On Monday, “Hardball with Chris Matthews” on MSNBC featured an interview with former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, and the discussion turned to immigration. Matthews asked Crist about his views on immigration enforcement and said that part of being a Democrat (Crist’s new political party) is being weak on enforcement.
By Dulce Matuz, Chairwoman, Arizona Dream Act Coalition at 11:49am
Change in our communities takes courage. Many times, that courage does not come from the politicians, but from ordinary people standing up for what is right.
DREAMers continue to stand up for human and civil rights every day. We are standing up against anti-immigrant policies. We are standing up for education & integration. We are standing up for equality. Let the voices of our oppressed youth be heard in the courts, which is exactly what will be taking place. DREAMers have collaborated with the ACLU and a civil rights coalition to file a lawsuit against Brewer’s executive order denying driver’s license to deferred action applicants. But this is much more than a legal battle; the fight we fight today is a moral fight.
Before opening the envelope, A.Z. was a typical all American, high achieving high school senior, getting ready for college. But after she read the letter inside, A. Z. felt like a second-class citizen watching her dreams of college crumble.
That letter changed her life. Despite the fact that she was born in New York and had been a Jersey girl since the age of four, the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) told her that she did not qualify for the financial aid she applied for. The reason? “Your parents are not legal New Jersey residents.” Although she appealed, the response essentially said the same thing: because your mother is not a legal resident, we will treat you like you have lived in Guatemala for the past 14 years, even though you actually lived in New Jersey the entire time.
The ACLU welcomed the bill summary released late last night by a bipartisan group of key senators – ‘the Gang of 8', and we eagerly await the introduction of complete bill text, expected later today.
For over 90 years the ACLU has defended the rights of all Americans, whether born in this country or somewhere else, because the Constitution protects the civil liberties and civil rights of all people. We will continue to serve in this critical role as the debate over the immigration reform bill begins. Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said:
By Michael Tan, Staff Attorney, Immigrants' Rights Project, ACLU at 10:18am
This week and next, the House and Senate will hold hearings (including this one today) to address the reported release of between several hundred and several thousand immigration detainees from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") custody. Although complete information about the releases is not yet available, ICE's justification that it had determined these individuals could be "placed on an appropriate, more cost-effective form of supervised release" raises a fundamental question, posed among others by Secretary Janet Napolitano herself: why were these individuals detained in the first place?
By Michael Tan, Staff Attorney, Immigrants' Rights Project, ACLU at 4:24pm
Alabama officials have announced that young immigrants who came to the country as children—also known as DREAMers—will be allowed to apply for state driver's licenses. The decision affects an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 DREAMers who stand to benefit from the federal government's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ("DACA") program.
The decision is a huge victory for young immigrants like Victor Palafox, a community organizer and aspiring history teacher who lives in the suburbs of Birmingham. Born in Mexico City, he was raised in Alabama, and is actively involved with helping organize communities throughout the state. Alabama's decision will help Victor and DREAMers like him get on with their daily lives—drive to work, go to church, buy groceries, and attend school—and make even greater contributions to their communities.
While the ACLU is encouraged that there is renewed interest in immigration reform, we urge the Obama Administration to develop and champion proposals that are grounded in Americans’ fundamental values of equality and justice for all. One area of particular concern is the conventional wisdom in some circles about a purported need for additional resources dedicated to border enforcement. Those of us who live in border communities can attest that what is truly needed is more accountability by border enforcement agencies and reducing, not expanding, an already-bloated border enforcement system. This week, the ACLU of New Mexico Regional Center for Border Rights submitted a letter to President Obama that makes this case based on values and empirical evidence.
