But immigrants. Those, specifically, who are in the United States illegally.
I would really love to be wrong about this, but my first thought was, if there’s that much rage about immigrants in a bill that does NOT provide any benefits to undocumented (because no human being is illegal) immigrants (and may, in fact, even exclude Lawful Permanent Residents (those are “legal”) from the final bill), can we imagine how much vitriol will surround any attempt to reform our nation’s immigration laws in this Congress?
Even if we’re tired after all of the shouting about health care, and even if we’re not exactly sure why these immigrants are coming here in the first place, and what their presence means for our futures, we who care about social justice cannot sit this one out.
I just finished reading Illegal People, a book by David Bacon, a photojournalist focusing on Mexican migration, the U.S./Mexico border, and the economics of global trade. He’s going to be in Kansas City on Friday, September 18th, 2009, speaking at 6:30PM at the Kansas City Public Library’s Plaza Branch. You should come.
Because Bacon’s message, in this book and what I expect he’ll say, is that, while he may not have every answer for how policy should deal with the many details in immigration policy, his work in communities of workers on both sides of the border has made it clear that the status quo is morally indefensible.
On the second page of the book, he calls us all out: “Faced with poverty, migration, and deportation, nuetrality is not really possible. One either tries to understand and change social reality or one doesn’t…This book takes (immigrant workers’) side.”
I cringed several times during the book, when Bacon excoriates the compromises pursued by the coalition advocating for comprehensive immigration reform (subsequent to the historic mobilization of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride), lays bare the corporate motives of some of our unlikely bedfellows, and makes a compelling case for far more fundamental change than we ever even put on the table. I remembered the bitter debates we had over pragmatism vs. principle, over whether temporary worker programs ever belonged in a progressive immigration bill, and whether we needed to clearly articulate our support for an end to employer sanctions or talk about ‘smart enforcement’. And I know that I didn’t fight hard enough.
So when I read Bacon’s stirring accounts of immigrants organizing unions against huge odds, militantly fighting for higher wages and better working conditions (which ultimately, of course, benefit every worker in the country), I’m seriously chagrined. Day laborers boldly joining together to insist on higher wages, refugees facing down violent opposition to exercise their rights–they all courageously surpassed what they should have been able to accomplish, through the power of collective action and the audacity born of desperation.
Some of Bacon’s criticism is a bit unfair, I think; those with whom I worked closely were really, without exception, compassionate people committed to doing the most and best for immigrants that they could. The problem, I think, was in that last word, “could,” and the dangers that all advocates face in sacrificing the good for the possible, in limiting our horizons in pursuit of ‘viability’.
I hope that all of my former compañero/as are reading the book, too, and are emboldened to demand immigration reform worthy of these extraordinary people, and committed to organizing the power we’ll need to shout down the audacious likes of Representative Wilson.
Illegal People is full of evidence of how bad the status quo is, not just for immigrants but for their families and communities and for everyone who works for a living. The system intimidates people away from joining unions (the only right in the United States that people fear exercising), steamrolls Mexican farmers, uses Social Security “No-Match” letters to disrupt organizing campaigns, and brings in temporary immigrant workers to drive down wages of low-wage citizen workers. And it’s tragic and cruel and wrong, every single day.
But, despite my pangs of regret for what I didn’t do, didn’t accomplish, didn’t win, and despite how ugly the prospects are for really good, really progressive immigration reform in the current context, I mostly finished the book feeling inspired.
Inspired by the activism, the boldness, the tremendous optimism and courage of the immigrant workers who populate Bacon’s book. Almost without exception, their attitude is “we have nothing to lose, so we might as well go down fighting.” And, when I watch that clip again, and think about the horrific anti-immigrant rhetoric that fueled the summer, and think about the threats I received (as did many of my colleagues, including friends cited, like Bill Chandler and Marielena Hincapíe), I think that we’re really in just about the same place now–backs against a wall, nothing to lose, ready to stand on principle and push for what we know immigrant workers deserve.
As I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, I have an opinion on just about everything. My dad once laughed outloud when I was giving my views on the new Pope (Benedict)–he said that it figured that I, a non-Catholic, would of course have this whole argument about the new Pope.
