Highbrow Magazine - immigration https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/immigration en My Brown Face Contains Multitudes https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10089-my-brown-face-contains-multitudes <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 08/09/2019 - 08:41</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1latino.jpg?itok=E12gcYyU"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1latino.jpg?itok=E12gcYyU" width="480" height="296" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>When I came to the United States, I stopped being white.</p> <p> </p> <p>I was 12 years old, didn’t speak a lick of English, and had never even been on a plane before. I knew what we were doing, too: we weren’t just moving, we were migrating.</p> <p> </p> <p>Before our drive to the airport, my grandma gave me a <em>limpia de huevo</em>. She took a huge brown egg and rubbed it all over my face, my arms, my legs, my joints. She honed her forest lichen eyes on mine, like new spring growth blasting the brown rings of ancient trees of my own irises with life, muttering something under her breath. It was a blessing to rid me of the <em>mal de ojo</em> before my migration north, to cleanse me of any jinxes and curses that may befall me in America. She rubbed the egg against the palms of my hands twice, thrice, before finally cracking it open and letting the rotten yolk fall to the floor, a putrid orange slime. My grandma cradled my face in her hands and said to me, “Ahora vas a ser hispano.”</p> <p> </p> <p>I had no idea what that word meant. And I was a pretty smart cookie of a kid: straight A’s, always with a book in hand, shut up when my mom gave me <em>the</em> look, the works. But I had never heard the word “Hispanic” before.</p> <p> </p> <p>It made its second appearance when I was enrolling for seventh grade in a public school in West New York, New Jersey, where we had come to live (I was supposed to be going into the eighth grade but the school insisted I go down a grade because I didn’t speak English, and whatever I’m over it I’m not bitter about it at all anymore).</p> <p> </p> <p>Under the “race” section of the enrollment form, I had placed a checkmark next to “White or Caucasian.” I had no clue what “caucasian” was either but I knew I was supposed to be white so that seemed like the right answer anyway. Proofreading it, my father shook his head at me, grabbed the pen from my hand and crossed my checkmark out. He scribbled a neat check next to “Hispanic or Latino” and suddenly I was this whole other thing. I had this brand new identity thrusted upon me, an identity I didn’t know existed, with rules that were unknown to me, that would dictate every aspect of my life from that moment on.</p> <p> </p> <p>When I handed my Ecuadorian passport to the customs agent at Newark Airport when we had first arrived, she saw a kid of color. When I sat on the backseat of the cab that drove us from the airport to my aunt’s house in West New York, the taxi driver saw a fellow person of color. When I handed my enrollment form to the school secretary, she saw another brown kid coming to fill her classrooms.</p> <p> </p> <p>It was a strange age for me to be coming to a place like America, and a weird time too. All the news cycles were about 9/11, immigration, and Bush’s inevitable wars. And I wasn’t a Hispanic-American born in the U.S., I was very much a first-generation immigrant kid. Right at the edge of being in my teen years, so still very young but not quite a small child. This middle ground has always been a narrow road to travel on, like my own endless road to an American Damascus where my reasons, beliefs, and identities are constantly shifting and challenged. Where I am both an immigrant and a child of immigrants. Where I am both Hispanic-American and Latino. Where I am both white anywhere south of the border, and brown from sea to shining sea.</p> <p> </p> <p>Everyone is talking about immigration again right now. Not that we ever really stopped; we’ve all been talking about immigration for a long time, or at least since I didn’t know what “caucasian” was and this theme, this concept of immigration became part of my daily vocabulary even was I was still trying to learn English. And I have seen this shift of how the conversation around immigration has changed and also how it has not changed at all. To me, a so-called “White Hispanic,” the way America sees whiteness is so very uniquely American that there is just no other way to describe it.    </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2latinos.jpg" style="height:549px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>When I came to the U.S., I was still young enough to play <em>La Migra</em> with my schoolmates during recess. The game was like a mix of cops-and-robbers with some tag involved. Except in the game, the cops were replaced with INS agents doing a raid, and standing in for robbers were undocumented immigrants running from deportation. This was before ICE even existed, so it was up to the Immigration and Naturalization Services cops to round up the <em>mojados </em>(because in their eyes, the way we saw it, we were all undocumented Mexicans devoid of any national identity, just like we are all collectively Hispanics).  </p> <p> </p> <p>Usually, the eighth graders would play the INS cops, and the younger students would be the immigrants that ran away trying not to get caught. But sometimes we changed up the rules and the real, honest-to-God undocumented kids would disperse, being chased by the white kids and those of us who had our papers. We would start the game by shouting “La Migra!,” give the pursued a 15-second head-start, and then go after them. Those who were caught had the option to become informants and go after their once-comrades themselves, or be condemned to <em>la caja </em>(a corner of the basketball court where the ball cage was) for the rest of the game. Apparently, kids these days are still <a href="https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/04/13/la-migra-school-immigration-raid-game/">playing</a> <em>La Migra</em>, much to everyone’s feigned shock.</p> <p> </p> <p>And of course we knew what this was about. We were immigrant kids, not stupid; our game was way too specific for us to not know what we were playing at. We knew what the Border Patrol was and we knew which local supermarket was a magnet for INS raids. In the school cafeteria in between bites of square pizza and slurps of Yoohoo, we competed over whose uncle had the wildest crossing-the-border story, or who had to wait the longest for their visa, or whose older sister had paid the most to <em>coyotes</em> to bring her husband and kids <em>‘pa Nueva Yol</em>, with sums getting more and more exorbitant the longer we played.</p> <p> </p> <p>This was in the early 2000s. When electing a black president would have been laughed off as hopeful science-fiction. Evan back then the cry was against all these immigrants coming to take away jobs from well-intended white families who had once been Irish and Italian and Polish but were now just American.</p> <p> </p> <p>Back then, post 9/11 <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/post-911-policies-dramatically-alter-us-immigration-landscape">policies</a> were put in place in the name of national security and they disproportionally targeted Muslim immigrants or those who appeared to be Muslims. These are the policies that paved the way to the immigration “reform” we have now: the creation of entire federal agencies to enforce immigration; the <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/the-cost-of-immigration-enforcement-and-border-security">meteoric</a> rise of funding for immigration enforcement agencies like ICE and CBP; the National Fugitive Operations Program, used to <a href="http://www.apple.com/">remove</a> any absconders from the U.S., regardless if they posed any credible threat or not; the actual <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/dhs-report-confirms-serious-civil-rights-problems-local-immigration-enforcement?redirect=immigrants-rights/dhs-report-confirms-serious-civil-rights-problems-local-immigration-enforcement-pr">execution</a> of the 287(g) program, which granted state and local officers the authority to enforce certain immigration laws; the Secure Communities <a href="https://qz.com/899563/trump-executive-order-reinstates-bushs-secure-communities-policy-which-may-have-serious-impact-on-immigrants-in-sanctuary-cities/">program</a>, used to identify removable immigrants when they are booked into local jails for criminal offenses, and through which non-citizens can be deported even if they have not been actually charged with or committed a crime. What was once supposed to be initiatives to deter and address national security concerns became effective tools to track, detain, and remove non-citizens that don’t pose any sort of threat.</p> <p> </p> <p>Before then, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11515132/iirira-clinton-immigration">applied</a>, among other things, new restrictions to the asylum process, allowed for deportation of undocumented immigrants who commit even a misdemeanor, and made it a whole lot harder for undocumented immigrants to obtain legal status.</p> <p> </p> <p>Before then, the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/immigration-act-1965/408409/">eliminated</a> national origin quotas but set worldwide limits on the number of persons that could migrate to the U.S. This act is likely one of the biggest causes of the “hispanization” of North America because it established a system of family-based and employment-based preference for issuing visas. It was the driving force behind the enormous influx of immigrants from Mexico and Central America during the 70s and 80s, a period that is considered the crux of Latin American immigration. Prior to this, national-origin quotas were set aside so that they overwhelmingly favored immigrants from northern and western Europe, which is perhaps what helped cement the anglonization of the United States, its quasi-idea of what whiteness is and what is of worth and how the building blocks of the American dream are the Anglo-Protestant values of the founding settlers that were promulgated by European immigrants, and where contributions from the Southern Hemisphere have no place.