illegal aliens at Brave New Films

Another Failed Nativist Sequel - Illegal Aliens Caused Financial Collapse!

2008-09-25T15:27:36Z

<font>The nativist hate-o-sphere is at it again. After blaming legal immigrants for causing global warming, </font>now illegal immigrants are facing the brunts of their latest accusation. What is it? Why, don't you know, those migrant workers, low-income wage-earners, illegals in the military, undocumented students struggling to afford college, caused the financial collapse of Wall Street, Main Street, all streets!! Now we need a $700 billion dollar bailout for them! See what Quaker at DreamActivist has to say about this.

(Psssst, while the nation is conveniently distracted, lets also give DHS $4billion for overbudgeting on old technology)

Tancredo ran in the Republican presidential primaries on a platform devoted strongly against illegal immigrants (a noun, verb and 'illegal alien'). He garned less than 1% of the vote but that has not stopped him from obsessing over those illegals and running around to 'catch them.' We cannot blame him though; forget 'illegal aliens', ethnic diversity is a sight for sore-eyes in his state so of course he is longing for rarity.

So, despite the fact that the last movie flopped, illegal aliens are responsible for the mortgage crisis, booms nativist Tom Tancredo, in a new theatrical sequel. Viewer discretion is advised. Strongly advised.

If these 38 million illegal aliens are in fact, attaining mortgages on housing property, that means they are buying houses (creating demand) and paying property taxes on them in the thousands annually. Wait, that cannot be right, ILLEGALS don't pay taxes, they just reap all the benefits that belong to American citizens!! Which one is it Tancredo, ALIPAC, and the nativist blogosphere? Are you screaming double-bind with little room to wiggle? Did not think the erroneous claims all the way, did you?

Mitt Romney: Meet and Greet 12/18/07

2008-09-10T12:44:38Z

Mitt Romney
Meet and Greet
Columbus, OH 12/18/07

TRANSCRIPT:
MITT ROMNEY: "[...] Another is to make sure that we enforce our immigration laws. We welcome people here legally, but we say no to illegal immigration. And we don't put in place benefits for people who come here illegally. Governor Huckabee was Governor of Arkansas, he pushed in favor of giving an in state tuition break to illegal aliens, and having tax payer funded scholarships for illegal aliens. I got a bill when I was governor, doing the same thing, I got a bill when I was governor. [...] It said lets give an in state tuition break to illegal aliens. I vetoed it. In my opinion, that's the right way to go."

LABEL: MR SC 12-18 (JR#16) E-ClipC

To download a high res version of this clip, VISIT:
http://issuealliance.box.net/shared/5c3hd6hcl3

To download the full campaign event, VISIT:
http://issuealliance.box.net/shared/3xc2pf4jlp

Watch the video

Mitt Romney: Meet and Greet 12/26/07

2008-09-11T08:43:24Z

Mitt Romney
Meet and Greet
Henniker, NH 12/26/07

TOPIC: illegal, aliens, immigration, citizenship

TRANSCRIPT:
"I was on the radio this morning with New Hampshire Public Radio, and, um, it was pointed out that Senator McCain here said that his view was that, that those who come here illegally should get in the back of the line, and he was not in favor of a, of, of a special, uh, deal if you will for illegal aliens, and yet the bill he, he, he fought for that, that was the combined bill in Washington said, with its Z Visa, that everyone here illegally could stay here forever. Now he talks about citizenship and tries to change the subject, but that's not, that's not the, the point. The point is under his bill that he fought for everybody who came here illegally could stay forever. And, and, does he still believe that? Or does he not believe that? And, and likewise on taxation. Um, he says well now he's, uh, he's for making the Bush tax cuts permanent. Well, does he admit that he was wrong in voting against them before? Uh, you know, I, I'm happy to talk about times when I've been wrong, but I don't recall Senator McCain saying he was wrong to say that all illegal aliens should be able to stay here permanently or that he was wrong to vote against the Bush tax cuts. I think he was, on both counts."

