Citizen Orange

Deportation Deferred: Pro-Migrant SanctuarySphere

2009-07-03T18:40:02Z

Deportation deferred for Dream Honors Student at Immigration Talk With A Mexican American.

Department of Homeland Security has deferred Monday's planned deportation of a 23-year-old Florida honors student who didn't realize until he applied for university that he has been undocumented since he was 3 years old.

Dare to Dream a Dream....universities and colleges support the Dream Act at Anti-BVBL.

At some point, we must acknoweldge the reality there are children in this country, without proper documentation, through no fault of their own, that have grown up as American as you and I. THIS is their home, this is their country, however, they came to be here, they have a dream, no different than my own children.

Grassroots Efforts for Long Island DREAMers at DMI Blog.

More Top Police Chiefs Back Immigration Reform at Greg Siskind's Blog.

New SPLC Report Details 75 Radical Plots, Rampages at Hatewatch.

Immigrant High School Student Endures Detainment at Immigrants in the USA Blog.

This high school student was taken from his bed by ICE in a nighttime raid in April 2008. He was detained for seven months, was freed, went back to school and finally graduated. Read the whole story, an amazing young man. - - Donna Poisl

Voice of America Talks to Immigration Equality at Immigration Equality.

"As I look to celebrate Independence Day with family and friends this weekend, I have once again seen what makes America the best country in the world. Americans are fair, just, and kind," Lara said in a statement.

BoA Accused of Exploiting Immigrants at Immigration Prof Blog.

The L.A. Times reports that ex-employees of Bank of America, backed by a labor union say working-class and immigrant clients are exploited by being urged to sign up for multiple services that carry high interest rates and fees.

Guest Voz: Honduran blogger sets record straight on real story in Honduras at Latina Lista.

Death, Detention and the Dream of Legalization: GritTV Panel on Immigration Reform at Of America.

RIP Tim Chavez: Honoring A Pro-Migrant Blogger

2009-06-27T07:09:15Z

I'm a little late to this, but I wanted to write a short tribute to the former Tennessean columnist, Tim Chavez. I'm sad to say that I never met Tim Chavez in person, 'but I followed his blogging closely over at Political Salsa. Hearing of his death truly saddened me. I didn't know his struggle with cancer was that serious.

What saddened me the most about Tim's death is that the world lost one of the few truly pro-migrant bloggers that I know of. Pro-migrant blogging is more of a struggle than people realize. You're constantly hammered by both nativists with their hate, and allies that want you to get in line. Tim Chavez was one of the few bloggers I knew that wasn't afraid to do what was unpopular to advocate for migrants, the mark of a true pro-migrant blogger.

Some of Tim's most excellent work was done breaking the news of a pregnant mother in Tennessee who was shackled in handcuffs while she was giving birth, drawing attention to the inhumanity of ICE's 287g program, which Janet Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security still has yet to do anything about. I'll let Tim explain how outrageous this was in his own words:

Of all the inhumanity and devastation heaped upon immigrant families by Metro Nashville's 287g deportation program, the very worst has been leveled this week against a pregnant woman pulled over, handcuffed and forced to have her baby under custody.

Then, to add insult to this grevious injury, the infant was taken from its mother's arms as she was taken back to jail.

If this is not enough of an outrage for Nashvillians to finally speak up and demand the end to this punitive program, then let the heavens fall on each of us. ... for we have deserted the God we believe in and a nation of fairness and family values we cherish.
Tim Chavez - Political Salsa (10 July 2008)

Thanks to Tim's work, that story was able to travel far and wide and bring further attention to the inhumanity of the 287g program, the same program Sheriff Joe Arpaio uses to terrorize communities in Arizona.

For those that wish to honor Tim Chavez's memory, his obituary in the Tennessean provides a way to do so:

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Smithson Craighead Academy, 3307 Brick Church Pike, Nashville, TN 37207.
The Tennessean (20 June 2009)

I wish Tim the best in the next life, and I hope we'll all do our best to honor him in this one as we continue the struggle for migrant rights.

Sombrero Tip To Latina Lista.

Voto Latino Begins Campaign to Stand Up To Hate: Interview With Robert Cantu Victim of Alleged Hate Crime

2009-06-27T06:09:25Z

Post-election Voto Latino asked its membership what it should be doing and a majority suggested focusing on migration. This is another indicator of how important fixing the broken U.S. migration system is to voting Latinos. As a result Voto Latino is beginning a new campaign to fight back against hate. The kick-off for this campaign is an interview over Skype with Robert Cantu.

According to Mount Vernon News, Cantu has been the victim of two attacks in the small town of Mount Vernon, Ohio. The failure to act on behalf of the local police department raises serious questions about their commitment to justice. The attack that has been the subject of national headlines is one in which Cantu's attacker, Dale Klein, is alleged to have done the following:

According to Cantu the incident occurred on or about May 30, 2008. Cantu said he was with a friend when Klein and three others jumped him, and tied a rope with a noose around his neck. The other end of the rope was tied to a truck and Cantu said he was dragged for several feet. After stopping the truck, the attackers, allegedly including Klein, exited the truck and began to attack Cantu. According to Cantu, a passer-by, Ezzy Thompson, who was known to Cantu, intervened, chasing off the attackers and removing the noose from Cantu's neck.
George Breithaupt - Mount Vernon News (17 June 2009)

In the Voto Latino video Cantu further alleges that his attackers called him a "spic" and a "border jumper" while they carried out the attack. Nevertheless, Klein has gotten only 10 days for his offense which clearly fits the profile of a hate crime. Cantu has reasons to continue to be fearful as he alleges in the Voto Latino he has received additional threats as a result of this case.

