Why immigration reform matters to Minnesota

Minnesota needs immigration reform and the same reasons in this article apply to all our states. The economy of our whole country needs immigration reform.   - - Donna Poisl

Article by: SHAR KNUTSON and WILLIAM BLAZAR

 The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota AFL-CIO do not often find themselves on the same side of the negotiating table, but common-sense immigration reform is an issue on which Minnesotans from across political spectrums have found significant common ground.

For the past three years, our organizations have traveled the state collecting stories from business owners and working people about the urgent need for immigration reform.

Dairy farmers from central Minnesota describe how they need immigrants to fill essential positions for which current citizens do not apply. Executives from Ecolab criticize our Byzantine immigration system for the way it limits their ability to attract the world’s best talent.
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Community groups helping Immigrants understand health care reform

Community groups are helping everyone understand the new health law and specific groups are helping immigrants, who certainly need more help.    - - Donna Poisl

By Kevin G. Andrade, O Jornal

Many immigrant advocate groups are most concerned with how well-informed the immigrant communities are in regarding  the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and how well-covered, in terms of health insurance, these groups are.

“Statistics show that Latinos and Hispanics have a higher rate of uninsured individuals,” said Bruce Morell, executive director of People Acting in Community Endeavors, a community action agency in New Bedford. “It’s not as high in the Portuguese community, but it’s still higher than when compared to the population as a whole.”

Health care exchanges, through which people will be able to buy coverage plans subsidized by the state and federal governments, will begin open enrollment on Tuesday. Massachusetts has had universal health care since 2006 and already has an exchange in the form of the Commonwealth Health Connector.
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REP. GOODLATTE KEEPS HOPE ALIVE FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM [UPDATED]

This House member does not support the Senate's complete reform bill, but he is trying to convince some of his party to consider parts of it.  - - Donna Poisl

BY PAUL MIRENGOFF

Rep. Bob Goodlatte is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He has come under fire from conservatives who oppose amnesty-style immigration reform for signaling his desire to bring a series of immigration bills to the House floor as early as next month.

One such bill reportedly could make it possible for illegal immigrants to obtain legal status and to apply for citizenship through existing channels, as opposed to providing a “special pathway.” Younger illegal immigrants who meet certain qualifications (the “DREAMers”) would be able to pursue a more streamlined path to citizenship.

Goodlatte has responded to conservative criticism in a post on NRO’s Corner. He assures us that he does not support the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform bill. To the contrary, he finds it “fundamentally flawed and unworkable.” His objective is a “step-by-step approach to immigration reform” by considering targeted legislation addressing discrete issues.
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Latino voters eyeing lawmakers on immigration

Latino voters are paying attention to their representatives who are working for or against immigration reform.    - - Donna Poisl

By Brian Bennett

WASHINGTON -- A significant majority of Latino voters list immigration overhaul as a crucial issue and would be less likely to support a candidate who blocked efforts to pass immigration reform, according to a new survey.

A majority of Latino voters polled, 54%, said they would be less likely to support a candidate in the 2014 midterm elections who opposed an immigration reform bill that included a pathway to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally, according to the survey released by the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Washington.

The effort to pass a broad immigration overhaul has stalled in the GOP-controlled House. Republican leaders in Congress have said they will not take up the immigration bill the Senate passed in June and will instead consider a raft of more narrow bills to change specific elements of immigration laws.
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THIS WEEK IN IMMIGRATION

Click the HEADLINE to read stories from this week from the Immigration Policy Center.

Apopka mosaic represents immigrants' lives

About 100 people took pieces of glass, stone, plastic and other things and made a beautiful mosaic to illustrate the story of immigrants in their area.   - - Donna Poisl

By Jeff Kunerth, Orlando Sentinel

A domino. Stones and seashells. Charms, earrings and campaign buttons. Little glass bottles with messages rolled up inside. A ceramic jewel box.

These small pieces of the lives of immigrants are now part of a soaring mosaic that adorns the doorway to Apopka's Hope CommUnity Center.

"A mosaic makes something beautiful out of broken pieces," said Sister Ann Kendrick, who has been assisting Central Florida's farmworkers since the 1970s. "That's what this mosaic symbolizes."

The mosaic was unveiled Sunday in a dedication ceremony led by Kendrick.
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New website offers 'Welcome Mat' to immigrants in metro Detroit

Detroit has lost much of its population because of the economy and it is making it easier for immigrants to settle there.    - - Donna Poisl

By Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

A new website was launched Tuesday that offers immigrants information about services and non-immigrants helpful details about metro Detroit’s diverse communities.

Called “Welcome Mat,” the online, searchable database is part of several programs by Global Detroit to try to make metro Detroit more open to immigrants. It’s funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The website is the first of its kind in metro Detroit, said Mary Lane, the project director of Welcome Mat. “It’s to help immigrants integrate into the community.”
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Nashville's immigrant entrepreneurs, boosted by Ming Wang, unite for common good

A new group is formed, getting entrepreneurs from all the ethnic immigrant groups in Nashville, so they can work together and solve any problems.    - - Donna Poisl

Written by G. Chambers Williams III, The Tennessean

About one of every eight businesses in the Nashville area is owned by immigrants, and the number is growing, according to a recent study by Tennessee State University.

Immigrant communities are booming, as well. Hispanics are the most numerous, but other ethnic groups are expanding as well, including immigrants from India, the Middle East and Africa.

That growth — both in the number of immigrants and immigrant-owned businesses — has led to the formation of the Tennessee Immigrant and Minority Business Group, whose inaugural meeting is set for this evening in Nashville.
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Learning about ELL students before volunteering

Some interesting advice for ELL volunteer teachers; like learning their customs and how to pronounce their names.    - - Donna Poisl

by Bonnie Washuk, Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Before Bates College students begin working with Lewiston's English Language Learner students, 85 percent of whom are children of Somali immigrants, there's a few things they should know, an expert panel said Thursday.
 
When dealing with the opposite sex, hold off before offering to shake hands, advised Abdi Musa, the Lewiston School Department school community relations staffer. Depending on the level of conservatism in their families, some shake hands, others don't.
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Advocates Seek to Empower LGBT Immigrants

Various laws and programs are helping LGBTQ immigrants who have problems because they are immigrants, and often undocumented.    - - Donna Poisl

by Chris Carson, Bay Area Reporter

When Amy Lin pulled her mother aside and said, "I like girls too, are you okay with that?" her mother, who moved Lin to the U.S. from Taiwan when Lin was 12, looked at her and said, "It doesn’t matter, that’s what America is for."

But when Lin, who is now a student at UCLA and a volunteer for Asian Students Promoting Immigration Rights through Education, or ASPIRE, came out as an undocumented immigrant, she realized it wouldn’t be as easy to find that same acceptance.

"I sort of hid my identity in high school," Lin said last week at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church as part of a panel discussion called "What’s Beyond DOMA in Immigration Reform: The Next Steps for Women and LGBTQ Communities."

"I thought that I can’t be both," Lin explained. "You’re sort of marginalized as undocumented already, adding that you’re queer, you’re worse."
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STUDY: AMERICANS TO SPEAK MORE SPANISH, LATINOS NOT SO MUCH

More non-Hispanics are learning Spanish at the same time that Hispanic immigrants lose their language, especially the children.  - - Donna Poisl

By Krystin Arneson

Turns out anti-immigration paranoids were right all along: Americans will be speaking more Spanish in coming years. But, there's a twist: A new Pew study shows that more of these Spanish-speakers won't be Latinos themselves.

Spanish is already the most commonly-spoken non-English language in America, and projections show that the number of Spanish-speakers is going to hit 40 million by 2020.

"This reflects Hispanic population growth and a large number of non-Hispanics who will also speak Spanish," said Mark Hugo Lopez, director of Hispanic Research at the Pew Research Center.
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Volunteers helping build a foundation of learning at Cornerstones: The career learning center is helping to erase language barrier

This volunteer teacher tells how she gets more out of teaching these classes than her students do.    - - Donna Poisl

BY: ROGER LARSEN

HURON — A few hours at a time, Phyllis Lemke is making a difference.

Two afternoons a week, she volunteers to teach English to Karen immigrants, in two-hour blocks of time she has come to love.

Her students are learning the language, but Lemke says she is convinced she is the one who is getting more out of the interaction.

“My experience in the class has been wonderful,” she said. “They are eager to learn and they are the happiest, most grateful people that you can possibly imagine.”
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Academy helps adults, children learn English, build brighter futures

This language academy has received many honors for its programs to teach English to immigrants who speak Spanish.  - - Donna Poisl

By Dave Nicholson | Tribune Staff

PLANT CITY -- Yamilhet Jimenez wants to learn to speak English.

At 26, she has turned to the Family Literacy Academy of Tampa Bay, where she is mastering the language with other adults whose native tongue is Spanish.

She said she’s learning a lot at the academy, located in a former church near the Florida Strawberry Festival grounds. And she looks forward to the day - soon - when she can speak English fluently.

“The teacher here is very patient. She explains things well,” Jimenez said.

The academy has received many accolades since it was opened in 2011 by Angelica Ibarra, who was born into a family of migrant workers.
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Education in America: Make foreign languages mandatory in schools

This writer tells why Americans should know other languages and how to make it happen.   - - Donna Poisl

BY Reno Berkeley

The US educational system is broken. Our children have fallen behind those in China, India and Europe in basic math and science skills. What many education-reform advocates hardly mention is our deplorable foreign-language skills.

Americans have long held the belief that everyone in the world should learn English for our convenience, even when we travel overseas. It is just one more aspect of the “Ugly American” that other nations resent about our society as a whole.

A friend of mine has a brother who works for a computer component company that supplies parts for major tech giants. He travels to China frequently to inspect the manufacturing facilities and to find more ways to cut corners on costs. 
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The Cost of Doing Nothing:  Dollars, Lives, and Opportunities Lost in the Wait for Immigration Reform

PRESS RELEASE

September 23, 2013
Washington D.C. – Today, the Immigration Policy Center releases The Cost of Doing Nothing: Dollars, Lives, and Opportunities Lost in the Wait for Immigration Reform. This fact sheet highlights the high cost of Congress' failure to act on immigration reform legislation. The “enforcement only” approach to immigration policy has failed to curb unauthorized immigration and has wasted taxpayer dollars while creating a slow-motion humanitarian catastrophe. Additionally, the full economic potential of unauthorized immigrants as workers, taxpayers, consumers, and entrepreneurs has been squandered because they are unable to earn legal status. In other words, as Congress continues to ponder the possibility of enacting immigration reform legislation, the broken machinery of the U.S. immigration system continues to destroy lives and families while draining the federal budget and undermining the economy. These are the costs of inaction.

To view the fact sheet and a related blog post, see:
The Cost of Doing Nothing: Dollars, Lives, and Opportunities Lost in the Wait for Immigration Reform (IPC Fact Check, September 23, 2013)
Dollars and Lives Lost in the Wait for Immigration Reform (Immigration Impact Blog Post, September 23, 2013)
Please share our accompanying infographic on Facebook!
###

For more information, contact Amanda Beadle at abeadle@immcouncil.org or 202-507-7527.

White House Honors Local Groups Leading the Way to Welcome Immigrants in Their Cities 

The White House honored 10 local leaders for the work they are doing to welcome immigrants.   - - Donna Poisl

by Amanda Peterson Beadle

Thousands of immigrants every day demonstrate a commitment to being part of America by becoming naturalized citizens every day. These Americans by choice often make huge sacrifices to move to the United State and become part of their community. But it also takes support from the local community to welcome new immigrants who want to establish roots in the area. Groups across the country are stepping up to fill that role and make their cities inviting to immigrants.

During this week’s National Welcoming Week events, the national organization Welcoming America is celebrating these organizations that aid newcomers to integrate into their community. And the White House honored 10 local leaders from Welcoming America as Champions of Change for “helping immigrants integrate civically, linguistically and socially into the fabric of their neighborhoods – and our nation.” From North Carolina and Tennessee to Colorado and Minnesota, the 10 organizers are working in their communities to create an environment to which immigrants would want to move and businesses would want to invest.
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Utah university presidents push immigration reform

Here is another group encouraging the government to pass immigration reform now.   - - Donna Poisl

By Matt Canham | The Salt Lake Tribune

Washington » Eight presidents from Utah universities are urging the House to compromise on immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally.

The education leaders, including University of Utah President David Pershing, sent a joint letter to the state’s four House members on Thursday asking them to help find a bipartisan solution to a broken immigration system.