</p> <p> </p> <p>Before then, Japanese immigrants were put in <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation">internment</a> camps.</p> <p> </p> <p>Before then, anti-Asian sentiments <a href="http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/590-immigration-act-of-1924.html">barred</a> Asian immigrants from entering the United States legally.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3latinos.jpg" style="height:499px; width:624px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Before then, Texas Rangers, local law enforcement, and civilian vigilantes were <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/05/texas-finally-begins-to-grapple-with-its-ugly-history-of-border-violence-against-mexican-americans.html">massacring</a> Mexican-Americans in the Borderlands. It was a reign of terror that killed thousands of people of Mexican descent and that went largely ignored, a decade-long period of time known to locals as “<em>La Matanza</em>.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Before then, early American immigration policy <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/05/05/527091890/the-135-year-bridge-between-the-chinese-exclusion-act-and-a-proposed-travel-ban">prohibited</a> the entry of Chinese laborers into the country for 10 years and barred them from becoming citizens.</p> <p> </p> <p>Now, we are calling Mexicans rapists and drug dealers. Now, we are calling majority black nations shithole countries. Now we are chanting to send an actual citizen back to where she came from, presumably because her skin is too dark and she wears a hijab so she could therefore not be a real American. Or rather, she could not be an American that fits the mold of Americanness.</p> <p> </p> <p>We really should not be shocked that the current administration is running for reelection on a platform that is straight-up racist and embraces white nationalism. After all, the underbelly of immigration enforcement has always been colored by racism and America's obsession with its version of whiteness, and that's what got them to the White House in the first place. So the writings on the wall have always been there. Though perhaps we should lament that these racist sentiments have become publicly mainstream and are therefore viewpoints to be debated like two sides of a coin, rather than something that should be condemned and eradicated, at least under the guise of “strength in diversity.” As if the “other side of the coin” is nothing short of survival, of dehumanization, of human worth. That does not need debating.</p> <p> </p> <p>But immigration reform has never really been anti-immigrant; it’s been against color, it’s been against slanted eyes, it’s been against non-Christian faiths, it’s been against languages.</p> <p> </p> <p>I have one of those faces. The kind that people just can’t place. With eyes that are not too big, but not too small. With skin that is not too dark, but not too light. With lips that are not too thin, but not too full. With big hair that is full and saturated, not straight but not quite curly. All in all, a face hued in ambiguity. But still one that makes people second-guess themselves, wondering whether I would understand their language, their hand gestures, their smiles, their struggles. </p> <p> </p> <p>Like the time I was buying some halal from a food cart in Chelsea (lamb over rice, yes to onions, a splash of hot sauce and extra white sauce, btw) and this Egyptian cook looked through the window and threw some sounds my way, all assonance and bass, and I had to say, “Sorry, I don’t speak Arabic.” </p> <p><br /> Or when I was pricing some organic avocados in a store in the Upper West Side, and this woman pushing a stroller with a white baby in it came at me with a question, some lilting song full of highs and lows escaping her lips, like homespun cotton being woven into the air, and I had to say, “Sorry, I don’t speak Tagalog.”</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/5latinos.jpg" style="height:417px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Or when this man on the uptown 2 train leaned my way and pointed at my watch, his voice crisp and brassy with vibrance in every syllable, a smile lining his face when he looked up back at me, and I had to say, “Sorry, I don’t speak Hindi.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Or every single time that someone had raised their eyes at me, bottom lip getting crushed between their teeth in anguished coyness, and they smiled a lopsided smile that was halfway between an apology and hopeful camaraderie, and they asked me in hard fricatives and dropped vowels, “Sorry, do you speak Spanish?”</p> <p> </p> <p>I love these moments because I love how so many people can see themselves in me even though I am not non-white. My Spanish is still fluent, but I am made fun of by my siblings when I forget how to say things in my native tongue. In the Ecuadorian census, I was not listed as mulatto, Afro-Latino, or native; I was listed as white. It is easier for me to translate from Spanish into English rather than the other way around. My roots are planted, but they don’t go deep enough - my birth certificate says I am Ecuadorian and so I am Latino through-and-through, but my environment and my shortfalls outside America question my heritage, “But is he, though? Is he brown enough? He looks and sounds white to me.”</p> <p> </p> <p>But I am also not white, not within the concept in which the United States sees whiteness. When I came to the U.S., I was young enough to become fluent in English, but just a tad too old that the thrill of the Latin accent lodged in my speech. Rice and beans will always taste better to me than any sort of deep-fried anything. And I love my bougie cheese and charcuterie boards paired with some Napa something-or-other nonsense; but oh my God, give me some empanadas, some alfajores with honest-to-God dulce de leche, and some queso salado and watch me feast. Because my skin is burnt caramel and my eyes are fertile earth, in my America I am a brown person.</p> <p> </p> <p>So there I have lived, always halfway to a standard.</p> <p> </p> <p>In the U.S., this standard is a ruse. It doesn’t exist. I will always be the “right” type of immigrant. The one that waited his turn in line in an 11 year lull while our papers came through for our green cards. Whose parents stayed put while their older children grew out of the age of eligibility for American residency, and had to leave them behind and took only their youngest boy with them on their plight north. The immigrant who registered with the Selective Service so he can get financial aid for college, who took out student loans to get an American education, who sold clothes in a mall store, who opened credit cards and took on some debt. The type of immigrant who exemplifies upward mobility because he waited his turn and made all the sacrifices we’re supposed to make. But still an immigrant. Still an illustration. The example used to build up detention centers and to justify them, to point to and say, “See, his parents broke their family apart and now his siblings live 3,000 miles away but this is the right way to do it, the only way to do it.” As if breaking a family apart should be the only way to do something right. </p> <p> </p> <p><br /> When a president returns to the White House having run on a racist platform, or when the first female president sits behind her desk in the Oval Office. When we send American citizens back to their countries of origin because they don’t share our Christian values, or when a Jewish president is signing executive orders. When we put kids in cages—not in a basketball court as child’s play but in an iron prison— for committing a misdemeanor with the same type of punishability as owning fireworks under the law, or when a Mexican-American is seeking Congress's permission to declare war. Still, I will always be just that - a brown immigrant. Not until we dismantle America's unique definition of whiteness will we be able to truly say that we can work on immigration reform, instead of implementing policies that will always be based on racist ideologies and that place American whiteness on a pedestal.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4latinos.jpg" style="height:417px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>This is not to say that people of color, regardless of their origins, should continue to be seen as lesser or less worthy. Rather, I would hope this puts whiteness on the same level as all other ethnicities, so that immigration enforcement is truly based on just laws and policies. Though perhaps that is hoping for too much and people of color will end up getting the runt of the litter anyway. What do I know, I’m just a brown immigrant after all.     </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Angelo Franco is</em> Highbrow Magazine’s <em>chief features writer.