Archive for the ‘Obama’ Category
Live Blog/Tweet of Obama’s SOTU Address Tonight 8:45 EST
12:43 pm By Maegan La Mala · Casa Blanca Camino 2012|Obama|Politics · Comments Off
24 Jan 2012I actually like liveblogging/livetweeting and I want to do more of it this year and not just because it is an election year. So grab your favorite beverage and join me right here starting at 8:45 tonight as I give live commentary on President Obama’s SOTU address.
This address is particularly important because it essentially also serves as a campaign speech. It’s no secret that I am less than pleased with the Obama administration. It will be interesting to hear the ever eloquent President and see what topics he touches on. Clearly he is expected to place the economy front and center and I expect him to also discuss education. Will he mention immigration? Probably but let’s see how he frames the record deportations while trying to attract the mythical “Latino Vote”.
What would you like to hear Obama talk about tonight? Do you think he will?
Casa Blanca Camino 2012: DREAMing of Hypocrisy in Iowa
1:14 pm By Maegan La Mala · Casa Blanca Camino 2012|Con la Vista al Voto|DNC|DREAM Act|Immigration|Iowa|Obama|Politics · 5 Comments
3 Jan 2012Many eyes are focused towards the Iowa Caucuses are today, highlighting the Republican U.S. Presidential Nominees and the state of presidential campaigning. High on show. Low on substance.
For many paying attention to the way immigration policy is playing out in this election, recent focus has been on Mitt Romney, a GOP front runner in Iowa and nationally, and recent statements he made. He said that if he were president and the DREAM Act were to pass in Congress, he would veto it.
Enter the Democrat/Progressive words of shock and finger pointing. This is additional proof of how much the Republicans hate immigrants, especially non-criminal college students or potential soldiers for whatever invented global conflict comes next. This is additional proof as to why everyone who loves immigrants, especially Latinos who are the perpetual faces of immigration policy, need to support the Democratic Party and vote for Barack Obama. This is what the Democrats use the Iowa Caucuses for, to knock down potential GOP nominees. Mitt Romney has been especially targeted by the Democratic National Committee who have a website and numerous videos focusing on Romney’s flip-flopping in a number of policy areas.
But hold on and wait a minute. Is it just me or does it seem like the Democrats (as a party, not individually) only really started talking about the DREAM Act after it failed a procedural vote last year? If I remember correctly, there were only a handful of Democrats who were really pushing the DREAM Act, especially as a standalone measure. If I remember correctly, for a long time, the party line was Comprehensive Immigration Reform until New York Democrat Charles Schumer beat that biometric horse into the ground, allowing the DREAM Act to be presented as the “oh well” option. And if I remember correctly weren’t there some Democrats who voted against the DREAM Act in that procedural vote last year?
Maria Hinojosa Talks About Her Documentary “Lost In Detention”
5:01 pm By BiancaLaureano · Immigration|Obama|Politics|Secure Communities|society · Comments Off
17 Oct 2011“Lost In Detention” will air tomorrow, Tuesday October 18, 2011 on PBS and examines the Obama administration’s immigration policy. Maria Hinojosa a FRONTLINE correspondent has travelled parts of the southern US and visited 3 immigrant detention facilities over a one year period. Below is an interview with Hinojosa from Presente.org discussing her documentary.
You may watch the documentary on PBS or online. As an educator I’ve used FRONTLINE documentaries in my classes each semester and they have provided amazing discussions. Often FRONTLINE produces additional teaching tools so that they may be accessible and used by community members, activists, and educators all over. I encourage you to each check out the website if you would like to see what they have available for this documentary.
The press release by PBS reads:
Read more…
Premature Cries of Gratitude & Victory : On DHS Immigration Announcement
9:20 am By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|Obama|Politics · 5 Comments
1 Sep 2011It’s been about two weeks since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the White House made an announcement that is being (purposely) interpreted as a victory and something to be thankful for by many in the immigrant advocacy movement(s).
DHS announced the eventual (time frame please) creation of a panel that will allegedly review the approximately 300,000 currently active deportation cases. The panel will separate those cases into two categories : high priority and low priority (no word on how that determination will be made). DHS will then allegedly suspend the deportations of the low priority cases, focusing instead on the same “dangerous” and “bad” immigrants allegedly targeted by Secure Communities. But don’t worry, those who have their cases suspended will not get green cards or even work permits. They will be able to live in the same shadow they always have, just without a deportation process.
