Who Will March Against Racism and Bigotry??

Dr. David Maldonado sent me a copy of an "open letter" from MARCHA urging the United Methodist Church "to challenge and oppose the current wave of anti-Latino demagoguery, treatment, and public ordinances intended to suppress a people." MARCHA - "Methodists Associated Representing the Cause of Hispanic Americans" is one of the very first Latino Church organizations to openly condemn the anti Latino wave of hate and racism.

For this fact alone, the letter represents a courageous stand by the Godly men and women of MARCHA and should serve as a model and challenge for other church organizations to stand up and voice their strong displeasure and condemnation against the racism and bigotry being hammered against Latinos by bigots and evil people.

Notice I said, "other church organizations" and not just "other Latino Church organizations." It is way past due for the Evangelical Church to at least take a stand on Biblical principles alone and condemn the racism and violence against Latinos in this nation.

The leadership of Dr. David Maldonado, Jr., and Elias Galvan, on behalf of MARCHA, represents a significant demonstration of courage and one that other spiritual leaders in the Evangelical Church should take. It is unGodly for good people to stand silently and refuse to condemn the climate of fear, hate, and intimidation facing immigrants and Latinos alike.

MARCHA's open letter against the wave of hate, fear, and suspicion will be perceived as an historic and courageous document in the Latino Church's battle against racism and bigotry in the 21st century.

When the extremist and racist message of hate and discrimination against Latinos is accepted by the public as a mainstream message, without any public embarrassment or concern, we must sound the alarm that as a country we are entering a new and dangerous phase in our democracy's history.

I call upon other church Movements to join with MARCHA in condemning the hateful climate and hostile actions which millions of Latino/as must endure everyday.

The dangerous political and social silence which we in the USA find ourselves today, is only allowing the voice of the extremists, whose message is filled with hate and fear, to be considered and given credence in the mainstream media as everyday language. The language of intimidation and hate must be condemned and called for what it is, nothing but evil bigotry and racism.

I pray that other Godly leaders across the country may feel the urgency and need to join with MARCHA in condemning the harsh treatment and racial profiling taking place aginst not only undocumented immigrants, but in many cases, American citizens whose only crime is being the color BROWN..

AN OPEN LETTER FROM MARCHA
(Methodists Associated Representing the Cause of Hispanic Americans)

TO ALL UNITED METHODISTS

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

We greet you in the name of our Savior, the Resurrected Christ.

We write to you on behalf of millions of Latinos and Latinas living in fear, threat, and intimidation due to the hostile climate generated by the political and social attitudes towards immigrants and Latinos in particular. Latinos face daily suspicion of their citizenship and rights as residents of our communities. They are subjected to racial profiling and suspicion as they seek employment, housing, or simply driving down the street. Latinos are forced to prove their citizenship and proved that they have a right to live in their communities like any other citizen or resident.

Communities and states across the country are enacting laws and practices that are having a severe impact on the daily lives of our families and neighbors. Children born in this country are increasingly treated as persons without rights. Latino families have to prove their citizenship in order to rent a house, to be employed, or enroll their children in school. These are harsh practices that are not applied to the general population. Because of our color, culture, and language Latinos are singled out for suspicion and unfair treatment. This is legalized racism.

Latino immigrants are receiving the harshest treatment in recent history in the long procession of ethnic immigration. The issue of undocumentation has released a flood of racial negativity, harsh treatment, and, more alarming, a marked increase of hate crimes against Hispanic/ Latino people. Undocumented immigrants are treated as criminals and public enemies. They are defined as a threat to our nation when, in fact, they simply come with an urgent desire to work in order for their families to survive. They are the vulnerable sojourners in our midst. Yet, for political benefit and other agendas, Latino immigrants are denied their humanity.

The United Methodist Church has a proud and faithful history of standing with those who are oppressed and subject to such racist practices and attitudes. MARCHA calls upon the United Methodist Church to challenge and oppose the current wave of anti-Latino demagoguery, treatment, and public ordinances intended to suppress a people. We invite you to stand with those who are subjected to such senseless and unjust treatment. The United Methodist Church needs to oppose city ordinances and state laws that are grounded on anti immigrant and anti Latino attitudes intended to frighten and intimidate Latinos and force them to live in fear or leave these communities.

