‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration: DREAMers Halt Deportations; Border Residents Feel Safe

America's Voice Blog

Posted 08/11/10 at 10:48am

The Spanish-language press recognizes the success of the DREAM movement in getting officials to suspend certain deportations, but activists point out that students will still be deported until the federal government takes action to help them -- which President Obama told a fundraising dinner he would do "something" about after the November elections. Meanwhile, on the border, arrests are down, deaths are up, and residents feel safe, but Secure Communities continues to expand anyway.

DREAMers halt deportations. La Opinión (Los Angeles) reports that the student movement for the DREAM Act has succeeded in suspending a series of deportations of DREAM-eligible young people by mounting campaigns to pressure public officials. One ICE spokesperson, Lori Haley, tells the paper that the agency is enforcing immigration policy in a smart and effective manner. But Ernesto Zumaya, of the coalition The Dream is Coming, says that even though some deportations have been suspended:

“it doesn’t mean that the government or immigration (officials) aren’t trying to deport students or anyone undocumented…There have been students in the last few years who have been deported and who could have benefited if the DREAM Act had been passed.”

So when will it be passed? Al Día (Texas) quotes a Latino lawyer and activist who participated in a Democratic Party fundraising dinner in Dallas at which Barack Obama gave the keynote speech; the lawyer reports that Obama assured attendees he would do “something” about the DREAM Act after the November elections. Domingo García, president of the Tejano Democrats, told the paper that Obama:

“said he would do something for DREAM Act students after the elections.”

The article explains the options available to the government, including legislative action and an executive order.

Border residents feel safe. Notimex (via SDPNoticias.com) reports on a poll showing that residents of towns on the U.S. side of the U.S./Mexico border feel safe. The Internet poll, conducted by Human Rights on the Border, found that:

“87.5% of those surveyed, from 10 border cities stretching from San Diego (in California) to Brownsville (in Texas), indicated that they feel safe walking or driving through their neighborhoods as they go about their daily routines.”

An EFE article provides evidence to bear this out, reporting that arrests of undocumented immigrants and seizures of drug shipments have declined on the Arizona border, even as the deaths of undocumented border-crossers has increased. As of July 30, 197 undocumented immigrants had died on the border—31 more than over the same period last year, the agency reports.

House approves border bill. The House has approved the $600 million bill to fund 1,500 more customs and border agents, among other border security resources, despite continued condemnation from pro-immigrant groups of partial measures instead of comprehensive immigration reform, EFE reports.

Secure Communities keeps growing. El Diario-La Prensa (New York) covers the expansion of the Secure Communities program to 25 counties on the southwestern border. In the last 20 months, DHS has expanded the program from 14 to 544 jurisdictions.

America's Voice has started a new series, “‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration,” to bring Spanish-language coverage of immigration and politics to a wider audience. Look for daily roundups (in English) of some of the best Spanish-language news.

The latest Spanish-language reporting and analysis on immigration can now be found at AmericasVoiceEspanol.com. Check it out!