I am often guilty of over-advocacy–since quitting my full-time advocacy job, I haven’t felt as much of a compulsion to limit myself to core issues in order to avoid weakening my impact (a cardinal rule of nonprofit advocates). I admit to responding to just about all of the ‘urgent’ action alerts that come across my email–from human rights in Burma to extension of unemployment benefits to climate change regulations.
Still, it would be hard to think of very many advocacy issues that matter more to me than the plight of immigrant youth in the United States. I personally know dozens of kids in these circumstances, and they are, almost without exception, extraordinarily bright and talented and promising young people. They are inspiring and generous and very brave.
And, right now, they need our help. As students (including mine!) head back to school all over this country, hundreds of thousands of immigrant students in the U.S. prepare for their final year of high school, without knowing what life holds for them after graduation. Thousands more are plugging away at college, achieving a remarkable feat made more notable by the controversy surrounding their enrollment. And Congress has the rare opportunity to do something good to help a vulnerable population while also helping all of us, by giving these kids a chance to fully contribute to our society. It’s a win-win, literally, and we need to make it happen THIS YEAR.
So, please, take three minutes and contact your member of Congress to ask him/her to support the DREAM Act. I’ve linked to talking points and an action alert, both of which are generated by the awesome students and advocates leading the charge on this issue. You can also make a financial contribution to the United We DREAM campaign. I’d love to hear feedback after you make your call–what did your member of Congress tell you? With whom did you speak? How was your experience?
Have a great school year, everyone, and let’s make DREAMS come true.
I heard a great piece on The World tonight about the health care debate: specifically, they talked about how the controversy over the proposal(s) is receiving a lot more media attention than their substance (similarly to how media often cover the ‘horse race’ aspect of elections more than the issues) and about how Britains are using Twitter to defend their national health system. They also made the point that the UK’s NHS has become a straw man in the health care debate in the U.S.–its weaknesses exaggerated and then conflated with President Obama’s plans.
After I got home, I sat down and wrote handwritten letters to my congressional delegation. I’ve been wanting to do more; I haven’t been to any town halls yet (if they think those are rowdy, try being a pro-immigrant advocate on an AM talk radio show!); I haven’t made any phone calls; I haven’t even talked about it that much with friends or colleagues. But, I pulled out some of my few remaining (totally awesome) Truman Scholar notecards (the ones with a painting of the Lincoln Memorial and a speech by RFK–the ones that I have now moved 5 times and can hardly bear to part with) and wrote letters.
The text of each was different. To Congressman Moore, I stressed his concern for working people and the importance of seizing this rare political moment. To Senator Brownback, I talked about his respect for life and the importance of protecting each person’s health. And to Senator Roberts, I talked about how Kansas, and Kansans, need health care reform, in towns large and small. In all, I identified myself as a mom and a citizen and, honestly, someone with decent health care who still cares very much about what we are not doing for those who have not.
Do I harbor any belief that these letters will be the defining act in the debate that is raging in our country? No. But do I feel a whole lot better now that they’re in the mail? And am I looking forward to explaining them to my son tomorrow morning? Absolutely yes.
If you live in my part of the country, here are the addresses I used (the best ones for this August recess):
Congressman Dennis Moore
500 State Avenue, #176
Kansas City, KS 66101
Senator Sam Brownback
11111 W. 95th Street, Suite 245
Overland Park, KS 66214
Senator Pat Roberts
11900 College Boulevard, Suite 203
Overland Park, KS 66210
This is NOT going to become a political rant blog, I promise (Kory, I really promise). If that’s your schtick, check out this blog (if you see my kids wandering around dirty in the street, this is why…it’s like heroin for political nerds like me). But there’s one race already shaping up for 2010 that I just HAVE to say something about. So, please, indulge me.
