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Activists remind White House of unfulfilled campaign promises to legalize millions of unauthorized immigrants with roots in the U.S.

by: Julian Resendiz

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) With rallies and emails ahead of the State of the Union address, activists are reminding President Biden of unfulfilled campaign promises to bring about sweeping immigration reforms.

Its clear to us theres a number of things that didnt happen this year. We dont have immigration reform. We have millions of people still abused and persecuted, said Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights. He was referring to the closing of the border to asylum-seekers and lingering Trump-era programs such as Remain in Mexico and Title 42 express expulsions of newly arrived migrants.

The group on Tuesday gathered at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in El Paso carrying signs alluding to the campaign promise of legalizing 11 million unauthorized immigrants who have been in the country for years, many of whom are raising American-born children.

We are disappointed but at the same time were putting pressure for Biden to really provide solutions on immigration and for immigrant families and not keep the policies of deportation and expelling migrants, Garcia said.

The Washington, D.C.-based Americas Voice warned those unfulfilled promises could cost Biden and the Democrats at the polls.

During the remaining months before the 2022 midterms, President Biden and Democrats need to deliver on an immigration breakthrough. Democrats cannot afford to leave votes on the table with a disillusioned base, said Vanesa Cardenas, deputy director of Americas Voice.

She said the Democratic majority in Congress can still enact immigration relief by ignoring the ruling of the Senate parliamentarian of not including immigration provisions on financial legislation such as the Build Back Better Act.

The White House can also provide temporary relief through new Temporary Protected Status designations, she added.

Producing an immigration breakthrough is not only a moral imperative but also a political imperative, Cardenas said, warning that recent polls suggest Democratic base voters are turned off by Bidens failure to deliver promised immigration reforms.

Another group, United We Dream, has scheduled a rally Wednesday outside the White House to demand immigration reform and call for an end to Remain in Mexico and Title 42 expulsions.

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Groups press Biden for immigration reform ahead of State of the Union address - WAVY.com

They dont move because they want to. They move because they have to.

Dr. Arno Vosk recently spoke with staff from the Williamsport Sun-Gazette about his work as a physician examining refugees seeking legal status in the United States.

His stories are heart-wrenching, detailing the suffering of those persecuted around the world.

Jailings, torturings, assaults by gangs and cartels. Attempted beheadings.

Just as appalling as the details of what happens to refugees in their homelands was the word to which he returned, the word he says epitomizes how refugees can get a chance for better life, a chance to enjoy their God-given rights.

Luck.

Vosk described the process of going before an immigration judge for a decision and the unjustified rates at which some of these judges reject applications for asylum.

Luck should not play a role in men and women having liberties our Declaration of Independence says are given by God.

We believe in tougher border security. We believe more physical barriers on our borders are part of the solution. We believe tougher enforcement against employers of illegal immigrants is part of the solution. We believe more staffing for our border patrol and wages and benefits that allow our border patrol to recruit the best candidates is an even bigger part of the solution.

But we also believe that our legal immigration processes are indefensibly broken. That arbitrary quotas and caps have no place in a just immigration system. That is should be simple and affordable for immigrants from poverty-stricken lands to pursue visas and asylum.

And while some politicians have argued these reforms can happen only if illegal immigration is addressed, we at the very least believe legal immigration needs reformed independently of better enforcement against illegal immigration.

And we are increasingly open to the argument that our legal immigration system needs reform before we can reasonably expect the world to respect laws that havent earned their respect.

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Immigration reform needs to be a priority | News, Sports, Jobs - Williamsport Sun-Gazette - Williamsport Sun-Gazette

Mark Prosser| Guest columnist

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says the condition of the state is strong

In her Condition of the State address, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says the state is doing well.

Iowa PBS, Des Moines Register

It was a smart move for national Republicans to tap Gov. Kim Reynolds to deliver the Republican response to the State of the Union address this year.

Reynolds has a unique opportunity when it comes to the politically fraught topic of immigration: to represent an Iowa that builds consensus.

As a former chief of police in Storm Lake and a Catholic deacon in Sioux City, I know that vibrant, diverse, thriving communities require humility, prudence and collaboration. I also know that what little growth Iowa has experienced over the past two census cycles has for the most part been from our immigrant brothers and sisters moving to Iowa. They have truly become an integral part in many of our Iowa communities and they are the future of this state and the Midwest.