"Utah cannot afford to wait to fix our immigration system," the letter reads. "Now is the time for Washington leaders to act and ensure that the U.S. can continue to compete on the global stage."
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Dear Immigrants: You’re (officially) Welcome in Wilder, Idaho

All small towns should probably make this announcement, it will save their economy. Even in Republican states, like Idaho.  - - Donna Poisl

by Jason Margolis

You may not have been aware, but it’s “Welcoming Week” here in the US–events are being held in 22 states bringing together immigrants and people born in this country. The White House also honored 10 community leaders from across the nation Thursday who work to integrate immigrants into their cities and towns. The week’s festivities are part of an on-going effort to make immigrants feel, well, more welcome.

It’s a concept that’s embraced in tiny Wilder, Idaho – a farming community in southwest Idaho, population 1,533.

Mayor John Bechtel arrived in Wilder in 1958. We sat outside City Hall with a view of the town’s two restaurants.

“We have Rosa’s across the street here, and we have Alenjandra’s just down the street here. Both good little restaurants,” said Bechtel, admiring his town, which also has a relatively new elementary and high school.
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Immigration Advocates Say They’re Open to Compromise

Here are some compromises that might be agreed to in order to pass immigration reform.   - - Donna Poisl

By Laura Meckler

Some influential immigration advocates said Tuesday that they could live with legislation that offers legal status, but not a designated path to citizenship, for the 11 million people living in the country illegally, suggesting there may be more common ground in the immigration debate than is readily apparent.

Key Republicans have said they could support legal status for those in the country without permission. But they have balked at what they call a “special path” for them to obtain citizenship, as provided in a bill that passed the Senate this summer. That legislation allows most of this group to obtain green cards—or legal permanent residency–after a set period of time, which automatically gives someone the chance to apply for citizenship.

How to handle those in the country illegally is the most politically dicey aspect of the immigration debate.
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Opinion: Want to strengthen our manufacturing industry? Pass immigration reform

This opinion piece says research shows that 46 manufacturing jobs are created or saved for every 1,000 immigrants.   - - Donna Poisl

by John Feinblatt and Jason Marczak

As Congress resumes its work this month, there are many uncertainties, not least of which is the economy. Our country is still in post-recession recovery mode and some economists project another rough patch this fall that may only be exacerbated by the looming budget crisis and the accompanying debt ceiling fight. Amid these upcoming debates in Congress, it is critical to remain focused on ways to preserve and create more American jobs.

Here, one industry in particular stands out: manufacturing. It is a segment of the economy on which millions of American middle-class jobs depend. But it is also an industry that has undergone dramatic changes over the last half century, with the rise of both global manufacturing operations and the increasing prominence of high-skilled manufacturing. Our economy needs a strong manufacturing industry and our workers need the strong middle-class jobs the manufacturing industry provides.
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Immigration law hurts economy, lacks fairness

More reasons we need immigration reform as soon as possible.   - - Donna Poisl

by James R. Silkenat

Our nation’s system of laws, the reliability and timeliness of our justice system and our consistent protection of intellectual and property rights have made our country a haven for businesses and investment. What is remarkable is not that future business owners look to our shores, but that our nation’s obtuse immigration laws have not suffocated business innovation and development altogether.

Foreign entrepreneurs who wish to invest in the United States face absurd conditions that make America less competitive. All too often, foreign nationals who hope to create a business in the U.S. must have family connections here, be famous, have another job lined up or be immensely wealthy.
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Immigrants achieve dream of citizenship

These residents of Georgia have gotten through the hard and long citizenship process and are now citizens. Congratulations!   - - Donna Poisl

by Alan Riquelmy, Staff Writer

Andersson Buiatti worked for four years to reach Rome’s federal courthouse Friday morning.

Immigration documents by his side, he waited along with about 35 others to stand and take the oath that would make him an American citizen.

Moments later newly minted American voices sang “God Bless America.”

“I love this country,” said Buiatti, 33, of Brazil. “I want to stay here.”
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At ABCD 'Citizenship Days' immigrants work towards citizenship

This organization is helping immigrants, many who have lived here for many years, get through the citizenship application and become citizens, finally.    - - Donna Poisl

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Sitting in the Action for Boston Community Development’s Parker Hill/Fenway Neighborhood Service Center Mariela Barrows, a 33-year-old Hyde Park resident, patiently waited for her name to be called.

Although she has legally lived in this country since she was five, she has never become a citizen. That may soon change, after she met Thursday with administrators at ABCD who over the coming months will help her navigate the often tricky and expensive citizenship process.

“I’m glad I came here,” said Barrows, who was born in the Dominican Republic. “They helped explain the details and everything about the process.”
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STUDY SHOWS IMMIGRANTS PROVIDE ECONOMIC BOOST

 Another report that shows we need more immigrants to boost our economy.  - - Donna Poisl

Reported by: Marcos Ortiz

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC 4 Utah) – A new study reveals the financial gain immigrants provide for the U.S. economy.  The report was developed by a professor at Duke University.

He found that the 40 million immigrants in the U.S. have created or saved 1.8 million jobs. Home values have also soared because of these same immigrants. His study concluded that home equity increased by $3.7 trillion
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Latino Americans: "War and Peace" on PBS

Learn how Latino Americans served their country in WWII, yet faced discrimination at home, followed by a look at the decades after the war through the early 1960s, as swelling numbers of immigrants from Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic sought economic opportunities. Latino Americans

This week on PBS
Check your local listing

Growing Up Speaking Only English, Young Latinos Making Effort To Learn Spanish

Latinos who don't know Spanish are discovering they should learn it. And our country needs more bilingual citizens.   - - Donna Poisl

from Fox News Latino

Like many states not normally thought of as Latino hubs, Oregon is now home to a growing Hispanic community – at least a half million.

But what is intriguing about the state’s Latinos, a new report found, is that young people are retaining Spanish at a markedly higher rate than earlier waves of Latinos. Many also are learning it, according to research at Oregon State University.

OSU professor, Susana Rivera-Mills, is quoted in NWPR.org, the website of Northwest Public Radio, as saying that a growing Latino population in Oregon has helped remove the stigma once attached to speaking a foreign language.
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Nonprofit looking to expand Spanish literacy programs

This program is helping people who don't know how to read in their own language to more easily learn English.   - - Donna Poisl

By Melissa Masatani, San Gabriel Valley Tribune

AZUSA >> If you’re reading this, chances are there are a lot of things you take for granted. Understanding the written language dictates our daily life, with everything from freeway on-ramp instructions to assembling a child’s new toy, requiring at least a rudimentary knowledge of the A-B-Cs.

