United 4 The Dream
MYTH: The American people want enforcement-only “solutions.”
FACT: Voters still strongly support comprehensive immigration reform. According to a November 2010 nationwide poll, support for comprehensive immigration reform is broad-based and crosses party lines. When comprehensive immigration reform was described to voters, 81% of voters supported the measure. Republicans were the most intense supporters, with fully 72% strongly supporting comprehensive reform. Additionally, 76% (62% strongly) agree with the statement that “deporting all 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States is unrealistic.”
MYTH: We could make jobs available for citizens and legal immigrants if we simply enforced our current immigration laws.
FACT: Although it might seem that deporting all unauthorized immigrant workers from the labor force would automatically improve job prospects for unemployed Americans, the fact is that employment is not a “zero sum” game. Mass deportation would actually reduce U.S. GDP by 1.46% annually, amounting to a $2.6 trillion cumulative loss in GDP over 10 years, and cost an estimated $206 billion to $230 billion over 5 years. The notion that unemployed natives could simply be “swapped” for employed unauthorized immigrants is not valid economically. There is little apparent relationship between recent immigration and unemployment rates at the regional, state, or county level.
MYTH: The granting of automatic citizenship to the children of foreigners comes from a misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment. The framers never sought to guarantee citizenship to children of illegal immigrants. During the debate in 1866, the Senator who authored the 14th Amendment said it would “not of course include persons born in the United States who are foreigners.”
FACT: The framers intended to end discriminatory definitions of citizenship that create a permanent underclass. The quotation is taken out of context, and reaffirms birthright citizenship when read in full: “Every person born within the limits of the United States, and subject to their jurisdiction, is by virtue of natural law and national law a citizen of the United States. This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States, but will include every other class of persons. It settles the great question of citizenship and removes all doubt as to what persons are or are not citizens of the United States. This has long been a great desideratum in the jurisprudence and legislation of this country.” In other words, the terms “foreigners” and “aliens” are used to describe those “who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States.” Constitutional citizenship as enshrined in the 14th Amendment and affirmed several times by the U.S. Supreme Court, was intended to ensure that all those born on U.S. soil are treated equally with rights of citizenship, and no state or national legislature may re-define citizenship to exclude certain groups of people.
(Source: tranqualizer)
Vigil for Erick Velazquillo in solidarity against his deportation.
Photo by Jeff Siner
Last October, Erick was pulled over for not having his high beams on. He was then arrested for not having a renewed driver’s license. And he didn’t have that because in 2006, the laws changed requiring that all persons getting a license must provide a Social Security number. Erick is undocumented and cannot receive the privilege of having a 9 digit number. He was then detained for 3 days and released on a $5,000 bail bond. Since then, he and his family have spoken to various organizations and immigration lawyers - all of which have only given him two options: deportation orders or voluntary departure. In march, his sister, Angelica, met a few organizers from NC Dream Team that provided them with a better alternative: fighting back. Erick is in the beginning steps of going public with his story and with his case. He is a student at CPCC and just finished his second year. He’s been in the United States since coming from Mexico at age 2. In North Carolina, roughly 51,000 students like him suffer from the threats of no papers: not being able to afford post secondary education at universities, not being able to drive to get to school or work (at least in a “lawful” way), not being able to live their lives as United States residents.
Even when push comes to shove as the government here and governments across the nation continue to criminalized undocumented people, there are ways around and we have to keep doing more.
I’m asking that you take a few moments and take an action (or a few) that Erick, his sister Angelica, and his family depend on.
1. Call Senator Hagan (202-224-6342)
Sample Script: “Hi, I was calling to ask that Senator Hagan introduce a private bill for Erick Velazquillo (A# 200-97-0380). Erick has been living in the United States since he was 2 years old. If deported, he will be returned to a country he hasn’t been to in 20 years. Erick wants to contribute to this country as a nutritionist. Please introduce a private bill for Erick.”
2. Call DHS – Janet Napolitano (202-282-8495) and ICE – John Morton (202.732.3000)
Sample Script: “Hi, I was calling to ask that Erick Velazquillo’s deportation be deferred . Erick (A# 200-97-0380) has been living in the United States since he was 2 years old. If deported, he will be returned to a country he hasn’t been to in 20 years. Erick wants to contribute to this country as a nutritionist. Don’t deport Erick.”
3. Sign the petition to your right and ask all of your friends to sign it!Hundreds of thousands of stories like this exist across the country, and slowly (but surely) these stories are coming out of the shadows unafraid, unapologetic, and unashamed.
(Source: tranqualizer)
