DESANTIS DEPOPULATES FLORIDA

Florida immigrants detail their exit following DeSantis immigration law: 'I had to leave'

An undocumented immigrant who built a business and a life in Tampa is one of many who have left. "They don't want us here," he said.

Some 2.7 million immigrants made up 26% of Florida’s labor force in 2018, according to a census analysis. More than 300,000 worked in the construction sector.

Lynne Sladky / AP file

June 25, 2023
By Anagilmara Vilchez, Noticias Telemundo

When David Guerra and his large family fled Florida in May, they left behind beds, mattresses, furniture and the construction tools they used to make a living. But it's when he thinks of his children's toys that his voice breaks.

“That is what has hurt me the most, my girls, who no longer have toys,” said Guerra, who is from El Salvador and who, until a few weeks ago, had a home, a yard and a business with his family in Tampa.

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David Guerra and his family.Cortesía

Their life as they knew it changed, according to Guerra, when Gov. Ron DeSantis, signed SB 1718, the immigration law that goes into effect on July 1. The law imposes strict restrictions and penalties to deter the employment of undocumented workers in the state.

Of the 10 people who lived in the Guerra house, only three children were U.S. citizens. The others didn't have legal immigration status. They left Tampa on May 30, from the same street where, a month earlier, Guerra had seen the belongings left behind by other immigrants and joked in a popular TikTok video that he would be next.

“After a month, I had to leave," Guerra told Noticias Telemundo from Maryland, where he moved with his family.

Guerra is not the only one. In various cities across the state, such as the farming community of Immokalee, many immigrants say they have at least one acquaintance, friend or neighbor who left after the law was passed. Some have posted of their exile on social networks.

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A woman carries a sign that reads: "We are working people, not criminals; we are the ones who harvest the crops; Immokalee farm workers strong" as hundreds gathered on June 1 in Immokalee, Fla. to protest Florida Senate bill 1718, which imposes restrictions on undocumented immigrants.

Rebecca Blackwell / AP

“They don’t want us here”

Guerra, a construction worker, came to the U.S. more than 20 years ago. Together with his partner, his sister-in-law and his stepdaughter — who's a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA) program — they worked polishing and putting the finishing touches on walls and ceilings in houses across the Tampa area.

Guerra has been in Tampa for six years, where he built a clientele and bought his tools. Leaving some of them behind when he left the state cost him more than $2,000 in losses, he said. In Maryland, neither he nor his family has been able to get a job.

"I was well, well, well situated in Florida. I was doing well financially, stable with work. There was no problem. Now it's the opposite," he said.

Some 2.7 million immigrants made up 26% of Florida’s labor force in 2018, according to a census analysis. More than 300,000 worked in the construction sector, like Guerra and his family.

Guerra said neighbors started to leave when the Legislature first introduced the immigration bill. By the time the Legislature voted on the law and DeSantis signed it, there were no workers on one of the projects he was working on.

“So the time came to make a decision: “I told my wife ‘no way, she’s going to have to go because they don’t want us here’”.

'Leaving your life'

Guerra packed what he had into two trucks and a car. In Maryland they live with a relative and have settled in as best they can. His two daughters, age 3 and 8, have to sleep with the adults.

“There (in Florida) they had their little bed, in the shape of a house, their rooms and now, well imagine,” he said with sadness.

His young daughter asks to go home and cries for her toys, he said.

Nearly 100 miles from Tampa, where Guerra lived with his family, a 25-year-old undocumented immigrant rented an apartment with her boyfriend in the city of Ocala.

Maria Fernanda, whose last name has been withheld because of her immigration status, arrived with a visa four years ago from Colombia. The visa was for a temporary stay that was extended by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Florida was “one of my favorite states,” Maria Fernanda said, until she feared what could happen when the law took effect. Her boyfriend is also undocumented, and before DeSantis’ law was passed, they decided to leave for New York.

Maria Fernanda moved to New York from Florida in April.

Courtesy Maria Fernanda

“I said, ‘I don’t want to go through that fear or that need to see a policeman that can deport me or that they can stop me or ask me for my documents,’” Maria Fernanda said.

They left without saying goodbye to their acquaintances and left their belongings behind, but not their cats, Loki and Alicia. She documented her journey in a series of videos that she shared on TikTok. Most of the commenters, she said, have thanked her for not abandoning her pets.

“Where I go, they go, and where I have a roof, they will have a roof," she said.

Her boyfriend got a job in Delaware and she stayed in New York for work. The separation hurts; they must drive more than four hours to see each other and share the time with their cats.

“It is sad that couples, families are separated, that sometimes they abandon animals on the street because they cannot take them. They leave their things lying around, their houses abandoned," she said. "That is sad because it's leaving your life."

Gauging the exodus

It's difficult to know the number of immigrants who have left the state. Local communities and leaders base counts on what they hear by word of mouth: a neighbor who left his house, a worker who never came to work.

“This is happening at such a fast level that we don’t have a concrete number,” Rosa Elera, of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, told Noticias Telemundo.

The Florida Policy Institute has stated the legislation could cost Florida’s economy $12.6 billion in one year. Six industries, including construction, agriculture and services, employ an estimated 391,000 undocumented workers, or about 10% of workers in those sectors.

Elera said people are frightened and confused by the law.

Even though the law hasn't yet taken effect, the Florida Immigration Coalition has already received complaints that some clinics have been asking patients about their immigration status, even though only hospitals that accept Medicaid are required to ask about immigration status, and patients may decline to answer the question, Elera said.

“Primary doctors or clinics or emergency centers that do not receive Medicaid do not have to be asking the immigration status of a patient,” she said.

Guerra said he believed the environment changed after the law was passed. “Many Americans didn’t even greet you anymore, they looked down on you, so to speak,” he said. “That was what most led me to make the decision to come to Maryland."
Fear of leaving and returning

In Immokalee, Berta, an undocumented Guatemalan mother, picks tomatoes, chiles, squash and eggplants in the searing heat. About 40,000 farmworkers, many of them undocumented, work every season harvesting a variety of fruits and vegetables.

But for the first time in more than 18 years, Berta, 52, said she's afraid of living in the U.S.

“We are used to working here without anyone scaring us," she said. Now, “when I see police I am afraid that they will stop us, detain us and call the immigration authorities.”

Many of her acquaintances, she notes, have gone to Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington.

When the harvest in Florida ends, Berta travels to other states to pick crops, but this year she wonders if she'll be able to come back.

For the first time in more than 18 years, Berta said she's afraid of living in the U.S.Anagilmara Vílchez / Noticias Telemundo

Not everyone who fears the law can flee the state. Rosa Bartolo, 22, is an asylum seeker. Although she obtained a work permit, her husband and 15 other family members who live in Florida are undocumented.

Although the Guatemalan family has thought of leaving, they're staying because they know only farming and they speak only their Indigenous language, Akateko Maya.

Starting from scratch in another state for them “is more difficult because you don’t speak Spanish, you don’t speak English, it’s much more difficult. People see you badly, as a strange thing," she said.

'Like a rat'

When asked if he would return to Florida, Guerra said it's not in his plans, because he feels "damaged."

"It hurt, it hurt to have to throw everything out," he said. "It's a humiliation what they did, to take you out, like a rat."

