OPEN LETTER TO STATE SENATOR STEVE SMITH (R-AZ)

Dear State Senator Steve Smith,

I realize you have a lot on your plate, and I’m sorry to bother you with this little matter. But you see, it appears that you have access to some exclusive information that could really help out some of my friends, so I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sharing some of this insider’s info with us.

I heard your interview on NPR a couple months ago, and you sure seem to know a lot about how privileged immigrants are in the United States. More so, in fact, than many immigrants themselves. See, I have quite a few friends who are immigrants from Mexico and other countries, and apparently they have never been told about the great amenities and services available to them!

First things first—could you please direct my attention to the  open door in the U.S.-Mexico border through which people are able to walk through with ease and convenience, with or without papers? You see, a lot of folks I know were unlucky enough to make the cut for the Green Card lottery, and not patient enough to wait the average 182 years that it takes for a working class person to get any kind of permit. They couldn’t survive in their hometowns, thanks to all the U.S. companies that bled them of their wealth, and thanks to treaties like NAFTA that stack the cards against Mexico’s poor.

So they came here without papers.

Thing is, everyone I know was foolish enough to risk their lives crossing through the desert! Can you imagine that? Now apparently there is an open door somewhere in the border, but for whatever reason, none of my friends have heard of it. Could you help a brother out and let me know where this door is located? It would really help people avoid a life-endangering trek.

In addition, you refer to large groups of immigrants who “don’t want to change” and are forcing Americans to change and accommodate them instead. Now, my buddy José works 12 hours a day, busting his ass to earn a little money for his family, and on top of that he’s been taking night classes to learn English. This is because he lives in a part of the U.S. where most people speak English, and he doesn’t have access to a lot of services because of his limited ability with the language. In fact, he was having trouble ordering at McDonald’s the other day, and somebody behind him shouted, “It’s America, learn English or go home”.

Evidently, José is not aware that everybody in this country has secretly gone to the trouble of learning Spanish! Why have you all been holding out on him for so long? No seas sangrón, compa.

You also refer to enormous groups of people who “don’t want to change”. Could you tell my friend Wang Liu that? He’s been studying hard to take the driver’s test and learn the rules of the road here in the States. But apparently he doesn’t have to, according to you! Could you please direct him to the neighborhood where people are allowed to drive according to China’s laws without getting pulled over? I think it would really save him some time.

In fact, I’d love to put my friends in touch with these groups of anti-American immigrants who are taking from this country without giving anything back. See, my friends have foolishly been paying more in taxes than any services they can hope to benefit from! They pay sales tax, gas tax, property tax, rental tax, and the folks who use a false Social Security number have been paying thousands into our Social Security system without ever using any of this money! In addition, they’ve been wasting their time stimulating the U.S. economy by pumping cheap labor into our companies—the very companies that made a mess out of the job market in their own countries of origin! Man, are they going to be disappointed when they find out that they could have avoided pouring all this money into U.S. corporate and government coffers.

At the very least, you could be a champ and point them in the direction of the immigrant-friendly gangs that you referred to. The only gangs my friends have encountered are U.S.-based gangs made up of mostly U.S. citizens who rob them every now and then. In addition, some of these immigrants have had the bad luck of running into white supremacist gangs who beat them up (or worse) because of the way they look. Could you please shoot off an email to the 800-plus white supremacist organizations in the U.S. and let them know that “gang warfare” is for people from other countries? They seem not to have gotten the memo.

Last but not least, I can’t help but notice that you claim to be a devout Christian. Now this poses a problem for many of my friends who have come here from Latin America, because most of them consider themselves devout Christians as well, of both Catholic and Evangelical Protestant varieties. Evidently, however, there is no room in your Church for these people who do not share your cultural background. Could you please recommend a different religion for them to join? Do you know if Neo-Paganism or Zoroastrianism are still accepting new applicants?

