(foto credit: celikins)

Will the pending “Comprehensive Immigration Reforms” be a similar to making sausage? I mean, once immigration reform is done and served to the people, will most of us, especially those of us who have been yearning and hungry for a “comprehensive immigration reform package” be happy with the ingredients it contains.

Will a comprehensive immigration reform package be stuffed with things like, “we might also see a requirement that all workers carry a tamper-proof identification card and new criteria for admitting legal immigrants.” as Ruben Navarrette states and with insight adds that the major problems of immigration are, “three big problems: porous borders; the difficulty in immigrating legally; and the fact that 12 million illegal immigrants are in a state of suspended animation where they work hard, pay taxes, buy homes, and join the PTA, but never achieve full civic participation and the responsibilities that come with it.”

The last part of Navarrette’s commentary is crucial because for the most part the 12 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States are largely absent from the contentious and highly vocal pro and con arguments surrounding immigration reform.  The undocumented immigrant for the most part is patiently and attentively waiting in the shadows to emerge with some sort of legal status.  They for the most part all just want to work and raise their families and will gladly take whatever Congress ultimately deems to be Comprehensive Immigration Reform.  They will be overjoyed at the thought of receiving a valid work permit, legal residency card and the most coveted and prized, a U.S. Citizenship Certificate.

We can fully expect the GOP to raise a ruckus over all manner of details surrounding immigration reform, but in the end a small number of Republicans will join their Democratic counterparts and provide the 60 votes necessary to pass an immigration reform package.  The great battle for the hearts and minds of the Latino voter for the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections begins now.

While engaged in the difficult task of passing a sensible immigration reform package the GOP will be asking itself one question, over and over again: “Does the Latino Vote Matter?“.  The answer: It only matters if you consider that some 50 thousand children turn 18 each month, young adults who are registering and voting in greater numbers than previous generations, young adults who are likely to have at least one immigrant parent.  The GOP can’t ignore the facts, they can’t look at the growing Latino population and concede the math, at least not if they ever want to win another Presidential election in the near future.

                          

Found this very well done video and review from Deborah Bonello for La Plaza | Los Angeles Times when “Los Que Se Quedan” was screened at the 2009 Guadalajara Film Festival.

The Mexican documentary film Los Que Se Quedan (Those Who Remain) from Directors Juan Carlos Rulfo and Carlos Hagerman  has been screening at the 2009 LA Film Festival.  The film has a final screening at the Landmark on Saturday, June 27, 2009.

The small joyous moments are present at otherwise joyous occasions like communions and graduations. Despite this void in their communities, many of those profiled emerge as colorful characters with boundless vitality and wonderful senses of humor.

                          

NOW Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa asks a simple question: “Is a hard-line sheriff crossing the line when it comes to immigration enforcement?”

The answer will vary greatly depending on whom you ask and what their opionion is on the hot-button issue that is; illegal immigration.

Joe Arpaio is by far the most controversial figure in the illegal immigration debate.  As the longtime sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County he has pursued an aggressive hard line against undocumented immigrants.  His tactics, his detractors would call them antics have garnered him national and international attention.

My take is that Sheriff Joe Arpaio is nothing more than a bully, a man who likes the attention and the limelight and prone to engaging in racial profiling.  I also think his days are numbered and he’ll soon be gone.

Here are some facts about Sheriff Joe:

Goldwater Institute – policy report, Mission Unaccomplished: The Misplaced Priorities of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, takes a candid look at what the Sheriff’s Office is doing and provides recommendations on how MCSO and other police agencies can provide more effective and efficient law enforcement services.

“The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is tasked with the important job of keeping crime rates low,” said Clint Bolick, author of the report and Goldwater Institute litigation director. “Judged by its own statistics, MCSO appears to be falling seriously short of fulfilling its core law enforcement duties.”

Americas Voice has more facts about Sheriff Joe, the Bull Conner of our day.

                          

Speak to any undocumented immigrants about their border crossing experience and they will bring up the hunger they endured. Yes, they will also speak about the physical pain and suffering, but most will tell you that they easily endured the fear, dealt with the pain and suffering, but what stayed with them, what makes them sadly reflect on their experience was hunger.

Houtlust one of my favorite blogs which posts about nonprofit advertising and social campaigns writes about a great short film on the issue of hunger. The short is by Director, Pablo Olmos Arrayales.

The short El Escondite is a metaphor of a hide and seek game, most Mexicans will recognize the game (juego) as “Las Escondidas”.