In Maryland, he said, people treat him differently, better. Seven years ago he got his driver’s license in that state and in Florida, when the legislation takes effect, an undocumented immigrant won't be able to use a valid driver's license. “Thank God here you can breathe peace and tranquility,” he said.

María Fernanda is not afraid in New York. “I don’t feel that anyone who sees me and sees me as a Latina is going to stop me and say: ‘Hey, show me your documents.’ Here, where I am, I don’t feel persecuted because of my race."

Meanwhile, Guerra takes comfort in knowing that before he left Florida he could give away some of his family's belongings to other immigrants in need. A young Cuban recently arrived in the country, he said, and took almost everything.

“’Thank God,’ (the young man) told me, ‘I was sleeping on the floor and look, now I have beds,’” Guerra said. “Starting from scratch is very sad.”

U$ FOR PROFIT HEALTHCARE

Report: Noncitizens Will Account for One-third of Uninsured Population in 2024

A recent Urban Institute report found that the uninsurance rate for nonelderly people who aren’t citizens will be 39.2% in 2024, about four times higher than it is for the entire U.S. population at 9.8%.

By MARISSA PLESCIA
/ May 4, 2023 





Adults under the age of 65 who are noncitizens are expected to represent about one-third of the country’s 27 million uninsured in 2024 — even though this group only accounts for 8% of the total nonelderly population in the U.S., a new report showed.

The report, published Thursday, was conducted by the Urban Institute and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. For the analysis, the researchers used the Urban Institute’s Health Insurance Policy Simulation Model, which estimates how healthcare policy options will affect cost and coverage.

It comes after the Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a rule that would permit Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients — also known as Dreamers — to apply for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace or through their state Medicaid organization. HHS predicts the rule could lead to 129,000 DACA recipients gaining coverage. The Urban Institute’s analysis, however, does not include the effects of the proposed rule.

The researchers found that in 2024, the uninsurance rate for nonelderly people who aren’t citizens will be 39.2%, about four times higher than it is for the entire U.S. population at 9.8%.

“As the uninsurance rate has declined, noncitizens comprise a growing share of those without coverage,” said Katherine Hempstead, senior policy adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in a news release. “The recent proposed rule regarding DACA recipients illustrates the need for expanding eligibility regardless of immigration status if we want to attain universal coverage.”

The report also showed that 36% of those who are noncitizens have employer-sponsored insurance, lower than the total nonelderly population in the U.S. at 54.4%.

In addition, more than 80% of uninsured noncitizens have at least one family member who is employed. However, many aren’t working for companies with employer-sponsored insurance, according to the Urban Institute.

This population is also less likely to have insurance through the government: just 16.5% of those who are uninsured and noncitizens are eligible for Medicaid, CHIP or subsidized Marketplace coverage. Two-thirds of this group are ineligible because of their immigration status.

“Despite some efforts to cover certain lawfully present noncitizens and the availability of Marketplace options, only 16.5% of uninsured noncitizens gained eligibility for Medicaid, CHIP, or Marketplace premium tax credits,” said Matthew Buettgens, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, in a statement. “States have several options to extend coverage to noncitizens and undocumented immigrants and expand overall health coverage in the United States.”

Photo: alexsl, Getty Images

"JUST GET IN LINE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE"

Path to US citizenship elusive for longtime immigrant owners of popular Colorado Springs German restaurant

Debbie Kelley, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Sun, February 5, 2023 

Feb. 5—Sabine and Michael Berchtold came to Colorado Springs over the Thanksgiving holiday in 1996, she from Germany, he from Switzerland, on work visas that allowed the young married couple to own a business stateside if they met certain conditions.

Two weeks later, they opened Uwe's German Restaurant, which had been under previous ownership.

More than a quarter of a century later, a cloud of sadness rises above the whiffs of jaeger schnitzel, bratwurst and sauerbraten at their popular eatery.

Despite applying every year to obtain a green card and working with several attorneys to become permanent legal citizens, the Berchtolds have yet to succeed.

If they continue to fail, they will have to leave the United States when they sell the restaurant.

They're not sure when that might be. While they say they love what they do, with Michael, 55, manning the kitchen and Sabine, 56, running the front end for decades, they'd like to retire at some point and enjoy the fruits of their hard but rewarding labor.

"We're here now 26 years, and it's home," Sabine Berchtold said. "Knowing we cannot stay, it hurts. It weighs on your mind."

The Berchtolds are among an estimated 800,000 business owners living in the U.S. in the same unsteady boat.

"It seems crazy, but it happens," said Professor Violeta Chapin, co-director of the Colorado Law Clinical Program at the University of Colorado in Boulder. "This particular type of business-related immigration hurts business people who have invested a significant amount of money in our economy and are unable to transfer to green cards."

But the E-2 non-immigrant investor visa that the Berchtolds have — which requires holders to contribute $120,000 toward a business in America and employ at least two American workers — is designed to be temporary, said Zachary New, a lawyer with Joseph & Hall PC in Denver and a founding member of the Immigration Law and Policy Society at the University of Colorado School of Law.

The visa allows for "quasi-permanent residency," New said, and implies that the holder plans to return to the country of origin.

"The U.S. government gives you permission to operate the business and grow it, after you invest," he said. "It's difficult to convert it to permanent residency."

Sabine said that type of visa was the only chance for her and her husband to be able to come to the United States because they did not have relatives here.

At this point on their journey to become legal permanent residents, Sabine and Michael are angry about the massive influx of immigrants seeking asylum or improved economic conditions now crossing the southern border.

It's unfair, Sabine said, that thousands of people are being allowed in daily and immediately receiving some assistance and access to the same system that the Berchtolds have been steadfastly trying to crack for years.

"They can come in illegally and get a green card, and they're set to go," Sabine said.

Undocumented immigrants who enter the U.S. without a visa or other proper paperwork or authorization don't receive as many benefits as some people might think, Chapin said.

"Lots of people get nothing," she said. "They somehow make their way in the country, they have no work authorization, no access to federal benefits, it's very difficult for them to access health insurance. Yet they survive."

While only legal immigrants can qualify for federal subsidized housing and food assistance, Colorado and some other states provide undocumented people access to state-sponsored health insurance and help paying for college tuition. And many community nonprofits and faith-based groups help with basic necessities.

And, said Chapin, "Undocumented residents pay taxes, even though they don't have lawful status."

An estimated 11 million people live in the U.S. illegally, although some entities, including the Center for Immigration Studies of New York, say that number is undercounted by up to 1.5 million.

In many cases, new arrivals must follow the same procedures as people who have been here for years and are requesting legal status or citizenship, attorneys said.

However, New said, asylum seekers at the border who can immediately pass a screening proving "credible fear" as their reason for leaving their home country, can receive a work permit and be expedited for asylum consideration.

"It's not taking away from anybody else's ability to get their own lawful status," he said. "Having orderly and efficient border processing is only helpful, as immigration courts are increasingly backlogged."

Asylum cases can take years to be heard in court, though, New said.

"With the way the numbers are rising, it's going to take four to five years from getting into immigration court until a hearing, unless you're able to push something faster," he said.

Sabine believes that while new arrivals may have to get in line for backlogged immigration services, they are clogging what was already a notoriously sluggish system.

New agrees the laws are antiquated and "do not work in a lot of the ways they were intended to when they were written."

