America's Voice

Our mission is to harness the power of American voices and American values to promote fair and just immigration reform.

[americasvoiceorg]

What Donald Trump Means for Undocumented People Like Me

Donald Trump and the Republican Party are threatening the livelihood of millions of immigrants across the country.

”My ability to remain in the United States hinges on the the 2016 general election”

A powerful read from Juan Escalante, a recent @floridastate graduate and immigration advocate.

[americasvoiceorg]

Undocumented Immigrants in Flint Say They've Been Denied Free Water and Are Scared to Get Help

Undocumented people here say they've been unable to get free water from the government, and some are even unaware of the water crisis.

Undocumented immigrants in Flint, Michigan are so afraid of being deported, that they are too scared to seek help or clean water. Those who have asked for clean water are being denied due to lack of identification. It is estimated that over 1,000 immigrants could be impacted. 

THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.

Please REBLOG the image below to help spread the word on how to help immigrants in Flint, Michigan.

[think-progress]

Fears of immigration raids have left sidewalks empty along Latino-owned businesses in downtown Wheaton, MD.

WHEATON, MD — Around the Christmas holiday, the small businesses in downtown Wheaton — aLatino-heavy suburb about a half-hour north of Washington, D.C. — began to notice a big change.

Obama’s Immigration Raids Are Turning Latino Communities Into Ghost Towns

[think-progress]

BREAKING: President Obama’s Immigration Policy In Question As Supreme Court Takes Up Case

The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will hear United States v. Texas a lawsuit brought by a bloc of states and Republican officials that challenges changes to immigration policy that President Obama announced in 2014. The new policies are expected to benefit approximately 4.9 million undocumented immigrants, the bulk of whom are parents of American citizens or legal permanent residents. Under the programs created or expanded by these policy changes, these immigrants will be permitted to temporarily find work and remain in the country.

[americasvoiceorg]

10 Times Marco Rubio Turned His Back on Immigrants

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) comes from an immigrant family, but has no problem stepping all over the immigrant community to propel his political career. As a presidential hopeful, Senator Rubio trades on his family’s immigrant experience, while simultaneously advocating policies that keep immigrants down.

Rubio may not need support from the Latino, APIA, and immigrant community in order to win the Republican primary, but he will need these votes in order to win the general election.

Here are ten moments on Rubio’s timeline that pro-immigration voters are unlikely to forget.

1. Marco Rubio Hitched a Ride on the Republican Border-First Bandwagon

Before he even entered the halls of Washington, Rubio advocated a “secure the border first” approach to immigration reform.

Of course, with record levels of enforcement and deportation already the reality, this is actually just a cynical excuse for inaction, one that immigrants and experts can see from a mile away. As the Wall Street Journal put it in 2013: “Republicans who claim we must ‘secure the border first’ ignore the progress already made because their real goal isn’t border security. It is to use border security as an excuse to kill immigration reform.”

Rubio’s piecemeal vision for immigration reform starts with the “securing the border first” and, practically speaking, ends there too. It is the height of circular logic: we can’t reform immigration until the border is secure, but the border will not be deemed “secure” until we end unauthorized migration, which cannot be ended without reform. So we turn up enforcement, and never move on to the other parts of reform. It gives a policy-sounding argument to continually move the goalposts so that nothing is done for 11 million undocumented immigrants settled in our nation.

2. Marco Rubio Opposed the 2010 DREAM Act

In 2010, congressional Democrats planned to take up the DREAM Act in a lame duck session of Congress. Marco Rubio, who had just been elected Senator from Florida, expressed his opposition, calling the measure “too broad”: “But the DREAM Act, as I have read it, goes well beyond that. It’s much broader and is not the right approach to that issue. In fact, it makes having a legal immigration system that works harder to accomplish. I have the same position I had during the campaign.”

With no thanks to Rubio, the DREAM Act actually passed the House and won a majority in the Senate. However, it failed to meet the 60 vote threshold it needed to become law, because senators like George LeMieux, who was keeping Rubio’s Senate seat warm, voted against it.

This left Dreamers without any protection from deportation until the President created DACA.

3. Marco Rubio Promised to Introduce His Own DREAM Act, But Never Did

Take a look at this video, where Marco Rubio discusses his plans to introduce his own version of the DREAM Act. The measure was never filed by Rubio, nor did he explain how his legislation would get through a Republican-controlled House of Representatives where opposition to any version of the DREAM Act was strong enough to block it.