In my work registering voters and doing election protection for Limited English Proficient and new citizen voters, I had numerous occasions on which to be quite proud of Kansas’ Secretary of State office. I met with current Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh on a few occasions, including once when he came to El Centro, Inc. because he wanted to see what we did with voter registration. I found him to be very accessible and his office to be highly professional. Even more importantly, from my perspective, he was consistently a supporter of fair election policies and practices, including expressing support for voter identification policies that allowed options besides photo ID. He strongly resisted allegations that voter fraud by undocumented immigrants and other ineligible voters was a problem in the state, and he rejected very harsh measures designed to address that supposed ‘problem’. While he is certainly not directly responsible for the activities of the county election offices, I worked with several of them around the state and found them, likewise, to be quite supportive of our efforts to encourage civic participation. One election official in western Kansas actually called me to let me know that she had received our voter registration forms in time and that the voters would be eligible for the primary (totally above and beyond). Once, when I brought more than 100 registrations into the KCK office only a day before the deadline, the woman working said, “God bless you. You must have worked so hard,” (rather than ‘now we have to enter all of these?’). We had representatives from election offices in western Kansas, Johnson County, and Wyandotte County come demonstrate the voting machines to our new citizen voters. When I would meet with colleagues around the country who were also doing voter work, I would feel almost smug about the comparatively smooth process we experienced.
Outside of elections, I worked with the Secretary of State’s office on lobbyist reporting and, on a few occasions, when I had a concern about unethical candidate activities. I truly always found them helpful, nonpartisan, and even quite pleasant. I’m sure that there are many political issues on which I would disagree with Secretary Thornburgh; I’ll get the chance to find out more when he launches his campaign for Governor in earnest. But, as Secretary of State, I believe that he did a very decent job at safeguarding the integrity of our elections, no small task in today’s highly polarized political environment.
And now I am very concerned. As you may or may not know, Kris Kobach has announced that he is running for Kansas Secretary of State. Even more disturbing to me than this announcement was the response of many when I told them: “Why would he want that job?” It is an unfortunate fact that many people, including many social work advocates, underestimate the importance of the Secretary of State. It is NOT just a stepping stone to the governorship. It is, in fact, the guardian of our democratic process, and you have to believe me that Kris Kobach is smart enough to know this too.
Actually, you don’t have to take my word for it. Below is a link to his guest editorial, where he talks about this supposed voter fraud, rails against the senatorial election in Minnesota, and claims that the Secretary of State election will have “unprecedented consequences”. Um, no kidding.
I can tell you from experience that it is hard enough to register U.S.-born citizens to vote; there is no clamoring among undocumented people to put their name on a voter registration roll where they will face lifelong banishment from the U.S. and a felony conviction if discovered. I have been cursed at and had things thrown at me from trying to convince people that voting is their responsibility as citizens. Yes, Kris, we have a real problem with voting in this country, but it’s not the problem you’re so intent on ‘fixing’.
Please, pay attention to the 2010 Secretary of State’s race. Don’t believe the allegations of widespread voter fraud; President Bush’s own Department of Justice investigators could find only a couple of cases in the whole country, in the previous eight years, of non-citizens registering to vote. And they were looking hard. Pay attention and, of course, vote!
My Dad and I were talking about this upcoming event the other day. “You know,” he said, “you meet a lot of really interesting people in your life, some who even really impress you, but you’re lucky if you meet even one Lenny.” I thought that was a pretty good way to put it.
I am not an unbiased reporter on this topic; Lenny Zeskind is a very good friend and someone who has been an inspiration and support and comfort to me during some of my lowest moments. But I am confident that others will find his book, his stories, and his example as completely jaw-dropping as I do.
I first read a draft of Lenny’s book back in 2003, when it was still on 8.5×11 sheets of paper (lots of them–it’s not short!). At first, I really thought that it must be a kind of pseudo-fiction, embellished with some rich detail to make it more readable. And then he told me one day that it was with the publisher’s attorneys, so that they could do fact-checking and be sure that the company would not be vulnerable in court against the almost inevitable lawsuits to come from organizations, both those viewed today as extremists and those whose tenuous hold on the mainstream will be seriously jeopardized by the revelations in the book. I think that’s when it dawned on me that when he talked about what a specific white nationalist leader had on his wall, it was because he had really been there and really seen it.
Lenny is really, really smart, and he has an almost maniacal obsession with ending organized racism, bigotry, and anti-Semitism in the world. He challenges people, including me, to question what I think I know about hatred. He is willing to confront anyone with allegations of racism, and he has a moral authority that makes it almost impossible to object. At this point in his life, I think Lenny is kind of impatient, because we really haven’t made as much progress against these forces as we might like to claim, and also a little tired, because chasing Holocaust deniers and anti-immigrant zealots masquerading as environmentalists and neo-Nazi music promoters around the country would tend to wear down one’s spirit. He’s also generous and funny and a little mischevious and very kind.
