Filter
Say What? Senators’ Reasons for Opposing the DREAM Act in Dire Need of Truthiness
After Sen. Harry Reid tabled a vote on the DREAM Act this week in order to take up the passed House version of the bill next week, thousands of students, advocates and community leaders have and will continue to urge their Senators to pass the DREAM Act. Unfortunately, some of these calls are being answered […]
Read MoreStill DREAMing: DREAM Act Vote Delayed in Senate
Last night, the House passed the DREAM Act by a vote of 216-198, with 208 Democrats and 8 Republicans voting in favor. The version of the DREAM Act that passed the House, H.R. 6497, was slightly modified from the Senate version by breaking up the conditional nonimmigrant status into two five-year periods, and requiring aliens […]
Read MoreHow Much Conservative Muscle Will It Take To Lift the DREAM Act?
While some would have you believe that immigration reform is a liberal issue championed only by Democrats, past debates and prior attempts to pass immigration reform have shown us that Republicans and conservatives are champions as well. Granted some of the most stalwart Republican supporters have recently turned their back on reasonable debate (think John […]
Read MoreSpin Control: Putting Myths about the DREAM Act Out to Pasture
As the DREAM Act continues to gather momentum during lame-duck, some conservative Congressional members are scrambling to brand the legislation as “amnesty” in an attempt to scare the American public. Among the myths is the idea that the DREAM Act’s passage would somehow cheat native born students out of opportunities. This tired effort to pit […]
Read MoreNon-Citizens with Mental Disabilities
In 2009, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained approximately 380,000 people. Roughly 15 percent of the non-citizen population in detention, or around 57,000 people, have a mental disability. Unfortunately, these mental disabilities often go unrecognized by law enforcement and immigration officials, resulting in less access to justice for the individual and greater confusion and complexity for the attorneys and judges handling the cases. The consequences of immigration enforcement for unauthorized immigrants, long-term permanent residents, asylum-seekers, and other non-citizens with mental disabilities can be severe. Even U.S. citizens have been unlawfully detained and deported because their mental disabilities made it impossible to effectively defend themselves in court.
Teasing out the complicated issues of fair treatment for people with mental disabilities caught up in our broken immigration system is not easy, particularly because it must be disentangled from the many challenges facing all immigrants who find themselves in immigration custody or in proceedings before the immigration court. As a report by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union aptly put it:
New Report Describes Peril Immigrant Women Face in U.S. Food Industry
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) released a new report called Injustice on our Plates: Immigrant Women in the U.S. Food Industry which looks at the conditions under which immigrant women work. It documents and personalizes the stories of women who have made the dangerous journey to the U.S. seeking a better life for themselves and […]
Read MoreWork-Based Exchange Should Be Pursued as Much as Study Abroad Programs
From the food we eat to the technology we use, the United States’ ongoing interdependence on other nations is more apparent everyday. This interdependence has prompted other nations to expand citizen exchange as a way to promote cultural understanding and cross-pollination in business and industry. Also recognizing the value of exchange, the U.S. government and […]
Read MoreMormon Church, Business Leaders Endorse Utah Compact for Immigration Reform
Utah state Rep. Stephen Sandstrom’s argument that there is “popular support for Arizona’s controversial legislation [SB 1070]” just got a little thinner. A number of state and local governments, corporations, businesses, community and faith groups recently signed the Utah Compact—a declaration of five principles created “to guide Utah’s immigration discussion.” The guidelines are a far […]
Read MorePrisonomics 101: How the Prison Industry Got Arizona’s SB1070 onto Gov. Jan Brewer’s Desk
Today, NPR aired a story on a profiteering plot that watchdog groups have watched unfold for months—private prison corporations, who stand to make hundreds of millions in profits from the detention of immigrants, not only had a hand in drafting Arizona’s controversial immigration enforcement law, SB1070, but contributed millions to the bill’s cosponsors and continue […]
Read MoreWhich State is Really Going to Be the Next Arizona?
Ever since SB1070 passed through the state legislature in Arizona, aspiring politicians and elected officials have jumped on the rhetorical bandwagon, promising similar legislation in their own states—no matter what the political or fiscal costs. No other state has actually passed copycat legislation, but many have made attempts and overtures towards that end. While observers […]
Read MoreMake a contribution
Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