LABEL:MR NH 12-26 (BH#41) ZZSR-clipC

To download a high res version of this clip, VISIT: issuealliance.box.net

To download the full campaign event:http://issuealliance.box.net/shared/l1ut8qzs2u

Watch the video

Mitt Romney: Meet and Greet 12/18/07

2008-09-10T12:44:38Z

Mitt Romney
Meet and Greet
Columbus, OH 12/18/07

TRANSCRIPT:
MITT ROMNEY: "[...] I got a bill when I was governor. [...] It said lets give an in state tuition break to illegal aliens. I vetoed it. In my opinion, that's the right way to go. I also said no to driver's licenses to illegal's, and then when my team learned that there's a special program that you can apply for where your state police can be authorized, trained and authorized, to carry out immigration law, Federal immigration law, I applied for that. And after about six months of waiting they finally gave us the ok. So I believe very deeply about the rule of law, I love legal immigration, people coming here legally is a great thing for our country. Well, frankly, almost all of us here are either immigrants or descendents of immigrants. It's a great source of vitality, and culture, and strength for our nation. But illegal immigration, that we have got to stop. And I will do just that. So there's a lot of work to do. [...]"

LABEL: MR SC 12-18 (JR#16) E-ClipD

To download a high res version of this clip, VISIT:
http://issuealliance.box.net/shared/d1i394kgm3

To download the full campaign event, VISIT:
http://issuealliance.box.net/shared/3xc2pf4jlp

Watch the video

John McCain caught cheating on his wife

2008-08-23T02:39:26Z

John McCain aka G.I. Joe "DUKE" cheating on his wife with a female lobbyist. pathetic Keith Olbermann hit piece on a man that already doesn't have a shred of credibility oldhacks.blogspot.com collect.myspace.com youtube.com

Watch the video

Headzup: Michael Savage And The Raping Of Liberty

2008-10-08T02:50:35Z

Michael Savage talks about how illegal aliens are raping the Statue of Liberty.

Hear the actual interview here--
http://mediamatters.org/items/200808050009?lid=495536&rid=12114531

Download daily Catch and Release Comedy™ political cartoons to your mobile phone or iPod at www.headzup.tv

Watch the video

Don't Deport Me, Scotty

2008-10-08T02:50:51Z

See what happens when a permanent member of a popular space crew finds his status is in question. In any galaxy, when we deny due process and human rights to some, we put all of our freedoms at risk.

Watch the video

Shipley Do-Nuts ICE Raid in Houston, TX

2008-06-05T21:31:34Z

ICE raided the headquarters of Shipley Do-Nuts in Houston, TX.

Watch the video

The Illegal "Operation Return to Sender"

2008-04-06T16:27:45Z

Or "Why You Should be Worried too Part 4..."

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is finally facing a lawsuit for warantless and abusive intrusion and questioning of suspected "illegal aliens." Ten immigrant families, four of whom are lawful residents, have come together in a class action suit to remind the ICE that warantless searches are illegal and unconstitutional, and certainly not a great way to promote the rule of law.

Regardless of citizenship status, a federal agent has no right to question people about their citizenship in a private setting without a warrant. You want to knock on random doors past midnight, shove a gun into a woman's chest telling her to "go back home," use abusive language and demand them to show you their papers? Well, you better have some official papers to show too in order to get away with that rampant abuse of due process rights.

A DREAM Deferred... Does It Explode? [spanish]

2008-10-08T02:46:59Z

Petition: adreamdeferred.org

Every year, dedicated high-school students are denied the chance to attend college, based solely on their undocumented status. These young patriots are doctors who will never get the chance to heal us, teachers who won't be able to educate our children, police and firefighters who will never be able to protect us—all because their dreams have been deferred.

All three presidential hopefuls co-sponsored the federal DREAM Act, yet it has never been made law. The DREAM Act would enable states to grant in-state tuition to these hardworking immigrant students, making higher education (and eventually citizenship) a real possibility.

We need to put pressure on all three presidential candidates to commit to securing America's future by enacting the federal DREAM Act in their first 100 days of office. Sign the petition so that we can show our elected officials that the dreams of students must not be sacrificed to the anti-immigrant, anti-American status quo.

Watch the video

Voices of DREAM

2008-03-20T01:26:05Z

I recently stumbled upon a series of articles by a UCLA reporter on undocumented students. Every other Wednesday, a student is profiled and shares different aspects of their lives with the reporter that is later published in The Daily Bruin.