This is a moment in which Iowa can challenge our national leadership and call for unity, from a spirit of humility. At the core of real leadership is a humble heart; For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

When it comes to finding common ground on immigration, some important changes are areas of pre-existing bipartisan agreement.

First, we need to address the needs of Iowas agricultural sector by ensuring a legal, reliable workforce for the states and the nations farmers and ranchers.

Iowa farms produce almost 20% of the American corn and soybean cropseach year. Farming is important to our state, and to our nation as well. But the domestic labor pool is shrinking, and has been for some time.

More: What the high-profile job of delivering the State of the Union response could mean for Kim Reynolds

More: Opinion: We made a promise to Afghan allies. Heres how we keep it.

Foreign-born workers have been increasingly stepping in to fill that gap. The future of our farms and of the American food supply rests on these migrant workers ability to come here for safe, consistent, legal work. A bipartisan bill could make this happen.

Second, we need to ensure more secure, orderly processes at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Justice and order are important components of a free society. I dedicated my career as a police officer of over 40 years to making sure those I served were secure and that the rule of law prevailed.

We need to enact reforms that allow us to handle the migrants at the border in a secure, orderly and humane manner. And this doesnt involve breaking the law or opening our borders.

We should be able to agree on investing in resources necessary to help our Border Patrol agents do their jobs well. Theres bipartisan legislation already on the docket for this. We should work to get it passed. We should work not only to bolster enforcement, but to also expand adequate courts and administrative service support within our immigration law process.

Third, we need Congress to pass a permanent legal solution for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and other Dreamers whose long-term legal status is now in jeopardy.

Formalizing and making permanent Dreamers contributions to our society, which have been so clear over the past couple decades and especially during the pandemic, will also lead to safer, more stable communities.

Dreamers are at risk, thanks to ongoing court challenges that could end DACA. As we deal with labor shortages in Iowa and nationwide, the last thing employers need is for this group of legal workers to disappear.

Reynolds should call for the president to work with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to find a permanent, legislative solution for this population.

Last but not least, Reynolds should encourage consensus on legislation that will help the roughly 1,000 Afghan refugees resettled in Iowa, and tens of thousands nationwide, fully integrate into our community.

It does us no good as a community or as a nation to have people working and building lives here who have no solid legal future. If we sincerely want to promote order and justice, there must be a streamlined process for Afghan refugees to earn full legal status, such as an Afghan Adjustment act.

At a tense moment for the world, Reynolds has a rare and precious opportunity to return us to a more earnest, humane political conversation to lead us toward unity, including on immigration. I hope she takes advantage of it.

Deacon Mark Prosser is chief of staff, special assistant to the Bishop, and director of pastoral planning at the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa.

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Opinion: Kim Reynolds Republican response is a chance to inspire radical unity and real immigration reform - Des Moines Register

The president of the United States, Joe Biden asked to ban the use of assault weapons and approve the immigration reform, once and for all. These two issues have been key and have been promoted by the government of President Lpez Obrador.

During his speech on the State of the Union before both Houses of Congress The US president called on Congress to conduct a universal background check, as well as ban the use of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in the United States.

Biden called for repealing the liability shield that makes weapons manufacturers be the only industry that cannot be sued. These laws do not violate the Second Amendment. They save lives, she said.

Let us unite to protect our communities, restore trust and hold law enforcement authorities accountable, he said.

On the other hand, the American requested that the immigration reform include a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants living in the country.

Immigration reform is something that everyone supports, from unions to religious leaders, including the US Chamber of Commerce. Lets approve it once and for all, he stressed.

Read also: We must stop the aggressor as soon as possible, says Volodimir Zelensky after call with Joe Biden

Biden assured that this is not only the right thing to do, but it is also economically smart, and asked to make sure that families do not have to wait decades to reunite.

We can keep burning the torch of freedom that brought generations of immigrants to this country, my ancestors and many of yours, Biden asked lawmakers.

Read also: Biden will speak with allies to coordinate response to Ukraine invasion, White House says

* With information from EFE

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asks to ban assault weapons and approve immigration reform, once and for all - D1SoftballNews.com

A new film premiering on Wednesday at Arizona State University's Tempe campus aims toshed light on a conversation immigration activists have been having for years: how the"Dreamer" narrative has a harmful impact on the undocumented community.

Karina Dominguez, 22, a political organizer,produced "Rejecting the DreamerNarrative," a documentary that focuses on that conversation and why the "Dreamer"narrative should be rejected

Dominguez's film is a response to how Americans understand and talk about DACA recipients, "Dreamers"and undocumented people, she told TheRepublic.