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>           </p> <p><strong>Image Sources:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/nicaragua-murals-lake-volcanoes-205234/">RobertoVi</a> (Pixabay—Creative Commons)</p> <p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/vocesdelafrontera/2865603995">Voces de la Fronteras</a> (Flickr – Creative Commons)</p> <p><a href="http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/17047">Free Stock Photos</a></p> <p><a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/boy-child-human-face-portrait-603805/">Cocoparisienne</a> (Pixabay – Creative Commons)</p> <p><a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/latino-family-latina-hispanic-2569583/">Quinntheislander</a> (Pixabay – Creative Commons)</p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latinos" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">latinos</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanics</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanic-amerians" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">hispanic amerians</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latino-community" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">latino community</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/donald-trump" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Donald Trump</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/racism" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">racism</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latin-america" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Latin America</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/people-color" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">people of color</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/dreamers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">dreamers</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/discrimination" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">discrimination</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/race-issues" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">race issues</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Angelo Franco</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 09 Aug 2019 12:41:20 +0000 tara 8893 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/10089-my-brown-face-contains-multitudes#comments Stories of Migration Highlight New Exhibit, ‘Documented: The Community Blackboard’ https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/9799-stories-migration-highlight-new-exhibit-documented-community-blackboard <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/photography-art" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Photography &amp; Art</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 01/28/2019 - 13:05</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1blackboard.jpg?itok=ye9X1lKy"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1blackboard.jpg?itok=ye9X1lKy" width="480" height="319" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><em>Documented: The Community Blackboard</em> was a site-specific space created by artist and educator Muriel Hasbun for the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C. (2006).</p> <p> </p> <p>The experience is now taking place at the Brentwood Arts Exchange, which is nestled amongst a vibrant community of immigrants from all over the globe. The interactive piece is community-based, and as such, is continually transformed by its participants, who are invited to write their own story of migration and post their family photos onto the gallery walls.</p> <p> </p> <p>A collage-like bilingual sound piece, streaming into the space, weaves together Muriel Hasbun's own reflections on migration as gathered from oral testimonies and other aural impressions  recorded in El Salvador, as well as from excerpts of poems that she wrote</p> <p>when she first came to the U.S. in 1980.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>Documented: The Community Blackboard</em> invites the visitor to activate the space by sharing his/her/their testimonies, "voices and silences, from here and from over there."</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>(January 14 - March 9, 2019)</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Brentwood</strong><strong> Arts Exchange: 3901 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood, MD 20722. TEL: 301-277-2863; arts.pgparks.com.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2blackboard.jpg" style="height:416px; width:625px" /></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3blackboard.jpg" style="height:416px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4blackboard.jpg" style="height:625px; width:398px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/muriel-hasbun" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">muriel hasbun</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/brentwood-exchange" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the brentwood exchange</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/documented-community-blackboard" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">documented: the community blackboard</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/art-exhibits" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">art exhibits</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/el-salvador" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">el salvador</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Editors</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Courtesy of the Brentwood Exchange</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 28 Jan 2019 18:05:49 +0000 tara 8511 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/9799-stories-migration-highlight-new-exhibit-documented-community-blackboard#comments The Trump Administration vs. California https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/8914-trump-administration-vs-california <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 03/11/2018 - 17:17</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/6losangeles.jpg?itok=D_eGpEKv"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/6losangeles.jpg?itok=D_eGpEKv" width="480" height="319" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>Excerpt from the Asian Journal. Read the rest of the article </strong><a href="http://asianjournal.com/news/justice-dept-sues-california-over-sanctuary-policies/"><strong>here</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><a name="_GoBack" id="_GoBack"></a>The U.S. Department of Justice this week filed a lawsuit against the State of California and two high-ranking state officials over so-called “sanctuary” policies that it said unlawfully protect undocumented immigrants against deportation.</p> <p> </p> <p>The lawsuit announced on Tuesday, March 7 called out three recently-passed state laws that, according to the Trump administration, have hampered the federal government’s enforcement of immigration law.</p> <p> </p> <p>“California, we have a problem,” U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at a gathering of law enforcement organizations in Sacramento. “The Department of Justice and the Trump administration are going to fight these unjust, unfair and unconstitutional policies that have been imposed on you.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The three laws the administration is challenging include SB 54, the all-encompassing “sanctuary state” law that restricted law enforcement from sharing information with federal agents that would lead to the capture and deportation of criminal undocumented immigrants.</p> <p> </p> <p>The two top leaders that the lawsuit also named were California Governor Jerry Brown and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.</p> <p> </p> <p>Although the federal government is the supreme authority on broad matters like immigration, in some cases, states have sovereignty over more precise issues like health and public safety.</p> <p> </p> <p>That’s what Becerra asserted at a press conference on Tuesday where he expressed that, through the Tenth Amendment, California has the right to handle public safety in the ways it sees fit. Calmly poised, Becerra assured Californians that the claims made in the lawsuit demonstrated “there’s nothing really new there that we weren’t already familiar with.”</p> <p> </p> <p>“We’re prepared to deal with this,” Becerra told reporters. “We believe we are in full compliance with the federal constitution and federal law.”</p> <p> </p> <p>As soon as the Trump administration announced the lawsuit, Brown brazenly fired back at Sessions, calling the move a “political stunt.’</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/mediumjerrybrown_amadscientist_wiki.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>“What Jeff Sessions said is simply not true and I call upon him to apologize to the people of California for bringing the mendacity of Washington to California,” Brown said at a joint press conference with Becerra on Wednesday, March 7.</p> <p> </p> <p>“This is basically going to war against the State of California, the engine of the American economy,” Brown added. “It’s not wise. It’s not right, and it will not stand.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Brown also made accusations toward Sessions, who Brown said lied about the state’s immigration policies. Sessions has falsely claimed that Becerra called for an open border, protection for criminals and secession from the U.S.</p> <p> </p> <p>“We know the Trump administration is full of liars. They have pleaded guilty already to the special counsel,” Brown said, referencing the federal investigation on Russian collusion.</p> <p> </p> <p>Amid the tense back and forth between Washington and Sacramento, more Californians side with the state rather than the DOJ on the topic of sanctuary policies.