The President of Arizonification

As President Obama reflects on his trip to Arizona on Jan. 25, he has some soul searching to do. In recent months, the President has displayed a schizophrenic approach to immigration as he attempts to straddle impossible opposites. He gives lip service to legalization but doubles down behind policies that criminalize. The Department of Homeland Security, headed by Arizona’s former Governor, has made conscripting states into immigration enforcement a centerpiece strategy while the Department of Justice sues states for usurping federal authority. Within the white house, it would seem that constitutional rights and discriminatory deportation programs are in a tug of war.

State of the Union 2012: What the President Should Say

If President Obama mentions immigration at all during his state of the union address, he will likely do so very briefly. In an election year, whatever he says will be an attempt to reconnect with disillusioned Latino voters who, by and large, see the president’s record as one who promised the stars on immigration reform, but subsequently delivered more deportations than any president in history.

Secure Communities Protest

The Two Faces of Obama on Immigration

How can President Obama continue to portray himself as the champion of immigration reform to Latino voters, while at the same time deporting more people than any other president in United States history? Two significant announcements this month offer a glimpse into an administration that appears to be playing both sides of a bitter debate over immigration reform.

After Discovery of 1,100 Year Old Indigenous Site, State of Georgia Rescinds Anti-Immigrant Bill

“This is a little embarrassing to admit,” began Governor Deal at an official press briefing. “it turns out, contrary to popular belief, the state of Georgia was not founded in 1732. It has been around much longer than that.” The governor was speaking among what pundits are calling a political shake-up following the monumental discovery…

Georgia Still on My Mind

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.