America's Voice Blog

Posted 08/31/09 at 05:04pm By Mahwish Khan

U.S. Taxpayers Pay to Send U.S Citizens on Free Trips To Mexico?

So apparently, the US government has been spending its time -- and our money -- to send American citizens...on free trips to Mexico?

In April, our government admitted that it wrongly deported a North Carolina native, Mark Lyttle, who speaks no Spanish and is mentally ill -- a fact of which federal agents were allegedly aware.

The Charlotte Observer notes:

Lyttle is one of a growing number of people who have been swept up in the federal immigration detention system since 2001, when terrorist attacks prompted an unprecedented effort to find and deport illegal immigrants. The U.S. government deported 350,000 people in the fiscal year that ended in October 2008.

Mark Lyttle says he told agents that he was a U.S. citizen, but that nobody believed him.  According to Jacqueline Stevens, an Associate Professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara, who has closely followed Mark’s case:

Mark says he remembers the interview. The woman told him he had brown skin, so maybe he was from Mexico. Or maybe he was "Oriental," whatever that means. She was going to alert ICE to follow up.

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Posted 08/31/09 at 12:52pm By Web Team

Napolitano Steps up for Immigration Reform in Recent Statements

Secretary Janet Napolitano is finally coming out in stronger support of immigration reform, giving us a glimpse of the Arizona governor who, at various points in her career, strongly advocated the need for comprehensive immigration reform.

After facing much criticism regarding the Department of Homeland Security’s maintenance of Bush-styled enforcement strategies, Secretary Napolitano expressed her commitment to comprehensive immigration reform at an August 20,2009 White House Meeting on Immigration. Following the get-together, America’s Voice executive director, Frank Sharry, said:

Secretary Napolitano needs to speak up on immigration as only she can…we want to see her explain to the American public why comprehensive immigration reform is the way to solve this problem.

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Posted 08/28/09 at 02:25pm By Web Team

Immigration as a Failed Wedge Issue: the Dog That Didn’t Bark

On Tuesday, the Center for American Progress (CAP) hosted a panel entitled - "A Case Study in the Coming End of the Culture Wars: Immigration as a Failed Wedge Issue."  While the event brought a unique style of summer heat to the immigration debate, the whole panel agreed on one thing: Immigration reform needs to happen before the 2010 midterm elections.

The panel consisted of Washington Post columnist, E.J. Dionne; Ruy Teixeira, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; Republican analyst, Ana Navarro; and America’s Voice Executive Director, Frank Sharry. 

Teixeira kicked off the back and forth by classifying immigration as a wedge issue in 2010 as “the dog that didn’t bark.”

But the 2010 and 2012 elections could see a resurgence of immigration as a wedge issue.  And unlike the usual one-party's-loss-is-the -other-one''s-gain, not coming to terms on immigration reform could be destructive for everyone.

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Posted 08/28/09 at 10:00am By Jackie Mahendra

Kennedy Tribute and Timeline: Remembering His Life’s Work on Immigration

Today we're releasing a timeline and a tribute to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, 1932-2009, for his lifetime of tireless work on behalf of immigrants and refugees. He was more than a friend to the downtrodden- he was a fighter and a champion for the rights of all workers. Please take a look, and take a moment to add your name to the letter we've drafted in his memory and his honor.

 

Please take a moment to visit:

 

In Memoriam

Sen Kennedy

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, 1932-2009,
Hero on Immigration Reform

Also, please check out--

 

THE TIMELINE:

Senator Kennedy, A Champion for Immigrants and the American Dream

 

Here are a couple of key highlights:

1962 – Kennedy launches his first campaign calling for immigration reform

1965 – Kennedy’s manages the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965

1980 – Kennedy writes and passes the Refugee Act

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/27/09 at 01:12pm By Mahwish Khan

Honor Senator Kennedy, Pass Immigration Reform

The Immigration community was deeply saddened by the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy yesterday, who, throughout his life, advocated for more inclusive policies toward refugees and immigrants. In fact, his first major legislative initiative was actually the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

Since then, Senator Kennedy had championed immigration reform, and fought hard on behalf of those who couldn’t always fight for themselves. He struggled to help fix an immigration system that has long been broken.

In today’s Roll Call, Morton Kondracke suggests that the proper tribute to Sen. Kennedy’s life would be to pass real immigration reform:

Along with a health care reform bill, it would be a fitting tribute to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) if Congress could act on his other great-unfinished cause: immigration reform.

Kondracke further states that Kennedy understood the importance of working “on a bipartisan basis to get legislation passed,” and collaborated with members of the Republican Party on various legislation, and most notably, with McCain on legislation that would allow immigrants with a clean record to earn legal resident status.  Kondracke notes that:

The bill also would have ended the unconscionable delays that keep family members of recent immigrants waiting years — sometimes decades — to be admitted…And though his motives for reform might have been primarily humanitarian…he understood the need to get America’s borders under control.

