Pathway to Citizenship Proposed

 A California lawmaker is trying to create a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of undocumented farmworkers. On Monday, Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Merced, introduced Senate Bill 831 — the Agricultural Worker Permanent Residency Program. The bill would authorize the California governor to work with the federal government to establish a pilot program allowing agricultural workers to start a process toward legal status. The legislation is an attempt to stabilize California’s agricultural workforce, a feat the federal government has tried to accomplish on a national level for decades. Last year, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act passed twice in the House but never came to a vote in the Senate. 

 

“Creating a pathway to permanent residency status allows our undocumented friends, family and neighbors to come out of the shadows, to live lives free of fear and allow them to qualify for the safety net programs that they deserve and pay into,” said Caballero in a statement. Between one-third to half of all farmworkers in the United States reside in California, which would include about 500,000 to 800,000 people, according to the Center for Farmworker Families. About 75% of California farmworkers are undocumented, according to the UC Merced Community and Labor Center. OTHER STATE PROPOSALS FAILED Under the bill, undocumented farmworkers who have lived in California and worked in agriculture for five years would qualify. Federal standards for citizenship would apply including a criminal history background check, national security check and fees. Application fees for permanent resident status vary but are generally $1,225 for individuals aged 14 to 78. Similar, less aggressive, legislation has failed in the past. In 2018, Caballero and Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella authored AB 1885, which died in the Assembly Labor Committee. The proposed legislation would have formed a group of state representatives to create a state guest worker program.

 

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article273923780.html#storylink=cpy

DSA Members are urged to sign the Defense of Immigrants and Refugees Resolution.

 

The resolution on the Defense of Immigrants and Refugees was written by members of the national Immigrants' Rights Working Group. This resolution reaffirms our commitment to building with working-class communities of color currently outside of DSA. The proposal is intended to prioritize this crucial work with action and calls for a modest budgetary allocation. 

 

 

https://www.dsanorthstar.org/blog/defend-immigrant-rights-at-the-convention-sign-one-more-resolution

 

There is a different form for each proposal. 

• Unite Against the Ultra Right: https://tinyurl.com/dsa23UR
• On the Defense of Immigrants and Refugees: https://forms.gle/mjT8X8SEAtt4VUkd8  
• Big Tent amendment: https://tinyurl.com/dsa23BT

Bill for Mixed Status Families Passes House Committee

The American Families United Act would help keep mixed-status families together, while the Veterans Service Recognition Act would fast-track citizenship for immigrants who serve in the U.S. military and help bring home veterans who have been deported.

The mixed-status families bill has 71 bipartisan cosponsors after being introduced in April 2021 by Reps. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and David Valadao (D-TX).

“It’s a high priority for me,” Escobar told Latino Rebels in April before meeting with members of the Problem Solvers Caucus to get Republican votes. “If I can get Republicans to support it, it might be more likely to move forward.”

The mixed-status families legislation allows federal law enforcement agencies to exercise discretion on a case-by-case basis by declining to deport or bar certain immigrants from entering the country. It also removes the requirement that a U.S. citizen parent must be present in the country for five years before giving birth for their child to be granted birthright citizenship.

“Americans in mixed-status families experience trauma every day related to their family member’s immigration case,” said Kali Pliego, president of American Families United, an organization that advocates for the bill, in a press release. “We have families who have been forcefully separated due to a visa denial, despite immediate family ties to U.S. citizens. We have whole families, including American children, who have uprooted their lives in America to live somewhere else to keep their family intact. And we have U.S. citizen spouses and children who live in fear that the U.S. government will deport their loved one.”

The bill focusing on immigrant veterans would allow noncitizens to file for permanent residency as early as basic training when they sign up to serve in the U.S. military. It would also allow some veterans who have been deported to return to the United States if they haven’t committed serious crimes.

“As we discussed at our hearing last month in the Immigration Subcommittee, immigrants have served in the U.S. armed forces in every major conflict since the Revolutionary War. Every day, 45,000 immigrants actively serving in the U.S. armed forces risk their lives in support of our country,” said House Judiciary chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in a press release.

 

Trump Seeks to Take Away Citizenship - Vote !

