Immigration

Some reading for your Friday. Enjoy!

• Salon explores why conservatives hate Common. A sneak peek:
  

  The president said Wednesday night, "A great poem is one that resonates with us, that challenges us, and that teaches us something about ourselves and the world that we live in." And maybe an African-American male from the South Side of Chicago has his own perspective on the world we live in, one that merits consideration even if it makes Sarah Palin uncomfortable. Common may or may not be a great poet. But he sure knows how to be challenging. And simply by his presence Wednesday night -- and the ire he provoked -- he proved the power of words before he even opened his mouth.

• Sen. Richard Lugar (D-IN), unhappy with President Obama's recent framing of the immigration issue, refuses to support the DREAM Act as he did last December.
• The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) awarded six colleges and universities with the Presidential Award, the highest level of recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to civic engagement and community work.
• Somehow, Newt Gingrich, fresh off yet another announcement that he's running for President, claims that Barack Obama has unfair advantages. You know, other than being an oppressed minority.
• Not a huge surprise, but a Hamilton College study shows that younger Americans (aged 18-29) are more positive toward immigrants and minorities.
• Youth, women, and minorities are resisting the Egyptian old guard's efforts to co-opt their revolution.

Originally posted at Citizen Orange.

The fate of almost a million lives could be decided in the next six hours.  As a voter, as a millenial, as a migrant, as a Guatemalan, I'm writing to say that I will be watching along with the vast majority of those who will determine the future of the United States of America. 

If you already haven't heard already, Harry Reid is going to offer the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act up as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.  The Senate is scheduled to vote on taking up the Act tomorrow at 2:15 p.m.  If you haven't called you're Senator yet in the support of the DREAM Act please do so now by calling:

It is imperative that you focus on these Senators.  If you've called already, call again.  If you've called again, ask five friends to do the same.  If you've done all that, here are some more actions you can take.

If you haven't heard about the DREAM Act yet I wouldn't be surprised.  The media has largely been focused on the train wreck that is Christine O'Donnell's campaign.  But the mainstream media is missing out on one of the most suspenseful political dramas I've ever witnessed.  No one knows if we have the votes to beat the filibuster in the Senate, today.  If we don't beat it, the National Defense Authorization Act will likely have to wait until after the elections.  At that point, all bets are off. 

One of the most compelling elements of this political drama has been the interaction between The LGBT movement and the migrant youth movement.  What to an outsider might be perceived as two unrelated constituencies, perhaps even hostile to each other, have been working long before this moment to build unity and solidarity.  It is one thing to believe in the truth that we are all woven into a "single garment of destiny."  It is another to live that truth and act on it.  The migrant youth movement and the LGBT movement having been living and acting on that truth, as we all should.  My freedom is tied up with the freedom of everyone else in the universe, and tomorrow we have a chance to set close to a million people free. 

Again, the media hasn't been watching but everyone who matters everyone who will decide the future of this country is watching.  The DREAM Act has been front-page news on major Spanish language newspapers all week, and featured heavily on Spanish language television.  The U.S.'s largest and fastest growing minority, Latinos, is watching, today.  Educators and students from around the country have organized for and come out in support of the DREAM Act.  The next generation is watching, today.  Facebook and twitter have blown up with mentions of the DREAM Act, and traffic on the sites covering the DREAM Act is through the roof.  Business leaders, religious leaders, and military leaders have all come out strong in support of the DREAM Act.  If the Senate fails to move the DREAM Act forward today, we will all be watching and we won't just remember this November, but for the rest of our lives. 

The next generation isn't just watching whether the DREAM act will move forward, but whether the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) will move forward.  Lady Gaga has galvanized youth for the repeal of DADT with her extensive twitter and facebook following in a way that probably hasn't been seen seen Barack Obama was elected.

According to a poll commissioned by First Focus, 70% of the U.S. public supports the DREAM Act.  Multiple polls show that a majority of the U.S. public supports the repeal of DADT.  Republicans, for the most part, are floating arguments about procedure.  They are saying that Democrats are playing politics with the National Defense Authorization Act.  Republicans are playing politics, too, and have used the procedure of the filibuster to grind the Senate to a halt for two years.  Playing politics is what politicians do.  The public doesn't care about politicians playing politics or what procedures are used as long as Congress does their job and gets things done.  It's time for Congress to get two things done that the majority of Americans support. 