Some of the articles can be accessed here, along with a video:

Deportation of father leaves son challenges
(link)

Struggling with noncitizen status
(link)

Living the green card dream
(link)

Student sees beyond immigration status
(link)

The stories reflect our DREAMs and aspirations, our hopes and fears, our daily struggles and small victories. And the more stories that can be documented, the closer we get to realizing that we are not alone, our limited mobility and flight is shared by many students across the United States, blurring racial and ethnic differences, gender and religious lines, and even political identity (yes, we even have some Republican DREAMers). The goal is to build a human portrait of us, one that has been rendered invisible and demonized by the discursive scar of 'illegal alien.'

Deportations Driven by Race and Socio-Economic Status

2008-03-17T19:13:23Z

The United States 'mobility regime' (yes that is the sociological name I am going to give to the obsession with curbing human migration across politically-constructed borders) has gone too far. See the blog posts by Fash on why you should be worried too -- your government can order you for removal even if you are a citizen or permanent resident!

This recent article discusses how the deportation of U.S. citizens and permanent residents is not just a one-of-a-kind case. In all cases of mistaken deportation and removal proceedings, there is one common factor: all the victims were underprivileged. They were either racial and ethnic minorities with less socio-economic status, or suffering from mental health and disabilities.

When Elected Representatives are Ignorant of the Law

2008-03-16T02:02:47Z

Part of our job via this blog is to dispel myths and lies about the DREAM Act, and factors relevant to our lives as undocumented students.

In the Missouri State Legislature, Rep. Jerry Nolte, R-Gladstone is sponsoring a bill (HB1463) to bar undocumented students from attending public colleges. Never mind that the legislation is constitutionally suspect in itself, Rep Nolte has argued that "federal law already barred illegal immigrants from attending public colleges...Our state-supported institutions should also be required to obey the law." Of course, the news article did not provide any rebutal to this fallacious statement and the writer probably did not bother to research this claim before print. It is scary to think that such a gross mis-statement can go unnoticed BUT (see here) if you repeat an untruth many a time, you start to believe it yourself, and also convince others of it. That untruth quickly becomes 'common knowledge' especially if the speaker is in a position of power.

Lets make this clear. Federal law does NOT prohibit postsecondary educational institutions from admitting undocumented immigrant students. While higher education institutions are not required to admit undocumented students, they are certainly NOT prohibited from doing so. If you find a piece of legislation that contradicts this point, please comment on this post. Otherwise, you can contact Rep. Nolte and work on his knowledge of federal and state laws.

Earning the Right to American Citizenship?

2008-03-13T09:36:26Z

Most people seem supportive of the concept of ‘earned citizenship' - meaning that we must fulfill a set amount of requirements to obtain a green card and an American passport.

The DREAM Act has several teleological components that we must meet in order to qualify for legal residence. These are:

we must have come here before we were 16 and are under 30,
we must have lived here continuously for five years,
we must graduate from a U.S. high school or obtained a GED
we must have good moral character with no criminal record and
we must attend college or enlist in the military for at least two years.

Only if we meet all stipulations, do we get legal residency. And even then, processing citizenship would take anywhere from 3-5 years or more.

Do you think these stipulations are fair or restrictive? Should we be made to do more in order to prove our love and loyalty to this country and that we belong here and contribute to American society?

To become an U.S. Citizen, immigrants have to sit a ‘citizenship test,' a test that I have seen many fellow American students fail in class. Should their birthright citizenship be taken away from them?

What about DREAMers that do not necessarily identify as American and do not believe in ‘loyalty' to the nation? In an ever globalizing world of McDonalds, international holidays, languages, Facebook/Myspace, the bond of nationality is eroding. And I do not see that as a tragedy.

Today, we self-identify in so many ways-I am a homosexual, a woman, a student, an Indian, a tech-geek, a daughter, an atheist, a civil rights activist, an aspiring lawyer, and so much more than an undocumented immigrant or ‘illegal alien.' If society can accept so many identities without placing teleological components to citizenship, why are the undocumented and documented migrants put to the test? After all, we do not need to be alike in order to co-exist.

What do you think about the concept of earned citizenship?

Globalization Linked to 'Illegal Immigration'

2008-03-11T22:10:25Z

The Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona has just published a report on the main causes of illegal immigration. Global economic change tops the list, followed by an inadequacy of proper legal for migration and lack of employer sanctions for hiring 'illegal aliens.' (See the report here).