For English language learners, the task can be daunting. But for a set of the population, learning to read and write in a second language can be difficult when they don’t even know how to read or write in their native tongue, said Cathay Reta, adult literacy coordinator at the Azusa City Library.
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English in the 305 has its distinct Miami accent

People learning English in different parts of the country learn it with the local accents.    - - Donna Poisl

By PATIENCE HAGGIN

MIAMI (AP) — Sometimes you can tell where someone is from by the way they talk. New Yorkers, Bostonians, Chicagoans — their accents are distinct, recognizable.

The Miami accent is harder to pinpoint. But there is one and Miamians need only cross the county line to be singled out for the way they draw out their vowels or linger on certain syllables. More noticeably, most Miamians speak with a certain Hispanic twang, the influence of decades of Latin American immigration that has made a mark on the language of Miami natives, even those who don't speak Spanish themselves.

"What's noteworthy about Miami English is that we're now in a third, even fourth generation of kids who are using these features of native dialect," said Florida International University sociolinguist Phillip Carter, who studies language in U.S. Latino communities. "So we're not talking — and let me be clear — we're not talking about non-native features. These are native speakers of English who have learned a variety influenced historically by Spanish."
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Changes to Northfield Compañeros program benefits both Spanish, English speakers

This school district is teaching Spanish and English in a new program, with success.   - - Donna Poisl

By ERIN O’NEILL 

Four years ago, the Northfield School District took a big step and made the first significant changes to the Compañeros language immersion program since its inception in 1993.

Now, as teachers grow accustomed to the new program and its young pioneers enter 4th grade, it’s clear that the change was a good one, according to those involved.

“One of the biggest benefits [of the new program] is having a literature piece in Spanish,” said Erik Swenson, the 4th grade Compañeros teacher at Bridgewater Elementary. “We’re really taking a look at the Spanish language more closely. Having language arts formally taught is going to make a huge difference.”
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Governor checks in on English language learners

New programs helping kids in ESL classes are a big success, if these kids learn English they will succeed in life.    - - Donna Poisl

By TREVON MILLIARD, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

A small group of Hispanic kindergartners huddle around their teacher as she demonstrates how to cut on the dotted line.

Entranced, they “Aww” when Kathleen Quigley makes a perfect cut, but they keep glancing at the stranger behind them.

At the back of the room stands Gov. Brian Sandoval.

He’s largely the reason that Quigley won’t be teaching more than 21 students this year or next. Before that, kindergartners had long been split into groups of more than 30 students at Cortez Elementary School.
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Importance of Learning a Second Language

This gives some excellent reasons why Americans should all learn another language.    - - Donna Poisl

by bloomsburyintl

Today’s economy is increasingly globalized, and this means that many of us are interacting across cultures in a way we never did before. In such an economy, the importance of learning a second language becomes self-evident. Learning a second language helps you to communicate across cultures and to conduct business in lands you may never have previously considered viable markets.

It also helps you to address customers in the language that they understand best and in which they are most comfortable communicating. Additionally, the importance of learning a second language is emphasized every day when we see the diversity of earth’s cultures and the amazing array of people that make up our global community.
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HIAS Launches Pilot Project to Create Welcome for Refugees

Read this to see how HIAS is helping refugees in this country.  - - Donna Poisl

Posted on Tue, Sep 17, 2013

What if picking up your entire life and your family and moving to a new country with a very different culture and language was your only way to survive? What if, upon arrival, people in your new community actively tried to prevent people like you, refugees, from staying in their city?

This scenario is not just hypothetical. Across the United States, the increase in state and local government anti-resettlement activities is creating a hostile environment for those arriving in their new communities and threatening the United States’ capacity to resettle the most vulnerable.
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President Obama and First Lady to Attend CHCI's 36th Annual Awards Gala

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- CHCI Chair Rep. Ruben Hinojosa announced today that President Barack Obama, joined by First Lady Michelle Obama, will address the largest Latino gala in the country at CHCI's 36th Annual Awards Gala on Wednesday, October 2, 2013 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.  This marks five of the past six years President Obama has addressed the CHCI Gala, going back to when he was a presidential candidate in 2008.

"CHCI is very proud to welcome President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to our 36th Annual Awards Gala on October 2nd," said Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, CHCI Chair.  "His attendance reflects a strong commitment to the Latino community and to the future leaders that CHCI works so hard to develop each year."

CHCI's 36th Annual Awards Gala, themed "Our Time: A Strong America," will convene the nation's largest and most prestigious gathering of Hispanic nonpartisan, public, and private sector leaders. The evening's festivities will include the presentation of the CHCI Medallion of Excellence awards to entertainer Salma Hayek Pinault and Dr. Juan Andrade, President of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute. The CHCI Chair's Medallion Award will be presented to Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa, Chancellor of the University of Texas System.

Emmy Award winning Telemundo journalist, Jose Diaz-Balart, will serve as celebrity host for the gala ceremony and five time Grammy Award® and Latin Grammy®-winning international superstar Olga Tanon will perform at the Gala Entertainment Finale.

"I want to thank the President and First Lady for once again demonstrating how important it is to support the next generation of Latino and American leaders," said Esther Aguilera, CHCI President & CEO.  "We always say that 'it takes leaders to bring forth leaders' and to have the leader of the free world supporting our programs provides added fuel for CHCI to continue its efforts to serve Latino youth and young professionals."

Each year, the CHCI Annual Awards Gala is the hallmark event during Hispanic Heritage Month in Washington, D.C., and serves as the unifying event for the Hispanic-American community. Proceeds from the Gala benefit CHCI's award-winning leadership development programs which include: Ready to Lead (R2L™), the Congressional Internship Program (CIP), the Public Policy Fellowship Program (PPF), and the Graduate Fellowship Program (GFP).

For media credentials, click here. (http://www.chci.org/events/page/2013-hhm-media-credentials-form )

New Series: Latino Americans on PBS

LATINO AMERICANS is a landmark three-part, six-hour documentary series that is set to air nationally on PBS in the fall of 2013.

It is the first major documentary series for television to chronicle the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos, who have helped shape the United States over the last 500-plus years and have become, with more than 50 million people, the largest minority group in the U.S.

