Democrats Accused of "Empty Words" on Immigration

by: AmericasVoice

Wed Feb 17, 2010 at 11:45:21 AM EST

There’s  a very strong editorial today in La  Opinion on the issue of immigration reform. Translated, the title reads, "No More Empty Words." It lays responsibility for any inaction on immigration this Congress squarely at the feet of Democrats.  It notes that in the past Democrats were able to blame Republicans for blocking comprehensive immigration reform, but not now, not with control of the White House and solid majorities in both chambers. 

Now,  most politicos won’t read this editorial because  it’s in Spanish. So allow me to translate.

La  Opinion is the country's leading Spanish-language newspapers, and a large swath  of Spanish-speaking  voters across the country will read it.  But it doesn’t stand alone.  The editorial reflects a growing sentiment among Spanish-speaking Latino voters, who turned out in record numbers in 2008 to vote Democrats into office (marking a major swing from 2004, when large numbers of Spanish-speaking voters turned out for Bush). The piece reads:

In an interview with La Opinion, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said she has hopes that reform would happen this year, without offering anymore details. This statement is as disappointing as were the words of President Obama in his State of the Union message to Congress. The time for empty words is over.

For many years, Republican intransigence was responsible for blocking comprehensive and fair immigration reform. Now the White House and Congress are in the hands of Democrats and the stalemate continues. House and Senate leadership are responsible for failing to place immigration reform on the agenda, and for failing to influence their ranks so that legislation is brought forward for consideration.

The editorial  closes with a paragraph that should make all  Democrats shudder:

Promises made during elections win votes and create hope.  The commitment to immigration reform attracted many votes and fed the hopes of millions of working people. Now Congress must keep its promise.

The Raw Politics of Immigration Reform Should Lead to Legislation

by: Duke Reed

Tue Feb 02, 2010 at 12:15:32 PM EST

Since nothing yet has provided the requisite motivation to those in Washington to move forward and tackle reform, it's time to start to look at it through a prism they can understand: Pure Machiavellian political calculation.

Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Did!

by: AmericasVoice

Fri Aug 07, 2009 at 13:02:16 PM EDT

Sotomayor was finally confirmed today, which not only makes this a proud day for the Latino community, but a historic day for all Americans.

Unfortunately, what should have been a proud moment of bipartisanship was tarnished by the divisive votes of so many Republican senators who opposed Sotomayor. In fact, some right-wing organizations, such as the Americans for Legal Immigration Reform (ALIPAC), put the pressure on asking their supporters to call out "Republican Sell-outs" and oppose their Sotomayor votes. According to the Orlando Sentinel:

In the e-mail blast, the group told its followers to make "thousands of angry, yet proper and legal calls" to stop those senators --including Florida's Mel Martinez-- from voting for her, "because this is EXACTLY HOW THEY PLAN TO PASS AMNESTY NEXT!"

That sounds remarkably as if they're saying a capable judge shouldn't be confirmed because she's Hispanic.

Rejecting the Language of the Leviathan

by: Kai

Tue Jul 14, 2009 at 12:29:42 PM EDT

[ Cross-posted at Zuky and Feministe ]

The ugly history of enforcement rhetoric in modern US politics winds its way from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama, by way of Bill Clinton. It's a history of cynical deception and manipulation based on racist fear and violent lust for domination and subjugation, conceived and championed by Republicans but all too often embraced by the slide-rule triangulations of Beltway Democrats preoccupied more with the engineerings of government power than the lives and struggles of the governed.

Richard Nixon knew exactly what he was doing when he ran his 1968 presidential campaign on the two philosophically inconsistent promises of enforcing law and order and stopping big government. Those tenets were never meant to be substantive or even rational. In fact, it was better for them to be jarringly irrational, because that was part of their acid-gut appeal, a Colbertian anti-intellectual assertion of primal fear over reason. In the midst of the 60s urban uprisings and race riots, these were smashface calls for white identity politics, explicitly designed to mobilize an emotionally volatile backlash against the Civil Rights movement and the imagined derailing of the 1950s White American Dream.

Nixon's enforcement rhetoric ("tough on crime", "law and order") implicitly promised to crack down on brown people and put them back in their place at the bottom of society; while the attacks on "big government" generated false narratives that white magnanimity had gone too far and had resulted in dangerous hoardes of ungrateful welfare leeches who soaked up tax dollars, benefited from racial quotas, and gave nothing back to society. These constructs were, of course, not grounded in any sort of measurable reality. They were strictly drawn from the deep well of racism, built into the very foundation of this nation, seared into the psyche of every US American as solidly as the opening words of the Constitution.