Of course, I hate to ask my friends to change religions, since many of them are very attached to their faith in Jesus Christ. But evidently, this is the faith of xenophobia, bigotry and a U.S.-centric world view. So I’m afraid these folks will just have no choice. (You know what, on second thought, never mind the last part. Assuming that this vast apparatus exists that gives preferential treatment to undocumented immigrants, I’m sure there must be a program out there that helps folks get out of your church and into something more comfortable.)

Thanks for all your help!

Sincerely,

Confused in California

Immigrants and faith leaders speak out about immigration reform

Faith leaders and immigrants in California speak out about the need for immigration reform. Check out what some of our friends say about the current immigration situation and the need for reform. The voices for immigration reform come from many different perspectives and Christian traditions in Los Angeles and Orange County. How will you respond when you read the Bible and God's concern for the stranger, the sojourner, the immigrant?





This video is from one of the Loving the Stranger Network partners, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice--Orange County (CLUEOC)

Guest Post: The Right to Wander, A Pastor Plants a Flag, by David Housholder

I’m going to plant a flag on this issue.

Please hear me, I respect the opposing view. I just don’t share it.

The truth is, God gave the whole earth to the human race and told us to go forth, be fruitful, and multiply.

Even when he gave Israel to the children of Jacob, he warned them to treat the foreigners nicely; that they would be evaluated, as a nation, by their hospitality toward them. All through the Old Testament stories, there are prominent foreigners sharing the lives of Israelites (e.g. Uriah the Hittite) at a high level.

I have Scandinavian heritage, and you have the right, in my ancestral homeland (the Swedes call it “Allemansrätten”), to wander across anyone’s property, as long as you respect their privacy and leave everything the way you found it. And you can camp for free on anyone’s land, as long as you don’t disturb anyone or make noise, for up to two nights.

I believe in the right of every peaceful man or woman on Earth to be able, unhindered, to:

• Travel anywhere on planet Earth he or she can afford to visit. As long as you pay your way and are not a burden.
• Seek and take gainful and respectful employment anywhere it is legitimately offered.

I don’t believe in gated communities.

I don’t believe in national fences that keep people in (Berlin Wall) or keep people out (Mexican border at Tijuana).

All God’s people have access to all God’s world.

People of Western/Northern European ancestry have no greater right to staying in my California county than people of Latino ancestry.

And I believe that a mobile population is good for the economy. Anytime free labor can find its way to free capital, there is prosperity for all. That’s the free-market libertarian in me, talking.

Mobility is a basic human right.

The big question is: Do you see people as an asset or a liabilty?

Sure there are people who are one or the other. But on balance, how do you see the human race?

America was founded on the idea that people are, on the whole (and with some exceptions), an asset. Look at the Statue of Liberty. We saw the “huddled masses” of peasant Europe as an amazing asset. They built the farms that now feed us. Their blood now runs through our veins…

Overpopulation is a total myth. Europe and Russia are starting to decline in population. Most of America is empty (every spend much time looking down out of the window seat?). Our rural areas are depopulating. Detroit has thousands of acres of emptiness and some of it is returning to native forest. Sure there are areas of overcrowding, but Anglo North America could easily handle two billion people. (Currently 350 million). Our biggest challengers in this new century will be China and India, because they are blessed to have more people. More workers. More ideas.

We have to re-think transportation and energy–but that’s been done before and we can do it again.

People are not bad for the earth. People are beautiful and creative. We are the crown of creation. Made in the image of God.

I live in California. We are so blessed to have hard-working Latino and Asian immigrants in our midst. They have, together with us, built this state. I have driven all over our great state for the past ten years, and most of it is….empty. There is room for all–especially those willing to work.

You can’t have free markets (and I’m a free market guy) without freely mobile labor. We can’t put a fence around America.

My wealthiest California friends say “Unless we let inexpensive labor connect with our abundant domestic capital, we may as well ship all of our manufacturing to China.” Sobering.

Fences just accumulate and build up tensions, artificially. It’s where weapons tend to congregate. The barbed wire fence across Korea is a source of great tension right now.