Immigration is at the heart of the American experience, and a central part of the long-running democratic experiment that is the United States. So it is that our series intersects much that is central to the history of the United States.

CLICK ON THE HEADLINE TO READ ABOUT THE SERIES AND FIND LISTINGS FOR YOUR AREA. IT STARTS TUESDAY IN ARIZONA.

Immigration reform push builds on prayer, fasting, preaching

Dioceses and parishes in 22 states are doing everything possible to help immigration reform get going. - - Donna Poisl

By Patricia Zapor

WASHINGTON – Faith-based advocacy in support of immigration reform is taking a multipronged approach as Congress resumes after the August break, with prayer and fasting being added to letter-writing and public speaking.

Over the weekend of Sept. 7 and 8, dioceses and parishes in 22 states focused on the Catholic Church’s teaching on migration in homilies and other activities.

Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, in a Sept. 8 letter to the people of the archdiocese, reminded them of their roots, saying today’s immigrants may “come in good part from Asia and Latin America, but their needs are in many ways similar to those of our ancestors.”
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Can immigration speed the economic recovery?

The answer to that question is YES.   - - Donna Poisl

By ALAIN SHERTER / MONEYWATCH

 (MoneyWatch) Cities and towns across the U.S. struggling to recover from the Great Recession could benefit from a key force for economic renewal: Immigrants.

Foreign-born residents, who now account for one in eight Americans, are boosting job growth, raising home prices and more broadly helping to revive thousands of economically distressed communities, according to a new report by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas and the Partnership for a New American Economy.

"Immigrants are a key part of the American success story at the community level, revitalizing local areas and creating economic growth and jobs for U.S.-born workers," the report said.
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Immigration reform at 'critical' place
Business and labor leaders say opponents of Senate bill not focused on facts

As this says, "time is of the essence". They have to get working on this now.  - - Donna Poisl

By DOUG FINKE, GateHouse Media Illinois

SPRINGFIELD - Business and labor leaders said Tuesday they'll have to do a better job of separating fact from fiction on a federal immigration reform bill if it is to pass in the near future.

And time is of the essence, they said, to ensure a comprehensive reform bill can pass before Congress gets consumed by another campaign season.

"I think it is critical to do it now," said Mark Denzler, vice president of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association. "If it doesn't get done now, it will probably be a number of years."

Denzler told The State Journal-Register editorial board that the hope is Congress will act this fall or by early 2014 at the latest.
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Immigration reform: A moral imperative
 Cardinal Dolan: Congress must ensure that America remains a welcoming nation

Many churches are calling for immigration reform for moral reasons.  - - Donna Poisl

BY TIMOTHY CARDINAL DOLAN / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

As Congress comes back into session, it has a once-in-a-generation chance to fix our broken immigration system.

We cannot let this opportunity pass. Immigration reform would help families, it would help our economy and it would improve our security. Most importantly, it’s the right thing to do.
Pope Francis recently reminded us that “the measure of the greatness of a society is found in the way it treats those most in need.” For generations, men and women have come to America’s shores in search of a better life for themselves and their families, and we’re justly proud of our heritage as a nation that welcomes people of good will.
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Undocumented Immigrants Shouldn’t Have a ‘Scarlet Letter’ on Their License [OPINION]

This young woman makes a good case for allowing undocumented immigrants to have a driver license.   - - Donna Poisl

By MARIA GENIS

Every morning, when my mother leaves home to drive to work, I feel a knot in the pit of my stomach.

Will she make it back? Or will she be stopped on a whim, arrested and deported -- ripped from my family forever?

My mother is one of California's 2.6 million undocumented residents. She’s been driving as long as I can remember, taking me to music lessons as a kid or taking the whole family to church. Like most Californians, driving is the only way she can support our family and contribute to the community.

That's why Governor Brown needs to sign a bill by Assembly member Luis Alejo that would let undocumented immigrants like my mom apply for driver’s licenses just like any other Californian.

Immigrants are part of the fabric of our state. It's common sense for all drivers on the road to be tested, licensed and insured.
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My decision to speak to my child only in Spanish

An interesting story, she also talks about the future of Spanish in the U.S.   - - Donna Poisl

by Diana Limongi

Ever since Enzo was born, I speak to him in Spanish. My decision was carefully thought out; I prepared for it all during my pregnancy.  I say that I “prepared” for it because, like many second-generation immigrants, my everyday language is English.  After a few years in France – where I mainly spoke English and French – I would find myself calling home and forgetting vocabulary when I spoke to my parents on the phone (in Spanish.)

I honestly didn’t know how I was going to manage speaking to my child in Spanish 24/7, but I was committed. Luckily for me, my husband was also committed to transmitting our language heritage to our son. So, we agreed we’d speak to our child in Spanish and French at home. I started doing research online about raising multilingual children. I started watching TV in Spanish (yes, a telenovela, every night!) When Enzo was born, I remember feeling awkward speaking in Spanish, but my mom was with me every day during maternity leave, which certainly helped, as my brain automatically switches to Spanish around my parents.
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Breaking down barriers: Company partners with NSU to teach Karen workers a second language

A company with many immigrants in their workforce is partnering with NSU to teach English to their workers.   - - Donna Poisl

By Jeff Natalie-Lees

CORRECTION: Molded Fiber Glass continues to work with Cornerstone Career Learning Center for GED programs for all employees. That information was not included in this story.

A recent partnership between Molded Fiber Glass and Northern State University is attempting to make employees' lives better. An English as a second language class is being taught to Karen employees at the plant.

 Eh See Lao, who recently became a U.S. citizen and is a member of the class, says that improving his English is important.

 "English is used everywhere in America and in most of the world," he said. "If you know it, you get better jobs. If you don't understand what people are saying, that is not good for you."

 The Karen are an ethnic group from Myanmar who have immigrated to the United States and have come to Aberdeen to find jobs.
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National effort underway to streamline English-language learning guidelines

Many states are trying to standardize their guidelines under a national program. This would help make sure they are all learning at the same pace.  - - Donna Poisl

By Carly Sharec

With identifying and classifying English-language learners traditionally left up to states and individual school systems, a new movement is pushing to nationalize those standards.

That general push for one set of guidelines is comparable to states joining Common Core, a national set of standards that the majority of states have adopted.

Georgia currently belongs to a 33-state consortium called the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment Consortium.