As the renowned Republican strategist Lee Atwater put it in a 1981 interview with Bob Herbert on the so-called "Southern Strategy":

By 1968 you can't say "n----r". That hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights, and all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now [...] because obviously sitting around saying "We want to cut this" is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a hell of a lot more abstract than "N----r, n----r!"

Not a particulary refined or elevated political strategy. But Nixon rode it to victory in 1968, as did Ronald Reagan in 1980 ("welfare queens") and George H. W. Bush in 1988 (Willie Horton). The lesson that Washington DC's professional class of electoral manipulators drew from these outcomes was that national politicians could always count on the racism of white America.

Thus the rise of Bill Clinton and the Democratic Leadership Council in the 1980s and 90s. Rather than confront and expose the GOP's debased demagoguery; rather than elevate national discourse by aggressively defending the strides of the Civil Rights movement and attacking racist fearmongering using a principled grown-up language based on human rights; rather than expand the dwindling electorate by reaching into disenfranchised communities who would respond well to a message of progressive populism, the Democratic Party ceded the debate to the most reactionary forces in US politics and adopted the discourse of coded racist narratives.

Bill Clinton won the presidency, ended "welfare as we know it", ended "the era of big government", doubled the prison population with mandatory minimums and an explosion of privatized prison construction, slapped NAFTA onto the continent unleashing new levels of unemployment, homelessness, and cross-border migration, and generally devastated countless communities of color.

Immigrant Narratives : Choose Your Mother or Your Child

by: MamitaMala

Mon Jun 22, 2009 at 09:55:09 AM EDT

Quick. Choose. The house is burning and you have to choose. Your mother or your child? Who do you save?

The current framing of the immigration reform movement and the immigrants it claims to represents takes place against a backdrop of human lives. And in our house, the United States of America, is aflame. The framing of the current immigration reform movement however, the good vs. bad immigrant narrative that we have written about and discussed extensively, forces advocates and the media into a corner. Choose. The idea is that we can't have it all when it comes to immigration reform. That we need to make compromises, find workable solutions to borrow an often heard phrase from the Reform Immigration for America Summit. That means choosing between your mother or your child.  

Tragedy at American Civic Association in Binghamton

by: nezua

Fri Apr 03, 2009 at 19:05:12 PM EDT

We are concerned with the immigrant community given our lives, our collective function and the fact that the shooting was reportedly done in a room of people testing (or taking a practice test) for their citizenship. It is especially heartbreaking that the dreams of so many were ended in such a violent way, and so very close to their fruition.

We will be paying close attention and working together to update you on this unfolding story.

National Immigrant Justice Center:
Staff at Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center are following the news about what is happening in Binghamton, New York. We understand from news reports that the American Civic Association provides important services to immigrants and refugees seeking to become citizens and reunite with their families. The National Immigrant Justice Center engages in similar work to protect the rights of immigrants, and for that reason this story hits especially close to home.  Our thoughts are with the people, families, and communities who have been affected by this horrible tragedy.

America's Voice:
Today members of America's Voice grieve with the victims of a tragic shooting at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY. The organization provided services and support to members of the immigrant and refugee population in the small town in Upstate New York. We cannot imagine the heartache and pain that family members of the victims are currently experiencing, and we extend our deepest sympathies to all those wounded in the deadly attack.

While we wait to hear more details about today's tragic turn of events, we hope that no one will try to take advantage of this tragedy by engaging in despicable political maneuvering that would only serve to distract the public from the real, chilling loss of life at this community center.

It seems that many of the victims of today's horrific shooting were on their way toward becoming full citizens of our nation. In honor of their memory and their families' grief, as well as the men and women who work every day to make sure that our values as a nation of immigrants are upheld, we hope that the discussion around this unspeakable tragedy centers on the tragic loss of life and how best to serve the families and communities who have been brutalized by it.

We should focus on the tragic and shocking deaths of the immigrant men and women who were reportedly taking their citizenship tests (or studying for these) inside the center-a poignant moment for those who have sacrificed and toiled to become full participants in our great nation. We hope that the grief and suffering of families who lost loved ones today is not amplified by callous statements and actions of extreme groups whose primary purpose is to stir up bitterness and resentment toward the most vulnerable members of our society.

United Farm Workers:
The United Farm Workers is deeply saddened by the violent killing of innocent people at an immigration center in upstate New York this morning. Our thoughts and prayers go to the victims and families and the people of Binghamton where this act of nonsense violence occurred.  The UFW will be memorializing the victims and recommitting ourselves to non-violent struggle at the upcoming Cesar E. Chavez events this weekend in California.

