Posts Tagged ‘undocumented’
Utah Joins Arizona in Passing Harsh Immigration Legislation
On Friday, March 4, 2011, the Utah legislature followed Arizona’s footsteps and passed The Utah Immigration Accountability and Enforcement Act, a draconian law designed to make life so unpleasant for the undocumented that they leave the state. Without Federal immigration reform, states are addressing the issue of illegal immigration on their own and enacting laws that violate the rights of immigrants. Since comprehensive immigration reform will likely not happen any time soon, it appears that right-wing zealots in state legislatures across the country will continue to push these attempts to solve the issue through attrition. As a result, we will in fact end up with the “patchwork” of differing immigration laws throughout the country, as President Obama warned.
Tags: illegal immigrants, undocumented, Utah, Utah Immigration Accountability and Enforcement Act
Posted in immigration reform, Politics/Current Events | Read More »
Harvard Student At Risk of Deportation
Eric Balderas is an immigrant success story. Originally from Mexico, Eric grew up in the U.S., graduated as valedictorian from his high school in San Antonio, and now attends Harvard as an undergraduate on a full scholarship studying molecular biology. He aspires to be a cancer researcher one day.
And yet, under our immigration laws, Eric Balderas is deportable.
Eric is undocumented. He came here as a young child with his parents from Mexico, a country which he does not even remember. Recently caught by ICE, he is now in danger of being removed from the U.S.
See: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jnk7spK92rmzC439rdIValXaBvxQD9G9CJJ00 for the full story.
Eric is the poster child for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, or the DREAM Act, as it is known. The bi-partisan DREAM Act, if enacted, would grant permanent resident status to undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as minors if they enroll either in school or in the military.
Why the DREAM Act has not yet passed continues to defy logic. What possible good can come from deporting someone brought here as a child, who, by virtue of having been raised here, is essentially American? I have yet to hear opponents of the DREAM Act articulate anything other than mean-spirited and nonsensical rhetoric in response to this question.
Tags: deporation, DREAM Act, eric balderas, immigrant, immigration reform, undocumented
Posted in immigration reform | Read More »
Immigration Reform: What’s Next?
In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Senators Schumer and Graham outlined a bipartisan proposal for immigration reform. At the heart of the need for reform is the question of what to do with the 12 million or so undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. As the idea of immigration reform gains momentum again, it surely won’t be long before we hear the shrill cries from the anti-immigration conservatives: “No amnesty for people who break our laws!”
Let’s get two things straight: crossing an international border without being inspected is not a criminal offense, and the reforms proposed are no amnesty.
First, immigrants do not cross our border illegally because they are inherently lawbreaking. They do so because there is no legal channel for them to come to the U.S. to fill an entire sector of low-skilled jobs that, for the most part, U.S. citizens do not want.
Second, an amnesty is a pardon, which this proposal is not. Schumer and Graham propose to give the undocumented some type of non-permanent legal status (note: not a green card) only if: 1) they pay fines; 2) pay back taxes; 3) and perform community service. This is no amnesty. Two of these measures are even punitive.
For the record, many undocumented immigrants are already paying taxes, either because taxes are deducted from their paychecks, or because they are affirmatively filing tax returns with an Individual Tax ID Number, which anyone can apply for from the IRS.
Most undocumented immigrants are law-abiding, peaceful, and hard-working. Why should we punish them with steep fines for contributing to the growth of our nation’s economy? And why should we force an entire class of people (who are often living in poverty despite working more than one job) to perform community service? These two proposals strike me as completely unjust, disingenuous, and exploitative.
Tags: amnesty, Graham, immigration reform, Schumer, undocumented
Posted in Politics/Current Events | Read More »
