Immigration Impacts Everything
posted by: Cynthia Samuels 19 days ago
By Nezua, Media Consortium Blogger
While many pundits and political analysts are musing about what Tuesday’s mixed bag election results mean for Obama administration, New America Media reports that “there’s another trend to watch; the surprising prominence of immigration politics.”
Even in states where other concerns “like small farms and forestry management” are far more immediate, “immigration has become a litmus test issue for the conservative movement,” and the expectation is, oddly, a “lockstep” goal toward opposing legalization. One has to wonder how the self-destructive choice to oppose immigration at any cost came about.
ColorLines‘ Leticia Miranda asks “What’s next?” now that the infamous Hutto immigration detention center, notorious for myriad human rights violations such as keeping children in prison-like conditions, is closing. Detainees are simply being moved to another detention center in Pennsylvania. So how will we know that substandard conditions and alleged sexual abuse will not be repeated? The problem is not location. The problem is that a class of people have been isolated and assigned lesser worth. making it easy to exploit them. Still, the closing of Hutto is an accomplishment for the ACLU and other activists that worked so hard to make it happen. It’s also a sign that our nation will not tolerate such conditions.
Another positive sign of progress is the reversal of what the Washington Monthly dubbed “a senseless ban” that prohibited HIV-positive individuals from migrating or traveling to the US. Author Steve Benen notes that progress in overturning the ban, which was imposed by the Reagan administration 22 years ago, began with Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and then-Sen. Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) in 2008.
In negative news, the anti-immigration group Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) have released a bizarrely antagonistic press release calling Rep. Gutierrez (D-IL) a “traitor,” as The Washington Independent reports. The full press release is here. In it, William Gheen, President of ALIPAC, happily warns that ALIPAC is “ready to organize and channel the backlash wave of anger that is coming into peaceful civic action” and for no apparent reason, employing a Dirty Harry quote beseeching an unnamed person to “Make my day, punk!” People like Gheen and Lou Dobbs are forever talking about a culture war and are obviously not interested in human beings.
It is far too easy to get the same impression about the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Reporting on an Associated Press analysis of previously undisclosed documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Wiretap declares ICE to be “critically flawed, replete with agents who have badly bungled ongoing cases.” This includes “covering up crimes and even interfering in a police investigation into whether one informant killed another.” The list of ICE’s violations of the public trust include “soliciting sex from witnesses, letting informants smuggle undocumented folks, sexual relationships with informants” and using their position improperly to accrue “personal gain.”
As author M. Junaid Levesque-Alam makes clear, any agency will develop some degree of corruption that must be rooted out. But the dangers increase when you empower an agency “specifically created to target the vulnerable” with federal authority and weapons, all the while calling this population “illegal aliens.”
Also in Wiretap, Jamila King reports on San Francisco’s ongoing battle with Mayor Gavin Newsom regarding when deportation proceedings should be initiated against youth that have bee arrested but not tried for a crime. The city recently voted that juveniles accused of crimes must actually be convicted before they are deported.
Oddly, even in the face of “crowds of people gathered at city hall to celebrate the board’s decision to overturn” the “draconian mandate,” Newsom vetoed the change last Wednesday. Supervisor David Campos responded to the veto by saying it was a “sad day for San Francisco” and that Newsom had “chosen to be on the wrong side of history on this issue.” King reminds us, however, that Newsom’s move is toothless. The Board of Supervisors had enough votes to override his veto.
Deportation is a serious issue. Last week the Diaspora featured “Torn Apart” ColorLines‘ web-only series on deportation’s effects on families of color. Free Speech TV has posted an alert to protect families from deportation. It includes a link with actions you can take to help.
Finally, as The Real News reports, Mexico is offering amnesty to all undocumented immigrants within its borders, be they from the US or other nations (video below). Juan Ignacio Pedroza, Migratory Regulations Official for Mexico, makes clear why the country is making such a move. The government of Mexico sees immigrants as an economic boon, and wants to offer them a path to citizenship so that they can contribute and be part of the social fabric.
Mexico is an older nation and surely imperfect. But this decision demonstrates wisdom about how a people can come together that we might learn from here in the US.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about immigration by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.
Read more: immigration, human rights, deportation, anti-immigrant, hutto detention center, immigration politics
comments
I don't think *everyone* in the world wants to live in America.
I'm happy here in Sweden. :-)
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Nezua = 95% propaganda 5% truth.
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I have been a legal resident in the US for more than 10 years.
We came with an investor visa, because we bought a company for 1.3 mio $, hired more than 200 employees ( imagine the payrolltaxes ! ) produced Jeans made in the USA ( not in China ) 1995 it took about 3 weeks to get the visa, now I'm waiting more than 2 years already for my new investor visa !