Republicans, especially, face an important choice, today.  They can please their increasingly regional extremist base and relegate themselves to irrelevancy for a generation, or they can do the right thing and be competitive with the next generation of voters.

If we win, today, we will face an even steeper uphill battle, but we will all be watching.  Failure has not entered into my mind.  We will pass the DREAM Act and DADT will be repealed.  It is no longer a question of if, but a question of when.  The time is now and whomever stands in the way will regret it for a long time. 

Originally posted on Citizen Orange.

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service.  With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Saad Nabeel and I am writing to you from Bangladesh. Prior to my arrival in this nation, I lived in the United States for 15 years. My parents brought me to America at age three. It is the only home I know. I used to attend the University of Texas at Arlington with a full scholarship in Electrical Engineering. Through no fault of my own I was forced to leave my home, friends, possessions, and most importantly, my education behind.

November 3rd 2009 is a day I will never forget. My mother called me and told me that my father had been detained by ICE and that we needed to leave immediately to Canada to seek refugee status. Being an only child, I had to take care of my mother and go with her.

My mother and I were denied entrance into Canada and sent back to the USA as if we were common criminals. I was separated from my mother and sent to a detention facility where I was forced to live with 60 men, many of whom were hardened criminals. There was no privacy and I was forced to use the facilities and showers while fully exposed. I lived in constant fear of being abused. I was without food for upwards of 14 hours a day and received little to no medical attention. When I asked for legal counsel I was threatened with criminal charges and jail time in a Federal Penitentiary. To this day I still have nightmares about being detained. Everything my parents taught me about human decency was replaced with humiliation. Mr. President I hope you are as outraged as I am hurt by this ordeal.

Bangladesh is extremely hot and humid. We have no air conditioning as the power goes out every day. These power outages can last twelve hours or more. The air is heavily polluted and I get food poisoning every week from the poor quality of food here. Raw sewage flows in open drains in front of our apartment. I see people outside with mangled bodies dying on the street because of the heat and starvation. I see mothers practically giving their children away because they are unable to feed them.

I do not know the language and I fear going outside because I am different from everyone else. Speaking in English is an easy way to be targeted here. We cannot afford to live in a safer area. I have not left the apartment for 8 months. It simply is too dangerous for me to leave the apartment unless my parents go with me. I cannot attend school due to the language barrier. I do not know anyone in Bangladesh.

On top of all this, my parents are both ill and have been for months. My father suffers severe asthma attacks that make him bedridden on most days. My mother has post traumatic stress and cannot accept the fact that she is not at our home in Texas.

These events transpired after we were approved to receive our Green Cards. ICE forced my family to leave knowing that Green Cards were available to us. We have been waiting for our Green Cards for 15 years now.

Mr. President, you are the most powerful man in the world, all I ask from you is to bring me home. All I ever wanted was an education so I could become an engineer. I just want to go home and go back to college. Please don't keep me exiled any longer. Please bring me home.

Sincerely,
Saad Nabeel

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.  The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice.  Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap. 

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

Below is a list of previous entries in the DREAM Now Series:

Mohammad Abdollahi (19 July 2010)
Yahaira Carrillo (21 July 2010)
Weekly Recap - Tell Harry Reid You Want the DREAM Act Now (23 July 2010)
Wendy (26 July 2010)
Matias Ramos (28 July 2010)
Weekly Recap - The CHC Has To Stand With Migrant Youth Not Against Us (30 July 2010)
Tania Unzueta (2 August 2010)
Marlen Moreno (4 August 2010)
Weekly Recap - The Ghost of Virgil Goode Possesses the Republican Party (9 August 2010)
David Cho (9 August 2010)
Ivan Nikolov (11 August 2010)
Yves Gomes (16 August 2010)
Selvin Arevalo (18 August 2010)
Weekly Recap - Latino, LGBT, Migrant Youth, and Progressive Bloggers Lead For the DREAM Act (20 August 2010)
Carlos A. Roa, Jr. (23 August 2010)
Myrna Orozco (25 August 2010)
Lizbeth Mateo (30 August 2010)

Originally posted on Citizen Orange.

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service.  With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Carlos and I'm a 23 year old undocumented immigrant from Caracas, Venezuela.  I want to legalize my immigration status in this country through the passage of DREAM Act this year.  For too long have I lived in the U.S. without papers.  It has been over 20 years, now.  I want to legalize my immigration status in order to fulfill my dreams of becoming a young professional in architecture.