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Excerpt from the Asian Journal. Read the rest of the article </strong><a href="http://asianjournal.com/news/justice-dept-sues-california-over-sanctuary-policies/"><strong>here</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/california-lawsuit" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">california lawsuit</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sanctuary-cities" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">sanctuary cities</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jeff-sessions" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jeff sessions</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jerry-brown" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jerry brown</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/california" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">California</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Klarize Medenilla</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Google Images; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 11 Mar 2018 21:17:29 +0000 tara 7968 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/8914-trump-administration-vs-california#comments America at a Crossroads https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/7435-america-crossroads <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 02/26/2017 - 14:34</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1libertystatute_night.jpg?itok=RP9AFXcg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1libertystatute_night.jpg?itok=RP9AFXcg" width="480" height="319" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2017/02/america-at-a-crossroads-land-of-hope-or-fear.php">New America Media</a></strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>Recently all 10 of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) submitted their resignations to President Trump. The main reason: Trump’s policies have adversely affected Asian Americans in particular and minorities in general.</p> <p> </p> <p>“We cannot serve under an administration that seeks to exclude members of our society or take away their rights, especially the Muslim community, which is very much part of our AAPI community,” stated former Commissioner Maulik Pancholy.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Trump regime has gone against the basic principles in which the advisory committee was set up to perform: protecting the civil rights of all those living in the US, including the most vulnerable, and respecting the unique attributes of all individuals and communities, and ensuring linguistic, cultural, and financial access to health care as well as economic and educational opportunities for all.</p> <p> </p> <p>In an open letter the Advisory Commissioners wrote to Trump, they noted that they “firmly believe these principles are fundamental to our nation and need to be implemented and enforced at all times.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Bans on refugees and those coming from the seven predominantly Muslim countries have torn families apart, creating confusion about America’s immigration and visa policies and created tension with countries that it needs to understand better. And by singling out individuals, families and communities for their religious beliefs, the president’s advisory committee concluded, Trump’s actions “create a religion-based test for entry into our country and threaten freedom of religion, a fundamental constitutional right.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Indeed, America is now at a crossroads. In one direction is a pluralistic society defined by openness and porous borders and the profound understanding that it has always depended and thrived on the energy, ideas and contributions of newcomers, reborn through their hope and optimism.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/5immigration.jpg" style="height:349px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>It is one where there is an explicit understanding that immigrants have always transformed the world they enter, and in time they also influence the world they left behind as well. They are arguably the most crucial part of globalization that integrated the modern world. After all, who were the pilgrims but not the original boat people?</p> <p> </p> <p>Many refugees along with immigrants resettled in America. And they are far from being helpless. Take the Vietnamese community, for instance. Now, 1.5 million strong, it’s a global tribe and quite an influential one since the Vietnam War ended 42 years ago when the first wave of refugees stepped onto the American shore. They helped build Silicon Valley here in California and from the very start, stood in assembly lines when the first Apple computer was being built. Their children grew up and worked in high-tech companies as engineers and designers, and now many are owners of new start-ups and some are running for local political offices.</p> <p> </p> <p>Immigrants and refugees come to America to remake themselves and America in turn is renewed by their energy and vision.</p> <p> </p> <p>Alas, the United States is currently being ruled by a xenophobic White House that seeks to strengthen law enforcement while going after the nation's most vulnerable. It is pushing the country down a dangerous path in which American society becomes dangerously divided, with growing anger and rising racism, and a population that lives in constant fear of arrest and assault.</p> <p> </p> <p>If America was once a country that opened its doors to immigrants and refugees, today its policies stand in stark contrast to this tradition, and its premise of open societies and sustainable, equitable growth are undermined by ineptitude and barely veiled racist intentions. It’s a country in which the immigrant becomes the enemy. And those from the Middle East are automatic suspects, potential subjects for registration and targets for attention and abuse.</p> <p> </p> <p>To be sure the voice of opposition to the Trump White House and its assaults on civil liberties are reassuring, as are the numerous protests and the fights being waged for balance in governance, and to protect the poor and the vulnerable. Town halls are full of angry, unsettled citizens demanding transparency and accountability.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The question that confronts all Americans now as we put up barriers at the airports and build the wall is whether we are creating a prison for the rest of the world, or for us,” asked Doctor Tung Nguyen, one of the president’s committee member who recently resigned, and a former refugee from Vietnam.</p> <p> </p> <p>For if the West extinguished itself as a beacon of hope, it will become its own misfortune as well. An America that practices intolerance is an America dangerous to its own citizenry, and to the world.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Andrew Lam is an editor at New America Media in San Francisco and the author of “Birds of Paradise Lost,” a collection of stories about Vietnamese refugees in San Francisco, “East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres,” a book of essays on East-West relations, and a memoir, “Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora.”</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2017/02/america-at-a-crossroads-land-of-hope-or-fear.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/white-house" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">White House</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/donald-trump" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Donald Trump</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/travel-ban" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">travel ban</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/white-supremacists" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">white supremacists</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/racism" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">racism</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/building-wall" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">building a wall</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Andrew Lam</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 26 Feb 2017 19:34:16 +0000 tara 7394 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/7435-america-crossroads#comments Why Mexico’s Elite Might Just Favor Donald Trump https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5801-why-mexico-s-elite-might-just-favor-donald-trump <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 05/08/2016 - 14:42</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1trump_4.jpg?itok=wCn_14mD"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1trump_4.jpg?itok=wCn_14mD" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2016/05/mexicos-elite-might-just-favor-trump.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> <p> </p> <p>MEXICO CITY—The announcement that Donald Trump has become the presumptive Republican candidate for president following his resounding victory in Indiana’s primary is being met with amused approval in—of all places—Mexico City.</p> <p> </p> <p>Forget the man in the street in Mexico City selling a Donald Trump piñata. Despite official protestations to his anti-Mexican rhetoric, Mexico’s elite may actually favor Trump.</p> <p> </p> <p>When Donald Trump descended the escalators at Trump Tower in New York to announce his candidacy for president on June 16, 2015, one paragraph in his speech stood out: “The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems … When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. … They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Mexico’s Foreign Ministry condemned such a characterization.</p> <p> </p> <p>In the months that followed, one former president lashed out at Trump. Vicente Fox made headlines when he blurted out, “I’m not going to pay for that f---ing wall.” Mexico’s sitting president, Enrique Peña Nieto, was more diplomatic. He complained to the media that Donald Trump is damaging bilateral relations: “Whoever insults or speaks badly of Mexico doesn’t know the country. Whoever speaks badly of Mexicans doesn’t know Mexicans.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Trump’s ascendance continued throughout the primary season with such astonishing speed that Mexico was forced to replace its ambassador in Washington, sending Carlos Sada, a tougher, meaner bulldog, to speak up in defense of Mexico’s interests.</p> <p> </p> <p>"We have been warning that our citizens have begun to feel a more hostile climate," Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu told reporters when the new ambassador’s appointment was announced.</p> <p> </p> <p>Mexico’s elite is aware of the disappointment that comes from exuberance of diversity.