Reform
Republicans Rethinking Hispanic Strategy
Photo by AP. Yesterday a research group in Texas released extensive polling data among registered Lone Star voters, Beyond Bush, Texas Republicans in an Obama era. The report warns the Texas GOP that, "Hispanic voters won't affiliate with the GOP simply because we insist they really have nothing to complain about and ‘should' since they are socially conservative too; we need to actually listen to their concerns, tone down the rhetoric and attitude, find common ground on immigration/assimilation, and take concrete steps to make them feel welcome." Read More
Texas Driver’s License Policy Ill Substitute for Immigration Reform
Texas recently tightened its driver's license policy, making it more difficult for immigrants to get an original, renewal, or duplicate driver's license or state ID card. All applicants must now not only prove they are lawfully in the U.S., noncitizens will also receive a driver's license that is distinct from that of U.S. citizens. This has already resulted in discrimination and the denial of licenses to people who should have qualified. Texas already had strict identity requirements and prohibited undocumented immigrants from obtaining licenses. The new rules mean that noncitizens will get specially designed vertical licenses and anyone who has a visa scheduled to expire in less than six months will not be able to get a license. The special licenses expire with the expiration date of the person's visa. Read More
Fewer Immigrants Coming In, More Going Underground
The impact of the current recession on immigrants and immigration is complex and far from common sense. On the one had, fewer immigrants come and more go home since there are fewer jobs to be had. On the other hand, the absurdities of current enforcement policies drive many immigrants underground, to the long-term detriment of the economy. Two recent articles illustrate these complexities. The Miami Herald announced "Illegal Immigrants Going Home, and Local Labor Market at Risk," and explained how the faltering U.S. economy has meant immigrants are less likely to find regular work, causing some immigrants -legal as well as unauthorized -- to return to their home countries or move to other states because they are unable to find work here. Experts warn that when the economy improves, there will be labor shortages in immigrant-worker industries. Read More
Agriprocessors’ Rubashkin Faces Immigration and Wage Violation Charges
This week, former CEO Sholom Rubashkin of kosher slaughterhouse Agriprocessors pleaded "not guilty" in court to 12-counts involving undocumented immigrants, identity theft and bank fraud. When the kosher meatpacking plant was raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, authorities found not just undocumented workers at the plant, but child laborers, and an employer guilty of a host of crimes, including exploitation, abuse and illegal drug production. The New York Times reported, "Some [workers] said they worked shifts of 12 hours or more, wielding razor-edged knives and saws to slice freshly killed beef. Some worked through the night, sometimes six nights a week." Read More
Virginia Seeks to Help, Not Penalize Immigrants
It looks like someone is getting the message that being anti-immigrant isn’t a winning strategy. The Virginia Commission on Immigration plans to send Gov. Tim Kaine 24 recommendations, “most of which would help immigrants instead of penalizing them.” The recommendations include creating an immigration assistance office, allowing more legal immigrants to qualify for health benefits, offering in-state tuition to immigrants who meet specific criteria, and increasing the number of English classes available. The Commission will also call upon the federal government to increase the number of visas for foreign workers and pass comprehensive immigration legislation. Commission chairman Sen. John C. Watkins, a Republican from Chesterfield, echoed the frustration that states and localities are feeling across the country and stated that, “This is really a federal issue. They have pushed it down toward the states, and the time has come for them to deal with it. We have no jurisdiction.” Read More
Facebook Board Member Allegedly Backs Anti-Immigrant NumbersUSA
Does Facebook have connections to ardently anti-immigrant group NumbersUSA? Insiders at Clarium Capital, the $5.3 billion hedge fund run by Facebook investor Peter Thiel are claiming their boss has made a $1 million donation to NumbersUSA. Rather than denying such serious accusations, Thiel hasn’t done anything more than say that the company doesn’t comment on "gossip and heresy." According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, NumbersUSA is part of a network of organizations—some which have been designated as “hate groups”—created by John Tanton, a “major architect in the nativist movement” who is known for his white nationalist views and close ties to the Pioneer Fund—“possibly the last remaining funder of eugenics in the country”. Tanton both founded and funded NumbersUSA—quite possibly with Pioneer Fund money. Read More
Steve Levy’s “I’m Sorry” Is Not Enough
Known for his harsh immigration policies and anti-immigrant rhetoric, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy responded to the brutal murder of Ecuadorian immigrant, Marcelo Lucero, by saying that it was a “one-day story” and that the hate crime received excessive attention due to his own stance on immigration. Steve Levy has since apologized for his comments, but Suffolk County Democratic chairman Richard Schaffer is calling on Levy to serve as a “unifier” to “calm things down.” Yet, as stated in a New York Times editorial, “The High Cost of Harsh Words,” Mr. Levy’s past harsh words and actions against undocumented workers have now left him cornered with a tragically limited ability to lead the county in confronting a brutal act that surely pains him as much as anyone. Read More
Data Shows Americans Support CIR, Discredits Restrictionist’s Claims
Immigration restrictionists don’t know what to do with themselves. First off, none of the vehemently anti-immigrant candidates for president got their party’s nomination (or a great deal of public support), and both presidential candidates agreed on the need for comprehensive immigration reform – including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Restrictionist poster child Lou Barletta failed to win his election for Congress in Pennsylvania and Libby Dole in North Carolina along with other enforcement-only candidates across the country lost to candidates who supported enforcement PLUS some kind of immigration reform. In the National Review Online, Mark Krikorian--Director of restrictionist organzation Center for Immigration Studies, apparently unable to find any other light at the end of the tunnel, hopes that President Obama will continue the heavy handed enforcement measures initiated by the Bush Administration, including a vast expansion of the flawed E-Verify employment verification system. Without doing so, Krikorian claims, Obama will lose his credibility in the eyes of Americans. Read More
Latinos a Reason to Hold Your Breath for Immigration Reform
One can only hope that columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr. of the San Diego Union-Tribune is just being pessimistic when he tells readers “don’t hold your breath” waiting for President-elect Barack Obama to pursue comprehensive immigration reform. In July, Obama pledged at the National Council of La Raza’s annual conference to make immigration reform “a top priority” of his administration during his first year in the White House. But Navarrette suspects this pledge will be sacrificed upon the altar of realpolitik as the electoral debt that Obama owes to Latino voters collides with the debt he owes to organized labor. In previous years, proponents of immigration reform have proposed the creation of a new temporary worker program as part of the comprehensive reform effort, but labor leaders have opposed the idea. Navarrette fears that, if Obama is forced to choose between Latinos and labor, Latinos will lose. Read More
Long Island Immigrant Dies from Brutal Hate Crime
After living in the U.S. for 16 years, Marcello Lucero, an Ecuadoran immigrant living in Long Island, was senselessly stabbed to death by a group of seven teenagers, who Police say were looking to kill a Hispanic - any Hispanic. According to the blog Long Island Wins, [The assailants] said that they were on patrol to go "Beaner jumping". "Beaner" is a derogatory word for Mexican. The attackers told police that they said 'Let's go find some Mexicans to -- -- up,' Marcello Lucero fell victim to a startling rise in anti-Latino and anti-immigrant hate crimes in the U.S. Just last month, the FBI released a report showing a 40% increase in anti-Latino hate crimes. The report's findings are consistent with the swelling nativist movement that has become larger and more vitriolic in recent years and its impact undeniable as anti-Latino hate crime incidents reach unprecedented levels. Read More
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