When it became obvious that Rubio was enjoying the media limelight but was not serious about moving legislation, President Barack Obama decided to move the ball forward under his existing executive authority. The result was Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), another pro-immigrant measure Rubio opposes.

4. Marco Rubio Opposed DACA

After failing to follow through with his own version of DREAM Act, Marco Rubio went on to criticize President Obama for creating DACA, despite the policy’s benefits for own constituents and similarities to his own, never-released legislation. Rubio called the DACA plan a “bureaucratic nightmare” and said “When the president ignores the Congress, ignores the Constitution and forces a policy like this down the throat of the American people, it’s going to make it harder to have a conversation [about legislative reform].”

Of course, everyone knew Republicans were not planning on having a “conversation” about legislative reform, not in that election year. Obama only acted after the community rose up against his unrelenting deportations, and rather than support policies that help the community, Rubio chose once again to criticize.

5. Marco Rubio Pledged to End DACA as President, Whether Congress Passes Replacement Legislation Or Not

In 2014, Rubio joined with the rest of his Senate Republican colleagues in an attempt to end DACA and told Politico that he would “love to defund the immigration order.”

Then, on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, Rubio told reporters: “DACA is going to end and the ideal way for it to end is that it’s replaced by a reform system that creates an alternative. But if it doesn’t, it will end. It cannot be the permanent policy of the United States.”

United We Dream-Action issued an immediate response. Jassiel Perez, a United We Dream-Action leader from Florida and DACA-recipient said: “Let’s be clear: by taking away my DACA, Sen. Rubio wants to deport me, and hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth. This is a personal attack and is further proof that he does not stand with the immigrant community.”

6. Marco Rubio (Once Again) Abandoned his Own Immigration Reform Bill

Think Progress has an excellent timeline on Rubio’s attempt to champion immigration reform before deciding to abandon his own comprehensive bill in 2013. The timeline vividly illustrates how Rubio began the transformation from champion to opponent of his own piece of legislation before the bill had even cleared the upper chamber.

In early May 2013, Rubio was confronted by DREAMer moms in the halls of Congress and he assured them of his support, stating: “I don’t want you to worry about me [supporting immigration reform].” On May 24, 2013 Rubioappeared on Fox News and urged senators to support his bill.

On June 4, 2013, he told Hugh Hewitt that he would consider voting against the legislation. Additional border provisions were ultimately attached, and Rubio voted aye. But by October 2013, Rubio had transitioned so far that he didn’t even want the House to pass a limited bill that could lead to a conference with the Senate.

So much for being a champion.

7. Marco Rubio Talked Down to Dreamers

It’s no secret that there has been some tension between immigrants, activists, and Marco Rubio. (Witness his hallway meeting with Dreamer moms in May 2013).

In August 2014, Rubio was confronted at a fundraiser by Florida Dreamerswith United We Dream over his opposition to DACA.

After unfurling a banner that read, in Spanish “Rubio wants to deport me” and asking why their senator won’t stand up for them and their families, the young people were booed, blocked, and escorted out of the event. Rubio’s response showed his complete lack of understanding: “You [Dreamers] are hurting your own cause. They are hurting their own cause, because you don’t have the right to illegally immigrate to the United States.”

This may be technically true — not everyone qualifies for the same policies as Rubio’s family. But it also shows a lack of compassion and connection to the struggles of today’s immigrants, proving once again that Marco Rubio truly is no champion.

8. Marco Rubio Supported “Merit-Based” Immigration Over Family Ties

After benefitting from family-based immigration policies, Marco Rubio has pledged to pull up the ladder on future immigrants just like him. This is Rubio speaking at a Republican presidential primary debate:

Look, in addition to what Donald was saying is we also need to talk about the legal immigration system for permanent residents. Today, we have a legal immigration system for permanent residency that is largely based on whether or not you have a relative living here. And that’s the way my parents came legally in 1956.But in 2015, we have a very different economy. Our legal immigration system from now on has to be merit-based. It has to be based on what skills you have, what you can contribute economically, and most important of all, on whether or not you’re coming here to become an American, not just live in America, but be an American.