I'm happy Voto Latino has listened to its membership and taken up this important cause. I look forward to the additional material that Voto Latino comes up with.

Pro-Migrant Reticence As U.S. Migration Reform Process Begins

2009-06-26T11:00:00Z

I'm still reeling off the heals of the Reform Immigration for America Summit and the National DREAM Act Graduation, for which I have a great deal of material to share. Still, with President Obama finally convening his twice postponed meeting to begin the process of U.S. migration reform and the subsequent reactions, it's clear that there is a need for some informed pro-migrant commentary on what is happening.

I personally have been having trouble finding my voice with Obama. I don't think it's a secret that I have not been happy with his administration. Still, Obama hasn't completely sold migrants down the river, yet. There is still a chance he'll come through on his campaign pledge to "make it a top priority" in his first year as President. I will believe it when I see it. I haven't seen it yet, but Obama still has five months to prove otherwise.

There are two issues that migrant advocates have to face in trying to push for just and humane migration reform. The first issue is convincing politicians and the U.S. public that migration reform should be taken up in the first place, which has proven to be no small feat after the U.S. economy almost collapsed. The second issue is pushing the debate as far to the pro-migrant side as possible, so that when the legislative battle does begin, we have a good starting point unlike with the attempt to pass migration reform in 2007. Migrant advocates and allies have been doing a decent job with the first issue, but a horrible job with the second issue. I will discuss both in this post.
I became involved in the campaign for U.S. migration reform in 2005, when an extremely punitive and anti-migrant bill, H.R. 4437, passed in the U.S. House, causing some of the largest demonstrations the U.S. has ever seen in protest of the bill. My naive 19-year-old mind thought migration reform would soon follow as attempts were made to pass migration reform in both 2006 and 2007. When both attempts failed, I then watched in utter horror as the Bush administration under Michael Chertoff at the Department of Homeland Security made good on it's pledge that it would enforce the broken laws on the books if Congress failed to pass migration reform.

Raids such as those in New Bedford and Postville were the most visible manifestation of the humanitarian disasters that resulted from that decision. But raids represented just the surface of a campaign of mass terror against unauthorized migrants in the United States, best articulated by nativist groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the Center for Immigration Studies, and NumbersUSA as "attrition through enforcement." Growing up, I used to smirk at advocates who would "waste" a good portion their lives trying to get just one piece of legislation passed in Congress. I can now easily see myself turning into one, as I have become utterly convinced that passing U.S. migration reform is essential to correcting not only what I consider to be one of the biggest humanitarian disasters in U.S. history, but also essential for the betterment of the world.

Needless to say, the world cannot wait another year or two for U.S. migration reform. People are dying, lives are being ruined, and families are being torn apart, now. I would hope U.S. Congress and the Obama administration would sense this urgency, too, but since the near collapse of the U.S. economy, a steady stream of naysayers has appeared in the media to dampen expectations. There were many, but the largest blow to this sense of urgency, I felt, were the comments of Vice President Joe Biden in Costa Rica:

"It's difficult to tell a constituency while unemployment is rising, they're losing their jobs and their homes, that what we should do is in fact legalize (illegal immigrants) and stop all deportation," Biden told a news conference in the Costa Rican capital.
John McPhaul - Reuters (30 March 2009)

There's been a steady stream of ridiculous comments like that have been emerging from both members of the Obama administration and Congress. The first major problem with these comments is factual. The buy into elementary school, 2+2 economics, in which getting a job is a zero-sum game. In actuality, legalizing unauthorized migrants would "would improve wages and working conditions for all workers, and increase tax revenues for cash-strapped federal, state, and local governments" according to the Immigration Policy Center.

The second major problem with these comments, obviously, is a lack of moral fortitude. Essentially what Joe Biden is saying in the comment above is, "We'd love to stop tearing apart your families, but the political climate just isn't right, at the moment." Politicians do not get to play political games with humanitarian crises like the broken U.S. migration system.

Very recently, there's been an additional attempt to dampen the urgency associated with U.S. migration reform. Press secretary Robert Gibbs, and Rahm Emanuel have both made statements to the press that the votes for migration reform aren't there. Both of these statements fit a pattern of trying to lower expectations on migration reform which migrant advocates should not tolerate. They also fly in the face of the comments of people like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who says he does have the votes to pass migration reform, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer who says action could begin "as early, perhaps, as this fall."

So again, the first issue with pushing for migration reform is convincing politicians and the U.S. public that it should happen this year. Migrant advocates across the U.S. have been doing a good job of moving this forward in my estimation, as they have sounded a constant drumbeat of optimism and pushed backed against any pessimism on the prospect of migration reform moving forward.

While migrant advocates have been doing a good job of pushing migration reform forward, they have been doing a bad job of pushing the debate as for to the pro-migrant side as possible. "Progressive" bloggers have also been completely silent on yesterday's important White House meeting and other important developments. Politicians are already starting to draw lines in the sand and there has been no real opposition to the dangerous policies that some have already proposed. I will name just a few, here.

Republicans are already pushing for exploitative guest-worker programs. I actually used to think a guest-worker program might be a good idea until I read the Southern Poverty Law Center report Close to Slavery: Guestworker Programs in the United States.

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who has been praised multiple times by migrant advocacy organizations, has already conceded the need for a national identification system, which would not only fundamentaly alter civil liberties in the U.S., it could also be used by employers to target employees.