But each part of immigration law has an objective, he said. For example, the origin of asylum law dates to the Holocaust and is designed to protect people escaping persecution.

Work permits for skilled and unskilled laborers and investors such as the Berchtolds serve different needs, as do the allowances made for Ukrainian, Afghan, Cuban and Haitian nationals who are paroled into the U.S. on temporary stays and work authorization.

"There are a multitude of programs, and certainly things need to be fixed and tweaked, but it's unfair to say one group of individuals, especially vulnerable individuals, is being treated in a preferential manner as compared to individuals going through a lawful manner in a different way," he said. "Each process has its own purpose."

Obtaining green cards, also known as the diversity visa program, from among the 50,000 the U.S. issues each year — which includes 1,000 from Germany and 500 from Switzerland — would enable the Berchtolds to remain in the U.S. permanently and forgo the current complicated process that forces them to return to their native countries every four years to renew their visas through the American embassies.

Also, every two years, they must leave U.S. soil for an unspecified amount of time and have their passport stamped upon re-entry.

Only by sheer luck did those years of mandatory travel not come up during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, they say.

The immigration structure has not provided the path to citizenship they seek.

"Our only hope is to win the green card lottery," Sabine said.

Immigrants are more likely to be successful in America if they are granted legal citizenship, according to the Center for Migration Studies of New York, which held a webinar on immigration in January.

The progression to legalization enables immigrants to attain higher income, education level, English language proficiency and health insurance, said Donald Kerwin, co-author of a new report from the Center for Migration Studies of New York, "Ten Years of Democratizing Data: Privileging Facts, Refuting Misconceptions and Examining Missed Opportunities."

"It's important to move from one category to another," he said. "It benefits the entire U.S., not just the people impacted."

Immigration is an ongoing, hotly debated political issue, with both sides of the partisan coin blaming the other for the flood of immigrants entering the U.S., and the chasmic disagreement over how to handle the situation.

The report Kerwin co-authored with Robert Warren provides three recommendations for provisional federal changes to reduce the logjam of applications and provide what they think would be a more equitable method for people like the Berchtolds.

The process for long-term residents in good standing to gain legal status currently requires them to live here for 50 years.

Kerwin and Warren are calling for reducing that qualification to 15 years of U.S. residency. That would cover 42% of the undocumented population, Kerwin said.

"We recommend streamlining the naturalization process, making it a priority," he said during the January webinar. "We support more generous eligibility criteria — waivers of language and civics requirements for people who have been here for 15 years. We need to prioritize education, English language proficiency and earnings to increase naturalization rates."

This year could bring some changes. The legality of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA policy, which protects undocumented children from deportation and allows them work permits, is in limbo and expected to go to the U.S. Supreme Court for a decision.

Title 42, a federal provision invoked during the pandemic to restrict the number of foreigners entering the country, also could be removed — the possibility of which last year brought throngs of people from numerous countries trying to gain entry to America.

Monthly migrant "encounters" at the southwest border — which include apprehensions by U.S. Border Patrol that result in temporary custody until adjudication and expulsions back to home countries — are near record high levels, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

In 2022, 2.4 million enforcement encounters at the Mexico border were recorded, compared with 1.7 million in 2021 and 458,000 in 2020, the agency reports.

More than 700,000 encounters have been logged to date for 2023.

Under immigration law, it is a misdemeanor offense subject to fine or six-month imprisonment for anyone entering the United States illegally. And it's a felony offense for anyone to reenter or attempt to reenter the U.S. after being removed or deported.

Congress has not revised immigration laws comprehensively since the Immigration Act of 1990, a national reform of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

The Berchtolds note that they pay taxes and Social Security.

"We have to do everything like an American," Michael said.

But they personally cannot receive any Social Security payments from the federal government because they don't have green cards.

The unhappiness on their faces comes from deep within. If they do not receive green cards before they leave the restaurant business, they will have to leave America.

Many of Uwe's German Restaurant regulars know about their plight.

A few years ago, nearly 2,000 customers signed a petition calling for the Berchtolds to obtain permanent residency, which a proposed bill in Congress would have addressed.

The couple submitted the petition to U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado Springs.

"He said he would support it," Sabine said.

But then impeachment proceedings for former President Donald Trump began and COVID-19 hit, and progress on the proposal halted.

"I feel so bad for them," said Ralph Huber, who has been a patron of Uwe's restaurant for years. "People are crossing the border by the millions, and here we have these people who have been here legally for a long time and can't become citizens. It's not right."

PRINCIPLED STAND

Ocasio-Cortez only Democrat to vote ‘no’ on spending package




Mychael Schnell
Fri, December 23, 2022 


Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) was the only House Democrat to vote against a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package on Friday, voting “no” on the measure because of increased funding for defense and federal agencies that oversee immigration.

The House passed the sprawling measure in a 225-201-1 vote, sending the bill to President Biden’s desk. The Senate passed the bill in a bipartisan 68-29 vote on Thursday.

In a statement Friday afternoon, Ocasio-Cortez said she was concerned about funding in the bill for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in addition to the $858 billion in defense spending.

“I campaigned on a promise to my constituents: to oppose additional expansion and funding for ICE and DHS — particularly in the absence of long-overdue immigration reform. For that reason, as well as the dramatic increase in defense spending which exceeds even President Biden’s request, I voted no on today’s omnibus bill,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

The appropriations bill passed by Congress includes $8.42 billion for ICE, which is $161.1 million more than what was enacted in 2022 and $319.4 million more than what the president requested.

DHS received $86.5 billion in discretionary resources.

Ocasio-Cortez said the “dramatic increase” in spending for those two agencies “cut[s] against the promises our party has made to immigrant communities across the country,” adding that it is the case “especially in light of the lack of progress on DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals], TPS [Temporary Protected Status], and expanding paths to citizenship.”

The New York Democrat was not the only member of the caucus to not vote for the omnibus package: Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) voted present. The Hill reached out to the congresswoman for comment on her vote.

Ocasio-Cortez also took issue with the process by which Congress funded the government for the rest of the fiscal year. Typically, the chambers will vote on appropriations bills for each agency. This year, however, appropriators opted for a single omnibus package to fund all corners of the government.

“From the beginning of this negotiation, we made clear to Democratic leadership that we must keep the practice of voting on funding bills by agency — particularly controversial agencies like DHS — so that Members would not be forced to betray one part of their district in service of expediency,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We were successful in this approach last year, and looked forward to supporting such a package this year.”

The congresswoman touted provisions included in the omnibus that she helped craft — including an increase in the National Labor Relations Board and funding for community projects in her district — but said she could not vote for them because of her overarching concerns with the bill.

“These victories and many more – such as the inclusion of PUMP [Providing Urgent Maternal Protections] and PWFA [Pregnant Workers Fairness] Acts – are hard-fought wins that we proudly support and would proudly vote for. But tying these provisions to dramatic increases in surveillance, border patrol forces, and militarized spending after years of deeply disturbing misconduct and lack of any meaningful accountability is decision we find deeply objectionable,” she said.

“Our constituents have made clear that they would like to see objections to these measures represented in Congress, and that is what I will do,” she added.