When we speak of global economic change, we are referring to the current era of global integration and economic realignment, of neo-liberal trade policies that have contributed to the creation of a vast pool of low-skilled workers in developing countries. As these countries move from manufacturing to knowledge-based economies, low-skilled workers find themselves out of jobs and migrating to better their lives. Moreover, due to the ease and fluency of transportation, labor is more fluid and free to move around than ever before.

America blasted on Rights of Non-Citizen Migrants

2008-03-11T09:34:05Z

U.N. investigator Jorge Bustamante was unimpressed by America's overuse of substandard detention facilties with an inadequate appeals process and called for other alternative on what he calls "non-citizen migrants" in detention.

No PERSON shall be denied the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness without due process of law -- Without doubt, our most basic and fundamental rights belong to all persons and not just American citizens. It is NOT alright to hold people, especially children, in detention for years without trial, to ignore pleas from their families and communities, to overlook their basic medical needs. Why are we wasting so much money and resources on rounding up people? Is this an extension of the military-prison-industrial complex? I tend to think so. We should be building more schools, and yet, we are building more detention centers and prisons. What purpose does it serve other than to pour money into the coffers of private businesses? (See this blog post on how detention centers make more profit than prisons). I hope to do more research on this soon.

Bustamante had made similar claims in a similar report last year (see here). He noted the increased racism and xenophobia in the United State post-9-11, especially against people of Middle-Eastern and South-East Asian descent. With the economy in a state of recession, immigrants, especially migrant workers, are not being seen in a favorable light.

The United States has countered his reports with assertions that this country has the most fair and liberal immigration laws. While that may be true till further investigation, it does nothing to counter claims of migrant rights abuses. We can do much better in our treatment of immigrants, of people who look "different" from the norm, of young children who were simply brought here by their parents. We can start with passing the DREAM Act so that we can stop punishing innocent children and young adults for the crimes committed by their parents. Under what law is it just and fair for undocumented students to "do the time" for crimes and misdemeanors they did not commit?

Apparently, the United States arrogantly sees it fit to ignore its human rights abuses, while pointing fingers at human rights conditions in other countries. We must lead by example if we want to preserve respect for human rights and for ourselves.

The UN report can be accessed here.

A History of Xenophobia in U.S. Immigration Policy and the new McCarthyism

2008-03-03T18:55:21Z

Discrimination against those that are seemingly foreign-born and ‘different' from the

(White Protestant) norm is pervasive in the immigration control history of United States.

It goes back to when the United States was a budding new nation of (illegal) immigrants from Europe and conscious of the ‘dangerous' Irish and ‘revolutionary' French migrating into the country.

Response: Congress passed legislation in 1798 lengthening the period of years required for citizenship from five to fourteen and also gave the President the power to deport any alien deemed a threat to public safety.

Next came discrimination against Chinese laborers most of whom had been welcomed into the country as cheap labor in the 1860s but with the economic crisis of 1873, faced nativist fears.

Response: The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which created the category of ‘illegal immigrant' for the first time, establishing border controls and sparking violence against Chinese migrants.

But the country still needed cheap labor and migrants continued to flow into the United States to fulfill that role, this time from Southern and Eastern Europe.

Response: Besides the many acts of violence against these immigrants, Congress passed the National Origins Quota Act in 1924 that strictly limited immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe.

Entering the Cold War period, we are struck with the lunacy of McCarthyism, and hence heightened fear of ‘strangers' and dissent.

Response: The McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 set quotas of 100 immigrants only from each country in Asia, while immigrants from the United Kingdom and Germany consisted seventy percent of the annual immigrant quota. On top of this, noncitizens faced deportation for simply harboring radical and supposedly subversive ideas.

Political Discourse: Undocumented Immigrants or Illegal Aliens?

2008-03-03T19:00:51Z

In my opinion, neither term accurately categorizes the vast diversity of people that are maintaining unlawful presence in the United States. Both terms are politically loaded and used by people on either side of the immigration debate to gain political leverage. Results from polls show that Americans respond more positively to questions about "illegal immigration" if the term "undocumented" is employed instead of "illegal."

While undocumented immigrants may be politically correct, it is not a completely true depiction of the illegal immigration situation: a lot of so-called undocumented immigrants do have documents like identification cards, fake social security cards, fake resident alien cards and backlogged visa petitions.

