Guest Author
As Immigrant Heritage Month ends, I’ve taken the time to reflect on my humble beginnings and all the opportunities this great country has provided me with.
As the director of policy and advocacy of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, I have worked with many, many immigrants who have made America their home in order to escape injustice, receive an education, seek economic opportunities or to provide a better life for their families. While immigrants may have diverse backgrounds and heritage, one thing holds true for everyone: they came to America for a better life.
As the 2016 presidential election nears, the need for comprehensive immigration reform continues to be a popular topic of conversation. As a swing state, Florida will be at the forefront of America’s mind with its influential electoral votes. Our state is home to millions of unique, ethnically and politically diverse individuals. It is our responsibility to use our unique vantage point to make our state and national representatives, take immigration reform seriously and make America the land of opportunity again.
Having worked to defend the basic human rights of communities of color, women, the working class, low-income and migrant people over 10 years, my one wish is to see a new Florida free of racism and exclusion — a place where fair treatment exists for all and no one should have to live in fear, including hardworking immigrants. At the Florida Immigrant Coalition, we are seeking an immigration system that keeps families together and provides a clear and inclusive path to legalization.
It isn’t simply a moral necessity to address the 11.5 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States — it would unlock unlimited economic potential. Creating a pathway to legalization would increase the GDP by 4.8 percent and lower the hefty federal deficit by $1.2 trillion. On the other hand, if our country pursued a policy of mass deportation, it would lower the GDP by 6 percent and cost the government $400-$600 billion in spending. By keeping these families together, other American families can create greater economic opportunity for their children and build a better future for the next generation.
Amazingly, we continue to see bipartisan support for immigration reform in poll after poll, with 75 percent of Americans supporting reform and 77 percent of voters viewing mass deportation as overwhelmingly unrealistic. Since 2011, Floridians have stood up and said, “We are Florida!” and we do not want anti-immigration laws in the Sunshine State. Every year since the start of the “We are Florida!” campaign, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, its members, and allies have worked together on the campaign to promote legislative priorities for immigrant families and workers in Florida. This year, a total of nine anti-immigrant bills threatened families in the state of Florida, but the participation and commitment of over 1,000 families and allies defeated all nine bills. Together, we are Florida!
It is time Floridians demand the same of our national leaders. The immigration system is broken and we need to modernize it to meet the needs of 21st century America. We can start by making simple changes to provide opportunities to our youth — those attending Florida colleges and universities; and those developing skills and learning a craft at technical and vocational schools across the country — to stay and create jobs here in America. Here in Florida, over half of the STEM graduates in our state’s most research-intensive schools were foreign-born. We need to give these graduates the opportunity to stay and create jobs here in our state.
By standing together, we can demand change, stop anti-immigration laws and encourage reform. This Immigration Heritage Month, I ask you to think deeply about where you came from and share your story with others. America’s foundation is built on immigration. We are a melting pot and a land of opportunity. Don’t forget your roots and help those families make America their home today by electing a candidate that will pass reform this year.
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Francesca Menes is Director of Policy and Advocacy of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, a statewide coalition of more than 65 member organizations and over 100 allies working toward the fair treatment of all people, including immigrants. Francesca is also a candidate for Florida House of Representatives, District 108.