Our nation, and the 14th Amendment of our Constitution, were built on the promise that no matter who you are or where you come from - you can build a brighter future for your family on American soil. President Trump’s claim today that he can roll back a constitutionally protected birthright is not only an absurd, racist conspiracy, it is driven by a strategy to gin up his base, against you. 

I know Donald Trump wishes he could take my citizenship away from me. My mother came here and forged a better life for her family, but Donald Trump would take away the promise that you can be an American no matter where you come from. 

Donald Trump is attacking the very idea that we are a nation of immigrants who build vibrant communities that contribute to the rich fabric of America.

This President is quick to forget his own immigrant past. But he doesn’t see Latino immigrants as entitled to the American dream like his grandparents were. He sees us as less than, browner, rapists, thieves and criminals. 

We are not. We are voters, and we are going to take our power back on November 6th. 

Donald Trump is trying to take away citizenship from a whole generation of Latinos being born in the United States. We cannot let that happen. Please vote. Please get your neighbors to vote. Make it count. 

Now’s our chance.    Kevin  de Léon 

     Help Us Defeat Trump !!

Sacramento Progressive Alliance

Progressive Voter Guide 

 November, 6, 2018.

U.S. Senate

Kevin de León

Governor

Gavin Newsom

Attorney General
Xavier Becerra 

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Tony Thurmond

Congressional District 4  Jessica Morse

                      District   10  Josh Harder

          District 6.  Doris Matsui

        District 7 Ami  Bera 

       District 9   Jerry McNerney 

District 3 John Garamendi 

State Senate District 4

Phil Kim

District 6  Jacky Smith 

American River Flood Control District

Rachelanne Rae Vander Werf

Propositions

Yes on Prop. 1  & 2

Veterans and Affordable Housing

No on Prop 6:  Gas Tax

https://noprop6.com

Yes on 10.  Permits Rent Control 

  https://voteyesonprop10.org

Not printed nor distributed at any candidate’s expense or direction. 

Students, activism, and the Constitution

“Raising Issues About Citizens, Activism and the Constitution”

Friday, September 18, 2015

Orchard Suite, University Union
3:00pm-4:00pm

Dr. Duane Campbell, Sacramento State Professor Emeritus of Bilingual/Multicultural Education, will address how activism, action, and reflection are essential to efforts to protect, defend and extend our democracy. The courts alone will not protect our democracy, especially in light of the Supreme Court rulings on Citizens United and the Voting Rights Act. Thus, it falls to each generation to protect democracy – are you going to be part of the problem or part of the solution? 

Reception to follow after the talk.

Sponsored by:

The Serna Center

Trump is Dangerous

Racists Politics Must Be Exposed and Opposed !

The intolerant agitation promoted by Republican Donald Trump and support in essence by most Republican candidates is a call to the ‘silent white majority’  combined with a demand that 11 million immigrants be deported is a dangerous and divisive racial message.  It must be vigorously opposed.

Trump’s popularity among Republican voters has dramatically risen in the polls as he now has a double digit lead over runner-up Jeb Bush. His fear mongering political message has found a very receptive base within our society among xenophobic and angry conservative sectors.

We know these campaigns to be dangerous. It is not only the ranting of a fringe right.

The Trump – Republican arguments are factually incorrect and the  proposed agenda is impossible to implement short of establishing an authoritarian police state never before seen in the US. How will he deport 11 million, when 40% of these people are members of families with US citizens and thus they are eligible for gaining a green card ? For them, it is only a matter of the 20 year long waiting list.

And, how will he round up the  estimated 40% of all of the workers who arrived with a valid visa, but overstayed their work or tourist visa.  How will he find these people?  His claims are stupid.

Let us be clear.  The attack on Mexican American children by Donald Trump is impossible to implement.  They are US Citizens.  Yet, US citizen children were deported in the 1930’s in the program euphemistically known as “repatriation.”

There is no such thing as an anchor baby.  They are US citizens.

There is no such thing as “birth right citizenship”, they are US citizens. 

Like Trump: Seven Republican Candidates Want to Repeal the 14th. Amendment

A Good Chunk Of GOP Field Wants To Repeal The 14th Amendment

Seven candidates now support re-examining birthright citizenship.

Sam Stein

Senior Politics Editor, The Huffington Post

Amanda Terkel

Senior Political Reporter, The Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- In the fall of 2010, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), one of the most hawkish anti-immigrant voices in Congress, launched a legislative campaign to end the scourge of "anchor babies," as he called them.