Yay?
On a call that I was on two nights ago sponsored by Reform Immigration for America (RI4A), Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), featuring Congressman Luis Gutierrez (perhaps you were reading my angry tweets), “Victory” was the buzzword. While it was made clear that there was no process to apply for and that people should not put themselves in deportation in order to have their case reviewed (a call I saw some making in the days immediately following the announcement), the DHS press release (because really that is all it is until panel is formed and procedures are established) was hailed as an answer to “our” demands.
While Communities Denounce S-Comm, White House Sends its Latina Spokesmodel to Defend It
10:43 am By Maegan La Mala · Controversia|Immigration|Obama|Politics|Secure Communities|Women · 14 Comments
29 Aug 2011A spokesmodel is a spokesperson whose physical appearance contributes to brand equity.
When I think of Latina spokesmodels, I think of the women of Sabado Gigante : leggy, tetona, culona bottle blonde white women smiling holding up the next product we just have to have. They are stereotypical examples of what Latinidad should be and in general mass audiences comsume that image, internalize that identity, as much as whatever dishwashing soap the jingle is asking us to purchase.
Cecilia Muñoz, the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House, plays an equivalent role well in Latino politics. She has proven to be the Latina spokesmodel for Obama’s immigration policy, prioritizing deportations over any executive action that could be taken and attempting to sell this destructive product to us in English and Spanish.
In response to the coordinated protests across the country happening against the expansion of the Secure Communities deportation policy, the White House officially responded through a post, with Muñoz’s name, on the official White House Blog.
The title of the post, In the Debate Over Immigration and Deportations, the Facts Matter, implies that the protesters, organizations and community members are lying about the impact of Secure Communities. In other words : potential Latino voters – the White House doesn’t believe you.
Their is a call growing for Cecilia Muñoz to resign from her position. Many feel that she is incapable of stepping back and actually listening to criticisms. Some may say she is simply doing her job and that Latinos should be happy to have someone in the White House. We are told to wait until November of 2012 and let the election sort it out, not to personalize the issue. That this S-Comm is part of a larger immigration policy strategy and that Muñoz is a genius and has done much in terms of immigration.
I counter that asking how many deportations past the one million mark will we be at in 2012. Is this level of deception acceptable because it is coming from the Democratic Party and not the GOP? I am pretty certain that those whose loved ones are being deported take the issue very personally.
This is not about quitate tu pa’ponerme yo. This is not about careerism. Certainly this is about a policy that is destroying families under the cover of taking care of the “bad guys”. Cecilia Muñoz can keep selling with a smile, a service that is harmful to our communities, or she can keep it real and resign.
Late to the Civil Disobedience Party (Again)
7:43 am By Maegan La Mala · DREAM Act|Immigration|Obama|Politics|Puerto Rico|Washington DC · 3 Comments
2 Aug 2011
Last week, Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill) was arrested in front of the White House protesting the over one million deportations that have happened under President Obama and as a push for President Obama to use his executive power to stop the deportations of at least some undocumented.
While there was some media coverage of the event that created a short term buzz, the overall response from many in pro-migrant circles was a collective, non-impressed yawn. Especially given the fact that while Gutierrez was getting arrested “for show”, a young man was getting deported for real.
Civil disobedience is important. I feel it is a tool like street protests, like voting, like not voting but civil disobedience in a vacuum, and a divided one at that smells of opportunism. For a while now, DREAMers have been getting arrested, risking not just a few hours in jail (and usually getting little to no mainstream media coverage- hell Fox News covered Gutierrez’s arrest), but risking their very existence in the United States. At first their campaign was to push the DREAM Act when it was before Congress, lately to push for more equal access to educational opportunity and executive action. Gone on the days when bodies participating in civil disobedience needed to represent, be symbolic for something else. Young people have been and are standing as themselves, confronting a system that wants to disappear them, their families, and their opportunities.
Real Changes to Deportation Policies or Window Dressing?
10:29 am By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|Obama|U.S.-Mexico Border · 6 Comments
21 Jun 2011Last week the Department of Homeland Security announced alleged changes to the way the controversial Secure Communities deportation program and deportation policies in general are carried out.
