community leaders staged a sit-in at the RNC last Monday, just one day after 200,000 people from across the country traveled thousands of miles to march for real immigration reform in Washington, D.C.

Watch the video from that action:

In case you couldn't hear it, that's Joshua Hoyt, Executive Director of ICIRR stating:

Family values are about not destroying families

When it comes to immigration reform, Republicans certainly could use an image boost with Latino voters.

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Posted 03/30/10 at 08:47am By Rafael Prieto

‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration: Frustrated Op-Eds; More Demonstrations; Lucero Trial

Today, the opinion pages of the Spanish-language press assess the prospects for immigration reform -- and note that more demonstrations are underway.

Frustrated op-eds. The editorial “Reform left behind” in La Raza (Chicago) says:

“The president should speak directly to the American people about the importance of immigration reform. He should do what he does best: roll up his sleeves and speak from his heart at town hall meetings and in televised speeches. But what happened after he met with Latino leaders in the White House? The president returned to the public square to sell his plan for health-care reform. He even added other items to his agenda: financial regulation and new changes to the education law No Child Left Behind. It looks like what’s really been left behind is immigration reform.”

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Posted 03/29/10 at 05:56pm By Jackie Mahendra

This Week/end in Immigration: NPR on Mimes, Flanders on March, Action Wanted, & ICE Quotas

Lots happened over the weekend, so here's a quick roundup of immigration news from around the interwebs.

More March For America highlights:

First and foremost: you just have to laugh (potentially out loud) at NPR's take on the Roy Beck/Numbers USA mime incident:

"SAGAL: It was an immigration throw down. When anti-immigration activist Roy Beck left his home on Sunday he knew he'd encounter thousands of immigrants and pro-immigrant protestors marching around the mall. But he never expected a hostile troop of female mimes...(laughter)... Beck says that they harassed and insulted him and his bodyguards with, quote, "crushing physical intimidation," end quote... (laughter) First, we suspect by placing them in invisible boxes...(laughter) ...then blowing them backwards with imaginary winds. |(laughter) ...This is true. One of the bodyguards got fed up with the mimes, took out a knife and started popping their balloons, leading to his arrest on assault charges. The crafty mimes, however, eluded the cops by climbing an invisible ladder they'd brought with them to freedom.

Next, watch Laura Flanders' latest GritTV segment, "Courage for Immigration Reform:"

While House members were grandstanding on the floor over health care reform Sunday, and the news networks largely focused on tea party anti-healthcare protests, tens of thousands of immigrants and allies flooded the Washington Mall...

To really fix our broken immigration system, we're going to need more than vague declarations from the White House. We'll need real leadership, and the stomach to take on viciousness from protesters the likes of which we haven't seen before.

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Posted 03/29/10 at 09:49am By Rafael Prieto

‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration: Marches in California; Deportation Quotas; Sunday Talk Shows

The Spanish-language press covers demonstrations in California for immigration reform; reactions to the discovery of deportation quotas at ICE; and reviews of immigration-related appearances on Sunday talk shows.

Marches in California. El Diario-La Prensa reports that 10,000-15,000 people attended a march in Los Angeles sponsored by a coalition of 20 organizations to call for comprehensive immigration reform. EFE, La Opinión, Univision.com, and Contacto have more on the Los Angeles demonstration, while El Mensajero covers a march and other events in the Bay Area.

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Posted 03/25/10 at 11:20am By Guest Blogger

Weekly Diaspora: 200,000 March on DC, Call for Immigration Reform Now

This post is a weekly feature by Erin Rosa, Media Consortium Blogger:

As the health care debate comes to a close, there’s no better time to introduce comprehensive immigration reform. Hundreds of thousands of immigrant rights supporters from all over the country congregated on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Sunday to demand immigration reform in 2010. It was the largest political rally to be held since President Barack Obama moved into the White House.

Dressed in white and carrying American flags, the crowd numbered between 200,000 to 500,000 people. The marchers spanned approximately 7 blocks, all the way from the Washington Monument to the steps of Congress. Although many media outlets and lawmakers were were occupied by the historic health care vote taking place in the House of Representatives on the same day, Obama took time from his busy schedule to record a video message to the marchers, in which he discussed the need for immigration reform “this year.”

Obama the guest speaker

“I pledge to do everything in my power to forge a bipartisan consensus, this year on this issue,” Obama said in the video, which was broadcast to the cheering crowd via giant TV screens on the Mall’s perimeter.

As RaceWire notes, Obama explained to reform supporters that “you know as well as I do that this won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight, but if we work together across ethnic, state and party lines, we can build a future worthy of our history as a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.”

The message came hot on the heels of a proposed Senate outline of an immigration reform bill, written a few days beforehand by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). “For undocumented immigrants already here, the pathway to [a documented] status is basically this: pay a fine, pay back taxes, admit you broke the law, do some community service and then pass a back ground test,” RaceWire’s Seth Freed Wessler notes.

A similar immigration reform bill is in the House, sponsored by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), but it is unknown when Schumer and Graham will introduce their proposal to the Senate floor. Immigrant advocates want lawmakers to introduce a reform bill in the Senate this Spring so that there will be time to debate the issue in 2010. The Senate outline is just a rough draft and the proposal could change significantly after it goes through Congress.

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Posted 03/25/10 at 09:25am By Rafael Prieto

‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration: Criminalization in AZ; Effects of the March; Surprise RNC Visit

The Spanish-language press leads today with the Arizona House of Representatives’ passage of a bill that would criminalize undocumented immigrants, but the effects of last Sunday's March for America and other local events for immigration reform--including a protest outside Republican National Committee headquarters--continue to receive a significant amount of coverage.

Criminalization in Arizona. The state Senate versión of the same bill passed last February. Governor Jan Brewer (R) has indicated she will sign the bill once the two versions are reconciled. La Opinión and EFE have more on the story.

Effects of the March. Various outlets continue to revisit last Sunday’s march in Washington, D.C., and its effects. Sample headlines:

Mundo Hispánico (Atlanta): “¡Obama, escucha, estamos en la lucha!” (“Listen up, Obama, we’re in it to win it!”)

La Prensa (Orlando): “Yes they could” 

La Opinión: “Turnaround for immigration reform?”

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