America's Voice Blog

Posted 08/31/10 at 05:56pm By Mahwish Khan

Dear Senator Snowe and Senator Collins: Let’s Keep Selvin in Maine!

As we reported last week, after spending three months in jail facing deportation, Ivan Nikolov was released.  He’s currently safe at home with his fiancée and stepdad – thanks to your help.  Together, we sent nearly 15,000 faxes to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, and another 2,800 faxes to Ivan's Congressional representatives in Michigan, sharing his story and urging his release. Our persistence paid off.

Now another young man – Selvin Arevalo – needs our help. Selvin came to the United States from Guatemala when he was just 14 years old. His dream was to work hard to support his mother, who needed open-heart surgery, his two brothers and his sister. Selvin paints houses during the day and takes classes at night to pass his GED. Though he's incredibly active in his church and local community in Maine, the 24-year-old could be deported any day now.

Earlier today, immigrant advocates convened a call, asking Maine Senators to intervene and stop Selvin's deportation.  Following is what Isai Galvez, youth leader of Iglesia Pentecostal El Sinai and Selvin’s best friend, had to say Selvin’s contributions to Portland and his battle with deportation: 

Selvin’s dream has always been to get his high school diploma and attend college but when he was detained, his hope of becoming an American citizen, graduating college and starting his own business was put in jeopardy...I’m asking Senators Collins and Snowe, on behalf of the greater Portland community, to come to his defense and intervene on his behalf.  Selvin is a living example of why we desperately need the DREAM Act in order to protect the future leaders of our nation.

We've seen how successful these campaigns can be. We helped save Ivan Nikolov in Michigan and Marlen Moreno in Arizona. Now Selvin Arevalo needs our help.

Please send a fax now to stop Selvin's deportation!

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/31/10 at 10:29am By Maribel Hastings

‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration: National Guard Arrives at Border; ICE Memo; Tamaulipas

Several outlets in the Spanish-language press report today on the dispatch of the first wave of National Guard troops to the Arizona-Mexico border. The press also continues to explain what last week's Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo does and doesn't mean for deportations (hint: it's still not amnesty), and looks at the aftereffects of the massacre of migrants in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and of SB 1070 in Arizona.

National Guard arrives at border. The Obama Administration’s plan ultimately calls for 524 troops to be dispatched to Arizona (not all of whom have been sent yet) and 1,200 National Guardsmen in total along the southwestern border to support Customs and Border Protection efforts.

EFE reports that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said that the additional troops are welcome, but insufficient. Brewer has said:

“Despite the mantra by the Obama administration that the border is 'as secure as ever,' in Arizona both Republicans and Democrats recognize they have failed.”

AFP, Reuters, and EFE report that surveillance on the southwest border will be supplemented by an additional Predator drone (unmanned plane), according to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. According to the AFP, Napolitano stated:

“With the deployment of the Predator in Texas, we will now be able to cover the southwest border from the El Centro sector in California all the way to the Gulf of Mexico in Texas.”

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/30/10 at 10:34am By Maribel Hastings

‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration: ICE Memo; Tamaulipas Massacre; 55+ Votes for DREAM

The Spanish-language press continues to follow up on two big stories from last week: the release of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo asking agents to cancel deportations for a narrow class of immigrants, and the massacre of 72 Central and South American migrants in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Meanwhile, as Congress prepares to go back in session, DREAM Act advocates are tallying up their support in the Senate.

ICE memo. The memo, released last week, instructs agents to cancel the deportation of certain undocumented immigrants who have filed active applications for legal status and are likely to be approved. The coverage quotes pro-immigrant groups reiterating that this does not constitute “amnesty,” as critics of the memo allege. EFE, Reuters, El Nuevo Herald (Miami) and El Financiero (Mexico) have more on the story. 

Tamaulipas massacre. Notimex (via SDPNoticias.com) quotes Enrique Morones Careaga, director of the group Border Angels, who says that the tragedy shows:

“how urgently immigration reform is needed for the sake of both the United States and Mexico.”

Other outlets covering the story today include El Universal (Mexico), the AP and EFE.

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/30/10 at 10:22am By Guest Blogger

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Lizbeth Mateo

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act.

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Lizbeth Mateo and I am undocumented. On May 17th, on the 56th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, I, along with Mohammad Abdollahi, Yahaira Carrillo and two others, became the first undocumented students to risk deportation by staging a sit-in inside Senator McCain’s office in Tucson, Arizona, to demand the immediate passage of the DREAM Act. As a result of that sit-in we were arrested, turned over to ICE, and we now face deportation.

I came to this country when I was fourteen-years-old from Oaxaca, Mexico.  It was the late nineties and Mexico was, and is still, facing one of the worst socio-economic and political periods in recent history. For my parents - a taxi driver and a stay-at-home-mom that were struggling to make ends meet-  it was clear that they would have to choose between seeing their children starve and get sick, or risk it all, leave everything behind and relocate the family to Southern California with hopes of a better future. In 1998 we moved to Los Angeles and have lived here, since. 

