Earlier this semester, one of my professors mentioned that students without proper documentation found themselves unable to go to college. A classmate of mine answered, “Good. How were they even able to go to high school without being an American citizen?”

This is a growing statistic in our nation, yet are a select few students that surpass all obstacles in order to get a decent education.

Imagine being brought into the United States being 18-months old, and the only life you knew was in New Jersey. After excelling in high school and moving onto college, can you imagine having to pay out of state tuition simply because you were not born in the United States? This is a reality that Marisol Conde-Hernandez, 22, faces. For two years worth or college credits, Marisol has to pay $20,000 and manages to work full-time and be involved in a laundry list of extracurricular activities.

While New Jersey is still in the process of analyzing the out-of-state tuition bill, Rhode Island also houses some concerned students. What options do illegal immigrants face in order to receive an education?

Illegal immigrants do not qualify for federal financial aid, and those living in Rhode Island, as in 39 other states, do not qualify for in-state tuition at public universities. Since out-of-state tuition is about three times as high as in-state, many young immigrants forgo higher education.

Do these students have any resources available to them? The answer is yes, the Dream Act exists to favor those hardworking students who are immigrants, but even so there are still several loop holes that can stop students in their tracks.

Even if the Federal Dream Act, which would provide a path to citizenship to immigrants who go to college or serve in the military, were to pass, it would not necessarily resolve the issue of in-state tuition because states could rule that temporary residents are not eligible, said Michael Olivas, a law professor at the University of Houston.

Research experts, Elaine Ecklund and Michael Emerson from Rice University presented their research on immigration at 2 o’clock on April 24, 2009 at the University of Houston. The director of the Center for Immigration Research, Amanda Baumie, organized this event at the Honors college inside of the M.D. Anderson library.

The presentation was called “Are Immigrants Good Americans?” The basic outline for the study was to find the relationship between religion and immigration, and to see how different cultures of immigrants respond to the American ideology. The immigrants that were included in the research were Filipinos, Chinese, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Muslims (which included those from the Middle East, Pakistan, and Africa.) The Department of Labor and the Pew Foundation aid the funding of this research.

The study shows that twenty percent of the population in the United States is either an immigrant or a child of an of immigrant. The main objective of the research is to discover the relationship between church and state. What do immigrants think about mixing their religion with their political stance, if any exists?

One main question that each immigrant was asked was about the relationship between church and state. Most of the immigrants studied, reported no opinion toward this issue. The majority of black Baptist Americans feel there should be no relationship between church and state, but during the presidential campaign for Obama, many baptist churches passed out fans with Obama written on the back. The sermon even included Obama, so this statistic was a bit contradictory.

The major difference is that native born Anglo Americans feel an important tie to the holy bible, and kept making comments where they reassured that it has always maintained a strong influence in government.

Experts in immigration from the University of Houston from historical and legal perspectives pointed out some noticible holes in the research by Ecklund and Emerson. For instance, people from Jewish decent were not included in the research. A history professor pointed out that the Muslim response could vary drastically because people from Africa, India, and the Middle East may all be Muslim but have different traditions.

Filtering the immigrants that were studied seems to be most impeccable because, for example, Mexican immigrants in California may feel more powerful in California than in Ohio since the majority of the population in California is Mexican immigrants.

Also, things to consider for this research is the state of mind of each immigrant. Since they are going into a country where they know their opinion and rights are not upheld, they may not exactly have the motivation to learn a system that excludes them anyway. Not having the opportunity to achieve legal status could greatly influence why the immigrants felt no connection to our system of government.In short, the basis for this research seems to be unjustified because an immigrant doesn’t have the same opportunities as do American citizens to be educated, employed, and given a clear status in the U.S. Why would an immigrant want to learn our a government that exists to shut them out?

President Obama is currently tackling our economic situation, but as promised in his campaign speeches, he is making plans to commence an immigration debate during the remainder of this year.

