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Activistas alistan movilización nacional Decepcionados por la escasa mención que el presidente Barack Obama hizo sobre el tema en el informe sobre el Estado de la Unión el pasado 27 de enero en el Congreso, organizaciones locales y nacionales anunciaron una manifestación masiva en Washington D.C. para finales de marzo, reviviendo de esa manera las marchas por la reforma amplia que se gestaron en marzo de 2006, primero en Los Ángeles y luego en varias ciudades con alta concentración hispana. "Hicimos un análisis de cuál es nuestra apreciación sobre el papel de la administración del presidente Barack Obama con respecto de la promesa que hizo durante su campaña a favor de la reforma migratoria. Y quedó claro que las expectativas han sido defraudadas sin lugar a dudas por el presidente", dijo a Univision.com Juan José Gutiérrez, director del Movimiento Latino USA de Los Ángeles, una de las entidades que convocó a los movimientos de 2006. El dirigente agregó que "las veintitantas palabras" que Obama utilizó para referirse a la necesidad de arreglar el sistema migratorio (en el discurso sobe el Estado de la Unión) los obligó a reconsiderar "nuestra actitud, que hemos mantenido por espacio de 13 meses hacia la administración" y advirtió que a partir de ahora exigirán al gobierno que "comience a impulsar" una reforma amplia. "Originalmente íbamos a rendir un informe y a dialogar con el congresista Luis Gutiérrez (demócrata de Illinois) acerca del avance de nuestro Lobby con el Congreso para conseguir los votos necesarios para que la reforma migratoria sea aprobada. Pero tras el informe del Presidente la agenda cambió. En lugar de decirle a Gutiérrez cómo veíamos nosotros el asunto, le pedimos que fuera él quien nos dijera a nosotros cómo lo ve, y su punto de vista y preocupaciones son similares a los nuestros", agregó el activista.
Gutiérrez presentó el 15 de diciembre del año pasado a la Cámara de Representantes una propuesta de ley de reforma migratoria basada en un fuerte componente de seguridad nacional y que incluye, entre otros beneficios, una vía de legalización para millones de indocumentados que carecen de antecedentes criminales, paguen impuestos, hablen inglés y lleven tiempo en Estados Unidos.
Posted By Javier Hernandez at 11:20 AM It is widely known that Hollywood celebrities such and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Geroge Clooney, and other big names donated substantial amounts of money to relief efforts in the wake of the disastrous hurricane that struck Haiti on January 12. What is not as widely known, at least in the U.S., is that Mexico has also jumped in to lend a hand to the ailing nation. Carlos Slim, a Mexican businessman and the reported third richest person in the world has stepped in big. According to the People's Daily News: Over 120,000 Mexicans donated a total of 32.8 million Mexican pesos (2.5 million U.S. dollars) to earthquake victims in Haiti through the Carlos Slim Foundation, said the foundation on Wednesday. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that "Slim’s foundation said it would match donations for Haiti made by customers of his Telefonos de Mexico company." Posted By Cristina Noriega at 08:21 PM The 800 Mile Wall is a new documentary directed by John Carlos Frey. The trailer provides a glimpse of what will undoubtedly offer a compelling look at the human cost of immigration:
In an editorial in today’s Huffington Post, Frey introduced his film, including the following excerpt: "A few years ago I grew concerned about the massive escalation of security infrastructure that was being built along the U.S. Mexico border...Why did we need to spend billions of dollars on border walls, technology and thousands more border guards? I decided this would be the subject matter of my next film and I would try to answer these questions.
From 2007 - 2009 I followed the construction of what is now close to 800 miles of border security infrastructure along the U.S.-Mexico international boundary. Vehicle barriers, pedestrian fencing, virtual fences, cameras, sensors and miles of new roads were being rapidly installed. I went from Brownsville, TX to San Diego, CA and points in between and what I found was disastrous. Dozens of environmental laws were waived in order to acquire land and build the new border walls and infrastructure. New technology was unproven, over priced and non-functional. Deserts and mountains were permanently scarred - all to protect "us from them." The assessments from scholars, government agencies and even border patrol was that this multi-billion dollar effort was not going to solve America’s immigration problems. All of those details may have made a compelling documentary film. Even with all the blunders and cost overruns there was something else that caught my attention - something that the media left out of their "illegal immigration" reporting. The effect of increased border security was proving to be a massive killer." Read his complete description here. I am eager to watch this film because it brings attention to the human cost of constructing a border fence. As Frey concludes, comprehensive immigration reform must address this reality as well: If comprehensive immigration reform fails to deal with migrant death at the U.S. - Mexico border, it is neither comprehensive nor reform. People will continue to risk their lives to flee oppression, seek opportunity, feed their families or unite with them. Forcing people to risk their lives by funneling them through deserts and mountains is inhumane. As a nation that prides itself on respecting human rights, it must be at the foundation of any immigration reform policy and the first place to start is by removing the death penalty from U.S. border security policy.
To see a list of scheduled screenings or order the DVD, click here.
Posted By Cristina Noriega at 10:31 PM |
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I Bet I can get 1 million People to support Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2010
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