Workers on the Move: Immigration and Economic Justice in the U.S.
Blurb
<p>Workers are on the move. Immigration and economic justice are integrally linked at this moment in our nation and world’s history. If you care about poverty, economic justice and fair wages then you must also care about immigration. Let’s consider immigration in light of the Lucan Good Samaritan account. The backdrop of the story begins in Luke chapter 10 when a lawyer asks Jesus the way to inherit eternal life. Jesus then asks the lawyer how the law would answer his question to which the lawyer replies, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (v27). The text then continues:</p>
By Kim Bobo, Executive Director, Interfaith Worker Justice
Presented as part of the People on the Move and the Common Good Conference in November 2009.
Latino Immigration in the South: Emerging Trends and Critical Issues
Blurb
<p>Following the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which regularized the legal status of close to 3 million of undocumented Latin American immigrants, the cartography of Latino presence in the United States has undergone a radical transformation. Latino communities in traditional destinations in the Northeast and West, such as New York, New Jersey, California, and Texas, have continued to grow, particularly in major urban centers like New York City, Los Angeles, and Houston, However, the fastest growth in Latino population has taken place in “new destinations” in the South and Midwest.</p>
Presented at the JSRI People on the Move Conference on November 3, 2009
By Manuel A. Vásquez, Ph.D., University of Florida
Through the Eyes of the Stranger: The Immigrant Experience
Blurb
<p>New Orleans was home base for a January meeting of Jesuit immigration advocates from the U.S. and Latin America. Fr. Tom Greene, S.J., a founding fellow of the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola New Orleans loyno. edu/jrsi/, was host and guide to four of his lay colleagues on a journey that took them from federal immigration court to a detention center in Jena, Louisiana, to a home for detained minors in Houston.</p>
by Julie Bourbon
From: JSRI International Immigration Seminar [reprinted with permission from The Southern Jesuit , Spring, 2010]
New Orleans was home base for a January meeting of Jesuit immigration advocates from the U.S. and Latin America. Fr. Tom Greene, S.J., a founding fellow of the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola New Orleans loyno. edu/jrsi/, was host and guide to four of his lay colleagues on a journey that took them from federal immigration court to a detention center in Jena, Louisiana, to a home for detained minors in Houston.
Disposable People: A Jesuit Reflection on Migration in the 21st Century
Blurb
<p>It is interesting to note the different reactions I receive depending on whether I tell people that I practice human rights law or immigration law. People generally have positive association with the concept of human rights, yet the word or topic of immigration does not seem to elicit a similar reaction. It denotes something different.</p>
By Thomas P. Greene, SJ
Repeal the 14th Amendment?
Blurb
<p><strong>New Challenges to citizenship under the 14th Amendment</strong></p>
<p>The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is considered the cornerstone of American civil rights. It ensures due process and equal protection under the law to all persons, and citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States.</p>
<p>The 14th Amendment was enacted after the Civil War in 1868 to repudiate the Dred Scott decision of 1857, which denied citizenship to U.S.-born children of African descent . The passage of the 14th Amendment has been called one of the greatest legacies of the Republican Party. Through it the right of citizenship was taken out of the political realm and provided an objective standard—birth</p>
<p>The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is considered the cornerstone of American civil rights. It ensures due process and equal protection under the law to all persons, and citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States.</p>
<p>The 14th Amendment was enacted after the Civil War in 1868 to repudiate the Dred Scott decision of 1857, which denied citizenship to U.S.-born children of African descent . The passage of the 14th Amendment has been called one of the greatest legacies of the Republican Party. Through it the right of citizenship was taken out of the political realm and provided an objective standard—birth</p>
New challenges to citizenship under the 14th Amendment
Dr. Sue Weishar, Migration Specialist
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is considered the cornerstone of American civil rights. It ensures due process and equal protection under the law to all persons, and citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States:
New Report Examines Immigrants in the Workforce
Blurb
<p><strong>Congressional Budget Office highlights changes in the U.S. workforce</strong></p>
<p>A major finding from a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is that foreign-born workers constitute a substantial and growing proportion of the U.S. labor force—that is people with a job or looking for one. In 2009 one in seven members of the labor force was foreign-born, compared to one in ten in 2004. Nevertheless, the rate of growth of the U.S. foreign-born labor force was much higher between 1994 and 2004—with an average increase of 5.2 percent a year—than the 2.2 percent annual average increase in immigrant workers in the labor force between 2004 and 2009. As a share of the total U.S. labor force, the foreign-born labor force grew from 10 percent in 1994 to 14.5 percent in 2004 to 15.5 percent in 2009. (The CBO report does not distinguish documented from undocumented immigrant workers in its figures.)</p>
<p>A major finding from a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is that foreign-born workers constitute a substantial and growing proportion of the U.S. labor force—that is people with a job or looking for one. In 2009 one in seven members of the labor force was foreign-born, compared to one in ten in 2004. Nevertheless, the rate of growth of the U.S. foreign-born labor force was much higher between 1994 and 2004—with an average increase of 5.2 percent a year—than the 2.2 percent annual average increase in immigrant workers in the labor force between 2004 and 2009. As a share of the total U.S. labor force, the foreign-born labor force grew from 10 percent in 1994 to 14.5 percent in 2004 to 15.5 percent in 2009. (The CBO report does not distinguish documented from undocumented immigrant workers in its figures.)</p>
Congressional Budget Office highlights changes in the U.S. workforce
by Dr. Susan Weishar, Ph.D.
