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Just how much does the U.S. rely on immigrants? Americans are finding out.

In cities across the country, businesses closed their doors on Thursday to show support for the #DayWithoutImmigrants campaign. Spread on social media and messaging apps, the day aimed to make a point about the economic impact immigrants have on the U.S. labor force.

Foreign-born residents of the U.S. were asked to stay home from work or school and to refrain from shopping. Rallies and marches are taking place in Washington D.C., Chicago and Denver, as well as other cities.

Celebrity chef Jos Andrs, who was born in Spain, decided to close most of his eateries Thursday to observe the day.

"It seems immigrants, especially Latinos, it seems we are under attack," said Andrs. "It seems we are part of the American dream, but somehow it seems that America is not recognizing what we are doing."

The plan for the national "strike" spread over social media with #DayWithoutImmigrants trending on Twitter across the U.S. early Thursday.

Some restaurant chains announced plans to close, amid fears that many employees will not show up for work. In California's Bay Area, Chavez Supermarket closed all 10 of its businesses, while in New York's Staten Island the owners of Cafe Con Pon bakeries closed their three locations.

Even at the Pentagon, employees at food concessions including national chains like Sbarro's and Taco Bell said they would not be coming to work.

Saru Jayaraman, co-founder of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, an advocacy group for restaurant workers, issued a statement supporting the one-day boycott.

"Immigrants are the lifeblood of the restaurant industry," Jayaraman said. "At ROC, we honor the major contributions of immigrants in the restaurant industry an industry that employs perhaps more immigrants than any other in the U.S. We applaud and support restaurants and workers who, by participating the the Day Without Immigrants, affirm the dignity of workers. Furthermore, we call on all Americans to recognize the influence and importance of immigrants in our communities, economy and daily lives."

Hollywood captured a somewhat similar idea in the 2004 film "A Day Without A Mexican," in which all Mexicans in California disappear grinding the state to a halt and wreaking economic havoc. In protest of immigration reform proposals in 2006, a Great American Boycott was also organized for May Day.

Some social media users, however, suggested that Thursday would be an excellent time for people born in the United States to reclaim the jobs they say that immigrants have taken away.

This is not the first time that advocates for immigrants have tried to point out what they say is their value to the American economy. Advocates say immigrants often do work that other residents of the U.S. do not want to do.

Protesters gather at the Milwaukee County Courthouse during a rally against President Donald Trump's immigration policies on Monday. Darren Hauck / Getty Images

Cheap lettuce, for example, is said by supporters of immigrants to be available because of migrant farm workers. Chicken is affordable in super markets, advocates contend, because Mexicans and other immigrants work in chicken plants, sometimes in undesirable conditions.

The federal government has long acknowledged that a majority of farm workers in U.S. fields are undocumented.

This has been a theme advanced for many years by supporters of immigrants in the U.S., whether documented or undocumented. They contribute to the economy rather than harming it, advocates say.

More than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies have been founded by immigrants and their children, according to a Partnership for A New American economy.

Originally posted here:
#DayWithoutImmigrants: One-Day Strike Closes Businesses Around Country - NBCNews.com

This piece was updated after publication.

After a slow start, Silicon Valley has come out in full force against Donald Trumps immigration measures. Venture capitalists and CEOs tweeted offers to match their followers donations to the ACLU. Uber chief Travis Kalanick backed out of a role on a Trump advisory council due to customer outrage. More than 120 companies, including Apple, Facebook, Google, and Netflix, signed an amicus brief decrying the White Houses executive order temporarily banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. And all of these actions still feel like a prelude to something biggertech leaders are reportedly building an anti-Trump political coalition that will boost progressive candidates and causes.

This isnt the first time the tech sector has taken up immigration as a political cause. Silicon Valley has always been pro-immigration, but that stance was long born out of financial self-interest rather than principle. When Bill Gates was the face of the tech sector, he testified before Congress about the need for the United States to liberalize its H-1B visa program, which allows tech companies to recruit a limited number of highly skilled foreign workers every year. Mark Zuckerberg wanted this program expanded as well, but he also thought the industry should take a wider view of immigration and offer a dose of compassion for the millions of immigrants who wont be landing jobs in the Valley anytime soon. In 2013, he and a cadre of Silicon Valleys most powerful executives thought they could spearhead a bipartisan effort in Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform, which would not only help them remain competitive with international firms but also provide a path to citizenship for millions of vulnerable U.S. residents. They were wrongbig timebut a look back at why their lobbying powerhouse, FWD.us, has failed to achieve its goals helps illuminate the tough battle ahead for tech companies in a deeply hostile political environment.