"Illegal alien" is the term sanctioned by the law and used in most government documents concerning unlawful immigration. Yet, no human being can be illegal -- that in and of itself, makes no sense. However, since our political language and discourse is shaped by those in power, we use "Illegal" as a pronoun for 'out of status' immigrants, which is downright demeaning. Moreover, to call foreign nationals "aliens" due to politically constructed borders is nothing short of dehumanizing, offensive and shows the close-minded, xenophobic nature of U.S. immigration policy.

What should we call 'out of status' immigrants who maintain unlawful presence in the United States? Unauthorized immigrants? Migrant workers? Unnaturalized immigrants? I shy away from such labels and categories -- there is no way we can lump the huge numbers of diverse peoples under one label.

We are white, black, brown and many shades, shapes and sizes. Some of us are documented and others undocumented. Some are migrant workers while others are students. Most of us are here for work-related purposes, while some are rendered illegal by homophobic U.S. laws that prevent bi-national same-sex couples from gaining citizenship through marriage. Some of us overstayed on tourist or student visas, while others did indeed cross the border. And yet, all of us are part of this messed-up and broken immigration system that tries to make us nameless and faceless, rob us of our diverse identities, backgrounds and stories. After all, if we can lump more than 12 million people as simply "illegal" or "undocumented" treating them as 'invisible' or "Others" becomes easier.

Therefore, I strongly urge all the DREAMers and other migrants without proper documentation to not give in to labels.

Education - A Basic Human Right? Part 3

2008-02-27T13:37:31Z

This is somewhat a response and also a continuation from the the post by Dream_Advocate.

I think Plyler v. Doe was a much more controversial ruling on education than Brown v. Board, seeing that it was a 5-4 decision. And I believe that the Supreme Court today would be just as divided on making a decision regarding higher education for undocumented students. The court is not as suspended and withdrawn from the wills and whims of the majority as we would like to believe, and at the same time, it would rather let the legislature make decisions on immigration, especially illegal immigration.

What we should focus on in Plyler v. Doe is that EVEN the dissenting opinion calls it sheer folly to deny us a right to public education:

"I would agree without hesitation that it is senseless for an enlightened society to deprive any children -- including illegal aliens -- of an elementary education. I fully agree that it would be folly -- and wrong -- to tolerate creation of a segment of society made up of illiterate persons, many having a limited or no command of our language."

Rather, the dissenting opinion was based on the reluctance of the judges to follow on the path of "judicial activism" and set the nation's social policy in light of ineffective leadership from Congress.

Moreover, Justice Brennan writing the majority opinion was very clear that due process and 14th Amendment rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" did not just extend to American citizens; it was meant for all persons:

"The [Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses] disable a State from depriving not merely a citizen of the United States, but any person, whoever he may be, of life, liberty or property without due process of law, or from denying to him the equal protection of the laws of the State. … [These clauses] will…forever disable every one of [the States] from passing laws trenching upon those fundamental rights and privileges which pertain to citizens of the United States, and to all persons who happen to be within their jurisdiction."

The hope delivered by Plyler is still alive today: "The illegal alien of today may well be the legal alien of tomorrow." While Plyler focused on K-12 education, that was 20 years ago and today, we can justifiably argue that the same ruling should be extended towards higher education, because it does disadvantage and condemn us to an underclass status through no fault of our own.

I would really like to see a legally-based argument for denying or encouraging obstacles to higher education for undocumented students like us. Not any silly jargons like "illegal is illegal" because that is not legally sound, but arguments based on legal jurisprudence and precedent.

I encourage everyone to read the text of Plyler v. Doe here.

Undocumented Students - Support Groups and Coalitions

2008-02-26T15:50:06Z

Today, the Sacramento Bee ran an article on the solidarity and support network amongst undocumented students at University of California Davis. The comments on the article quickly turned into one over illegal immigration rather than focusing on the trials and tribulations that many students at UCD had undergone and how the groups they built provided strength, solidarity and support.

One of the criticisms that I have against the article is the focus on the Latino groups of undocumented students. Given that most undocumented students are from Latin America, and yet, where do the non-Latino students on campus go to? When trying to spread awareness about the Dream Act and our unprecedented plight as undocumented students, attention must be paid to be inclusive and rid people of the mindset that this is just an issue of concern to Latinos.