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Posted 08/27/09 at 12:49pm By Web Team

Weekly Immigration Wire: Kennedy Was Friend to Immigrants

Note: This is a weekly feature by Nezua, TMC MediaWire Blogger

Sen. Ted Kennedy's death yesterday was a blow to the immigrant community, as New America Media reports. For over 40 years, Kennedy was a tireless fighter for immigrant rights and is remembered for many valuable accomplishments, not the least in making possible the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which did away with the national-origin quotas that had been in effect in the US since 1924. Additionally, Kennedy help bring a close to the exploitative 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. Senator Kennedy also helped author the AgJobs bill of 2003, which gave undocumented farmers residency so they could continue working in the U.S. His legacy in the progress of immigration legislation is not in doubt.

The Massachusetts Senator was a vigorous proponent of both Healthcare and Immigration Reform, which isn't surprising when you consider how much these two issues overlap. In last week's Wire, we touched on this confluence. Despite the White House's attempt to compartmentalize the two issues, Immigration continues sit front and center in the Healthcare discussion, often through dishonest argument by reform opponents.

The problem is, if the White House withdraws as an authoritative and reasonable voice on immigration and immigrants, the conversation will be taken over by anti-immigrant fringe groups. Arturo Sandoval of the New Mexico Independent describes the town hall debate during which a protester suggested that a "bullet in the head" was a solution to the idea that the U.S. has millions of undocumented within her borders. The "facts don't support this xenophobic response," Sandoval writes. Furthermore, the needs of the U.S. economy "pull" workers into the country. The immigrant workforce is then scapegoated for responding to that need.

The Washington Independent makes it clear that xenophobic sentiment, also championed by members of the Republican party, is not a wise political move. Daphne Eviatar attended town hall meetings where fact-resistant crowds shouted at lawmakers for "seeking to provide healthcare to illegal immigrants." Eviatar pins much blame on "the anger fomented by anti-healthcare reform groups" which has given way to "nativist death threats."

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Posted 08/27/09 at 08:42am By Patty Kupfer

Reverend Joel Hunter Outlines “A More Noble Way” on Immigration

If you don't know him, Rev. Joel Hunter is a senior pastor of the Evangelical Northland Mega-Church in Orlando, Florida.  To outsiders, he may not seem like the most obvious leader in the fight for immigration reform. Turns out, he's been a true leader on immigration reform, for no other reason than he believes in living out what the Bible says. 

You know, that pesky verse that says,... "love your neighbor as yourself," of all things. 

He writes beautifully to this point in this month's Sojourners Magazine -- here's a snippet:

The urgency of immigration reform is a spiritual concern, not only an issue of earthly problem-solving or curing the hellish hate and isolation that poison our society. Immigration reform could be the next iteration of our country's great legacy of making the most of our differences. As I said to the Senate subcommittee:

Including the stranger is not just a matter of compassion but a necessity for greatness. "Loving your neighbor as you love yourself" is not only a moral commandment, but a path to national nobility; if we can build a nation of families and support networks that not only help the marginalized to be successful, but help the successful to be helpful, then we can better live up to our potential as a people.

In the end, I believe our nation will not be judged by the productivity of our budgets, or the genius of our laws, or even the earnestness of our faith communities. We will be judged, both by history and by God, by the way we treated people, especially those who needed our help.

Posted 08/26/09 at 11:54am By Frank Sharry

Remembering the Rock: How Senator Kennedy Helped 200,000 People Fall in Love

Senator Kennedy was our Hero, our Leader -- and our Rock. 

For over four decades, he was a towering figure in the ongoing struggle to make our immigration and refugee policies consistent with America’s finest ideals. What you may not know, however, is that he helped 200,000 of us fall more deeply in love. I'll get to that.

First things first. With his impressive record on healthcare reform, it's easy to forget that Kennedy cut his teeth first on immigration.  He began his first race for the Senate with a call for immigration reform in 1962 and has been fighting for a more inclusive America ever since. Senator Kennedy fashioned our modern-day legal system of immigration. He created humane refugee and asylum policies. And he set the stage for a 21st century solution to the problem of illegal immigration. These are no small feats.

With his 1965 immigration legislation, Senator Kennedy made sure families were reunited without regard to race, religion, or national origin.  With his 1980 Refugee Act, he made sure refugees were protected-- whether stranded in overseas camps, or seeking asylum on our shores.  In recent years, Sen. Kennedy has fought tirelessly for the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that would extend rights and responsibilities to the 12 million immigrant workers and family members living in our nation without legal protection.

As he was quoted in USA Today:

"From the windows of my office in Boston … I can see the Golden Stairs from Boston Harbor where all eight of my great-grandparents set foot on this great land for the first time," Kennedy told Senate colleagues in a 2007 speech. "That immigrant spirit of limitless possibility animates America even today."