A really cynical view would be that theyre just interested in their own bottom line, Toms Jimnez, a sociology professor at Stanford University, says of FWD.us. That might be the main motivator, but I do think there is a larger Silicon Valley ethos that gets captured by FWD.us, which is we dont just want to do well, we want to do good.

The organization launched at a moment when the power of tech to do good seemed, to many of its most powerful magnates, boundless. The sentiment was captured in a 2013 New Yorker story about FWD.us and tech leaders assuredness that they could guideand perhaps one day replacetraditional government. Everyone in FWD.us hopes it will go beyond immigration, over time, LinkedIn and FWD.us cofounder Reid Hoffman told The New Yorker. But, as with an entrepreneurial startup, if we cant demonstrate that we can do something good about this problem, then what use are we to the other ones?

But FWD.us is not a disruptive startupits an organization that plays by Washingtons rules. It emerged at a politically opportune moment, when Republicans were still shell-shocked over how hard Latino voters had broken for Obama in the 2012 election. Its focus was on whipping up enough votes to quickly push an immigration bill through Congress. Instead of releasing ads championing reform, the group sponsored ads attacking Obamacare and celebrating the Keystone XL pipeline to appease the congressional Republicans who couldve been convinced to support such a bill. The gambit angered liberal special-interest groups, some of whom boycotted Facebook, and turned off Elon Musk, who called the efforts Realpolitik and pulled out of the effort. But FWD.us stuck by the strategy, which was conceived by political operatives from both the Democratic and Republican ranks. Were using a wide variety of tactics, some of which may ruffle some feathers, Chamath Palihapitiya, another cofounder of the group, told The New York Times, but we believe the passage of the bill will be worth it.

The bill died in 2014 as far-right conservatives seized more power in the House of Representatives. In 2016, the groups biggest backers threw their support behind an amicus brief supporting Barack Obamas legally contested executive order offering protections for 5 million undocumented immigrants. The plan was ultimately blocked after a Supreme Court deadlock. At the same time the courts were torpedoing Obamas plan, FWD.us was in the midst of a reported $10 million grassroots campaign to fight Donald Trumps anti-immigrant presidential run. That effort also failed. In terms of influencing legislative, executive, and judicial outcomes, thats three strikes for Zuckerbergs lobbying powerhouse.

Immigration experts stress that FWD.us has done a lot to bring immigration reform into the national spotlight and to link Silicon Valleys business interest in skilled workers with a moral imperative to help undocumented immigrants. Those who take a long view of the political landscape also point out that the organizations chances of quick governmental success were always slim. Since the turn of the century, reform efforts have stalled out no matter which party controlled the White House or Congress. Im not sure if we think of [FWD.us] as some special failure above and beyond the more general inability of any organization to get immigration reform passed at the federal level, says Deep Gulasekaram, a law professor at Cornell University specializing in immigration law. Whats happened since 2001 is immigration, much like many other national legislative topics, has become subject to the extreme polarization that you see in Congress.

Under President Hillary Clinton, FWD.us might have spent the year angling for another shot at courting congressional votes. (Voters are mobilizing and ready to use the ballot box to fight back against Donald Trumpand lay the groundwork for immigration reform in 2017, Todd Schulte, the groups president, wrote three days before the election.) Instead, the path forward is much more dire. Even as Trumps immigration ban is stuck in legal limbo, drafts of potential executive orders limiting H-1B visas and deporting undocumented immigrants who use social services have leaked. Reform may come, but not in the direction that groups like FWD.us had hoped. The strategy changes from trying to move things forward to actually trying to just prevent the worst from happening, which is a little bit different calculation, Jimnez says.

Schulte says Trumps threats to immigrants have galvanized more people to engage with the organization than ever before. Mobilizing people across the country to voice their concerns about U.S. immigration policy is a key focus for the organization. We want legislators to hear about this on a regular basis, he says. Are we disappointed that we havent yet passed immigration reform? Absolutely. Are we optimistic that in the years to come were going to be able to do that? Absolutely. The reason for that is the American people are on our side on this issue.

But with a GOP-controlled White House and Congress unlikely to be moved by pleas for mass legalization, Silicon Valley will have to adopt new tactics besides traditional federal lobbying. Hoffman and other tech leaders are reportedly planning to launch a new political organization tentatively called Win the Future, which will establish a platform to connect activists and help them crowdfund money for specific candidates and causes. FWD.us already has its own activist network, which extends to nine local chapters and has engaged more than 600,000 people to voice support for immigration reform. And states and cities are currently steeling themselves against Trumps immigrant crackdown in various ways. California, for example, has introduced legislation that would provide legal services to undocumented immigrants, while cities around the country are declaring themselves sanctuaries where immigrants wont be deported. The federal government sets overall immigration policy, but even within that general construct, states and localities have a lot to say and can seriously influence the direction of immigration policy, Gulasekaram says. If youre looking for actual legislative policy gains, I think thats the place where youre more likely to get them.

