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U.S. Xenophobia and Racism - The Presence of the Past

Blurb

Current anti-immigrant sentiment, largely focused on the influx of Mexican and Latino newcomers—and the fact that Latinos, along with African Americans and Asian peoples, are projected to represent a majority of the U.S. population by 2042—decries the fact that, in the words of former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan “they are taking our country away from us.”1 The fear, bluntly stated, is that “they”—Mexicans and Latinos—will erode “our”—white European—power over U.S. identity. Buchanan articulates only the most recent U.S. American antiimmigrant animosity that finds deep roots in the nation’s history.

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By Dr. Alex Mikulich, JSRI Research Fellow

A More Humane System

Blurb

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the Department of Homeland Security operates the largest detention system in the world.1 During FY 2010, almost 400,000 immigrants were detained in a patchwork of facilities—mostly penal institutions— in more than 300 locations run largely by county or state law enforcement authorities or private contractors with little direct federal oversight2—at a cost of $1.77 billion.3 Reports of abuse and neglect of immigrants in detention facilities across the country are numerous and disturbing.4

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Community-Based Alternatives to Immigration Detention (Part I)

By Dr. Sue Weishar, Migration Specialist

Advocating for the unaccompanied migrant child

Blurb

Unaccompanied migrant children are a growing population within the global phenomenon of large scale migration.  Although there are few statistics available on the exact number of this population, a recent study from the Women’s Refugee Commission reports that in 2007, more than 90,000 unaccompanied children were apprehended along the southern border of the United States. [1]  For most people living in the U.S. it is difficult to fathom the idea of a child at the age of 5, 9, 13, or even 16 traveling across international borders without a familiar adult companion.  Many of these children are seeking to reunite with family members.  Others whose families live in dire poverty are sent out alone in search of work to help sustain the family back home.  Still many other migrant children are victims of domestic violence, gang violence, abusive child labor practices, human trafficking, rape, forced prostitution, or armed conflict in their home countries.  They travel long and dangerous distances seeking refuge here in the United States.

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By Anna Alicia Chavez

The Moral and Political Imperative for Immigration Reform ASAP!

Blurb

The latest legislative buzz is the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP).  This bill, drafted by Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and co-sponsored by 89 other representatives, has revived the immigration debate in Congress.  The U.S. Bishops—as do many other proponents for immigration reform—applaud the efforts of Representative Gutierrez and are pleased that the bill does address many of the concerns they have.  The acronym “CIR ASAP” captures the urgency for immigration reform.  And indeed it is urgent that we act today for the sake of our nation’s welfare.  In anticipation of a congressional debate early this year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has launched a few initiatives to urge all U.S. Catholics to work in unison to bring about comprehensive immigration reform as soon as possible in 2010.

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By Anna Alicia Chavez, JSRI Migration Specialist

Twenty-first Century Jungle: Displaced Workers in the New Transnational Economy

Blurb

“To lose a leg is not to lose one’s dreams,” Ms. Olga explained. We were visiting her clinic at the border of Guatemala and Mexico, where men and women convalesce after losing a limb in their attempts to hop a train north. Ms. Olga provides a glimmer of hope to those who might otherwise have lost everything, offering shelter from criminal gangs, corrupt authorities, and dangerous transport that afflict workers seeking the American dream.

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By Aaron Schneider

“To lose a leg is not to lose one’s dreams,” Ms. Olga explained. We were visiting her clinic at the border of Guatemala and Mexico, where men and women convalesce after losing a limb in their attempts to hop a train north. Ms. Olga provides a glimmer of hope to those who might otherwise have lost everything, offering shelter from criminal gangs, corrupt authorities, and dangerous transport that afflict workers seeking the American dream.

Immigrants as People, Not Files!