Truth is, fences don’t work anyway. The Great Wall of China was a colossal failure. And the “Iron” Curtain rusted in one generation. Walls will always be breached, just like in medieval warfare.

Eventually, European towns just quit building them because they were ineffective.
We have to learn to live together. It won’t be easy. There will be huge challenges.
We may have to get rid of the welfare state altogether to make for a workable world.
But building more fences is not the answer.

They won’t last.

They won’t work.

This article was originally posted on David Housholder’s Journal on December 29, 2010, cross-posted here with permission of the author. David Housholder is teaching pastor at Robinwood Church in Huntington Beach California. He finds his spiritual and cultural roots as Norwegian-American Lutheran and now considers pentecostals to be his tribe. He is the author of  The Blackberry Bush (Summerside Press, 2011) that deals with immigration. He does not like to wear shoes when he preaches, and believes socks were a really bad invention. He moved to California mostly to get away from socks.

We append the following disclaimer on all guest blogs: “Please note that the views expressed by guest bloggers represent their own personal views, and not necessarily those of everyone associated with Loving the Stranger or any institutions with which the blogger may be affiliated.”

Guest Post: 25 Hour Adventure to Mexico by Keturah Kennedy

Sometimes I wouldn’t believe my own stories if I hadn’t lived them.

One week ago I left an “American” 18 year old in Mexico.

Gio was on a bus to the Palm Desert when border patrol picked him up in Indio, CA. His bus was boarded and the riders were asked to prove their citizenship. Gio was brought to the US when he was 5 years old, attended California schools and for all intents and purposes was an American by everything except his papers. Gio is one of the best kids we’ve ever had come through our programs at Mika. He attended our after school program, has been mentored for the last five years and volunteered diligently tutoring elementary students through his last few years of high school. He currently attends Orange Coast College and helps support his family as the man of the house.

Last Friday when border patrol boarded his bus as he was headed to visit a friend, he was asked to produce his papers and he was detained when he couldn’t prove his citizenship. After he was intimidated and coerced to sign a voluntary departure form he was deported to a country he didn’t know at 3 o’clock in the morning. He was alone and scared.

At 3pm on Friday afternoon, myself and 3 other people drove to Mexico to help get Gio from Mexicali to Tijuana to a safe home where he could stay until further arrangements could be made. What was intended to be a 10 hour trip turned into a 25 hour adventure that included wondering the streets of Tijuana at midnight and diligently pursuing a safe place for Gio to reside.

I wish I could say everything turned out alright and everything is ok. But what is ok in this situation? I left one of my favorite kids in Mexico while I got to drive back across the border and show his mother the pictures from our journey. Everything Gio knows about Mexico he learned from the movies. Everything he knows about life took place in Orange County, California. I want to believe that the government is interested in deporting criminals and those at danger to our society and yet my experience of walking with undocumented teenagers tells me otherwise.

When will we as the people of God say enough is enough. Worshiping on Sunday morning was difficult in light of the fact that I left a child of God in a country that he didn’t know as home, and yet as a believer I have to trust that my God is greater and has a plan beyond what I can see right now.

This was originally posted by Keturah Kennedy on May 26, 2011 her own blog, Before I'm 30… as 25 Hour Adventure to Mexico. Keturah loves her city of Costa Mesa. She has a passion for participating in God’s Kingdom work in her city and uses her gifts in organizational development as Mika Community Development’s Director of Operations.

We append the following disclaimer on all guest blogs: “Please note that the views expressed by guest bloggers represent their own personal views, and not necessarily those of everyone associated with Loving the Stranger or any institutions with which the blogger may be affiliated.”

Guest Post: A Pulitzer Prize Winner and the Dream Act

Last month José Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, revealed that he is an undocumented immigrant. One can read about his journey in countless stories on the internet or watch an interview. He came from the Philippines when he was 12 and did not find out until several years later that he did not have proper documentation. From a very poor family, his mother sent him to live with his grandparents in San Francisco in order to have a better life. He has lived all these years with incorrect documents, but he has made quite a career for himself. In the interview he talks about the constant fears and contradictions of living without proper papers.