Effort in U.S. Congress to protect 'Dreamer' immigrants stalling





More than 200 "Dreamers" and their supporters from across U.S.A. attempt to lobby members of U.S. Congress in Washington

Thu, December 15, 2022 
By Ted Hesson and Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Over 200 advocates from around the United States converged on Capitol Hill this week with an 11th-hour mission: persuade lawmakers to provide citizenship to "Dreamer" immigrants who illegally entered the United States as children.

Addinelly Moreno Soto, a 31-year-old communications aide who came to the United States from Mexico at age 3, trekked to the Capitol from San Antonio with her husband on Wednesday hoping to meet with her state's U.S. Senator John Cornyn. The influential Republican's support could help advance a deal that has eluded Congress for more than a decade - and which appears likely to fail again this year.

Cornyn could not meet with her and other Dreamer supporters from Texas, she said. One of his staffers told them that Cornyn would need to review the text of any legislation before making a decision.


The end-of-year push comes as a window is nearly closed for Congress to find a compromise to protect Dreamers, many of whom speak English and have jobs, families and children in the United States but lack permanent status.

Supporters of the effort have pushed for Congress to pass the legislation now since Democrats - who overwhelmingly back Dreamers - will cede control of the U.S. House of Representatives to Republicans in January. Kevin McCarthy, the top House Republican, has said the border must be secured before other immigration issues can be addressed.

About 594,000 Dreamers are enrolled in a 2012 program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which grants protection from deportation and work permits, but is currently subject to a legal challenge brought by Texas and other U.S. states with Republican attorneys general.

U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat who came to office in 2021, promised during his campaign to protect Dreamers and their families after Republican former President Donald Trump tried to end DACA.

Both Moreno and her husband enrolled in DACA in 2012. They now have two U.S.-citizen boys ages two and three.

"How much longer do we have to prove ourselves - that we are worthy of being here permanently?" Moreno said. "That is the frustrating part. I have children. What about them?"

'NOT GOING ANYWHERE'

Senators Kyrsten Sinema, an independent from Arizona who recently left the Democratic Party, and Republican Thom Tillis of North Carolina, worked on a plan in recent weeks to combine border restrictions with a path to citizenship for an estimated 2 million Dreamers, according to a framework of possible legislation reviewed by Reuters.

But even some House Democrats have expressed reservations with the framework of the Senate bill.

The Senate is split 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote. At least 10 Republicans would need to join Democrats to overcome a procedural hurdle that requires 60 votes to advance legislation in the Senate.

Lawmakers have a narrow timeframe with a little more than a week before Congress is expected to pass a roughly $1.7 trillion spending bill that would serve as a vehicle for the immigration deal, but leading Republicans have said it will not happen.

"It’s not going anywhere," Cornyn told Reuters this week, offering a more blunt assessment than his staffer.

On Thursday, a Senate aide and three other people familiar with the matter said the Dreamer effort would not advance before the end of the year. The offices of Sinema and Tillis did not respond to requests for comment.

Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California said it was frustrating and disappointing that the talks had not even progressed into legislation for senators to review.

Senator John Kennedy, a conservative Republican from Louisiana, said his party had lost trust in the president's willingness to secure the border amid record illegal crossings.

"President Biden's administration is perfectly content to have the border open," Kennedy said. "They're happy to have all those people coming in and everybody knows that."

A Biden administration official criticized Republicans for "finger-pointing" and attacking Biden's record "when they themselves refuse to take the actual steps we need from Congress to fix our broken immigration system."

For Raul Perez, a 33-year-old from Austin, Texas, who came to Washington, the prolonged uncertainty over his and other Dreamers futures was deeply frustrating.

"It's been over a decade now since DACA came out and we're still in the same spot," said Perez, who is part of the immigrant-youth led advocacy group United We Dream. "We need something to pass now. We can't keep waiting."


(Reporting by Ted Hesson and Richard Cowan in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken, Aurora Ellis and Lisa Shumaker)

Young Black and Latino voters seen as key in turning back midterm ‘red wave’

Ariana Figueroa, States Newsroom
November 10, 2022

Voters (Shutterstock)


WASHINGTON — Young Black and Latino voters were critical in holding off the Republican “red wave” in several battleground states for U.S. Senate seats and in tight U.S. House races in the midterm elections, according to analyses by researchers and grassroot organizations.

Young, diverse voters between the ages of 18 and 29 had the second-highest youth voter turnout in almost three decades, with youth voter turnout at 31% in the nine battleground states of Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to estimates by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, an institute at Tufts University.

Control of the Senate is not yet decided but is down to three races — Nevada, Arizona and a runoff election in Georgia — and control of the House is still unknown. Earlier predictions and polling had forecast a Republican “red wave” leading to a takeover of Congress at least in the House.

The center, which studies young voters, also found in analyses of exit polling data that 89% of Black youth and 68% of Latino youth voted for a Democratic U.S. House candidate.

Young voters particularly played a key role in the Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Georgia races, the center found.

In the Wisconsin governor election, Democratic incumbent Tony Evers won his reelection by a slim margin, 51% to 48%. About 70% of young voters backed Evers compared to 30% for his Republican challenger Tim Michels, the center found in analyzing exit poll data.

Gen Z

Adding to the influence of the youth vote, this is also the first election cycle that members of Gen Z, the generation born between 1997 and 2012, are eligible to run for Congress. Rep.-elect Maxwell Alejandro Frost, (D-Fla.), won his race this week, at 25 becoming the first Gen Z member of Congress and also the first Afro Cuban member.

Compared to earlier generations, Gen Z is the most diverse, with more than half people of color. In addition, 1 in 5 members of Gen Z identify as LGBTQ, according to a Gallup survey.

President Joe Biden also acknowledged youth voter turnout during a midterm election briefing with reporters Wednesday afternoon, and thanked those voters for helping Democrats hold onto competitive House seats and flip a Senate seat in Pennsylvania, electing Democrat John Fetterman.

Organizations like NextGen have worked to register more than 1.4 million young voters and helped get 2.6 million young voters to the polls in 2020 — the largest youth voter turnout in an election cycle.

In the Georgia U.S. Senate race, which is heading to a runoff election next month, young voters backed U.S. Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock by 63% to 36% compared to his GOP opponent, Herschel Walker, according to estimates from exit polling from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

Latino voting power

Héctor Sánchez Barba, the executive director and CEO of Mi Familia Vota, an organization that works to build Latino voting power, said during a briefing with reporters that the Latino voting bloc is a young population, with 30% of Latino voters ranging in ages from 18 to 29, which is “10 years younger than the national average.” He added that 30% of Latinos are under the age of 18.

“So when we’re talking about the Latino vote, we’re not always talking about the transactional way that sometimes our vote is analyzed in swing states,” he said. “We as an organization are every day in the communities investing in the long-term democracy.”

Latinos are the second-largest voting bloc, said Yvonne Gutierrez, managing director of Latino Victory, which works to help progressive Latino candidates get elected to office and increase Latino voter participation.

Gutierrez said early on, Latino Victory worked on the ground in key states like Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Texas to endorse Democratic candidates, along with states like Oregon that have emerging Latino populations.

“Latino voters are delivering for Democrats and a formidable pillar of the Democratic coalition, and we need the investment, ongoing continued investment that happens year to year, not a helicopter in at the point of the election cycle,” she said.

