Jeremy Robbins, representative for Partnership for a New American Economy and Special Counsel for New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg addressing a crowd of local entrepreneurs and dignitaries during a meeting in The Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce. (Luis Hernandez/Borderzine.com)

Immigration equals economic prosperity, according to a new study

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EL PASO – The ongoing immigration reform debate – either in favor of or against any drastic legislative change, – usually focuses on the influx of undocumented immigrants, while ignoring its effect on the U.S. economy. The way current immigration laws are written and executed is making it harder for companies to compete, according to a new report published by the Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE), an organization created to highlight the contributions made by foreign entrepreneurship in Fortune 500 companies, 40 percent of which were founded by immigrants or children of immigrants. “We are having the wrong immigration debate,” said Jeremy Robbins, of the PNAE and special counsel to New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. The benefits the immigrant labor force provide the U.S. is substantial, said Roberto Rodríguez Hernández, Mexican consul general in El Paso. “Ninety-nine percent of immigrants are people who are not criminals, who don’t wish to cause any problems and don’t come to this country to steal from healthcare services or collapse the social security program.

Standing on the borderline, Obama embraces immigration reform

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EL PASO — President Barrack Obama embarked on a trip to Texas on Tuesday and paid a visit to El Paso to renew his push for immigration reform reminding us that America was built by immigrants and that we should welcome those who are willing to embrace our ideals. “It doesn’t matter where you come from. What matters is that you believe the ideals on which we were founded, that you believe all of us are equal,” said Obama. “In embracing America, you can become American. That is what makes this country so great.”

Immigration reform has been a long hot-button issue for both Democrats and Republicans and with the 2012 elections heating up, both parties are taking advantage of bringing the topic up to Congress and citizens all over the country.  In his speech, Obama mentioned that there are 11 million people who are in the United States illegally and although he has sympathy for them stating that they are just trying to earn a living, what it comes down to is that they are breaking the law.

Immigration: A love story

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CHICAGO — “Up, up with education! Down, down with deportation!” chanted a crowd of 30 or so Latin American youths holding hand-painted signs advocating the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would grant “restricted” residency to children of immigrants who pursued a higher education or military service. I watched as students took turns telling their grueling Cinderella stories, each one starting with, “My name is Juan or Maria and I’m undocumented and unafraid,” then stumbling over words, pausing to apologize for being nervous, and continuing to spill forth their love for America. At the end of the rally they ended with the same chant, but the girl with the mic mixed up the words and instead said, “Up, up with deportation! Down, down with edu… I mean, no, up, up with education.” In effect, it just showed how much they really do need a way into college.

Protesters demand the changes Obama promised

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EL PASO, Texas — As President Barack Obama addressed the troops in Ft. Bliss Tuesday morning, protest groups gathered here to voice disappointment with the lack of change they say was promised by candidate Obama. “I’m out here because we were promised immigration reform,” said Delia Barra, a member of Red Fronteriza, the organization that headed the protest. Some 100 protesters lined up on Airway Boulevard between Montana and Boeing, just across from the airport Marriott at 11 a.m. just as heat waves began to rise from the sidewalk.  As the Sun City blazed down on their heads, bottled water was distributed down the long line of protest posters and US flags. “I joined for the reason that I don’t want families to be separated [due to deportation].

Obama en deuda por promesa de reforma migratoria

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WASHINGTON D.C. — Más de 22 millones de personas de diferentes partes del mundo residen ilegalmente en los Estados Unidos, de acuerdo a www.immigrationcounters.com. Estas personas no tienen derecho a obtener ayudar financiera para adquirir  propiedades, votar u obtener seguro médico. Pero el 21 de marzo pasado esta sociedad invisible caminó hacia Capitol Hill en Washington, DC, con una voz y un mensaje: O se lleva a cabo un proyecto de ley para una reforma migratoria u Obama pierde la aprobación política de los hispanos. Entre las 200,000 personas que se reunieron en el Washington Mall el penúltimo domingo de marzo se encontraba Héctor Echeverría, un trabajador indocumentado quien  lleva 10 años viviendo en Chicago y quien describió su experiencia en la marcha. “Estamos cansados de escuchar a nuestros oficiales del congreso hablar de una reforma migratoria… queremos acción”, dijo Echeverría.