Rubio uses a Republican codeword, “merit-based immigration” which really means “elite immigration” to some in the GOP base. In this world, engineers and scientists may qualify for green cards, but not farmworkers and bartenders with American family members. The policy is particularly offensive since Rubio trades on his parents’ immigration story and work ethic often in this campaign. As president, he would deny the same opportunities his parents had to others.

9. Marco Rubio Voted for legislation inspired by Donald Trump

In October 2015, Senator Rubio voted in support of Senator David Vitter’s anti-immigrant proposal, a bill that was largely inspired by Donald Trump.The legislation would undermine the relationship between immigrants and their local police, a relationship that is needed to promote community safety.

The legislation is opposed by some in law enforcement for this very reason. But that fact was not compelling enough to Marco Rubio, who claimed: “No one involved in this debate understands this issue better than I do. I understand immigration, the good, the bad and the ugly, but this part is not good — this part about people who are openly violating our laws.”

Rubio claims to “understand” immigration, but his policy positions show that he’s more in line with the restrictionist wing of the GOP than with immigrants. And this was not the only time Rubio fell victim to the Trump Effect: just look at his Trump-inspired stance when it comes to shutting down mosques. With these positions, Marco Rubio is not and cannot be a leader for the immigrant community.

10. Marco Rubio Ignored His Mother’s Advice On Immigration

Marco Rubio loves to share his family story — how his parents came from Cuba in search of a better life, worked hard, and pursued their version of the American Dream. However, Rubio seems to forget to mention the advice his mother once left him in a voice mail:

Rubio’s Mom: “Tony [her name for Rubio], some loving advice from the person who cares for you most in the world. Don’t mess with the immigrants, my son. Please, don’t mess with them. They’re human beings just like us, and they came for the same reasons we came. To work. To improve their lives. So please, don’t mess with them.”

Maybe Rubio doesn’t mention his mother’s advice because he doesn’t exactly follow it.

[americasvoiceorg]

SCOTUS Will Take Up DAPA/DACA+. So What Happens Next?

Since 2014, Republicans have been aggressively trying to undo all of the progress we have achieved on immigration. Not only have they stalled the implementation of DAPA and the expansion of DACA, but they have pledged to get rid of the original DACA created in 2012 if they win the White House this November.

Finally, immigrant families will have their day in court. If the Supreme Court does the right thing and unfreezes DAPA and the DACA expansion, it will transform the lives of millions of immigrants living in the United States.

Below is a graphic illustrating what you can expect next on DAPA and DACA+

[latinousa-deactivated20161027]

#NowPlaying on LatinoUSA.org

How does stress in the home affect children? On this episode of NPR’s Latino USA, we meet a family of American siblings whose mother lacks legal status in the U.S. to explore the unintended consequences immigration policies have on these kids. We also visit a pediatrician’s office where babies are being screened by mental health experts. Although it may seem odd to send a toddler to a psychologist, doctors say it’s never too early to help identify toxic stresses at home. This week we ask the question: “Are the kids alright?”

[americasvoiceorg]

Four siblings work to try and keep their family together after their mother was denied a Green Card to re-enter the United States. This and more from @latinousa‘s latest podcast.

[defineamerican]

Sarahi Salamanca, a DREAMer, recently became a legal resident. Her first act of exercising this hard-won achievement was visiting her mother in Mexico after 10 years of separation. Eight months pregnant, she allowed two videographers to travel with her to document this incredible moment.

Family reunification is an incredibly powerful experience. This Thanksgiving, millions of Americans will gather with their friends, families and loved ones. For those trapped in our antiquated immigration system, this is not a possibility. Sarahi’s story represents the struggle of the millions of immigrants who remain separated from their families because of their legal status.

Comprehensive immigration reform would give our country’s 11.7 million undocumented immigrants the invaluable joy and happiness Sarahi experienced when finally reunited with her mother.

“My story is just one of millions of immigrants who face the pain of family separation,” said Sarahi Salamanca. “Even though it took me 10 years to see my mom and 20 years to step back into Mexico, in reality I am one of the lucky ones.  So many people go their whole lives without hugging their loved ones ever again and it’s just our broken immigration system that stands in the way.”

Produced in partnership with FWD.us.

[americasvoiceorg]

via @pictoline

[americasvoiceorg]

Mass deportation is not funny! By allowing Donald Trump to host Saturday Night Live, NBC is excusing and even validating Trump’s hateful comments about immigrants and Latinos. Tell NBC to dump Donald Trump as host of Saturday Night Live!