Hunger or famine for the most part is a result of ongoing wars, internal struggles, and economic failures, all of which are caused by humans. The result is that every year some 12 million children die of hunger around the world.

In watching the short film a powerful message is delivered. The message in the game is that once hunger has found (stricken) all the players, except for the last one, that last player has the opportunity to rescue all the others, if he or she chooses to do so. The message is you as a single person player can free all the others from their misery and deadly fate.

It’s a powerful yet difficult message for one to accept, because for the most part our conformity is unconscious and not always an issue that touches us, or even one that we can relate to. The end result is that not enough of us take the necessary action that is required to fight the issue and work towards its eventual defeat or eradication.

As this country is increasingly divided on the issue of illegal immigration, it’s important for all of us to take a step back, take a moment to reflect and ponder the consequences. It’s important that we think hard on the issues and that we act in a moral and humane manner.

At times like these I’m reminded of words that I came across on the sidebar of RickB’s TenPercent blog. In his About section he has the following:

The blog is called Ten Percent because of what Kurt Vonnegut wrote when remembering Susan Sontag – She was asked what she had learned from the Holocaust, and she said that 10 percent of any population is cruel, no matter what, and that 10 percent is merciful, no matter what, and that the remaining 80 percent could be moved in either direction.

The issue of immigration, like the that of hunger are not issues that we like to address, worse many of us just don’t know enough about the complex issues to make an educated decision and rise above the controversy, so by default we fall into that “80 percent” that Susan Sontag described.

The world is has plenty of war, murder, hunger, poverty, sickness, starvation, racism, discrimination, or any number of countless other indignities we impose on other humans, so on any given issue we can all fall within that “80 percent” category, I know that I fall into that same category on much more than one. I’m not proud, but I can begin today by learning more about the issues and take the necessary actions that clear my conscience.

Want to learn more about immigration, there is plenty of information available. The information and opinions come to you from both from the merciful and the cruel. Take the time to read their posts as well as the comments contained in the threads that include both pros and cons and you decide. Take your time, it’s a complex issue and you digest as much as possible and decide for yourself, clear your mind and decide where you stand. It will take you a bit of time, but soon you can decide in what direction you allowed yourself to be swayed.

For the merciful go here, here and here. For the cruel go here, here, and here. You decide at the end of the day who you feel most comfortable standing next to.

Technorati Tags: immigration, hunger, Pablo Olmos Arrayales

                          

Technorati Tags: immigration comedy

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One of my favorite blogs is Working Immigrants written by Peter Rousmaniere (Roo-man-ear). Peter writes about the “business of immigrant work: employment,
compensation, legal protections, education, mobility, and public policy”.

I long ago subscribed to his feed and highly recommend reading his posts if you are interested in thoughtful and well balanced analysis on immigration and the sometimes unforeseen effects it causes to both Americans and illegal immigrants.

Peter’s latest post “White House PowerPoint outlinge of its proposal“, provides us a glimpse into the details of the immigration proposals which call for a Border Patrol manpower of 18,300. 370 miles of fencing; funding obtained and contracts in place to put at least 300 miles of southern border under electronic monitoring. A “no release of deportable aliens caught at the border” policy.

The first page of the proposal includes:

• Securing U.S. Borders
• Give employers the tools necessary to verify immigration status of who they hire, and hold them accountable to do so
• Provide a lawful channel for needed temporary workers (referred to a “Y-visa” holders)
• Bring illegal workers out of the shadows (offering hem what we call a “Z visa”) without amnesty
• Require English proficiency, civics training, oath of allegiance
• All policies must be workable (comparatively simple, efficient, not subject to undue litigation) — do not repeat the 1986 failure

Here is a copy of the White House Immigration Proposal PDF. It ends with a “DELIBERATIVE – FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY” disclaimer, so, it led me to wonder how this copy surfaced. Peters post links to the document at The Immigration Portal (ILW.COM).

The proposal includes implementation of a Real ID. One of the criticisms of illegal immigration is that it leads to an increase in identity theft. The Real ID is proposed as a means to stem the wideflow use of fraudulent Identification Cards, Drivers Licenses and Social Security by illegal immigrants. Critics of the Real ID claim that it’s implementation will result in racial profiling. Whatever the future holds, hopefully they do not lead to many instances such as the one experienced by this Alaskan woman.

Technorati Tags: immigration, illegal immigration, read id

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