Posts Tagged ‘immigration reform’
The Latino Vote : Party Loyalty vs Community Loyalty
8:36 am By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|Obama|Politics · 14 Comments
16 Aug 2010
With the boost in Secure Communities and more boots on the ground on the U.S. Mexican Frontera, every so often the debate among bloggers, advocates and activists becomes one of strategy. Do we spend time countering the ridiculous anti-14th amendment narrative and debate “antis” or do we take and make a more critical analysis and dare hold so-called political allies feet to the fire at the risk of being called “trouble makers”?
The expectation is that people of color bloggers, Latinos and in the very specific case of VivirLatino, radical women of color bloggers, should always side against the obvious enemy: the Republicans talking about our vaginas dropping anchor babies and putting us into camps. The actions of Democrats, specifically a man of color, the first African American president, are supposed to be given a free pass. Patience is asked and we should never ever look like we are on the same side as those that question the validity of birth certificates.
This morning an anonymous commenter wrote : Bet you wish we still had Bush.
DREAM Now : David Cho
3:29 pm By Maegan La Mala · DREAM Act|Education|Immigration · 1 Comment
9 Aug 2010VivirLatino was asked to help in promoting and sharing the story of students fighting for the DREAM Act as part of the The “DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama” . This is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act.
The DREAM Act is not without it’s controversy, and some of it understandable. Here at VivirLatino we have written for years about the complex nature of the bill, especially objections to the military component and how sometimes it is used by politicos and orgs on all sides to promote the good vs. bad immigrant narrative that we find offensive and counterproductive to moving towards justice for all immigrants.
On the other side of the coin, you have the DREAM Act student/activists being scapegoated, being blamed for the failure of comprehensive immigration reform, as if they were the ones charged to write a bill, when it is bold faced Republican hate and Democratic weakness that has killed nearly all hope for a Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill this year.
So now we DREAM. Now we keep fighting for all at every level, but look at the reality of the legislative landscape. Case by case deferments is not a policy that protects anyone in our communities no matter what the NYT says or what suspiciously leaked memos meant to add fuel to anchor baby type arguments hint at. Just like communities debated the different ways CIR could happen, let’s talk about the DREAM Act and the students fighting to stay in cities they call home.
Today we DREAM with David Cho:
Taking a Break To Give Thanks
6:58 am By Maegan La Mala · Events|Immigration|Netroots Nation · Comments Off
6 Aug 2010It’s easy to follow the news cycle and react and move and critique and move from conference to conference without a breath. Throw in taking care of two kids and work that pays and there is even less a chance that you will stop, step back and rest.
Consider this post my breathing room.
1: First, good news for Marlen Moreno and her familia. It looks like her deportation has been temporarily put off. Thanks to all who sent faxes and emails and made calls to help a mami stay stay with her familia.
2: Remember Netroots Nation? I won the 2010 Credo Mobile Blogger Award thanks to people texting. This means I won a smart phone and a year’s service. This is a huge deal to me, who was running round with a prepaid that I had to watch every minute on and that got text messages 24 hours after they were sent. Now I can livetweet, take more pictures etc for the site. And I have to say that the peeps at Credo Mobile were so nice and sweet in helping me set up my phone today. One of the best customer service experiences ever!
3: From one conference to another. Mil gracias to the Latinos in Social Media crew for hooking Mala up with a scholarship so that I can attend the BlogHer 2010 conference. I was invited to speak last year at BlogHer but had no way of affording the travel expense. This year the conference is just a metrocard swipe away. I have my apprehensions. I’m not gonna front. Pero at the very least I will meet some people and check the scene out for myself. So stay tuned here and on the VivirLatino twitter account for updates today and tomorrow.
Feliz viernes and don’t forget to take a deep breath.
Mel Gibson…Jackass?
3:05 pm By la Macha · Arts|Culture|Immigration · 4 Comments
8 Jul 2010Well, Mel Gibson just can’t seem to back his magnificent bully sized asshole out of the public spot light these days, can he? After telling us a while ago about his dislike of Teh Jews, and then eventually letting us know he hoped a “pack of N*ggers” raped his wife, and then sharing with us the extra special secret of how he slaps his wife while she holds a fucking child in his hands…we *now* find out that he apparently is not all that fond of Teh Beaner either.
Mel referred to one of his staffers as a “wetback,” Radaronline.com reports.
“I will report her to the f**king people that take f**king money from the wetbacks,” he said.
‘Wetbacks’ is a slur originally used to disparage Mexicans who swam across the Rio Grande to enter Texas illegally. It seems Mel was threatening to turn his staffer over to immigration authorities.
I honestly get kinda sick of the number of people in positions of power that have extra special names for the non-white, non-male, flaming queer amongst us, so usually I roll my eyes and move on. But…this case of extra special naming comes with a price: the threat to call ICE. Even if the woman he’s threatening this against is totally legal, just having ICE sniffing around can be traumatic and bring lots of expensive legal work that the woman may not have the money to deal with. I think it’s also important to point out that although this is *racism*–it is also sexism–the fact that he is threatening this against a woman when he already has a history of terrorizing women speaks to me of deeply held violent misogyny. It also makes me wonder in what other ways he’s threatened his wife (who is a Russian citizen living in the US). Unfortunatly, if you pay attention to most of the headlines–while Mel may be rightfully called a racist, the fact that he has beaten his wife and threatened to use the legal structure to terrorize another woman seems to be flying under the radar of “sexism” or “abusive.” Not sure why nobody has the guts to call him abusive, we didn’t seem to have much of a problem calling Chris Brown that did we?
