President Obama gave immigration reform only one vague sentence in his State of the Union address. Despite that, and the poisonous stalemate on Capitol Hill, the White House and Democratic Congressional leaders insist that they are still committed to presenting a comprehensive reform bill this year — one that would clamp down on the border and workplace, streamline legal immigration and bring 12 million illegal immigrants out of the shadows.
The country needs to confront the issue, to lift the fear that pervades immigrant communities, to better harness the energy of immigrant workers, to protect American workers from off-the-books competition. What's been happening as the endless wait for reform drags on has been ugly.
The administration has doubled down on the Bush-era enforcement strategy, unleashing the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local law enforcement agencies and setting loose an epidemic of misery, racial profiling and needless arrests. The intense campaign of raids and deportations has so clogged the immigration courts that the American Bar Association has proposed creating an independent court system that presumably would be better able to command adequate resources.
Tensions and anger in immigrant communities are rising. Religious and business groups are urging change — for moral reasons and because they believe that bringing immigrants out from the shadows would help the economy. Young students who have patiently waited for the Dream Act — a bill to legalize immigrant children who bear no blame for their status — are frustrated. Groups across the country are planning to march on Washington this month, demanding action on reform.
At least one advocacy group, the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, has declared the dream of comprehensive reform dead. It is urging incremental change, with modest reforms like the Dream Act. Other groups may follow. It is too soon to give up.
Representative Luis Gutierrez has submitted legislation in the House that contains the right elements of comprehensive reform. Senators Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham are working on a Senate version. Let's hope Congress and Mr. Obama are paying attention and will find the spine to fashion a fair, comprehensive bill and then fight for it.
Mr. Obama should remember the promise he made often during the campaign but left out of his State of the Union: that the undocumented deserve a chance to make Americans of themselves.
PHOENIX — Over the past several years, immigration hard-liners at the Arizona Legislature persuaded their colleagues to criminalize the presence of illegal border-crossers in the state and ban soft immigration policies in police agencies — only to be thwarted by vetoes from a Democratic governor.
This year, their prospects have improved. A proposal to draw local police deeper into the fight against illegal immigration has momentum, and even opponents expect the new Republican governor to sign off on the changes.
The proposal would make Arizona the only state to criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants through an expansion of its trespassing law. It also would require police to try to determine people's immigration status when there's reasonable suspicion they are in the country illegally.
An estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants live in the state.
"The greatest threat to our neighborhoods is the illegal alien invasion," said Republican Sen. Russell Pearce of Mesa, sponsor of the proposal, explaining that some illegal immigrants who are criminals bring violence and other crimes to the United States.
Supporters say the new rules are needed because the federal government has done a lousy job of trying seal the border and crack down on immigrants in the country's interior. Opponents say such new duties would be costly and lead to racial profiling.
The proposal passed the Senate two weeks ago, and a similar bill could come to a vote of the full House as early as this week.
Paul Senseman, spokesman for Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, said the governor doesn't comment on pending legislation but generally supports pragmatic immigration laws. Her predecessor, Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, vetoed similar proposals.
Many of the state's local police bosses have long resisted suggestions that their officers conduct day-to-day immigration enforcement, saying it would distract them from investigating other crimes and sow distrust among immigrants, who might not help officers investigating crimes because they fear being sent home.
"We are not anti-immigration enforcement," said Kingman Police Chief Robert DeVries, who opposes the bill. "We are just concerned about some of the responsibilities that are being pushed on us and how it affects our ability to provide day-to-day services in our communities."
Immigrant rights advocates are especially concerned about the trespassing expansion, saying it would inevitably lead to hassles for U.S. citizens and legal immigrants who would be approached by police because of their skin color.
"Bills like this that cast a net so wide are guaranteed to trap U.S. citizens," said Jennifer Allen, director of the Border Action Network, an immigrant rights group based in southern Arizona.
Pearce said he doesn't see the trespassing expansion being used on a wide scale and said officers wouldn't be required to arrest all illegal immigrants under such a law. Pearce said officers could turn illegal immigrants over to federal authorities, as police now routinely do, or they could use the trespassing expansion to hold onto illegal immigrants who are suspects in crimes.
First-offense trespassing by an illegal immigrant would be a top-tier misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. Subsequent violations would be mid-tier felonies that would carry a penalty of one-and-a-half to three years in prison.
One element of the proposal would ban what anti-immigration groups call sanctuary polices — local rules that discourage or restrict officers from questioning immigrants.
Supporters of the bill say the policies — enacted by cities — create areas of "sanctuary" for illegal immigrants. The bill would let any person file a lawsuit to challenge the polices. If a judge finds a city restricted enforcement, the city could face civil penalties of $1,000 to $5,000 for each day the policy remains in effect after the lawsuit is filed.
Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema of Phoenix, an opponent of the measure, disputes that cities and counties have any written or de facto policies that make them sanctuaries. "It's just not true," Sinema said.
This week is the beginning of a monthly campaign advocating for the Dream Act organized by undocumented students across the country through the United We Dream Coalition, a national umbrella organization of undocumented student activist groups. According to Nancy, the media relations coordinator for Dream Team LA, the Los Angeles area undocumented student coalition, "Part of the reason for these events is to stress the urgency of the Dream Act. A lot of times people are sympathetic to undocumented students and our issues, but they really don't see the urgency and the reason why we need the Dream Act to pass this year, now, as soon as possible."
But the timing of the events has another significance according to Nancy, an undocumented student who has been actively advocating for the Dream Act for the past five years, "We really see a close connection and a parallel between our movement and the African-American movement and their experiences in the U.S. As undocumented students, were are constantly being denied certain rights in the U.S. and within our school campuses. We are fighting for our own humanity. A lot of tactics that we're using as undocumented students are borrowed frameworks that were established in the 60's with the civil rights movement." Since February is nationally recognized as "African American History Month," undocumented students hope to highlight parallels between the civil rights movement of the 1960's and the current efforts for immigration reform. As in the 1960s, students are once again at the forefront of political activism.
The similarities between the civil rights movement and current immigration reform movement are numerous. Between 1954 and 1968, the movement advocated for legislation and other legal protections for the 18 million African Americans living in the United States who continued to be victims of discriminatory laws, segregation and various forms of violence. Currently, immigration reform activists are pushing for legislation that would impact an estimated 16 million individuals living in the United States. This includes 12 million undocumented persons and 4 million children of undocumented parents. Although these children are citizens, they live with the uncertainty of being separated from their parents due to being forced to accompany their deported parents to another country they have never known and where they may not even speak the language. Undocumented immigrants also continue to be victims of hate crimes, as highlighted by various high profile cases of beatings and murders of undocumented persons.
College-going undocumented students face a variety of obstacles. Ineligible for most types of financial aid, they worry about their options once they complete their college degree.
Since 2001, undocumented students have been proactive in advocating for the Dream Act, a narrowly-tailored federal bill that would provide a path to legalization for students who have been in the U.S. before age 16, graduate from a U.S. high school and enroll in college or enlist in the military. This continues to be the central priority of the United We Dream coalition. According to Nancy, "The most important goal of our week of action is to reach middle America, to listen to our stories and the work that we have been doing. The majority of people who are against the Dream Act are so because they haven't met any of these DREAM students, they haven't heard our stories. We're calling on the United States to reflect on how we're treating our young people and how we're treating our undocumented population within the U.S."
For the past four years, I have been studying the educational experiences of college-going undocumented students. One of my main research findings is the high levels of community service, volunteer work and various forms of civic engagement. From a national survey of almost 200 undocumented students and over 100 in-depth interviews, I found that over 90% had participated in volunteer work, community service and various forms of activism. As students get older and advance in college, their level of activism increases, mostly due to their concern as graduation nears and their future remains unclear without the passage of the Dream Act. Almost a decade has passed since the bill was first introduced in 2001 and the sense of urgency continues to rise. Undocumented students are now taking greater risks by going public with their status in an effort to gain public support. As Nancy states, "We're willing to take the risk of putting ourselves out there and putting ourselves in danger, because for us it's more of a risk to remain silent and not to speak about our realities and the everyday obstacles that we go through. Right now we are not afraid to speak up and to come out, because that's what we need to do in order to be heard, in order to create change."
According to Tolu, the director of communications for the national United We Dream coalition, despite misconceptions about the support for undocumented students, the Dream Act enjoys broad support, "What we've found among the staunch anti-immigrant folks is that the Dream Act is the unifier. The Dream Act is something that different people can relate to regardless of how they feel about our current immigration situation because it speaks to our core values as people and to our sense of fairness. It tugs at your heart when you hear of a child that has been here since he was six months old but is in deportation. Nothing about that seems right and so reaching into those communities that have not been as immigrant friendly, we've been able to get support from people that you wouldn't ordinarily expect to be on the side of undocumented immigrants."
Passage of the Dream Act would allow undocumented young adults to apply for jobs that are commensurate with their education as opposed to the minimum wage jobs currently held by most undocumented college graduates. Their economic output, and the amount we can tax, would double. We would all get a higher economic return from our investment in their education, which current immigration law prevents. Research also suggests that young adults who are highly civically engaged, like the activist undocumented youth advocating for the Dream Act, continue to do so throughout their adult lives. For example, through various longitudinal studies, researchers have found that young adults who were involved in activism during the civil rights movement of the 1960s were more likely to be in leadership positions at all levels 20 years later. Thus, we can reasonably expect that the undocumented students from the United We Dream Coalition, as well as the thousands of activist undocumented students across the country, will benefit American society in another way if the Dream Act is passed: they will apply their leadership skills to become leaders in city councils, school boards, state legislatures, non-profit and businesses.