“It’s a set of language standards,” said Cindy Tu, interim English for Speakers of Other Languages coordinator with the Hall school system. “It’s really a focal of academic language, and they really have gone into detail and looked at the features of academic language.”
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Governor tracks 'zoom' funds to help students learn English

Nevada has a new fund to help certain schools teach English more successfully to their students. It is also helping kids in preschool and full-day kindergarten programs.   - - Donna Poisl

Written by Siobhan McAndrew

Gov. Brian Sandoval isn’t waiting to see how the Washoe County School District is spending an extra $7 million to help schools struggling to educate students still learning English.

On Friday, Sandoval and the new State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dale Erquiaga talked to leaders, teachers and students at Anderson and Corbett elementary schools.

Dubbed “zoom” schools — they are two of six that include Duncan, Loder, Mathews and Veterans elementary — the schools are getting additional funding to launch and expand preschool and full-day kindergarten programs.
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Dev IT Solutions Announces to Soon Launch “Kid’s English Classroom” an Educational Mobile Application for iPhone & iPad on iTunes App Store with Worksheet Feature
Press Release

(PRWEB) September 06, 2013
Dev IT Solutions introduces a set of creative & innovative Educational Mobile Applications for iPhone & iPad. These applications are especially designed for kids and their parents. “Kid’s English Classroom” helps kids to master spelling and at the same time also encourages them to take some interesting challenges to test their vocabulary. As English is one of the most spoken languages in the world, this app is designed to educate students in a wonderful and entertaining way. Therefore, the company has designed the complete user interface (UI) in an attractive way that entices kids to learn the language and keeps them engaged for hours.

Dev IT Solutions has introduced creative learning apps that are being worked upon consistently to boost the learning experience for kids, parents and teachers. Parents and teachers can now understand the areas where the kids need more improvement and guide them accordingly. Though for now this app with worksheet feature will only be available for iPhone & iPad, the company will soon launch it for Android as well on the Google Play Store & Amazon Kindle Fire. Company also plans to soon launch this app for other platforms such as Blackberry, Symbian and Windows. This app is designed by expert and experienced mobile application developers who have done thorough research for creating such quality educational mobile apps. The content, educational pattern and the user interface (UI) are designed in such a way that children can navigate through the app easily and grasp basics of English language.

A senior spokesperson from the company threw some light on several advantages of these fun loving educational apps for preschoolers. He said, “These Educational Apps are designed in an innovative manner and gives your kids a head start on learning. Research states that students who have a computer or tablets at home are easily able to grasp the depth of subjects like Math, English, Science, etc. Keeping that in mind, these apps are designed to help the child learn effectively and at a relaxed pace. There are various levels that are segregated to teach and test the children. These apps are full of creative images, sounds and designs that help the child to learn without any stress on their young minds.”

For more details please visit http://www.devitsolutions.com/devitmobileapplication/.

About Dev IT Solutions
Dev IT Solutions is one of the leading companies providing cutting-edge solutions for Mobile Application Development on various platforms. It has a dedicated team for Development of Mobile Applications i.e. iPhone Application Development, Android Application Development, Blackberry Application Development and Window Mobile Application Development.

Contact:
Dev IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
A-302, Shapth Hexa, Opp. High Court
S.G. Highway, Sola - 380060
1-760-621-3474
Email: info(at)DevITSolutions(dot)com

iPhone, iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., Android is trademarks of Google Inc., Blackberry is trademarks of RIM Inc., Windows is trademarks of Microsoft Inc.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/9/prweb11097427.htm
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1453422#ixzz2ehd5KvoH

Ambiguities, idiosyncrasies of language a cause for laughter, consternation

Read this article and feel sorry for people trying to learn English.   - - Donna Poisl

By: Bernie Hughes, Superior Telegram

People new in our country and learning English tell me that English is very difficult to learn. One of their problems appears to be ambiguities and idiosyncrasies. You can see the problem a person new to our country would have with the following headlines:

Drunk gets nine months in violin case

Grandmother of eight makes hole in one

They do illustrate ambiguities and idiosyncrasies. If you cared to Google “contract law,” you would be able to find a great number. It isn’t difficult to see how many lawyers and court personnel have some difficult work to handle as they reconcile such contract language.
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Asian immigrants: Eating in lean times can be good and delicious

Frugal Asian immigrants are eating healthier now that their budgets are tighter.    - - Donna Poisl

By ANDREW LAM, New American Media

SAN FRANCISCO – Studies show that immigrants gain weight and their children tend to live shorter lives than them, and that their eating habits change for the worse the longer they stay. But there is very little information on how many revert back to their cultural habits in difficult economic times — and how many actually become healthier as a result.

A few years ago I interviewed Thien Tran,47, who came from Vietnam and managed a beauty salon and nail spa on Nob Hill, and he said that he had been eating better and losing weight since the economic downturn. “My wife makes Vietnamese food and I take it to work,” noted Thien. “I used to order burgers and fries or Thai noodles, but that is too expensive. My lunch went from $8 to $2 a day.”
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Group helps immigrants through shared experiences

These immigrants are sharing their stories, so everyone can understand why we need reform.   - - Donna Poisl

By ANGIE HAFLICH

GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) — Sharing the challenges and obstacles each has faced in being an immigrant in the United States, Armando Minjarez and Emira Palacios are on a mission to empower immigrants and to unify communities across Kansas.

On a recent weekend, the duo presented their stories and their mission in southwest Kansas.

"We're starting with our southwest Kansas initiative. Given the high number of immigrants that live in this part of the state, it just makes sense for us to start here," Minjarez said. "Plus, I went to high school in Ulysses and I graduated from Garden City Community College, so I have a personal connection to the area."
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Immigrants' kids to city: Don't help ICE deport our parents

A special license between Philadelphia and ICE is helping to deport immigrants, these kids are trying to change that.   - - Donna Poisl

By Samantha Melamed

Sara Navarro came to the U.S. from Honduras at age 12 as an undocumented immigrant, eager to join her parent in what she had heard was "a land of opportunity for all." But, she says, "When I was 13 I learned that this country was not a land of opportunity for all, but only for some. I witnessed the deportation of my brother-in-law and my uncle. My sisters were left alone with an 8-month-old baby."

