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Inspired by the success of this week’s Day without Immigrants on Valentine’s Day, the CMSC begins today a 7-month national campaign calling upon President Joe Biden to exercise his authority to Pardon all Undocumented Immigrants and Deported Parents of U.S. Citizen Children Forced into Exile.
Given the growing demand from the private sector for immigrant labor and the shortage of workers in today’s job market, a Presidential Pardon would recognize the vital participation of Latino and undocumented essential workers during the last 2 years of the COVID pandemic, boost the economy and outmaneuver the recalcitrant GOP in lockstep with Trump’s legacy.
As a General Presidential Pardon for undocumented essential workers, Dreamers, TPS holders and parents of 1 million U.S.-citizen children (victims of forced exile due to the deportation of their parents), President Biden could summarily protect and resolve the endemic immigration problem without risking the possibility of being reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court, or Congress, even if the Republicans regain majority and appoint Trump as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
This is an alternative solution for the President, while facing a potential war, declining poll numbers, a fractured Democratic Party, and the despicable betrayal of 2 Democratic senators that have blocked his Build Back Better policy agenda and the protection of voting rights.
Without a doubt, all immigration policies and executive actions by the President will be blocked through the courts or by the GOP in Congress and therefore the bold action we are proposing would in fact reverse the downward trend that, by all accounts, predict that the Dems will lose the House (and possibly the Senate) in November.
Consequently, we will start this campaign on Saturday, February 19, 2022 by convening a planning meeting with our Dreamers Alumni Network members, and all past participants of our Dreamers Study Abroad Program that want to “Pay it forward” and take a leadership role with the following initiatives and activities:
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Secure a Congressional Letter of Support for our Presidential Pardon for Immigrants Campaign from Senators and House Representatives;
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Plan a Lobby Trip to Wash., DC to secure signatures from members of Congress in support of our Presidential Pardon for Immigrants Campaign;
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Identify and solicit organizations to join a coalition in support of the Presidential Pardon for Immigrants Campaign;
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Initiate a Citizens’ Petition and Letters of Support Drive to convey community and voters’ commitment to the CMSC’s Presidential Pardon for Immigrants Campaign;
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Conduct webinars, seminars and teach-ins with legal and political experts on the basis and merits of our call for a Presidential Pardon for Immigrants, to engage and secure broad and diverse participation of parents and students in high schools, colleges and universities;
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Plan and organize the following local, regional and national Presidential Pardon for Immigrants Campaign events:
- Monday, March 21, 2022: Marco Antonio Firebaugh Day: A day to mark the 16th anniversary of Marco’s passing as the “Godfather of Dreamers” (Author of AB-540) and the first ‘Mega-March’ in Los Angeles, CA on March 24, 2006;
- Friday, April 15, 2022: Immigrants Pay Taxes and Taxation without Representation Day to teach and inform about the significant tax contributions to the economy by immigrants but denied benefits or representation due to their legal status;
- Sunday, May 1st to Cinco de Mayo/May 5th: A Week Without Immigrants to celebrate May Day as Workers Day and the cultural and historical importance of Cinco de Mayo, and to initiate “Good trouble” political actions if President Biden fails to grant the Presidential Pardon for Immigrants desired;
- Wednesday, June 15, 2022: Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of DACA and initiate a Summer of Protest and Resistance Drive, if the president has not decided to exercise his Presidential Pardon authority as proposed;
- Friday, July 15, 2022: Conduct marches, boycotts, sit-ins and other forms of peaceful protests and civil disobedience;
- Monday, August 15, 2022: Begin “Labor Day Mobilization” and develop plans for an alternative political party, if there is no commitment by the Democratic Party and President Biden fails to grant the Presidential Pardon for Immigrants needed;
- Monday, September 5, 2022: Celebrate Labor Day and President Biden’s Presidential Pardon for Immigrants or carry out massive protest marches, ‘Good Trouble’ and hold forums and a plebiscite to form an independent labor party platform;
- Thursday and Friday, September 15 and 16, 2022: Declare and establish an independent labor party for progressives, Latinos and all people of conscience, who are fed-up with the 2-party system, committed to quit the Democratic and Republican parties, and to abstain from voting in the November 2022 elections.
~Professor Armando Vazquez-Ramos
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Photo by Jeff Gammage | Philadelphia Inquirer | FEB. 14, 2022
Protests were held in Los Angeles, North Carolina, Philadelphia, San Diego, Denver, Fresno and Milwaukee.
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By Rafael Bernal | The Hill | FEB. 15, 2022 | Photo credit: Getty Images
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A coalition of grassroots immigrant groups and advocates are calling on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) to push for immigration reform, after the group failed to embrace the issue in congressional negotiations last year.
