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Two Parties, Two Recent Stories,
Two different approaches to immigration and Latinos.
This flew under my radar this week before I had a chance to lampoon it, between my own Flag Day thing, Tharp-Gate, and 405-Toll-Lane-Gate: The Orange County GOP, in the middle of endless hand-wringing over how best to appeal to the hispanic voters who eschew them like the plague, celebrated their OWN Flag Day event with featured speaker Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, the very face of draconian xenophobia and nativism.
(Marty Wisckoll informs us that they also gave a posthumous award to deranged prankster Andrew Breitbart, disenfranchiser of countless blacks and hispanics through his successful war against ACORN, and libeler of the exemplary Shirley Sherrod.)
And this morning – kudos, it’s about time, but better late than nunca:
Obama Policy Will Grant Immunity To Young Immigrants
President Barack Obama’s administration announced Friday that it would stop deporting younger illegal immigrants and would begin granting them work permits.
The policy will apply to immigrants younger than 30 who arrived in the U.S. before the age of 16, have been in the country at least five years, have no criminal history and graduated from high school, earned a GED or served in the military. The decision could affect as many as 800,000 immigrants.
“Our nation’s immigration laws must be enforced in a firm and sensible manner,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement. “But they are not designed to be blindly enforced without consideration given to the individual circumstances of each case. Nor are they designed to remove productive young people to countries where they may not have lived or even speak the language. Discretion, which is used in so many other areas, is especially justified here.”
DHS said it will continued to “focus its enforcement resources on the removal of individuals who pose a national security or public safety risk, including immigrants convicted of crimes, violent criminals, felons, and repeat immigration law offenders.” …
¡Pues, VOTEN Cabrones!
Oye Vern. VIva Santora! no?
Frickin A, artista chingon!
I always tell the Dream Actors to have an event in the Santora. You can be the M.C. You speak so well in Spanish. better than I do.
Ha – you did end up writing one too! I decided that, work deadlines or not, I had to put one up quickly to mark the occasion. I’ve moved mine back into the deuce slot.
ah shit bad timing .. we need to keep in touch better
got a big statement from debbie tharp coming out, and a comparison of the self-justifying 405 toll lanes to a snake eating its own tail. Don’t do those!
*The folks in Santa Monica are dancing in the streets. We do love George Lopez…but he is “off a little” at times.
We really need to have long term legislation to clear all of this up though…a short term executive order (or something similiar) does not seem to be the solution. After reading the announcement, to me and my mind, it does not sound as great as it may when not knowing the details (I may be wrong on these but I think I got it right):
1. This is only for a two year period- hardly immunity and definitely not a long term solution…maybe it is just a baby step.
2. You have to prove that you arrived before you were 16 (or was it 15?)…how do you prove that? I can see how someone can disprove it possibly, but how do you prove that your parents brought you to the US when you were young- it is not like there is a stamped passport or anything.
3. You have to prove that you have been in the US continuously without leaving…again, how do you prove that? Much easier for someone to disprove it, but difficult to prove that you have not left (proving a negative can tough).
It seems to me that this may move in the direction that a lot of citizens want, but is hardly the immunity that it may sound like on first impression. Additionally, I highly doubt that there was a big push to deport those who qualify ultimately for the short term solution anyways…obviously, will make those who qualify feel better and safer in the meantime though.
Well, TJ, the Dems DID try to pass the dream act, but SOMEBODY filibustered it. So unfortunately this is the best we can do right now. And as I remember some Dream Kids WERE being threatened with deportation.
Some Dream Kids I am sure were threatened with deportation, but I hardly doubt that without it, that 800K kids would be deported as implied, although it is cleverly worded to say “up to 800K” so that anything under 800K is accurate.
I for one would like to see a longer term solution to the problem instead of what seems to be a band aid. I am sure I could look it up, but was the DREAM Act brought up in Congress when the Dem’s had full control? Seems that it would have a much better chance to pass when the Dems had full control instead of now when it is split…
I would love to know how a 25 year old kid who came to the US with their parents can prove when they came over and that they have not left the country for the past 5 years. It is one thing to know it yourself, it is another thing to actually prove it…maybe just a declaration would do, but not sure that would even work unless the kid actually remembers coming across the border which I am sure that those who came across very early would have a tough time with. Very complicated problem made even more so by uncompromising views.
Dude, the moment in 2009 when the Dems had control of the Senate (given that now control of the Senate requires 60 votes) was only a moment … between Al Franken finally getting through his recounts and Ted Kennedy dying and getting replaced by a naked man with a truck.
All of your points are well-taken. This is one of the most frustrating times in US history to try to get through any positive legislation.
I still would think that there is a higher probability to have gotten Democratically supported legislation through when they had more control of the House/Senate/Presidency than they do right now…
Still would love to know how someone proves when they were brought into the US and if they have left the US in the past 5 years…somehow I think that the proving of those facts will be taken a little loosely by the approvers of the program.
How about school records, immunization records, church records, Little League records…?
Those can show that they were here but they can’t show that they never left during a 5 year period. I thought that they had to show when they arrived for some reason which would be very difficult to prove instead of upon a re-reading which is just before age of 16. They still have to prove they have not left during a 5 year period…how would they do that?
There’s something called a “presumption” that would generally apply in their favor. If they left, especially post 9/11/2001, they would have had to be smuggled back in. That’s rarely worth the effort. If there’s evidence that they did leave — without a passport, etc. — that might change things.
When it’s impossible to prove a negative, the law generally does not require people to prove a negative.
My point being that if you cannot prove something why even put it in there as a criteria.
It is a criterion; that’s why it’s there. I just presume that given a legal presumption that one not prove a negative the actual responsibility to is to satisfactorily rebut any meaningful evidence, if any is offered, that one did leave the country in a disqualifying manner.
In the presence of a presumption that the criterion is satisfied unless there is reason to think that it isn’t, “Prove X” essentially becomes “rebut evidence that Not X is true.” I’m comfortable with that and I think that applicants should be as well. Do you still disagree?
Maybe to quell criticism. It’s a political world…
yes diamond litle league records ask danny almonte if you renember who he was . if not let me know i will tell you .
No need for that level of interaction, Juan.
G. Lopez talking about politicians and immigration:
Thanks.
Of course, I didn’t mean for this story to be about good old Geroge. I just wanted to use his baffled face to represent Latinos considering the options of the two major parties.
Yeah, I know but George is actually funny than the other two. One wants to get re-elected and the other one has been sticking her middle finger out to immigrants since her political reign.
Anyone interested in a critical legalistic breakdown of yesterday’s announcement, please read this: http://www.citizenorange.com/orange/2012/06/third-times-the-charm-doubts-a.html
My brother Crab points out just what an invaluable service Breitbart’s destruction of ACORN was to the nation, specifically to us white people. He says that by now ACORN would have grown in power and shamelessness to the point where welfare and food stamps would only cover bath salts, and all blacks and latinos would be eating all white people’s faces and spitting out the flesh.