There are obstacles in my daily life that make it extraordinarily difficult to pursue a career in architecture.  Fortunately, because of my determination to continue my studies after graduating high school in 2005, I'm currently a student in Miami Dade College.  It has not been without great difficulty.  For many years it felt as if all the potential I developed in high school was for nothing.

I am the perfect example of other students in similar situations whose voices have been silenced by the fact that we are not truly accounted for.  We are afraid of speaking up because doing so might affect our immigration status in this country and possibly even lead to deportation.  I myself felt this way for several years, but after dealing with my status for so long, I now consider it a duty to speak up for myself and for other youth in my shoes.

I remember that dark and cold feeling of shame, fear and hopelessness.
 
After the death of my mother--the person I was closest to in my life--I'd constantly ask myself what is to come of me?  Where is my life going?  If it wasn't for her strength and desire to see me succeed, I would not have devoted myself to this cause in her memory.  If it wasn't for her love--her incredible affection transcending my existence--I would not have been able to conquer the fear of being undocumented. My love of humanity has manifested itself through the fight for immigrant rights.
 
That's why I was one of four undocumented youth that participated on a 1500 mile walk from Miami, FL to Washington D.C. known as the Trail of Dreams.

I encourage you to present this letter U.S. Congress, Mr. President, so that the voice of one undocumented immigrant echoes the voice of millions.  I hope that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus can have the vision to push for the DREAM Act this year.  It would be be a dream for so many families, fathers and mothers just like mine, to see their children on the path towards legalization and professional degrees.

I consider it a colossal loss for society that young Americans, such as myself, find it extremely difficult to continue our studies after high school graduation.  We are unable to work legally, unable to join the Armed Forces, unable to legally obtain a driving license, and unable to apply or receive most scholarships. Economically supporting our families under these circumstances is impossible.

Our legalization would greatly contribute to our communities and make this country a better place.  As young professionals we would open businesses, create jobs, pay taxes, and play a much stronger role rehabilitating the economy, just like any other hardworking U.S. citizen.

Please give us the opportunity to contribute to the only country we know as our home, Mr. President.  Please step up and help us pass the DREAM Act, this year. 

Sincerely,
Carlos A. Roa, Jr.

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.  The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice.  Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap. 

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

Below is a list of previous entries in the DREAM Now Series:

Mohammad Abdollahi (19 July 2010)
Yahaira Carrillo (21 July 2010)
Weekly Recap - Tell Harry Reid You Want the DREAM Act Now (23 July 2010)
Wendy (26 July 2010)
Matias Ramos (28 July 2010)
Weekly Recap - The CHC Has To Stand With Migrant Youth Not Against Us (30 July 2010)
Tania Unzueta (2 August 2010)
Marlen Moreno (4 August 2010)
Weekly Recap - The Ghost of Virgil Goode Possesses the Republican Party (9 August 2010)
David Cho (9 August 2010)
Ivan Nikolov (11 August 2010)
Yves Gomes (16 August 2010)
Selvin Arevalo (18 August 2010)
Weekly Recap - Latino, LGBT, Migrant Youth, and Progressive Bloggers Lead For the DREAM Act (20 August 2010)

The "DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama" is a social media campaign that launched Monday, July 19, to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, S. 729, would help tens of thousands of young people, American in all but paperwork, to earn legal status, provided they graduate from U.S. high schools, have good moral character, and complete either two years of college or military service.  With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!

[Note from Kyle de Beausset: Selvin wrote this letter right before he got into a minor car accident on April 9, 2010.  He was set to get his high school diploma in June but has been in detention ever since.  I have chosen reproduce Selvin's letter as I found it in his empty room, rather than polish his slight grammatical errors, to allow his character to shine through.]

Dear President Barack Obama,

From the bottom of my heart, I plead to my God that you and your entire family receive blessings from the highest God while you are reading this letter.  I admire and thank you for the great labor that you are fulfilling as a president in this big nation.  My name is Selvin Ovidio Arevalo.  I came to this country when I was 15 years old.  I came from Guatemala to this country to fulfill my dreams because I always have believed that this is a country of many opportunities for those whom want to succeed.

