Pro Immigrant PACs on the Rise

The Associated Press reported that, "for the first time, pro-immigration forces are raising more political donations than their immigration-control counterparts." Immigrants' List and ImmigrationPAC have raised $100,000 combined this election cycle, more than the established groups that back enforcement-only policies.

Lou Dobbs Considering Running for President?

After leaving CNN, Lou Dobbs has said he has not dimissed a run for the presidency. But, his hateful speech toward immigrants is something he has had to confront since leaving. In his latest political maneuvre, he talks to Telemundo’s María Celeste.




Wait....all of sudden he is for legalization? A Clear attempt to position himself "as a champion of that fast-growing ethnic bloc." I think the people are smarter than you, Lou. No one is going to fall for this lame attempt at reconciliation.

Senator Ted Kennedy's Legacy on Immigration Reform

Senator Ted Kennedy was a friend to immigrants and immigration advocates. Tirelessly championing for immigration reform, he has an impressive record for fighting for the rights of undocumented workers, refugees, and all other immigrants. Here is an interview with him about immigration reform and some highlights of his career:

• The 1965 overhaul was first proposed by his brother, President John F. Kennedy, and it was the first piece of legislation that Kennedy managed on the floor of the Senate.
• In 1965, his party’s leaders gave him the job of pushing a bill to eliminate the quota system that had made it virtually impossible for anyone from anywhere but western Europe to immigrate to the USA. After winning that legislative battle, Kennedy “remained the Senate’s most impassioned advocate for widening opportunities for America’s newcomers.”
• Kennedy held hearings on the plight of refugees during the Vietnam war, which revealed that the U.S. government had no coherent policy for refugees.
• Kennedy helped bring a close to the exploitive Bracero program, which supplied the U.S. cheap and temporary labor during World War II in the form of Mexican farm laborers who did not have proper protections or rights
• He was the architect of the Refuge Act of 1980, a piece of legislation that, since its passage, has fostered a new life for hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylees, sheltering them from persecution in their home countries.
• He helped shape the 1986 bill that granted amnesty to an estimated 2.7 million people living undocumented in the USA and established penalties against employers who hired undocumented immigrants.
• He helped shape the 1990 bill that revised the legal immigration system to allow for more immigrants and more high-skilled workers.
• "He fashioned the modern-day legal system of immigration. He created humane refugee and asylum policies. And he has set the stage for a 21st century solution to the problem of illegal immigration," said Frank Sharry, an immigrant rights advocate who worked with Kennedy on legislation.
• Senator Kennedy also helped author the AgJobs bill of 2003, which gave undocumented farmers residency so they could continue working in the U.S.
• By creating an unlikely partnership with John McCain, Kennedy set the tone for a bipartisan approach to immigration reform, resulting in passage of immigration reform in the Senate in 2006. While that legislation ultimately failed, he came back with renewed vigor in 2007 to start the process again.
• Senator Kennedy was the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, & Border Security. Senator Kennedy, always the supreme negotiator, sat down with Members from both sides of the aisle, Secretary Chertoff, and Secretary Gutierrez to hammer out a deal. That deal, S. 1348, met with lukewarm support from many immigration advocates and was pilloried by those on the far right, who turned the Senate’s efforts to find a way out of our immigration mess into a personal vendetta against immigrants.
• Senator Kennedy persisted, tirelessly working to “bring the twelve million out of the shadows.” This was his mantra and his assessment that our last, best chance to reform immigration could be at this moment. Twice in 2007, the Senator gave very moving speeches.
• In the last two years, he was worked tirelessly to expand resettlement opportunities for Iraqi refugees, particularly those who worked for the United States and had to flee the country to escape threats against their lives.
  
• The history of his involvement with leaders like Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez can be seen at the website of the United Farmworkers.

Boycotting the Census?

