Immigration

We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us.

Undocumented immigrants: The invisible victims of 9/11

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memorialflagsThe undocumented immigrants impacted by the bombing of the World Trade Center were practically invisible to the government and agencies that were supposed to help them, two academics reported Tuesday.

The victims and their families were never properly counted because of their social and political isolation from wider society:

  • Immigrants without papers distrusted law enforcement and were wary of drawing attention to themselves.
  • Even if they did come forward, they lacked the paperwork necessary to prove claims and receive assistance.
  • Public opinion linking immigration and terrorism after 9/11 exacerbated the risks of coming out of the MIGRA closet.

Study authors Alexandra Délano and Benjamin Nienass explain:

Mas…Undocumented immigrants: The invisible victims of 9/11

It’s a long, hard road from Central America to El Norte

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borderflyersEscaping criminal gangs in Central America and crossing Mexico to enter the U.S. without papers is only the first step in a long journey, a journey with an ending that remains unknown.

The Intercept tells the story:

A few nights ago, Ana crossed illegally into the United States from Guatemala. Her husband paid a coyote $4,000 to smuggle Ana and their son through the lowland jungles of southern Mexico, up the San Pedro river to the Texas border.

“A gang was after us,” Ana says in a daze, digging her knuckles into her cheeks to stay awake. She and her child were just released from a 48-hour stay at a detention center where it was too cold to sleep.

Mas…It’s a long, hard road from Central America to El Norte

Alaskans praise candidate who will save us from illegals with tats

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joemillerracistmailer (PNS reporting from ANCHORAGE, AK) Some they call him Joe, some they call him Doh! but one group of Alaska voters is 100% behind Joe Miller, the Tea Party-affiliated candidate who is seeking a United States Senate nomination.

“His campaign mailer (click on photo to enlarge) convinced us that Miller will do a great job keeping the thriving Latino community of Alaska in check,” read a press release issued Thursday by Cecilia Jones, the president of National Organization for Minorities, Advertisements, Media Exposure and Symbolism. “And that especially goes for your drug-dealing border-crossing tat-wearing illegal alien Democrat voters!”

Mas…Alaskans praise candidate who will save us from illegals with tats

Jon Stewart: I can solve kid crisis at the border (educational video)

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Why do the right wing haters make it so hard? The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart knows exactly what to do to clean up the mess at the border. PRO TIP: Do not risk monitor damage and/or electric shock by drinking coffee, beer or any other beverage while watching this educational video. Extreme danger of spitting on the screen! Kombucha drinker? Put down the beverage and step away from the computer.

Political Science: How a bill becomes a law (toons, video)

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How A Bill Becomes A Law CartoonLast week, the Republican-uncontrolled House of Representatives failed to pass a minimal spending bill to help with the unexpected crush of Central American refugees, adjourned, and then reconvened to approve a mean-spirited barebones measure that also would reverse President Obama’s DACA relief for DREAMers, and worse. Then they adjourned again.

Of course, the bill has no chance of passage in the Senate, let alone getting a Presidential signature.

Their obstructionist mission accomplished, the do-nothing pendejos left town for their summer hideouts in the rich white safety of their home districts.

Their Tea Party-twisted debates, however, left a lingering aroma over Capitol Hill, and it wasn’t Laspang Souchong.

 

SPOILER ALERT: The aroma was SHIT.

Mas…Political Science: How a bill becomes a law (toons, video)

NPR: Who are the refugee kids at the border? (audio, video)

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Researcher Elizabeth Kennedy interviewed a 12-year-old boy who returned to El Salvador barefoot; he had been robbed of everything he owned.

"I asked him if he was going to try again," says Kennedy, "and he just burst into tears and said, 'What would you do if you were me? I haven't seen my mom or my dad in 10 years ... and no one here loves me.'"

NPR/Parallels writes:

Since October, a staggering 57,000 unaccompanied migrant children have been apprehended at the southwestern U.S. border. Sometimes, they’ve been welcomed into the country by activists; other times they’ve been turned away by protesters.

Mas…NPR: Who are the refugee kids at the border? (audio, video)

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