Since I came to this country, I have been going to school to learn and enhance my English.   Three years ago, I enrolled with Adult Education in Portland, ME, for my high school diploma.  Finally, in this June 2010, I shall have my high school diploma.  I am already enrolled in college transition.  I wish that at the end of this yar, I can go to college, but what concern me about is getting financial aid.  I cannot qualify for any financial aid because I am not legal in this country.  The reason that I write you is to plead you for a solution to my problem.  I have been a Christian since I was a kid.  For eight years, I have been praying to my God to touch the heart of the leaders of this country to provide me legalization.  I think that I have three important reasons for why I want to be legal in this country.  First reason: I want to go to college and have a degree of computer science and more.  Second: I am one of the leaders of a Christian church in Portland, Maine.  I am the treasurer of the church, a musician; I play instruments in the chorus of my church, and a youth leader.  Third: I have not seen my family (parents, sisters, and brother) for eight years.  I have shed tears for them, but I am waiting until a legalization to go to see them.

I appreciate and thank you for spending your time reading this letter.  Once again, I plead you for a solution to my problem.  My faith is great; I believe that one day I am going to be legal in this country.  Then my dreams will become true.  Once again, thank you for your good will and I hope you have a wonderful time.  May the peace of God be with you forever and ever!

Sincerely,
Selvin Arevalo Ovidio

How you can help Selvin:

Right now, the focus should still be on stopping the deportation of Ivan Nikolov, but if you would like to stay up to date on Selvin's case you can:

1. "Like" his Facebook page
2. Join the Facebook group "We Are Selvin"
3. Follow Citizen Orange for more updates

The "DREAM Now" letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.  The letters are produced by Kyle de Beausset at Citizen Orange with the assistance of America's Voice.  Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM Now recap. 

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

Below is a list of previous entries in the DREAM Now Series:

Mohammad Abdollahi (19 July 2010)
Yahaira Carrillo (21 July 2010)
Weekly Recap - Tell Harry Reid You Want the DREAM Act Now (23 July 2010)
Wendy (26 July 2010)
Matias Ramos (28 July 2010)
Weekly Recap - The CHC Has To Stand With Migrant Youth Not Against Us (30 July 2010)
Tania Unzueta (2 August 2010)
Marlen Moreno (4 August 2010)
Weekly Recap - The Ghost of Virgil Goode Possesses the Republican Party (9 August 2010)
David Cho (9 August 2010)
Ivan Nikolov (11 August 2010)
Yves Gomes (16 August 2010)

DemfromCT over at DailyKos has an interesting interview with Ruy Teixeira, an expert on political demographics and a Senior Fellow at both The Century Foundation and Center for American Progress and author of the recently published working paper titled, Demographic Change and the Future of the Parties.

While you should go check it out in its entirety, here are the main points, which should be very familiar to faithful Future Majority readers.

• The Republican base is shrinking. The white, working class vote, a demographic that you hear all the "smart" television personalities talk about, is vanishing before our eyes, notes Teixeira. We heard a lot about this particular voting bloc in the 2008 Democratic primary, especially in the Ohio, Texas, and Mississippi contests. Yet, those states, like everywhere else, are seeing the size of this group diminish.
  

  In Texas, the white working class share is down 17 points, with minorities up 9 points and white college graduates up 7 points. In Ohio the share of white working-class voters fell by 15 points between 1988 and 2008 while white college graduates rose by 8 points and minorities by 6 points. Even a state like Mississippi has seen a huge drop in the white working class vote since 1988 (down 21 points).

• Millennials continue to decidedly identify with the Democratic Party. Though we continue to battle the "conventional wisdom" that youth always become more conservative with time, Teixeria corrects this, pointing to multiple studies that show partisan loyalty increases with age. And why would Millennials be attracted to the GOP anyway? In supporting the oppressive Arizona immigration law, continuing to treat gay people as if they are not human, and acting as if government has no redeeming value, it is almost as if the Republican Party is running away from our generation (you know, like Mark Kirk).
• To continue to build a long-term political advantage while championing good policy, the Democrats need to provide an alternative to Arizona's SB 1070, getting behind comprehensive immigration reform. Polling shows that the Arizona legislation is popular, but so is a description of a fairer comprehensive reform, in which the federal government strengthens border security and investigates employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants. These undocumented workers currently living in the United States would be required to register with the federal government, have criminal background checks, pay taxes, learn English, and go to the back of the line for U.S. citizenship (84 percent of those supporting the Arizona law support this alternative). For the Democrats to put forth a strong alternative to the GOP-backed position, they would be strengthening their attachments with already friendly Latino voters, and they also would be enhancing their stature as a party that can solve our larger problems.

