Harsh state immigration laws, such as Arizona’s S.B. 1070, have become a deciding motivator for eligible Latinos, Asians and other immigrant groups to naturalize and become active in the political process. By applying now, eligible residents can become citizens in time to register and vote in this fall’s elections.
Perez is part of a wave of young people who are choosing to come out about status as a vehicle to empowerment, similar to the way that the gay movement did a generation before. "If we're in the shadows, we're actually more vulnerable," Perez said. "It's easier for you to get deported because you don't have a support network that's organized."
There is plenty of evidence that immigration helps to fuel the U.S. economy, just as it has throughout our history.
Lum told his story this month at the Dynasty Seafood Restaurant in Cupertino, where the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation announced plans to expand its exhibits commemorating the Chinese immigrants who were detained on the island during the immigration process.
The Immigrant Magazine May-June 2011 A magazine of entertainment, culture and resources
“Arizona was a wake up call for other states,” said Elena Lacayo, field coordinator with the Immigration Policy Project at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation’s largest advocacy group for Hispanics. Lacayo, who has followed the effects of SB 1070-type legislation in other states, said that despite the far reaching nature of some of the bills, it was the economic backlash in Arizona after SB 1070 that helped other states realize the costly consequences of anti-immigrant laws.
In doing so, he has sparked mixed reactions among Filipino journalists and community members after coming out last Sunday in his New York Times Magazine article as being no longer "TNT," tago nang tago, the Tagalog expression meaning “always in hiding.”
Although touted as a success by Rep. Smith, E-Verify is in reality a deeply flawed program. If made mandatory, it would cripple America’s economy, devastate its labor market, and result in discriminatory outcomes for workers, especially for those in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
The meeting took place at the nationally-recognized Center for Employment Training (CET) in San José; an organization that has specialized in vocational training for farm workers for over forty years and sponsors one of the most successful local Consul General’s Spanish educational programs for co-nationals.
