On April 23rd, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed Bill SB1070, which gives police officers right to question and search people if there is any reason to suspect that they're in this country without papers. This bill, in my opinion, clearly fosters racial profiling and racial discrimination.
This bill allows any officers to question anyone who "looks" undocumented. If you are a US born Latino who happens to be just walking on a street, you would be asked to show some kind of identification (driver's license, passport, or birth certificate). No papers? You are sent to jail.
What about undocumented students currently enrolled in University of Arizona or Arizona State University? Police officers can come to their campus and simply take these students to jail if they can't provide them with any papers. These are college students who just want to learn! Oh, and they pay out-of state-tuition/international tuition, which amounts to $22,000 annually (Thanks collegboard.com).
Here's the link to the full context of Bill SB1070
http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf
Also, I think Rachel Maddow does a better job of explaining this bill than I do so here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w10-AMmXfSg
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Immigration rally at Las Vegas
About 10,000 people gathered in Las Vegas in support of immigration reform yesterday (10 April 2010). Speakers included Congressman Luis Gutierrez from Illinois and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
While the stereotype is that immigration is a "Latino issue", millions of Asians and others are affected by our broken immigration system as well. I was deeply disappointed to see very few Asian Americans at the rally yesterday. The only Asian group that I witnessed was Korean Resource Center and NAKASEC (whom I took the bus with on the way to Vegas).
One of the biggest reasons that could possibly explain the lack of Asian American participation in the immigration field is our culture. Coming out of the shadow and advocating for immigration reform in public is often seen as something that's shameful and dishonorable to our family. Let me tell you, it was extremely difficult for me to make my first speech at the LA City Hall regarding the Dream Act last year. I was scared of facing deportation. I didn't want others to look at me and treat me differently than before. I was not sure if coming out was the "right" thing to do.
Believe me when I say that... this might sound crazy but I even wrote a will the day before my first public speech at the LA City Hall. It's pretty hilarious now that I think about it but that's how scared I was.
Asian Americans, in the infamous words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we cannot wait any longer! We must all come out of the shadow, tell our friends and families about our struggles, and become active! How long will you persist in sitting down at home and watch others active on TV? Where is your sense of self responsibility? Why do you depend on others (citizens and non-citizens) to sacrifice their time and efforts for YOUR benefits? Get up and do something!
I know what it's like to tell others about your status. I have been there, and I want to help you out. Take 20 seconds to email me at youngchandavid@gmail.com
If you want to help me fight for the Dream Act or the comprehensive immigration reform, you can email me too!
While the stereotype is that immigration is a "Latino issue", millions of Asians and others are affected by our broken immigration system as well. I was deeply disappointed to see very few Asian Americans at the rally yesterday. The only Asian group that I witnessed was Korean Resource Center and NAKASEC (whom I took the bus with on the way to Vegas).
One of the biggest reasons that could possibly explain the lack of Asian American participation in the immigration field is our culture. Coming out of the shadow and advocating for immigration reform in public is often seen as something that's shameful and dishonorable to our family. Let me tell you, it was extremely difficult for me to make my first speech at the LA City Hall regarding the Dream Act last year. I was scared of facing deportation. I didn't want others to look at me and treat me differently than before. I was not sure if coming out was the "right" thing to do.
Believe me when I say that... this might sound crazy but I even wrote a will the day before my first public speech at the LA City Hall. It's pretty hilarious now that I think about it but that's how scared I was.
Asian Americans, in the infamous words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we cannot wait any longer! We must all come out of the shadow, tell our friends and families about our struggles, and become active! How long will you persist in sitting down at home and watch others active on TV? Where is your sense of self responsibility? Why do you depend on others (citizens and non-citizens) to sacrifice their time and efforts for YOUR benefits? Get up and do something!
I know what it's like to tell others about your status. I have been there, and I want to help you out. Take 20 seconds to email me at youngchandavid@gmail.com
If you want to help me fight for the Dream Act or the comprehensive immigration reform, you can email me too!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Our broken immigration system
My name is David. I am undocumented and I am no longer afraid. I will use this blog to educate, inform, and update those who are interested in or passionate about current happenings & issues like immigration. In the future, I will also upload my testimony and other publications that, I feel, would help channel progressive movements into our society.
Today's blog is on "Our Broken Immigration System"
Currently, there are 12 million undocumented immigrants in this country. What do we do with all of them? Deport them? Where will we find the money to do that? America needs to provide pathway towards citizenship to undocumented immigrants via a tough but fair immigration reform ASAP. Legalizing immigrants would increase our tax revenue and bring in approximately $1.5 trillion dollars to our country, over 10-year period. A better economy will instigate more spending and investing, creating more jobs and lowering unemployment rate. It will also raise the middle-class wage level.
What about undocumented students? Each year, 65,000 undocumented students graduate from US high schools but have limited access to higher education because they do not qualify for any state or federal financial aid. I couldn't even put my name down on Cal grant application or FAFSA... Moreover, undocumented students cannot work legally even after graduating from prestigious universities like Yale or UCLA. Undocumented UCLA students are paying around $12,000 per year (excluding book expenses), only to find out their degrees are virtually worthless. Does that make any sense to you? These brights students just want to work legally after graduation. They make up less than 1% of college students in California, and they're not taking away the state's money.
Give us a chance; we only want to contribute to this nation.
Pass the Dream Act!
http://dreamact.info/
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/07/hinojos-immigration/
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