</p> <p> </p> <p>More than a century ago it experimented with “inclusion” and “diversity.” Mexico had a black president (Vicente Guerrero), two Native American presidents (Benito Júarez and Porfirío Díaz), and mixed race president (Lázaro Cárdenas). They all disappointed.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>True, Mexico has never elected a female leader, but ask the Brazilians how happy they are with Dilma Rousseff, and you’ll see that you don’t need to be a man to be a loser.</p> <p> </p> <p>The theatrics of official “outrage” at Donald Trump may mask the relief among some of Mexico’s elite that Mexico could do business with him.</p> <p> </p> <p>Mexico’s elite has no respect for Hillary Clinton.</p> <p> </p> <p>As Secretary of State she ignored Mexico. Her promise to continue Barack Obama’s “legacy” is a promise of continued neglect.</p> <p> </p> <p>Not to mention, as First Lady, she didn’t divorce a man who humiliated her before the world.</p> <p> </p> <p>Affluent Mexicans’ admiration for Donald, meanwhile, extends beyond the promise of making deals.</p> <p> </p> <p>Mexico’s elite shares his contempt for the multitudes of mixed-race masses that cross the border illegally and don’t have enough sense to learn English, get an education, and put their affairs—and lives—in order.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1clintontrump.jpg" style="height:469px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>This isn’t to say that Mexico is “racist.” Mexico doesn’t acknowledge race—but it is beholden to class.</p> <p> </p> <p>Since colonial times, Mexico’s elite have used phrases to divide people into two groups: gente de razón and gente sin razón. Reasonable people versus unreasonable people.</p> <p> </p> <p>Reasonable people get an education, work hard, and move ahead. Unreasonable people don’t see the value of an education, squander their time, and think it’s a good idea to risk crossing the Arizona desert to go pick produce in California or wash dishes in New York.</p> <p> </p> <p>When Trump lashes out that Mexico is “not sending its best,” Mexico’s elite finds no quarrel with that assessment.</p> <p> </p> <p>When Trump wants to build a wall, Mexico’s elite hopes it’s a beautiful wall—and visible from the first-class cabin at a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet on their jaunts to and fro.</p> <p> </p> <p>When Trump wants to renegotiate NAFTA, Mexico’s elite agrees that it’s time to tackle the issues raised by a trade deal that Bill Clinton implemented poorly. (Two unintended consequences: long-term unemployment in the United States as a consequence of factory jobs leaving for maquiladoras; and an obesity and diabetes health crisis in Mexico precipitated by changed eating patterns.)</p> <p> </p> <p>As Ted Cruz and John Kasich suspend their campaigns, Mexico’s elite is relieved. They hated the idea of Cruz, a Cuban-American; Mexicans believe Cubans are a vulgar people. And Kasich is known for his position at the discredited Lehman Brothers.</p> <p> </p> <p>So if it comes down to Hillary versus Trump, Mexico’s elite wants someone whose hand they can shake and with whom they can make a deal.</p> <p> </p> <p>And that candidate isn’t a woman who would continue to ignore Mexico.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2016/05/mexicos-elite-might-just-favor-trump.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/donald-trump" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Donald Trump</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mexico" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mexico</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/vincente-fox" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">vincente fox</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/president-mexico" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">president of mexico</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mexican-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mexican immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Louis E.V. Nevaer</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 08 May 2016 18:42:54 +0000 tara 6899 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5801-why-mexico-s-elite-might-just-favor-donald-trump#comments Why Immigrant Rights Advocates Aren’t Worried About Judge Hanen’s Ruling https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4659-why-immigrant-rights-advocates-aren-t-worried-about-judge-hanen-s-ruling <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Thu, 02/19/2015 - 13:40</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/5immigration.jpg?itok=WS5hGjMD"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/5immigration.jpg?itok=WS5hGjMD" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2015/02/why-immigrant-rights-advocates-arent-worried-about-texas-judges-ruling.php">New America Media</a>:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>A federal judge this week blocked Obama’s executive actions from going into effect, a move immigration reform advocates are calling only a “temporary setback.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Texas U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen issued a temporary injunction on Monday, siding with Texas and 25 other states that signed on to a lawsuit against Obama’s executive actions on immigration. The White House announced on Tuesday that the Department of Justice is appealing the decision.</p> <p> </p> <p>The judge’s ruling was released just two days before the expanded version of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was slated to go into effect.</p> <p> </p> <p>It means that -- until the ruling is blocked or overturned by a higher court -- individuals will not be able to apply for the new programs announced by President Obama on Nov. 20, 2014. These include the expanded version of DACA, which was slated to start Wednesday, and the new program for parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA), which was expected to start in May.</p> <p> </p> <p>Together the programs could protect over five million undocumented immigrants from deportation and provide them with temporary work authorization.</p> <p> </p> <p>Monday’s ruling does not affect so-called Dreamers, who can still apply for (and renew) DACA under the program that was announced in 2012.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The chess game</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The federal lawsuit in Texas is the latest move in a broader political chess match now being played out between Republicans and Democrats over the president’s recent steps on immigration reform.</p> <p> </p> <p>Since Obama’s announcement in November, Republicans have attempted to block his initiatives in Congress. But the legislation has not gotten passed the Senate (and even if it did, it would be vetoed by the president).</p> <p> </p> <p>That left one pathway for the GOP to challenge Obama’s executive actions: through the courts.</p> <p> </p> <p>“As they did in the health care fight, when they were unable to block the Affordable Care Act’s implementation through legislation, Republicans have turned to the courts to resolve what really amounts to a political dispute over policy,” Marshall Fitz, vice president of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress, told reporters on a national press call hosted Tuesday by New America Media.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Make no mistake,” said Fitz. “This is a partisan political attack disguised as a lawsuit.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The plaintiffs “sought this judge out” because, Fitz said, he has “a history of highly antagonistic, over-reaching, really extremist, anti-immigrant decisions.”</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/assholehanen.jpg" style="height:377px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>“They went judge shopping, they found their judge, they got the decision they wanted,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, in Washington, D.C. “But reading through the decision, it is poorly argued, [rests on a] very weak basis, and it is clearly a politicized decision that is not going to survive appeals up through the court system.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The case is expected to go next to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, a three-judge panel known for its conservative bent. After that, the case would go to a full U.S. court of appeals and even potentially all the way to the Supreme Court.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The wheels of justice are slow,” said Fitz, “but at the end of the track, we will have confirmed legality and the program will be implemented.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Immigration advocates have several reasons to be confident.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The fact is that the Obama administration has an airtight legal case,” said Sharry. “Every president since President Eisenhower in the 1950s has used executive authority in the area of immigration policy to do similar things.”</p> <p> </p> <p>“We have the law on our side, legal precedent, historical precedent,” said Sharry, “and when a judge makes a decision in the future -- hopefully in the coming days or weeks -- based on the law, we are confident that expanded DACA and DAPA will be able to go into effect.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The real danger is fear</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Immigration reform advocates say they are confident that the judge’s decision will be reversed. Far more worrisome, they said, is the fear that it could generate fear among immigrant communities in the meantime.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Part of the Republican strategy here is to introduce elements of uncertainty and controversy around this program in hopes that when it does go into effect, fewer people will sign up,” said Sharry of America’s Voice.</p> <p> </p> <p>He cautioned immigrant communities “not to fall for this.