These are some small policy trends that have cropped up recently, but the most pervasive problem, I believe, is the across the board pandering to punitive anti-migrant rhetoric on behalf of both politicians and migrant advocates. The beginning of the use of this rhetoric can be traced back to a confidential poll commissioned by the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, and the Center For America Progress which was leaked to Sam Stein of the Huffington Post. This poll found that you could get almost 80% of the U.S. public to agree to migration reform when pandering to enforcement and assimilationist rhetoric, such as "requiring" migrants to become legal, learn english, pay fines, and get in the back of the line. There is a direct line between the prolifiration of this rhetoric and the first of seven principles that Senator Chuck Schumer is advancing in his vision for migraiton reform:

Illegal immigration is wrong, and a primary goal of comprehensive immigration reform must be to dramatically curtail future illegal immigration.
Chuck Schumer (24 June 2009)

I'm sorry, Senator Schumer, but unauthorized migration is not wrong. All the vast majority of unauthorized migrants want to do is earn a better living for themselves and their families. What is wrong is a broken migration system that refuses to acknowledge their humanity, and the failure of politicians to do something about it.

Mala over at Vivir Latino has an excellent post on this, too.

There's a lot more I want to say about the unwillingess of migrant advocates and mainstream bloggers to push back and define the U.S. migration debate, but I will leave it at that for now. The media isn't being very helpful either as it plays racist images of border crossers in the background of any discussion on migration policy.

In summary, migrant advocates are doing an excellent job of creating a sense of urgency and hope around migration reform which we need. Migration reform needs to be tackled sooner rather than later. We cannot wait another year, or two, or three, or four, while people are dying and families are being torn apart.

Migrant advocates and mainstream bloggers have to do a better job, however, of defining the U.S. migration debate in a way that we get the best reform possible. Attempts in the past at this have been dismal, and from what I've seen so far, I'm not to optimistic about the way things are going this time around. If it weren't for an independent pro-migrant blogosphere, there would be absolutely no pushback at all.

I'll end with a quote from Duke at The Sanctuary:

Change is not more militarization of the border
Change is not more detention in prisons for profit
Change is not more families separated
Change is not more exploitive guest worker programs
Change is not more penalties and fines

If those in Congress and the Administration believe they can simply repackage the same old policies wrapped in a pretty blue "sí se puede" wrapper, and sell them to a public that wants real solutions to real problems, I fear they're in for a rude awakening.

And if those charged with speaking for the immigrant community believe, as they have in the past, that they must accept crumbs left on the table, they too will find that change has past them by.

There is a growing movement demanding real change, and those working towards that goal will lead the way. Those stuck in the past, tied to failed ideas, fearful of rocking a sinking boat, will ultimately be left behind.
Duke - The Sanctuary (5 June 2009)

Unauthorized Youth Rise Against Oppression Nationwide

2009-06-23T05:00:00Z

It's a story that has been told time and time again. It has been written in poems. It has been captured in photos. It has been screened in videos.

If you're on the Internet and you haven't heard of the DREAM Act, you're not doing it right. Seriously, just throw your computer out the window right now. Keeping your computer is not worth your money or your time...

If you're still here, I'll let you get away with watching this video:

A Dream Deferred. from Jeesoo Park on Vimeo.

Today, in one of the most impressive youth-led campaigns of the contemporary migrant rights movement, hundreds of youth from over 15 states will converge on Washington D.C. to demonstrate for the DREAM Act. For those who cannot make it solidarity actions will be planned in a dozen states. The National DREAM Act Graduation Day on June 23, 2009 "will underscore the importance of advancing the 'DREAM Act' and the 'American Dream Act' to give these youth a chance to attend college and pursue their goals."

If you won't be in D.C. or you can't be at one of the solidarity actions, make sure you take 10 actions in favor the the DREAM Act.

The United We Dream Coalition, of which Citizen Orange is a member (or better said, a supporter), has led the charge in pressuring for the passage of the DREAM Act. The way people converge around the DREAM Act is unlike anything I've ever seen. There's real movement here. The organizing going into passing the DREAM Act will last long beyond the passage of a piece of legislation.

The biggest victory, so far, of the National DREAM Act Graduation Day has been a powerful endorsement of the DREAM Act by the Service Employees International Union:

Remember what it was like when you had a dream? For many immigrant students their dreams of pursuing higher education can't be realized because of their immigration status -- even though they may have lived here most of their lives. Unlike their U.S. born classmates, they can't work legally or qualify for a driver's license or federal financial aid for college, and they are forced to live in constant fear of deportation to a land they barely remember.

On Tuesday, over 500 immigrant students from all over the country are coming to Washington, DC in pursuit of making their dreams come true.

While they are here, they'll be lobbying their Senators and Congressmen to pass the Dream Act, which would allow immigrant students who've grown up here to hope for a better future and a chance at higher education. And to dramatize the contribution they could make -- if only given the chance -- they will hold a graduation ceremony outside of the U.S. Capitol .

Help make their dreams come true by signing their diploma in support of the Dream Act and at the graduation - with your help - I'll unfurl the diploma at the ceremony for the graduates to see our support.

http://action.seiu.org/page/s/dreamactseiu

A disproportionate number of these DREAMers are valedictorians, honor students, class presidents or student leaders, and they include SEIU members and the children of our members.

Their DREAM - passage of the Dream Act -- is a part of the battle for comprehensive reform that our union strongly supports. It will be included in any comprehensive immigration reform that makes it through congress. It also could be enacted on its own, and if that happens, it would be a hopeful signal that comprehensive immigration reform is on its way. (emphasis mine)
Josh Bernstein - SEIU (19 June 2009)

Pay special attention to the passage that I bolded. This is extremely strong language in favor of the DREAM Act. This strong language is in no doubt due to the influence of Josh Bernstein, the new Director of Immigration for SEIU, and one of the nation's greatest legislative champion's for the DREAM Act. When (not if) the DREAM Act is passed unauthorized youth will owe a great debt to the efforts of Josh Bernstein.

