Immigration reads you may have missed this weekend
Get up to speed with our picks from the holiday weekend. (Flickr)
By JUAN GASTELUM
Channel: Immigration
Don’t worry if you were too busy over the holiday to keep up with the latest in immigration. We all need to do a little catching up. Here are our picks for top weekend reads to help get you get up to speed.
CNN: Despite immigration reforms, many young immigrants still in limbo
The Department of Homeland Security announced reforms this year that would halt the deportations of young immigrants who pose no threat to security. It said it also would review almost 300,000 cases on an individual basis — something it had not been done before. Individuals without a criminal record are considered low priority for forced or immediate deportation. But without permanent relief, many like Monji Dolon are still in immigration limbo.
NPR: For one Alabama farmer, workers are still scarce
Earlier this year, Alabama passed a tough immigration law that prompted thousands of migrant workers to flee the state. Shortly after, NPR spoke with Jamie Boatwright, a fourth-generation tomato farmer in Steele, Ala. When the law was passed, about 20 of Boatwright’s farmhands — all of them from Mexico — left and his business was devastated. Boatwright tried to hire legal workers, but of the 11 Americans he hired that came and sought work, only one returned for a second day of work.
Sacramento Bee: Dream Act Students Live in Limbo
The legislation allows undocumented students who came to the country before age 16 and attended California high schools access to public financial aid, including Cal Grants. Those students already are eligible for in-state tuition, and [Gov. Jerry] Brown in July signed a companion measure affording them access to private financial aid. But nothing in the legislation eases their path toward citizenship…
The Associated Press: California to stop towing unlicensed drivers
On Jan. 1, a new law will take effect in California to prohibit police from impounding cars at sobriety checkpoints if a motorist’s only offense is being an unlicensed driver. Thousands of cars are towed each year in the state under those circumstances, hitting pocketbooks of undocumented immigrants especially hard.
Minneapolis Star Tribune: Immigrants blend Christmas traditions from home and America
Teferi Nigatu dreamed of this Christmas for years. It’s the first one that he, his wife and six children will spend together in the United States since arriving from Ethiopia. To celebrate the holiday, they’ve trimmed a tree, exchanged gifts and “played Santa” - traditions they didn’t observe in their native country but are embracing in their new Minneapolis home.
The New York Times Editorial: Deportation without representation
Current laws have denied basic due process protections to people held in immigration detention. And now, a new report in the Cardozo Law Review reveals a severe shortage of competent legal assistance for tens of thousands facing deportation.