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Some immigrants are hesitant to apply for a program that is temporary, he said, because they are afraid that their information might be used to deport them if the program were ever overturned. But Sharry said these fears are overblown. “In my 30 years of working on immigration policy,” he said, “I’ve never seen a temporary program taken away in a way that subjects people who’ve come forward to deportation.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>What you can do now</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Although they can’t apply for the new programs yet, undocumented immigrants can start getting their documents together.</p> <p> </p> <p>“We really want to emphasize the message to immigrants, their friends and families, to not despair, that everyone should continue to prepare, that people can get ready to apply for the programs as soon as this block is lifted,” said Shiu-Ming Cheer, immigration attorney at National Immigration Law Center based in Los Angeles.</p> <p> </p> <p>Cheer encouraged immigrants to continue to save money (the application fee for DACA and DAPA will be $465) and gather evidence that they have been in the country for the last five years. This includes proof of identity (such as a passport or matricula consular), proof of living here (such as bills, bank statements and medical records) and their criminal and immigration histories.</p> <p> </p> <p>Most importantly, Cheer said, undocumented immigrants should seek help from qualified attorneys at trusted local community organizations, not from notarios or unauthorized practitioners.</p> <p> </p> <p>“If you’re eligible for the new DACA or DAPA, both of those programs are on hold. There is no way to apply right now,” warned Sharry, “so don’t be fooled by scam artists promising to get you to the front of the line.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>New America Media</em></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/andrew-hanen" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">andrew hanen</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration-reform" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration reform</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/justice-department" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Justice Department</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Elena Shore</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Thu, 19 Feb 2015 18:40:16 +0000 tara 5744 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4659-why-immigrant-rights-advocates-aren-t-worried-about-judge-hanen-s-ruling#comments How Much Did Obama’s Immigration Delay Affect Latino Voter Turnout? https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4425-how-much-did-obama-s-immigration-delay-affect-latino-voter-turnout <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sat, 11/08/2014 - 12:54</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumobamacolorlines_1.jpg?itok=WTPIy8yu"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumobamacolorlines_1.jpg?itok=WTPIy8yu" width="480" height="300" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/11/so_how_much_did_obamas_immigration_delay_hurt_latino_turnout.html">Colorlines</a> and republished by our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/11/so-how-much-did-obamas-immigration-delay-hurt-latino-turnout.php">New America Media</a>: </strong></p> <p> </p> <p>At long last, a first take at a concrete answer to what has, up until now, been a mostly speculative conversation. Would President Obama’s decision to delay executive action on immigration reform put a dent in Latinos’ turnout?</p> <p> </p> <p>The answer: It likely did.</p> <p> </p> <p>Today, Latino Decisions, in partnership with National Council of La Raza, the Eva Longoria-sponsored Latino Victory Project, and immigration reform advocacy group America’s Voice, released the final installment of its bilingual, landline and cell-phone poll. Latino Decisions, in addition to polling those who intended to vote, talked to those who were registered but were not interested in participating in the 2014 elections. Among the reasons voters gave for not voting this year were a lack of time in their day (25 percent); a lack of knowledge about their polling place (24 percent); frustration with “bad candidates” (19 percent) and a lack of photo ID required to vote (14 percent).</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2latinovoters.jpg" style="height:410px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Twenty-three percent of non-voting Latinos who responded to the poll said that Obama’s decision to delay executive action made them more enthusiastic about the president and the Democratic Party, while 60 percent of non-voting Latinos said the delay made them less enthusiastic. This is notable because Latinos have historically backed Democrats by wide margins. In every state that Latino Decisions polled save for Florida—Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, North Carolina, Nevada and Texas—respondents said that immigration was the most important issue to them.</p> <p> </p> <p>And, as what will widely be interpreted as a kick in the pants to Obama, 68 percent of non-voters said that they could be brought back to the polls in 2016 with executive action on immigration reform “before the end of this year,” according to Latino Decisions.</p> <p> </p> <p>“In 2012 the thing that drove Latino turnout was [the deportation deferral program for young undocumented immigrants] DACA,” said Latino Decisions’ Matt Barreto. “It’s extremely clear that what drove Latino voter turnout [in 2012] and the record share of the Latino vote Obama got was the enthusiasm he got from enacting DACA.” Obama ought to take pointers from his past wins to help both Latinos and his party, Barreto said.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/11/so_how_much_did_obamas_immigration_delay_hurt_latino_turnout.html">Colorlines</a> and republished by our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/11/so-how-much-did-obamas-immigration-delay-hurt-latino-turnout.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/midterm-elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">midterm elections</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latino-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Latino voters</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latinos" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">latinos</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanic-voters" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanic voters</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/democrats" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Democrats</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/elections" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">elections</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Colorlines</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sat, 08 Nov 2014 17:54:43 +0000 tara 5402 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4425-how-much-did-obama-s-immigration-delay-affect-latino-voter-turnout#comments In Search of a Sanctuary for Migrant Children https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4406-search-sanctuary-migrant-children <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 10/31/2014 - 13:00</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1migrants%20%28wiki%29.jpg?itok=bP0LoYN9"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1migrants%20%28wiki%29.jpg?itok=bP0LoYN9" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/10/in-search-of-a-sanctuary-for-migrant-children.php">New America Media</a></strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>OAKLAND, Calif. -- Edwin can hardly understand Spanish and is slowly learning English, but his biggest dilemma now is finding a way to save his mother from the violence in his native Guatemala, and how to pay the $7,000 he owes lawyers.</p> <p> </p> <p>Edwin, 14, is a native Mam speaker (the Mayan language of his ethnic group). In spite of his youth, he has already made a dangerous escape from the gang violence of his homeland, crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and spent two months in the El Centro Service Processing Center, an immigrant detention facility south of Los Angeles.</p> <p> </p> <p>Since his release from detention two months ago, Edwin has found a home at the Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispana (PIPH, First Hispanic Presbyterian Church) in Oakland.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The church wants me to go to school during the day, but how am I going to cover my expenses if I don’t work,” he asks. “How am I going to pay for rent when I find where to live, and send money back for my mother, my brother and my sister?”</p> <p> </p> <p>PIPH is one of several religious organizations in the Bay Area that have spearheaded a burgeoning Sanctuary Movement that began last summer in Arizona. So far 24 congregations offering sanctuary in 12 cities across the country have joined.</p> <p> </p> <p>Inspired by the Sanctuary Movement of the early 1980s, when at least 500 churches offered safe-havens for migrants escaping conflict in Central America, faith leaders today are looking to renew that commitment by providing shelter, food and even legal advice to this latest wave of child refugees.</p> <p> </p> <p>“We are helping these kids with shelter, clothes, food, classes, vaccinations,” says PPIH Pastor Pablo Morataya, adding that many live in fear of being detained again. “That is why we need to become a sanctuary, so they can feel safe.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Places of resistance</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Earlier this month St. John's Presbyterian Church in nearby Berkeley hosted a forum that drew dozens from congregations around the Bay Area to learn about the history of the Sanctuary Movement and how it is helping today’s migrant youth.