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/30/10 at 10:00am By Frank Sharry

In Florida, Bill McCollum’s Primary Loss Shows Limits of Immigrant Bashing

While most analysis of immigration politics has focused on Arizona lately, both parties should take note of the results of last Tuesday’s gubernatorial primary in Florida.  In states with a significant Latino presence, there is a steep price to pay for ugly immigration politics.

Here’s what happened: Attorney General Bill McCollum was the favorite in the GOP gubernatorial primary, with a moderate record on immigration and strong support from Latino Republicans.  His opponent Rick Scott, a political newcomer and self-funded multi-millionaire, decided to make a name for himself by riding the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment so popular with a segment of the Republican base.  He emphasized his strong support for an Arizona-like immigration law in Florida and painted McCollum as soft on illegal immigration.  Still, once McCollum started attacking Scott as a shady businessman, he regained the lead and was expected to win.

In what proved to be the fatal move of his campaign, McCollum introduced his own version of an Arizona-type law less than two weeks before the primary.  McCollum called on the Florida state legislature to enact it in September and bragged that the bill was tougher than Arizona’s.

Turns out, McCollum’s strategy of trying to outflank Scott on immigrant bashing backfired.  McCollum rapidly lost support from Latino leaders, and faced a backlash in the press.  On Tuesday, many Latinos in Miami-Dade County stayed home.  Turnout in what was expected to be a McCollum stronghold was less than 17%, while statewide turnout was 21%.  Scott raced over the finish line and pulled off the come-from-behind upset.

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/27/10 at 04:44pm By Dara Lind

ICE Won’t Deport People Already About To Get Legal Status. “Free Pass,” Or Common Sense?

For a year and a half, Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief John Morton has been saying that he wants his agency to target “the worst of the worst” when it comes to immigration enforcement.  In recent weeks, we've finally begun to see this stance reflected in policy, though there’s still more to be done.

Last week, the agency issued new guidance directing field offices to halt the deportations of a narrow group of immigrants who have “active applications in the system” and are about to become legal residents, according to the New York Times:

“The memo encourages ICE officers and lawyers to use their authority to dismiss those cases, canceling the deportation proceedings, if they determine that the immigrants have no criminal records and stand a strong chance of having their residence applications approved.

“The policy is intended to address a 'major inefficiency' that has led to an unnecessary pileup of cases in the immigration courts, Mr. Morton said. The courts have reported at least 17,000 cases that could be eliminated from their docket if ICE dismissed deportations of immigrants, like those married to United States citizens, who were very likely to win legal status, the memo says.”

The rationale here is good law enforcement policy, but it also happens to jive with common sense.  Surely everyone in America would think it’s smarter to spend ICE resources going after dangerous criminals than immigrants who have applied for residency under the current system and are about to be granted a green card, right?

Well, apparently, not everyone.  Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is seeing red when it comes to the new memo.  Despite his reputation as a budget hawk, he’s bound and determined to oppose every change in immigration policy the Obama Administration makes, even one that would make efficient use of taxpayer resources.

Here's what Grassley told the Times:

“Actions like this demoralize ICE agents who are trying to do their job and enforce the law. Unfortunately, it appears this is more evidence that the Obama administration would rather circumvent Congress and give a free pass to illegal immigrants who have already broken our law.”

It's important to understand that this memo covers only a small fraction of immigrants in the U.S. illegally — the 17,000 who are in active deportation proceedings and have also applied for immigration status through existing laws, like the family-based immigration system.  It won’t give a benefit to anyone who doesn’t qualify for one already; it won’t prevent anyone whose application is denied from being deported in the future; and it won’t end deportation proceedings for the majority of people who are in them.

The policy change simply says that we’re not going to tie up deportation resources going after someone who’s about to become a legal, taxpaying resident —something that most Americans would agree makes good sense.

Most, that is, except Senator Grassley and his crew.  Grassley also doesn’t agree with the vast majority of Americans who support congressional passage of comprehensive immigration reform that requires undocumented immigrants to register with the government, undergo background checks, and get in line for legal status. Americans don’t call that “amnesty,” they call it “accountability.” And they like it.

What they don’t like are leaders who pretend we can deport our way to an immigration solution, or whose strategy on immigration is to block progress at every turn and label every change pursued by the Administration as “amnesty.”

Posted 08/27/10 at 09:37am By Guest Blogger

Weekly Diaspora: Immigrants Abused, Denied Social Services in Broken Immigration System

by Catherine A. Traywick, Media Consortium blogger:

After decades of misguided policies and patchwork practices, the high human costs of our disordered immigration system are only starting to emerge. Stricter immigration policies and overcrowded detention centers aren’t making our streets safer or our social services more accessible.

