Tag Archives: immigration

Immigration activists, allies, and targets

Posted on June 21, 2012 by David S. Meyer

President Obama’s shift in administrative policy on immigration has provided some political space for immigration activists pressing for comprehensive reform.  Days after the announcement, the White House hosted a conference on immigration issues that included 200 activists (reported in Politico). … Continue reading →

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Still not the dream

Posted on June 18, 2012 by David S. Meyer

President Obama’s announcement of an immigrant daydream dramatically changes the landscape for both the immigrants rights movement and its anti-immigrant counterpart. Obama’s new policy, to forgo deportation proceedings for young people (under 31) who came to the United States before … Continue reading →

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You Can’t Count on the Courts to ________ Social Change

Posted on May 27, 2011 by David S. Meyer

“Scarcely any political question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a judicial question.” This is a tag from Alexis de Tocqueville’s monumental Democracy in America, published well over 150 years ago. This is … Continue reading →

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Celebrity politics: Eva Longoria and immigration

Posted on May 17, 2011 by David S. Meyer

When Arizona adopted SB 1070, a bill that would mandate police investigation of people suspected of being in the country illegally, Eva Longoria announced the bill was unconstitutional.  With MALDEF’s (Mexican American Legal Defense Fund) Executive Director Thomas A. Saenz, … Continue reading →

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Coalitions and Linking Issues

Posted on April 18, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Sunday’s New York Times features an interesting profile of John Tanton, a Michigan physician who has been crusading, effectively, for limited immigration and against reform for more than three decades. