NDLON

Immigration reform has been on the national agenda for more than ten years, and it is a paramount issue for millions of voters.  On Tuesday, a question was finally asked of both presidential candidates about their views on this defining issue of our time.  The discussion was too brief and frankly raised more questions than answers.  American voters deserve to hear a more thorough discussion of each candidate's views, and tonight's foreign policy debate is a perfectly appropriate opportunity for President Obama and Mr. Romney to debate the issue further.   While the impact of failed US immigration policy is felt most strongly at the community level and must be resolved by a domestic policy agenda that provides equality for this generation's immigrants, immigration itself is a quintessential transnational issue that can rightly also be discussed within the context of US foreign policy.  Last Tuesday's superficial exchange about immigration included two revelations that both candidates- and the press- should follow-up on:

Despite Monday’s unfortunate Supreme Court ruling that allows Arizona, at least for now, to go forward with state-mandated immigrant-hunting and racial profiling, there is reason to believe that the tide is turning on the Arizona approach to immigration policies (replicated in Georgia, Alabama and several other states). Just days before the court ruling, undocumented students pushed the president to announce a new Department of Homeland Security policy potentially offering DREAM-eligible students work permits instead of deportation to countries many of them have never known. miami heraldnapolitanoop-edpablo alvaradosb1070

Despite Monday’s unfortunate Supreme Court ruling that allows Arizona, at least for now, to go forward with state-mandated immigrant-hunting and racial profiling, there is reason to believe that the tide is turning on the Arizona approach to immigration policies (replicated in Georgia, Alabama and several other states). Just days before the court ruling, undocumented students pushed the president to announce a new Department of Homeland Security policy potentially offering DREAM-eligible students work permits instead of deportation to countries many of them have never known. No doubt it was the threat of embarrassment to the president that finally led Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to codify what was common knowledge — that immigrant communities deserve relief from the threat of deportation. The new policy counteracts previous administration claims about DHS’ limited ability to act. It demonstrates that Napolitano has had the authority to relieve suffering all along. Her refusal to do so earlier or do more now shows that only pressure from organized and undocumented communities makes the difference.

Pablo Alvarado came to the United States from El Salvador in the 1990s and worked for five years as an undocumented laborer. Today he works for the National Day Laborer Organization Network (NDLON) and helps to fight for the rights and dignity of day laborers. I learned of his story when the Taproot Foundation partnered with Pablo and NDLON and recently sat down to capture his inspiring story. The immigration debate in this country has become really ugly in recent years. Yes. Day laborers have become the public face of immigration. They have been demonized. Many people have described the day laborers as unwanted people and criminals. People who are murdering and harassing women. I think we are capable of having a debate in which people are not dehumanized in the process.

Any day now Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will announce a second round of "reforms" to the disgraced "Secure Communities" deportation program, S-Comm. And once again, it appears that ICE is more interested in spin than substance. The timing of the announcement--immediately before the DHS Office of Inspector General Report--seems primarily designed to take the pressure off of ICE rather than an honest attempt to address the fundamental flaws of the program. huffington postpablo alvaradoreforms-commsecure comunities

During the hearing on Georgia's HB 87, a replication of Arizona's notorious SB 1070, Judge Thomas Thrash posed a hypothetical scenario: an 18-year-old man is driving his mother to church. He is a citizen, while his mother is not. Under HB 87, would the son be a criminal? The question is not a theoretical matter for thousands of families in Georgia, and millions nationwide. It is reality. 1070 copy catalvaradogeorgiahb87huffington post

In America, we desperately need to address the hardships everyday people increasingly face. As Rep. Lamar Smith points out, unemployment rates in the U.S. have reached nearly 10%. Those who do have jobs increasingly face lower wages, longer hours, and less protections at the work site. To address the challenges U.S. workers and the unemployed are facing, Washington has an unprecedented opportunity to invest in job creation, workplace safety, and training opportunities that would usher those excluded from the workforce into meaningful employment. To raise the floor for struggling and working families, we need policies that grow our economy, ensure job security, and offer new opportunities. We don't need more scapegoating. e-verifylamar smithpower act

When I first saw the campaign ad in Louisiana, it reminded me of the 1915 klan film “Birth of a Nation.” As I watch election results and copycat bills of Arizona’s SB 1070 spreading across the country and now 14 states considering attempts to rewrite the 14th amendment, I wonder what nation we are birthing today.

“They call me KKK, I consider it an honor. It means we’re doing something,” are the startling words of Sheriff Arpaio, the top law enforcer of Maricopa County, Arizona. Unlike radio hosts or other public officials who lose their posts instantly when uttering similar remarks, Arpaio’s position has won five elections and received continuous support from the federal government.(1)

In Arizona, law enforcement has two new tools in their supposed fight against immigration; ski masks and teddy bears. Anyone in Maricopa County can sign-up to be part of volunteer posses that sweep through Brown neighborhoods on a self-described hunt. Upon taking up the task, they’re handed those two items, a ski mask to hide their identity and a teddy bear to hand to any children whose mother or father they rip away.