Center for New Community:
Center for New Community was deeply saddened by the tragedy that took place in Binghamton, NY on Friday. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families, and the community.
Early reports indicate that this was a senseless act of violence carried out by a lone individual with unknown motives. It is reported that the victims were a group of immigrants taking a citizenship exam at the American Civic Association, which provides services to immigrants and refugees seeking to become citizens and reunite with their families.

This is a tragedy for America and for the immigrant community. As an organization that works to defend the human and civil rights of all persons residing in the United States, Center for New Community urges everyone to resist using this incident for political purposes in the contentious immigration debate.

At this time, we encourage the nation to focus its full attention on supporting the community of Binghamton, New York.

NCLR
Washington, DC-The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, is deeply saddened by the shooting tragedy that occurred at an immigrant center in Binghamton, New York today.

"Today's horrific unfolding of events at an organization dedicated to providing services to America's newcomers and offering hope to so many families is extremely heart-wrenching," said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO.  "The impact of the shooting at the American Civic Association is felt by all those who work every day to open the door to the American Dream for hardworking immigrants in this country."

Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights:
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) is deeply saddened by the tragic shooting that took place today at the American Civic Association, an immigration services agency in Binghamton, NY.

This is a tragedy for America and for the immigrant community. It is particularly sad that a place that offers hope and assists immigrants to better integrate into American society has now become the site of such tragedy. Our hopes and prayers go out to the victims and families and the entire Binghamton community.

Inauguration 2009: End of an Error, Beginning of a Movement

by: SylviaM

Sat Jan 24, 2009 at 19:11:53 PM EST

I initially did not want to go to the inauguration.  I planned to go to D.C. the day before to see good friends who live in the city and reunite with college friends; but watching Obama enter office didn't really lodge into my brain as something to do.  When I told a friend of mine over the phone my plans for MLK Monday (and my non-existent plans for the next day), she was pissed at me.

"You'd come up here to visit your friends, but you don't want to see history?!"

"Well," I replied, "when you put it that way... nope."

"Girl, you'd better get your head right.  If you want to stay with me while you're here, let me know."

"I'll think about it," I smirked.

"I can't believe you!"

Ya think so, George?

by: Duke Reed

Mon Jan 12, 2009 at 12:54:09 PM EST

BUSH: Take, for example, the immigration debate. That's obviously a highly contentious issue. And the problem with the initial outcome of the debate was some people said, "well, Republicans don't like immigrants. Now, that may be fair or unfair, but that's the image that came out. And if, you know, the image is "we don't like immigrants," then there's probably someone else out there saying, "well, if they don't like immigrants, they probably don't like me as well."

"Fair or unfair"?

I wonder where those folks got the crazy idea that Republicans don't like them

Maybe years of having guys like this as the immigration policy leaders of the Republican Party may have had something to do with it.

Wada ya think George?

Tomorrow We Vote - Tomorrow's almost here

by: Duke Reed

Wed Oct 15, 2008 at 20:01:07 PM EDT

Two and a half years later, no such legislation has passed, replaced instead by a toxic and divisive debate that has led to increased raids, illegal detentions, hate crimes, and the very climate of fear and intimidation the marchers took to the streets to oppose. These events have galvanized the Latino community like never before and set the stage for what could be a seismic shift in the American electorate.

Recently released data on voter registration points to the dawn of a new political reality.    

McCain distorts Obama's record on immigration

by: yave begnet

Sat Sep 13, 2008 at 00:55:37 AM EDT

Given that the mainstream press is picking up on McCain’s pattern of misrepresentations and false assertions in this election campaign, will they notice this one?

McCain is now claiming that comprehensive reform died in the Senate last year because Obama killed it. Even the restrictionist-leaning Washington Times (which published a series of articles linking recent immigrants to the spread of disease) found this claim to be a bridge too far.

McCain is trying to attract the Latino vote that he needs to win in several key states. He must be hoping that the English-language press ignores the falsehoods found in this Spanish-language ad. But by opening discussion on a topic on which he is particularly vulnerable to charges of flip-floppery, he has inspired unlikely bedfellows like the WaTimes and America’s Voice, one of the best-funded organizations pushing for comprehensive reform, which links to the WaTimes story on its front page. 

And it looks like the mainstream blogosphere, from which the mainstream press takes many of its cues, may not let this one slip by unnoticed—I saw this story originally on TalkingPointsMemo, linking to a McClatchy story pointing out that Obama and McCain voted on the same side in the key votes of the comprehensive reform battle in Congress. Now I see Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings has picked it up.

America’s Voice (via Greg Siskind) has an effective rebuttal of the McCain ad:

Time for a Reality Check

by: Duke Reed

Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 23:15:00 PM EST

Starting back in November with the failure of anti-immigrant campaigns to resonate with the electorate, an apparent sea change was assumed to be taking place.  Much ink and many pixels were expended speculating on the presumed death of the "immigration issue" as a motivating force in the US political scene.