Support in congressional races

Voto Latino, an organization that works to register Latinos to vote, found that in election eve polling in Arizona, Latinos backed Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly over GOP challenger Blake Masters. As of 4 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Kelly has a lead over Masters, with 51% of the vote with 70% of votes reported.

In Nevada, Latinos in polling supported Democratic U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto over her GOP challenger Adam Laxalt, according to Voto Latino. Final results of that race will not be known until sometime next week, but as of 4 p.m. Eastern Thursday, Cortez Masto was trailing Laxalt with 47.6% of the vote compared to his 49.5%, with 83% of votes reported.

In Pennsylvania, where Democrats flipped a GOP U.S. Senate seat, Latinos supported Fetterman in polling by a large margin, Voto Latino said.

Latinos also were thought to have contributed to important wins in U.S. House races such as in Colorado, where Democratic U.S. Rep.-elect Yadira Caraveo, a pediatrician and state representative, beat her GOP challenger Barbara Kirkmeyer, a state senator, in Colorado’s newly drawn 8th Congressional District. The district is split evenly between the parties in voter affiliation, and has the highest percentage of Latinos among congressional districts in the state.

Caraveo will become the first Latina to represent Colorado in Congress.

“Latino voters are also instrumental in our efforts to increase Latino representation,” Gutierrez said. “As anti-immigrant and anti-Latino policies and rhetoric grow in the Republican Party, we need more Latino voices at all government levels to ensure our community’s voice is heard.”

Beatriz Lopez, the chief political and communications officer at the Immigration Hub, said in a statement that Democrats should look at the success of Fetterman’s campaign in courting Latino voters.

She said he ran a pro-immigration campaign and his wife, Gisele, who is a “former Dreamer and champion for hard-working immigrants in her state — is a recipe for Democrats on how to talk the talk, counter the attacks, and win big.”

Dreamers is a term used to describe young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. Those who are enrolled — about 800,000 — in DACA are shielded from deportation. Immigration advocates and DACA recipients have lobbied Congress to create a permanent pathway to citizenship for them, especially as a federal judge considers a case that could outlaw the program.
Siding with Democrats

Clarissa Martinez De Castro, the vice president of UnidosUS Latino Vote Initiative, said that in the midterm elections, Latinos overwhelmingly voted for Democrats in every state except for Florida, where Latinos voted to reelect Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Cuban American, and Gov. Ron DeSantis.

According to an exit poll by CNN, DeSantis won about 58% of the Latino vote, compared to his Democratic challenger, and former Florida Gov. Charlie Christ, who got 40% of the Latino vote.

Republicans have invested in the Sunshine State for decades, working to court the Latino vote in Florida, primarily by painting Democrats as communists, playing on the fears of regime and dictators that many Latinos in the state previously fled from, said Kenny Sandoval, the vice president of campaigns and partnerships at Voto Latino.

Sandoval expressed frustration that despite Latinos continuing to vote for Democrats, engagement in the community is often an afterthought.

“Latino voters and especially young Latino voters are among the most essential communities, and the Democratic coalition will be the fastest growing, yet what we saw was Latino voters, and the campaigns who engage them, remained an afterthought for Democratic fundraisers throughout the election cycle because they bought into the false and unsupported argument that Republicans have made serious inroads in the Latino community,” he said.

Martinez De Castro said that Hispanic voters are generally issue-based voters.

“As voters, Hispanics generally reject extremes and taking away rights from people, as illustrated by these voters’ views on abortion, for example, where 76% have stated that regardless of their personal belief, they do not believe abortion should be illegal or that that decision should be taken out away from everybody else,” she said.

Yanira Merino, the national president of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, said many Latinas went to the polls in the “wake of the attack on reproductive rights,” after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion access this summer.

LCLAA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan Latino organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO labor organization and the Change to Win labor federation.

“It’s imperative to note the Latino vote must not be taken lightly and that investment into engagement of this group is a must, and it cannot be an afterthought,” she said.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and Twitter.

Congress needs to do its job and protect Dreamers

BY DIANA PLIEGO, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 10/31/22 
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL

Getty Images

As a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, recipient, I felt immense relief in June 2020 when the Supreme Court ruled that DACA could stay in place. Several months before, as lawyers argued the case, thousands of immigrant youth leaders and allies rallied in front of the Court, chanting “home is here!” Uncertain about our futures, and with our livelihoods on the line, we came together to show the world that our community is united, powerful, and undeterred, even when the odds are stacked against us. 

I wish I could say that uncertainty has faded since we won at the Supreme Court. I wish I could say Congress realized that the stakes were too high to leave our fate to the whims of another court decision or more empty promises. But now — a decade after DACA was created as a temporary fix — it is urgent for Members of Congress to do their jobs and pass a permanent solution to provide the stability we need to chart our futures in the U.S., the only home many of us have ever known. 

I work for the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), the same organization that was involved in drafting the original Dream Act more than 20 years ago. Year after year, and in court case after court case, my colleagues and I advocate for the future of thousands of DACA recipients and millions more who, like me, live in constant uncertainty. 

I was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. with my mom and brothers to reunite with my dad when I was three years old. Eventually we settled in South Carolina, where I ultimately went to college. Before DACA, I lived in fear of being deported to a country I didn’t know. At 17, my life changed when President Obama announced DACA. With DACA, I could continue my education, build a career, and help support my family.

Most importantly, getting DACA reaffirmed what I knew: My home is here. 

The U.S. is home to hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth who grew up and have built a life here, but currently have no pathway to become U.S. citizens. Every two years, we submit our renewal applications and hope the policy will last long enough to renew again.

We are not the only ones who stand to lose if DACA goes away. Around 300,000 children born in the U.S. have at least one DACA recipient parent; 76 percent of us DACA recipients have an immediate family member who is a U.S. citizen. Beyond our loved ones, our communities count on 343,000 essential workers with DACA, and the government collects $6.2 billion from us in federal taxes. 

Yet, despite our contributions, despite the lives we’ve built for ourselves and our loved ones, politically motivated court cases put our future in this country in question. Pundits play political games with our lives and livelihoods. Politicians save face with promises they have yet to keep. And Congress kicks the can down the road on passing the solution we’ve been demanding since before DACA’s inception. Once again, the fate of thousands hangs in the balance. 

In early October, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that deemed DACA unlawful. The ruling allows DACA renewals to continue temporarily and sent the case back to the lower court to consider the Biden administration’s recent DACA regulation, which is set to go into effect on Oct. 31 — for now.

We call on Congress to think for a moment about what it must feel like to walk in our shoes. Imagine the fear of having your future in the hands of strangers, politicians, judges and politically motivated lawsuits. Imagine the fear of one day losing your home, your country, your community. Imagine living your life in two-year increments. 

Our lives remain in limbo because of Congress’s inaction and indifference. Why must we fight so hard for lawmakers to see our humanity? 

Their constituents see it: A Pew Research Center survey shows that 74 percent of Americans support a law that provides permanent legal status to immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. 

We need a permanent legislative solution for immigrant youth. We need a pathway to citizenship. Even from the very beginning, over 10 years ago, DACA was always a temporary measure. For true stability and security, Congress must act. Congress must do its job and pass permanent protections that put us on a pathway to citizenship because our home is here, and we are here to stay.

Diana Pliego is a policy associate at the National Immigration Law Center, where she works on a range of issues, including protection for DACA recipients and fighting immigration enforcement. She conducts policy research, analyzes and tracks legislation, and develops materials for movement and field partners as well as for congressional advocacy. She is a DACA recipient.

