Musings on Immigration

El discurso del Papa Francisco ante el Congreso fue un evento muy esperado, pero es uno que es poco probable de lograr que los miembros del Congreso a tomar medidas con respecto a la reforma migratoria, o con cualquier otra medida de carácter temporal, como Acción Diferida de Obama para los padres ("DAPA"). Durante la primera visita del Papa a los EE.UU. tuvo la oportunidad única de hacer frente a las dos cámaras del Congreso. El Papa habló de la gran cantidad de personas procedentes de América Latina, llamando a la unidad y la aceptación. También habló de la importancia de tratar a los que vienen a los EE.UU. con generosidad, que nos recuerda que se trata de personas en busca de una vida mejor y la importancia de vivir la Regla de Oro: "Trata a los demás como te gustaría que te tratara a ti ". De hecho, fue una provocación-discurso y en ocasiones muy emotivo. Sus palabras están en desacuerdo con el actual clima político, donde los inmigrantes, especialmen...

Pope Francis’s speech to Congress was a highly anticipated event, but it is one that is unlikely to push members of Congress to take action with respect to Immigration Reform—or with any other temporary measure, like Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents (“DAPA”). During the Pope’s first visit to the U.S. he had the unique opportunity of addressing both chambers of Congress. The Pope spoke of the large number of people coming from Latin America, calling for unity and acceptance. He also spoke of the importance of treating those who are coming to the U.S. with generosity, reminding us that these are people in search of a better life and the importance of living by the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Indeed, it was a very moving—and at times provocative—speech. His words stand at odds with the current political climate, where immigrants, particularly undocumented ones, remain a much controverted political topic. The Pope was only trying to calm an...

One of the striking things about reading hundreds of newspaper articles about "immigration reform" with thousands of quotes from politicians is the amazing misuse of words and phrases that form an essential part of the debate.  To aid you in your understanding of the immigration reform debate, here are definitions of the key words and phrases, as used by the different side,s on this very important issue. Word/Phrase                                    Immigration Reform The Senate Immigration Bill DACA/Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals DREAMers Amnesty Border Security “Back of the Line” E-Verify ...

Congress is currently trying to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) this week. This Act, as it stands, allows battered spouses to petition for their own legal status, should they be in an extremely abusive relationship where their U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse has isolated them from friends and family, beaten them physically, verbally threatened them with deportation, sexually forced themselves onto them, psychologically demeaned them, and controlled all their marital finances. It is essentially a romantic and mutual relationship that turns into a slave-master relationship. The lack of status makes an awfully abusive relationship worse because the abusive spouse knows he can use the immigrant spouse's lack of a status as a tool to coerce, manipulate, and control. It is not uncommon to hear an abuser tell their immigrant spouse, "If you call the police, they will never believe you because you are illegal - they will deport you and you will never...

We constantly hear that undocumented immigrants are not obeying the "rule of law" or that because we are "country of laws" undocumented immigrants need to be arrested and deported regardless of their situation and the consequences to either them or the U.S. These phrases are thrown about randomly because they surely sound good. Who does not want to live in a "country of laws" where we are governed by the "rule of law?" But an understanding of the concept of the "rule of law" in the context of the U.S. immigration system might better serve our national debate on immigration and bring us closer to resolving a problem that is not intractable. Deserved respect is paid to the Constitution as a basis for all of our laws. As such, we should acknowledge that the framers of the U.S. Constitution believed that an unjust law was not really a law at all. And, as noted in Wikipedia : James Wilson said during the Philadelphia Convention in 17...