Bernstein is taking an extremely aggressive stance in favor of the DREAM Act, one that is favored by myself. I believe strongly that we need a victory on migration policy as quickly as possible. Migrants have suffered too long under a horrific policy of attrition through enforcement. I'm willing to wait until the fall to see if the push for comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) is going to happen, but as soon as CIR looks like it's going to get pushed back to 2011, I will push hard to get the DREAM Act passed on it's own. The U.S. migration movement needs a victory, and I believe the DREAM Act is the best chance at victory.

In considering these broader legislative strategies, it is important that I acknowledge the work that has put the DREAM Act in such a good position. It is the work of the United We Dream Coalition, and the online work of dreamactivist.org that has brought us to this day. If you do nothing else after reading this entire post, sign the petition in favor of the DREAM Act at dreamact2009.com.

Kicking Off Immigration Reform?

2009-06-23T02:40:52Z

Obama gives at least three misconceptions in this statement. First that there is a line, second that migrants should pay a penalty (as if they haven't already), and third that they don't pay taxes.

Last Friday, Mr. Obama brought up the topic at the Esperanza National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and reminded the audience that he is in fact committed to reform. "For those who wish to become citizens," Mr. Obama said, "we should require them to pay a penalty and pay taxes, learn English, go to the back of the line behind those who played by the rules. That is the fair, practical and promising way forward." (link to LA Times article)

It's great that Obama is talking about comprehensive immigration reform now, but what is "the back of the line". So often this term is used and often those of us advocating for migrants ask what line are you talking about?

Generally one pictures an actually line at the border stretching miles and miles long not unlike those formed when the iphone was first introduced. It's important to understand that we are talking about people and these people's lives. Citizenship is not a new ride at some theme park though the analogy of waiting in line for six hours only to have the ride shut down due to rain is quite fitting.

So what is the line? David, over a year ago, wrote a great piece titled "There is no line." David is a immigration attorney and should very well know that this line is as much a figment of our imaginations as patriotism. His article was in response to a quote from Obama in March of last year. Over one year later we're still hearing the same language meant to placate to the mobs who treat US citizenship like a piece of fine China only to be observed through glass.

The 'line' is a great quick-grab metaphor for Obama or anyone who doesn't want to sway too far on any side. On one hand he's sounds fair, "you cut in line now you have to move to the back," on the other hand he placates to the anti-migrant crowd, "they cut in line and must pay for it." And they literally do have to pay for it as a penalty is part of his proposal.

But what about the penalty many migrants pay already? What about the money put into social security they'll never see? What about no right to vote or have a say so in what is going on in the community you live? What about having to live in fear of the law and those that would dress up like officers and break into your home? Is that not fine enough? We celebrate strength and courage, but call it a thief and beggar when it's a migrant who has risked everything to live, work, and contribute in the United States.

When a man is killed in Shenandoah for being Mexican is that not fine enough? When a little girl and her father are murdered by anti-migrant demons is that not fine enough? When we take the land of other people and build sky scrapers, in the name of progress, on their graves is that not fine enough?

How absurd is it that he state they should pay taxes. How can they avoid paying taxes? If an employer hires a person without paying them through proper methods they are the ones avoided taxes. This ridiculous statement intimates that migrants purposefully avoid paying taxes. How can they pay taxes when they cannot even come out from the shadows? Some do have taxes taken from their paychecks and all, of course, pay tax when they buy things. It's really a shame to hear Obama use this language. It is so subversive in its promising tone which is more geared towards subduing the hateful anti-migrant crowd then actually bringing his "hope" to those of us that want immigration reform.

The Ethics of Pro-Migrant Blogging: The Perpetual Search For My Voice

2009-06-22T06:30:00Z

More than three years ago, I began an experiment that I would come to call pro-migrant blogging. What is pro-migrant blogging? A pro-migrant blogger is someone who uses blogs to promote the interests of migrants. There are, of course, varying shades of pro-migrant bloggers. Still, I have a sort mental checklist for determining whether a blog is pro-migrant, or not. A blogger is pro-migrant if she or he:

Characteristics of a Pro-Migrant Blogger

Believes that all human beings are equal, regardless of the nation they were born into. In other words the blog is not nativist. What is nativism? In the same way that racism is the belief that one human being is superior to another on the basis of race, nativism is the belief that one human being is superior to another on the basis of birthplace.
Actively promotes the interests of migrants, dispels the myths of nativism, and fights back against nativism.
Provides a safe space from nativism in the online spaces he or she controls, or at least does not allow nativism to go unchecked.
Recognizes that nativism is inextricable from racism. The relationship between nativism and racism is best exemplified by the tendency to view people of color as being from other nations. One of the most famous and dramatic instances of this relationship was exemplified in the killing of Vincent Chin.
Explores the relationship between migrant oppression and other social constructs such as class, gender, etc. I don't personally see religion as a social construct, but it could be included here.
And, finally, he or she sees migration as a symptom of broader global ills. Hence the use of the word migrant as opposed to immigrant or emigrant. Immigration approaches the issue from the perspective of receiving nations, emigration approaches the issue from the perspective of sending nations, and migration recognizes the phenomena for its true. The only criticism of the term migrant is that it has a transitory connotation. This is why some people strive for the more permanent connotation of the word immigrant. This criticism, however, implies that a transitory state of being, a being in a state of movement, is a bad thing, and to concede that is a fundamental blow to the dignity of migrants.