During this Christmas season when we remember the Christ child born to parents journeying in a foreign land for the sake of their survival, we invite the United Methodist Church to join MARCHA in standing against the negative and anti- Latino forces and voices around us. Let us be truly the United Methodist Church.

Elias Galvan David Maldonado, Jr.
Executive Director President




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Immigration Debate does Cause Heartburn

Here is a very significant report from the Pew Hispanic Center. It highlights some new impressions and feelings of Hispanics as the immigration debate continues on the path of hate and fear. The report also dispels some urban myths about Hispanic perspectives regarding immigration. Here is quick summary of the report:

• This report puts into perspective the feelings Hispanics have about raids & deportations.
  
• The national survey also explores how the issue of immigration has affected Latinos from a personal stand point, and how the heightened attention to immigration issues has had a specific negative effect on them personally. "These effects include more difficulty finding work or housing; less likelihood of using government services or traveling abroad; and more likelihood of being asked to produce documents to prove their immigration status."
  
• While generally the report says the current immigration debate has made life much more difficult, Latinos are upbeat about the long-term prospects for Latino children, expecting them to have better jobs and more money in the future.

Interestingly enough, it should not come as a great surprise to some, but the report verifies the fact and feeling that many of us have regarding raids, deportations, local and state legislation, and current Homeland Security policy.

• "Federal, state and local governments have pressed forward with hundreds of new enforcement bills, regulations and procedures--including stepped up deportations, more workplace raids, and restrictions on access to driver's licenses and other government services and benefits."
  
• "They oppose--often by lopsided margins--many of the new enforcement measures being pursued by federal and state authorities. Three quarters (75%) disapprove of workplace raids; some 79% prefer that local police not take an active role in identifying illegal immigrants; and some 55% disapprove of states checking for immigration status before issuing driver's licenses.
• By contrast, non-Hispanics are much more supportive of all these policies, with a slight majority favoring workplace raids and a heavy majority favoring driver's license checks. "

Another urban myth that the Pew Hispanic Center reports clears up is the fact that "Hispanics generally see illegal immigrants as a plus – both for the Latino community itself and for the U.S. economy in general.

Here, too, there are differences by nativity – with the foreign born significantly more positive than the native born in their views about the effects of illegal immigration. But even the native born are more positive than negative. And, as they assess the impact of illegal immigrants on the economy, native-born Latinos are more inclined to see a positive impact now (64%) than they were five years ago, when just 54% said the impact was positive."

I believe it is urgent that our elected leaders and the faith based leadership continue to work for comprehensive immigrant reform. The piece meal approach is so much more enforcement oriented and it seems that immigration proponents are giving up much more in terms of compromise than we are receiving in laws and legislation that are just and reform oriented.

The Pew Hispanic Center report is clear.....life under the current hate and fear filled immigration debate is being felt in a negative manner by Hispanics regardless of their legal or unauthorized status.

The report is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, www.pewhispanic.org.

Who Does the SAVE Act really SAVE???

Some misguided politicians think the SAVE Act (HR 4088) is the answer to our lack of immigration reform. The proponents are even calling the SAVE Act as “the end to the illegal immigration problem in the USA.” Actually it is the worst legislation being proposed since HR 4437 – “the Sensenbrenner bill.”

In light of some serious questions regarding the E-verify system and problems associated with the databases that have been raised in the debate, but the darlings of SAVE refuse to acknowledge those problems or even propose solutions to the concerns raised.

The Immigration Policy Center issued an analysis of the proposed legislation and basically condemned the E-verify database as unreliable. "The Social Security Administration (SSA) estimates that 17.8 million of it records contain errors related to name, date of birth, or citizenship status, and 12.7 million of those records relate to U. S. citizens."

While proponents love to use the term "that only a full 2% of citizens" would be affected, they refuse to acknowledge that the 2% figure represents millions of workers. That is only one issue which denies the magnitude of the problem.