Last week Senator Durbin of Illinois again brought the Dream Act before Congress. This is another chance for legislators to do justice for the hundreds of thousands of high schoolers who are here without legal status. They came when they were small and have finished their studies. This is a whole generation with potential that could contribute to the country in so many ways. Vargas is a sterling example.

Those who speak against it say that these kids take jobs away from young citizens. Perhaps this is so in the very short term, but the longer view is that they will generate jobs and move the market forward, as well as become full-tax paying participants in the economy. Another argument is that this will encourage illegal immigration. Really? How does waiting years and years for a chance to enter a legal process that itself will take years encourage immigration? What kind of ‘plan’ is that?! The Dream Act is for those who are already here and who meet certain qualifications. In no way is it an open door policy. Others say that U.S. kids have to pay out-of-state tuition if they come in from elsewhere. The fallacy of that argument is that these kids have been living where they are for years. A U.S. citizen can move to a new state and get residency in another state usually in a year. If a U.S. citizen were living as long as they had in a state, they would pay in-state tuition.

None of these kinds of arguments against the Dream Act are moral, let alone biblical. They are misinformed perspectives about the contents of the bill and actual immigration patterns and motivations, and they are designed to raise the emotional quotient.

As Christians, we need to focus the discussions on the biblical value of people and the mandate to love the neighbor (even our enemies!). How many more José Antonio Vargases are there? How much energy could they generate for the common good!

M. Daniel Carroll Rodas, who celebrates his heritage from both Guatemala and the United States, joined the faculty of Denver Seminary in 1996. He currently is Distinguished Professor of Old Testament. He is the author of Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible. This article was originally posted on Danny's blog: Immigration and Other Matters hosted at Denver Seminary and is cross-posted here by permission of the author.

Please note that the views expressed by guest bloggers represent their own personal views, and not necessarily those of everyone associated with Loving the Stranger or any institutions with which the blogger may be affiliated.

Note: Jose Antonio Vargas has a website, Define American.

Prominent Immigrants Discuss U.S. Immigration Policy

"Segment on Immigration featuring George Will, Former Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL), Former DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, and journalist Jose Antonio Vargas on the July 3, 2011, edition of ABC's "This Week" program."

This demonstrates that people who disagree can have a civil conversation about immigration.






Thanks to Tweets from @MatthewSoerens and @MicEvHill

Guest Post: Feet

Today [written May 29]  I will start a 75 mile trek through the unforgiving Sonoran desert. I'll cross over the border in Sasabe, Mexico and travel to Tucson, Arizona with a group of people.

I've been in Arizona for a few days now and the reality of what I signed up for is starting to hit me. Walking for six hours a day under the scorching sun. No shower for a week. (I'm sorry in advance for whoever I end up sitting by in the airplane.) Being surrounded by creepy crawly things in the dead of night. I should mention the heat again.

It's hot here.  

Inferno hot. Set a cup of ice out at 8am and it's melted within minutes hot. Feel the sweat slowly creep down your lower back as you're simply standing in the shade hot. 

Oh yeah, it's hot.

But then I remember. Thousands and thousands and thousands of others have made this same walk under the same sun and under worse conditions. Way worse conditions. No food, water, protection.

Oh yeah, and at the end of this journey I get to go home. I get to love on my family. I get to laugh with friends. I get to eat whatever I want.

This seven day walk is to remember and stand in solidarity with those who have crossed the same desert. Many of the feet who have plowed the road before me never made it home. Their feet never reached their friends and family. 

Precious feet of our brothers and sisters, made in the image and glory of God, are gone. Too many have needlessly died crossing this border. There is absolutely no reason anyone should perish for lack of water. Seriously. No reason. 

As I look down on my feet shuffling along in the desert I will intentionally choose to be thankful for feeling the sun burn my skin, my tired muscles ache and my dry throat cry out for rescue. Why? Because when I feel, I know I am alive. 

