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Perry: No new state services for illegal immigrants

Mike Ward of the Austin American Statesman reported on 8/20/2012:

Joining a growing chorus of complaints about President Barack Obama’s new policy giving some illegal immigrants a two-year reprieve from deportation, Gov. Rick Perry has advised state agencies that the federal move will not change Texas’ policies against providing services for those who remain in the country.

In a letter distributed to state agencies on Monday, Perry calls the president’s plan “a slap in the face to the rule of law.”

“To avoid any confusion on the impact of the Obama administration’s actions, I am writing to ensure that all Texas agencies understand that (Homeland Security) Secretary (Janet) Napolitano’s guidelines confer absolutely no legal status whatsoever to any alien who qualifies for the federal ‘deferred action’ designation,” Perry said.  Read more »

 

Texas Immigrant Advocates: DREAM Act Back on Front Burner

(06/18/12) Deb Courson Smith/Alfonso López-Collada, Public News Service – TX

AUSTIN, Texas – With the Obama administration’s decision Friday to defer the threat of deportation for hundreds of thousands of young, undocumented U.S. residents, immigration is fast emerging as the sleeper issue this election season. Texas border-community advocates are predicting an increase in political activity by so-called “DREAMers” – individuals brought to the U.S. by their parents when they were children – as they feel more free to speak out without fear of revealing their legal status.

Esther Reyes, a member of the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance, says risk-taking DREAMers who have been occupying Obama campaign offices around the country in recent weeks deserve much of the credit for the new policy.

“This is a result of the work of the students, more than anything. It was certainly a testament to their hard work and their boldness and courage to stand up for their rights and justice.”

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the decision was just the latest step in the administration’s year-old commitment to focus deportation efforts on unsavory criminals. Eligible immigrants can request deportation relief in two-year increments, as well as apply for work permits.

While Reyes applauds the move, she says groups like the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition – which she directs – will be monitoring its implementation to be sure applicants and their families aren’t exposed to unexpected legal risks. She adds that the effect of the policy shift will be limited, unless Congress bolsters it with legislation.

“We also need full, permanent relief for our undocumented students, because this does not provide a path to citizenship. That is what all undocumented immigrants in this country really are fighting for: to be recognized.”

In 2010, “DREAM Act” legislation won majority support in both houses of Congress, but did not survive a filibuster. Reyes hopes the renewed political focus on immigration issues will eventually lead to comprehensive reform of the nation’s entire immigration system.

Critics call the Obama policy a politically motivated overreach of authority and backdoor amnesty. Texas Congressman Lamar Smith says it will have “horrible consequences” for unemployed Americans. HoweReyes counters that bringing immigrants out of the shadows will allow them to contribute more fully to the economy.

“These undocumented youths have demonstrated their commitment to this country. We have to recognize what they’re actually doing.”

The government has set up a hotline, 1-800-375-5283, for questions about eligibility and how to request “deferred action status.”

Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/26968-1

Chron.com Blog: Texas legislators call Romney’s views on immigrants ‘shameful’

From the Houston Chronicle Blog Texas on the Potomac:

Welcome to Houston, Mitt Romney.

Texas Democrats were about as welcoming to the Republican nominee-apparent as Republicans were when President Obama recently visited Houston. Texas Democratic Party spokeswoman Rebecca Acuña described the former Massachusetts governor as “one of the country’s most anti-Latino politicians.”

To mark Romney’s Houston fund-raising foray (which also included a joint appearance with George and Barbara Bush), two Democratic state representatives blasted Romney’s views on immigration and his vow to veto the DREAM Act.

“If Republicans were serious about reaching out to Hispanics, they’d stop endorsing candidates that are hostile to the Latino community,” said state Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston. “Romney would easily be the most anti-Hispanic presidential nominee of our time. Only a few minor extremists have ever matched his vitriolic rhetoric towards an entire segment of our population. Romney should self-deport out of Texas.” Read more …

WRAL.com: Man on hunger strike for illegal immigrants

Dreamers arrested for disrupting a legislative hearing about immigration in North Carolina.  Uriel Alberto is still in jail:

Raleigh, N.C. — A Winston-Salem man on a hunger strike at the Wake County jail and facing deportation says that he wants to bring attention to U.S. immigration laws and how they are affecting immigrants who have been raised in America yet cannot obtain citizenship as adults.

“I had no control over whether or not I wanted to come to this country, but I’m here, and I’m a contributing member of society,” 24-year-old Uriel Alberto, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, said Monday.

Alberto began fasting 10 days ago – two days after he and two other people with the advocacy groups El Cambio and N.C. Dream Team – were charged Feb. 29 with misdemeanor disorderly conduct after they interrupted a legislative committee meeting on immigration laws.

“The last two days have been extremely difficult to stay with it mentally,” he said. “I’m getting through it.”

Already having lost 20 pounds, he plans to fast another 10 days in an effort to empower others to speak out for the way, he says, illegal immigrants have to live under the radar and often fear being deported.

“We can’t live in the shadows, because if we do, then the same things that have happened (legislation regarding illegal immigrants) in Alabama and in Arizona are going to happen here,” Alberto said.  Read more …

The Commercial Appeal: Illegal immigrants, supporters to re-create 1966 march

Daniel Connolly writes about the increasing links between the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and the Immigrants Rights Movement in the South:

In 1966, James Meredith set out on a protest walk from Memphis to Jackson, Miss., calling it the “March Against Fear.”

At the time, such an act by a black man could provoke violence. Deadly rioting had erupted when Meredith enrolled at the University of Mississippi in 1962, and he would survive a shooting shortly after he began the walk.

This year, a young woman from El Salvador named Ingrid Cruz sought out an aging Meredith in Jackson. Would he endorse the concept of a Walk Against Fear, this time focused on immigration matters?

He would. An online video shows a gray-bearded Meredith in an Ole Miss baseball cap talking with Cruz. In a halting voice, he says he supports her effort. “And we’re gonna do all we can to make it a big success,” he said.

Meredith is expected to appear at the National Civil Rights Museum today as Cruz and other members of a small group make speeches before setting off on a weeks-long journey down U.S. 51 to protest what they call anti-immigrant racism. They’re scheduled to arrive April 7 in Jackson.

Cruz is a 25-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen who lives in Jackson, but two other young men making the march, Memphis residents Patricio Gonzalez and Jose Salazar, acknowledge that they’re living in the country without legal permission. Read more …

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Common Sense Immigration means policies and programs that promote a healthy and robust Texas economy, support and strengthen families, encourage integration of newcomers, and provide for the well-being of all Texans over the long-term. It means avoiding policies and programs that waste limited local and state government resources, promote distrust and fear among communities, or take resources away from top public safety priorities. And, Common Sense Immigration means grounding public safety discussions in reliable information and best practices, and avoiding fear-mongering or scapegoating. ➣

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