The DREAM Act could not have been more appropriately christened. Stuck in the whirring cog of bipartisan politics, the legislation has stagnated for over a decade in both the House and the Senate. What was recently announced as the Deferred Action Process for Young People was not the DREAM Act.

Under this process, qualifying applicants are only eligible for the typical two-year work card. Unlike the DREAM Act, Deferred Action will not provide a path to legalization. It will only allow qualifying applicants to legally work and pay taxes. That particular road ends there. Not exactly the reward for a group who, if deserving, should be given the opportunity to obtain that elusive legal status, which remains unchanged by a work permit.

The idea behind the DREAM Act is that children brought to this country, whether legally or illegally, were brought at the behest of their parents and not their own. It’s a simple enough argument: if a young child is brought across the border what say did he or she have at the time? Sometimes these children are brought as young as babies, are raised here for the vast majority of their lives, and are not even fluent in the language of their country of origin.

Sometimes they’re not aware of their lack of status. A social security number does not become a concern until certain milestones begin to appear: getting a first job, obtaining a license, going away for spring break, attending college. A college education can quickly become a pricey illusion, reserved for someone with a different type of birth certificate.

But I digress. The biggest deterrent for the DREAM Act is a factor that is in the very nature of the bill: it lies within the hazy realm of immigration politics. No other political topic can be so adversely affected by other issues in the way that immigration can be. The barometer of immigration can be placed in many fields—in the economy, in international relations, in the interests of big business, and in the murky waters of race politics. Shades of gray abound in this arena.

I am not by any means claiming objectivity here, but I will allege the persuasion of logic. It is hard to argue that laws were intentionally broken by babies and young children. It becomes even sillier to argue that they should be punished for the choices of others, namely their parents who, by the way, should hardly be demonized for trying to give their kids a chance.

I cannot see the harm in rewarding young adults for becoming educated members of society, or for choosing to serve in the armed forces of a nation they desperately wish to call their own.  A chance to allow determined spirits—with a clean criminal record—to legitimately work and pour money into a drained system can only work wonders. This is a system which, by the way, has already devoted many tax dollars towards the education and healthcare of this brood.

Let’s allow them to pay us back for a hefty sum that was—and continues to be—invested, throughout the span of (admittedly short) lifetimes. It only makes sense.

Image Courtesy of  spirit of america / Shutterstock.com

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The government recently unveiled a new set of rules outlining better care for immigrants and asylum seekers detained while waiting for their deportation hearings.

The guidelines, issued by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement service (ICE), have been assailed by congressional Republicans, who say they amount to coddling illegal immigrants.

The controversy heated up last week in a hearing called “Holiday on ICE,” held by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who has referred to the new rules as “a hospitality guideline for illegal immigrants.” He pointed in particular to a new federal facility in Texas that the administration has held up as an example of a less penal approach to non-criminal immigration detainees.

The guards there don’t wear uniforms, and the facility has, as Smith pointed out, a soccer field, volleyball court and cable TV. The $32 million center was built by a private contractor, and ICE claims it will cost less per day to house detainees there than in other facilities.

Smith, as well as the head of the union representing ICE agents, says the new guidelines are too loose on security, and that the government’s focus should be on deporting undocumented immigrants faster. Meanwhile, immigrant rights advocates say detainees who aren’t criminal offenders shouldn’t be treated as such.

So, what are the new guidelines, and what prompted the changes to ICE’s policy?

The government detains about 400,000 illegal immigrants each year. On a given day, roughly 32,000 people are held, about half of them in jails rather than immigrant detention facilities. (PBS’ “Frontline” provides a useful history of changes to U.S. detention policy and an interactive map of ICE detention centers.)

The rules, which are gradually taking effect, are meant to address areas of detention that have long been problematic.

Access to medical care: More than 100 immigrants in detention have died since 2003, many from lack of access to medical care or proper medication. The New York Times reported in 2010 that immigration officials covered up many deaths and that few safeguards for transparency were in place. The new guidelines promise better regular medical care, including mental health and separate standards for women’s health.

Protection against sexual abuse: The American Civil Liberties Union found 185 reported incidents of sexual abuse between 2007 and 2010. Immigration detention centers are not covered by legislation aimed at reducing prison rape, and the new guidelines are supposed to improve supervision of detainees as well as the process for reporting sexual abuse.

Access to family and legal help: Because detainees are spread across hundreds of facilities, often in isolated areas, and frequently transferred, it was difficult for family members or lawyers to remain in close contact with them. A Human Rights Watch report found that 46 percent of detainees were moved at least twice, and 3,600 detainees were transferred 10 times or more.

The new guidelines improve access to bilingual interpreters, and call for better communication with families and legal counsels about transfers. (ICE also issued a directive this year to minimize transfers.) Facilities are “encouraged to provide opportunities for both contact and non-contact visitation.”

Advocates have pointed out that many aspects of new guidelines and the new Texas facility, such as increased freedom of movement and contact visitation, bring the ICE guidelines in line with the standards at many federal correctional facilities, especially low-security ones.

The government plans to build more facilities like the one in Texas, though most detainees will still find themselves housed in less plush environs. Only about 14 percent are expected to be held in new facilities like the one in Texas.

The administration has continued a policy begun under President George W. Bush in which asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants are detained until their court dates. Arrests and deportations have risen steadily since Obama took office.

The administration is billing the rules and new construction as part of a shift in focus away from non-criminal immigrants to catching and deporting criminal immigrants.

by Cora Currier, ProPublica, April 3, 2012, 1:35 p.m.

Image  Courtesy of   CREATISTA / Shutterstock.com

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America’s Wire released a story about undocumented immigrant parents, usually Latinos, who are losing custody of their children.  It cites data from an alarming study by the Applied Research Center and details the case of Encarnacion Bail, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, who is in a prolonged fight to regain custody of her son, Carlos.

Award-winning reporter, Marjorie Valbrun, reports that more than 5,000 children of immigrants are languishing in state foster care nationwide because their parents were living in the United States illegally and were detained or deported by federal immigration authorities.

“These children can spend years in foster homes, and some are put up for adoption after termination of their parents’ custody rights,” she writes. “With neither state nor federal officials addressing the problem, thousands more are poised to enter the child welfare system every year.”

This story, as well as others, are available free of charge from America’s Wire.  The story is also available in Spanish.  Go to www.Americaswire.org  and click the “Download” button in the right column.

“Our story exemplifies what is wrong with America’s immigration policy,” said Michael K. Frisby, president of America’s Wire. “Ms. Valbrun details the impact on immigrant children and how parents who came to America in search of a better life are losing custody of their children. I urge media outlets and websites to publish this story to help the public better understand the consequences of our nation’s failed immigration policy.”

America’s Wire is an independent journalism outlet that provides newspapers, community papers, websites, ethnic publications and wire services with stories that report on structural inequalities, and the communities impacted by it. This week, we also highlight a story on the abysmal academic performance of Latino and African-American high school students.

They are performing at the same level as 30 years ago; on average, black and Latino high school seniors read and do math at the same level as 13-year old white students.  This story is also available free at www.americaswire.org.

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