Deportation looms over some young Americans

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NOGALES, Ariz. — U.S. citizens can be deported, so says the law, if their non-citizen parents are deported and they are under 18 years of age. That’s what almost happened to Maria, one of my students, and her 10-year old brother. Keeping her spot at our school was so important to them that when her mom was deported they decided to leave Maria, then a high school junior, and her brother here. Her mom was making pretty good money cleaning the houses of Anglos in Nogales, Arizona, where a domestic cleaning-lady employment underground thrives.

La Ley del Sueño, esperanza para los estudiantes indocumentados

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Traducido por Kelly Hinkle

Read this story in English

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Irene Castellón, 19, es una joven inteligente y bella que estudia español en East Tennessee State University. Ella espera usar su licenciatura en español para ayudar a los latinos a tener una vida mejor. Pero hace un año, la universidad no era una opción para ella por su estatus migratorio. Actualmente, los inmigrantes indocumentados en los EE.UU.

DREAM Act: Hope for Undocumented Students

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Lea esta historia en español

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Irene Castellon, 19, is a bright, beautiful young woman studying Spanish at East Tennessee State University. She hopes to use her Spanish degree to help Latino Americans make a better life for themselves. Yet a year ago, college wasn’t an option for her because of her immigration status. Currently, undocumented immigrants in the U.S. cannot receive financial aid for college.

Hispanos retan al Sheriff a que los detengan

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EL PASO, Texas — Alrededor de 60 paseños se presentaron este miércoles en la Cárcel del Condado de El Paso para que agentes del Sheriff Richard Wiles los detuvieran. El incidente formó parte de una manifestación en contra de la ley anti-inmigrante SB 1070, actualmente en proceso en Arizona, y en apoyo a las víctimas que ha ido cobrando esa iniciativa. “Mi hijo ha sido combatiente en Irak en dos ocasiones, ha preservado la libertad de este país, ha puesto su vida por esto; ¿es justo que lo discriminen por su color?”, dijo Magdalena Esparza. Y agregó: “Eso es inconstitucional, estamos en el país de las libertades, sino es así que quiten la estatua de la libertad”. La mujer, acompañada de su padre (de 74 años), insistió en que quería entregarse porque le daba temor de que ella, su hijo o alguien de su familia sea víctima de lo que sucede en Arizona.

Policía de El Paso reprime manifestación en puente internacional Santa Fe

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El Paso, Texas — Varias corporaciones policíacas ordenaron a un grupo de personas disolver una manifestación, durante la mañana del sábado 23 de abril, cuando condenaban la ley anti-inmigrante (SB1070) ratificada el viernes por la gobernadora de Arizona. La protesta, que concentró a diversos sectores sociales entre ellos campesinos, amas de casa, derecho humanistas y a algunos jóvenes anglosajones, se realizó hasta cerca de las 9:30 a.m., en las inmediaciones del Puente Internacional Santa Fe, en la calle El Paso, en el centro de la ciudad. “Esta es una ley totalmente represiva, cruel, que promueve la tiranía no sólo en Arizona, sino también en los Estados Unidos; esto no va a resolver los problemas migratorios, los va a arreciar porque convierte en criminales a los indocumentados”, dijo, el activista, Guillermo Glenn. Y agregó: “Nunca pensé que en los Estados Unidos iba a darse un paso como este; todos debemos unirnos para evitar que esta ley se extienda, es una responsabilidad moral ponerle alto al racismo de Arizona”. Algunos participantes rehusaron ser entrevistados, se concentraron en agitar sus banderas rojas con el logotipo de la Asociación de Trabajadores Agrícolas Fronterizos, otros se limitaron a mostrar sus carteles o a gritar: “todos somos Arizona”, “Derechos humanos, sí”, “no al nazismo”, entre otras, frases de repudio a la posición de la gobernadora republicana Jan Brewer.

Marchers Demand That Congress Reform Unfair Immigration Laws

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EL PASO, Texas – Now that the historic health care reform bill has been pushed through Capitol Hill, hundreds of thousands of immigration reform supporters expect to see their comprehensive plan in the congressional forefront this year. “It’s been needed. It’s been needed for a while now,” said Fernando Garcia, executive director of Border Network for Human Rights, who organized a march in El Paso, Texas. “We have people being separated. We have people being deported.

Lessons From the Border for our Corner of the Nation

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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — When I went to college we rarely discussed immigration. Border politics didn’t enter my thoughts as I headed to Big Bend National Park on a student-run rafting trip, a last escape before graduation from Texas A&M in 1978. As we crawled into sleeping bags on the Texas side of the Rio Grande, I thought the water looked low for rafting. Later that night, Spanish voices broke the silence.