Thursday, May 26, 2011

Education is the Safest Investment



The Oregon State Senate recently approved SB 742, also known as the tuition equity bill. It now rests in the hands of the State House. While this may seem like legislators are debating another immigration bill, they're actually deciding whether or not to invest in the strengthening and creation of an educated and skilled workforce.

As expressed in their public letter of support, even the business community agrees that SB 742, which would "extend in-state tuition rates to all qualified graduates of Oregon high schools, regardless of immigration status" is necessary for the future of Oregon's economy. So what's the holdup?

And as one Oregon student, an ally of undocumented students, so powerfully told some legislators, "My future is made better by giving [undocumented students] the opportunity to have a better future for themselves and Oregon."

Business leaders standing with students, some undocumented and others citizens. Fighting together for the future of their community. Will you stand with them and invest in our collective future?


Matt
C0-director, ScholarshipsA-Z

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Not a 100% Mexican?

I Immigrated around 6 years ago to the United States from Mexico, and these years I've learned to assimilate to the U.S. society by embracing different customs as well as habits that allowed me to survive in this country. Even if I assimilated, I have always try not to forget about my Mexican roots, and keep my heritage strong.However, the other day someone asked me what I considered myself after having a large conversation about oneself identity. I answered, "I am Mexican" and he asked me back what percentage I was, so I said a 100%, but apparently for him I was definitely not a 100%. He said I was not a Mexican anymore, that I adopted "anglo ways," and that I pretended to be a Mexican, but I didn't know that I was forgetting about my roots. After hearing his words, I felt like I was being humiliated , betrayed, and I felt my identity being insulted. I just could not understand how someone who does not know what does it mean to establish in a foreign country feels with the right to criticize my own self being.

My friend who told me such words comes from an indigenous community in Mexico, and is in an exchange program at the University of Arizona, which means that he is still going back to Mexico, and will not really experience the struggle of staying and making a living in a foreign country. After his statements, I started thinking about the importance of teaching later immigrant generations about their roots and how that education would impact their life. Growing up as a minority in the United States almost seems that you have to forget about your heritage in order to be accepted and survive in society. However, I found out by living in this country that my own cultural roots helped me to survive in a diverse society. I believe the reason for this is because people who keep their own identity strong will have as a result a really high self-esteem that allows them to be secure of themselves.

Meanwhile the government in Arizona is trying to take away the right to oneself identity by creating HB 2281, which bans schools from teaching classes that are "designed for students who come from a specific ethnic group", promote "resentment or advocate a type of "ethnic solidarity" over treating students as individuals, and It bans the classes that teach students how to "overthrow" the government of the United States. The classes that the bill is referring to are Mexican American/ chicano history, African American studies or Native American studies, between other ethnic studies classes that allow minority groups living in the U.S. to learn and have a better understanding about their own background and cultural history. Such law is basically a cultural genocide, and it's forcing children to stop being who they really are in order to start pretending to be someone else.

After SB1070 and now the presence of HB 2281 has made the Tucson community more sensitive and aware towards the issue of immigration and racism. For example, Tucson looks like a ghost town where businesses are closed and myriad of houses are being sold since after SB1070 was signed the economy of the state of Arizona started to have a great deficit, and adult latinos are not teaching their children spanish because they're afraid of being mistreated and not accepted by others for speaking a different language that would no be English. In other words the community is being dehumanize, dishonored and insulted as I felt when my friend told me that I was not the human being who I considered myself to be; that's when I realized that nobody has the right to tell us who we are; it is in our own hands to discover our identity and in order to do this we need to learn more about our past, but how are we going to be educated about our ethnic background and our ancestors if we're denied the right to be part of this country's history?

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Soon to Become Law in Arizona - 2011

The Arizona Interfaith Network just released its final report to show which anti-immigrant bills will become law in AZ in the next 90 days. Here's what passed:

50th Arizona Legislature, First Regular Session
(As of 4/29/2011)

Summary: The Legislature adjourned Sine Die on April 20. Here are the three anti-immigrant bills that passed the House and Senate and were signed by the Governor. These bills become effective 90 days after the Legislature adjourned.

All of the other anti-immigrant bills failed to pass both the House & Senate.

SB 1406: Interstate Compact; Border Fence (Smith R-Dist. 23)
Creates an interstate compact that allows the Governor to enter into an agreement with other states to allow for the construction and maintenance of a fence along the Arizona-Mexico border.
Signed by Governor 4/28/11

SB 1465: valid identification; consular cards; prohibition
Prohibits the acceptance of the Matricula Consular Identification Card issued by the Mexican Consulate as a form of identification. Currently a number of Arizona cities and counties accept the card, the result of actions taken by AIN organizations seven or eight years ago.
Signed by Governor on 4/28/11

HB 2102 license eligibility; authorized presence (Kavanagh)
Requires government-issued ID to obtain a fingerprint card and proof of legal status and a photo ID to work in the service industry.
Signed by Governor on 4/28/11

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Because of the constant pressure put on our legislators by immigrant families and allies throughout AZ, many of the 20+ proposed bills were defeated in either the AZ House or Senate. We must continue working together.

- Matt M.
Co-Director of ScholarshipsA-Z