In recent news, President Obama has called for the organization of immigration reform. Two major labor organizations have joined forces to lead the immigration debate, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations and the Change to Win Coalition.

The accord endorses legalizing the status of illegal immigrants already in the United States and opposes any large new program for employers to bring in temporary immigrant workers, officials of both federations said.

Although significant changes are not obvious at the moment, the union of these organizations will open the door for debate.

Ana Avendano, the Director Immigrant Worker Program of the AFL-CIO, said that “unity” between the groups is the key to legislative change. She said “we have found in the past that division has not helped any of us” and rather it has “fueled immigrant hatred.”

Back in late February, President Obama full-filled a promise he made to the Hispanic community, which was to appear as a guest on the radio show of El Piolín por la Mañana, the nation-wide radio show with the largest Spanish speaking audience. During that interview, radio host, Eddie Sotelo, continuously asked the questions of “how soon can we see changes?” Obama stated that construction projects were on their way and changes could been seen within the next six months.

As promised, President Obama has called pro-immigrant organizations to propose reform ideas to pass onto Congress. Ever since his campaign days, President Obama has talked about improving the system for legal immigration.

For all the noise and anger that too often surrounds the immigration debate, America has nothing to fear from today’s immigrants. They have come here for the same reason that families have always come here–for the hope that in America, they could build a better life for themselves and their families. Like the waves of immigrants that came before them and the Hispanic Americans whose families have been here for generations, the recent arrival of Latino immigrants will only enrich our country.

Do immigrants take the jobs of citizens, or do they improve the economy by filling jobs that citizens don’t want to perform?

Major corporations are not hiring undocumented workers because of the restrictions and penalties already put in place, yet powerful business associations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce support immigration rights. Their website reads, “Throughout our history, the dreams and hard work of immigrants have been a driving force behind America’s success. We need the continued contributions of these immigrants to grow and remain competitive.” Essentially, they favor immigration amnesty for the undocumented workers already working in the U.S. and help secure visas.

Roger Lownstein wrote The Immigration Equation in 2006, and introduced the heart of the immigration debate. Lowenstein presents the expertise of George Borjas, a Cuban immigrant and pre-eminent scholar in this field, who feels “that more job seekers from abroad mean fewer opportunities, or lower wages, for native workers,” which just so happens to be one of the most controversial topics in labor economics.

Illegal Mexican immigrants are typically unskilled and lack education, more than 60 percent of Mexican immigrants are dropouts compared to a 10 percent of native workers. Economists present two important facts, “One is that Mexicans are supplying a skill level that is much in demand. It doesn’t just seem that Americans don’t want to be hotel and Chambermaids, pick lettuce or repair roofs; it’s true. Most gringos are too educated for that kind of work. The added diversity, the complementariness of skills, that Mexicans bring is good for the economy as a whole. They perform services that would otherwise be more expensive and in some cases simply unavailable.”

It is the unskilled Americans, high school dropouts, who are forced to compete with immigrants, and it is America’s unskilled earning just a shade more than immigrants, but Lowenstein argues that immigration is not entirely responsible because there are so many other factors to consider like minimum wage, the decline of unions, and even the advance in technology helps the skilled become more skilled.

As for our current situation, the immigrants are coming home to fewer jobs in a Mexican economy shrinking from the side effects of the U.S. recession. Many jobs are being offered, but the recession seems to be affecting areas both North and South of the border.

The Department of Homeland Security released a report in early February, stating that over the last decade nearly 2.2 million immigrants have been deported out of the United States. More than a 100,000 of them are parents of American Citizens.

Eduardo Zapata, Psychology Major from UHD, lives with his mother and two brothers. His mother successfully obtained her Naturalized Citizenship in 1995, even so, Zapata is weary of how deportations affect many households.

“If my mother wasn’t naturalized,” says Zapata, “and faced deportation that would really change things a lot. She is the primary source of income and me and my brothers would probably have to move in amongst our aunts since we don’t make enough money for rent.”

