July 18, 2008 4:11 PM
I am sitting in the "How to Win the Immigration Debate" panel now.
Josh Holland from Alternet is introducing the panel and giving us a review of where we are at, with a strong emphasis on the detainee situation. He reminded us of the medium-security family detention center here in Texas that is not far away from where we are not. Children as young as three-years-old and their families are kept in small cells where toys are not allowed and their is no privacy when using the bathroom. Children are allowed one-hour a day outside the cell and have to wear prison garb.
Josh feels that we need to move the argument past the pro/anti and focus on who has the more humane solution to immigration.
Duke1676 who created Migra Matters is going over what the current quota system is and immigration laws. What we're seeing is a push to change immigration offenses from civil offenses to criminal offenses, hence creating a new business in the creation of detention centers, which have big profit margins.
Duke also is talking about the immigration reform bill which was shot down last year leaving us with nothing.
Marisa Trevino of Latina Lista, is speaking of ICE raids and has a special section of her website specifically to the topic. Marisa is using the current example of a nine-month-pregnant Latina woman who was pulled over for "negligent driving," brought to the station and went into labor. She was treated as a mid-level criminal, which meant while she was at the hospital giving birth, she was shackled at her hands and feet. (still a completely appalling story!)
Another example she is using was a story from Laurel, MD. Police officers went to a home to get an undocumented mother and daughter, when they arrived, the woman's husband (who is legal) asked what right did they have to take his wife. The police officer's answer was that he had a gun.
Jackie Mahendra from the Illinois Coalition for Immigration and Refugee Rights is speaking about how Illinois is also seeing patchwork immigration solutions at the local level since federal immigration reform failed.Last year 43 states passed over a hundred pieces of anti-immigrant legislation. One of the most frequently used ideas is local police departments partnering with ICE to become local immigration enforcers.The effect that these laws have discouraged undocumented immigrants to report crimes.
Josh Holland is writing a new book (which I can't wait to be published because he's a great writer). He would like to see comprehensive workplace reform which would look at all sides of immigration, including supply and demand. We have a large amount of jobs that are dehumanizing, gross, and have terrible working conditions, but in many cases still pay more than better jobs in the country of origin.
We can (and should) move this debate to a more populist debate and focus more on economic justice. There are millions of Americans working in the same terrible conditions as immigrants and we should be working to bring an end to those conditions for all.