Tag Archives: immigration

Who’s running the immigrant rights movement?

Lots of people. No one. In this regard, the immigrant rights movement isn’t very different from virtually every other social movement in recent American history. While I’ve been awed by the bravery and commitment of the DREAM 9, subjecting themselves … Continue reading

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DREAM 9 and organizing around civil disobedience

I’m in awe of the courage and commitment of the DREAM 9, and their (probably inappropriate) confidence in their ability to move the immigration debate forward toward some kind of reform. On July 22, the nine young non-citizens, who had … Continue reading

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Can the IRS resurrect the Tea Party?

By allowing mid-level bureaucrats to dump on local Tea Party groups, the Internal Revenue Series provided the movement a chance to regroup and re-emerge on the public stage. Particularly at the grassroots, the Tea Party has mostly severely diminished, divided, … Continue reading

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Immigration divides the Tea Party

Or not?  Conventional wisdom among Republican regulars was that the Party’s harsh “self-deportation” posture was costly in the last election.  Party establishment figures pushed for quick action on immigration reform to put the issue behind them so that they might … Continue reading

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May Day 2013

Wednesday’s May Day events remind us about how the people who participate in an event define it for their own purposes.  Initially a celebration of Spring, organized around May poles (and May flies?),  for more than 100 years, May 1 … Continue reading

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Immigration politics inside and outside the Capitol

The immigration rights activists returned to demonstrate outside the Capitol yesterday, as reports of a Senate compromise on an immigration reform continue to seep into media reports. Most reports put the turnout in the tens of thousands–and noted sympathy rallies … Continue reading

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Cesar Chavez birthday, Cesar Chavez holiday

Today, March 31, is Cesar Chavez’s birthday; the holiday was celebrated Friday.  In commemoration, I’m reposting some thoughts on the holiday, originally posted 2011. On my campus, we commemorated Cesar Chavez Day early, yesterday, rather than March 31 (his birthday), … Continue reading

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Resurrecting immigration reform and recalling the DREAMers

Only a small part of any comprehensive immigration reform proposal that the Senate considers will address the Dreamers, young people brought without papers to the United States as children, but the revival of immigration reform is directly attributable to their … Continue reading

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The Tea Party and the 2012 elections, part II

Tea Partiers are frustrated about the Republican defeat in the 2012 election, and angry at politicians and pundits who blame them.  All their energy, effort, and anger produced contentious campaigns, but also the reelection of President Obama and Democratic gains … Continue reading

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DREAMers inside and outside the Democratic convention

Benita Veliz, who apparently overstayed a tourist visa when she was eight years old, had a few minutes to address the Democratic convention from the podium.  Veliz quickly acknowledges that she has been living in the United States without legal … Continue reading

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