America's Voice Blog

Posted 08/30/10 at 10:34am

‘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.

55+ votes for DREAM. La Raza (Chicago) quotes student activist Tania Unzueta, one of the leaders of the student movement for the DREAM Act, saying that:

“there are 55 senators who have told us that they would vote for the DREAM Act if it came up.”

According to the paper:

“Unzueta said that they have confirmed these numbers with the office of Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), the main sponsor for the bill, and that they definitely have 38 cosponsors for the measure in the Senate.”

When Congress goes back into session, it is anticipated that there will be efforts to push the DREAM Act forward. The bill would legalize undocumented young people who have completed at least two years of college or who enlist in the armed forces. 

Brewer upset about State Department report. The AP reports that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer wants a reference to her state’s SB 1070 law struck from a report the State Department is sending to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Brewer writes:

“the idea of our own American government submitting the duly enacted laws of a State of the United States to ‘review’ by the United Nations is internationalism run amok and unconstitutional.”

Concerts for truth. Lastly, Notimex, EFE and the AP report that Los Tigres del Norte and Los Lobos will appear in concert together in California on September 28th in support of immigrant rights. The concert is a collaboration with the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and will kick off the campaign “Truth in Immigration,” which, according to the AP:

“seeks to correct some of the rhetoric about immigrants and Latinos, such as negative stereotypes, and spread positive messages about immigrants.”  

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!

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