TRUMP IS A CONVICTED FELON: WE TOLD YOU SO
Back in 2018 and 2019, America’s Voice was warning the news media and the public that “Donald Trump and the Trump organization are running and engaging in a multi-state criminal conspiracy.” Their trafficking in undocumented immigrants and falsification of business records to cover up their activities “raised serious criminal issues.” For decades, Trump engaged in the importation, exploitation, and false documentation of immigrants and when the workers who fed, clothed and cleaned for the (then) President came forward, they were fired and the whole criminal enterprise was swept under the rug. Samantha Bee ran a detailed segment on her TV show which included interviews with some of the workers, including former Bedminster housekeeper Victorina Morales. For AV, the point was not the pattern of criminal behavior, but rather the hypocrisy of Trump exploiting immigrants for political purposes as a candidate and president, but himself inviting those same immigrants to serve his family, then disposing of them when they became a liability. Note: Just minutes after the 34 guilty verdicts were announced, Trump – now a convicted felon – ranted (and lied) about immigrants to reporters at the New York courthouse.
‘IT’S THE MASS DEPORTATIONS, STUPID’
This week, AV released a new political memo aimed at editorial boards, producers and reporters to urge them to focus on the plans for mass deportation being articulated by office-holders and candidates opposed to immigrants and immigration. In an exclusive on Thursday, The Hill’s Rafael Bernal ran with the headline: “Immigration group to the press: It’s the mass deportations, stupid,” playing off the Clinton-era campaign mantra to keep the messaging focussed on the opponents’ biggest vulnerability. “A top immigration advocacy group is pushing the press to focus immigration coverage on former President Trump’s promise of mass deportations, a series of proposals they say would wreak havoc on immigrant communities and the economy in general,” Bernal wrote. AV Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas wrote in the memo that the plans “are morally abhorrent, economically devastating, and politically disastrous for his campaign and his party. The more people hear about them – the more they take the threats of mass deportation seriously – the more Americans will be repulsed.” Read more here.
ON IMMIGRATION, THE U.S. CONTINUES TO STUMBLE OVER THE SAME STONE OF PREJUDICE
In her weekly column, America’s Voice consultant Maribel Hastings writes that Trump’s plan to purge millions of immigrants from the U.S. has been the focus of several articles and opinion columns, which have stressed the consequences that would be felt at a humanitarian, economic, security, and civil rights level. Unfortunately, we have already been here before, Hastings writes, pointing to anti-immigrant laws that forced panicked workers in states like Arizona and Alabama to flee their jobs and left crops rotting in the fields. “And that’s not even talking about the potential violation of civil rights, because how do you determine at a glance who is undocumented and who is not, in states and cities where the Hispanic population predominates or is significant. Now imagine what a large-scale, national operation would look like.” While 1965’s immigration law attempted to rectify some of the prejudices of existing immigration law, Trump “with his plan for purges, detention camps, mass deportations, ideological tests for visa applicants, and so many other aberrations, uses prejudice and extremism as his North star — like others have before him,” Hastings concludes. “On immigration issues, the United States continues to stumble over the same stone of prejudice. Her column was also published in several outlets, including La Opinión, Radio Bilingüe, and La Tribuna Hispana. Read her column in English here and in Spanish here.
MARYLAND IMMIGRANTS SCORE HEALTH CARE WIN
Maryland has taken a momentous step in expanding health care coverage and stabilizing health insurance costs for all residents in the state. This month, Gov. Wes Moore signed the “Access to Care Act” into law, which ensures income-eligible Marylanders regardless of immigration status can buy health coverage from the state exchange. It’ll make for a healthier state and lower costs for all, advocates said. The Maryland Health Care For All! Coalition said that previous expansions of health care coverage in the state resulted in nearly $500 million in savings, “helping to stabilize health insurance premiums for all Marylanders.” It’s also a matter of fairness, treating immigrants who pay taxes (nearly $260 million in local and state taxes, to be exact) the same as other Marylanders. “Uninsured Marylanders who once forwent routine checkups can soon visit a doctor as they need to,” CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres said following the law’s passage in the legislature earlier this year. “The heavy burden that hospital systems and community clinics have carried for decades will lighten, with people heading to preventative care instead of the emergency room. Health will reign in Maryland, as the Access to Care Act is the first step in quality and affordable healthcare for everyone.” Read more here.
REMEMBERING IMMIGRANT SERVICE MEMBERS WHO GAVE ALL
This past Monday our nation honored U.S. military members who gave all in service to their country. Many have been immigrants. According to one figure, 300 foreign-born soldiers died in combat between 2001 and 2013. One of these immigrant patriots, Marine Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez, was one of the first U.S. service members to be killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was once undocumented, arriving in the U.S. alone when he was just 14. Click here to share our graphic and thank service members for their sacrifices.
YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS
Welcome.US needs help from immigrant advocacy organizations and direct service groups in reaching potential sponsors for migration. The Welcome Corps is a private sponsorship program created by the U.S. State Department and admits refugees through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Historically, refugees from Latin America have not been eligible for resettlement in the U.S. However, the recent expansion of the Welcome Corps provides a legal pathway for these refugees to arrive in the U.S. safely with the support of American sponsors. Welcome.US also works to sponsor migrants through programs for Afghan, Ukrainian, Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, Venezuelan and other nationalities. Please consider sharing this opportunity with those in your network who may be interested in sponsoring Latin American/Caribbean refugees. If sponsors apply through the Welcome Corps before June 30 with the required documentation, the refugees they are supporting could arrive this year. To spread the word, Welcome.US is hosting two webinars on June 6 (English) and June 13 (English and Spanish). Please consider helping raise awareness by sharing information from this social media toolkit on your channels.
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