Navarro was approved for deferred-action legal status this year. But her brothers and sisters are still in jeopardy — and now, the father of her niece and nephew is facing deportation, after being picked up driving without a license, she says.
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New Fact Sheets Highlighting Congressional District Immigrant Population and State Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Innovation and Welcoming Initiatives Released
 
For Immediate Release

September 5, 2013

Washington D.C. - Today, the Immigration Policy Center releases 60 fact sheets which provide data on the immigrant population living in a given congressional district. The fact sheets highlight levels of education, English language ability, duration of residence in the U.S. and which industries they work in. In addition, we are releasing five new (20 in total) innovation and entrepreneurship state fact sheets which highlight the role immigrant entrpreneurs play in a state's economy and the initiatives that welcome them.

60 district fact sheets can be found here:
District by District Immigration Population Profiles (IPC Fact Sheets, 2013)
20 state-by-state innovation and entrepreneurship fact sheets can be found here:

State Fact Sheets on Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Innovation, and Welcoming Initiatives (IPC Fact Sheets, 2013)
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For more information contact Wendy Feliz at wfeliz@immcouncil.org or 202-507-7524

Low-skilled immigrants: Economic burden or boon?

This article looks at both arguments.   - - Donna Poisl

By Pamela Constable

At a busy housing construction project in Howard County one recent morning, Alex Hernandez, 24, shouted instructions in Spanish as his crew members hoisted a heavy foundation beam into place.

“This job is difficult and dangerous. You have to work hard and move fast and be careful,” said the stocky crew chief, an immigrant from El Salvador. “I have never seen an American do this work.”

At a Baltimore employment center, Keith Bellisaire, 40, proudly shared cellphone pictures of rooms he had painted on day jobs. He said he has not been able to land a full-time position in years. 
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Indians are third largest immigrant group in US

Only Mexico and China send more people to this country. They should be active in the immigration reform debate.    - - Donna Poisl

from the Times of India

WASHINGTON: Indians have emerged as the third-largest immigrant group in the US behind Mexicans and the Chinese with their number touching nearly 1.9 million in 2011, according to a US think tank.

The share of Indian immigrants among all foreign born in the US has grown to almost 5 percent of the country's 40.4 million immigrants in 2011, noted an article published in the Migration Policy Institute's online journal, the Migration Information Source.
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In Milan, Micronesian immigrants add vibrancy

About a third of the population of this small town is from the South Pacific and they are enjoying their new life in Minnesota. Their new town is enjoying them too. - - Donna Poisl

by Dan Olson, Minnesota Public Radio

MILAN, Minn. — If there's no single formula to keep small rural communities vibrant, tiny Milan about three hours west of the Twin Cities proves it.

Its population was down to 250 in the 2000 census, but that was about the time Michael Elias and family members arrived from their South Pacific homeland.

Elias says they came because of the good schools, jobs and because their island nation faces a climate change reality.
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Thriving Cricket League Helps Immigrants Assimilate

Immigrants in Iowa are getting together and playing sports that they grew up playing.   - - Donna Poisl

Posted by Beth Dalbey (Editor)

West Des Moines is gaining another distinction with a sports league that preserves some of the cultural heritage of workers who have been attracted to the city’s fast-growing IT sector.

The weekend cricket league gives an opportunity for people like Rajesh Chalamalasetti, who works at Principal Financial Group, to get together with others from his native India to play a sport that is very much a part of his cultural heritage, the Des Moines Register reports.

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11. Each team has to bowl and bat. Considered a gentleman’s game, comedian Robin Williams once said “cricket is basically baseball on Valium,” but it is the world’s second-largest sport behind soccer.
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Calling Columbus home: Immigrants reflect on the city

About 10% of the population of Columbus is foreign-born, that is more than most cities.  - - Donna Poisl

from The Columbus Dispatch
 
Guido Epelbaum’s father first tried to move his family to the United States in 1938. Fearing persecution, they had fled Poland but the U.S. denied them visas. They ended up in Italy.

Italy entered World War II in 1940, and eventually Epelbaum, just 3 years old, and his family were sent to a concentration camp, where they lived for more than three years. It wasn’t until much later in 1955 that the Epelbaums were sponsored and allowed to come to the United States, to a place they didn’t know: Columbus, Ohio.

Epelbaum was 17 when he moved to Ohio. He didn't speak English, but within three days the nervous teenager had a job. Now, 58 years later, Epelbaum still calls Columbus home. He is one of more than 80,000 in the city who were born in other countries.
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Court stops Dallas suburb's immigrant renters law

This city law was struck down because the city does not have the right to make the law, it seems like they should have known that.    - - Donna Poisl

By NOMAAN MERCHANT, Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — A Dallas suburb can't enforce a law that bans immigrants in the United States without legal permission from renting apartments, a federal appeals court said Monday. It's the latest ruling on a series of laws that local governments have passed targeting immigration.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Farmers Branch ordinance encroached on authority that belongs to the federal government, and called multiple parts of it unconstitutional. The appeals court relied heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year that struck down parts of Arizona's immigration law.

"We conclude that enforcement of the ordinance conflicts with federal law," the opinion said.
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Boston's undocumented Irish advocate for comprehensive immigration bill

There are other immigrant groups besides Hispanic that are waiting for immigration reform.   - - Donna Poisl

By IrishCentral Staff Writers

Boston's undocumented Irish immigrants continue to push for a comprehensive immigration bill that will grant a path to citizenship for the estimated 10,000 Irish immigrants in the city, despite the House Republicans rejection of a comprehensive immigration reform bill in July.

“We’ve sent busloads of Irish to Washington,” said Kieran O’Sullivan, immigration and citizenship advisor at Dorchester’s Irish Pastoral Center, told WGBH News.

O'Sullivan added that the Irish may help to bridge the gap of the "us versus them" mentality towards Hispanic immigrants in the immigration debate, and that for the Irish, being white, native English speakers removes many of the barriers to cultural assimilation that other immigrants often encounter.
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Rick Sanchez: Country’s Future Depends On Immigrants

Our country has always depended on immigrants, now we need them even more.   - - Donna Poisl

By Rick Sanchez

Americans are having less sex — reproductive, baby-making sex — than they ever have before.

Last week, TIME Magazine had a cover story entitled, “The Childfree Life.”  The gist of the article was that increasingly, in our modern era, “having it all means not having children.”  The choice to not have children represents a shift in our culture and a new emphasis on “selfishness” that seems to be driving the attraction and growth of childlessness in the U.S.

