EthnoBlog

Weekly Diaspora: Does Coakley's Loss Spell Trouble for Immigration Reform?

By Nezua, Jan 21, 2010 9:58 AM

Professional pundits and Democratic politicians are in a frenzy over what Martha Coakley's senate seat loss to Republican Scott Brown might mean for American politics.

Immigration reform in jeopardy

As Harold Meyerson of the American Prospect reports, the loss of one seat probably won't derail heath care reform, but it does make the chances of passing immigration reform slimmer. Meyerson writes that immigration reform is "necessary to restore our economic vitality and political equality," and actually passing reform would benefit the Democratic faction. Unfortunately, that means that immigration reform will require 60 votes in order to pass the senate.

Weekly Diaspora: Protecting Haitian Refugees Through Immigration Reform

By Nezua, Jan 14, 2010 9:53 AM

On Tuesday, the worst earthquake in 200 years struck just off the coast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as The Nation reports. Bringing "catastrophic destruction" to the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, the disaster has spurred relief efforts worldwide. Crises like this are important reminders of how the treatment and protection of refugees must be a part of immigration reform.

Temporary protected status for Haitian refugees

Weekly Diaspora: Real Immigration Reform in 2010

By Nezua, Jan 7, 2010 10:35 AM

"Is it ever 'the right time' to pass immigration reform and a path to legalization?" asks Maribel Hastings at New America Media. The short answer? Yes. Our national economic situation dictates that we are smart about the resources available to us all. It's also a moral imperative to adjust our laws to protect the most vulnerable of us.

Hastings runs through the complications, campaign promises, and opportunities facing the Obama administration in regards to immigration reform. While acknowledging the nature of our government as "a complex organism," Hastings nonetheless signs off with a warning: There are many awaiting action today, people "who voted for Democrats with the expectation that they would make comprehensive immigration reform a reality."

Weekly Diaspora: Working Together for Reform

By Nezua, Jan 4, 2010 2:02 PM

As we usher the last decade into the realm of memory, it’s time to stop viewing immigration reform as an Us vs. Them issue. The metaphors and language we use are key to framing a debate because they can communicate broader truths via association. For example, a scientist might mention the porous nature of all membranes and boundaries found in nature to describe the ineffectiveness of the militarized U.S.-Mexico border.

Reporting for New America Media, Marcelo Ballvé defines two emerging policy terms—“complementarity” and “circularity”—that are being used to describe the seasonal ebb and flow of migrant labor and argue for progressive reform. The terms effectively render concepts impenetrable borders and zero sum supply of resources, which are key fighting points for those who oppose progressive immigration reform, rigid and backward in contrast.

Weekly Diaspora: CIR ASAP the First Step to Reform

By Nezua, Dec 17, 2009 9:50 PM

On Tuesday, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR-ASAP). Rep. Gutierrez said that the bill represents "the final push for comprehensive immigration reform," as Khalil Abdullah reports for New America Media. Seth Hoy at AlterNet breaks down some of the bill's key points, which include a border security provisions, family unification, a legalization component, and improved detention conditions.

Weekly Diaspora: Unemployment Feeding Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

By Nezua, Dec 10, 2009 10:33 AM

The nation’s 10% unemployment rate is feeding anti-immigrant sentiment, as Marcelo Ballvé reports for New America Media. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) critiqued President Barack Obama’s recent jobs summit as “fatally flawed” because President Obama did not discuss wresting millions of jobs away from undocumented families. Smith’s argument is flawed.

A “known Capitol Hill immigration hardliner,” Smith asks us to assume that for every job the U.S. could theoretically “take back” from an undocumented worker, an eager U.S. citizen would flock to fill it. But, as Ballvé reports, “several studies suggest that among Americans and legal residents, it’s mainly those lacking a high school diploma who are competing directly with undocumented immigrants for jobs (and by most estimates, that’s less than one out of every 10 U.S. workers).”

Weekly Diaspora: Quiet Raids, Slippery ICE and Grinches

By Nezua, Dec 3, 2009 11:05 AM

The Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is shifting its focus to silent or "quiet" raids, as Erin Rosa reports for Campus Progress. In quiet raids, ICE conducts "audits" of staff at pre-selected organizations and gives employers a chance to fire all workers who cannot produce documents of citizenship.

Weekly Diaspora: Fort Hood, Pundits and Immigration Reform

By Nezua, Nov 19, 2009 2:51 PM

First it was immigrants from Mexico, now Muslims in the armed services. After the tragic shootings at Fort Hood, conservative pundits are verbally attacking Muslims and Arab-Americans, much like they have vilified the immigrant community. The complexities of Islamic faith are being glossed over and "Muslim Terrorist" is stamped upon any act of violence involving their community. As a result, nuanced voices are buried in favor of suspicion and violence.

Weekly Diaspora: Deporting Dobbs

By Nezua, Nov 12, 2009 10:24 AM

Editor's note: The Weekly Diaspora is Nezua's weekly round-up of immigration news, published by The Media Consortium.

After 30 years, commentator Lou Dobbs--infamous for his tirades against undocumented immigrants--has left CNN, as TPM reports. Dobbs employed disturbing, dangerous, and dated language to slur immigrants, often equating them with disease and infection. There is a connection between this type of demagoguery and violence.

Weekly Diaspora: Immigration Impacts Everything

By Nezua, Nov 5, 2009 1:14 PM

Editor's note: The Weekly Diaspora is Nezua's weekly round-up of immigration news, published by The Media Consortium.  

While many pundits and political analysts are musing about what Tuesday's mixed bag election results mean for Obama administration, New America Media reports that "there's another trend to watch; the surprising prominence of immigration politics."

Even in states where other concerns "like small farms and forestry management" are far more immediate, "immigration has become a litmus test issue for the conservative movement," and the expectation is, oddly, a "lockstep" goal toward opposing legalization. One has to wonder how the self-destructive choice to oppose immigration at any cost came about.