Immigrant imprisonment
Blurb
<p><strong>The moral and legal challenges of U.S. detention</strong></p>
<p>Every day there are over 32,000 immigrants and refugees held in detention facilities across the country. It is a heart-wrenching experience to look into the eyes of these detainees. Their eyes speak volumes of their wretched state of being while locked up behind barbed wire fences. They are fearful, humiliated, confused, and desperate. Within the legal system immigrant and refugee detainees are commonly denied due process, and the majority of them cannot afford legal representation. They rarely understand the detention process and have little knowledge of how the judicial system works or what their rights are. While they do understand that they are unwanted in the U.S., they do not comprehend why they need to be locked up--for months and in some cases for years--like common criminals. The majority of immigrants detained today are victims of a severely broken immigration system.</p>
<p>Every day there are over 32,000 immigrants and refugees held in detention facilities across the country. It is a heart-wrenching experience to look into the eyes of these detainees. Their eyes speak volumes of their wretched state of being while locked up behind barbed wire fences. They are fearful, humiliated, confused, and desperate. Within the legal system immigrant and refugee detainees are commonly denied due process, and the majority of them cannot afford legal representation. They rarely understand the detention process and have little knowledge of how the judicial system works or what their rights are. While they do understand that they are unwanted in the U.S., they do not comprehend why they need to be locked up--for months and in some cases for years--like common criminals. The majority of immigrants detained today are victims of a severely broken immigration system.</p>
The moral and legal challenges of U.S. detention
by Anna Alicia Chavez, JSRI Migration Specialist
"Robbed of their childhood"
Blurb
<p><strong>Human Rights Watch Report: Fields of Peril: Child Labor in US Agriculture</strong></p>
<p>Human Rights Watch reported on May 5, 2010, that the United States is failing to protect hundreds of thousands of children engaged in often grueling and dangerous farmwork. The international rights watchdog called on Congress to amend federal law that permits children under age 18 to work for hire in agriculture at far younger ages, for far longer hours, and in far more hazardous conditions than in any other occupation or industry.</p>
<p>Human Rights Watch reported on May 5, 2010, that the United States is failing to protect hundreds of thousands of children engaged in often grueling and dangerous farmwork. The international rights watchdog called on Congress to amend federal law that permits children under age 18 to work for hire in agriculture at far younger ages, for far longer hours, and in far more hazardous conditions than in any other occupation or industry.</p>
Human Rights Watch Report: Fields of Peril: Child Labor in US Agriculture [5/5/2010]
by Fred Kammer, SJ
Contradictions on the border
Blurb
<p><strong>Ignacio Volunteers embark on a journey to border</strong></p>
<p>The U.S.-Mexico border is a crucial place of encounter. It is the only place in the world where the developed world literally comes face to face with the underdeveloped world. This place is like no other where the boundaries that separate “us” from “them” become blurred. It is a place where one easily becomes confused, not quite clear on whether one is stepping on U.S. or Mexico territory. Here the dominant anti-immigrant rhetoric and the rationale for “enforcement only” policy is naturally contested.</p>
<p>The U.S.-Mexico border is a crucial place of encounter. It is the only place in the world where the developed world literally comes face to face with the underdeveloped world. This place is like no other where the boundaries that separate “us” from “them” become blurred. It is a place where one easily becomes confused, not quite clear on whether one is stepping on U.S. or Mexico territory. Here the dominant anti-immigrant rhetoric and the rationale for “enforcement only” policy is naturally contested.</p>
Ignacio Volunteers embark on a journey to border
by Anna Alicia Chavez, JSRI Migration Specialist with reflections from the group
Building Secure Communities
Blurb
<p>Organizing to Promote Community Safety and Peace</p>
<p>Recently more than 25 community leaders from the Catholic Church in Louisiana gathered in Grand Coteau for a state-wide meeting regarding <em>Justice for Immigrants. </em>The purpose of the meeting was to promote statewide collaboration on the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) postcard campaign advocating for comprehensive immigration policy reform. The participants sat attentively listening to the speakers but when the leaders were invited to ask questions concerning the details of the campaign, the meeting took a different focus. Leaders began to speak up about their concerns regarding the social injustices and inhumane treatment of immigrants living in their respective communities. As the conversation unfolded, it became evident that there is a pressing need for local faith communities to organize on behalf of the immigrant families. These are families who are suffering greatly due to the increasing law enforcement strategies that our federal and state governments are jointly employing to identify undocumented immigrants, arrest them, and eventually deport them.</p>
<p>Recently more than 25 community leaders from the Catholic Church in Louisiana gathered in Grand Coteau for a state-wide meeting regarding <em>Justice for Immigrants. </em>The purpose of the meeting was to promote statewide collaboration on the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) postcard campaign advocating for comprehensive immigration policy reform. The participants sat attentively listening to the speakers but when the leaders were invited to ask questions concerning the details of the campaign, the meeting took a different focus. Leaders began to speak up about their concerns regarding the social injustices and inhumane treatment of immigrants living in their respective communities. As the conversation unfolded, it became evident that there is a pressing need for local faith communities to organize on behalf of the immigrant families. These are families who are suffering greatly due to the increasing law enforcement strategies that our federal and state governments are jointly employing to identify undocumented immigrants, arrest them, and eventually deport them.</p>
Organizing to Promote Community Safety and Peace
By Anna Alicia Chavez, JSRI Migration Specialist