From the left, the progressive blogosphere finally found the courage to voice pro-immigrant positions after nearly two years of bowing to the conventional wisdom coming out of Washington that immigration was a "third rail" not to be touched.

From the right, pundits and the chattering classes warned that to continue stoking the flames of anti-immigrant sentiments was like beating the proverbial dead horse, and would yield no rewards.

Over the following months things looked even brighter.

After starting a presidential campaign where each candidate tried their best to "out Tancredo, Tancredo" on immigration matters, one by one the Republican contenders who put their eggs in the anti-immigrant basket fell by the wayside. In the end, the only three standing were the party's only bona fide pro-immigrant candidate, and two candidates whose recent conversion to the anti-immigrant camp was questionable at best.  With McCain's presumptive triumph, even Huckabee's and Romney's road to Damascus conversion to Tancredoism seems to have hurt them far more than it helped.

On the Democratic side, the top contenders were quick to finally pick up on these subtle cues once it became obvious to even the least politically savvy that they need not fear the immigration boogieman.  

To his credit, Mr. Obama was early to the pro-migrant party, and supported driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants even as his opponent waffled and tried to triangulate her position due to the nagging "third rail" fear that so haunted the DLC. He also came out early and pledged to take up comprehensive reform within the first one hundred days of his administration and voiced strong support for the DREAM Act. But lately, even the ever cautious Mrs. Clinton has spoken out against immigration raids, and promised to curtail them, voiced tepid disapproval of the great wall project, and vowed to join Obama's pledge to give the nation real reform within one hundred days of taking office.

All of this has been music to the ears of those in the pro-migrant movement.

In both the tradition media and blogtopia, pro-migrant voices have started to break through.

To varying degrees, both NCLR's Janet Murguia and "Democracy Now's" Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez managed to issue live smack-downs on anti-immigrant powerhouse, Lou Dobb ( In Murguia's case, on Lou's own show). They called him out not only for his misleading and unbalanced presentation of the issue, but also his embrace of some of the most virulent racists engaged in the anti-immigrant movement. If this was not clear evidence that David could smite the anti-immigrant Goliath .... nothing was.

On the web, pro-migrant, Latino, and human-rights blogs and web sites are proliferating and finally gaining long deserved attention and recognition. Outreach and cooperation between the traditional pro-immigrant activist organizations has reached a near fever pitch as they attempt to put together the large-scale, organized, effort that will be essential in moving meaningful reform in the new, more immigrant-friendly, atmosphere all anticipate is just around the corner.

At least that's what we've all been telling each other for the last few months

147

by: Duke Reed

Tue Feb 19, 2008 at 23:30:00 PM EST

For almost three years now, anti-immigrant forces have been ratcheting up  their message of opposition to  anything short of deportation and/or attrition for the approximately 12 mil unauthorized immigrants currently living and working in the US, coupled with increased militarization  and "security" along the southern border as the only way to solve their self-defined "immigration crisis."  Armed with talking points crafted by Republican right-wing spinmeisters like Frank Luntz and zero-population-growth advocacy groups like the  Federation for American Immigration Reform and NumbersUSA, pundits, politicians and talking-heads have hit the airwaves with a constant barrage of misinformation and distortion.

By now we all know the drill.

They claim they don't oppose immigration ...just "illegal" immigration. There's no need for sweeping comprehensive reforms ...because we have perfectly good laws, it's just that the government refuses to enforce them.  It's not about the immigrants themselves ... but rather respect for the "rule of law." And those who wish to enter this country "legally" have a clear path to do, so it's only those wishing to skirt the law and "take advantage of our generosity" that are creating all the problems and need to be harshly dealt with  ... the mantras are repeated ad nauseam until ingrained into the collective American psyche.

But like all right-wing propaganda, this current fairy tale about immigration being the cause of all ills, and the need for a simple, quick fix, is based upon a foundation of lies and misdirection. It is only the newest in a long line of right-wing efforts to steer the American people in a direction that runs contrary to logic and their own best interests. From Colin Powell at the UN displaying cartoon pictures of mobile WMD labs, to Bush telling us why the "privatizing " Social Security is good for working Americans, or Reagan explaining how giving huge tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans would cause wealth to "trickle down" to those lower on the economic ladder, the history of right-wing lies, deception, and failure goes back more than twenty-five years. And the current hysteria over invading hordes of disease-ridden, uneducated criminals, streaming over the southern border to steal our jobs and destroy our American way of life is no more based in reality than Mr Powell's cartoons were.