The writing is on the wall. Despite the gloomy outlook for the midterms at this point, there are quite a few promising long-term trends for the party. Yet, in order for these to mean anything, we must go all out, institutionalizing peer-to-peer registration efforts. Luckily the DNC recently unleashed their voter registration strategy for the midterms, which significantly targets young voters and minority voters, a large chunk of the President's and the Democrats' base.

And while we face some short-term stress in 2010 while looking at some friendly long-term trends, the GOP is in the opposite situation. While the Tea Party continues to drum up conservative resistance to Obama and the Democrats (occasionally attracting attention for racist behavior), they are moving in the wrong direction of where they need to be to have any influence on the Millennial vote in the long-term. With Millennials forming about 40 percent of the electorate (and 44 percent of the generation identifying as a minority) in 2020, they form the anchor of this country's electoral future; meanwhile, the GOP can't seem to break away from the Tea Party, which actively resists a move toward the center.

For further reading, check out Teixeira's white paper (linked above) and read the reviews by Tom Schaller for FiveThirtyEight.com and Ed Kilgore at the Democratic Strategist.

A New York Times piece published this morning sheds light on the generation gap present in views on immigration.

In the wake of the new Arizona law allowing the police to detain people they suspect of entering the country illegally, young people are largely displaying vehement opposition — leading protests on Monday at Senator John McCain’s offices in Tucson, and at the game here between the Florida Marlins and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Meanwhile, baby boomers, despite a youth of “live and let live,” are siding with older Americans and supporting the Arizona law.

This emerging divide has appeared in a handful of surveys taken since the measure was signed into law, including a New York Times/CBS News poll this month that found that Americans 45 and older were more likely than the young to say the Arizona law was “about right” (as opposed to “going too far” or “not far enough”). Boomers were also more likely to say that “no newcomers” should be allowed to enter the country while more young people favored a “welcome all” approach.

This makes sense given what we know about the diversity in the Millennial generation. The New Politics Institute's 2007 Report, "The Progressive Politics of the Millennial Generation," cites Census data showing that nearly 40 percent of Millennials do not identify as being white. "[A]bout 62 percent of Millennial adults are non-Hispanic white, 18 percent are Hispanic, 14 percent are black and 5 percent are Asian," the report notes. What sharpens the debate is that many of the areas having the most diversity among youth also have fairly homogeneous white Boomer/Silent populations.

Given their demographic diversity, Millennials hold progressive opinions about immigration compared to the rest of the population. The Times piece, for example, provides some anecdotal evidence ensconced in the opinions and stories of youths Meaghan Patrick and Nicole Vespia.

Meaghan Patrick, a junior at New College of Florida, a tiny liberal arts college in Sarasota, says discussing immigration with her older relatives is like “hitting your head against a brick wall.”

[...]

Nicole Vespia, 18, of Selden, N.Y., said older people who were worried about immigrants stealing jobs were giving up on an American ideal: capitalist meritocracy.

“If someone works better than I do, they deserve to get the job,” Ms. Vespia said. “I work in a stockroom, and my best workers are people who don’t really speak English. It’s cool to get to know them.”

Her parents’ generation, she added, just needs to adapt.

“My stepdad says, ‘Why do I have to press 1 for English?’ I think that’s ridiculous,” Ms. Vespia said, referring to the common instruction on customer-service lines. “It’s not that big of a deal. Quit crying about it. Press the button.”

The stories are backed up by data on Millennials. In his 2008 book/project Generation WE, Eric Greenberg cites data revealing Millennials' open attitudes on immigration.

Generation We also has an open and positive attitude toward immigration, much more so than older generations. In the Pew Gen Next poll, 18- to 25-year-olds, by 52 to 38, said immigrants strengthen the country with their hard work and talent, rather than are a burden on the country because they take our jobs, housing, and healthcare, compared to very narrow pluralities in this direction among Gen Xers and Boomers and 50–30 sentiment in the other direction among those 61 and over. In a 2004 Pew survey, 67 percent of 18- to 25-year-old Millennials thought the growing number of immigrants strengthens American society and only 30 percent believed this trend threatens our customs and values—again, much stronger positive sentiment than among any other generation.

