In my twenty-six years as a US Border Patrol/ICE Agent, I caught many people. At the time, common sense told me that the vast majority of the people who I caught were good, hard working people. I began to wonder why immigrants had to be chased like animals, and... Continue »
In a seminal poem tied to the very early years of the civil rights movement, Langston Hughes wrote: "What happens to a dream deferred?" Just ask the estimated 24,000 undocumented students who graduate each year from California's public high schools. Continue »
Mitt Romney opened his town hall meeting here talking about the economy — his thoughts on growing business, getting government out of the way — just as he does nearly every other campaign event. But when he opened last week's forum for questions, the first voter he called on... Continue »
Unfortunately, many people are confusing immigration amnesty with the government's decision to refocus its priorities in order to deport dangerous undocumented immigrants. It is disgraceful that unscrupulous people are taking advantage of the confusion to take other people's hard-earned money with false promises. Continue »
The President has a long list of things to worry about, topped by his approval to disapproval ratio in the general electorate. Among Latinos the downward trend in approval is reflected, but less severe. The big worry for the administration regarding Latinos is not that their disapproval will push... Continue »
The California Legislature is poised to pass a law that would allow illegal immigrants to receive state-financed aid for college. Known as the California Dream Act, the bill underscores the ways states are navigating their own way through controversial immigration issues, as the Obama administration has been unable to... Continue »
Ten years ago, an Albanian immigrant agreed to help the Justice Department build a case against a mobster accused of human smuggling. In exchange, he says, federal prosecutors promised him a green card and protection for his family. But the mobster fled the country, and the informant, Ed Demiraj,... Continue »
In the most recent example of sending mixed signals about illegal immigration, a federal judge has temporarily blocked Alabama's far-ranging new immigration law, which is widely seen as tougher and more cruel than the infamous "papers, please" one that Arizona adopted a little over a year ago. Continue »
Imagination is the key tool missing in the political arena. Immigration policy, especially, suffers from a lack of creative solutions and imagined possibilities for a better future, not just for immigrants but for all of us. The undocumented population recently was estimated at approximately 12 million. Continue »
The headlines today are too often punctuated with unfortunate stories about immigrants: people struggling under or around fences into border states, or Middle Eastern immigrants who are too often suspected of being terrorists because of the clothes they wear or the length of their beards. Continue »