I’m excited that his book is finally ready, and I can’t wait to read the finished version. At least a few of my family members will be receiving it as Christmas gifts this year (Merry Christmas, Daddy!). But it would be a disappointment and a dishonor to Lenny’s life work–as an organizer in the steel industry, as a campaigner against the Ku Klux Klan, as a McArthur fellow recognized for his tireless and creative and often successful work against racist extremism in all its forms–to view this as simply cause for celebration.
One of Lenny’s core messages is that we are always at risk, and that we need to be vigilant about the racism in our own lives and our own institutions, but also smart about the real dangers posed by the organization of bigotry into a movement that has resonance with a not insignificant minority in our nation. It’s not about ‘teaching tolerance’; it’s about exposing hatred, calling it by name, and attacking the conditions–funding, media legitimacy, political support–that allow it to flourish.
Lenny will be signing copies of his book and answering questions on Wednesday, May 27th, at the Plaza Library at 6:30. The flyers said that you had to rsvp, but I bet if you call the library they can still find room for you. Or you can buy the book from Amazon here (available May 12th). I know that I am looking forward to asking him about his article from the Huffington Post, particularly about his analysis that the argument that the economic crisis is to blame for the spike in racist violence just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. We know, though, that public opinion about immigrants, in particular, tends to dip in recessions; is it just that the more hard-core anti-immigrant activity, which sparks the violence, is more impervious to these economic effects? What can we expect to see, in terms of white nationalist recruiting, in the wake of an Obama presidency? And what does he think about organizations of people of color who are touting 2050 as the tipping point–the year when white Americans will become the minority. I’ve never liked those ‘demographic imperative’ arguments, but I wonder what his advice would be.
Mainly, I’m grateful, especially on behalf of my kids, that there’s someone brave enough, and even a little crazy enough, to care and to do what Lenny has dedicated his life to doing. And it makes me want to be a little braver, a little smarter, and a little crazier (for justice) myself.
I am not a fiscal analyst. I do not pretend to be an expert on budget matters. Most of the policy issues on which I worked most intently were not big budget items, and so my engagement in the appropriations process was really only peripheral. Our instate tuition issue got wrapped up in the omnibus process in the 2004 session, so I sat through hours of budget negotiations between the House and Senate committees that year, and I worked some on school finance legislation, a huge part of the entire state budget, as it impacts Limited English Proficient and at-risk children.
This year, I have honestly been paying more attention to the Kansas state budget than I did when I was working full-time as a lobbyist; the budget battles impact the practicum organizations of a majority of my students, and I have been closely following the proposed cuts for public education in my role as a Board member of Kansas Families for Education. All of the name-calling and sky-is-falling back and forth have prompted me to think about what social workers need to understand about these difficult economic times, and about the ways in which states can respond to them. We’re not likely to be the best ‘numbers people’ in the room, but we do bring an important understanding: these numbers are really about people, and people’s lives, which makes them anything but academic. It is from that perspective that I share these thoughts about Kansas’ current budget woes, and the fight around them.
First, social workers need to remember that, to mangle several famous quotations together, “the news of this fiscal crisis has been greatly exaggerated.” NO, I’m not saying that we don’t have a serious deficit, or that real people aren’t going to be seriously hurt by the cuts that ensure. My points are these:
When did you ever hear a state legislator say to a social work advocate, “We’re flush with money right now, so we’re going to increase funding for programs that serve (fill in the blank: low-income families, people with disabilities, hungry children)”? They don’t. So we can’t wait for the budget to improve before we start making our case–it will never be good enough for them to want to give us what we know our clients need.
And, second, to some extent, this fiscal crisis, at the state level, has been exacerbated by intentional policy choices by state legislators, who also have the power to make it much better, if they would make decisions like decoupling the state and federal tax codes (meaning that the tax breaks enacted at the federal level wouldn’t reduce our state revenues) or rolling back or even just postponing some of the tax cuts enacted in recent years. Retired state representative Ray Cox (R-Bonner Springs) was fond of calling such tax increases “tax restorations”, since that term more correctly reflects the fact that we have decimated our own revenue base with a series of major tax cuts, particularly during the ‘good times’ of the 1990s.