In an open letter to the CHC, 31 groups led by Angelica Salas, president of the CHIRLA Action Fund and Gustavo Torres, president of CASA in Action, bemoaned the role of Hispanic Democrats in immigration policy negotiations leading up to the House vote on the Build Back Better bill (BBB), READ MORE
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Story and Photo by Pablo Manriquez | LatinoRebels.com | FEB. 14, 2022
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On-the-ground coverage by LatinoRebels from the nation's capitol.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Carlos Eduardo Espina walked to the White House on Monday morning a TikTok star with over 2.5 million followers. By day’s end, the 23-year-old Texan from College Station had become an icon of immigrant rights organizing.
“It’s cold,” said Espina as he strolled through downtown Washington, D.C., at 6:30 a.m. “I’m not used to this kind of weather.” It was 27 degrees outside and windy.
Weeks earlier, Espina came up with the idea to spearhead “A Day Without Immigrants” on Valentine’s Day. The rationale was simple: the holiday relies on immigrant labor, so what if immigrants simply didn’t show up... READ MORE
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Story and Photos by Lautaro Grinspan | Atlanta Journal-Constitution | FEB. 11, 2022
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Proposed legislation in Georgia would make education more affordable for some immigrant groups,
For years, near the beginning of the legislative session, a local coalition of refugee and immigrant-serving organizations has visited the Georgia State Capitol, where advocates celebrate immigrants’ contributions to the state – and push to increase them.
This time around, members and allies of the Coalition of Refugee Service Agencies (CRSA) suspect their pro-immigrant message will be more well-received, in part because of widespread handwringing over the hardships Georgia businesses are facing in their search for qualified workers.
Immigrants lawfully residing in the state, advocates argue, could be part of the solution, especially if they have access to education... READ MORE
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By Andrew Kreighbaum | Bloomberg Law | FEB. 11, 2022
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Proposal offers separate paths for legal status, work eligibility; Immigration groups fear backlogs, employer confusion.
As the Biden administration puts the finishing touches on final regulations to protect young undocumented people from deportation, immigration groups are urging it to change course on a draft rule’s decoupling of work authorization.
The Department of Homeland Security released its proposed rule in September, codifying the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields so-called “Dreamers” from removal and allows them to work legally in the U.S.
Supporters hope the final regulations will fortify DACA’s legal standing in the wake of a federal judge’s ruling last year that the original program was illegal. Immigration advocates have also backed the rulemaking process while calling for Congress to separately pass permanent relief for Dreamers... READ MORE
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By Reagan Priest | Tucson Sentinel | FEB. 8, 2022 | Getty Images
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Immigration advocates are sounding the alarm.
Of more than 3 million DACA applications since 2012, about 900 were referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement – still too many for advocates who said they were promised no information would be shared with enforcement agencies.
The numbers were contained in a recent Government Accountability Office report that said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can refer information on immigrants whose applications for Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals protection are denied, if they also include indications of criminality or fraud.
Only 106,000 applications were between 2012, when DACA began, and June 2021, and less than 1% of those were forwarded to ICE, the GAO said. But advocates say that could still have a chilling effect... READ MORE
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By Wong, Flores, Kmec et al | Center for American Progress | FEB. 3, 2022
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The seventh annual survey of DACA recipients illustrates DACA’s myriad benefits—as well as why policymakers must create a pathway to citizenship for recipients.
Since former President Barack Obama first announced Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on June 15, 2012, it has provided temporary relief from deportation as well as work authorization to more than 830,000 undocumented young people across the country.
From September 8 to November 5, 2021, the Center for American Progress, United We Dream, and the National Immigration Law Center—led by Tom K. Wong of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego and CAP—fielded a national survey to further analyze the experiences of DACA recipients. 2021 marked the seventh consecutive year that these organizations have surveyed DACA recipients. For this most recent study, the authors surveyed 1,021 DACA recipients across 40 states... READ MORE
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By Mallory Cheng & Kobe Brown | NPR-Milwaukee | FEB. 8, 2022 | Photo credit: Dongyu Xu
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Some DACA applicants are reporting improved wait times while others are seeing arbitrary delays with no explanation from USCIS.
Late last year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released preliminary data on how their immigration work was faring during the pandemic. The organization reported that services like naturalization were being processed and approved at a pre-pandemic pace, while other agencies were experiencing major delays.
Delays in citizenship or documentation can leave applicants in limbo and unsure of what to expect. Even before the pandemic, the timeline of when cases get approved could be a coin toss... READ MORE
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CMSC WINTER 2022 DREAMERS STUDY ABROAD APPLICATION DEADLINE MARCH 1, 2022
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Please consider sponsoring our program today!!!
To be a sponsor contact Professor Armando Vazquez-Ramos at: armando@calmexcenter.org or 562-972-0986
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