Although this may be a standing statistic, it is much more than just a number. These deportations have displaced thousands of families and interrupt those that depend on parents as a main source of income.

Representative José E. Serrano, Democrat of New York told the New York Times that many children are obligated to leave along with their parents.

“If they took their children back,” he said of the deportees, “then technically we deported an American citizen. No matter which side of the immigration issue you fall on, there’s something wrong with the notion of kicking American citizens out of their own country.”

The majority of deportations are done by Government operated and funded groups. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has been criticized for their inconsistencies as an immigration reform group. Proper documentation is not being obtained and ICE agents are resorting to detaining immigrants for minor offenses, instead of fulfilling their mission statement.

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) just released a report that questions the effectiveness of the current immigration programs.

The GAO report finds that “The program participants report a reduction in crime, the removal of repeat offenders, and other public safety benefits. However, over half of the 29 agencies GAO contacted reported concerns from community members that use of program authority would lead to racial profiling and intimidation by law enforcement officials.”

President Obama’s plan for reform is set to launch within the next six months, but for the time being, raids are still flooding the streets of our nation.

The New York Times wrote an article, Target of Immigrant Raids Shifted which exposes the current purpose of ICE.

… newly available documents show, the agency changed the rules, and the program increasingly went after easier targets. A vast majority of those arrested had no criminal record, and many had no deportation orders against them, either.

The Political Asylum/ Immigration Representation Project (PAIR), is an organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of life for immigrants. Executive Director Sarah Ignatius, wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Times and refers to the raids that took place all last year.

This is exactly what we saw in workplace raids around the country last year, raids that focused on immigrants who embody, rather than undermine, core American values like hard work, self-sacrifice and the importance of family values that have defined this country from the beginning.

When Congress allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to ICE for this program, the goal was not to lock up women who scrub toilets in courthouses after 5 p.m.; or cooks and waiters who serve authentic ethnic food; or seamstresses who work double shifts without overtime to turn out high-quality backpacks under government contracts; or meatpackers who work in hazardous conditions. But all these people were targets of ICE enforcement.

Could it be that ICE may have lost sight of their true motives?

A couple months ago, I was standing in line at a Subway on Shepherd and Washington, and I overheard a conversation that perked my ears and turned a couple heads. Two Caucasian women were discussing moving into their new apartment. One girl mentioned hiring a moving service, while the other suggested to “get some Mexican’s off of Washington because they are cheap and happy with whatever you pay them.” They either didn’t see or didn’t care to see the other Mexican, Hispanic, and Latinos standing behind them.

Immigrants don’t have the luxury of writing a resume and going on interviews in hopes of getting a job. Washington Ave. is known to be a place where men wait for any working opportunity they can get. As cars pull over, men dash to be among the fortunate few that get to work.

There are many streets like Washington Ave, where Immigrant men’s only crime is being a hard worker in search of an opportunity.

On January 30th, 2009, CASA de Maryland released a video that uncovered the details of an Immigration & Customs Enforcment (ICE) raid in Southeast Baltimore, MA. that happened January 27th 2007. The footage shows ICE agents arresting 24 men under the suspicion of being illegal immigrants. The agents were not in uniform, did not offer a reason for the arrest, and they posed as contractors.

CASA de Maryland filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security for the release of all documents related to the raid. According to the Baltimore Sun, staff attorney for CASA, Justin Cox comments,

In order to arrest someone in this country, you need probable cause that that particular person has committed a crime. And in order to detain someone, to question them about their immigration status, again you need individualized and reasonable suspicion that that person, that individual person is undocumented in this country.

WYPR news from Baltimore reports that Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, president of the Baltimore City Branch of the NAACP, said that this incident was clearly racial profiling.