But, the reality is that, right now, social work advocates are battling to try to minimize the damage, and that the advocacy that we need to do to put revenue enhancements back on the table and to make social services so valuable that they will be sacred is going to really come into play next year, not in the next two days.
Some thoughts, then, about how to best prepare ourselves for these perennial budget battles, with hopes that these lessons will even serve us well in these lean years.
1. States have to balance their budgets; unlike the federal government, they can’t run continual deficits, which means that we have to acknowledge the need for tax ‘restorations’ to the extent that our state’s needs are now outstripping our fiscal capacity.
2. The portion of the budget over which social service advocates have to battle is a relatively small one: for fiscal year 2009 (which ends on June 30th, 2009), 51% of the state general fund went to elementary and secondary education and another ~13% to higher education. When you consider our mandatory obligations under Medicaid and the costs of just keeping a government running, not to mention corrections costs (which, we social workers know, could be decreased somewhat by better investment in people at risk), we’re left with about 15% of the budget, or approximately $900 million, which sounds like a lot, but when you divide it among programs for older adults, people with disabilities, low-income energy assistance, childcare subsidies, community mental health centers, and the dozens of other programs funded through SGF, you’re not left with a lot. Argument number #2 for increasing the size of the pie!
3. We’re no longer talking about ‘trimming the waste.’ We hear this a lot, right, about social services–that we can supposedly absorb these cuts because it just means working more efficiently? The reality is that, at this point, institutions have already trimmed as much as they can. The cuts being considered today (the Senate version would cut an addition $138 million from the $13 billion budget; the House’s latest effort was a $247 million cut that has been delayed because of massive opposition from Democrats and moderate Republicans) would mean layoffs of employees, possible furloughs, cuts in classroom expenditures, elimination of some social service programs entirely (I got an email yesterday that the Respite Care and Family Subsidy Programs are two likely to be eliminated if these cuts go through), and increased waiting lists for others. There’s only so much we can cut (Argument #3 for looking at revenue restorations..are you convinced yet?).
4. We have to stop fighting each other. Too often when I was in the Kansas Legislature, i would hear advocates for one vulnerable constituency make the case, implicitly or explicitly, that their population was more worthy than another (“kids are the future”–so what are you saying about older adults? or “people with disabilities need help through no fault of their own”–so what are you saying about people in the corrections system?). We can’t do this–there are enough voices attacking the need for social services altogether without us adding our voices to that chorus. That’s why I always advise students to answer the “so where should we get the money?” question like this: “As the state legislator, it’s your job to figure out how to meet all of the state’s obligations to its citizens. I know that these are not easy decisions, but the benefits of investing in (fill in the blank for your program/constituency) are worth it.” The moment you say, “maybe you could cut xzy,” you have earned yourself an enemy who should, rightfully, be your ally.
I’m including a link to an article by a great statehouse reporter, Scott Rothschild of the Lawrence Journal World, that outlines some of the current debate. The House is expected to take up the budget today, and legislators need to hear from social workers that drastic cuts are unacceptable. We need to put revenue enhancements, like the decoupling and the postponement of the franchise tax cut, back on the table. I talked with my state representative yesterday and, somehow, knowing that I did my part might make the next year’s budget a little less bitter.
Here’s the number to call to reach your state representative. Hopefully you’ll get a busy signal the first time you try:
I’m attaching the registration form for the United Community Services Human Services Summit on June 9, 2009. It has actually been several years since I attended this, but I plan to this year (assuming, of course that I can get a babysitter, which is pretty much the story of my life!). I want to hear what agency executives are saying about the conditions they face and, of course, I relish an opportunity to suggest advocacy as the best adaptive strategy that nonprofit organizations can employ when facing constricted budgets and other adverse conditions. Too often, we tend to do the opposite; we contract in fear, hesitant to take on anything new, and this retrenchment seldom yields much except more retrenchment. I know that budgets are tight, but good advocacy is precisely the tool we need to push for greater funding from our state and federal government, to distinguish ourselves as indispensable during difficult times, and to build relationships that will bear fruit when times are not quite so tough.
I’m looking forward to seeing lots of familiar faces (Ed O’Malley and I worked very closely together on some anti-poverty initiatives when he was in the state legislature) and to meeting some new people. I hope to see you there!