Unfortunately, most Boomer-run news outlets do not pay attention to Millennial opinion on this issue. With older Americans voting at higher rates than young people, the age and views of Congress and other officeholders reinforce the fear-driven status quo. Just like many other issues, to change this reality, youth must vote in higher numbers, be willing to run for office themselves, and pair this with some organized, non-traditional resistance to mount a strong opposition.

It might be convenient to take a John Mayer approach and wait for the world to change, but how many hard-working families who already embody American values will suffer in the meantime? This is yet another issue on which we must begin making change now.

Thanks to our friends at Campus Progress for posting this great comic.

This new ad is being broadcast today on radio stations asking citizens to call Senator McCain to express their discontent with the new anti-immigrant law and to urge McCain to oppose SB1070. The ad features Arizona students celebrating Cinco de Mayo but are suddenly mistaken for illegal immigrants for celebrating the holiday, drinking Mexican beer, and listening to Mexican music.

Americans for America PAC is responsible for the advertising and is working to do rapid response on issues like this new anti-immigrant law.

Originally posted on Citizen Orange.

In case you missed it, the Associated Press recently covered our request for a meeting with Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.). We are asking Sen. Brown to meet with us before April 17.

Harvard College Act on a Dream has been trying to meet with Sen. Brown since he was first elected at the beginning of the semester. We were told that his office was a mess the first couple of months, but we were finally asked to fax our meeting request to his office. We sent the fax on March 5, 2010.

After not getting a commitment to a meeting for over a month, we were forced to take our meeting request public. We joined forces with the Student Immigrant Movement to set up an online petition which already has over 100 signatures (please sign it if you haven't done so, yet). The online petition resulted in coverage from the AP, and now our request is all over the web. We were happy to hear through the AP that his office has received our meeting request and will shortly ask for more information from us.

Still, it's going to take a lot more than an AP article and a hundred petition signatures to secure a meeting with Brown. Here are some things you can do to help:

1. SIGN the petition at change.org and ask all of your friends and family to do the same, especially if they are Massachusetts residents.
2. CALL Brown's D.C. office (202-224-4543) and his local office (617-565-3170) to ask whether or not Brown will meet with us before April 17.
3. JOIN the Facebook group and ask your Facebook friends to do the same
4. HELP us fight any misinformation or nativism that you see online regarding our meeting request.

Currently, we are not asking for any policy commitments from Sen. Brown. We are only asking for a simple meeting. We want Sen. Brown to hear the stories of immigrant youth who have been affected by the brokenfederal immigration system so that he can decide for himself what should be done. We believe that if Sen. Brown hears from these youth, who know only the United States as their home, that he will do the right thing.

While immigrant youth are at the center of this struggle, it is important to state that it's not just immigrant youth that are affected by this broken immigration system. I am a U.S. citizen, a constituent of Sen. Brown's, and this issue affects me more deeply than almost any other issue that the federal government is currently considering. It affects the U.S. citizen family members of these youth. It affects the peers that these youth study alongside of. It affects the communities they are a part of. It affects a nation which does not take advantage of some of the most talented individuals that it puts through its education system.

It is also important to state that contrary to nativist talking points, there is no "line" for undocumented youth to get into the back of in order to secure legal status. The same is true for the vast majority of all unauthorized migrants, for that matter. If undocumented youth could get in line for citizenship, they would, but they can't. That's a big part of why the system is broken and why it needs to be fixed.

So, when the AP publishes an article that the Boston Globe entitles "Immigrant Students seek meeting with Brown" and the Boston Herald distorts that headline into "Illegal aliens seek Scott Brown's help" first let the Boston Herald know that "no human being is illegal". Then, let the Boston Herald know that this issue doesn't just affect undocumented youth, it affects all of us. And finally, let all of those nasty nativist commenters know that there is no line for undocumented youth to get into the back of, and there is no humane way to deport them all. Undocumented youth are American in every sense of the word except for a stupid nine-digit social security number, and it is time that we start treating them as such, and give them the right to exist in the only country they know as their home.

Below is both the description and text of the petition I encourage you and all of your friends to sign.

Description:

Leaders of Harvard College Act on a Dream and the Student Immigrant Movement are asking Senator Scott Brown to to meet with immigrant youth from Harvard and across Massachusetts who are being adversely affected by the broken federal immigration system before April 17.

By some estimates, there are currently two million undocumented youth living in the United States. Every year approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from high schools across the U.S. With graduation season fast approaching, yet another generation of undocumented immigrant youth will be lost to the shadows if something doesn't change.