Another sore point is the lack of use of the Internet as a medium for organizing the DREAM Act movement. Previously, I have also heard networking and coalition-building between several other student groups in the Bay Area. Given the need for anonymity and discretion, one would think that the Internet would be the medium of choice for us to communicate and build advocacy efforts. So why is it that I am not seeing student members from these groups posting online at sites like DAP and sharing their stories and experiences? There's an untapped potential here for so many lost narratives and resources, drawing together students from completely diverse backgrounds to share their untold stories and experiences, build coalitions and support networks.

BNF is just the start. I am also working on something with some friends. More details to be unveiled in due time.

Notes from Underground 1.9 - Becoming Agents of Change

2008-02-26T15:50:13Z

I often feel jerked around, like I am not a human being but a pawn in a game of chess played by several actors.

Our parents brought us to this country without much planning for the future. Now I cannot blame them since they were also playing with whatever pieces they owned at the time. A plethora of anti-immigration groups like NumbersUSA spend their time scapegoating undocumented immigrants, instead of focusing on more persistant problems. Crafty politicians with their elaborate set of lobbyists in hand continue to give out campaign promises and rarely deliver on them. The most likely Republican candidate for Presidency, John McCain, has gone from co-sponsoring the Dream Act and bills on amnesty in recent years, to now calling for border security first, thus pandering to a more conservative group of voters. It evokes memories of the licenses for illegal aliens bill in California (SB1160) that became law before getting terminated since the Governor demanded more security precautions as amendments to the bill. That never happened.

Similarly, a more "secure" border is something that I do not see happening either and it is ridiculous to keep waiting for more comprehensive immigration reform before bringing up the Dream Act. It is a cheap trick, a wanton distraction and I am not into playing these games anymore or being played.

We are human beings, living with hopes and living in despair, wasting our potential while working hard at whatever we can find, dreaming about what our lives COULD be and WOULD be, grasping for some sort of control. We are not agents of our circurmstances, but we need to be active agents in changing those circurmstances. What are you doing and what will you do to ensure that the Dream Act passes or that we get a chance at a fair shot in life?

Learn. Educate. Resist. Refuse to be Played.

Notes from Underground 1.6 - In Conversation with an International Student

2008-02-26T15:50:24Z

A Bulgarian friend of mine came up to my table looking flustered.

“I cannot believe this. I tried to file for AB-540 and they told me I am not eligible due to the fact that I have an F-1 Visa, I am an International Student.”

“Yes, AB-540 is for non-immigrants, or rather those that are undocumented but have gone to high school in California for more than 3 years,” I replied.

I could see the wheels turning in his head as he processed what I had said.

“So you are telling me that people who came here to study legally like me are paying $24000 in tuition per year and those that came here illegally are paying a mere $9000?”

I sighed inwardly.

“J________, you are an International Student. AB-540 is for those children who were brought here by their parents, they did not CHOOSE to come illegally. Why should they be levied with higher tuition rates when for most of these students California is their home and the United States as their country?”

He was unrelenting.

“That still sounds so unfair. I do not get the benefit of AB-540 even when I plan to eventually emigrate here and have filed for my permanent residency.”

I tried to be reasonable.

“J_______, have you ever stopped to think that the difference between your status and the status of a so-called ‘illegal’ person could just be that you filed for your student visa before permanent residency while their parents petitioned for permanent residency before filing for their student visa and thus, got denied?”

He cocked his head to the side, a bit confused. “What do you mean?”

“I have a friend who is only an ‘illegal’ because her student visa was denied due to the fact that her parents had petitioned for permanent residency while she was still studying in high school. They were here legally and could not send her back to her country where she had no family and no support system. She has lived here for almost a decade and is every bit as American as someone who is born here.”

“So this person qualifies for AB-540…Wait…why can’t you study in university here if your parents plan to emigrate anyway? That sounds so stupid!”

I put up my hands in defense. “Hey, don’t ask me, I did not make immigration laws. It’s just that the Immigration Officer needs proof that you plan to return back to your country after your duration of study and if you cannot prove that…” I trail off and stare in the distant thinking about the mass my parents had landed me in.

J________ was now curious. “So can your friend work or have a driver’s license? Does she have any chance of becoming legal?”

“No, she cannot work or drive legally since she does not possess an SSN. She can get married or get an employer sponsor since she has a 245-I, which is a petition that allows you to change your status if a visa number becomes available to you. Or better yet, she can wait for the DREAM Act to pass, that would pave the way to citizenship for students like her that are unwillingly caught in this immigration quagmire.”

“What about her parent’s permanent residency petition?”

