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by Rose Grengs, W A M M
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Our current immigration system no longer works. Our government has increasingly endorsed policies favoring enforcement over common-sense solutions to fix it. They don’t work—We can do better.
Should we at WAMM be concerned that a Neo-Nazi hate group recently demonstrated against an anti-racism workshop in south Minneapolis? It may be somewhat comforting that the group of only four was outnumbered by 200 counter protestors, but, there is still cause for concern. The neo-Nazi group is the same group, calling themselves the Nationalist Socialist Movement, that has been holding anti-immigrant rallies in southern Minnesota and stirring up deep emotional resentment against immigrants.
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photo by Rose Grengs |
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Chains |
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According to Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has been tracking anti-immigrant rhetoric and activities for several years, “the immigration debate has turned ugly and the result has been a growth in white supremacist hate groups and anti-Latino crime.” SPLC reports that hate groups have increased by 48 percent since 2000. And, according to FBI findings, anti-Latino hate crimes rose by almost 35 percent between 2003 and 2006.
Should we at WAMM be concerned that by the end of 2009, that the U.S. government will hold over 440,000 people in immigration custody—more than triple the number that were held just ten years ago—in a hodgepodge of approximately 400 facilities, at an annual cost of more than $1.7 billion? (Source: Detention Watch Network)
Immigrants in detention include children, families, torture survivors, victims of human trafficking and other vulnerable groups. About half of the detainees have no criminal record at all. The rest may have committed a crime in their past but have already paid their debt to society under the criminal justice system. By the government’s own figures, less than 6% of these detainees are criminals with serious offenses. Can we be comforted by the fact that the Obama Administration closed the notorious T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility (Hutto) that held immigrant families and children in Texas, but is busy finding other places to detain these immigrants?
Should we at WAMM be concerned about this?: The Minneapolis-based law firm of Dorsey & Whitney LLP released a report to the Urban Institute in early 2009 that revealed that because of outdated, failed immigration laws, innocent U.S. children have been the victims of increasingly more aggressive enforcement efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Tens of thousands of children of undocumented immigrants, including citizen children, have seen their families torn apart or experienced deportation to a country that is as foreign to them as it would be to any other American child. Often the harm suffered by them is palpable and long-lasting.
I think we at WAMM and we as a nation should be concerned about hateful rhetoric, about escalating detention for civil violations, about families being torn apart, about rogue enforcement practices and a generally unworkable set of laws that create unjust consequences. Our current immigration system no longer works. Our government has increasingly endorsed policies favoring enforcement over common-sense solutions to fix it. These enforcement policies don’t work.
Immigration is a notoriously complex issue area. Surveys show that most Americans favor a humane solution to the problem of undocumented immigrants already here and want to see practical reform in our immigration laws. However, the current immigration debate is filled with myths, fear, and emotion, making reasoned decision-making difficult. Too often the debate is hijacked by anti-immigrant extremists, white supremacists and far-right-wing talk shows. We can do better.
President Obama has promised comprehensive immigration reform. Immigrant advocates across the country are organizing to work together to make that happen. In that environment, WAMM is in the process of forming an Immigration
Committee. The committee will learn about immigration issues and join the national campaign to reform immigration laws.
If you are interested in the welfare of immigrants or humane immigration reform and would like to be a part of the WAMM Immigration Committee, or if you would like a speaker for an organization or more information, please contact Rose Grengs, WAMM member, at r.grengs@comcast.net
or 612-819-1177 (prefer e-mail, if possible).
Rose Grengs is an immigration lawyer and advocate. She recently retired from her private law practice, but continues to represent low-income clients as a volunteer and is actively involved in trying to change and improve immigration laws. |
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© 2009 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.
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Complete November 2009 Index - click here
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