Solutions wont come easily, and given the Trump administrations with-them-or-against-them mind-set, its possible that immigration reform wont maintain its bipartisan appeal if GOP lawmakers align with the president. But if nothing else, FWD.us helped Silicon Valley articulate an inclusive political stance on this issue before it mutated into a full-blown crisis. So far, tech leaders seem to be following through on their word. This is an urgent issue, says Schulte, and if were going to fix one part of this immigration system, we need to fix all of it.

This piece was updated after publication to include comments from FWD.us president Todd Schulte and additional information about the groups activist network.

More here:
The Rough Road to Immigration Reform - The Ringer (blog)

Jim Colbert,an apple and cherry grower in Chelan, Washington, made a case in The Seattle Times that if immigration reform is going forward, the needs of growers must be part of a package.

In his Feb. 14 essay, he argued:

Washington agriculture needs an immigration solution that allows access to workers willing and able to do seasonal farm work, which fewer American citizens wish to perform.

Enforcement of our immigration laws must be a part of this solution, but it must happen concurrently with guest worker and related reforms to ensure that crops do not go unpicked for lack of labor. And these reforms must work not just for large growers with the resources to navigate the complex and expensive H2-A program, but for small farmers as well. Such solutions are possible, and nationwide alliances such as the Agriculture Workforce Coalition (agworkforcecoalition.org) are working to bring them about.

Colbert ischairman of the board of directors of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.

Colbert said debate over immigration policy has taken center-stage in Washington, D.C. Its worth considering the potential impacts of policy and enforcement changes on the economy of Washington State, particularly its rural communities. In Washington, agriculture and food processing is a $51 billion industry, supporting 160,000 jobs and generating $15 billion in exports.

He said the H-2A program needs an overhaul:

The H2-A program needs significant reform and cannot be viewed as a complete solution to agricultures labor needs. Not only is the program difficult to use without a dedicated expert on staff or the services of an outside consultant, the federal agencies charged with managing the program are also finding it difficult to process applications and border crossings in a timely manner. Sadly, far too many growers have had perishable crops ready for harvest only to find that their workers entry into the U.S. has been delayed by days or even weeks.

Read his complete essay here.

Continue reading here:
A Washington grower says if immigration reform is coming, let's do it right - Good Fruit Grower

On paper, last week's raids of immigrants seem routine: Both federal enforcement officials and local activists agree the arrests align with raids that occurred under former President Barack Obama's administration. But the timing of the raids, less than amonth into an administration vowing to crack down on people living in this country illegally, has intensified the fears of immigrants, even those with legal status.

Chicago's enforcement office made 235 arrests across six states Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri during an operation that began Feb. 4 and concluded Friday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Gail Montenegro said. Forty-eight of those arrests occurred in the Chicago area.

For immigrants still shaken by President Donald Trump's ban last month on travel from seven largely Muslim countries, news of the raids, as well as rumors of federal agents' inquiries into immigration status on sidewalks and in businesses, has stripped away their sense of security.

Gabe Gonzalez, a community organizer who addressed more than 400 Rogers Park residents gathered at a meeting Monday to discuss federal action against immigrants living in the country without legal permission, doesn't think Obama and Trump's policies are all that different.

"What is different is the level of fear, because everyone saw (Trump) for eight months talk about the wall, talk about deporting everybody, talk about getting rid of Muslims ... it's created an atmosphere of terror," he said. "There is an atmosphere in this country that has been created by this rhetoric that scares the hell out of people."

Gonzalez discussed the need for a rapid response network to spread the word about ICE raids and transport people to safe havens.

On Jan. 25, Trump issued an executive order to crack down on the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country without legal status. Trump's order expanded the list of deportation priorities to include any noncitizen who is charged with a criminal offense of any kind or who is suspected of committing criminal acts, fraud or willful dishonesty while interacting with immigration officials, is the subject of a pending order of removal or has previously been deported and re-entered the country.

The order gave much broader leeway to ICE officers in deciding whether someone posed a "risk to public safety" and therefore could be detained.

Under the Obama administration, the government focused on targeting immigrants living in the country illegally who posed a threat to national security or public safety, as well as recent border crossers. Despite the narrower focus, more than 2 million people were deported during Obama's eight years in office. During an operation that occurred over a five-week period last year under the Obama administration, 331 unauthorized immigrants were arrested in the Midwest, including 107 in Illinois. The majority of people were arrested in Chicago, Cicero and Waukegan, according to an ICE news report from June 2016.