Others are free to contest this list in the comments section. I am not particularly attached to it. It's a starting point more than a finished product. I wrote it out partly so that it could be contested. Still, serves roughly as my mental checklist for determining whether a blog is pro-migrant or not. To get on Citizen Orange's pro-migrant blogroll I ask bloggers to go a couple steps further than my checklist. You have to email me about helping to fight nativism online, and you have to cross-post your writing over at The Sanctuary.

It is important to state that I was not the first pro-migrant blogger. I also hope I will not be the last.
I always like to emphasize the importance of the Latina/o blogosphere to the pro-migrant blogosphere. I'll never forget that one of the first bloggers to ever link to me was XP. Since then, when all others refused to prioritize migrants, the Latina/o blogosphere has always led the charge. The leadership of the Latina/o blogosphere has led to the creation of the one of the most powerful pro-migrant spaces online, The Sanctuary.

If the Latino/a blogosphere is the womb in which the pro-migrant blogosphere was cultivated, undocumented youth bloggers are its children. After the sputtering of an attempt by Brave New Films to provide a space for unauthorized youth to blog, dreamactivist.org has emerged like a phoenix from the ashes. Dreamactivist.org is now leading an impressive national campaign to pass the DREAM Act.

I see these two loci, the Latina/o blogosphere and the unauthorized youth blogosphere, as the heart of the pro-migrant blogosphere. Another word for the pro-migrant blogosphere is the sanctuarysphere. Citizen Orange has always sought to be an ally space in the sanctuarysphere. I personally have always striven to be a supporter, rather than a leader in the sanctuarysphere. I will continue to do so for as long as I am afforded the privilege.

Still, I can't deny that I have struggled to find my voice in the last months. I think I first noticed this struggle when I was invited to speak at Yale University before the undegraduate chapter of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA). It was part of an ongoing campaign to get Ivy League university presidents to publicly support the DREAM Act. During my speech I realized that I hadn't modified my talking points much since Barack Obama had been elected.

As I jumped out of a hectic school year and into and active summer, I confused myself even more. This confusion came into sharp focus for me at the Reform Immigration For America Summit. I'll explain what I mean by this below.

During the school year at Harvard I became a strong advocate for the DREAM Act and involved myself in several initiatives to push for the DREAM Act. At Harvard, I became a part of Harvard Act on a Dream. In Massachusetts, I became a part of the Student Immigrant Movement. Nationally, I was invited to be part of the United We Dream Coalition. While at first glance it would seem that these three groups would be in natural alliance with each other, I played very different roles in each. At Harvard, I focused almost exclusively in on-the-ground organizing. Nationally, I focused almost exclusively on online communications. I play a sort of hybrid role in Massachusetts as a part of the Student Immigrant Movement. I have commented several times on the tension between new media and organizing. This has made my role within the Student Immigrant Movement particularly confusing, but I also think that with the help of organizers within the Student Immigrant Movement that I will be able to find an answer to this confusion.

As if this wasn't confusing enough, I jumped head first into two new commitments this summer. America's Voice recently hired me as a consultant to help take on nativism online. Mexicans and Americans Thinking Together, also hired me as a consultant to help with their English and Spanish blogs. Both of these commitments deserve more extensive comment than I'm going to give them in this post. I will comment on each of them individually, soon. Still, it is easy to see how this entaglement of interests can become confusing even if their technically all on the same side.

All of these relationships with Harvard Act on a Dream, the Student Immigrant Movement, the United We Dream Coalition, America's Voice, MATT, and as a blogger for Citizen Orange and The Sanctuary converged at the Reform Immigration For America Summit. To say that I emerged from that Summit confused is an understatement. Before I was able to keep these roles separate but at the Summit all of these roles were competing with each other.

I wish I could say that I've found a simple way out of this tangled web that I've weaved for myself, or that this post was converging on some sort of all-encompassing point. I'm certainly not asking for pity. I take full responsibility for all of these commitments I've voluntarily entered into. If the compromise my effectiveness to make change I will have to live with that on my conscience. I've already been personally emailed by several people I have great respect for who have urged that I sever ties with some of these commitments. This is not an answer to those emails, but an attempt to clarify where I stand within this tangled web.

From the moment I founded this blog, I have always used my new media work to bankroll my activism. This very blog, founded almost two years ago, was paid for by my first check from the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, for which I was a consultant for over a year. I was paid $1200 a month by MIRA. The same is and will be true for my work for America's Voice and MATT.org. America's Voice pays me $1600 a month in addition to stipends for travel and phone calls, and MATT.org pays me $300 a month. I have taken money from all of these organizations with the clear understanding that I am free to say whatever I want here, whenever I want, and that I am free to go about my own personal activism in whatever way I see fit.

I like to believe that taking money from these organizations does not compromise my principles in the slightest. I believe I would much rather stick to my principles than take money from anyone. I am young. I can afford to do that. While it would result in me spending much less time on my pro-migrant work, I believe I could prettily easily find work elsewhere to support myself and the work that I do. It's not up to me to decide that, though. It is up to the readers of Citizen Orange to decide whether or not I'm compromising my principles by taking money from these organizations. That is why I'm disclosing these connections.