When you look down at your feet, what will you be thankful for?

Sarah Jackson lives in Denver, Colorado with immigrants from El  Salvador. She is striving to be the hands and feet of love, justice and  mercy as she lives with the poor and marginalized in the community.  Every day she intentionally believes in the intoxicating love which  travels beyond borders. Follow Sarah's blog, Piece of Paz or connect with her on Facebook.

Please  note that the views expressed by guest bloggers represent their own  personal views, and not necessarily those of everyone associated with  Loving the Stranger or any institutions with which the blogger may be  affiliated.

Guest Post: How Do Our Trade Policies Force People to Migrate?

By David Schmidt - Creating Alternative and Fair Enterprise (C.A.F.E.)

 Comedian Dave Chappelle featured a skit once in which he played the President of the United States. In response to the problem of millions of Americans without health insurance, Chapelle’s character offered a simple solution: since Canada offers universal health care to its citizens, he proposed Canadian identification cards for all US citizens. Americans could receive their medical treatment in Canada, free of charge!

Many people view immigration to the United States in similar terms. “Why do they have to come and use our resources, take our jobs, deplete our public services? Why don’t they just fix their own country?” Immigration reform is often couched in similar terms: legalizing undocumented immigrants is described as “amnesty”, which is, by definition, forgiving a crime that has been committed. Immigrants’ rights are often described as charity for people who have “stolen” something or “entered illegally”.

Guest Post: A Better Life [Movie Review]

Movie Review: A Better Life, by Cindi Peterson

A Better Life, PG-13, a drama released in limited theaters on June 24, 2011, is insightful, authentic, engaging, and much more than a search for a truck. My heart broke and my stomach grabbed in enough scenes to move me to a fresh appreciation of the value of life and the suffocation of certain inhumane limits.

Carlos Galindo, a father, from East L.A. works hard to provide for his son, Luis, in a story that unfolds to engage the viewer in the emotional, complicated layers of life lived as an undocumented immigrant in current times. The story communicates the heart’s cry for dignity torn apart by the hardship of reality, peppered with the fear and stress of making a living and keeping familia safe. No cliché resolutions and without fairytale endings, this is a powerful, evocative glimpse into the controversy and compelling nature of the lives of the strangers among us. Love and hope are ever present in the pain.

The film is getting some great reviews from critics, and deserves attention. Director Chris Weitz, who also directed New Moon (Twilight series) and About a Boy, brings out some subtle and powerful performances. Actor Demián Bichir, who played Fidel Castro in Che: Part 2, gives a brilliant performance in the role of the father, Carlos Galindo. His 14-year old son, Luis, is played well by actor José Julián. Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries, a business run by former gang members, contributed by working with the crew to make the film as authentic as possible. The script includes language and differentiated slang true to various Los Angeles neighborhoods. The film is set in Hispanic neighborhoods with predominantly Hispanic cast members, unusual to many Hollywood productions.

I recommend this movie for several reasons: 1) The film as art is well done; 2) If you can spend the money, support a film that shares truth on the issue of immigration from a perspective of empathy and understanding, moving past pity and prohibitive posturing; 3) Continue to learn and increase awareness about the everyday lives of real people in our communities; 4) If you reside near Los Angeles, as I do, you may also enjoy the broader exposure to local culture and appreciate the familiarity of local geography in scenes throughout the movie; 5) Find the common ground aches and angst as parents working to secure a life for family.

I sensed and emotionally engaged in the anger, desperation, strength of character, the search for respect, the fight for integrity, and the tension between parent and child to provide and protect in a difficult situation. One scene gave me chills as it paralleled for me images from other films portraying people arriving at Nazi concentration camps, and the scene was not exaggerated in A Better Life. Yet, it was an accurate, objective portrayal of the experience of an undocumented community member. There is much more to say, but I do not want to give away too much of the plot development.