The target was the 14th Amendment, which grants everyone born in the United States of America the right of citizenship. The Iowa Republican saw something more nefarious: a scheme by those outside the country (Hispanics, specifically) to get a foothold in the country by coming here and having a child. And so he debuted a bill to end birthright citizenship, which he has continued to introduce in subsequent sessions.

It was highly controversial then and remains so. The latest version, introduced in the 114th Congress, has just 27 co-sponsors.

But the push does have support in the high ranks of the Republican Party. And if this week is any indication, it may be on the path toward becoming a part of the GOP's immigration platform.

On Sunday, business mogul Donald Trump came out in support of ending birthright citizenship -- and on Monday, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker joined him.

Why Citizenship Matters: Getting to the Bottom Line | Economic Policy Institute

Why Citizenship Matters: Getting to the Bottom Line | Economic Policy Institute

Excellent video;  Why Citizenship Matters. At the AFL-CIO on July 30,2013, Speakers include Sen. John McCain, Congressman Xavier Becerra, Manuel Pastor, of USC. Jose Vargas and others.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/IOI

Immigration reform fight. UFW Vice President arrested.

I was just arrested in the latest chapter in the battle over fair immigration reform.

I was arrested for joining others in a campaign to win a new immigration process that includes a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.

I was arrested while protesting the Republican leadership leaving for an undeserved five-week vacation without introducing a comprehensive immigration reform bill with a path to citizenship. Instead, the GOP leaders are allowing a vote on the racist immigration policy proposals from U.S. Rep. Steve King.

• Stand with me and my fellow immigration reform advocates who were arrested today on Capitol Hill by calling 866-930-3396 NOW to be connected to your Member of Congress. Tell her or him that we need an immigration bill that includes a pathway to citizenship.

• Also if you have not yet e-mailed Speaker of the House John Boehner and Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte asking that Rep. King be removed from the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, please click here to take action 
  now.
  • • In partnership with America’s Voice and United We Dream, I also helped deliver sweet American-grown cantaloupes, harvested by immigrants in California, to 224 members of the House of Representatives who voted in favor of Rep. Steve King's hateful proposal to end the Deferred Action program for DREAMers and to stop other uses of prosecutorial discretion in deportation cases. The cantaloupes were affixed with a crystal clear message:

"This cantaloupe was picked by immigrants in California.

You gave Steve King a vote. Give us a vote for citizenship."

IN Support of Fair and Just Immigration Reform

An Open Letter to the Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee In Support of Fair and Just

Immigration Reform

May 20, 2013
Dear Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee:
As we stand on the threshold of a potentially new, sweeping immigration reform bill, we write to voice our support for fair, just and humane legislation that will not only bring distressed immigrant communities “out of the shadows,” but which will stay true to the country’s values and respect for human rights and commitment to justice.
Substantial improvements must yet be made to SB 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act. While the proposal includes some provisions that will benefit immigrant communities and future immigrants, we are extremely disappointed with both overarching themes and particular provisions that we believe will continue to undermine basic human and worker rights, foster greater racial discrimination and feed the separation and trauma of immigrant families and their communities. We fear that this bill will keep immigrants in an underclass.
We understand that this is a rare opportunity to engage sweeping immigration policies. Immigrant communities have waited years for the chance to reunite with family members, to be free from the threat of deportation after having lived, worked and raised families here for decades. They have waited for the same labor protections as their citizen co-workers and for the opportunity to become citizens and to vote.
The present proposal fails to reflect our communities’ needs and our collective concerns and aspirations for human rights, fairness and justice in U.S. immigration policy -- the promise of “equality and justice for all”. With the mark-up process underway and before the bill reaches the full Senate for consideration, we urge you to address the following:
Substantially improve the path to citizenship. This path should be inclusive, fair, and safe, without obstacles, undue burdens and lengthy waiting periods. 10 years in a provisional status is too long a wait to obtain a green card. The wait should be reasonable and humane and should not exceed five years, the same as DREAM eligible applicants. While work eligibility and ability to travel are important features of the current proposal, those on the path to citizenship should have access to healthcare and economic supports programs. This includes the removal of the five-year bar on access to vital healthcare and family economic support programs.