What are my principles and how do these relationships help advance those principles? It is no secret that I have become increasingly invested in the movement to pass the DREAM Act. When I decided to be an organizer with Harvard Act on a DREAM and the Student Immigrant Movement, and I decided to accept the invitation to be a part of the United We DREAM Coalition, I became accountable to something greater than myself. In fact, if readers are concerned with any relationship compromosing my principles they should be concerned primarily with my commitment to pass the DREAM Act. I entered these commitments voluntarily and receive no monetary benefit from them, but my commitment to unauthorized youth has influenced me beyond measure.

Why do I feel such a strong commitment to unauthorized youth? Unauthorized youth have reached out to me from the shadows more than anyone else in my online activism. I have also been intimately involved with their online organizing. In my online work, I feel accountable to unauthorized youth more than any other group. In this way, I see my activism for the DREAM Act as a natural extension of my online work. My work with America's Voice and MATT has already supported this work. It has been through my travel for America's Voice that I've been able to support and deepen my involvement with the United We Dream Coalition. The blog training I've been developing for MATT, I'm turning right around and using to train dozens of unauthorized youth to blog.

Throughout this entire process, I have also not lost sight of the ultimate goal. I'm often asked what I believe the solution to the U.S.'s broken migration system is. There are a lot of complex parts to U.S. migration system, all of which can be moved to benefit migrants. A lot of these complex parts go way over the heads of most people. There even hard for me to keep track of even though I do it full time. Ask a person on the street what the heck 287(g), or H1-B, or any number of other alphabet-soup initiatives and acronyms that define so much of the U.S. migration debate is, and they're bound to go over the average person's head.

The ultimate solution, however, is simple. We need to create opportunities in the countries people are migrating from. We need to move towards a world where people migrate out of want, not need. When (not if) we get there, much of the problems associated with migration will go away. Though I'm intimately involved with the DREAM Act, though I'm taking money from various migrant rights organizations with different interests, I have not lost sight of that goal and I'm happy to report that this summer I am moving one giant step towards beginning to work towards that goal.

During the months of July and August I will be interviewing Guatemalan deportees for my senior thesis at Harvard. I have long argued that deportation is the key to globalizing the U.S. migration debate. I will be using the money I earn from America's Voice and MATT to support myself while I interview Guatemalan deportees, and continue my migrant rights work in the U.S. This is a step closer towards my ultimate dream of using my new media work to support myself while I begin to tackle the root of the problem in my home of Guatemala.

So, as much as I feel people raise their eyebrows at the work that I'm doing as I occupy this nebelous space in the pro-migrant blogosphere, I feel I can say with confidence that I am continuing the steady march to tackling the reason I began this work in the first place. Migration is merely a symptom of global inequity, and I hope to use my new media work in a way that allows me to tackle the root causes of migration.

I will end this extremely long post, here. Needless to say, this conversation is not over. At the very least, though, it allows me to continue my blogging knowing that I have alerted my readers to all of these issues.

Anti-Migrant Hate: Pro-Migrant SanctuarySphere

2009-06-19T01:07:05Z

Weekly Immigration Wire: Climate of Anti-Immigrant Hate Yields Violence at The Unapologetic Mexican. A reaction to fear, whether real or imagined, perpetuates that fear within the conscious of the community.

Some 'neighborhood watch': Forde's Minuteman spinoff outfit was about 'starting a revolution against the government' at Orcinus.

Remember how all those right-wing pundits proclaimed the Minutemen as being just like a neighborhood watch? Michelle Malkin called it "the mother of all neighborhood watches." Lou Dobbs labeled it "this country's biggest neighborhood watch program". Bill O'Reilly declared: "Talking Points applauds the Minutemen. They are in the great tradition of neighborhood watch groups."

Welcome to Washington D.C. - Counting Down to the National DREAM Graduation at No Borders and Binaries.

SEIU Joins Effort to Fight AZ Anti-Migrant Bills at Latino Politico.

Accused Nativist Murderer Once Claimed to Represent FAIR at Hatewatch.

Shawna Forde, 41, the nativist extremist who was arrested on Friday in Arizona on two counts of first-degree murder, is known as the leader of Minuteman American Defense (MAD), a hard-line group opposed to undocumented immigration.

We the People at Greg Siskind's Blog.

2009 Law & Policy Conference: "Refugee Protection around the World: Durable Solutions or Durable Suffering?" at Immigrants in the USA blog.

Obama to scale back on Real ID at Working Immigrants. Also Spotlight on immigrants in Virginia.

Kevin Johnson: Keeping Migrants Here: Recent Research Shows Unintended Consequences of U.S. Border Enforcement at Nuestra Voice.

Una Gran Tristeza: Pro-Migrant SanctuarySphere

2009-06-14T17:03:53Z

Brisenia Flores: The Beautiful Latino Child the Minutemen Murdered! at Immigration Talk With A Mexican American.

This story make me so sad and angry. This is the heart of hatred. It is the apex of all the vitriol spewed by anti-migrants and hateful people everywhere.

Flores por Brisenia at The Sanctuary.

at No Borders and Binaries. Prerna is planning to start a 511 mile bike ride to raise money for law school. If you can help here out and keep up with her progress as she makes this journey.

Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform launch new interactive website at People Migrate.

Bender's Immigration Bulletin links to Gen. Colin Powell on immigration. This wonderful speech highlights immigrants and immigration as the foundation of the US and speaks against those that seek to close the borders to "protect" us from "invaders."

Not withstanding this positive experience, this great immigration experience of ours--we are an immigrant country--people sometimes forget this. There are too many of our fellow citizens and leaders who want to focus on a discussion about protecting America from the dangers that our immigrants pose. They worry about American culture being overwhelmed by an influx of people who don't speak "our" language or who worship in a different way or dress in an unfamiliar way.

