A project of the Center for Community Change

Immigration Blogs

Demanding Accountability from The Heritage Foundation

Posted by Sarah English on May 15, 2013

Last week, The Heritage Foundation released a faulty, anti-immigrant economic “study” that was denounced even within the conservative community. Today, immigrant families will deliver thousands of pink slips to Heritage president and former senator Jim DeMint, demanding that he be held accountable for the bigoted report and resign.

termination notice jim demint

Late Friday afternoon, one of the co-authors of the report, Jason Richwine, quietly resigned from The Heritage Foundation after it surfaced that he had written a highly racist dissertation in 2009 on the low IQ’s of Hispanic immigrants as compared to white Americans.

The Center for Community Change’s Executive Director Deepak Bhargava said this resignation, which took place “in the cover of darkness, without fully owning up to the reprehensible nature of the views,” wasn’t enough.  “This issue isn’t really that he was fired; the issue is that he was hired knowingly by Heritage with these views way out of the mainstream by the pillar institution of modern Conservatism in America,” Bhargava said on MSNBC’s All in with Chris Hayes on Friday.

The Heritage Foundation should take responsibility for embracing a report written by this extremist, and it is Jim DeMint who should be held accountable. Which is why today at 12pm, immigrant families and activists will be delivering thousands of pink slips to The Heritage Foundation building (214 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Washington, 20002) calling for Jim DeMint’s resignation.

It is our obligation to demand accountability.  In the words of Kica Matos, Director of Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice at The Center for Community Change, “We cannot stand by and allow our country’s ugly history of racism and injustice to repeat itself.”

Click here to sign our petition demanding Jim DeMint to resign from Heritage!

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Reminding Congress That the Fight is About Families

Posted by Sarah English on May 8, 2013

Now that the long-awaited immigration reform bill has been introduced, the real work begins. Amendments to the bill are now available online for public review. Tomorrow, the process known as markup will begin, in which the Senate Judiciary Committee will review amendments and debate and rewrite the proposed legislation.

To ensure that critical changes are made to the bill, such as expansion of the right to reunite, restoration of the family visa program and expansion of the path to citizenship by shifting the date of presence requirement, the Center and our allies will be working tirelessly to put pressure on Congress and remind lawmakers that, in the words of Angelica Salas of the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, “This fight has always been, and continues to be, about our families.”

Families affected by deportation will be attending hearings and holding vigils outside Congressional buildings throughout markup. Congressional offices will be flooded with lobby visits from hundreds of family members. Legislators will be receiving tens of thousands of photographs of families that will be impacted by the bill, all in an effort to keep the stories of families like Silverio’s a top priority.

silverio's familySilverio is married with two children both born in the United States. In 2009, he was forced to leave his family and return to Guatemala, a country he left to escape extreme violence. In his absence, his son began struggling with developmental delays, likely as a result of lead poisoning and potentially autism. Upon his return, Silverio was devastated to find that his son’s speech had regressed to the point that he no longer called his father “papa.”

Despite these challenges, Silverio continues to fight for his family. He received his GED in 2012 and is currently working toward a degree in computer engineering. Everything he does, he says, is so that his children can have the best opportunities to thrive and continue to live a good and meaningful life here in the United States.

Click here to sign the petition to keep Silverio with his family!

America Needs to Put its Families First

Posted by Sarah English on May 7, 2013

By: Jennifer Martinez

A little over a year, my family was ripped apart when my husband of 16 years was suddenly taken away and forced to leave the country. My husband went to work one morning, as always, but he didn’t come home. Was he safe? When would we see him again? Me and my four children were left alone and scared, with no answers.

On March 21, 2012, my husband was told he had 20 minutes to get his things and was taken from our hometown of Manitowoc, Wisconsin to Chicago. After I finally heard from him, I had to scramble to get our kids ready and make the long trip to Illinois. When we got there, we couldn’t find him for 24 hours. When we finally found him, I barely had enough time to hand him some money and bag of clothes before we were forced to leave. I’ll never forget the image of my children throwing rocks and chasing the bus that was taking their father away.

3Now I work three jobs just to keep our family afloat; one job to pay our bills, another for childcare and a third to send to my husband in Mexico, who only makes $27 a week. So now, not only are my kids separated from their dad, but they hardly see their mom because I have to work all the time. It’s a struggle everyday to keep it together and put on a brave face for them. My heart breaks a little more every time they ask when dad is coming home and I don’t have an answer.

My husband was a contributing member of our community. He had a steady job for years and paid taxes. He had no criminal record – not even a traffic violation.

Why is the U.S. government criminalizing innocent people and tearing families apart? This nation is founded on family unity, and our broken immigration system is not upholding those values. Every year, 46,000 mothers and fathers are taken away from their children with little hope of reuniting. Thousands of children with loving, devoted parents are forced into foster homes and welfare systems that put a strain on our communities. And for what?

Our broken immigration system is hurting U.S. citizens, like me and my kids. Before March 21, 2012, we were an average American family. Now my husband is gone, and a huge void remains. I pray that he will one day be allowed to come home.

This is why I am fighting for Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes a clear and direct path to citizenship. Not just for immigrants, but for U.S. citizens. I hope that you will watch this short video  help share my story. Please, help me bring my family back together.

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