According to Dominguez, the narrative perpetuates exclusivity and exclusionamong the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. Those who fall under the "Dreamer" categorymake up asmall percentage of the undocumented population.

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act would have granted legal status to many undocumented people who were brought over to the U.S. as children. However, this bill and similar othershave failed to make it through Congress for the past 20 years since it was first introduced in 2001.

The term would stick around in the wayimmigration policy is discussed.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is an Obama-era policy that was born out of the failure to pass legislation through the legislative branch.

Since June 2012, the protection has provided young, undocumented immigrants a shield against deportation andwork visas.The National Immigration Forum estimates that there are 643,560 DACA recipients in the U.S., out of a population of 1,326,000 people who are DACA-eligible.

State of the Union: Advocates see urgency for immigrationreform in Biden's speech

Arizona is home to23,070DACA recipients,according to 2021data from USCIS.

Dominguez, whograduated from ASU in 2020 with a bachelor's in sustainability,became frustrated with the conversations surrounding "Dreamers"and how that mirrored the support the universityoffered undocumented students.

While I was a student, I often came across scholarships that would pride themselves in accepting applications from 'Dreamers.'Most of the time, those 'Dreamers' were only DACA recipients and not undocumented students without DACA, Dominguez said.

Dominguez said that the "Dreamer" narrative has created a support gap that she wants to shed light on.

Many politicians and activists see the fight for 'Dreamers' as the easy fight. They do not put effort and resources into fighting for all current 11 million undocumented immigrants and those who will be undocumented in the future, she said.

Dominguez is looking to refocus the conversation in the pro-immigration movement with this film.The goal, she said, is to create a more inclusive way of talking about immigrant people, with more dimension, within the movement. She imagines a movement that, protects everyone and does not perpetuate the good versusbad migrant narrative.

Dominguez produced this film as a Creative Fellow for Fuerte Arts Movement, an Arizona-based non-profit that works in the intersection of art and advocacy.

Xenia Orona, co-executive director at Fuerte, said her organization works to tell stories from the community to push for a better future for Black, Indigenous and people of color in Arizona.

Many of Fuertes members, like Dominguez,have been involved in political organizing in the immigrant rights movement.Dominguezis currentlyworking at Fuerte as the Climate Justice Program lead.

Karina's filmdirectly questions the efficacy of creating a 'good immigrant'archetype in our larger immigrant rights culture, and whether it's time to move on from this archetype to a more inclusive organizing strategy, Orona said. It is in line with our values as an organization because we understand that we all lose when we leave members of our community behind.

Along with the screening of her film, Dominguez partnered with the Undocumented Students for Education Equity club at ASU to put on a panel discussionon the subject.

Salma Ortiz Diaz, one of the panelists, is the advocacy director at USEE and isfeatured in Dominguez's documentary.

Her involvement in the film came from working alongside Dominguez in immigrant advocacy work.

"Shes been such an amazing influence within the migrant movement," Ortiz said. "'Rejecting the Dreamer Narrative' is a conversation that local migrant organizers have been having. Karina wanted to bring this conversation to life."

Ortiz felt like it was her duty to share her perspective and knowledge in the film. Her own work is all about inclusivity in the migrant movement space.

As a DACA recipient, I have so much privilege. I can recognize that I did absolutely nothing to earn my status except be at the right placeat the right time, Ortizsaid. The migrant movement needs to focus on who else we can be including when addressing an immigration reform, and not excluding.

She said that USEE at ASU works to bring this inclusivity onto campus and address some of the gaps created by current immigration policy.

AtUSEE, we try our best to keep an open mind by having difficult conversations and finding solutions, Ortiz said.

The "Dreamer" narrative conversation is one that Dominguez is looking to spark in the community.

People in Arizona should watch this film to understand that even if you use the ('Dreamer') term and the narrative with good intentions, it harms the community. To be good allies, it is important to stay educated and listen to those who are directly impacted," Dominguez said.

The screening will take place Wednesday, March 2, at ASUs Tempe campus in the Memorial Union building at301 E Orange St., Tempe, AZ 85281, in the Pima Room230from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

A panel discussion will followthe film premier in the same room. The panel will include Dominguez, Ortiz and other community members.

The event is open to the general public. You can registerat this link.

Wednesday's premiere is organized by Fuerte Arts Movement and the Undocumented Students for Education Equity club at ASU.

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New film explores harmful impact of Dreamer narrative on undocumented community - The Arizona Republic