The Guardian: Seven miles east of McAllen’s palm-studded city streets, the interstate off ramp slides past the sprawling branch of a popular Texas supermarket – HEB (Here Everything’s Better) – and a drive-in bank. Swinging under the highway and heading north on Alamo Road, the shopping malls and car showrooms recede at the first traces of the colonias – the ramshackle but largely unseen towns that are home to hundreds of thousands of Latinos across the Rio Grande valley of southern Texas.
A mechanic’s sign declares “credit no problem”. Vibrant green fields of coriander or cilantro, a staple of Mexican cooking, accentuate the dilapidation of the road. A small square building with a corrugated iron awning marks the corner with East Trenton Street. A wooden, hand-painted sign is nailed to one of its walls: “Trenton’s Second Hand Store”. Doors, sinks, windows and mosquito screens are propped in a jumble on the grass in front. Buyers stop by to pick up the parts for colonia houses, constructed piecemeal as their owners find the money. Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label undocumented immigration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label undocumented immigration. Show all posts
Jul 20, 2015
Paper: Most US-Mexico border smugglers are Americans
AP: The smuggling of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border relies heavily on American labor, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review found in an eight-month investigation that paints a portrait of the network of smugglers known as "coyotes."
Three out of every five convicted smugglers are U.S. citizens, according to an analysis by the newspaper of 3,254 federal trafficking convictions during 2013 and 2014 in federal courts in the southern stretches of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Read more.
Three out of every five convicted smugglers are U.S. citizens, according to an analysis by the newspaper of 3,254 federal trafficking convictions during 2013 and 2014 in federal courts in the southern stretches of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Read more.
Mar 1, 2015
'Flying in Face of History,' Texas Again Frustrates Undocumented
La Jornada (Translated by World Meets): Texas is again at the forefront in terms of measures taken against undocumented migrants. This time a federal judge in the state backed a Texas government challenge of executive orders issued by President Obama. The preliminary injunction suspends the orders, which would allow more than five million undocumented immigrants to live and work in the country.
Last week was just the latest ignominious episode restricting the rights of millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States to live as individuals. The person responsible for that misfortune is Federal Judge Andrew Hanen, who has lived in Texas his entire life and was nominated by George W. Bush. Twenty six other states in which 2.3 million undocumented residents live have initiated similar procedures for constraining the provisions of the president. Read more.
Last week was just the latest ignominious episode restricting the rights of millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States to live as individuals. The person responsible for that misfortune is Federal Judge Andrew Hanen, who has lived in Texas his entire life and was nominated by George W. Bush. Twenty six other states in which 2.3 million undocumented residents live have initiated similar procedures for constraining the provisions of the president. Read more.
Jan 2, 2015
Who Really Crosses the U.S.-Mexico Border?
The Atlantic: For the first time in more than 60 years, more non-Mexicans than Mexicans were apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol at checkpoints in 2014, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center.
Approximately 257,000 non-Mexicans were apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol in 2014, compared to about 229,000 Mexicans, according to the recently released data. The total number of unauthorized immigrant apprehensions is up 16 percent from the prior year. Read more.
Approximately 257,000 non-Mexicans were apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol in 2014, compared to about 229,000 Mexicans, according to the recently released data. The total number of unauthorized immigrant apprehensions is up 16 percent from the prior year. Read more.
Sep 2, 2014
Mexico authorities stage midnight migrant raid
AP: The lumbering freight train known as "The Beast," a key part of the route for migrants heading north to the United States, rolled to an abrupt, unscheduled stop in the black of midnight.
Mexican federal police and immigration agents had waited silently in the brush alongside for at least hour, visible only by the glint of their powerful flashlights. Read more.
Mexican federal police and immigration agents had waited silently in the brush alongside for at least hour, visible only by the glint of their powerful flashlights. Read more.
Aug 22, 2014
California plans aid to immigrant minors
AP: California lawmakers will approve legislation supported by Gov. Jerry Brown to spend $3 million in state money to provide legal help for unaccompanied children from Central America, Democratic leaders announced Thursday.
Making the money available to help children is "the decent thing to do and it's consistent with the progressive spirit of California," Brown said in a statement. Read more.
Making the money available to help children is "the decent thing to do and it's consistent with the progressive spirit of California," Brown said in a statement. Read more.
Jul 21, 2014
Housing migrant kids splits small Michigan town
Detroit News: When people opposed to housing young Central American immigrants here claimed the youths worked for drug cartels, Adam Barden was frustrated.
When the opponents attended demonstrations armed with semi-automatic rifles, he was perplexed.
And when they threatened to boycott his hardware store for not agreeing with them, he got angry.
“They’re doing damage to our community,” said Barden, 38, owner of True Value. “It really ticks you off.” Read More.
When the opponents attended demonstrations armed with semi-automatic rifles, he was perplexed.
And when they threatened to boycott his hardware store for not agreeing with them, he got angry.
“They’re doing damage to our community,” said Barden, 38, owner of True Value. “It really ticks you off.” Read More.
Jul 11, 2014
Immigrants Who Speak Indigenous Languages Encounter Isolation
NYTimes: Laura is a Mexican immigrant who lives in East Harlem, a neighborhood with one of the largest Latino populations in New York City. Yet she understands so little of what others are saying around her that she might just as well be living in Siberia.
Laura, 27, speaks Mixtec, a language indigenous to Mexico. But she knows little Spanish and no English. She is so scared of getting lost on the subway and not being able to find her way home that she tends to spend her days within walking distance of her apartment. Read more.
Laura, 27, speaks Mixtec, a language indigenous to Mexico. But she knows little Spanish and no English. She is so scared of getting lost on the subway and not being able to find her way home that she tends to spend her days within walking distance of her apartment. Read more.
Jun 10, 2014
'Not Since Slavery' Has U.S. Treated People Worse than Undocumented (La Jornada, Mexico)
La Jornada – Original Article (Spanish)
Translated By Florizul Acosta Perez
WorldMeets.US
June 9, 2014
According to Princeton University Professor Douglas Massey, the millions of undocumented migrants living in the United States with no respect for their civil, social or political liberties, constitute the largest population living under such conditions since the formal end of slavery in the neighboring country, in 1863.
The comparison is a painful one, but an accurate one to characterize the abuse and mistreatment our brothers and sisters are subjected to every day in the neighboring country, and in general, foreign nationals who reside there without the corresponding immigration documents.
Indeed, migration is a phenomenon as old as our species and inherent to human societies, but in the 21st century, the phenomenon is driven by poverty, lack of employment, and an absence of social mobility or positive horizons in countries like ours, where one can throw in police brutality, which is not at all ameliorated by guarantees of individual or human rights, and is dedicated to criminalizing and persecuting people who are overwhelmingly innocents.
Translated By Florizul Acosta Perez
WorldMeets.US
June 9, 2014
According to Princeton University Professor Douglas Massey, the millions of undocumented migrants living in the United States with no respect for their civil, social or political liberties, constitute the largest population living under such conditions since the formal end of slavery in the neighboring country, in 1863.
The comparison is a painful one, but an accurate one to characterize the abuse and mistreatment our brothers and sisters are subjected to every day in the neighboring country, and in general, foreign nationals who reside there without the corresponding immigration documents.
Indeed, migration is a phenomenon as old as our species and inherent to human societies, but in the 21st century, the phenomenon is driven by poverty, lack of employment, and an absence of social mobility or positive horizons in countries like ours, where one can throw in police brutality, which is not at all ameliorated by guarantees of individual or human rights, and is dedicated to criminalizing and persecuting people who are overwhelmingly innocents.
Apr 7, 2014
U.S., Mexico Agree to Tell Migrant Mexican Workers in U.S. About Their Rights
Latin American Herald Tribune
April 7, 2014
Mexican Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare Jesús Alfonso Navarrete Prida and U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez signed a joint ministerial declaration that will result in action to inform Mexican workers in the United States about their labor rights under U.S. laws.
The action falls under the provisions of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, a side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement, the U.S. Department of Labor said in an April 3 press release.
April 7, 2014
Mexican Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare Jesús Alfonso Navarrete Prida and U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez signed a joint ministerial declaration that will result in action to inform Mexican workers in the United States about their labor rights under U.S. laws.
The action falls under the provisions of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, a side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement, the U.S. Department of Labor said in an April 3 press release.
The Mexican Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare had requested ministerial consultations with the Department of Labor on issues raised in three public submissions filed with the Mexican secretariat under the Agreement on Labor Cooperation. The submissions concerned the rights of Mexican migrants working in the United States on H-2A and H-2B visas in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, food packing, fairs and carnivals. Read more.
More Deportations Follow Minor Crimes, Records Show
NY Times
By Ginger Thompson and Sarah Cohen
April 6, 2014
With the Obama administration deporting illegal immigrants at a record pace, the president has said the government is going after “criminals, gang bangers, people who are hurting the community, not after students, not after folks who are here just because they’re trying to figure out how to feed their families.”
But a New York Times analysis of internal government records shows that since President Obama took office, two-thirds of the nearly two million deportation cases involve people who had committed minor infractions, including traffic violations, or had no criminal record at all. Twenty percent — or about 394,000 — of the cases involved people convicted of serious crimes, including drug-related offenses, the records show. Read more.
By Ginger Thompson and Sarah Cohen
April 6, 2014
With the Obama administration deporting illegal immigrants at a record pace, the president has said the government is going after “criminals, gang bangers, people who are hurting the community, not after students, not after folks who are here just because they’re trying to figure out how to feed their families.”
But a New York Times analysis of internal government records shows that since President Obama took office, two-thirds of the nearly two million deportation cases involve people who had committed minor infractions, including traffic violations, or had no criminal record at all. Twenty percent — or about 394,000 — of the cases involved people convicted of serious crimes, including drug-related offenses, the records show. Read more.
Aug 9, 2013
Threat of punishment doesn’t dissuade illegal immigration, new study shows
USC News
By Gilien Silsby
August 1, 2013
Neither the threat of arrest nor punishment may significantly deter Mexicans from trying to enter the United States illegally, according to a new USC Gould School of Law study that was published in the August issue of the American Sociological Review.
The study examined a variety of economic and noneconomic factors that may influence decisions to migrate illegally from Mexico to the United States. It found that people’s perceptions of the certainty of arrest and the severity of punishment are not significant determinants of their intentions to migrate illegally, once other relevant factors are taken into account. Read more.
By Gilien Silsby
August 1, 2013
Neither the threat of arrest nor punishment may significantly deter Mexicans from trying to enter the United States illegally, according to a new USC Gould School of Law study that was published in the August issue of the American Sociological Review.
The study examined a variety of economic and noneconomic factors that may influence decisions to migrate illegally from Mexico to the United States. It found that people’s perceptions of the certainty of arrest and the severity of punishment are not significant determinants of their intentions to migrate illegally, once other relevant factors are taken into account. Read more.
Aug 1, 2013
Mexico and U.S. National Labor Relations Board Sign Accord
Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE)
Published Jul. 29, 2013
MexiData
On behalf of the Foreign Ministry, Mexico's Ambassador in the United States, Eduardo Medina Mora, signed a cooperation agreement with the United States National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the independent agency responsible for safeguarding employees' rights. The NLRB was represented by Mark Pearce, Chairman of the Board, and Lafe Solomon, Acting General Counsel.
The agreement promotes and protects the labor rights of Mexican immigrants in the United States, especially the right to free association, regardless of their immigration status. Under this agreement, the Mexican consulates and the NLRB will take joint steps to inform Mexican workers of their right to join or be part of a union, elect a representative to negotiate on their behalf with employers, and work with other employees for their benefit and protection. It formalizes the relationship forged at the local level due to the work of the Mexican consulates. Read more.
Published Jul. 29, 2013
MexiData
On behalf of the Foreign Ministry, Mexico's Ambassador in the United States, Eduardo Medina Mora, signed a cooperation agreement with the United States National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the independent agency responsible for safeguarding employees' rights. The NLRB was represented by Mark Pearce, Chairman of the Board, and Lafe Solomon, Acting General Counsel.
The agreement promotes and protects the labor rights of Mexican immigrants in the United States, especially the right to free association, regardless of their immigration status. Under this agreement, the Mexican consulates and the NLRB will take joint steps to inform Mexican workers of their right to join or be part of a union, elect a representative to negotiate on their behalf with employers, and work with other employees for their benefit and protection. It formalizes the relationship forged at the local level due to the work of the Mexican consulates. Read more.
Jul 20, 2013
Immigration Reform Should Address Why People Leave
Huffington Post
By Andrew Wainer
July 18, 2013
In June, the Senate approved the most far-reaching reforms to U.S. immigration policy in 50 years. The Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act passed on a vote of 68-32. It now faces a more daunting challenge in the House of Representatives. The 1,000+ page bill includes an earned legalization process for 11 million unauthorized immigrants, increased enforcement both at the border and at home, and a revamped guest worker program for both high- and low-skilled jobs.
But even as policymakers attempt to fix what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system, the proposed legislative solutions overlook one of the system's most important moving parts -- the economic hardship in immigrants' home countries that drives them to seek work in the United States. Thus, the U.S. development community can play a new and important role in helping to integrate economic development and poverty reduction into U.S. immigration policy. Read more.