In the meantime my old visa expired and I'm in Germany waiting for my visa to be finished, while my husband and my 12 year old daughter are in L.A.(she was born there and is now in 7th grade)
We had to reduce our employees to 80, the longer it takes, the more unemployed there'll be, because we have to live in 2 countries with 2 households and we had to pay 10s of 1000s in attorney fees.
I'm very frustrated, sad and disappointed about this. I miss my daughter and my husband ! We never did anything wrong, we were very productive and engaged in the community, supported schools and lots of charities, never asked for - or got anything for free, but gave all we had.
My sister who lives in Mallorca just came back from L.A., she was taking care of my daughter for 3 months on a tourist visa, she came with a guy she met in L.A., now they are in Spain, and the only thing he had to do was to register at my sisters address.It's much easier for him NOT to be illegal - isn't it ?
Why can't I just get a stamp in my passport to pick up my belongings, accept the kick in the b*tt and move on & out of there? Do you think that's fair
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Illegl is illegal and it doesn't matter if they are working or not working. They need to go back to the country of origin and file for the right to come to this country . Juvenile gangsters need to be deported at once because they laugh at the law with good reason, it's a farce. I deal with all kinds of gang members and they know that nothing will be done to them but sent to the University of Crime prison. where they get national backing by the big time crime lords. I also know a lot of families that are very good but they are living here illegally. I'm paying for thier education andso are you. I'm not willing to pay for thier medical also.
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i also think that the USA should buy Mexico and "paint it", u know fix'er up, make it more desirable to be there!! it would give us more property, boost the stimulas on this side and down south, and be good for everybody!?!!
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i totally agree with the ones that say, "just do it legally"!?! why is that such a problem?? its because they can't read english or write a sentence...which shouldn't be too hard to learn if you Really wanna come here so bad!! then u wouldn't hafta worry about getn busted being here illegally!!?? ud have ur green-card...
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Is there no such word like human obligations ? I have never yet read anything about human obligation for immigrants. It seems that only people already living in the destination country have obligations to fulfill...
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This is a large country, I'm sure out of 3 billion Chinese that 300 million would like to come to America, then 300 million from India, 300 million from all of Africa, and then at least 300 million from the rest of the world. Why stop there, lets bring all the children "in the world", and feed and educate all of them so they grow up healthy ready to have huge families on guaranteed Welfare for all.
Hey just kidding, but there are those who do not think about the limits we must have on population growth.
Since our government is about to turn off the small farmers in the nation, so that we can just import foreign foods, to bring prosperity to all the third world nations farmers.
It's only fair that America be turned into a Welfare state, and reduced to just one more third world nation, with One Government in charge of all nations.
Yeah Sure, on my death bed, UNTIL then, I will protect our nation, I will close our borders, I will return jobs to our nation, I will Restore, not Change America.
Lets feed the children of this nation first, with people who love America, fly our flag, speak English, and still have charity to help some of the worlds poor. We must take care of America first, or we can't help anyone.
The claimed global warming caused of course only by the United States living too good, our wonderful government will turn off our utilites, close our factories, and turn off America. Welcome to the New World Order. G 20 coming to your door soon. Help!
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Many people seem to overlook the fact that aliens illegally in the U.S. come from all the nearly 200 countries in the world. Some 40% didn't come across the southern border: they came in legally as students, visitors, temporary workers, etc. at airports and seaports. Does the author of this article suggest that we should let everyone who comes in stay?
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Jamie and Barbara not a productive thought between you. Bigot, I am not a bigot, my relatives came through a place you have never heard of..Ellis Island, seems you have a computer, look it up, get educamated, know it's not spelled right, but Ellis Island is. They waited in line, they had to have sponsors, no welfare, health checks, no SWINE FLU, which we all know came from MEXICO. They learned to speak the language and would never have thought to fly their flag over the AMERICAN FLAG that was now the symbol of their new country. They didn't rape and were not drug dealers they were honest and did it the right way. They NEVER WOULD OF THOUGHT TO SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE and PISS ON AMERICA. We would not miss these illegals, in the YOB market today, what do you think is going to happen when an american and an illegal show up for the same yob? In this economy they should pack it up and SELF DEPORT and take their anchors with them. I friend rented a small house to some guys, they moved on and in moved the illegals, no rental agreementt they were squatters, the only way he got them out was to threaten CPS. They lived in fifth and no food or refrig or anything for their anchor, but that anchor was their bonus check each month, the threat of losing that check every month was more than they could take. The housing and landlord laws would of taken months and lots of cash. WELFARE, FOOD STAMPS, FREE HEALTH CARE. Work hard AMERICAN TAXPAYERS because you pay it it all out the a..
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