“Oh, she aged-out when she reached 21, now she has to wait longer and have her parents file again once they become permanent residents.”

“So, her student visa gets denied due to a permanent residency petition by her parents but she ages out so she cannot get that benefit either? Why can’t they just give her a student visa then?”

I sighed again. “That is just not how things work J_______. I wish they did.”

“Well, I am sorry about your friend, I hope things get better for her. But my out of state tuition still sucks.”

“Yes, of course, we could probably afford to educate the world if we were not spending billions per day in less productive ways, to say the least. It is an effective divide-and-conquer strategy. We are distracted into fighting over tiny scraps while the people with seventh-eights of the pie get richer by the day.”

J smiled. “You have a point. Anyway I have to go, have a nice day.”

“You too.”

Notes from Underground 1.2 – ‘International’ Student: Nine Years and Counting

2008-02-26T15:50:36Z

The California Non-Resident Tuition Exemption, AB-540, applies to students of non-immigrant status who have attended a California high school for three or more years and obtained a diploma or passed the GED. Unfortunately, even while I have lived in California continuously for nine years with a non-immigrant status, I fall short of the three year requirement by a couple months. What this means in terms of a University of California Graduate program is that instead of paying $9000 per semester, I would pay around $25000 and also be ineligible for financial aid. Furthermore, teaching assistantships that are usually paid positions are also unavailable to me since I cannot legally work in the United States. Faced with no other option, my family exhausted personal savings, loans and credit card limits to get me through as much of my higher education as possible. I did get paid teaching assistant positions but received no monetary or credit compensation for them, choosing to accept them for the experience.

America is my home. And yet, I am considered an outsider, an ‘International’ Student, by higher education institutions. It only gets funnier when the International Student Office at any given university, refuses to acknowledge me as an ‘International’ Student because they view me as an immigrant, as someone who is not just here temporarily. Caught between two warring worlds, I retreat back underground where no one questions my sense of belonging. Let us admit what this is really about. In an increasingly globalized world where borders are getting more indistinct and blurry, our insecure reactions to these changes are to seek the familiar, nativism and homogeneity, and even impose difference with strong rigidity. Maybe it is time that we let go and define ourselves as ‘global students?’

Notes from Underground 1.1 – “Your ballot is key to acceptance”

2008-02-26T15:50:37Z

In early 2002…

I looked down at my rebuttal notes for the last speech of the policy debate round. We knew we had a decent shot at winning if I got up at the podium and pandered to the fears of the parent judges. Fear of the foreigner, fear of another catastrophic attack on the United States, fear of the Other and what lay behind the locked door, on the other side of the fence, and across the border. And we also knew that I would not stoop down to that…

We won the debate round that day because we rejected ignorance in favor of education, appealed to reason not bigotry, spoke of hope instead of fear. Our dreams represent hope for the future, a firm belief in descending patterns of dichotomy, moving away from our binary modes of thinking, embracing difference instead of otherizing it…The critical ballot of the average working-class American was won in simulation mode. We can only hope that with increased education, with the sharing of our stories, our trials and tribulations, our dreams and hopes, we can win the support of American citizens in all modes of representation.

We need the people, everyday working-class Americans to realize who we really are: Children who were brought to this country by their parents and who had no say and no choice that they were to live here illegally. Children who would grow up to be as American as the blond and blue-eyed stereotype of American. Children who aspired to put an end to the struggles their parents endured. Children that were passionate about another chance and making the most of every little opportunity that came their way. Children of good moral character that aspired to be doctors, engineers, educators, scientists and contribute positively to American society. Children that would one day grown up to be adults alienated and forced to live in the shadows of the only country they consider their home. And the biggest dream most of them have is to be accepted by their home—the United States of America. Why not? Why not? Why not?

Please cast your ballot in the affirmative and vote to support our Dreams and forge a better future together.

Cavuto Tries To Tie Licensing Illegals To Voter Fraud

2008-07-09T20:22:42Z

This is actually kind of funny. A Maryland Republican state Senator is on Fox "News" to discuss the governor's decision to grant illegal aliens driver's licenses. The Senator plays his role perfectly lambasting the plan and repeatedly calling Democrats "Democrat".

However, when Cavuto tries to link this licensing to illegals illegally voting, the Senator fails to follow his lead and states that that "it wouldn't make sense for them to do so".

Watch the video