According to a series of June 17th memos released by John Morton, Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Secure Communities, which runs the fingerprints of those arrested through immigration databases in order to find undocumented immigrants, will continue to be rolled out with the goal that all 50 states be using the program by 2013. The memo urges immigration agents to consider how long an undocumented immigrant has been in the United States, or whether the immigrant was brought here as a child and is studying in high school or college. The authorities are also instructed to give “particular care and consideration” to veterans and active duty members of the military, especially if they have been in combat, and to their close relatives. Mr. Morton also expanded the authority of federal lawyers who handle cases in immigration courts to dismiss deportation proceedings against immigrants without serious criminal records. Mr. Morton also issued new guidelines he said would ensure that illegal immigrants detained by the police who were victims of domestic violence and witnesses to crimes would not be deported.
The memos also creates an advisory commission to study how S-Comm actually is working.
This consideration is clearly a response to the pressure not only coming from advocates and activists, but from lawmakers and state governments attempting to opt-out of a program sold to them as something it was never meant to be.
Advocates, activists, and elected officials across the country rejected the memos as cosmetic and continue to demand a moratorium on the use of S-Comm as well as allowing states to opt-out of the program. While others, including immigration attorneys, praised the changes especially when it comes to prosecutorial discretion .
Te Conozco Bacalao : The Impact of Obama’s Puerto Rican Layover/Campaign Stop
6:48 am By Maegan La Mala · Casa Blanca Camino 2012|Obama|Puerto Rico · 9 Comments
15 Jun 2011Let’s not call it a visit. Let’s call it a layover/campaign stop. A real visit would have involved at the very least an overnight stay, a visit to a cultural institution that was not a restaurant, and perhaps even a visit with the different sides of the Puerto Rican status issue. But this was not a visit. It was a four hour layover, the majority of which was spent collecting money for his campaign and the Democratic party. As I wrote yesterday, the issues of real importance to Puerto Ricans weren’t really touched. And then people wonder why some burned a United States flag.
The closest President Obama got to touching the status issue was to say that he would support any clear decisions Puerto Ricans would make regarding the status of the island in a plebiscite that according to Pro-Statehood Governor Fortuño, will happen within 18 months. Problem is this is the same way the “status issue” has always been dealt with, with a referendum that amounts to little more than a glorified opinion poll.
Obama did not publicly acknowledge the demand to free political prisoners (although it is being reported that a Puerto Rican Senator did ask him to release Oscar Lopez). The President did not acknowledge the violence and repression against protesters nor the violence and repression against the island’s queer community that in the last year alone has stolen 18 lives. The President did not acknowledge that while he is using Puerto Rico as a litmus test for the Latino vote, Puerto Rico has an active Memorandum of Agreement activating Secure Communities since December of 2010, which no doubt targets the growing Dominican community on the island. Talk about divide and conquer politics at it’s worse. Coming to the island with outstretched hand while continuing to promote the politics of colonization and deportation.
Puerto Ricans are famous for their sayings – their refranes and I can’t help but thinking of Te conozco bacalao, aunque vengas disfraza’o – I recognize you codfish even if you are in costume and that is exactly what this trip was, an affront to the real issues not just of Puerto Ricans but all Latinos. This little Puerto Rican fishy will not be swayed.
Take it away Hector….
Sources : Miami Herald
In Between the Puerto Rican Day Parade and the President’s Island Visit There is the Matter of Brutality
8:22 am By Maegan La Mala · Casa Blanca Camino 2012|DREAM Act|Immigration|Obama|Police Violence|Politics|Puerto Rico · 4 Comments
14 Jun 2011On Sunday an alleged 2 million people hit the streets of Manhattan for the Puerto Rican Day Parade and later today who knows how many will greet U.S. President Barack Obama as he visits the mainland of Puerto Rico. But between now and then there are a few issues which the President is likely not to address which are critical to the future of a healthy Puerto Rican community on the island and here in the United States.
Police Brutality and Police Inaction
This past weekend, the ACLU restated the fact that the island is facing a pattern of police brutality and governmental suppression.While the issue of the extreme violence faced by the University of Puerto Rico student protesters and supporters was addressed in the U.S. Congress, President Obama has turned a blind eye.