A Better Life is a tribute to a group of marginalized people in our culture. If you are not marginalized, this film may break your heart in new ways and promote more compassionate insight, or it could leave you confused, at a point of disequilibrium, trying to filter what you believed hours ago with new awareness of everyday reality for some within the current limits of broken justice.

Good people, like the father in this film, with the will to contribute and provide, deserve a more dignified path to a better life. This film does not make conclusions or recommendations. It just shines a light on the struggle. The subtle communication in images and facial expressions, communicate as much as the dialog. The story will be familiar to those of you most involved with this issue, either personally or professionally. The film may help to open the minds of others who need to investigate the value of compassionate comprehensive immigration reform.

On my journey, stories in films and books have moved me into a place of inquiry and perspective, and helped me overcome my own personal prejudice and stereotypes. Along with the movie Under the Same Moon, and the book, Enrique’s Journey, this film is now part of my understanding, as I work with others to provide a gentle invitation for sincere consideration of the complexity of immigration.

Cindi is a writer, educator, and student advocate in Southern California. She is passionate about the DREAM Act, issues of human trafficking, and economic disparity. She leads Women Against Global Hunger and blogs at Seeds and Sensibility.

An interfaith conversation on immigration: Loving the Stranger

Tuesday, June 21 · 7:00pm

Whittier First Friends Church

13205 Philadelphia Street

Whittier, CA

The interfaith council is hosting this conversation about the immigration issue. Glen Peterson will make a presentation from a Christian perspective from Hebrew and Christian holy writings on how to treat the stranger and make some applications to the current situation.  

See the Facebook event page to RSVP and for more information.

For more information feel free to email me at gpeterson [at] capacitypartnership [dot] com.

Guest Blog: Jar of Mayo

Sara Johnson is on a walking trip in northern Mexico near the border with the United States. This is the first in a series about her experiences there. 


Some of my most vivid childhood memories swirl around time in the water. Splashing in a pool for hours on end gave way to my nickname, "The Fish." On one particular pool day my mom packed a lunch for our family. We would be hungry after a full day of sun, sunscreen and pool time.  She packed all sorts of picnic foods. Sandwiches, chips, watermelon... and a jar of mayo? I remember seeing the jar and wondering why it was in the ice chest. It seemed so odd. 

My mom had a plan. She knew what she was doing. Time, love and energy went into packing the perfect lunch. Now here sits this jar of mayonnaise, a supposed random item to bring. But to my mom it made perfect sense. She knew someone would want it. She packed it with the hopes of satisfying someone's hunger. It was an intentional act of love. 

Now here I was, almost 20 years later, in the middle of the arid Mexico desert. This trip's focus was exploring the myriad complex sides of the immigration crisis. On a merely human level we can all see that people are dying. Moms, dads, little children, grandmas and grandpas are crossing the desert and wasting away- of thirst, starvation and medical injuries.

There are simple things we can do to prevent these deaths. One of them is providing water. That's what I was doing in the desert, filling large barrels of water for migrants to drink. (I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. Matthew 25:35)

Walking through the desert I came across a worn trail many weary travelers had used to stop, rest and eat. And then I saw it. A half-full jar of mayonnaise. 

Just a jar of mayo, right? But to me it represented a mother's love for those she cared for. I imagined a woman preparing food for the long journey ahead. Tears welled up like little pools in my eyes as I imagined a mother carefully and tenderly packing a lunch in preparation for their trek through the desert- sojourners in a foreign land. 

Someone packed this jar of mayo with the hope of it providing sustenance to those they loved. And now here it was, half-empty and abandoned.

Many half-empty, abandoned dreams are walking in the desert right now. Some are on the verge of death. There are dry, dusty mouths in the desert. Please pray they find water. And remember, humanitarian aid is never a crime.

This piece has been cross posted at Undocumented.tv/blog and piece of paz. 

Sarah Jackson lives in Denver, Colorado with immigrants from El Salvador. She is striving to be the hands and feet of love, justice and mercy as she lives with the poor and marginalized in the community. Every day she intentionally believes in the intoxicating love which travels beyond borders. Follow Sarah’s blog or connect with her on Facebook.