The issue here is, what was the impetus to have them arrested, to have them harassed, to have them detained? And it was only one issue: the fact that they were of one ethnicity. That itself is racial profiling.” NAACP classify this issue as racial profiling.

In its lawsuit, Casa of Maryland claims that federal immigration agents unlawfully targeted Latinos in the raid while ignoring people of other ethnicities.

ICE’s mission statement is,

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security, protects national security and upholds public safety by targeting criminal networks and terrorist organizations that seek to exploit vulnerabilities in our immigration system, in our financial networks, along our border, at federal facilities and elsewhere in order to do harm to the United States. The end result is a safer, more secure America.

Is it possible that ICE has forgotten their mission statement? They are targeting day workers who aren’t doing any real crime other than being hard workers.

My parents were born and raised in Rio Verde, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. They grew up in a village called “El Pescadito” (The Little Fish), located in the mountains of the region. Such a beautiful country, filled with the greenest agriculture, strong heritage, and authentic cuisine. At least that’s the Mexico that I know.

It now bears a another face. A face filled with crime and chaos. A good example of the kidnappings that take place in Mexico is the movie Man on Fire which portrays the lifestyle many children live in Mexico City. The only exception in real life is that Denzel Washington doesn’t save the day, and it’s not only kidnappings that are increasing.

Crime has increased through drug trafficking, kidnappings, extortion and human smuggling. Although these issues take place in a different country, they are still very real and directly interrelated to the lives of many Chicanos living in the United States.

Today as I was reading the Daily Cougar and there it was in black and white, “Drug Wars Affecting UH”. After reading this article by Frank Vasquez, I can see that this issue affects many. Students at UH can’t visit their parent’s homeland without having to worry about the drug cartel or possible kidnappings.

In the 1990’s and early 2000’s, Mexico dealt with drug traffickers in a reserved manner, but when President Felipe Caldéron was elected in 2006, he devoted thousands of federal troops to a war against drug cartels. Since then, Mexico has become a more dangerous place to live.

Drug-related deaths numbered 5,612 in 2008, more than doubling the 2007 total, according to the Mexican newspaper El Universal. Slayings of high-ranking political figures and police officers also increased.

The Mexican army and the Federal Police have successfully removed some leaders of the cartels, such as Alberto Barron of the La Familia Michoacana and Ever Martinez, a main cocaine supplier to the Sinaloa cartel.

Deaths are increasing and the plagues affecting the country South of our border are many. The drug cartel and the future of Mexico’s children is an issue I’ll continue to explore during this semester.

I went to get my headlight replaced today. I had no idea how nifty Volkswagons could be. I got to wait for an hour so they could have the one-of-a-kind bulb delivered, and I was sentenced to the car shop’s waiting area. Luckily for me, I brought my lunch along.

What surprises me, is that even in such an ordinary place like the car shop, the news managed to express a difficult truth that many people are dealing with. The news of the hour is our current economic situation. 

CNN’s situation room was very specific, 62,00 jobs were lost this week. Last week 40,000 were lost. Places like Microsoft, Home Depot, Caterpillar and others have resulted to downsizing. I heard President Obama’s voice addressing the issue, and I agreed with a certain phrase he said, “these aren’t just numbers on a piece of paper.”  These are people, mothers, fathers, and those who need to provide for their families. Not the best way to bring in the year, but sadly enough this is situation that many are facing.

My friend’s mother, JoAnn, worked 30 years in the banking industry, and excelled in customer service. She was laid off last year and remained unemployed for 8 months. Although it may seem like a minor loss for a company, it devastates and displaces families drastically. Her family had to cope in handling all the bills without her assistance, forcing her son to put school on hold.

I think too many families are living in the shadows of this economic disaster, and although the situation is getting media coverage, people are expecting action. Today, Congress approved President Obama’s stimulus plan – however effective it will be, only time can tell. 

In the meantime, seems like I can’t finish eating lunch without worrying about the dozens people I know that remain jobless.