While Powell applauds Obama in his speech the truth is we're still seeing things like Border Bonanza: SBInet where buckets of money are being thrown into "border security" technology. (From Border Lines)

The Need to Integrate New Immigrants at DMI Blog.

Have Social Security No-Match Letters Returned? at Greg Siskind's Blog. A "desktop raid" was conducted on Overhill Farms resulting in 200 people losing their jobs.

Top Cops: Immigration Reform Will Promote Law and Order at Greg Siskind's Blog.

The 2009 National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and Conference, June 17-19, 2009- Washington, D.C. from Immigrants in the USA blog.

Join the Conversation at Our New Home on Facebook! at Immigration Equality. Join their facebook group and help spread the cause.

World Day Against Child Labor: Mexican Foreign Ministry releases report detailing Mexican children traveling to US alone are looking for work at Latina Lista.

The State of the State of Minnesota, Re. Immigration at Smart Borders.

March on Hutto!!: Pro-Migrant SanctuarySphere

2009-06-11T02:30:38Z

Celebrate World Refugee Day, June 20, 2009: March on Hutto! at Immigration Prof Blog.

Immigrants' rights violated in Connecticut Raid at Standing FIRM.

The American Public Understands the Real Economics of Immigration Reform at DMI Blog.

Recent focus groups on immigration reveal that despite the economic downturn, the American public wants an immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship for the undocumented.

Hispanic farmers struggling to survive against USDA-sanctioned discrimination and institutionalized racism at Latina Lista.

The life of a farmer has always been known to be a hard life. Throw in global warming, drought and a poor economy and a farmer's life can teeter on financial ruin -- if it weren't for special farm credit and non-credit farm benefit programs to help farmers during rough times.

Widowed Immigrants Rules are Relaxed at Dream Act Texas. Also DREAM Act Advocacy in NYC.

JULY VISA BULLETIN - MORE DISMAL NEWS at Greg Siskind's Blog.

The July Visa Bulletin is out and there is really no good news. And there's terrible news for Mexicans and Chinese applicants. The Mexican 1st and 3rd family categories move backwards nearly two years. And Chinese EB-2 employment immigration applicants now join the Indian misery as priority dates retrogress five years (!) to January 2000.

DHS TARGETS BUDDHIST MONK also at Greg Siskind's Blog.

The Wall Street Journal reports on a really interesting case (being argued by my old friend and fellow blogger Angelo Paparelli). USCIS has denied a green card application for a Buddhist monk who took an oath of poverty and is living in a monastery. USCIS considers the monk to be illegally employed despite the fact that he receives no income.

Immigration Equality Is There As Honda Makes History for Our Families at Immigration Equality Blog.

Congressman Mike Honda has just posted video from Thursday's press conference announcing The Reuniting Families Act (H.R. 2709), his landmark legislation addressing so many of the obstacles that families face in their quest to stay together . . . including those faced by lesbian and gay couples.

VDare and Alipac's Dreams of Division Between Minority/Latino Groups over Sotomayor Confirmation at Immigration Talk With A Mexican American.

The Hate sites VDare and Alipac are living in a dream world. They wish and hope for a division within minority/Latino groups, hoping their wishes will come true, that Humanitarians will jump ship and join their Hate Filled side.

Sotomayor "Within the Judicial Mainstream" on Immigration at Immigration Prof Blog.

Roman Catholics and Evangelicals on Immigration at People Migrate.

The Time is Now!!: Pro-Migrant SanctuarySphere

2009-06-05T23:55:25Z

Watch the video The Time is NOW - The RI4A Summit at Standing FIRM and check out their many posts on the RI4A conference in Washington.

Also check out Nezua at NAM Expo: First Day in Atlanta at The Unapologetic Mexican. Nezua is there to accept an award being give to The Sanctuary.

Looks like some of the nasties are backing off of Sotomayor. Check out at Sotomayor Update Anti-BVBL.

Also at Anti-BVBL Tom Tancredo's Aide Charged with Hate Crime. Seems that hateful people make good company.

A Look at Migrant Detention Under President Obama at Latino Politico. Not much has happened as far as "change" under Obama.

Reid offers up more of the same at Migra Matters.

While it's good to know that Reid intends to make good on the Democrat's campaign promise to address the issue sooner rather than later, it's hard to believe that he thinks that dredging up the same old failed policies of the past will mollify those gathered in DC this week to work for real change in a failed system.

Bender's Immigration Bulletin links us to the following story article Conviction has crossers' water supplier defiant. Walter Staton, and his supporters, don't feel they should have to ask permission to save people's lives. I'd have to agree. Allowing people die in an effort to deter others from attempting the treacherous journey is egregious and simply evil. Also a post at Immigration Prof Blog.

Reform Immigration for America Los Angeles video at People Migrate.

As pointed out by Dream Act Texas in Nice words in Egypt; Nasty Behavior in Washington we need more action and less talk when it comes to immigration reform. Families are still being torn apart and detention centers are still flourishing.

This isn't related to immigration, but I have to mention DAT's post Sanity about Handguns because I'm here in Texas where it is now legal to carry concealed handguns to class. Neither the scars from the infamous Charles Witman's killing of 14 people, nor the shooting at Virginia Tech or Columbine could sway our legislature into any sense of sanity. Thankfully other states care for those of us that see no value in these killing devices.

Fitz: Unchecked Immigrant Bashing in the GOP makes Immigration Reform More Likely at Greg Siskind's blog. Politics are politics, but if it means getting the Dream Act and immigration reform passed that'll work as long as Homeland Security gets the memo.