As elected Republicans continue effort to kill DACA, most Americans support continuing program


Gabe Ortiz
Daily Kos Staff
Friday October 28, 2022 · 

Oscar Barrera-Gonzalez (L) receives help from volunteer Ivan Corpeno in filing his application for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program at Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles on Aug. 15, 2012, in Los Angeles, California.

Republicans’ efforts to kill the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and deport young undocumented immigrants overwhelmingly fly in the face of public opinion. New Data for Progress polling shows that voters support continuing the popular and successful policy by a nearly 30-point margin, 58%-31%.

Support is strongest among Democrats, at 79%, followed by independents, at 58%. “Though a slight majority of Republicans oppose continuing DACA, 37 percent support keeping it in place,” Data for Progress said. Elected Republicans led by very corrupt Texas attorney general Ken Paxton have been steadily working to end the successful and popular immigration program through the courts. Currently, no new applications are being accepted.

“Though DACA is a critical program for young immigrants, it is only a temporary solution,” Data for Progress said. Its polling shows that voters also strongly support permanent relief.

RELATED STORY: Thousands of teachers could be pushed out of their jobs due to GOP litigation seeking to end DACA

“Meanwhile, the American Dream and Promise Act, passed by the House of Representatives in 2021, would provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers,” Data for Progress said. “By a +32-point margin, voters back a policy to provide DACA recipients the opportunity to gain U.S. citizenship.”

Support is strongest from Democrats, again at 79%. Support from independents ticks slightly up from DACA, at 59%. Support from Republicans also goes up, to 43% compared to DACA’s 37%.

“Protecting Dreamers is also politically popular. A plurality of voters (47 percent), including 57 percent of Latina/o voters, say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports a path to citizenship for DACA recipients. Only 29 percent of voters say this would make them less likely to vote for that candidate, while 24 percent state it would not impact their decision.”

A second poll that was conducted by Democratic and Republican firms and released by immigration reform advocacy group FWD.us this week also shows strong support for a package that pairs permanent protections for DACA recipients with border security. “By a 50-point margin, voters support the proposed legislation (71% support / 21% oppose) with a plurality (45%) strongly supporting.” What that “border security” would look like when the number of border agents has already doubled from 2003 is unclear, and could hurt border communities affected by border militarization even more.

But following a conservative appeals court ruling that sent the DACA case back to anti-immigrant Texas judge Andrew Hanen, affected individuals said lawmakers must do their jobs and come together to figure out and pass legislative relief by year’s end.

“Right now, Congress needs to cut a bi-partisan deal and pass immigration legislation in 2022, that means averting the weekly loss of 5,000 work authorizations from DACA recipients over the next two years should the program be terminated,” DACA recipients Erika Andiola and Astrid Silva wrote at Univision. “Congressional staffers should the Fifth Circuit ruling as a wake-up call and ensure their bosses (whether they’re seeking re-election or not) do not waste any (and perhaps the only) opportunity to pass immigration legislation—including the upcoming lame duck session of Congress.”

Among the thousands of DACA beneficiaries who will lose their relief every week when Republicans end DACA through the courts and if Congress doesn’t act are 9,000 educators. Republicans are trying to force thousands of teachers out of their jobs as the nation also faces a teacher shortage.

Maria Rocha has taught students pre-K through sixth grade and worked as a nanny and housekeeper before becoming an educator. She told Bloomberg that she “saw the lack of teachers that looked like me, that were from my community, that related to the students. There’s a science behind teaching. I’m fascinated with teaching kids how to say thank you, how to blow your nose, how to start reading.”

Column: That unbelievably racist ad during the Dodgers playoff? Ex-Trump aides were behind it


Michael Hiltzik
Mon, October 17, 2022

Former White House senior advisor Stephen Miller is connected to a racist TV commercial attacking President Biden and Democrats. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

As if Dodger fans didn't have enough to nauseate them during Saturday's playoff game against the San Diego Padres, the telecast featured an openly racist commercial blaming President Biden and other Democrats for illegal immigration.

Airing during the mid-fourth inning break of the game that eliminated the Dodgers from the post-season, the ad consisted of video images depicting a torrent of obviously Latino immigrants pouring over the border.

"This giant flood of illegal immigration is draining your paychecks, wrecking your schools, ruining your hospitals, threatening your family," stated the overwrought narrator, over the obligatory ominous soundtrack. "Mixed among the masses are drug dealers, sex traffickers and violent predators."



Vote to keep our borders, jails and bathrooms open. Vote progressive

Sarcastic billboard sponsored by right-wing Citizens for Sanity

Who's behind this commercial? The ad identifies its sponsor only as "Citizens for Sanity," but that last line should give you a further clue: It's an organization of several former Trump aides who spearheaded his administration's attacks on immigrants.

The ad's characterization of immigrants as criminals almost exactly echoes Trump's line during his announcement of his presidential campaign in 2015 about Mexican immigrants: "They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists."

The leaders of Citizens for Sanity are associated with the America First Legal Foundation, which was founded by Stephen Miller, its president.

Notoriously, Miller was an architect of Trump's cruel and crude immigrant family separation policy, his Muslim ban and his shutdown of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which defers deportation for immigrants brought to the U.S. as minors by their parents and allows them to work, but requires regular renewals.

A whole page on the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, is devoted to Miller.

The immigration ad isn't Citizens for Sanity's only product during this election cycle. Another video blames "woke" politicians — specifically Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Vice President Kamala Harris — for fomenting a tide of urban violent crime, illustrated by a sequence of random videos of gunplay, shoplifting and street assaults.

Another video attacks transgender athletes with the tagline, "Tell Biden and his radical allies: No men in girls' sports."

The group has also erected billboards nationwide, including in California, with sarcastic, infantile glosses on Democratic policies: "Vote to keep our borders, jails and bathrooms open. Vote progressive"; "Demand Transportation Equity for Pansexuals NOW"; "Too much freedom is a bad thing. Get your IRS audit today." And so on.

The connections tying together Miller, the America First Legal Foundation, and Citizens for Sanity have been laid out by the nonprofit group Open Secrets, which tracks money in politics. A public document cited by OpenSecrets identifies the top executives of Citizens for Sanity as Gene Hamilton, Ian Prior and John Zadrozny.

Prior told OpenSecrets that his group has “no relationship with America First Legal Foundation.”

Is that so? Prior identifies himself on his own LinkedIn page as "Senior Advisor for America First Legal." Hamilton is vice president and general counsel of America First Legal. Zadrozny is identified on America First Legal's website as its deputy director for investigations.

All three have impeccable credentials as former Trump aides.

Prior was a Justice Department spokesman during the Trump administration. While working in the Trump administration, Hamilton wrote the memo that formally ended DACA, according to a deposition he gave that was cited by the New Yorker. Zadrozny worked at the State Department and the White House under Trump, according to emails published by the progressive organization Democracy Forward.

Citizens for Sanity didn't respond to my request for comment.

That brings us back to the playoff commercial. It isn't clear how widely the commercial has been aired, but it's not a California-only phenomenon — Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Inquirer caught that one and the urban violence commercial during Phillies playoff telecasts. Fox Sports didn't respond to my questions about the commercial schedule or whether the ad was reviewed by any standards department at Fox.