A new civil rights movement is certainly underway. Forty-years ago, landmark civil rights legislation not only improved the lives of 18 million African Americans -- it also made the country better as a whole. Pragmatic immigration reform will not only benefit 16 million undocumented individuals and their U.S. born children, but everyone in this country. More importantly, as Tolu so eloquently states, the Dream Act, "It's not a Democratic issue, it's not a Republican issue, it's a human issue, it's a civil rights issue for the students that are trying to go to school. It's about finding a just and humane way for people who are in an untenable situation. It's amazing what the students have been able to achieve even with this obstacle, imagine what they can do without that drawback. These are very passionate, involved, devoted, active, intelligent individuals and it would be a great loss to the country to give up on them. I believe that we're better as a people having DREAMers amongst us and we would be a better country if we passed the Dream Act. It would affect the lives of hundreds of thousands, and we've put everything on the line to get this done. I believe that we'll get it done."
This week is the beginning of a monthly campaign advocating for the Dream Act organized by undocumented students across the country through the United We Dream Coalition, a national umbrella organization of undocumented student activist groups. According to Nancy, the media relations coordinator for Dream Team LA, the Los Angeles area undocumented student coalition, "Part of the reason for these events is to stress the urgency of the Dream Act. A lot of times people are sympathetic to undocumented students and our issues, but they really don't see the urgency and the reason why we need the Dream Act to pass this year, now, as soon as possible."
But the timing of the events has another significance according to Nancy, an undocumented student who has been actively advocating for the Dream Act for the past five years, "We really see a close connection and a parallel between our movement and the African-American movement and their experiences in the U.S. As undocumented students, were are constantly being denied certain rights in the U.S. and within our school campuses. We are fighting for our own humanity. A lot of tactics that we're using as undocumented students are borrowed frameworks that were established in the 60's with the civil rights movement." Since February is nationally recognized as "African American History Month," undocumented students hope to highlight parallels between the civil rights movement of the 1960's and the current efforts for immigration reform. As in the 1960s, students are once again at the forefront of political activism.
The similarities between the civil rights movement and current immigration reform movement are numerous. Between 1954 and 1968, the movement advocated for legislation and other legal protections for the 18 million African Americans living in the United States who continued to be victims of discriminatory laws, segregation and various forms of violence. Currently, immigration reform activists are pushing for legislation that would impact an estimated 16 million individuals living in the United States. This includes 12 million undocumented persons and 4 million children of undocumented parents. Although these children are citizens, they live with the uncertainty of being separated from their parents due to being forced to accompany their deported parents to another country they have never known and where they may not even speak the language. Undocumented immigrants also continue to be victims of hate crimes, as highlighted by various high profile cases of beatings and murders of undocumented persons.
College-going undocumented students face a variety of obstacles. Ineligible for most types of financial aid, they worry about their options once they complete their college degree. Since 2001, undocumented students have been proactive in advocating for the Dream Act, a narrowly-tailored federal bill that would provide a path to legalization for students who have been in the U.S. before age 16, graduate from a U.S. high school and enroll in college or enlist in the military. This continues to be the central priority of the United We Dream coalition. According to Nancy, "The most important goal of our week of action is to reach middle America, to listen to our stories and the work that we have been doing. The majority of people who are against the Dream Act are so because they haven't met any of these DREAM students, they haven't heard our stories. We're calling on the United States to reflect on how we're treating our young people and how we're treating our undocumented population within the U.S."
For the past four years, I have been studying the educational experiences of college-going undocumented students. One of my main research findings is the high levels of community service, volunteer work and various forms of civic engagement. From a national survey of almost 200 undocumented students and over 100 in-depth interviews, I found that over 90% had participated in volunteer work, community service and various forms of activism. As students get older and advance in college, their level of activism increases, mostly due to their concern as graduation nears and their future remains unclear without the passage of the Dream Act. Almost a decade has passed since the bill was first introduced in 2001 and the sense of urgency continues to rise. Undocumented students are now taking greater risks by going public with their status in an effort to gain public support. As Nancy states, "We're willing to take the risk of putting ourselves out there and putting ourselves in danger, because for us it's more of a risk to remain silent and not to speak about our realities and the everyday obstacles that we go through. Right now we are not afraid to speak up and to come out, because that's what we need to do in order to be heard, in order to create change."