Many community organizations are gearing up for the 2010 census- ensuring that minorities and immigrants are counted. However, a group of immigrants are advocating for a boycott of the census: undocumented immigrants. NPR reports:

But some in the Hispanic community are trying to undermine that effort. They want undocumented immigrants to boycott the census to send a protest message to Congress about the need to overhaul immigration laws.

Nativo Lopez, who heads the Mexican American Political Association, has told his members for four decades that they should take part in the census.

Initially he thought that the boycott idea was well intentioned but "not the appropriate tactic for the moment."

But then Lopez found himself intrigued. He took the issue to member forums and says he had an epiphany: Latinos are in no mood to support a federal undertaking like the census when they feel that government has betrayed them. As Lopez would go around the room seeking opinions, Latinos told him that President Obama seems to be merely continuing the Bush administration's immigration crackdown. And they felt that government concern about the recession's impact does not extend to them.

Member after member at forums stood up with a story to tell, Lopez says, leading him conclude that "there is no incentive for me to cooperate with the federal government to conduct this count unless we get relief from the federal government on the types of issues that are devastating our families socially and economically."

Boycott advocate Rivera says the census harkens back to the days of slavery, because undocumented immigrants are counted but not granted equal benefits.

Arturo Vargas, of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, draws a different analogy. He says when the census began in 1790, black slaves only counted as 60 percent of a man — and Native Americans, as zero.

But, opponents of the boycott point out that would affect funding for fire departments, hospitals, public schools — things crucial for all residents regardless of status and it would give unfriendly politicians more power.

Split Vote from MN

Its a good thing that Senator Franken (D-MN) was finally let into the Senate. It is looking like immigration reformers cannot count on Senator Amy Klobuchar who voted both for e-verify and to expand the border fence. Senator Franken voted against both amendments.

US Senate Apologizes for Slavery but...

why is their apology different than the one by the House?

Via NPR:

The U.S. Senate apologized Thursday for slavery and for the segregationist Jim Crow laws, 144 years after the Civil War and 45 years after passing the Civil Rights Act.

The action came in a nonbinding resolution adopted unanimously by voice vote.

The Senate chamber was nearly empty as Iowa Democrat Tom Harkin rose to call for a measure that he said was long overdue for the descendants of 4 million blacks who were enslaved in the U.S.

"A national apology by the representative body of the people is a necessary collective response to a past collective injustice," Harkin said. "So, it is both appropriate and imperative that Congress fulfill its moral obligation and officially apologize for slavery and Jim Crow laws."

Kansas Republican Sam Brownback, who co-sponsored the measure, says that disclaimer was necessary to win the support of senators who feared the apology could be used by African-Americans seeking reparations.

"It was a difficult negotiation," he says. "We had to get the reparation issue right."

Last year, the House passed a similar resolution, but without the reparations disclaimer.

The resolution states the congressional apology is made to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for "the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors." That is followed, however, by a disclaimer that says nothing in the resolution authorizes any claim against the United States.

A Report on Scapegoating

Via Fresh Air on NPR:

Chip Berlet has studied extremism, conspiracy theories and hate groups for more than 25 years. In a recent report for PublicEye.org, he says that the murders of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller and Holocaust Museum guard Stephen T. Johns exemplify the potential for violence that often lurks within extremist groups (9 hate crimes since Obama's inauguration in total).

Berlet argues that right-wing pundits share some of the moral responsibility for the actions of their followers. He summarizes the analysis in his report in a June 10 Huffington Post article about Johns' murder: "Apocalyptic aggression is fueled by right-wing pundits who demonize scapegoated groups and individuals in our society, implying that it is urgent to stop them from wrecking the nation."

Berlet is a senior analyst at Political Research Associates, a Boston-area-based think tank, and the co-author of Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort. He is also the editor of Eyes Right! Challenging the Right Wing Backlash.

