Immigration Insider: 5 Weeks to Election... CA, FL, and DREAM

by: AmericasVoice

Wed Sep 29, 2010 at 13:28:50 PM EST

Check out America's Voice new weekly resource, "Immigration Insider," which takes an in-depth look at immigration politics, leading up to the November election. SUBSCRIBE to receive Immigration Insider in your inbox every Tuesday-- absolutely gratis.

Immigration Insider | Election 2010

A vote on the DREAM Act is delayed, but the debate itself could boost Dems' chances this fall. CA candidates attempt extreme makeovers to woo Latino voters. Rep. Bilbray blasts DREAM supporters as "accomplices to murder." FOX News is furious... with Stephen Colbert. Marco Rubio speaks Spanish. America's Voice teams up on Spanish ad blitz to show who's blocking immigration reform.

Arizona's harsh anti-immigrant bill gives racial profiling the green light

by: Restore Fairness

Wed Apr 14, 2010 at 17:05:04 PM EST

From the Restore Fairness blog.

The passage of SB 1070 by the House of Representatives in Arizona  will have chilling repercussions if signed into law by Governor Brewer.  The bill dramatically expands police powers to stop, question and detain  individuals for not having proper identification, a move that will  instigate racial  tension and fear and driving a wedge between groups.

SB 1070 effectively makes it a crime to be undocumented in   Arizona,  and will be one of the harshest anti-immigrant legislations in the U.S. if  it becomes law. The bill passed in Arizona’s House of Representatives  and is to be combined with a similar bill that passed in the  Senate,  after which it is expected to be signed into law Governor Brewer. Senator  Russell K. Pearce (R-AZ) who introduced the bill has publicly  stated that if it passes, 10 other states will follow suit with similar  legislation.

So what’s in it? The bill requires the police to  investigate the immigration  status of every person that they come  across, whom they have “reasonable suspicion” to believe is in the  country unlawfully. This implies that everyone has to carry their papers  with  them at all times in order to avoid being stopped, arrested, and   detained, effectively fashioning Arizona into nothing short of a police  state. Currently,  police officers can only inquire about a person’s immigration status if   the person is a suspect in a crime. In addition, the bill allows anyone  to sue a local, country or state agency if they   believe that the agency is not enforcing immigration law, expressly  forbids cities from adopting “sanctuary”  policies that prevent  police from carrying out immigration  enforcement, and makes  it illegal to solicit work or hire day laborers.

While opponents of immigration have been rooting for this measure for   a long time, immigrant rights advocates have unanimously condemned the   bill as an affront on the civil liberties of the residents of Arizona.  From business groups and faith leaders to municipal governments and  police chiefs, the bill has seen increasing opposition. Even within the  police, while police  unions support the bill, the state  police chief’s association has opposed the bill,  saying that it  will hamper the trust that immigrant communities place  in the their  services. Outraged by its potential passage, groups like the ACLU,  NDLON, Bordern  Action Network and  national networks have gone into  overdrive to  protest the bill. According to Alessandra Meetze,  President of the ACLU of Arizona,

Instead of working on real solutions to  the  immigration crisis, our  legislators have devised a proposal that  is full  of  shortcuts…Contrary to what proponents of SB1070 say, the  bill does   not prohibit officers from relying on race or ethnicity in  deciding who   to investigate…A lot of U.S. citizens are going to be  swept up in the application of  this law for something as simple as  having an accent and leaving their  wallet at home.

While Senator Pearce believes the bill simply  “takes   the handcuffs off of law enforcement and lets them do their  job”, in reality, it promotes racial profiling and cements  anti-immigrant sentiment already prevalent in Arizona. The grounds of  “reasonable suspicion” on  which police officers will  investigate  people about their immigration  status will in many cases be based on  racial and ethnic grounds. One immigration group, Somos America,  likens it to the  system operating under apartheid or pre-civil rights  America  with Jim Crow laws, where people of color were disallowed from   entering “white” land, yet were exploited for their labor by  the white  population. Given Arizona’s infamous Sheriff Arpaio whose dictatorial methods  favor neighborhood sweeps, tent city detentions, and racial stops the  fear of the misuse of the bill is not far fetched.

Sign a petition to tell Governor Brewer to stand up  for Arizona and stop  signing a bill into law that will terrorize communities and create  painful divisions.

Learn. Share. Act. Go to restorefairness.org

Hayworth, Norquist and CPAC: the Republican Fork in the Road on Immigration

by: AmericasVoice

Fri Feb 19, 2010 at 17:58:14 PM EST

Republicans are facing a major fork in the road on immigration, highlighted this week at CPAC (the major conservative conference in DC right now).

Does the GOP choose the backward-looking, anti-immigrant route led by former Congressman, now Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth, or the path toward real immigration solutions, led by Grover Norquist, who is supporting Hayworth’s primary opponent John McCain.