Instead, mounting evidence shows that our immigration policies are just creating a space for immigrants to be brutalized—socially, financially and physically. From reports of sexual abuse inside of detention centers to news of legal residents being denied social services, the ineffectiveness of the prevailing system has never been more apparent, nor the need for reform so great.

Women and children sexually assaulted in detention centers

As Michelle Chen writes at Colorlines, allegations of sexual abuse within a Texas detention center have sparked investigations by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch. According to reports, a guard at the T. Don Hutto Residential Center sexually assaulted several women while transporting them prior to their release.

Human Rights Watch, which this week released a comprehensive report on sexual abuse in detention, regards the incident as representative of a larger problem that affects both women and children caught in the web of the detention system. From the report:

Children, too, have apparently been subject to alleged abuse in Texas immigration detention facilities, although their care is overseen by the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), rather than ICE. Nine Central American children, one of whom was identified as 16 years old, reported sexual and physical abuse while in the custody of Texas Sheltered Care […] the children were fondled, groped, and forced to perform oral sex on one guard, and some were beaten by other guards.

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/26/10 at 03:06pm By Guest Blogger

DREAM Now Letters to Barack Obama: Myrna Orozco

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act.

Dear Mr. President,

On July 20th, 2010 I was arrested in the office of Senator John McCain fighting for the DREAM Act.

I am one of the thousands of students who would qualify for this legislation. I was brought to the United States at the age of four and have been here ever since. I consider myself to be a good student and I always strive to be a good example for others. I have been waiting for the DREAM Act to pass since it was first introduced in 2001, and this year I decided that I couldn't stand by and wait another year. I decided to fight for my DREAMs.

I can no longer watch as politicians gamble with my future and the futures of my friends, family, and even strangers who are in the same position as I am. This is why I, along with 20 other DREAMers decided to take action and fight for what we believe is right; thus, we decided to conduct sit-ins at various senators offices and urge them to take action on the DREAM Act. We can not stand by as another class of outstanding students graduate without being able to fulfill their DREAMs.

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/26/10 at 12:13pm By Maribel Hastings

‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration: The Latino Vote in November; Anniversary of Kennedy’s Death

The Spanish-language press looks backward to the fading legacy of Senator Edward Kennedy, and forward to the impact Latino voters will have on the midterm elections in November.

The Latino vote in November. EFE, El Diario-La Prensa (New York), and La Opinión (Los Angeles), among other outlets, cover the telephonic press conference America’s Voice hosted yesterday to discuss the results of Tuesday night’s primaries and the effect of the immigration debate on Latino voters in these contests and the general elections in November.

The experts who participated on the call agreed that candidates who use anti-immigrant rhetoric or take hardline positions on immigration in the primaries this summer will have to moderate the tone of their message if they want to win over the Latino voters they’ll need to prevail in the general election.

From Florida to California, “a candidate can’t really be successful without a strategy” to attract the Latino vote, said Arturo Vargas, director of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), according to Notimex.

AOL Latino publishes an article by Maribel Hastings of America’s Voice on the same subject. 

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/25/10 at 04:12pm By Dara Lind

Updated Report Highlights “Cross-Currents” Facing Latinos at the Polls

After primaries yesterday in Florida and Arizona, the 2010 general election cycle is in full swing -- and one of the most important questions facing political observers is what the nation's fastest-growing voter bloc will do. We won't know the answer to that question until November, of course, but in America's Voice's updated report on "The Power of the Latino Vote" -- and on a telephonic press conference featuring a panel of experts held today in conjunction with the report's release -- it's clear that the immigration debate continues to be a driving factor behind Latino political engagement.. In all, the report examines the role of immigration and the potential influence of Latino voters in 41 key races in 12 states across the country – including potential battleground locations such as Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, and Nevada.  The report – and the analysis featured on today’s call – make clear that Latino voters could make a difference in dozens of 2010 races.

As Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), said on today's call:

"The current debate around immigration is playing a big role in what Latino voters say.  We recently conducted a poll among Latino voters in key states and they told us the issue of immigration increases their likelihood of voting and even influences their selection of candidates.  In fact, when asked what are their top concerns, most of the respondents told us ‘immigration.'  That's ahead of jobs, the economy, and healthcare, among others.  This is the first time we've ever seen immigration top the list of concerns among Latino voters and that is very significant."

In the past, as the report details, the immigration debate shifted Latino voters closer to the Democrats. But the lack of action on comprehensive immigration reform could hurt Democrats who need high motivation and high turnout from all segments of their base—including Latino voters--in order to stem big losses. The report explains:

"The story of the November 2010 election is still to be written, and there are tremendous cross-currents at play that will impact the way Latino voters perform in individual races.  While the lack of action on comprehensive immigration reform could contribute to Latino voter apathy this cycle, recent polls make it clear that the combination of national attention to Arizona’s anti-immigration law and the way many Republicans have wholeheartedly embraced an anti-immigrant agenda could energize Latinos to turn out and vote against Republicans."

Click here to read more.

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