Saturday Night Live recently announced that Donald Trump would serve as host of the program on November 7, 2015, one year from the 2016 general election. The popular comedy show, which has been criticized for not adequately representing Latinos, is broadcasted by NBC - the same network that terminated its relationship with Donald Trump over his derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants. Now, just three months after cutting ties with Donald Trump, NBC is seeking to boost its ratings at the expense of Latinos and immigrants by allowing Trump to host one of its most popular shows. By inviting Donald Trump to host Saturday Night Live, NBC is demonstrating that it doesn’t care about its Latino and pro-immigrant viewers. It is providing a platform for Trump’s insulting attacks on immigrants and calling it entertainment -- something we do not find funny. It is shameful for NBC to allow Donald Trump to host Saturday Night Live, a comedy show, when his main goal as President is ripping apart millions of immigrant and Latino families. NBC cannot bill hateful rhetoric as comedy, much less entertainment. Tell NBC to drop Donald Trump as host of Saturday Night Live! 

[americasvoiceorg]

Saturday Night Live Is Mainstreaming The #TrumpEffect — And That’s Really Dangerous

On November 7, 2015, Donald Trump will host Saturday Night Live, one of NBC’s most popular shows. Trump’s invitation to host the popular sketch comedy show comes just three months after NBC claimed to cut ties with Donald Trump over his insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants – an offense to every Latino in the United States.

Back in June, NBC released a strong statement saying:

“Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump,[…] “

“At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values.”

NBC’s decision was the right decision and was celebrated widely in the Latino community. But the network’s breakup with Trump didn’t slow him down one bit.

Since June, Trump’s derogatory statements have only increased. And the release of his immigration plan to remove 11 million people from the United States in 18 monthsconfirmed his radical and dangerous demagoguery.  If his plan were successful, it would be one of the worst global humanitarian atrocities in recent history.

Trump’s anti-immigrant and anti-Latino comments aren’t just shameless political theater, they are having a dangerous real-life effect in many immigrant communities.

The emergence of white nationalist and neo-Nazi support for Trump show he is fostering a climate that demonizes and dehumanizes Latinos because of the way they look or speak.

Just this week, Trump supporters were caught on camera spitting on immigration advocates in Virginia and this type of behavior has become the new normal at Trump events.

Since August, America’s Voice has been tracking anti-immigrant and anti-Latino incidences tied to Trump on our “Trump Hate Map” and the pattern is disturbing to say the least.

Here are just a few examples of Trump supporters verbally or physically attacking immigrants listed on our Trump Hate Map:

At a Trump rally in Alabama, an audience member yells “White Power!” during the candidate’s speech. At the same rally, a Trump supporter “jokes” to AL.comabout shooting and killing undocumented immigrants at the border for their vacation.

Two brothers terrorize a homeless Latino man with a metal pipe,  When arrested and questioned, the brothers told the police “Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported.”

In Iowa, Univision anchor Jorge Ramos was confronted by a man identified as a Trump supporter, who, in front of cameras, tells the journalist (and U.S. citizen) to “get out of my country.”

And at a Donald Trump-led rally one young DREAMer was left in tears after her hair gets violently pulled by a Trump supporter.

According to Politico, a Trump supporter took over a microphone connected to loudspeakers at the Dallas rally and shouted, first in Spanish, then in English, “The Mexicans are the hairs of ass–. Viva Donald Trump.”

During a Iowa-Iowa State football game, a Caucasian woman was filmedripping up a Latino protester’s poster. On Monday night, the woman identified as Shelby Mueller, 20, released a statement indicating that she is “a Christian” who made “an ignorant mistake.” Another man reportedly told an immigrant advocate at the rally, “If it ain’t white, it ain’t right.”

All of these incidences occurred after NBC broke ties with Trump because of his “derogatory statements.”

But now NBC has changed the course in an attempt to boost their ratings and it’s no surprise that Saturday Night Live was the first to cave in to the #TrumpEffect. The NBC and MSNBC news shows have continued to provide an unchallenged platform for Trump and his message.

For years, Saturday Night Live has misrepresented the Latino community by playing off stereotypes and refusing to hire full-time Latino cast members. Having Donald Trump serve as host of the program, further cements Saturday Night Live’s indifference towards its Latino viewers.

