My Immigration Story

Statistics do not tell the story of immigration. People do. Since its inception, this nation has been continually infused with the energy of newcomers. Yet their assimilation has seldom been smooth. The challenges we face today are not new. Only the stories are.

I want to conclude this blog with one of the most interesting sites I've run into: myimmigrationstory.com

I've spent the last hour reading through hundreds of stories about the journeys from people all over the World into the United States of America.

Most of them are heartbreaking, their husbands, sons, wives and daughters have been deported from the country, leaving them alone, without money, homes, or someone to rely on. Most, are people that had lived years in the USA, working and paying taxes,

Others, rememorate the time they crossed the border and stepped into America.

Some, write from their original country, a country they no longer call their own, reminiscing all they left back in the United States.

They all have one thing in common: they call themselves true Americans, who are proud of their backgrounds, but still model citizens of this country.

Go ahead, read a story, they all have something to tell.

Salud!

For many immigrants and their descendants, Barack Obama's election Tuesday finally redeemed the Statue of Liberty's promise of freedom and opportunity for all

About two-thirds of Hispanics voted for Obama, decisively surpassing the 53 percent who voted for Democrat John Kerry in 2004, exit polls showed. That year Bush enjoyed a high-water mark of GOP support from Hispanics with 44 percent of the vote from the nation's fastest growing ethnic group.
Here we have it readers! The day finally came and went. Obama is the new president of the United States, what The Chicago Tribune calls "an emotional triumph for African-Americans. But the moment also was electrifying for immigrants from other lands—from the Middle East to Latin America to the islands of the Pacific."
Obama attracted votes from two out of three Hispanics, the fastest-growing demographic group, making the difference in Florida, Colorado and other states with significant Hispanic populations. More than 40 percent of Hispanics voted for President George W. Bush four years ago.

And in truth, the nation's democratic ideal is still a work in progress. But for one night at least, Americans with families from all corners of the Earth had something to celebrate—and to share with relatives in an older homeland

Some believe the reason McCain didn't win the election on immigration because he was running at a time when there is generally a good level of dissatisfaction with the current administration, and Latinos are no different in holding that view.



Even though many immigrants couldn't vote because of their illegal status, many of them still actively participated in the elections, knocking on doors in ethnic neighborhoods, manning the phones in myriad languages and distributing political flyers.
And that is something that just says what America is all about.
Obama won't just be the President to greencard holders, he will also be the President to the illegal worker who sweeps the aisles at Walmart, picks the crops in Kansas, fries eggs at your nearest IHOP and cleans houses in Miami. He will be President to all of us.
The immigrants chose, and they chose clearly.
Salud!

Latinos gradually make their way to the polls

Hey readers!

I read an article in The Daily Tar Heel about how Latino immigration has affected voting in Orange County, if you're interested you can read it here.

On the lookout

Be on the lookout for these blogs!

It's A Green World After All

I knew water preservation was important, but I didn't know the situation was this bad until I started reading this blog!
Water preservation is done to ameliorate the poor resource situtation not only America, but the whole world faces today.
Shocking images like the aereal shore of the Aral Sea today, compared to the one taken in 1989, scary facts like only 2% of the water on Earth is safe to drink and an interesting poll makes me want to come back and check up on this blog!
Fresh water supply is definitely becoming a growing concern for Americans, and even though we don't hear about it too much on the debates, action needs to be taken soon, even if it only means using water saving appliances at home.

Department of Energy

I had really no idea the U.S. had such a big oil-dependency. Issues like off-shore drilling and hybrid automobiles are starting to become more and more important to people in the United States, and this blog has done a good job informing me about all of this.
Also, it does a good job showing the differences between McCain and Obama's position on the subject. I didn't know McCain was interested in develeoping cleaner coal plants, or that Obama was overall focused on enviromentally-friendly ways to improve industries.

Crime and Punishment... and rehabilitation?

To say that I had not give the issue of rehabilitation much thought at all is not an understatement. That's why when I started reading this blog I was unsure if I was going to be very interested in it, but the opposite happened, I wanted to learn more and more about the subject!
The blog talks about rehabilitation as a way to avoid punishment by slowly introducing convicts back into society in a way that they are danger-free to citizens and a positive addition to society.
The number of ex-convicts who commit crimes after they are released is outrageous, so, how hasn't rehabilitation been more important to candidates, policy makers and citizens in general?
I loved the post on the celebrities escaping the judicial system (3 hour sentences?!).

INCREDIBLE video

Seriously readers, take only 4 minutes of your life to watch this... so interesting, and incredibly well made!

I hope you like it!