By Andrew Wainer
July 18, 2013
In June, the Senate approved the most far-reaching reforms to U.S. immigration policy in 50 years. The Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act passed on a vote of 68-32. It now faces a more daunting challenge in the House of Representatives. The 1,000+ page bill includes an earned legalization process for 11 million unauthorized immigrants, increased enforcement both at the border and at home, and a revamped guest worker program for both high- and low-skilled jobs.
But even as policymakers attempt to fix what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system, the proposed legislative solutions overlook one of the system's most important moving parts -- the economic hardship in immigrants' home countries that drives them to seek work in the United States. Thus, the U.S. development community can play a new and important role in helping to integrate economic development and poverty reduction into U.S. immigration policy. Read more.
Jun 27, 2013
The U.S. immigration reform is a setback, say migrant families
By Ciro Pérez Silva
June 27, 2013
Americas Program Original Translation
It lacks a
focus on regional integration and freedom of transit, while exploiting
undocumented migrants hope.
Mexico, DF.
Immigration reform without a regional integration approach and freedom of
movement is a setback for citizens throughout Central America and the
Caribbean, warned a diverse group of migrant family members from
Oaxaca, Guerrero and New York, among others.
"While
the rest of the world is finding mechanisms to ensure human mobility in a
framework of rights, the governments of Mexico and the United States are
engaged in agreements that criminalize and only promote discrimination and fear
of the other, represented in the migrant ".
In a
statement, the families of migrants in Mexico expressed support for legalization
and for the rights of more than 6 million undocumented Mexicans living in the
United States.
Jun 26, 2013
Mexico rescues 52 migrants kidnapped near U.S. border
Reuters
Jun 25, 2013
Mexican security forces on Tuesday rescued 52 kidnapped migrants, mostly Guatemalans, who were being held in a house in the violent state of Tamaulipas near the U.S. border.
The migrants had been held for several days in a house in the city of Reynosa, where they were found by a group of federal and state police, officials said.
The group was made up of 48 men from Guatemala, two from El Salvador and two more from Mexico, a press release from the state government said. Read more.
Jun 25, 2013
Mexican security forces on Tuesday rescued 52 kidnapped migrants, mostly Guatemalans, who were being held in a house in the violent state of Tamaulipas near the U.S. border.
The migrants had been held for several days in a house in the city of Reynosa, where they were found by a group of federal and state police, officials said.
The group was made up of 48 men from Guatemala, two from El Salvador and two more from Mexico, a press release from the state government said. Read more.
Mexico objects to border security portion of US immigration bill, says fences not solution
The Washington Post
By Associated Press
June 25, 2013
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government objected on Tuesday to an immigration bill that appears headed for approval in the U.S. Senate, saying the initiative’s heavy focus on border security is not consistent with the relationship between the two countries.
Foreign Relations Secretary Jose Meade said that instead of expanding a border fence, as proposed in the bill, the United States should modernize border bridges to expedite commerce.
“Fences do not unite,” Meade said while reading a statement to reporters during a news conference where he didn’t take questions. Read more.
By Associated Press
June 25, 2013
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government objected on Tuesday to an immigration bill that appears headed for approval in the U.S. Senate, saying the initiative’s heavy focus on border security is not consistent with the relationship between the two countries.
Foreign Relations Secretary Jose Meade said that instead of expanding a border fence, as proposed in the bill, the United States should modernize border bridges to expedite commerce.
“Fences do not unite,” Meade said while reading a statement to reporters during a news conference where he didn’t take questions. Read more.
Millions of immigrants waiting for green cards
USA Today
Daniel González, The Arizona Republic
June 23, 2013
The long wait is at the center of the debate over whether to give the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally a pathway to citizenship.
Phoenix - Alejandro Bojorquez wants to play by the rules.
The Mexican citizen has patiently waited for years for a green card to allow him to come to the United States legally, even as millions of compatriots crossed the border illegally.
But his wait has been long. Very, very long.
Bojorquez was 14 when his father, Jesus Bojorquez, then a legal permanent resident, filed a green-card petition on his behalf. Alejandro is now 29. Read more.
Daniel González, The Arizona Republic
June 23, 2013
The long wait is at the center of the debate over whether to give the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally a pathway to citizenship.
Phoenix - Alejandro Bojorquez wants to play by the rules.
The Mexican citizen has patiently waited for years for a green card to allow him to come to the United States legally, even as millions of compatriots crossed the border illegally.