Hayworth is among the most egregious examples of the failure of the anti-immigration wedge strategy.  Nevertheless, he had a prominent role at CPAC yesterday. Dave Weigel reports that Hayworth was a “CPAC Superstar.”  In addition to speaking on a panel, he introduced an anti-immigrant movie, Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration.

Congressman Patrick Murphy Should Reject Bridge to Nowhere, Online Ads Say

by: AmericasVoice

Thu Feb 04, 2010 at 11:10:22 AM EST

Today America’s Voice is launching an online ad campaign asking Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) to remove his name from a controversial immigration resolution, H.Res. 1026 -- the so-called “BRIDGE Resolution.”

The measure has been dubbed the "BRIDGE to Nowhere" by Americans who are sick and tired of costly “get-tough” proposals that do nothing to fix our broken immigration system. The Irish Immigration Center in Philadelphia kicked things off by calling on Murphy to remove his name from BRIDGE.  The call was amplified by Markos Moulitsas, founder of the progressive political blog Daily Kos, who called it a “cheap anti-immigrant shot.” 

Anti-immigrant "Forces" in Maryland Hold Major Rally… Of One

by: casa_de_maryland

Tue Dec 08, 2009 at 12:47:53 PM EST

Last week, a conglomeration of anti-immigrant groups, led by “Help Save Maryland” and FAIR (recognized a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center), organized a rally against my organization, CASA de Maryland.

The heavily promoted rally, which was announced in CAPITAL LETTERS on the website of Help Save Maryland, was supposed to draw the anti-immigrant forces from around the state. Their website implored:

JOIN HELP SAVE MARYLAND, PEOPLE FOR CHANGE IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM (FAIR) AND OTHER CITIZEN GROUPS!

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 12-1 PM, AT CASA OF MARYLAND'S LAWLESS DAY LABORER CENTER, 734 UNIVERSITY BLVD E (NEAR PINEY BRANCH RD), SILVER SPRING 20903. 

LIVE COVERAGE OF OUR EVENT BY WFMD 930AM FREDERICK RADIO! 

Don't let the threat of a few raindrops and snowflakes scare you off. 

The Rally Against CASA of Maryland and Illegal Immigration in ON!

HSM Members are driving in from Anne Arundel, Baltimore,  Baltimore City, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, and Washington Counties. 

Now, before I go on, it’s important to note that many political-types in Washington actually believe that the anti-immigrant forces are vast and numerous— not just noisy. Because of this, conventional wisdom on how immigration is hard to change. Well, for anyone in DC who missed how badly anti-immigrant candidates lost in 2008, please turn your attention to Maryland.

Weekly Immigration Wire: Reform Stagnates, Polarization Grows

by: The Media Consortium

Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 10:59:12 AM EST

by Nezua, TMC Mediawire Blogger

President Obama has often stated that immigration reform cannot be approached in a piecemeal fashion, and that his administration would tackle the issue in 2009. This week, Obama will be meeting with members of Congress to kick off a bi-partisan approach to reform. These meetings don't guarantee any legislative action will take place this year, but are at least an encouraging sign. In the meantime, the deportation industry shows no sign of slowing, hate crimes are rising and hate groups are being main streamed. As a result, the polarization between reform advocates and foes is getting worse.

Weekly Immigration Wire: Why Are Hate Crimes on the Rise?

by: The Media Consortium

Thu Jun 18, 2009 at 10:55:56 AM EST

by Nezua, TMC MediaWire Blogger  

On May 30, 29-year-old Raul Flores and his 9-year-old daughter Brisenia Flores were shot to death, purportedly by a group of far-right anti-immigrant activists who broke into the Flores home by posing as police officers. On Friday, Shawna Forde, anti-immigrant activist and Executive Director of the Minutemen American Defense, (MAD) along with accomplices Jason Eugene Bush and Albert Robert Gaxiola were arrested on two counts of first-degree murder and burglary charges related to the Flores murders.

Weekly Immigration Wire: The Importance of Building Toward Change

by: The Media Consortium

Thu Apr 23, 2009 at 11:00:25 AM EST

As the U.S. moves closer and closer to enacting immigration reform, the situation on the ground is evolving as well. Nothing is static for an issue that touches so many people across so many communities. This week's wire follows up on trends observed last week: holding mainstream media accountable, enforcement tactics, and immigration's positive effect on the economy.

Weekly Immigration Wire: Obama's Hard Line on Immigration

by: The Media Consortium

Thu Mar 26, 2009 at 13:43:13 PM EST

by Nezua TMC MediaWire Blogger

Last week, President Obama announced his intention to address immigration reform in the next few months in a meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The statement came as a relief to many, especially with recent reports of human rights abuses within the U.S. detention system. But, as most of the President's statements seem crafted to appeal to warring political constituencies, his actual intentions are still elusive.

SPECIAL REPORT: Truth In Immigration Responds to CIS Backgrounder

by: Truth In Immigration

Wed Jul 16, 2008 at 12:46:53 PM EST