Chris Simcox to Challenge John McCain in Primary

Senator John McCain will face a challenger in the Republican primary -- Chris Simcox, the controversial founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a restrictionist group that patrols the border in the name of immigration enforcement. According to Politico:

"Questions about Simcox’s colorful and controversial past range from character issues to concerns about his fiscal stewardship of the Minuteman organization. In 2006, Simcox appeared in a documentary film about border security called `USA Under Attack,' in which he referred to Mexicans as `enemies of the state' and said, `I think they should be shot on sight, personally.

(HT: ImmigrationProf Blog)

DHS Signals Policy Changes Ahead for Immigration Raids

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has delayed a series of proposed immigration raids and other enforcement actions at U.S. workplaces in recent weeks, asking agents in her department to apply more scrutiny to the selection and investigation of targets as well as the timing of raids. The Washington Post reports:

A senior department official said the delays signal a pending change in whom agents at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement choose to prosecute -- increasing the focus on businesses and executives instead of ordinary workers.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus made similar calls as the caucus met formally with Obama for the first time.

"Raids that break up families in that way, just kick in the door in the middle of the night, taking [a] father, a parent away, that's just not the American way. It must stop," Pelosi added at a Capitol Hill conference on border issues sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Expresses Need for Immigration Reform

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has expressed regeret about the administration's failure to achieve immigration reform.
The AP quotes Rice: "We need immigration reform. I don't care if it's for the person who crawls across the desert to earn $5 an hour, or for Sergey Brin, who came here from Russia and founded Google . . . "As a country, we can't have people living in the shadows. It's just wrong. It's not only ineffective, it's wrong." According to AP, Rice further stated that "immigrants were critical to the country's financial health, and that reform was needed to fuel the next round of economic growth."

Colin Powell on Immigration Reform

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell talked about “balanced immigration reform” at City University of New York and offer inspirational stories of immigration reform. Powell told a policy conference that “study after study . . . confirm that our economy utterly depends on the contribution of immigrants, documented and otherwise.”

Richard Nadler on Immigration

Richard Nadler joins Karl Rove, Simon Rosenberg, and Mel Martinez in discussing why it is important for Republicans to stop alienating the Latino/a vote by promoting enforcement only immigration policies.

If conservative Republicans continue to advocate the mass removal of resident illegals, our candidates will lose Hispanic vote share - to the point where our performance among Hispanics mirrors that among African Americans. If conservative Republicans continue to advocate the mass removal of resident illegals, our business support will erode - not to levels typical of a congressional minority, but to levels reflecting a fundamental shift of interests favoring the Democrats.

Mass deportation is a deal breaker. The linked prospects of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, persecuted clergy, ruptured families, and mass profiling spooks the legal, working-class Hispanic. It is the GOP platform plan to remove the 12 million illegals among them that turns the Hispanic vote from "leans Democratic" to Democrat-dominated.

Federal immigration statutes are, by universal agreement, absurd. The law, as it applies to employers, encourages the hiring of illegals by making document fraud child's play. I took pains in my article to cite the actual warnings on the I-9 form. Employers are told that they must accept school IDs, report cards, and work visas scheduled to expire, and that they are liable to lawsuits if they do not. But border jumping is punishable by deportation.

These laws scarcely inhabit the same policy universe. Their coexistence is a tribute to the insanity of avoiding comprehensive immigration reform.

You say you want to enforce existing immigration law, but you don't. You want to change it, so that it can be enforced against a work force that was legally hired. The overwhelming majority of "illegals" were properly processed by their employers under existing I-9 procedures. Unmasking the frauds incentivized by these procedures will require new statutes. This reflects your policy preference for deportation, not your superior commitment to law.

Employers want to change existing law too. But they would give visas to existing foreign workers, and implement stricter verification standards going forward. That is their policy preference.

Karl Rove on Immigration

Karl Rove on Immigration:

Republicans must find a way to support secure borders, a guest-worker program and comprehensive immigration reform that strengthens citizenship, grows our economy and keeps America a welcoming nation. An anti-Hispanic attitude is suicidal.

From: Newsweek