Connected is the spike in violence against queer Puerto Ricans and the impunity that has come with it. In the last year and a half there have been at least 18 killed in anti-queer, anti-transgender, anti-gay violence on the island. I think it is critical to use the words “at least” because these are the murders that the officials have recognized and identified. Chances sadly are that incidents of violence against the queer, transgender, lesbian and gay community on the island are highly underreported.
There should be no expectation that a police force which so willingly and with impunity enacts violence against their own, would protect segments of the community when under clear attack from others.
The Puerto Rican Colony and Political Prisoners
It is expected that among those “greeting” Obama will be those demanding the release of political prisoners like Oscar López Rivera and others, as well as independence for the island which has been under U.S. control since 1898. Already there have been acts of civil disobedience on the island that are expected to continue.
President Obama, to date has refused to identify Puerto Rico by it’s true status, that of colony, and so long as there is a denial of that, there can be no real expectation of change in terms of how the status issue is handled.
Using Puerto Ricans to Cover Up Failure on Immigration
It has been widely reported that Obama is hoping that his visit to Puerto Rico will help gain the Puerto Rican vote in the United States for his 2012 reelection campaign. Puerto Rico allegedly played a similar role during the President’s initial run for the White House. What Obama and his camp probably did not count on was the linking of his Puerto Rican visit with the issue of immigration, specifically the DREAM Act. After all, immigration is seen a virtual non-issue for Puerto Ricans today since Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and can travel freely between the island and the 50 states. There is a denial however as Puerto Rico as an immigration hub especially for many Dominicans, which has raised tensions both on and off the island as divide and conquer politics among Latinos has us fighting each other over scarce economic opportunities instead of unifying against the conditions that have created that situation. In a conference call yesterday, a young Dominican immigrant student, who would be DREAM Act eligible spoke out about her experiences in Puerto Rico.
“I arrived in Puerto Rico when I was 9 years old in a small fishing boat from Dominican Republic. I graduated a few weeks ago from high school with honors, but because I’m undocumented, I’m stuck with the impossibility of reaching my dream of becoming a doctor,” expressed Esmeralda Hidalgo, one of hundreds of undocumented students who graduate from schools in Puerto Rico. “I need President Obama to pass an executive order to stop deportations of DREAM Act students like me until we have the DREAM Act.”
DREAM Act student are left very vulnerable for the lack of immigration reform. Jose Rodríguez, spokesperson for the Dominican Human Rights Center in Puerto Rico, also joined today’s call and expressed that at least 3 immigrants from the island have been recently killed due to their immigration status. “There are hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in Puerto Rico who live in constant fear. We urge President Obama to at the very least stop deporting our youth right away until there is a legislative solution to our human rights crisis.”
I think it’s still very hard for many to conceptualize immigration as a Puerto Rican issue. The truth of the matter is that as long as the colonial status of the island remains intact, how the issues of violence, identity, access, and self-determination are dealt with will continue to happen in a lopsided and incomplete manner. Brutality is much more than the outright use of physical violence in order to control and create submission. In terms of Puerto Rico, brutality looks like over a hundred years of the United States manipulating the lives of our people. Basta ya!
Families Impacted by Obama’s Deportation Policy Demand Meeting. Cue the Crickets.
9:31 am By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|Obama · 1 Comment
26 May 2011Yesterday at a press conference in Washington D.C., the organization Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), some members of Congress, and some individuals whose lives are impacted by the current federal deportation policy, called on President Obama to “deal with the immigration crisis” and meet with those directly impacted as opposed to his recent meetings with alleged stakeholders including Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Tony Choi, an undocumented Korean-American student, spoke directly to the President after telling his story: “We ask you, Mr. President, to provide safety and protection to those in our communities – the families and students – who look to simply live their American lives.”
Brittney Babo, whose husband Serge was deported last August, told her story: “On May 12, 2010 Serge was picked up by ICE officials while doing dishes at our home. He was put in immigration detention and after three long months, deported to his native Cameroon.” Babo also laid out their family’s extreme hardship: “You can’t imagine how devastating this was for me and for our family. Since he was deported I have struggled to care for my two sons. I work 10-hour night shifts with a lot of overtime just to make enough money to support my family.”
You can see videos of the press conference here.
Obama’s response?
Hola!
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