Immigration

* Video by: Max Joseph , Chris Weller | Music by: Ratatat

* Posted: October 24, 2008 at 4:29 pm

People have flocked to the melting pot we now know as America for the last 13,000 years. Since 2000, the U.S. has welcomed more than 10 million immigrants, who leave behind places like the Philippines, India, China, and Mexico. Our latest video, "Coming to America," explores the history, politics, and challenges of taking in the world's "huddled masses."

A whole lot of immigration

Here's a list of 10 blogs I think you'd love to visit! Enjoy!

Coyote Blog: Dispatches from a Small Business

Warren Meyer posts about everything: economics, looney tunes, immigration, government, books, and his hometown Arizona. On one of my favorite posts of his "Viva immigration" he talks about how he's absolutely against the building of the wall. He says: "At the end of the day, the vast, vast majority of people crossing the border are looking for a job. That's it. They are not terrorists or foreign spies or criminals -- they are ordinary people looking for a job, often to support their family."

ImmigrationProf Blog: A member of the Law Professor Blogs Network

On this blog, editors: Kevin R. Johnson, Bill O. Hing, Raquel Aldana, Leticia Saucedo, Enid F. Trucios-Haynes, all law professors talk about issues like the eligibility for driver's licenses for immigrants, the proposed DNA collection of immigrant detainees, and a lot of other super interesting news that come up about immigration (a lot about judicial issues, but they are actually very easy to read!).


The Issue Blog: exploring the impact of immigration - fact and fiction

It was here where I found out the Bush administration is asking Congress $400 million more dollars to finish building the wall across the border.It also discusses the importance of immigration in the Presidential race. Overall, it has a lot of interesting facts and numbers.

Publius' Forum

A conservative view on immigration, with porst like: "Five Million Illegals Have Illegal Mortgages in U.S.A.!" and "Rising Unemployment and Illegal Immigration." It even talks about how Obama isn't American "enough" because he has a Kenyan father.

The Hedgehog Blog: Political and social observations from two aspiring hedgehogs who love the Isaiah Berlin essay

If you put a little liberal, a cup of Obama, a pinch of sarcams and a whole lot of wit, you get the Hedhegog Blog. On one post about illegal immigration he says: "I continue to be amazed at the yawning gap between what Americans really think about illegal immigration and what the extremes - both liberal and conservative-- seem to think."

Immigration Chronicles

Interesting posts like "Could economic crisis spur illegal immigration?," "Immigration issue expected to drive Latino vote," and "Democrats blamed for lack of immigration reform."

The Uncooperative Bloggers: Brian Bonner Stands For Truth, Justice and the American way!

Now El Presidente Bush wants to give Social Security benefits to illegal aliens? They already receive Welfare benefits, free education for their children, credit cards, home loans and now social security benefits?

We have got to keep hounding our elected cockroaches...

Nice, huh?

Think Sink: Thoughts go in, nothing comes out

Remember when I told you about this guy? The: "I don't want them clogging up our court system fighting for the right to become "legal" aliens," guy?
You can read this to get a taste of what the really extremist anti-illegal immigration people run in their blogs when they want to vent...
"Also, if you want me to take you seriously as a candidate for US citizenship, don't tell me I was once an immigrant. I was born here. I am not now, nor have I ever been, an immigrant. What morons".

Pro Inmigrant

"I Started this blog because the frustration, confrontation and division creating by xenophobics against minorities," he says. Info on social services, the Presindencial election and myths and lies about immigration.

Immigration'08 Blog

The blog of the immigration08 website. Basically a lot of posts about immigration policy, poll numbers and rising latino voter numbers. One of the latests posts is called "Memo to the Candidates: Immigration, Seriously?" to remind candidates to focus on immigration on the debates.

Not guilty?

Crystal Dillman with a photograph of her and her fiancé, Luis Ramirez, an illegal immigrant beaten to death in Shenandoah, Pa.

I came across an article that came out on August this year that really struck me,
It's about Luis Ramirez, a 25 year-old Mexican who had been illegally in the country for six years in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, picking crops and working in factories. Luis got in a street fight with four American teenagers from the area, who left him unconscious in the street.
People still don't know why the fight came to happen, some thing it was just a street fight gone bad, others, believe they singled Luis for being a Mexican immigrant.
Mr. Ramirez died a few days later, leaving his fiance and mother behind.
In the article, some Mexican Shenandoah residents say they are scared of sending their kids to school, because there "they don't like Mexicans."
The teens pleaded not guilty and only two of the teens are being charged with homicide and will be tried as adults.
They also said the attack had nothing to do with him being an immigrant, even though they are people who witnessed them using racial slurs as they kicked Luis around the street.