But his wait has been long. Very, very long.
Bojorquez was 14 when his father, Jesus Bojorquez, then a legal permanent resident, filed a green-card petition on his behalf. Alejandro is now 29. Read more.
Jun 25, 2013
The Other Mexicans: Indigenous people come from a world apart from Spanish-speaking Mexicans
National Geographic
Mixteco is Villegas's native language. It is the only language he spoke fluently when he came to the United States sixteen years ago at the age of seven. The trilingual rap song is his own creation and he takes to heart its Spanish language refrain: "Mixteco is a language, not a dialect. It's the gold that I treasure."
Villegas spent two years working in the grape fields where his older siblings still toil. Now he is a community worker at the Fresno headquarters of the Binational Center for the Development of Oaxacan Indigenous Communities, a nonprofit that focuses on the specific needs of indigenous Mexicans who have migrated to California. Across the United States these indigenous migrants are isolated even more than other immigrant groups. They speak neither English nor Spanish and are often looked down on by Spanish-speaking Mexicans.
They may not be the Spanish-speaking migrants that politicians picture when they discuss immigration reform, but as their numbers increase and trilingual members like Miguel organize, they have their own stake in the fractious debate in Washington. A possible language requirement would be particularly difficult for indigenous communities. Without Spanish, their road to English fluency will be that much harder. Their own languages are not traditionally written languages. Many have not had formal schooling. Read more.
Katya Cengel
Published June 24, 2013Mixteco is Villegas's native language. It is the only language he spoke fluently when he came to the United States sixteen years ago at the age of seven. The trilingual rap song is his own creation and he takes to heart its Spanish language refrain: "Mixteco is a language, not a dialect. It's the gold that I treasure."
Villegas spent two years working in the grape fields where his older siblings still toil. Now he is a community worker at the Fresno headquarters of the Binational Center for the Development of Oaxacan Indigenous Communities, a nonprofit that focuses on the specific needs of indigenous Mexicans who have migrated to California. Across the United States these indigenous migrants are isolated even more than other immigrant groups. They speak neither English nor Spanish and are often looked down on by Spanish-speaking Mexicans.
They may not be the Spanish-speaking migrants that politicians picture when they discuss immigration reform, but as their numbers increase and trilingual members like Miguel organize, they have their own stake in the fractious debate in Washington. A possible language requirement would be particularly difficult for indigenous communities. Without Spanish, their road to English fluency will be that much harder. Their own languages are not traditionally written languages. Many have not had formal schooling. Read more.
Jun 13, 2013
Immigrants Reach Beyond a Legal Barrier for a Reunion
Washington Post
By REBEKAH ZEMANSKY and JULIA PRESTON
Published: June 11, 2013
NOGALES, Ariz. — Three young immigrants had a jubilant and painful reunion here on Tuesday with parents who had been deported from the United States, sharing hugs through the steel bars of the border fence that separates this American town from its Mexican twin.
The young adults are part of the movement of immigrants who grew up in this country without legal status who call themselves Dreamers. Their parents traveled to the Mexican side of the fence from Brazil, Colombia and Guadalajara, Mexico, seeing their children in person for the first time in many years.
The meeting, under a searing borderlands sun, was a new piece of the highly personal political theater that young immigrants have used to dramatize their support for a bill in the Senate to overhaul the immigration system. Hours before the encounter here, President Obama spoke at the White House to urge Congress to move quickly to pass the bill. Suggesting the growing influence of the youth movement in the debate, the president framed his remarks — both literally and politically — with Dreamers. Read more.
By REBEKAH ZEMANSKY and JULIA PRESTON
Published: June 11, 2013
NOGALES, Ariz. — Three young immigrants had a jubilant and painful reunion here on Tuesday with parents who had been deported from the United States, sharing hugs through the steel bars of the border fence that separates this American town from its Mexican twin.
The young adults are part of the movement of immigrants who grew up in this country without legal status who call themselves Dreamers. Their parents traveled to the Mexican side of the fence from Brazil, Colombia and Guadalajara, Mexico, seeing their children in person for the first time in many years.
The meeting, under a searing borderlands sun, was a new piece of the highly personal political theater that young immigrants have used to dramatize their support for a bill in the Senate to overhaul the immigration system. Hours before the encounter here, President Obama spoke at the White House to urge Congress to move quickly to pass the bill. Suggesting the growing influence of the youth movement in the debate, the president framed his remarks — both literally and politically — with Dreamers. Read more.
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