For those of us who have had the honor of seeing him work up close, we will remember the man, and not just the persona. 

Unlike many politicians, the closer you got to Senator Kennedy, the more you loved and admired him.  His humanity, humility and generosity were infectious-- and inspiring. He seemed to understand that he was but a vehicle for the larger causes for which he tirelessly fought.  While so many in politics focus on using policy fights to win power for themselves, Senator Kennedy focused on using power to win good policy for the vulnerable. 

Unfortunately, our Rock did not live to see comprehensive immigration reform-- with a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants-- enacted into law. But thanks to him, passage of such a bill is no longer a  matter of  “if” but of “when.”  He won’t be physically present at the signing ceremony, but on that day he will undoubtedly be the strongest presence in the room.

I know that for me, when immigration reform gets signed into law, I will think back on an electric Rock moment during the spring of 2006.

Senator Kennedy came to speak at a rally of Latino immigrants on the Washington mall.  Standing at the podium, his love for the 200,000 people in front of him was matched only by their love for him. With the crowd waving American flags, and the Senator speaking in that ever-louder roar of his, he bellowed:

Do you love your family? 

The crowd yelled,

YES!

He then roared:

Do you love your community?

The crowd responded with an even louder:

YES!!

He then bellowed:

Do you love America?

The crowd’s roar reached a fever pitch as they responded with their loudest:

YES!!!

At that moment, some two hundred thousand people-- myself included-- fell more deeply in love with America.

It is our duty to carry on the fight, and realize the vision of America that Senator Kennedy showed us was possible.

I'll leave you with a parting video of the Senator, our Rock, speaking in Washington:

Note: Cross-posted on Huffington Post.

Posted 08/26/09 at 09:30am By Jackie Mahendra

USA Today: Late Sen. Edward Kennedy ‘fashioned the modern day’ immigration system

KennedyWe at America's Voice are deeply saddened to mark the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy today. He was a valiant hero to the immigration reform movement and a true champion for immigrants of all nationalities.

Harold Meyerson, of the American Prospect, writes:

He did not get to liberalism's promised land, of course. The universal health coverage he'd fought for throughout his career is still unrealized; his death may make it harder to realize, at least in the immediate months to come. Labor law remains unreformed, and America's 12 million undocumented immigrants still live in the shadows with no legal path to citizenship. These were all battles that Kennedy would have led; he was the go-to guy, the champion, the orator, the deal-maker for the uninsured, the undocumented, the unable-to-join-unions; the senior senator from Massachusetts and for all the excluded in American life.

As USA Today chronicles, Senator Kennedy spent a large part of his life's work making the American dream a reality for not just Western European immigrants, but for Asian, African, and Latin American immigrants, as well. The article quotes America's Voice Executive Director Frank Sharry, reflecting on Kennedy's many achievements in this area:

"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.

Kennedy's first major piece of legislation, in fact, was the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which allowed previously-prohibited groups (like Asian immigrants, who had been barred from entry after the Immigration Act of 1924) to settle on American shores.

Immigrants like my parents.

USA Today concludes:

Sharry remains convinced that Kennedy "laid the groundwork" for a bill that eventually will pass. President Obama has made an immigration overhaul along the lines of the Kennedy-McCain bill one of his top legislative priorities.

On the day the bill failed in 2007, Kennedy himself predicted its backers would be vindicated. "We will be back and we will prevail," he said.

Si se puede -- Yes we can.

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=ted_kennedy_keeper_of_the_liberal_flame

“He did not get to liberalism's promised land, of course. The universal health coverage he'd fought for throughout his career is still unrealized; his death may make it harder to realize, at least in the immediate months to come. Labor law remains unreformed, and America's 12 million undocumented immigrants still live in the shadows with no legal path to citizenship. These were all battles that Kennedy would have led; he was the go-to guy, the champion, the orator, the deal-maker for the uninsured, the undocumented, the unable-to-join-unions; the senior senator from Massachusetts and for all the excluded in American life.”

 

Posted 08/25/09 at 03:33pm By Jackie Mahendra

A Truly American Story: Former Migrant Field Worker Turns Astronaut

AstronautStories like this one make me proud to be American (but not in a creepy way). They make me want to keep fighting for an America that lives up to its ideals that anyone can do anything, if they put their mind to it and work hard enough.

Via the Californian.com:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — He toiled in California's farm fields alongside his Mexican migrant worker parents and didn't learn English until he was 12. Now Jose Hernandez, NASA astronaut, is about to rocket into orbit.

His parents will be in Florida next week for space shuttle Discovery's launch, as will his two older brothers and sister, who also worked the cucumber, sugar beet and tomato fields back in the 1960s and 1970s.

In a recent interview, Hernandez reflected:

A lot of kids loved summer vacation. We dreaded it because we knew what that meant. That meant we were going to be working seven days a week in the fields.

Click here to read more.

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