Although Obama deported more people than any other president, immigration attorney Alen Takhsh said it's Trump's rhetoric that makes the arrests seem alarming. Takhsh also finds cause for concern in the numbers of arrested immigrants without criminal backgrounds.

"My position is that if you are going to target individuals for deportation, it should be individuals who truly do pose a threat to our communities," Takhsh said. "So when you have someone using a fake Social Security number or driving a car without a license yes, that is against the law, but under the totem pole of criminal acts, those individuals should not be on the priority list of the Trump administration."

In last week's raid, 45 of the unauthorized immigrants arrested in the Chicago region were considered by federal officials to be "convicted criminals," according to an ICE official. Twenty were previously deported and returned to the country.

ICE's definition of a convicted criminal has been a broad one, according to case by case data compiled by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Unauthorized re-entry, DUIs and traffic violations were categorized as criminal offenses.

Once arrested, immigrants' rights to a hearing before an immigration judge depend on their situation. For those arrested because they were previously deported and then re-entered the country, their previous deportation order will be reinstated without a hearing, and they could be quickly removed from the country, according to ICE officials.

Those who have an outstanding deportation order for example, immigrants who did not comply with their deportation order or who did not show up to a past hearing, and were ordered deported in absentia also won't be granted a hearing, officials said.

Other immigrants will likely remain in ICE custody awaiting hearings, officials said. ICE officials said they could not immediately release the names of those taken into custody.

In Chicago,15 people were arrested, including an Iraqi citizen with a previous conviction of criminal sexual abuse of a victim unable to consent. A Mexican citizen with previous convictions of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, attempted criminal sexual abuse and solicitation for sex was also arrested in the Chicago area, an ICE official said.

Others arrested included six people in Bensenville, five in Aurora, four in Cicero, two in Addison and one each in Arlington Heights, Bolingbrook, Carpentersville, Elgin, Markham, Melrose Park, Mundelein, Plainfield, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Skokie, Waukegan, Wheaton, Wheeling, Wood Dale and Hammond, Ind., an ICE official said. Thirty-three of those immigrants are from Mexico, and seven are from Guatemala. One immigrant each is from Canada, Chad, China, the Czech Republic, El Salvador, Iraq, the Philippines and Poland, an ICE official said.

Those arrested had been convicted on charges such as prostitution, DUI, cocaine possession, burglary, criminal sexual assault, assault, and aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, an ICE official said. Immigration advocates say they believe "collateral arrests" of friends and family members may have occurred, too.

Advocates of stricter immigration enforcement are pleased with news of the raids and hope to see steady deportations throughout Trump's administration.

"The lion's share of those detained were targeted because they had criminal histories and prior felony convictions, and frankly shouldn't have been in the country in the first place. Others had been deported previously or were in the deportation pipeline," Dave Ray, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates for reducing both legal and illegal immigration, said in an email.

"While these enforcement actions were taken against those who had committed crimes ... it must be stressed that simply being here illegally is sufficient cause for deportation. Increased immigration enforcement is good for public safety and national security," he said.

In the wake of the raids, lawyers, immigration advocates and community organizers are working to ensure immigrants know their rights, and advising immigrants to call the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights' hotline with their concerns.

Immigration cases have always been difficult for attorneys, Takhsh said. But the increase in volume and requests for representation pouring in from churches and community groups is daunting, he said.

"A lot of times the government is privy to documents and information that we as practitioners only get the day of the individual's court hearing. So once you immerse yourself in this type of law, you very quickly get used to always playing catch-up," he said. "More often than not, you feel like your victories are miracles, because you have to overcome so many obstacles along the way. It's heartbreaking because you're dealing with individuals' lives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, etc."

Gonzalez, the community organizer who suggested a rapid response network, hopes the network will warn people if an operation is being carried out by law enforcement and mobilize the community to oppose the incursion and resolve the issue peacefully.

"What they want is for (immigrants) to be afraid, because then when they're afraid, they won't speak up at work, they won't join a union, they won't complain about their landlord, you can pay them whatever you want, you can house them wherever you want, and you can have a class of second-class citizens that then have to compete with everybody else for jobs," Gonzalez said.

"And who wins?" he asked.

meltagouri@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @marwaeltagouri

echerney@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @ElyssaCherney

gwong@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @gracewong630

See more here:
Trump rhetoric has created 'atmosphere of terror' for immigrants, advocate says - Chicago Tribune

Philadelphia Middle Schoolers Debate Immigration Reform CBS Local PHILADELPHIA (CBS) Dozens of Philadelphia middle schoolers face off in a debate about immigration reform. On Tuesday evening, students from nine Philadelphia schools gathered at Hardy Williams High for a debate on whether or not immigration ...

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Philadelphia Middle Schoolers Debate Immigration Reform - CBS Local