According to Tolu, the director of communications for the national United We Dream coalition, despite misconceptions about the support for undocumented students, the Dream Act enjoys broad support, "What we've found among the staunch anti-immigrant folks is that the Dream Act is the unifier. The Dream Act is something that different people can relate to regardless of how they feel about our current immigration situation because it speaks to our core values as people and to our sense of fairness. It tugs at your heart when you hear of a child that has been here since he was six months old but is in deportation. Nothing about that seems right and so reaching into those communities that have not been as immigrant friendly, we've been able to get support from people that you wouldn't ordinarily expect to be on the side of undocumented immigrants."
Passage of the Dream Act would allow undocumented young adults to apply for jobs that are commensurate with their education as opposed to the minimum wage jobs currently held by most undocumented college graduates. Their economic output, and the amount we can tax, would double. We would all get a higher economic return from our investment in their education, which current immigration law prevents. Research also suggests that young adults who are highly civically engaged, like the activist undocumented youth advocating for the Dream Act, continue to do so throughout their adult lives. For example, through various longitudinal studies, researchers have found that young adults who were involved in activism during the civil rights movement of the 1960s were more likely to be in leadership positions at all levels 20 years later. Thus, we can reasonably expect that the undocumented students from the United We Dream Coalition, as well as the thousands of activist undocumented students across the country, will benefit American society in another way if the Dream Act is passed: they will apply their leadership skills to become leaders in city councils, school boards, state legislatures, non-profit and businesses.
A new civil rights movement is certainly underway. Forty-years ago, landmark civil rights legislation not only improved the lives of 18 million African Americans -- it also made the country better as a whole. Pragmatic immigration reform will not only benefit 16 million undocumented individuals and their U.S. born children, but everyone in this country. More importantly, as Tolu so eloquently states, the Dream Act, "It's not a Democratic issue, it's not a Republican issue, it's a human issue, it's a civil rights issue for the students that are trying to go to school. It's about finding a just and humane way for people who are in an untenable situation. It's amazing what the students have been able to achieve even with this obstacle, imagine what they can do without that drawback. These are very passionate, involved, devoted, active, intelligent individuals and it would be a great loss to the country to give up on them. I believe that we're better as a people having DREAMers amongst us and we would be a better country if we passed the Dream Act. It would affect the lives of hundreds of thousands, and we've put everything on the line to get this done. I believe that we'll get it done."
As Chicanos ~ Latinos, Mexicanos and indigenous peoples ~ we need to go far beyond the old Civil Rights Movement. Many of us honor the virtues and teachings of Dr. King but he was of earlier different times than we are experiencing now. We need to come together on the basis of respect for humane rights for all peoples. We are one people of Mother Earth and should come together as one.
Reactionary racism and prejudice nationalism against undocumented immigrants are manifestations of those who have absorbed the mass psychology of fascism, whether subconsciously or not. I for one support the positive, productive and practical benefits of the Dream Act. Venceremos Unidos!
SAN FRANCISCO—A judge has ruled that San Francisco can't be held responsible for the deaths of a man and his two sons allegedly shot by a suspected illegal immigrant who was not reported to immigration authorities despite his criminal history as a juvenile.
Judge Charlotte Woolard on Monday threw out the suit filed by the family of Tony Bologna and his sons, 20-year-old Michael and 16-year-old Matthew, saying that cities cannot generally be held liable for protecting people against crimes.The family's lawyer, Matthew Davis, said he would appeal.
Bologna and his sons were shot to death on a San Francisco street in June 2008. Police believe they were mistaken for gang members by Edwin Ramos, a suspected illegal immigrant from El Salvador and an alleged member of the MS-13 gang.Ramos has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder. If convicted, he would face life in prison without parole.
He previously was arrested for assault in October 2003 and attempted purse-snatching in 2004 and was sent to juvenile shelters. Court documents don't reveal if police or juvenile courts knew that Ramos had entered the country illegally.Under the juvenile authorities' interpretation of the city's sanctuary city policy, they would not have turned him over to immigration authorities.
Bologna's widow and daughter argued the city was responsible for the shootings because it failed to turn Ramos over to federal immigration authorities after the earlier brushes with the law.
The murders sparked a change in the city's sanctuary policy. In 2008, Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered city employees to report suspected underage illegal immigrants to the federal government after a felony arrest.
Supervisors then passed an ordinance that requires the youth to be found guilty before being reported, but the mayor has refused to implement it, saying it violates federal law.
As Chicanos ~ Latinos, Mexicanos and indigenous peoples ~ we need to go far beyond the old Civil Rights Movement. Many of us honor the virtues and teachings of Dr. King but he was of earlier different times than we are experiencing now. We need to come together on the basis of respect for humane rights for all peoples. We are one people of Mother Earth and should come together as one.
Reactionary racism and prejudice nationalism against undocumented immigrants are manifestations of those who have absorbed the mass psychology of fascism, whether subconsciously or not. I for one support the positive, productive and practical benefits of the Dream Act. Venceremos Unidos!