SNL should have politicians on their show, whether they’re Republicans or Democrats.  But Donald Trump isn’t simply a politician — he’s a racist demagogue inciting violence toward Latinos and immigrants. By putting Trump on stage, SNL is prioritizing their ratings over the safety of Latinos.

On November 7, it won’t just be Donald Trump on the SNL stage. He will be standing with all of his supporters who want to purge America of Latinos and immigrants and aren’t afraid to use any means necessary.

Racism is not funny, and NBC should not try to bill it as either comedy nor entertainment. NBC and SNL are rewarding Trump – and mainstreaming the hate that powers his campaign. That’s dangerous for immigrants and for the country.

Sign the petition: No Room For Hate On Saturday Night Live: Tell NBC To Dump Donald Trump As Host 

[americasvoiceorg]

Trump’s Immigration Plan Would Require 211 Buses And 20 747 Planes Carrying 20,000 Immigrants Daily

Donald Trump has a plan to remove 11 million people from the United States in 18 months. If his plan were successful, it would be one of the worst global humanitarian atrocities in recent history:

He will transport 611,111 per month

20,370 per day

14 people per minute around the clock

Only 52% of the 11 million would be deported to Mexico, and the other 5.7 million people would be shipped countries all over the globe:

211 Greyhound buses every day running around the clock to Mexico

20 747 planes flying people around the clock to foreign countries that don’t border the US

President Trump plans to deport the 4.5 million US citizen children who were born in the U.S. to undocumented parents.

On average, at least one American citizen child in every American classroom would be deported.

President Trump’s immigration plan would remove 5.1% of the U.S. labor force:

2.5 million farm workers would be deported

17% of construction workers

More than half the fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States are produced in California. President Trump will remove nearly 70% of California’s agricultural workers.

Trump’s immigration plan would still leave hundreds of thousands jobs unfilled in California, Nevada, Texas and New Jersey where, the share of the labor force occupied by undocumented immigrants in is much greater than the jobless rate.

Trump’s plan would wreak havoc inside private homes, where nearly 60% of the nation’s five million undocumented immigrant women work as domestic workers or caregivers of children, the elderly, and disabled.

President Trump’s immigration plan would remove $11.2 billion in tax revenue from state and federal programs.

President Trump’s immigration plan would cost between $735 and $935 billion,according to some estimates. The federal government would have to spend close to $52 billion dollars a month in order to carry out a deportation strategy of this magnitude.

President Trump’s plan would shrink the economy by 6% over the next 20 years, which would translate to $1.6 trillion lost wages.

In order for President Trump to deport 11 million immigrants, the United States would have to fill up and fly out “30 or more 747s every single day for two years” – as described by Jorge Ramos.

It’s an absurd and impossible plan, but since Trump won’t give out his specifics, we did the math for him.

[americasvoiceorg]

Today is Citizenship Day! Are you eligible to become a U.S. Citizen? Learn more:

A word from the President of the United States about the Stand Stronger campaign, a national, multilingual public awareness campaign to promote the rights, responsibilities and opportunities among eligible legal permanent residents. The campaign reflects the belief that we are, and have always been a nation of immigrants and a nation that welcomes those fleeing persecution, in addition to underscoring that immigrants and refugees make us stronger when they are able to set down roots, harness their skills, contribute to our economy, and commit to citizenship: https://committocitizenship.org

[nationaljournal]

The Second GOP Debate Fact Checker

The Iran nuclear deal, incarceration, immigration rates, Hillary Clinton’s emails— the Republican presidential contenders made a lot of claims during the GOP debate. Separate fact from fiction with National Journal’s fact checker. 

[americasvoiceorg]

Hispanics are Americans.

Senator Lindsey Graham 

[americasvoiceorg]

On Sept. 21, the broadcast network will air Don’t Tell Anyone (No Le Digas a Nadie), a documentary capturing Rivera’s story so far. From "coming out" about her status nearly five years ago in front of New York’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office and interacting with her U.S.-born siblings to revealing that she was sexually abused by her stepfather as a child and applying for (and receiving) a U visa, the film, directed by filmmaker Mikaela Shwer, captures the experiences of undocumented women and complicates dominant narratives of immigrant youth (Latina.com)

[americasvoiceorg]

Instead of getting the medical attention she needed, the doctor’s office called the police because she’s undocumented.

America Ruiz

America shares her account of what happened to her mother, and ways in which you can help her family. Learn more here.