When education's under attack, don't light a candle

At 8pm on March 13, 2012, members attending the 2012 NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education annual conference in Phoenix, AZ, including leaders from ScholarshipsA-Z were asked to light candles at a Candlelight Vigil for Social Justice.  Meant to bring awareness about social injustices in AZ, specifically those that target LGBTQ and immigrant families, this event only attracted approximately 5% of the entire population attending the conference (250+ out of 4,700).  As a result, this "act of kindness" became a paternalistic and passive move in a community that primarily creates change through action, not vigils.  Fortunately for NASPA, there was at least one moment of inspiration when the chairs of the GLBT and Latino/a Knowledge Communities spoke out against Arizona's oppressive legislation.  Leaders like Dr. Michelle Espino (University of Georgia) and Dr. Juan Guardia (Florida State University),  brought TRUTH to the otherwise passive and politically correct event by impacting the hearts and minds of everyone in attendance with their words and promises for action.


When education's under attack, what do you do?  Fight back!  With candles? NO, with action.


Because while we were lighting candles, the Maricopa County Sheriff was organizing yet another workplace raid to detain and deport more hardworking members of our community who happen to be undocumented.  

Candles = silence = inaction = injustice 

- Matt
Director, ScholarshipsA-Z

Mini-Legislation Update: So Close Yet So Far

Maryland was on the brink of joining the likes of California and Texas in passing its own version of the DREAM Act. It would have given undocumented immigrants the opportunity to attend in-state universities and pay an in-state tuition. However, opponents of the law have successfully gathered enough signatures (100,000) to send the law to the voters as a referendum during the next election in 2012. The law would have taken effect this month, but instead DREAMers in Maryland will have to wait more than a year just for the chance to get in-state tuition.

In other news, Alabama and Georgia are already feeling the economic backlash of their strict anti-immigrant laws. People have already started packing up and leaving because they (understandably) do not want to be around when the law takes effect. As a result, there is a severe shortage in workers despite relatively high unemployment rates. For example, there are not enough people to help rebuild and repair the damages left in the wake of Alabama’s recent tornados. Georgian farmers had to leave many crops to rot in the fields because of a lack of workers. The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association estimates around $300 million in profits lost.

--Susan

Legislation Update (GA and AL)

HB 87 (Georgia)

On May 13, 2011 Georgia’s governor Nathan Deal signed HB 87 into law. This is one of the toughest laws so far against immigrants. It would allow law enforcement officers to demand to know the immigration status of people involved with other criminal investigations and make the use of fake identification punishable by as much as 15 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. It would also punish people who “knowingly transport illegal immigrants during the commission of a crime” with up to a year in jail and up to $1000.

A group of civil and immigrant rights groups have sued the state of Georgia and requested a temporary injunction on the law until the end of the lawsuit. One of the people involved in the lawsuit is Republican Paul Bridges, mayor of Uvalda. He wrote an opinion piece on CNN’s website defending his decision to challenge the law, arguing that the law will deal a devastating blow to Uvalda and Georgia’s economy, especially to small businesses and farmers who already have trouble finding enough workers. His arguments are interesting in that they point out why the law runs counter to Republican ideals. First, he paints the law as the ultimate government intrusion; in his small town of 600, neighbors often help each other out by giving rides. Now, it could be a crime to do so if the passenger happened to be an undocumented person. Second, he points out the sheer amount of money that will be lost to this law and reminds people that it is not the fiscal responsibility that Republicans believe in.

Click here to read the full text of Mayor Paul Bridges’ opinion piece.

People left of center have always been the majority of those fighting anti-immigration laws. It is very heartening to see someone like Mayor Paul Bridges, firmly right of center, also stand against this law.

HB 56 (Alabama):

Governor Robert Bentley signed Alabama’s copycat version of SB 1070 into law on June 9th, 2011. Like Georgia’s law, it allows police officers to question someone’s immigration status if he/she is stopped by law enforcement for any reason. It also makes it a crime to transport or rent housing to an undocumented person.

Unique to Alabama, however, are two other more restrictive provisions. One is the requirement that businesses cross check all their employees’ immigration statuses with an online system called E-Verify. This will generate high costs for businesses in both its implementation and its effects on their employees. Another provision requires schools to collect information on where its students and their parents were born. Lawmakers claim the information will just be used as data to answer the question of how much Alabama is spending to educate undocumented children, but parents will most definitely be concerned about the implications for their children’s safety. Some might even decide to not send their children to school.

The law takes effect on September 1, but the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama has filed a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.

Arizona CEO's Say YA BASTA to Immigration Legislation

In a letter sent to AZ Senate President Russell Pearce last week, several CEO's of major employers and several businesses and civic groups wrote, "Arizona should be pushing for federal action on immigration and border issues."

As a result of their efforts, combined with the ongoing work of civil rights groups, activists, educators, students, and families, five anti-immigration bills were defeated last week. No motions to reconsider them were filed on Monday, the last day to do so. Community leaders working for immigrants' rights breathed a sigh of relief for a moment, before quickly fighting against the 20+ additional pieces of anti-immigrant legislation in AZ.

Here's a summary of what was defeated:

• SB 1308 and SB 1309 - two bills that challenged birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
• SB 1405 - would require hospitals to acquire immigration status of patients before providing care
• SB 1407 - would require schools to collect immigration data on students
• SB 1611 - 30-page immigration omnibus bill which contained similar provisions like the other bills listed above (written by Sen. Pearce, author of SB 1070)

You can read the entire letter from the AZ CEO's. While they don't seem to necessarily be pushing for better pathways to citizenship, they clearly are looking for better, FEDERAL solutions, that address the immigration issues faced by families every day. They want AZ to be focused on fixing it's broken economy.

The CEO's ended their letter with "Together, we can get results."

So what does working together look like?

~ mM