This page features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about immigration reform and policy from members of The Media Consortium. For the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment and health care-related issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch and The Pulse.
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Weekly Diaspora: Does Coakley’s Loss Spell Trouble for Immigration Reform?
By Nezua, Media Consortium Blogger
Professional pundits and Democratic politicians are in a frenzy over what Martha Coakley’s senate seat loss to Republican Scott Brown might mean for American politics.
Immigration reform in jeopardy
As Harold Meyerson of the American Prospect reports, the loss of one seat probably won’t derail heath care reform, but it does make the chances of passing immigration reform slimmer. Meyerson writes that immigration reform is “necessary to restore our economic vitality and political equality,” and actually passing reform would benefit the Democratic faction. Unfortunately, that means that immigration reform will require 60 votes in order to pass the senate. READ MORE…
from our members
- MIGRATION: Lost in the Desert? There's an App for That - IPS ipsnews.net
SAN DIEGO, California, Feb 5, 2010 (IPS) - Over the past two decades, Ricardo Dominguez has made a career for himself tweaking the sensibilities of government officials and developing software tools meant to disrupt the status quo. - Ellison urges support for binational same-sex couples « Minnesota Independent: News. Politics. Media.
Rep. Keith EllisonBinational same-sex couples face added hardships in America compared with married couples because the government does not recognize their relationships. Rep. Keith Ellison is among a group of Congress members who are looking to change that. - U.S.: Immigration Enforcement Prone to Abuses - IPS ipsnews.net
NEW YORK, Feb 4, 2010 (IPS) - A little-known programme run by the Department of Homeland Security is using inaccurate databases and functioning "as little more than a dragnet to funnel even more people into the already overburdened" detention and deportation system of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. This is the assertion being made by three civil rights organisations that have filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for information pertaining to a programme known as "Secure Communities". - MIGRATION: Lost in the Desert? There's an App for That - IPS ipsnews.net
SAN DIEGO, California, Feb 5, 2010 (IPS) - Over the past two decades, Ricardo Dominguez has made a career for himself tweaking the sensibilities of government officials and developing software tools meant to disrupt the status quo. Presently, he leads a team at the University of California at San Diego that is designing a mobile application to assist migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. - Immigration Reform - Killing it Softly With a SOTU - NAM EthnoBlog
I think President Obama just killed comprehensive immigration reform. If he did, he killed it gently, with a pat on the head. Actually to be fair, he did not kill it. He sent it to the back of the bus. Behind the gays and lesbians. - Apparent immigration detention abuses spark calls in Colorado for reform « Colorado Independent
The detention policies of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in Colorado and the network of facilities that has grown here in the last few years are drawing increasing attention among local lawmakers and human rights organizations. - Arizona Law Would Criminalize Undocumented Immigrants - NAM
PHOENIX, AZ--Arizona could become the first state in the country to criminalize undocumented immigrants.
earlier from the consortium report
Weekly Diaspora: Protecting Haitian Refugees Through Immigration Reform
By Nezua, Media Consortium Blogger
On Tuesday, the worst earthquake in 200 years struck just off the coast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as The Nation reports. Bringing “catastrophic destruction” to the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, the disaster has spurred relief efforts worldwide. Crises like this are important reminders of how the treatment and protection of... Read More
Weekly Diaspora: Real Immigration Reform in 2010
By Nezua, Media Consortium Blogger
“Is it ever ‘the right time’ to pass immigration reform and a path to legalization?” asks Maribel Hastings at New America Media. The short answer? Yes. Our national economic situation dictates that we are smart about the resources available to us all. It’s also a moral imperative to adjust our laws... Read More
Weekly Diaspora: Working Together for Reform
By Nezua, Media Consortium Blogger
As we usher the last decade into the realm of memory, it’s time to stop viewing immigration reform as an Us vs. Them issue. The metaphors and language we use are key to framing a debate because they can communicate broader truths via association. For example, a scientist might mention the... Read More
Weekly Diaspora: ICE Perpetuating Human Rights Abuses
By Nezua, Media Consortium Blogger
Ed. Note: This week’s Diaspora is short due to the holidays. We’ll be back to full-length next week.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, apparently isn’t beholden to US or international law. In The Nation, Jacqueline Stevens reveals the “clandestine operations, akin to extraordinary renditions”... Read More