Immigration Policy: Trump vs Obama

Fact: Under Trump, Immigration policies are changing drastically.

Alternative Fact: Under Trump, Immigrants with no criminal record will continue to be a non-priority for deportation.

When Obama was president, there were rules to the game. His immigration policy was a pointed way of enforcing immigration. He basically sat America down and said look, we simply don’t have the manpower or ability to get all illegal immigrants out of the country at once. Instead, he suggested prioritizing deportations. Do you have certain crimes on your record?  Are you a recent arrival?  Have you been deported before? You’re on the priority list. Do you lay low and contribute to your community? We’re not going to hunt you down. Eventually, under this policy, the thought was that we could get the criminals out first and we’d move down the list as we went. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) looked for deportable aliens in jails mostly, and rarely went out to a random construction sites and rounded up a group of immigrant workers.

Since there are no real priorities under Trump’s policy, ICE is now looking for the “low hanging fruit,” so to speak. This means work-site raids, collateral arrests, etc. If you happen to be in the house when ICE knocks on the door looking for your brother, chances are you’re going to the detention facility with him. Traffic ticket? Detention facility. Court date? Detention facility. ICE will ask you about your immigration status, you can count on that. Under this new regime, it’s more important than ever to know your rights. Remember that you do have the right to remain silent and you do have the right to a lawyer. If you have valid immigration papers, show them to the officers. If you do not have papers, do not lie to the officers: stay calm and request your lawyer – do not answer questions about your status. In lighter news, President Trump has hinted at the fact that DACA (Dreamers Act) will stay intact and that recipients should not be worried about deportation at this time.

Executive Order WILL Cause Disorder

President Trump has instilled a fear in immigrants from all over the globe. Many of them are being picked up at their court hearings, their homes, and, as in the case of Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, at their immigration check-ins. Ms. Rayos has been checking in with ICE for eight years, but this year she did not walk out of her appointment. Under the Obama administration, Ms. Rayos was permitted to stay in the US since her crime, using a fake social security card to get a job, did not endanger the community. Under the new regime, however, the game has changed. ICE officers now have the authority to pick up anyone who was convicted, or even believed to have committed, any criminal offense. Nearly 10 years ago, Ms. Rayos, still in her early 20s, was picked up while working at a local water-park.  She was trying to support her two young children and, unfortunately, using a fake social was how she acquired a job. Her now teenage children still remember the night she was taken away, and are currently re-living the nightmare as their mother is facing deportation to Mexico once again.

There are moral issues with this Executive Order of Trump, but there are also practicality issues. If an immigrant knows he or she will be picked up by ICE when they go to their court date or immigration check-in – why would they go?  Further, many local courts and municipalities will lose out on hundreds of thousands of fine money since people will forego their court date.  This is money that many cities rely on to live. Ms. Rayos admits she was counselled to seek refuge at a local church or to go into hiding. She took the risk and made her statement – she was not going to hide. We do know, however, that not all immigrants will face the situation the same way. We could soon revert to having a country with a hidden people. An entire group of individuals that the law does not know about and that stays in the shadows. This does not help law enforcement, it does not help the government, and it does not help our communities. Immigrants may stop reporting crimes, for fear of being picked up by the very police they called the help them. We need to ask ourselves, who is benefiting from this? Because it is not the nation as a whole.

Source: NY Times 

Obama: President of Second Chances

President Obama has long been an advocate of second chances, and his advocacy is not without action. This week the President granted 214 people clemency. Throughout his presidency, he has been a proponent for re-structuring the prison system in regards to commutations. His main idea: re-visit the sentences for inmates convicted of non-violent drug crimes. In most of the cases from this week’s round of commutations, the inmates were serving sentences longer than if they had been convicted of the same crime today. This is a result of the ever-changing system of laws. What may have been a life sentence 20 years ago could be significantly shorter today. President Obama saw the error in this and is seeking to make change.

“Further from the country we aspire to be”

Today, the decision (or indecision) of 8 justices has changed the fate of thousands of immigrants in the United States. Since the decision was split 4-4, the previous ruling against the Obama administration’s immigration plan was withheld. The plan was simple: certain undocumented immigrants would be given the opportunity  to live in the U.S. for 3 years and acquire legal work here. The argument of the 25 states who called for the halt on Obama’s plan was that if these immigrants were allowed to stay in the U.S. for the 3 years they were promised, states would have to pay to support them. What they should have been thinking, however, is how the immigrants would support the states for those 3 years.

Collateral Consequences for Undocumented Victims of Pulse Shooting

By now everyone has heard about the Pulse nightclub shooting, that Pulse was a popular gay club in Orlando, and that the night of the shooting was Latin Night at the club. These facts should put into perspective for us the menacing planning the shooter did prior to the incident. Many Hispanic members of the LGBTQ community are refusing to let it be forgotten that the shooting occurred on Latin Night, as violence against LGBTQ people of color accounted for more than 70% of homophobic homicides in recent years. The fact that the shooter chose this club on this night was not a chance happening, and everyone can see the effect it had on the community. What some might not see, however, is how this has affected undocumented immigrants who were at the club that night.

Breaking: More Trump Racism

 

Breaking news: Donald Trump makes racist comment! In other news, the Earth is still round and the sky’s still blue. Is there a program for racists, something like AA? “Hi, my name is Donald and it’s been 6 days since my last racist comment.” The man clearly has a problem, but this time it’s a problem with a federal judge. Trump publicly stated that Judge Gonzalo Curiel was biased and not fit to serve as judge for him because he was of Mexican descent. To be clear, Judge Curiel was born in Indiana – does it get more American than that? Trump said that it was an “absolute conflict” given that the judge was “of Mexican heritage” and was quoted saying “I’m building a wall. It’s an inherent conflict of interest.”

Domestic Violence Perpetuated by Deportation Threats

The threat of domestic violence plagues people  of all race and culture, however, there is a major problem happening in the world of immigrants. The issue being this: threats of deportation are being used as a way to trap immigrants in abusive relationships.

Small Business Week = Immigrant Appreciation Week

Last week was National Small Business Week. I think we can all agree that small business is vital to our country and, in many cases, represents The American Dream. With all the naysayers out there condemning immigration and blaming the problems of our country on the plethora of immigrants we harbor, it’s not often that immigrants are thanked. However, in light of last week’s celebration of small business, I think we should also be celebrating immigrants. The statistics of immigrants in small business may surprise you. Thanks to Immigration Impact, we have  these fun facts:

The Myth of “Sanctuary Cities” in Louisiana

 

In response to the House passing a bill aimed at eliminating immigration “sanctuary cities,” I feel compelled to correct some of the misinformation that surrounds the term “sanctuary city.” 

Stop Deporting our Veterans, Damnit!

“If we’re [deporting] one veteran, that’s one too many.” Representative Ruben Gallego said it all, folks. Many immigrant veterans are deported from the United States each year, and no one hears much about it. These are men and women who have done more to protect the freedom of our country than most of us reading (or writing) this. Rep. Gallego introduced a bill to the House yesterday to prevent these deportations.