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Our idea of a sanctuary can take different forms,” explained Reverend Deborah Lee, director of the Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights, at the forum. These can range from providing safe living spaces, to accompanying refugees in legal procedures and offering hospitality and other kinds of protections.</p> <p> </p> <p>St. John’s Pastor Max Lynn reminded attendees that Berkeley declared itself a sanctuary in 1982, two years after the assassination of the Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Arnulfo Romero. “Changing immigration policy is a long path,” he said, “but in the meantime the least we can do is bring support to those who were brutally violated.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Lynn’s church is currently helping to reunite several families, including the parents of one 10-year old, the youngest of three sons and the last to arrive to the United States. “We are struggling to raise money for the lawyers and the courthouse process,” he said.</p> <p> </p> <p>Lee praised Latino congregations specifically for helping to turn church property “into a place of resistance” against deportation orders.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Our actions since October 16th include doing weekly vigils in front of the immigration courts, constant praying for the families, and increasing the number of churches that are willing to become sanctuaries.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Relieving the trauma</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show that between October 2013 and the end of September 2014, 68,541 unaccompanied children from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala were apprehended along the southwest border. They estimate that by the end of 2014, the number of children seeking protection in the United States will reach 90,000.</p> <p> </p> <p>Almost 13,000 of them are seeking asylum through immigration courts in California, according to the Transactional Record Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University.</p> <p> </p> <p>To meet the costs, Oakland’s City Council last week voted unanimously to adopt a resolution authorizing a grant of up to $577,000 to finance legal representation, mental health services and housing for the migrant youth.</p> <p> </p> <p>San Francisco approved a similar measure in September that provides more than $2 million in funds to pay for legal support for unaccompanied minors and families registered on the San Francisco Immigration Court’s expedited removal docket.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2migrants.jpg" style="height:362px; width:631px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Oakland “has always been a refuge with no exceptions, and we are happy to help these kids, taking into account the responsibility of the United States in the drug war in Central America,” said Mayor Quan at an event organized by the Red Nacional Salvadoreña En El Exterior, or RENASE (Salvadoran National Network Abroad).</p> <p> </p> <p>RENASE is urging Congress to enforce protections for children under the 2008 William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), a law that guarantees hearings before an immigration judge, and a chance to consult with an attorney, for children arriving from countries that don’t share a border with the United States.</p> <p> </p> <p>“We are also demanding that they stop the so-called ‘rocket docket’ directive, which gives children’s attorneys only three weeks to prepare their cases,” said Mirna Medina of RENASE. “While the legal help takes place, we are glad that these kids are sponsored by religious communities to relieve the trauma,” she added.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Different faiths</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Other religious institutions that have not officially joined the Sanctuary Movement are doing their part to help out as well.</p> <p> </p> <p>Pastor Juan José Lima from the Church of God in San Francisco’s Mission District said Pentecostal churches help anyone who shows up at their doors in need. “We don’t have a constituted network, but we are helping get medicine for a Honduran girl who has been very sick since her arrival,” he said.</p> <p> </p> <p>The local Jewish community, meanwhile, is also responding. “We are assisting these kids with mental health and legal support,” said Jessica Trubowitch, ‎director of Intergroup Relations at the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Relations Council. “But we want to extend our response to the humanitarian crisis in the Bay Area [and] identify how we can be of more help.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Trubowitch says part of that will involve synagogues around the Bay Area holding informational sessions in November on the Sanctuary Movement. “There are few congregations that know about immigrant rights … this approach will help make more people aware about the topic.”</p> <p> </p> <p>For those already involved in the Sanctuary Movement, meanwhile, the work continues.</p> <p> </p> <p>“We are now helping this 15-year-old kid from Honduras, sent to the U.S. by his grandmother after one of his best friends at school was killed by gangs,” says Marilyn Chilcote, pastor of the Beacon Presbyterian Fellowship in Oakland.</p> <p> </p> <p>Chilcote was among those helping the roughly 400 Central American refugees who arrived in Berkeley 30 years earlier. Pointing to this latest case, she said the boy was “abused on his way here and we are praying that he will be able to cope with the trauma. When one witnesses these cases, it’s impossible for our church not to become a Sanctuary.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>This article is part of a Media Consortium collaboration on immigration reform. For more articles, please follow #TMCimm.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/10/in-search-of-a-sanctuary-for-migrant-children.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sanctuary" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">sanctuary</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/migrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">migrants</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/migrant-children" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">migrant children</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/san-francisco" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">San Francisco</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bay-area" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">bay area</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/illegal-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">illegal immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/crsooing-border" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">crsooing the border</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration-reform" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration reform</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Jenny Manrique </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 31 Oct 2014 17:00:07 +0000 tara 5371 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4406-search-sanctuary-migrant-children#comments India Leads Other Nations in Surge of Foreign-Born in the U.S. https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4402-ndia-leads-other-nations-surge-foreign-born-us <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 10/28/2014 - 13:33</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1liberty.jpg?itok=2iGf9Y7o"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1liberty.jpg?itok=2iGf9Y7o" width="480" height="360" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/india-leads-all-nations-in-surge-of-foreign-born-in/article_b892ccc0-587a-11e4-aedb-e7218b0ad216.html?utm_source=Newsletter+-+2014+-+October+21&amp;utm_campaign=DNL+-+October+21%2C+2014&amp;utm_medium=email">India-West</a> and reprinted by our content partner New America Media</strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>Nearly one in six adults in the U.S. is now foreign-born and India led all countries in a record increase of new immigrants to the country, according to a new report by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies.</p> <p> </p> <p>The countries with the largest increases in new immigrants were India (an increase of 254,000, up 14 percent); China (217,000, 10 percent); the Dominican Republic (112,000, 13 percent); Guatemala (71,000, 9 percent); Jamaica (55,000, 8 percent); Bangladesh (49,000, 32 percent); Saudi Arabia (44,000, 97 percent); Pakistan (43,000, 14 percent); and Iraq (41,000, 26 percent).</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> The study, based on new Census Bureau data, found that the country’s immigrant population — including both legal and illegal immigrants — grew by 1.4 million from July 2010 to July 2013 to a record 41.3 million.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The new data makes clear that while Latin America and the Caribbean are still a significant source of immigration, the growth is being driven in large part by immigration from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa,” said Steven Camarota, director of research at the center and lead author of the report.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1indians.jpg" style="height:416px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The regions with the largest increases in immigrants from 2010 to 2013 were South Asia (up 373,000, or 16 percent); East Asia (365,000, 5 percent); the Caribbean (223,000, 6 percent), the Middle East (208,000, 13 percent; and sub-Saharan Africa (177,000, 13 percent).</p> <p> </p> <p>As a share of the total population, immigrants (legal and illegal) comprised 13.1 percent of U.S. residents (about one out of every eight), the highest percentage in 93 years. As recently as 1980, 6.2 percent of the population was comprised of immigrants.