This week’s immigration blog roundup discusses new detention center reform, an update on comprehensive immigration reform, blog news and more.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform
A letter signed by seven Illinois democrats from Congress urges President Obama to lead the push for a comprehensive immigration bill. The letter says the bill should lay a path to citizenship for the nation’s estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants. Even since the White House meeting with immigrant advocates occurred in June, immigrant advocates have faced an uphill battle with the administration on the issue. While the representatives’ letter may not be enough on its own to make big changes, the more voices the administration hears, the better.
While there is no firm talk of a potential bill, the Obama administration does intend to announce that have been highly criticized for their human rights violations. The plan aims to establish more centralized authority over the detention system, and more direct oversight of detention centers that have come under fire for mistreatment of detainees. Reviewing and redesigning all facilities, programs and standards will now be the task of a new Office of Detention Policy and Planning.
Detention reform is the Obama administration’s clearest departure from its predecessor’s immigration enforcement policies. So far, the new administration has embraced many of the Bush administration’s old policies, including the 287(g) program and E-verify. These measures have antagonized immigrant advocates, including many of President Obama’s Latino supporters, who have begun a national campaign against them, including street protests in New York and Los Angeles last week. Only time will tell what the administration’s response will be to advocates.
National, local and community level immigration news
A new report from the Drum Major Institute of Public Policy called The Next Economic Imperative: Undocumented Immigrants in the 2010 Census finds that failing to gather accurate demographic information about the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States will make it too difficult for the country to recover from the worst recession in decades.This is the first major policy research paper to analyze the latest data showing that all Americans will benefit from the inclusion of undocumented immigrants in the 2010 Census.
Feet in 2 Worlds blogged about José Sucuzhañay, an Ecuadorian immigrant, and the victim of a hate crime aimed at the Latino and LGBT communities. On August 1, representatives from the governments of Ecuador,New York City and New York State along with police officers from Brooklyn’s 83rd Precinct and family and friends, gathered for the naming of a street in Jose’s honor. Jose Sucuzhañay Place, located at Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place, marks the spot where Jose was attacked and killed last December. Witnesses heard the aggressors yell anti-immigrant and homophobic slurs before they got into a car and drove away. The naming of the street has turned Jose’s tragic death into a symbol of hope for the community.
Read more at The Opportunity Agenda’s website.