A resource for social workers, instructors, and students in the areas of community organizing, policy analysis and advocacy, and organizational development--a tool in your quest for social justice
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Melinda Lewis
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A critical voice in the immigration debate
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And what was he so angry about?
Not health care reform, not really.
But immigrants. Those, specifically, who are in the United States illegally.
I would really love to be wrong about this, but my first thought was, if there’s that much rage about immigrants in a bill that does NOT provide any benefits to undocumented (because no human being is illegal) immigrants (and may, in fact, even exclude Lawful Permanent Residents (those are “legal”) from the final bill), can we imagine how much vitriol will surround any attempt to reform our nation’s immigration laws in this Congress?
Even if we’re tired after all of the shouting about health care, and even if we’re not exactly sure why these immigrants are coming here in the first place, and what their presence means for our futures, we who care about social justice cannot sit this one out.
I just finished reading Illegal People, a book by David Bacon, a photojournalist focusing on Mexican migration, the U.S./Mexico border, and the economics of global trade. He’s going to be in Kansas City on Friday, September 18th, 2009, speaking at 6:30PM at the Kansas City Public Library’s Plaza Branch. You should come.
Because Bacon’s message, in this book and what I expect he’ll say, is that, while he may not have every answer for how policy should deal with the many details in immigration policy, his work in communities of workers on both sides of the border has made it clear that the status quo is morally indefensible.
On the second page of the book, he calls us all out: “Faced with poverty, migration, and deportation, nuetrality is not really possible. One either tries to understand and change social reality or one doesn’t…This book takes (immigrant workers’) side.”
I cringed several times during the book, when Bacon excoriates the compromises pursued by the coalition advocating for comprehensive immigration reform (subsequent to the historic mobilization of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride), lays bare the corporate motives of some of our unlikely bedfellows, and makes a compelling case for far more fundamental change than we ever even put on the table. I remembered the bitter debates we had over pragmatism vs. principle, over whether temporary worker programs ever belonged in a progressive immigration bill, and whether we needed to clearly articulate our support for an end to employer sanctions or talk about ‘smart enforcement’. And I know that I didn’t fight hard enough.
So when I read Bacon’s stirring accounts of immigrants organizing unions against huge odds, militantly fighting for higher wages and better working conditions (which ultimately, of course, benefit every worker in the country), I’m seriously chagrined. Day laborers boldly joining together to insist on higher wages, refugees facing down violent opposition to exercise their rights–they all courageously surpassed what they should have been able to accomplish, through the power of collective action and the audacity born of desperation.
Some of Bacon’s criticism is a bit unfair, I think; those with whom I worked closely were really, without exception, compassionate people committed to doing the most and best for immigrants that they could. The problem, I think, was in that last word, “could,” and the dangers that all advocates face in sacrificing the good for the possible, in limiting our horizons in pursuit of ‘viability’.
I hope that all of my former compañero/as are reading the book, too, and are emboldened to demand immigration reform worthy of these extraordinary people, and committed to organizing the power we’ll need to shout down the audacious likes of Representative Wilson.
Illegal People is full of evidence of how bad the status quo is, not just for immigrants but for their families and communities and for everyone who works for a living. The system intimidates people away from joining unions (the only right in the United States that people fear exercising), steamrolls Mexican farmers, uses Social Security “No-Match” letters to disrupt organizing campaigns, and brings in temporary immigrant workers to drive down wages of low-wage citizen workers. And it’s tragic and cruel and wrong, every single day.
But, despite my pangs of regret for what I didn’t do, didn’t accomplish, didn’t win, and despite how ugly the prospects are for really good, really progressive immigration reform in the current context, I mostly finished the book feeling inspired.
Inspired by the activism, the boldness, the tremendous optimism and courage of the immigrant workers who populate Bacon’s book. Almost without exception, their attitude is “we have nothing to lose, so we might as well go down fighting.” And, when I watch that clip again, and think about the horrific anti-immigrant rhetoric that fueled the summer, and think about the threats I received (as did many of my colleagues, including friends cited, like Bill Chandler and Marielena Hincapíe), I think that we’re really in just about the same place now–backs against a wall, nothing to lose, ready to stand on principle and push for what we know immigrant workers deserve.
Sí se puede. See you next Friday night.
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Posted in Analysis and Commentary, Events and Calls to Action
Tagged immigrant rights, reviews