The Haitian Undocumented

Haiti is the poorest country of the Americas and has suffered the most grief over its history than any other country of the Americas. Their suffering continues to this day as the recent capsizing of boatload of undocumented refugees and the death of nine illustrates. Fear of deportation keeps many Haitians in the same shadows as other undocumented immigrants. But in a sense their plight is even more desperate. Deportation to Haiti is to return to the extreme poverty, threats of natural disasters, and high levels of violence. Many immigrant advocates are urging the US to extend to Haitians "temporary protected status" that had been given in the past to refugees of civil war and natural disasters who could not return safely to their countries. The Obama administration has reiterate US policy to deport the undocumented and 30,000 cases are at that stage. But the recent re-evaluation of ICE raids has turned the focus on searching out "the criminal element". Critics of temporary protected status object that it would only encourage more reckless attempts to enter the country. But these groups speak less out of compassion and more out of their cross-the-board hostility to all increse in immigration. (See New York Times article.)

MORE HISPANIC DEMOGRAPHICS
One in five children in the US is Hispanic and by 2025 it will be one in three. Already most of those children are born in the USA. A few trace their heritage all the way back to the Hispanos of New Mexico and Colorado, the Californios and the Tejanos that were here before the Americanos. But most are children of 20th and 21st century immigrants. There are about 11% born outside the country and brought here as children, and a goodly number were born to the children of early 20th century immigrants. But now a majority, according to a Pew Hispanic Center study of census data, are second generation born to immigrants since the 1980s. Of these 40% have at least one undocumented parent. This is quite a change from 1980 when six of every ten Hispanic children was from a third or higher generation. Projecting into the future, as the second generation has its own children, the 2025 estimate will reflect more third or higher generation children. While currently the rate of second and third generation children in poverty is about the same, the second generation is more vulnerable. They have less command of English and do poorly at school and tend to be caught up more in the gang culture. But they also are more likely to live with both parents in the household. (See Washington Post or Pew Hisanic Center article.)

Can Sheriff Joe Get Prisoners to Court on Time?

Justices in the Maricopa County Courts complain that Sheriff Joe Arpaio's officers are not getting prisoners on time for court appearances -- or at all. The country's toughest sheriff pleads a shortage of personnel, but county bean-counters says he has more than enough deputies. Justices are speculating, quitre publicly, that Sheriff Joe's "crime sweeps" -- round-ups of undocumented -- is distracting his department from its constitutional duties. (See Arizona Republic article.)

Putting Together the Pieces for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

The basic mantra of the Obama administration on immigration reform has been "secure borders and a pathway to citizenship" -- or sometimes "to legalization". That leaves a lot of details in-between and it's precisely the spelling out of those details that could cause a repeat of the failures of 2006 and 2007. The Arizona Republic, generally favorable to comprehensive reform, highlighted in an editorial what will be the crucial issue -- the issue of labor after an amnesty. The Republic argues that just technically improved enforcement at the border will never be enough. Eventually the job market for cheap labor will revive and the attraction to cross the border will follow as well. There always will be enough employers looking for a bargain.

So the issue will seem be: How does the demand for the cheap labor get met after legalization? The wages are not cheap in the eyes of desperate Mexican campesinos, but after an amnesty the foot-loose undocumented, now out of the shadows, won't even thinks of taking those jobs. Next month a serious discussion will begin in the Senate on how to structure a comprehensive reform that will address the need for future workers. Any proposal of creating special visas for temporary workers must include a couple of important provisions. Visas for temporary labor must not tied the guest worker to one employer. He/she should have some freedom of movement or right to change employers without penalty. Second, US labor, safety and health laws must strictly be enforced. Workers should be allowed to bring their immediate families with them. And finally workers who abide by the laws should have at the end of the visa (usually proposed as six years) the option to get permanent residency. Such a flexible system of work visas -- already proposed in the AgJobs Bill -- would provide a workable reform.

Not Much Diference Between Bush and Obama on Immigration

President Barack Obama had campaigned promising to move away from George W. Bush's tightened immigration enforcement. But in the first months of his administration, the president has done little. In April Homeland Security did modify the raids policy, shifting the enforcement more toward employers than workers. But the administration has allotted more money for the deficient E-Verify program. Obama has stressed border enforcement and continued the "fence" -- even though now it's more virtual than real. Much of the policy drift is understandable in view of the state of the economy and the fact his appointment to run ICE has only recently been confirmed by the Senate. The judgment of immigration advocates is at best on hold, but street activists are restless and losing hope in any positive action soon. (See Washington Post analysis.)

Janet Napolitano Considered for the Supreme Court

Some speculate that Homeland Security Janet Napolitano is in the running for President Barack Obama's nomination to the Supreme Court to fill the seat of retiring Justice David Souter. She's a long-shot -- in part because she has never expressed an interest in being on the court and in part because she has never been a judge. Most observers see her as an executive type, better suited to remain in the cabinet. But other are nervous about what she stands for and how she comes to decisions as reflected in her political career in Arizona. She has not been a liberal and certainly not a conservative. Sheriff Joe Arpaio endorsed her for her first elective job, yet she had veto some punitive state immigration legislation. She favors the death penalty and has been protective of abortion rights. She has prized her independent stances on many issues as evidence that she can get things done and bring competing interests to compromise. Still to immigration advocates she is still something of a cypher. That's why they seek more leadership and action from Obama on immigration They're not sure what they would get from Napolitano. (See New York Times profile.)

Anti-Latino Feelings Rise in PA. Town

A young undocumented worker, escorting a 15 year old woman, was accosted by four white youths in Shenandoah, PA. The youths were under the influence of alcohol and words soon led to blows and kicks. Luis Ramirez died a few days later. The youths were arrested and charged. One pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violation and testify at the trial of two others. Those two charged as adults were let free by an all-white jury; a third is still to be tried as a minor. The incident and the acquittal created a national stir and has civil rights and immigration advocates calling for federal trials and stronger hate-crime legislation from Congress.In Shenandoah the community seems divided and Latinos complain of a atmosphere of racism. Taunting and fights have irrupted at the local high school. Shouts and slurs from passing cars have greeted Latino pedestrians. There has been some vandalism against Latino businesses. Latinos avoid some neighborhoods. Community leaders seem at a loss on how to restore calm, with whites resistant to change and getting ugly and Latinos fearful. (See New York Times article.)

Immigrants Down on the Farm

Last year many fruit farms in the west and nurseries in the midwest experienced a shortage of workers. They had depended on legal H2-B and undocumented workers. There were fewnof each. Provisions in the failed comprehensive reform bill had addressed farm needs. Growers and immigrant/labor activists had compromised on immigration and labor issues in what came to be called AgJobs. In exchange for more legal foreign workers growers would support new protections of all farm workers and a path to legal status for the foreign workers. When the comprehensive packaged failed, there was hope that some features would pass as separate bills. Only more sanction and more wall seemed to survive. Both the Dream Act and AgJobs, which has wide support, just couldn't make it out of committee. A bipartisan group of representatives and senators have re-introduced the AgJobs Bill. Whether pieces of immigration reform like the Dream Act or AgJobs should go ahead separately is much debated among comprehensive reform advocates. Nonetheless the AgJobs Bill must certainly be part of reform. (See New York Times editorial.)