8 comments
Don Honda
June 30, 2016 at 1:50 pm
“No, Our Immigration System Is Not Broken”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/no-our-immigration-system-is-not-broken/article/2552534
Don Honda
June 30, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Here are Polls that say the opposite of what this article states:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/immigration_update
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/poll-yes-to-more-aggressive-deportations-no-to-welfare-citizenship-for-kids-of-illegals/article/2562575
http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/Barack-Obama-defund-immigration-executive-action/2015/01/29/id/621598/
http://dailycaller.com/2015/01/29/gallup-poll-only-seven-percent-of-americans-want-more-immigration/
http://www.gallup.com/poll/181313/dissatisfied-immigration-levels.aspx
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/april_2013/sanctions_on_employers_sanctuary_cities_seen_as_most_effective_ways_to_stop_illegal_immigration
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/immigration_update
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/archive/immigration_update_archive/voters_still_fault_feds_for_illegal_immigration
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/april_2015/most_still_oppose_obama_s_immigration_amnesty_say_it_s_illegal
Don Honda
June 30, 2016 at 1:52 pm
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/18/30-million-illegal-immigrants-in-us-says-mexicos-former-ambassador/
30 Million Illegal Immigrants in US, Says Mexico’s Former Ambassador on MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/backlash-grows-over-trump-s-immigration-plan-507691587765
“The former ambassador stated,” If you were to deport the 30 million undocumented immigrants in the United States that’s going to cost you about 130 billion dollars.”
http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/latino/edgard-portela/2016/02/25/fiesta-new-wave-mexican-immigrants-univision
Fiesta for New ‘Wave’ of Mexican Immigrants on Univision
http://www.mrctv.org/videos/fiesta-new-wave-mexican-immigrants-univision
“Despite official statistics showing immigration from Mexico is down in recent years, Univision has found an apparent exception in the case of immigrants from the Mexican state of Puebla.
ORLANDO SEGURA, UNIVISION: During the last 30 years three migrant waves of Pueblans to New York have existed. The first was in the 80’s, benefitting from the amnesty of Ronald Reagan. The second, during the economic boom of the presidency of Bill Clinton. The third, we are living through right now.”
According to a recent DHS report the number of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) coming across the border has doubled and the number of family units has tripled in fiscal year 2016 compared to the same time frame in fiscal year 2015.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-border-patrol-migrants-20160424-story.html
Border Patrol sees increase in number of migrants being detained at Mexico border
“The number of family members caught crossing illegally has nearly tripled compared with this time last year, and the number of unaccompanied children has almost doubled, the figures show.”
http://www.cbp.gov/site-page/southwest-border-unaccompanied-alien-children-statistics-fy-2016
“The number of unaccompanied alien children (0-17 years old) that were apprehend between October 1- January 31 has doubled from 10,105 in 2015 to 20,455 in 2016. The number of family units apprehended in the same time period has almost tripled from 9,090 in 2015 to 24,616 in 2016.”
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/social-affairs/20151125/thousands-of-unaccompanied-children-crossed-us-mexico-border-in-october
Thousands of unaccompanied children crossed US-Mexico border in October
http://www.latintimes.com/us-border-arrests-immigrant-children-and-families-increased-52-percent-august-342201
US Border Arrests Of Immigrant Children And Families Increased 52 Percent in August
“According to statistics released by the U.S. Border Patrol nearly 10,000 unaccompanied minors and families were arrested in the month of August, a 52 percent jump from last year.”
http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-reform-2015-immigrant-families-surging-again-us-border-homeland-security-2043891
Immigration Reform 2015: Immigrant Families Surging Again At US Border, Homeland Security Says
“Federal border officials might have spoken too soon when they predicted earlier this year that the level of illegal immigration to the U.S. among mothers and children would decrease. There was actually a surge of immigrant families crossing U.S. borders last month [July 2015], a top Department of Homeland Security official told a federal court Thursday.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/21/surge-illegal-children-families-accelerates/?page=1
Surge of illegal children, families accelerates 10,000 caught at border in September
“The surge of children and families crossing the southwest border illegally accelerated again in September, leaving fiscal year 2015 the second-worst on record, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Border Patrol.”
http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/ongoing-migration-from-central-america-an-examination-of-fy2015-apprehensions
Ongoing Migration from Central America: An Examination of FY2015 Apprehensions
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/9/20-pct-illegals-caught-border-have-criminal-record/
Agents say just 40 percent of U.S.-Mexico border under control
20 percent of illegals caught at border have criminal records
“Less than half of the U.S.-Mexico border is under “operational control,” and one out of every five illegal immigrants caught there has a criminal record, the chief of Border Patrol agents’ labor union told Congress Wednesday when detailing violence that increasingly spills over the international boundary.”