Please note that the views expressed by guest bloggers represent their own personal views, and not necessarily those of everyone associated with Loving the Stranger or any institutions with which the blogger may be affiliated.

STREET POLITICS--a guest blog

 …from David Schmidt

           About once a month, I voluntarily subject myself to the psychotic rantings of the anti-immigrant blogs and websites that pockmark cyberspace. More important than their comedic value or any masochistic tendencies of my own, I feel it necessary to hear what our opponents are saying. If we who are on the side of solidarity and inclusion are aware of the accusations being levied against immigrants, we will be more prepared to respond to these attacks, thus inoculating the general, confused U.S. public against any potential appeal they may have.

           Most of the time, I find outright lies, distortions and falsehoods that can be easily countered with the facts: “immigrants take our jobs, degrade our culture, bring crime and disease, bankrupt our hospitals, make our hallways smell of garlic and cilantro,” etcetera, etcetera, ad nauseam. [more after the jump]

Dr. Daniel Carroll R. - Immigration and the Bible

A sixty minute video teaching on immigration and the bible can be purchase from Urban Entry Video.



Dr. M. Daniel Carroll Rodas, who celebrates his heritage from both Guatemala and the United States, is Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Denver Seminary.

Dr. Carroll blogs about immigration and other matters here.

WR Refugee and Immigration Advocacy Update June 2, 2011-Part 3-DREAM

This information is provided by World Relief's Policy and Advocacy Director, Jenny Yang.

DREAM Act Reintroduced

On May 11, 2011, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), Harry Reid (D-NV), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and 34 other co-sponsors, re-introduced the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act (S.952) a bill that would give certain undocumented students a chance to earn legal status.  Co-sponsors include the Chairs of all of the relevant Committees (Patrick Leahy (VT, Judiciary), Joseph Lieberman (CT, Homeland Security), and Carl Levin (MI, Armed Services).  All Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee are also signed on.  A companion bill was introduced in the House by Representative Howard Berman (D-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) (HR.1842).

The “DREAM Act” would allow our country to prosper from the contributions made by promising and hardworking immigrant youth.  These youth were brought to the U.S. at a young age, but are not able to fully integrate into American society because of their immigration status.  Many did not even know about their status until they applied for college and were surprised to find that they are undocumented in the only country that they consider home.  If passed, the DREAM Act would provide a six-year path to a green card for undocumented children brought to the U.S. more than five years ago if they graduate from high school and continue on to college or military service.

Approximately 50,000-65,000 undocumented students graduate from American high schools each year who are American in their upbringing, values, and culture, and yet because of their immigration status often unable to pursue higher education.  The DREAM Act would help break the cycle of underemployment, instability, and poverty endured by undocumented immigrants.  Last December, despite bipartisan support from a majority of members of Congress, the Senate failed to invoke cloture on the DREAM Act.
   
Click here for more information about the DREAM Act.  For more on the DREAM Act, see this release from Senator Durbin’s office. 
 

TAKE ACTION NOW! Ask your Representatives and Senators to co-sponsor the bill!

Jenny Yang is Director of Advocacy and Policy at World Relief. Jenny has provide the information in these posts to people how have signed up for advocacy updates on World Relief’s Advocacy website. She is also co-author with Matthew Soerens of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate. 

The Border Between Them

Some of the complexity of the current immigration system is captured in this story, The Border Between Them, from KCET.




Just over 9 minutes into the video, US Representative Dana Rohrbacher claims it is all simple, the family should go back to Mexico and wait in line like the good Mexican immigrants. This view is actually held by a few people, and this position gets Rohrbacher re-elected to congress. That is unfortunate for the children portrayed in this piece.

There are other people who believe, and I believe that the majority of people who care to understand the situation, that the immigration system needs to be overhauled so that it is compassionate, comprehensive, and fair. What do you think?

Thanks for visiting this blog. You belong here. Your thoughts are welcome. Please feel free to leave a comment.