</p> <p> </p> <p>States where the number of immigrants grew the most since 2010 were Texas (227,240); California (160,771); Florida (140,019); New York (85,699); New Jersey (81,192); Massachusetts (62,591); Washington (57,402); Pennsylvania (57,091); Illinois (47,609); Arizona (39,647); Maryland (38,555); Virginia (37,844); North Carolina (30,289); Michigan (29,039); and Georgia (28,020).</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/india-leads-all-nations-in-surge-of-foreign-born-in/article_b892ccc0-587a-11e4-aedb-e7218b0ad216.html?utm_source=Newsletter+-+2014+-+October+21&amp;utm_campaign=DNL+-+October+21%2C+2014&amp;utm_medium=email">India-West</a> and reprinted by our content partner New America Media</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/india" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">India</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/indian-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">indian immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/coming-us" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">coming to the us</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration-reform" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration reform</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/middle-eastern-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">middle eastern immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/asian-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">asian immigrants</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">India West</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wikipedia Commons; Google Images</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 28 Oct 2014 17:33:35 +0000 tara 5363 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4402-ndia-leads-other-nations-surge-foreign-born-us#comments Reflecting on Obama’s Vow to Fix Immigration Policy https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4331-reflecting-obama-s-vow-fix-immigration-policy <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 09/29/2014 - 14:15</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumobamacolorlines_0.jpg?itok=1lBu7Tvr"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumobamacolorlines_0.jpg?itok=1lBu7Tvr" width="480" height="300" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/09/reflecting-on-obamas-promise-to-fix-immigration-policywhat-to-do-now.php">New America Media</a></strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>Quite appropriately, immigrants and immigrant advocates reacted with anger and dismay to President Obama’s Sept. 6 announcement he would not move forward to fix “broken” immigration policy until after the November elections.</p> <p> </p> <p>It’s now old news that the decision was “political.” Of course it was--everything in the world of federal policy is. More urgent than recriminations and “what if” scenarios is consideration of what now, where to go next? It’s now a month since the president’s disappointing announcement and a month until Election Day. What should immigrant advocates do and what should pro-immigrant voters do now?</p> <p> </p> <p>Of course it’s sad and frustrating to observe the limitations of the president’s ability to lead the nation, given a recalcitrant Congress. But this is an everyday reality as the nation’s social policy dialogue continues to devolve into a multitude of sweaty, grunting, ideological wrestling matches—full of sound and fury and signifying very little. There’s little utility fixating on the president’s “broken promise” to fix the immigration system. A more useful priority will be to weigh in about what the fix should look like once it’s announced.</p> <p> </p> <p>Immigration reform advocates will need to overcome their frustration and work hard to get pro-immigrant voters to the polls in November for what will, essentially, be a vote of confidence in Obama’s commitment to (very soon) take practical steps toward (substantially) better immigration policy. Of course, the challenge in getting demoralized pro-immigrant voters to turn out is, indeed, formidable. The Center for American Progress/Latino Decision’s timely survey (in June, before the president’s decision to defer executive action) asking Latino voters how it would affect their decision to go to the polls provides a worrisome assessment of the challenge: They found that 54 percent of Latino voters would be less likely to turn out to vote.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Latino Decisions researchers correctly ask whether the “broken promise” decision by the Obama administration was a missed opportunity for Democrats to mobilize Latino voters. There’s no doubt that it was. But I would argue there still remain opportunities to restore Latino and other pro-immigrant voters’ enthusiasm.</p> <p> </p> <p>Immigrant advocates, ethnic media, and pro-immigrant candidates can do this if they move vigorously to seize the opportunities opened up by Obama’s delaying executive action by catalyzing widespread community dialogue on two key issues:</p> <p> </p> <p>•           What should a “sustainable” administratively-initiated fix to immigration policy look like?</p> <p> </p> <p>•           How does a fairer, more equitable, and more inclusive immigration policy benefit not only immigrants but also entire communities, regions and the nation?</p> <p> </p> <p>Obama’s “broken promise” excuses for his delay in acting actually represent an invitation to advocates, candidates, and voters to weigh in on the shape of executive action on immigration policy and ongoing efforts to enact immigration reform. This can be seen in these two excerpts from his remarks:</p> <p> </p> <p>“What I'm saying is that I'm going to act because it's the right thing for the country," he said. "But it's going to be more sustainable and more effective if the public understands what the facts are on immigration….</p> <p> </p> <p>"I want to … make sure that the public understands why we're doing this, why it's the right thing for the American people, why it's the right thing for the American economy."</p> <p> </p> <p>In reality, more important than the exact timing of executive action is its scope (how many will benefit in principle), the viability of effectively implementing new provisions (how many will actually be able to benefit), and the extent to which new guidelines provide a supportive legal framework for long-term settled immigrants who have waited 10 to 15 years for relief to get on (and move ahead) with their lives.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1immigrationdeportation.jpg" style="height:417px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Immigrant advocates and pro-immigrant political candidates can and should engage with their constituents in pressing the Obama administration for executive action that is broader and bolder -- not narrower, compromised or timid.</p> <p> </p> <p>Pro-immigrant voters should go to the polls with an almost paradoxical mixture of anger and optimism to make their voices heard and send the message that executive action, when it comes, must be big, bold, and for real.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Sustainable” executive action will need to do more than simply protect from deportation longtime community residents who are undocumented. To make good on the president’s newly-articulated commitment to a sustainable fix, the new policy will need to catalyze and nurture genuine immigrant integration. It must provide, at the very least, pathways for learning English, for developing workplace skills, and for immigrant participation in civic decision-making and community service. Such a policy would present a win-win, benefitting both immigrants and the general public.</p> <p> </p> <p>At the same time, ongoing pressure will be needed to ensure that executive action to provide administrative relief is more than a rhetorical promise. The process for applicants to seek DACA-like relief will need to be streamlined and affordable.</p> <p> </p> <p>Ethnic media, immigrant advocates and candidates must get out the message that the November midterm elections are not a time to give up -- but for pro-immigrant voters to make their voices heard.</p> <p> </p> <p>After all, it’s only two years until 2016 and voter apathy is a vote for the intolerable status quo.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>Ed Kissam has led various studies of immigrant settlement in the United States over the past decade, including the New Pluralism Study of immigrants in rural areas and the Latino Entrepreneurship study focusing on North Carolina and Iowa . He is currently working with a research task force on strategies to improve educational outcomes for Latino youth in rural communities throughout the United States.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/09/reflecting-on-obamas-promise-to-fix-immigration-policywhat-to-do-now.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obama" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obama</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration-reform" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration reform</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration-policy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration policy</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/illegal-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">illegal immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/migrant-workers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">migrant workers</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/congress" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">congress</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/government-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the government</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ed Kissam</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 29 Sep 2014 18:15:58 +0000 tara 5247 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4331-reflecting-obama-s-vow-fix-immigration-policy#comments