Anyway. There isn’t much to do after being reminded of one’s wet back besides say, “Mel Gibson, you are a jackass.” And call it a day.
72 Hour Fast for Our Communities, for Just Immigration Reform and for the DREAM ActJumps Off in NYC Today!
6:02 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Activism|Immigration|Justice|New York City · 5 Comments
2 Jun 2010Fasting, denying oneself food has been done for spiritual reasons & political reasons. Today, more than 50 immigrant community members, clergy, NY City Council Members and advocates will go on a 72 hour fast to demand comprehensive immigration reform in 2010, among them are Puerto Rican Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez.
The fast is being paired with an education campaign that highlights the contributions immigrants have made to New York City and the United States, and illustrate the need for changes in immigration policy on both a national and local level.
Make the Road NY and New Sanctuary Coalition members will also be conducting a massive community education and outreach effort to engage thousands of community members in the national campaign to pass comprehensive immigration reform, the local campaign to end New York’s collaboration with immigration enforcement at Rikers Island and to repudiate the signing of SB 1070 into law by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R-AZ).
Read more…
For May Day Call for an End to BS Immigrant Reform Proposals, Pass the DREAM Act
9:14 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Immigration|Uncategorized · 1 Comment
30 Apr 2010The immigration reform proposal presented yesterday by Senators Schumer, Menendez, and Reid should be seen as an insult to the hard work that activists and advocates have been engaged in. Calling for a militarized border before millions are granted their basic human rights is not justice and it sure as hell ain’t change. If this is the proposal meant to bring Republicans to the table, how much worse will it get?
In the absence of a REAL immigration reform bill, students have been marching, walking across the country, risking deportation and coming out of the often referred to shadows to demand that they be able to stay in this country.
The Center for American Progress (whom I am mad at for their support of the Dem. immigration proposal), has a great podcast in Spanish with the DREAM walkers.
Arizona : The Testing Ground for National Immigration Policy
11:27 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · arizona|Immigration · 6 Comments
16 Apr 2010If a lack of an immigration reform bill and perceived back-tracking on the part of lawmakers makes you feel like there is no movement happening when it comes to immigration, I would like to invite you to look at Arizona, which seems to be the lab for a growing enforcement first agenda.
If we want to look at this historically speaking with the state borders of Arizona, this is an expansion of the practices of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the next step from 287(g), nationally.
SB 1070 makes it a crime to lack proper immigration paperwork and requires police, if they suspect someone is in the country illegally, to determine his or her immigration status. Meaning if you are brown and/or have a Spanish sounding last name be prepared to show your papers, kind of like what Schumer/Graham are proposing with a biometric national id.
Immigration, Criminalization and American Progress
8:04 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Immigration|Media|mexico|military|Obama|Politics|U.S.-Mexico Border · 10 Comments
13 Apr 2010
According to an article posted on The Hill, Rep. Xavier Becerra (Calif.), the House Democratic Caucus vice chairman said that Latinos view President Obama with suspicion because of his inability (or unwillingness) to make moves on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform to match his many words. But I think the suspicion isn’t because it’s not that he hasn’t made moves…
I actually don’t think that the Department of Homeland Security, or I.C.E.for that matter, have gone rogue. I think they are continuing a legacy of criminalizing people of color, specifically immigrants, and using “security” as coded language for othering.
Yesterday afternoon I was on a call hosted by the Center for American Progress (hold your laughter please). The call was called “Securing Our Borders” and highlighted a report looking at border security as a key aspect of comprehensive immigration reform specifically in the context of the Secure Border Initiative. On the call were Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Chuck McCutcheon, the author of the report (This will open a PDF file), and Angela M. Kelley, VP for Immigration Policy and Advocacy for the CAP.
The President’s State of the Union : Missed Opportunities on the Push for Immigration and Health Care Reform
1:37 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Health|Immigration|Obama|Politics · 10 Comments
28 Jan 2010After President Obama’s State of the Union address last night, I needed to get out of Casa Mala. I knew what was coming, the analysis, the discussion, and the disagreements about what needed to done and what tone to use in doing it. But I needed a drink, I need to sing and dance a little as an act of mourning because in all of these discussions, which I am now engaged in, there was little mention of actual people.
While I was preparing mentally for the State of the Union address, I saw on the Spanish language news about an immigrant mujer, Alexandra Nunez, who died from massive bleeding during an abortion in a clinic walking distance from Casa Mala. A single mother, like me, made a decision about her body and life within the limits placed on her because of law and who she is.
During the State of the Union speech, Obama spoke about the problems with getting health care reform passed and spoke on immigration from a law and order perspective, following the laws and securing the borders. He failed, as so many do, in pointing out where health care reform and immigration reform intersect, in the very lost life of mami Alexandra Nunez.
Read more…
New Report Says Immigration Reform Would Bolster Economy
9:49 am By Maegan La Mala · economy|Immigration · 6 Comments
8 Jan 2010It’s not bad enough that immigrants won’t assimilate, they also suck the economy dry, right? Well comprehensive immigration reform could change all that according to a report released yesterday by the Center for American Progress and Immigration Policy Center.
“Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” which shows that legalizing the roughly 12 million undocumented immigrants through comprehensive immigration reform as well as
making future flows more flexible would grow the economy by $1.5 trillion over 10
years.
The forecast is based on a number of scenarios that could add to the U.S. gross domestic product in the long term, and in the short term, generate additional tax revenue.
And how much would it cost to deport the undocumented estimated to be in the United States? $2.6 trillion over ten years.
The U.S. can afford that right?
You can read the entire report here (PDF file).
Hola!
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