Citizens for Sanity has indicated that it will spend at least six figures promoting its messages.

If that's so, brace yourself for an outpouring of misleading and mendacious ads. The immigration commercial, for example, makes much of the arrest of an immigrant in connection with the rape of a 3-year-old child.

The ad asks, "Who is Joe Biden letting into our country?" The image associated with that point, however, refers to the case of Christopher Puente, which occurred in 2020.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Puente was deported in 2014, under the Obama administration, but managed to re-enter the country with false papers. At the time of the alleged sexual assault, he was at large after being arrested by the Chicago Police Department and then released despite a request by ICE to detain him, according to the agency.

There are several candidates for blame in that episode, but Biden is not among them.

As for where the money for the ad campaign is actually coming from, good luck finding out. Citizens for Sanity is a "dark money" group, meaning that it doesn't have to disclose its donors. Had the commercial been directed at a local political campaign or a California ballot initiative, its principal funders would have to be listed on the air. But it's a national ad, so its backers are anonymous.

The demonization of outsiders for political gain isn't new, of course. In 1934, when the writer and socialist Upton Sinclair ran for governor of California on a leftist platform, movie studios contributed to the campaign against him by producing newsreels depicting tramps and hobos surging over the state line to take advantage of the generous pensions Sinclair proposed for resident seniors; in that case, the images were stock footage from movies then in production.

And who can forget the Willie Horton affair, when George H.W. Bush's campaign aired a commercial aiming to blame Michael Dukakis, his Democratic opponent, for the rape and murder committed by a Black felon who was on a weekend furlough from prison.

That ad had all the same grand guignol elements as the Citizens for Sanity commercial — mainly racism and fear of crime — but it seems almost understated today compared with the turbocharged bigotry on view on your television screens today. Can anyone look at this product and say American politics are in a healthy condition?

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Mexican Independence Day is here: How September 16 signifies a 'moment of hope' for Mexico

Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY - 

For some, Sept. 16 may just be another day in the United States, but across the border, it signifies one of the most important days in Mexico's history. It’s the anniversary of the country’s declaration of independence from Spain.

The day commemorates when Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo in 1810 made the cry for independence hours after midnight by giving a riveting speech in the town of Dolores – now known as Dolores Hidalgo – and ringing the town’s church bells. The moment, which became known as the "Grito de Dolores," was the start of the 11-year Mexican War of Independence that resulted in Mexico gaining freedom from Spain after being under colonial rule for over 300 years.

Those unfamiliar with the holiday may see comparisons to the U.S. Declaration of Independence. They are similar in that each country broke away from European rule, but that’s as close as they get.

Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

Here's what to know about Mexican Independence Day.

What is Hispanic Heritage Month? Latinos and Latino culture can be celebrated year-round

Mexican culture in the US: Texas boy is the world's youngest mariachi. For his dad, it's a return to Mexican family roots

How Mexico's independence story differs from the US

Gaining freedom in Mexico didn't happen at the flip of a switch.

“Technically, they gained their freedom. But the way that freedom was gained was not true freedom,” Alexandro Gradilla, associate professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at California State University, Fullerton, previously told USA TODAY. “It's a mix of Fourth of July, Juneteenth, and sadly I would say April Fool's, because people didn't get the freedom they thought they were going to get.”

To Gradilla and other historians, being under Spanish rule was vastly different than Americans under British rule. Spaniards had greater power over the Indigenous people of Mexico, who were often seen as second-class citizens.

That’s what made the Grito de Dolores such an iconic moment in the new country; it gave people hope that they would be free.

The ensuing war would result in around 15,000 Mexican deaths, according to the New World Encyclopedia, much higher than the estimated 6,800 Americans killed in action during the Revolutionary War.

“The country was still in such a precarious position,” said Dolores Inés Casillas, director of the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Chicano Research Institute. “It was a war-torn country after that, so building it was much more difficult.”

‘I don’t know if I will be deported’: Young immigrants prepare for DACA to end

A new nation tries to form before Mexican-American War

Mario Garcia, a Chicanx historian from UC Santa Barbara, said the war also severely impacted the country’s natural resources, creating instability economically and politically, therefore making Mexico “much less prepared for independence.”

“If you look at the first years, the first decades of Mexico's independence, it was a very weak country,” Garcia said. “They were ill-prepared to become an independent country.”

Attempting to build a country following the war is what made it more difficult for Mexico to defend itself in the Mexican-American War that resulted in the U.S. obtaining much of the present-day Southwest

“Mexico had no history of self-governance, and that's a major difference between Mexico and the United States when it achieves its independence,” Garcia added.


Hundreds of military troops hold cards making a mosaic depiction of the Mexican coat of arms in Mexico City, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016.© Rebecca Blackwell, AP
Hidalgo's bell still rings 300 years later

Regardless of the toll the wars took on Mexico, it was still a major victory in becoming its own nation, one that is greatly celebrated today.

Every year during the late night of Sept. 15, the president of Mexico stands on the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City and delivers a speech similar to Hidalgo's and honors those who fought for the country’s independence. The president also waves a Mexican flag and rings the same bell Hidalgo did over 300 years ago.

Casillas said when she was in the country in September 2017, she remembered everyone feeling “a sense of national pride.”

“Everybody's really excited about the moment,” she said.

Watch: US and Mexico announce massive cooperation

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Mexican Independence Day vs. Cinco de Mayo


The National Guard practices for the upcoming Independence Day parade at Campo Militar N-1 in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022.© Marco Ugarte, AP

Despite the celebration, the holiday still often gets confused with Cinco de Mayo, which is the celebration of Mexico defeating another global superpower, France, in the Battle of Puebla in 1862.

Some people, like Robert Castro, director of Chicanx and Latinx studies at the University of California, San Diego, say Sept. 16 gets overshadowed in the U.S. because of Cinco de Mayo.

There are many reasons as to why the May holiday is more recognized, with Casillas saying corporations' sales surrounding the day helped it gain popularity in the U.S.

Gradilla and Castro both said that many Mexican-Americans were inspired by the May holiday during the Chicano Civil Rights Movement in the middle of the 20th century, which was about “ending oppression and tyranny.”

“Many Chicano activists used that holiday as a way to celebrate their roots and show their appreciation and pride of Mexican culture. Because the Battle of Puebla was led by Mexico’s first and only Indigenous president, Benito Jaurez, they felt that event best symbolized their pride and identities as Chicanos, as Mexican Americans,” Castro said.

Costa Rica, Chile celebrate independence this month

Many Central American countries also observe their independence days around the same time as Mexico. Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica celebrate Sept. 15, while Chile observes Sept. 18. The numerous days of independence are why Hispanic Heritage Month begins on Sept. 15.

Still, historians don’t think people should underestimate the significance of Sept. 16, and believe it should be celebrated.

There are many ways people can celebrate the holiday outside of Mexico. Families and friends will often throw parties together since the holiday is about coming together as one. Castro said the day represents solidarity, perseverance, liberation, freedom and joy, which are still some ideas Gradilla believes Mexican-Americans should be inspired to continue to fight for.

“The best way to honor the day is to do social justice or collective-minded political work," he said.

“They were able to change a system by organizing and by pushing back, and I think people have to always remember that change is possible. I kind of see it as a moment of hope.”