Don Honda
June 30, 2016 at 1:53 pm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/02/27/opposition-to-immigration-reform-is-a-winning-strategy-for-republicans/
“By any measure, fears of (Illegal) immigration are driving many white Americans to the Republican Party. And, indeed, the Republican strategy on immigration appears to have been successful. Republicans now control the House and the Senate, the governor’s office in 31 states, and two-thirds of the state legislatures. They are winning the political war.”
“An even bigger factor is that the ties of racial and ethnic minorities to the Democratic Party are tenuous. Research by Taeku Lee and myself shows that most Latinos and Asian Americans don’t feel like they fit into either party. In national surveys, those who refuse to answer a question about party identification, those who claim that they do not think in partisan terms, and independents make up the clear majority of both groups. All told, 56 percent of Latinos and 57 percent of Asian-American identify as nonpartisans.
Even among blacks, there are signs of ambivalence. Almost 30 percent of blacks feel
that the Democratic Party does not work hard for black interests.”
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20151016_As_Trump_fades__be_smart_about_immigration.html#disqus_thread
“Most Hispanics aren’t single-issue voters when it comes to immigration. A recent Gallup poll found that among registered Latino voters, 67 percent are at least willing to support a candidate who doesn’t share their views on immigration. And 18 percent don’t consider the issue important at all.
What’s more, many Hispanic citizens have little sympathy for immigrants who haven’t played by the rules. Especially among Latino voters born in the United States, resentment of immigrants who have entered the country illegally can run deep. Forty-two percent of American-born Hispanics disapprove of President Obama’s executive actions to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/12/no-joke-trump-can-win-plenty-of-latinos.html
Reuben Navarette: No Joke: Trump Can Win Plenty of Latinos
Gee, No wonder why I fall into the Proud Independent group.
Don Honda
June 30, 2016 at 1:54 pm
If Trump didn’t exist, why he would have been invented:
https://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/illegal-immigration-finally-turned-off-public/?singlepage=true
How Illegal Immigration Finally Turned Off the Public
“Why did the illegal-immigration issue launch Donald Trump’s campaign? Why did his recent tense press conference exchange with Univision’s Jorge Ramos please even some of Trump’s liberal critics? What is it about illegal immigration that has finally turned off so many Americans?”
Don Honda
June 30, 2016 at 1:54 pm
Here’s a synopsis of what happens when the Immigration Code is NOT enforced:
https://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/the-weirdness-of-illegal-immigration/
The Weirdness of Illegal Immigration
“….contemplate what happens in a social, cultural, and economic context when several million immigrants arrive from one of the poorest areas in the world (e.g., Oaxaca) to one of the most affluent (e.g., California). For guidance, think not of Jorge Ramos, but of the premodern/postmodern collision that is occurring in Germany, Austria, and Denmark.”
Don Honda
June 30, 2016 at 1:55 pm
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/24/us/politics/hillary-clinton-is-not-my-abuela-critics-say.html?_r=0
Hillary Clinton Is ‘Not My Abuela,’ Critics Say
Here’s a list of recent past of Hillary’s hostilities towards Illegal Aliens:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/08/jeb-bush-and-hillary-clinton-accuse-each-other-of-flip-flopping-on-immigration-and-theyre-both-right/
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/03/11/how-hillary-clinton-and-bernie-sanders-used-to-talk-about-immigration-laws/#comment-10965399
How Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders Used to Talk About Immigration Laws
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-02-19/in-nevada-bernie-sanders-immigration-record-is-a-nightmare
Bernie Is No Dream Candidate for Immigrants
His record on immigration issues isn’t a good one.
Don Honda
June 30, 2016 at 1:55 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV_PLCC6jeI
Empire Files: Abby Martin Exposes What Hillary Clinton Really Represents
https://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/10/despite-her-rhetoric-big-pharma-likes-hillary.html
Despite her rhetoric, big pharma likes Hillary
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