Having been brought into the country as young children, these youth have lived most of the lives in the United States, and only know this country as their home. After graduating from high school, they face unique barriers to higher education, are unable to work legally in the U.S., and are increasingly at risk of detention, deportation, and even death. Under current U.S. immigration law, there is no absolutely no mechanism for considering the special circumstances of these youth.

We believe some of the following stories from undocumented youth across Massachusetts illustrate how desperate the situation is:

Last year, Nur Munir, our peer from the Harvard Divinity School, disappeared for over a month after he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Another one of our peers at Harvard, Alan, whose story was covered in the Boston Globe, was forced to leave the United States in January, effectively barring him from ever returning to the the only country he's ever known as his home. Another immigrant youth from Massachusetts, 19-year-old Gustavo Rezende recently committed suicide.

We believe these situations could have been avoided if it weren't for the broken federal immigration system. There are at least a dozen others at Harvard and thousands of others across Massachusetts that are at risk of similar fates if something isn't done soon.

We're asking Sen. Brown to meet with immigrant youth so that he can better understand the hardships the members of all our communities face as a result of a broken federal immigration system, and help us come up with solutions. We understand that Sen. Brown is extremely busy, but the lives of our peers and the health of our communities are at increasingly at risk with each passing day. This issue affects all of us, native born and immigrant, documented and undocumented alike. Please stand with us in calling for Sen. Brown to meet with immigrant youth before he returns to Washington D.C. on the weekend of April 17.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

After signing this petition you will get an email back from Jennifer Han, Director of Scheduling for Sen. Brown, asking you to fill out a form email for a meeting request. This is how we filled out the form an we encourage supporters to do the same:

Organization Name and Description: Harvard Act on a Dream - A Harvard student group that organizes for the interests of immigrant youth at Harvard and works closely with local immigrant youth organizations like the Student Immigrant Movement.

Contact Name and Title: Mr. Kyle de Beausset

Meeting Purpose (need specific issues): To hear the stories of immigrant youth affected by the federal immigration system.

MA Connection: We are all residents of Massachusetts

Meeting Location: Massachusetts

Work #: N/A

Cell #: Private

E-mail: beausset[at]fas[dot]harvard[dot]edu

Address: Harvard College Act On A Dream, Student Organization Center at Hilles, Box #59, Shepard Street Cambridge, MA 02138

Requested Date (no open-ended requests): April 16 (Or anytime before April 17)

Suggested Time: 5:00 p.m.

Meeting Attendee(s) Name, City of Residence, Title and Affiliation (if requestor is attending, please include his/her information): Leaders of Act on a Dream --- Kyle de Beausset (Cambridge, MA), Scott Elfenbein (Cambridge, MA), Melissa Tran (Cambridge, MA). Leaders of the Student Immigrant Movement -- Isabel (Methuen, MA), Deiv (Dartmouth, MA), Renata (Brockton, MA)

Letter:

Subject: Will Scott Brown Meet With Undocumented Youth Before April 17

Dear Jennifer Han,

It is my understanding that you are Director of Scheduling for Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown. I am writing to ask that you please schedule a meeting with Sen. Brown and select immigrant youth from Harvard and across Massachusetts before April 17.

The broken federal immigration system doesn't just affect immigrant youth, it affects all of us, native born and immigrant, documented and undocumented. It affects the health of the Massachusetts communities Sen. Brown represents. That is why I'm asking that Sen. Brown takes time out of his busy schedule to hear first hand from those that have been adversely affected.

This is urgent. Undocumented immigrant youth in the United States are increasingly at risk of detention, deportation, and even death. In the next couple of months, another generation of undocumented immigrant youth will graduate from high school, or even college, only to be relegated to the shadows.

One student from Harvard, Alan, whose story was covered in the Boston Globe, was forced to leave the United States in January, effectively barring him from ever returning to the the only country he's ever known as his home (http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/07/27/after_harvard_illegal_immigrant_is_facing_uncertainty/). Another immigrant youth from Massachusetts, 19-year-old Gustavo Rezende recently committed suicide (http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/features/x90198082/Immigrants-suicide-leaves-behind-pain).

I'm asking that Sen. Brown meet with select immigrant youth from Harvard and the broader Massachusetts area before there are more stories he's unable to hear in person. This affects all of us, and it's urgent that Sen. Brown hear the stories of immigrant youth now.