immigration

Attend any legislative meeting at the NC General Assembly related to immigration or documentation of identity and you’ll likely find James Johnson in the front row, shoulder to shoulder with Ron Woodard of NC LISTEN and/or William Gheen of ALIPAC. Johnson, an advocate of Arizona style immigration controls, is President/Founder of North Carolinians For Immigration Reform & Enforcement (NCFIRE). Described variously as a non-profit organization, accepting tax deductible donations, and specifically as a 501(c)3 organization*, NCFIRE is curiously MIA when it comes to documentation of its own identity.

When Sen. Kay Hagan voted against the DREAM Act in December, she joined with only a handful of other Democrats in handing President Barack Obama his sole setback of a very productive lame-duck session. To educators like myself, Hagan's opposition to the act is indefensible. However, she can redeem herself and regain our support by following through on her own rhetoric.

Hagan said that she would not support the DREAM Act as a stand-alone bill, and that she would prefer a comprehensive overhaul of the immigration system. Now, she should become one of the leading Democratic voices for immigration reform and ensure that a comprehensive bill includes DREAM Act-like provisions.

Two dozen immigration scholars from across the state and working at several North Carolina colleges universities -- UNC, Duke, NC State, ECU, App State, UNCG and UNCA -- have released a letter imploring Sens. Kay Hagan and Richard Burr to support the DREAM Act.

They write: "These are not students looking for a handout. These are hardworking students, many of whom are graduating with honors and as valedictorians of their classes. They want the opportunity to work. Someday, if the DREAM Act passes, these children will be your electoral constituents, as will be their parents. Certainly, their future children will be your constituents, and will be able to run for office themselves. What legacy would you like to leave for your future constituents?"

Read the whole letter and see the signatories at ncequals.org/323 or after the jump...

Are you aware that the DREAM Act will be voted on this week?

Senator Kay Hagan has said that she supports the DREAM Act but would not support it as a stand alone bill. NC Equals is urging supporters like you to take action and reach out and urge her to vote YES on the DREAM Act. Every person like you who reaches out with a voice for support counts.

Did you know?

• 65,000 undocumented students graduate each year
• Though students may go to college, they must pay out of state tuition
• The DREAM Act would make undocumented students eligible for temporary non-immigrant status after commiting to attending college or joining the military
• DREAM stands for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM)
• It is a bipartisan bill

We hope you will take just a few minutes to take action and fill out a simple message form to Senator Kay Hagan. You can include your name, city, ZIP code, a brief message with your thoughts on the DREAM Act and your photo.

NC Equals will gather your responses, attach your photo to a mock college application and fax it to Senator Kay Hagan’s offices. Each college application, with the words “DREAM DENIED,” will send a powerful message to Senator Hagan: Vote YES on the DREAM Act.

Please, take action today: ncequals.org/dreamdenied/

Hello BlueNC community! First, an introduction: NC Equals is a grassroots movement of Charlotte's Latin American Coalition. We're working to build political power among low-income communities, people of color, youth and immigrant communities in Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Greensboro and elsewhere across the state. A great deal of our focus at the moment is on the DREAM Act and 287g programs. In addition to on-the-ground, face-to-face activism and advocacy, we're ramping up to utilize the wealth of tools new media and social media provide, along with the great resources available among North Carolina's progressive blogosphere.

Once a week, we'll post our advocacy staff's weekly commentaries and join in on discussions as much as we can. We hope to become a valuable part of the BlueNC community and we hope you find our staff's thoughts interesting, thought-provoking and challenging. The commentary below is from our Raleigh-based field director, Irene Godinez.

Thanks y'all!
Matt Comer
New Media Coordinator, NC Equals
http://ncequals.org

Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Mike Beitler told the North Carolina Latino Coalition Assembly yesterday that he supports amnesty for illegal immigrants and a pathway to citizenship. “I challenge my opponents to take the same stand,” he said.

“The role of government is to protect us from criminals, not immigrants,” Beitler said. “Immigrants, whether classified as legal or undocumented, are a benefit to North Carolina. They provide a much- needed work force, they are consumers who are spending their income in North Carolina and they are a great example to the rest of us of hard workers.”

I'm not sure if the following email is true or a hoax. I checked Snopes and could find nothing. If it's true, it's informative, an indicator of why so many want to come here to not only work but to escape, and an indictment of the government of Mexico. I believe our politicians are also corrupt, but this is stunning. The email follows:

Washington (FNS)—An exclusive investigation by FNS reporting staff has identified and confirmed, through a second source, the Obama Administration’s secret plans for resolving issues with certain residents of Arizona that has been in the news over the past week, known as “Operation Terraform”.

The plan depends upon American authorities cooperating with the Canadian, Mexican, and North American Governments, and the plan will require one of the largest transport efforts since D-Day.

Until today, no one outside the involved agencies had been aware of the existence of the plan, much less its details, and as of today, no official will admit, on the record, that the plan is already in effect.

Will new attention to educational civil rights result in the bright light of justice helping Latino immigrants come out of the shadows?

Recent controversies in both Wake County and Wayne County have brought North Carolina to the forefront of public discussion on educational civil rights. Unfortunately, these conversations have largely adhered to 20th Century civil rights norms by remaining in a black-white paradigm. Efforts to resolve North Carolina's civil rights challenges must include a perspective on what's happening to Latino students.

ACTION ALERT

NC STATE BOARD OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES

In September, the State Board of Community Colleges agreed to allow undocumented students into NC Community Colleges with certain conditions after nearly two years of intense debate. However, this will not take effect until this policy proposal goes through a “Permanent Rule-Making Process,” which could take 6-12 months. This process begins with a Public Hearing, an opportunity for community members to express their opinions on the issue.  This is an essential step in ensuring that the State Board of Community Colleges continues to do the right thing by allowing all students to enroll in any NC community college. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!