As a result, the U.S. birthrate is at its lowest point.  Ever.  From 2007 to 2011, the fertility rate went down by nine percent.  In the 1970s, 10 percent of women remained childless their entire lives.  Today, that number is 20 percent.  And childlessness is on the rise across all races and ethnicities.
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Taking class to learn enough English to talk to your kid’s teachers

These classes will help the parents learn everyday English so they can communicate in their daily lives.   - - Donna Poisl

WRITTEN BY CARL PETERS

The homework might be something as simple, and as challenging, as saying something in English to a store clerk.

But that's the whole point of the English as a Second Language classes held at St. Joseph Pro-Cathedral in East Camden: to help non-native speakers develop enough conversational English, and enough confidence, so they can talk to clerks, their children's teachers, doctors and anyone else they need to communicate with.

For example, student Santa Osorio said that her son, like many other children of immigrants, only wants to speak English, even at home, so the classes help her better communicate with him.
(And her children help her when she has homework, she said, noting that they laugh whenever she mispronounces a word.)
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Why The Alarm Is Going Off About Students Learning English As A Second Language

This article shows that ESOL classes are not learning as well as we thought. Some kids call themselves "lifers" because they are not passing the tests yet.  - - Donna Poisl

By TIM PADGETT

Full disclosure: My wife is a bilingual teacher and my children grew up speaking English and Spanish. But you don’t need those factors in your life to have a vested interest in how well the school program commonly known as ESOL – English for Speakers of Other Languages – is faring in this country, state and community.

Latinos are now the largest minority in the US. Florida’s population growth today is driven largely by Latinos. And Latinos make up almost two-thirds of Miami-Dade County’s residents.

A quarter million Florida youths, a tenth of the state’s public school students, are enrolled in ESOL. The program accounts for a fifth of Miami-Dade’s public school pupils – and more than 25 percent when you include the system’s ESOL adults.
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Stepping Up: The Impact of the Newest Immigrant, Asian and Latino Voters

For Immediate Release

September 3, 2013

Washington D.C. – Today, the Immigration Policy Center releases, Stepping Up: The Impact of the Newest Immigrant, Asian and Latino Voters. Forty years ago, the United States was 83 percent white and 95 percent native-born. Today it is 64 percent white and 87 percent native-born. This demographic transformation is well-documented at national and state levels. However, less attention has been paid to how these changes are affecting the electoral composition of congressional districts, particularly within the context of immigration reform.

This new congressional level data shows that over the next four election cycles, the electoral composition will change as younger Asian and Latino adults, as well as naturalized immigrants (both sympathetic to immigration issues) enter the voting booth.  This transformation of the electorate is happening because younger Americans are much more diverse than older Americans.

According to the report:
*  About 1.8 Million U.S. citizen Asians and Latinos become eligible to vote in each two-year election cycle.
*  About 1.4 million new naturalized citizens become eligible to vote in each two-year election cycle.
*  Together these groups will constitute 34% of all new eligible voters in the 2014 elections alone.

According to the Author, Rob Paral:
“Representatives contemplating their eventual vote on immigration reform need to weigh the numerous policy arguments in favor of reform and make an informed decision, but they must also understand the shifting demographic dimensions of their districts. Despite the composition of current voters, congressional representatives need to see their electorate not only for what it is, but for what it is becoming.”

To view the report, which includes sortable congressional district data and a map, see:
Stepping Up: The Impact of the Newest Immigrant, Asian and Latino Voters. (IPC Special Report, September 3, 2013)

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For more information, contact Wendy Feliz at wfeliz@immcouncil.org or 202-507-7524.

Cracking the SAFE Act: Understanding the Impact and Context of H.R. 2278, the “Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act”
 
For Immediate Release

August 27, 2013

Washington D. C. – Today, the Immigration Policy Center releases, Cracking the SAFE Act: Understanding the Impact and Context of H.R. 2278, the “Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act."  In June, the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 2278, the “Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement (SAFE) Act.” The bill, introduced by Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC), was the subject of a contentious committee mark up, ending in its passage out of committee on a straight party line vote of 20 to 15. The SAFE Act is one of several bills that the House leadership might offer as part of its “step-by-step” approach to immigration reform, in which various House bills addressing different aspects of the immigration system may be voted on separately.

The SAFE Act represents an attrition-through-enforcement approach to unauthorized immigration that has not proven effective and which runs contrary to many of the objectives of immigration reform. It returns to a philosophy which holds that punitive enforcement measures alone can address the many flaws in our immigration system. The House Judiciary’s endorsement of an outdated philosophy that touts more enforcement, more detention, more penalties, and a more complicated, expensive, and decentralized immigration enforcement system runs counter to the House leadership’s repeated pledge to fix that very system.

To view the fact sheet in its entirety see:
Cracking the SAFE Act: Understanding the Impact and Context of H.R. 2278, the “Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act”  (IPC Fact Check, August 27, 2013)
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For more information contact, Wendy Feliz at wfeliz@immcouncil.org or 202-507-7524

Immigrants do more than work

This piece gives many reasons why our country needs immigrants; not just to work the low skill jobs.   - - Donna Poisl

BY LUIS FLORES | SPECIAL TO THE DAILY CAL

An opinion article recently published in The Daily Californian, “Valuing immigrants as entrepreneurs,” illustrates a popular argument in favor of immigration reform and the provision of robust amnesty as a form of economic stimulus. Underlying this perspective is the association of immigrant assimilation with financial participation.

Jose Antonio Flores’ article championed the entrepreneurial ambitions of immigrants who set off to found successful businesses, but equally widespread is a framing of immigrants (documented and undocumented) as microentrepreneurs. Such a perspective is both historic and dangerous.
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Advocating for Refugees in Immigration Reform Debate

HIAS is making sure refugees are not left out of the immigration reform discussions.   - - Donna Poisl

Posted by HIAS – DC

 “Immigration reform” has become a buzzword in Washington—and all over the country. Broad coalitions of legislators, business leaders, students, law enforcement officials, faith leaders, farmworkers, and human rights activists have been urging for reforms to our outdated system. We recently saw a huge victory with passage of an immigration reform bill out of the U.S. Senate … but the fight is far from over and we are in it for the long haul.

As the Jewish nonprofit agency that protects refugees, HIAS has also long advocated for immigration and refugee laws that are humane, enhance national security, and reflect our Jewish values of welcoming the stranger. Along with Jewish and interfaith partners, as well as other immigration and refugee advocates, HIAS pushes for reforms to the current system that are guided by our national interest, balanced with fairness, and compassion.
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