Senegalese immigrant graduates from Brookhaven College with dreams to live out at Immigrants in the USA blog.

This young man from Senegal learned English in a year and has now received his degree from a community college. Now he will go on to university and probably will be doing good things in a few years. Congratulations to him. - - Donna Poisl

Newt Apologizes For Calling Judge Sotomayor a Racist! at Immigration Talk With A Mexican American.

Council of Hemispheric Affairs Report on Obama Immigration Policy at Immigration Prof Blog.

The Face of Racism at Why Am I Not Surprised.

My Last Twitter Session From The Reform Immigration for America Summit

2009-06-05T16:19:15Z

As I said, previously, I'm not going to blog the Reform Immigration for America summit until I have the time to process everything. I will cover the last session open to the press live from twitter, though. I hope you follow along.

Twittering The Reform Immigration For America Summit, Again

2009-06-04T23:13:39Z

I'm not even going to try and compose a coherent blog post right now. There's so much running through my mind that I need to process.

I'm glad Maegan blogged the earlier session, today. I was able to film it, but I have not been able to sit down at my computer to write until now.

Instead of trying to compose something, I'm just going to twitter the latest open press event.

At Reform Immigration For America Summit, Part II: Twin Illusory Narratives

2009-06-03T22:40:16Z

A lot is going on at the Reform Immigration For America Summit. I'm having trouble getting my bearings straight. Fortunately, I'm not alone in blogging all of this. You can follow along at both Imagine2050 and Standing FIRM. A must read blog post is definitely our own MamitaMala's at The Sanctuary. Twitter is also an excellent place to follow along.

I have to admit, I'm impressed. Reform Immigration For America is high energy. Conference organizers are doing an excellent job of presenting a united narrative. Being here, it's really easy to see how this campaign could turn into a successful campaign to pass comprehensive U.S. migration reform.

I imagine that more media will come out about this summit, tomorrow. Still, it's surprising to me that despite all that's going on, a google news search has turned up very little news on the summit, and immigration in general. This is the first illusory narrative I'd like to speak about.

Regardless of anyone's feelings about the summit, and I will get to those later, this summit is a big deal for U.S. migration reform. The fact that the media has been all but silent leading up to this summit shows a complete failure on behalf of the media to grasp or even care about a war in which the victor will succeed in defining no less than the future of what it means to be "American" or Estadounidense in the United States.

It's difficult to say whether or not Reform Immigration for America will succeed in getting U.S. migration reform introduced and passed in the Fall of 2009. Still, you can bet that any attempt to do a complete overhaul of U.S. migration reform will be heavily, if not completely, influenced by this group.

So, on the one hand you have the media completely ignoring the narrative of U.S. migration reform, or even providing a false one. How many times have you seen quote a pro-migrant person next to a nativist person? Don't get me wrong, nativists are certainly a force to be reckoned with in the U.S., but nativists are out of power, now. The real power, now, lies with the pro-migrant movement. It is the ideology of factions within the pro-migrant movement that will define migration reform more than anything else.

That brings me to the second illusory narrative of the conference. I understand that the goal of Reform Immigration for America is not to divide, discuss, or dissect migration reform. This is a conference for solidifying the base. That being said, I can't help but feel that Reform Immigration Reform for America is moving forward without substantively addressing some extremely important issues with U.S. migration reform, at least as it's been characterized thus far.

MamitaMala brought up the issue of detention and broader enforcement in her blog post at The Sanctuary. That issue is extremely important to address, and Roberto Lovato one of the most courageous in continuously bringing it up. Still, there are still others that are completely being ignored. For instance, why is it that traditional notions of comprehensive immigration reform include reuniting heterosexual married couples, while same-sex binational couples are left out in the cold. Another important issue is the way Reform Immigration For America will treat migrant youth. Will migrant youth be treated as leaders in the push for the DREAM Act? Or, will they be coopted or ostracized for pushing the DREAM Act independent of the migration reform?

Truthfully, I cannot answer those questions fully yet, though careful readers can probably discern where I'm leaning. Still, they are important questions to ask. If they are not asked these twin illusory narratives are going to collide.

Again, maybe the conference is not the best place to hash these issues out, but some time after the conference might be a good time to clear the air about these issues. Bloggers are an excellent way through which to disseminate this information and begin having these conversations.

If these issues aren't addressed though these two false narratives are going to collide in an ugly mess. I don't see any other alternative.

At The Reform Immigration For America Summit

2009-06-03T16:44:51Z

I am currently sitting amidst a group of over 700 screaming migrant advocates at the Reform Immigration for America Summit. I came here with the Student Immigrant Movement, and will be working with America's Voice to help mobilize people to push back against hate online. I believe it is important to state my organizational affiliations for the sake of honesty, but anyone who knows my blogging knows that I write unfiltered.
I was just setting up my video camera and my audio equipment where Ali Noorani of the National Immigration Forum was set to take the stage. I know him from my time at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. I shook his hand and said hello and then got out of his way to set up my digital voice recorder. It wasn't a few seconds before I turned away that he started ribbing me for calling out "D.C. orgs." He asked if I was setting up the audio equipment so that I could call out "D.C. orgs" on my blog.

I've been vocal about my disagreements with "D.C. orgs" behind the scenes, through email lists and personal communication. But it's not something I've been public about...until now. I hope that answers your question, Mr. Noorani :). I state all this not to be confrontational, but to make a point about where I stand as this summit begins. I'm not afraid to speak the truth.

As always, I will be posting at Citizen Orange and The Sanctuary. Twitter is also a good place to stay up to date on what I'm up to, especially during public events that are open to the press.