My mom was about 10 when she grabbed her sister (younger) and made the trip by themselves to the United States of America. What they fled was a devastating civil war. I don’t believe that they’re criminals because of their actions, how many 10 year olds would even make that trip?
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January 19, 2012
April 20, 2011
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Most violations of our immigration laws are civil infractions. They are not crimes or felonies. Under the law, the “unauthorized presence” of foreigners in our country because of lack of a valid visa or documents is subject to a due process hearing and deportation if the infraction is not cleared up. This is a civil—not a criminal—proceeding. This civil law violation is upgraded to a crime if a person who was deported reenters our country without the proper documentation. But the fact is that most of the 12 million immigrants whose presence is “unauthorized” are not deemed to be guilty of a crime, which means they are not, in fact, “illegals…”
There is also an assumption that the 12 million undocumented immigrants in our country entered illegally. Not so. It is estimated that 5 million of the 12 million of unauthorized immigrants entered this country legally with the proper visa or paperwork. But they have overstayed their visa term. It is a civil infraction that subjects them to deportation, but not a crime.
This is not about political correctness. I am insisting— as we all should—that the estimated 12 million people who are undocumented according to our immigration laws not be called “illegals” because that is not how our laws read and because it’s an unfair double standard.
People who violate other civil laws are not referred to as illegals. And according to the law, employers who know (or should know) that they are hiring undocumented immigrants are also violating the law. The immigrant is called an “illegal” and the employer is not. Why the double standard?
"— Don’t Call Them Illegals (via ryking)
January 6, 2011
"When the rumblings re: birthright citizenship and the cries re: the scourge of anchor babies started to pick up some steam last year, many mainstream progressive organizations were pretty laid back, thinking the whole thing would blow over. Now we are in a new year with a Republican led House of Representatives taking over at noon est today and guess what? It hasn’t blown over.
Today, a coalition of at least 14 state legislatures is having a press conference to announce their legislative game plan to move to end U.S citizenship to the U.S.-born children of undocumented persons."
Today, a coalition of at least 14 state legislatures is having a press conference to announce their legislative game plan to move to end U.S citizenship to the U.S.-born children of undocumented persons."
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Defining Citizenship Based on Who You Are Born From | VivirLatino (via radicallyhottoff)
I’m still reasonably confident that this won’t go anywhere. It’s just unsettling that this many people in positions of power have taken it this far.
(via robot-heart-politics)(via robot-heart-politics)
January 1, 2011
Other Stuff: "Illegal"
SDS replied to my previous post:
Let’s put aside those who simply overstay a legal visa. What about the ones who cross the border illegally? Surely that is a crime, and worthy of the category “illegal.”The people who overstay a legal visa represent around 40% of those in the country without legal status. (That number is probably low at this point.) But if you want to be careful to use the term “illegal immigration” only when the entry itself is a crime, I suppose you’re at least accurate. But that’s not how it’s usually used.
Illegal entry is a midemeanor. This puts it about on par with disorderly conduct. It’s slightly more serious than a 20 year old having a beer and less serious than a possession of a small amount of marijuana. One difference is that the twenty year old drinking a beer or smoking a joint is probalby doing it out of pure hedonism. The immigrant is more likely trying to provide for a family or flee persecution. The other difference is that many people seem inclined to use the immigrants misdemeanor to treat them in an utterly dehumanizing manner and refer to them as “illegals” as if their very existence was a crime.
Illegal entry, while a crime, is a very minor crime. When we call somebody “illegal” it’s not about linguistic accuracy. It’s trying to blame her for the shoddy way we treat her.
June 26, 2010
Today Arizona - Tomorrow the USA ?
Arizona’s sweeping new immigration law doesn’t even take effect until next month, but apparently lawmakers in nearly 20 other states are already ready to follow in its footsteps.
The law, set to take effect July 29, requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they think is in the country illegally. Violators face up to six months in jail and $2,500 in fines, in addition to federal deportation.
Lawmakers or candidates in many other states say they want to push similar measures when their legislative sessions start up again in 2011. Arizona-style legislation could pass in Oklahoma, which in 2007 gave police more power to check the immigration status of people they arrest.
Candidates for governor in Florida and Minnesota are enthusiastic about the law, as are lawmakers in other states far from the Mexico border such as Idaho and Nebraska. Bills similar to the law Arizona’s legislature approved in April have already been introduced in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Minnesota, South Carolina and Michigan.
Heres the thing. At first this looked like just one rogue state run by a bunch of extreme wingnuts. That’d be bad enough but at least there was the hope that it was a small localised cancer of racism that could be contained and cured. Now though its looking like a disease thats spreading across the country and it could easily gather momentum and become a defining issue in the next election.
Of course theres no doubt that ‘illegal immigrants’ can affect the way of life of people already living in a country. Just ask any native-American ..:)
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Ellie
Thankfully, the same lawmakers who are so eager to seal the U.S. border also happen to be cheapskates. None of the proposed legislation provides any funding for enforcement. As a practical matter, I foresee law enforcement ignoring these laws. Local police are rightly more concerned with traffic control and violent crime than Federal immigration enforcement.
Our immigration turmoil feels tragic to me. Here in Texas, as recently as seven years ago, folks who lived in Laredo would hop over the border to Nuevo Laredo for lunch. Now the border crossing is a two-hour ordeal in each direction, so no more Mexican lunches. It feels just like losing touch with an old friend. :-( —Chris
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