Blurb

Earlier this year, I participated on a panel of immigration attorneys speaking to law students about immigration law careers. One panelist recalled her final days of clerking at the immigration court located within the federal prison in Oakdale, Louisiana. During a break in the docket, the immigration judge for whom she worked asked if she would be continuing her career with the government. The attorney responded that she did not think so and that during her clerkship it had been difficult to witness the deportation of families, the separation of children from parents, and husbands from wives. The judge thought for a moment and replied, “Yep, if you’re gonna think of ‘em as people, you can’t work for us. They’re files!” This article is not intended to impugn the integrity of immigration judges or others who do government work. I have met fine men and women who serve as judges or other immigration employees. However, this sentiment of immigrants being files or non-human or not like “us” is pervasive in the national immigration debate. It subtly, and at times not so subtly, influences our country’s attitudes and policies regarding immigrants.

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By Fr. Tom Greene, S.J.

Standing in Solidarity

Blurb

Currently there are 1.5 million foreign-born youth living in the U.S. without legal documentation. These youth have grown up in neighborhoods across the U.S. and attended U.S. elementary and secondary schools. Many of them even graduate from high school with honors. Due to their legal status as undocumented immigrants, however, they do not have easy access to higher education.

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By Anna Alicia Chavez

Currently there are 1.5 million foreign-born youth living in the U.S. without legal documentation. These youth have grown up in neighborhoods across the U.S. and attended U.S. elementary and secondary schools. Many of them even graduate from high school with honors. Due to their legal status as undocumented immigrants, however, they do not have easy access to higher education.

Latino Immigration in New Orleans

Blurb

The widespread devastation and dislocation produced in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina is a reality sui generis, producing a population shift that has few parallels in U.S. history. In what follows, I will summarize some the key findings of the emerging literature on Latinos in New Orleans.

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By Dr. Manuel A. Vásquez

The following is an excerpt from the November 3, 2009, address on Latino Immigration in the South of Dr. Vásquez to the People on the Move Conference sponsored by JSRI on the Loyola University campus.

The widespread devastation and dislocation produced in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina is a reality sui generis, producing a population shift that has few parallels in U.S. history. In what follows, I will summarize some the key findings of the emerging literature on Latinos in New Orleans.

For the Sake of the U.S. Children of Immigration

Blurb

Among the many childhood memories I have is one of the day my mother was detained at the entry port of the U.S.-Mexico border. It was a late Saturday evening and we were headed back home after a splendid day spent with our family in Ciudad Juarez across the border from El Paso, Texas. As we approached the inspection station, my mother became very nervous realizing that she had forgotten her green card at home. I remember all five of us children looking out the rear window of our van as my dad drove off, leaving my mother in the hands of the border patrol while we went home to get her green card. How scared we all were, asking my father a hundred questions and never quite understanding why we would have to leave my mother with those authorities whom we believed to be police. We cried all the way home believing my mother was in grave trouble with the law and imagining that she would surely be put in jail for who knows what.

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By Anna Alicia Chavez, JSRI Migration Specialist

People on the Move: A Compelling Experience

Blurb

From October 28 through November 17, JSRI staff hosted a compelling series of events for students, faculty, staff, and the wider community as part of our annual conference titled “People on the Move and the Common Good—Migration, Poverty, and Racism, Converging Concerns for Our Future.” Seven separate events moved participants from the experience of the “internally displaced people” of Katrina’s New Orleans in the first week to the migrating peoples of the South in the second to the plight of immigrant peoples of the United States in the third to the internationally displaced in the last week.
More than 400 people participated in one or another of the conference events made possible by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. (Other students, faculty, or community activists heard speakers in classes or meetings arranged to complement the main events.)

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From October 28 through November 17, JSRI staff hosted a compelling series of events for students, faculty, staff, and the wider community as part of our annual conference titled “People on the Move and the Common Good—Migration, Poverty, and Racism, Converging Concerns for Our Future.” Seven separate events moved participants from the experience of the “internally displaced people” of Katrina’s New Orleans in the first week to the migrating peoples of the South in the second to the plight of immigrant peoples of the United States in the third to the internationally displaced in the last we