Also, I think it is important to point out, the SAVE Act contains no assurances whatsoever that the current government databases will be accurate and updated.

The bill offers no privacy protections for the millions of files of personal information that will be handled by employers who are skeptical of the system anyway.

More importantly, the SAVE Act offers no recourse for workers who will be declared illegible and wrongfully denied employment.

Also, If the SAVE Act were in place now, "the errors in the SSA database alone could result in 2.5 million people a year being misidentified as unauthorized for employment. Workers, including U. S. citizens, will get caught in this faulty system and lose their jobs."

Another critical point which proponents refuse to accept is that all Department of Homeland Security databases are just as unreliable and filled with high error rates.

I think the fact that federal databases are totally unreliable highlights the problem and points to the prospect of millions of people losing jobs, and then facing a federal bureaucracy that we know does not care about people or their problems.

We have all experienced the bureaucracy of the motor vehicle departments and know from personal experience how policies and procedures do not always reflect reality.

Imagine having to contest your lost employment with SSA, DHS, and the E-verify system....and with employers who do not have the time to appeal wrongful employment termination of their employees. They will simply go out and hire new employees.....and no doubt, racial profiling will play a role in this whole process.

I would hate to think that we have to accept the E-verify system because as one staff member in a USA Representative’s office told me, “it is the best thing we have right now."

Most would be willing to accept the system if it were credible and error free. When dealing with families and workers, it is imperative that this system be free from errors and wrong information.

We have already seen the results of heads of families being arrested in ICE raids....leaving families with no financial support. Separated families - a national disgrace and legacy of the Bush Administration.

I am concerned that 112 Congresspeople thus far who have agreed to co sponsor the SAVE Act, when the facts show it does not address unreliable database issues that are filled with errors and will only lead to more misery for not just "unauthorized workers", but for U. S. citizens.

I would encourage you to investigate the magnitude of the problems associated with the SAVE Act and write your elected Representatives and ask them to vote no or to remove their name as a co-sponsor.

Particularly in light of the fact that a Federal judge ruled against the SSA and their no match letters. The judge ruled the system could not be trusted because of its unreliability.

While the SAVE Act says the system has four years to correct the problems, what kind of misery is the system going to spread among American and undocumented workers whose information may be recorded erroneously during those four years?

This prompts the real question....why are we presently using an identity and employment verification system that does not work properly? Why hasn't it been fixed by now?

What happens to those workers whose only "crime" is information that was incorrectly entered into the databases? We all know that anytime a human being is entering the information into a data record, there is always the danger of mistakes....even as minor as the wrong month of your birthday, or wrong address.

If at all possible.....even for political reasons if they can’t come to the realization that for moral reasons they should not support HR 4088, please ask your elected representatives to withdraw their names as co sponsors of this bill until database credibility issues can be verified, that the SAVE Act clearly outlines a process to appeal employment decisions, and questions answered as to how a 800 mile security fence protects a 2000 mile border?

WE all want a secure border, but I am at a loss to explain to my 5th grade grandson how 800 equals 2000. And that is not even counting the northern border - where the real problems related to terrorism has been proven to be the border we should be more concerned about.

Environmental questions regarding wildlife, migration of animals, plant life, historic areas, and water rights issues have not been resolved and pushed aside, yet we continue to push for a "secure border wall" without regard to the real environmental issues.

Let me make it clear, I want secure borders, but not secured by racial profiling, discrimination, lack of adequate Border Patrol officer training, and lack of respect toward fellow human beings.

As the former manager of safety for the City and County of Denver, I understand the need to ensure every officer is trained properly.

There must also be assurances in the SAVE Act that the hiring of the LARGE number of Border Patrol officers proposed means we are hiring the best available and that the training is not rushed and that it be the very best we can offer law enforcement officers.

In addition to our brothers and sisters not being illegal, equally as important, they are not animals to be penned up and treated with disrespect.

Stop HR 4088 now while we can. It is not the end of illegal immigration, it is merely the continuation of the hate and fear climate perpetuated by Tom Tancredo.