Editor's note: A version of this story was first published in 2021.

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mexican Independence Day is here: How September 16 signifies a 'moment of hope' for Mexico

After 10 years of DACA, Dreamers still live in legal limbo

Mike Bebernes
·Senior Editor
Tue, September 13, 2022 
“The 360” shows you diverse perspectives on the day’s top stories and debates.

The Biden administration late last month issued a new rule designed to fortify DACA, the 10-year-old policy started under former President Barack Obama that has shielded from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

Created in 2012, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy granted some undocumented people who entered the U.S. as minors — often called Dreamers — the right to live and work in the country as long as they met certain criteria and weren’t convicted of serious crimes.

“These are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they’re friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag,” Obama said when he established the program. “They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper.

In the decade since its inception, more than 800,000 Dreamers have taken advantage of the program, and many of them have since become adults who have started businesses, gotten married and had children of their own. Since the executive branch doesn’t have the authority to grant Dreamers permanent legal status or citizenship, DACA was intended to be a temporary stopgap until Congress passed a more comprehensive solution. Bills to do just that, most notably the DREAM Act, have been proposed repeatedly, but each time have failed to advance.

Lack of action from Congress has left the fate of Dreamers in the hands of the executive branch and the courts. Former President Donald Trump tried to repeal DACA early in his presidency, but was blocked by the Supreme Court. An ongoing legal challenge, however, could end the program for good. Last year, a federal judge in Texas ruled that DACA was unconstitutional. The Biden administration has appealed the decision, meaning current DACA recipients are unaffected as of now, but no new applications can be accepted. The case is currently being weighed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and, depending on the outcome, could ultimately make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Why there’s debate

A strong majority of Americans, including most Republicans, support a permanent status for Dreamers. But the fate of the program is still very much up in the air and there’s significant debate over the best way to end the legal limbo that Dreamers have lived in for the past decade.

There’s some hope among some immigration rights advocates that the looming legal threat to DACA might provide motivation for Congress to finally pass something like the DREAM Act. Accomplishing that, some argue, might require some concessions from Democrats to secure enough Republican votes to overcome a likely filibuster. It may also mean proposing the DACA protections on their own, rather than as part of a larger package of immigration reforms that prompt more heated partisan opposition.

But skeptics say it’s still unlikely that anything substantive gets done. They argue that Republicans aren’t going to want to hand Democrats another legislative victory, especially with control of Congress up for grabs in the November midterm elections. Some advocates on the left say nothing will happen unless Democrats make a much more aggressive push to codify DACA into law during the shrinking window in which they control both the House and Senate.

Many of those same advocates have criticized Biden for not using his power as president to expand DACA so more immigrants are eligible. Some conservatives, though, argue that DACA has always been a severe violation of executive power and the courts would be correct to return full decision-making power over immigration policy back to Congress.
What’s next

The Fifth Circuit’s DACA ruling is expected to be released in the coming weeks. If that decision is appealed, it could be heard by the Supreme Court as early as this fall, with a potential final ruling sometime next year.
Perspectives

There’s at least some hope that Congress might pass a permanent solution

“If there’s any glimmer of hope for DREAMers, it might be in the Senate’s compromise on another highly divisive topic: gun control. … A series of major mass shootings finally galvanized enough bipartisan support to pass a gun safety package earlier this year that didn’t go as far as Democrats wanted, but still introduced tailored reforms. With the right motivation, immigration advocates hope a similar sort of negotiation might be possible on immigration, as well.” — Nicole Narea, Vox

DACA’s existence may actually be making true reform less possible

“The difference is night and day from being undocumented to then having protection from deportation, work authorization and essentially being able to start one's life. … But as an unintended consequence, DACA may have actually taken some of the steam out of a legislative fix that would have provided permanent legal status for undocumented young people.” — Tom Wong, immigration policy researcher, to NPR

The GOP should hold out on DACA until they have more leverage to enact their own immigration reforms

“Ultimately, this is a battle that must be fought in Congress and likely will not advance for Republicans until a president of their party is in the White House. After a year and a half of the Biden administration’s open borders … the American public is likely more receptive than ever to stricter immigration policies. If Republicans in Congress are paying any attention to where their voters are positioned on immigration, they should think twice before caving on amnesty for illegal aliens.” — Jack Wolfsohn, National Review

Republicans’ hard-line anti-immigrant views don’t allow room for nuance

“It’s all a matter of mindset, of course. Republicans could just as easily look at Dreamers as a ready workforce during a labor shortage that’s aggravating inflation, or perhaps even (God forbid!) as human beings. … They can’t seem to separate Dreamers, raised in the same country as them, from new border arrivals.” — Jean Guerrero, Los Angeles Times

An end to DACA would be an important step toward reining in presidential overreach

“Obama’s illegal DACA program caused an incalculable loss of faith in the rule of law. … Until presidents like Biden, Trump, and Obama are forced to drive within the lines, the presidency itself will continue to be the biggest threat to democracy in America.” — Editorial, Washington Examiner

Lawmakers on both sides must abandon political gamesmanship and pass a simple DACA solution

“The argument in Congress has long been about wider policy differences on immigration and border security. Hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients are human pawns on this political chess board. … Congress could pass a clean law to formally legalize the DACA program, and the president could sign it. Everything else is politics.” — Editorial, Orange County Register

Both political parties are too mired in dysfunction to solve the problem

“There’s a core of Republican voters that won’t support giving legal status to any undocumented immigrants, and members … of Congress either agree with them or are wary of crossing them. Meanwhile, Democrats still have trouble getting on the same page, even with control of the White House and slim majorities in both houses of Congress.” — Editorial, San Diego Union-Tribune

The moral argument for protecting Dreamers can only go so far

“A stunted ethical vision is a major issue at hand, but so is irrationality when one considers the financial contributions that DACA recipients make each year (for example, $9.4 billion in taxes alone) along with other markers showing the benefits that DACA has bestowed on recipients and on society at large — and the ultimate value of granting a pathway to citizenship.” — Andrew Moss, Daily Hampshire Gazette

Biden could do much more to protect Dreamers even without Congress

“Because the Biden administration chiefly focused on its battle with the courts, the new rule fails to adopt any substantive measures to expand or strengthen the DACA program. Most conspicuously, the government declined to extend the date that a young immigrant must have arrived in the United States to apply for DACA. … Effectively set an expiration date for DACA regardless of what the courts decide.” — Jacob Hamburger and Stephen Yale-Loehr, Slate

Even overwhelming public opinion won’t be enough to sway Congress

“The failure of Congress to pass federal legislation that would legalize the immigration status of hundreds of thousands of Dreamers is another reminder that polling data and statistics take a back seat when it comes to immigration policy. Politicians and elected officials would much rather pander to the most extreme and fringe elements of their political base.” — Marcela García, Boston Globe

Failure to protect Dreamers means comprehensive immigration reform is all but unimaginable

“The problem of migrants who lack long-term documentation is broader than dreamers. An estimated 6.7 million migrants have lived here for more than a decade; of that cohort, more than half have been here for 20 years or longer. Yet within that population, dreamers are unique. Having been brought to the country as babies, toddlers and teens, they were handed a raw deal. It’s a disgrace that we can’t resolve it.” — Editorial, Washington Post

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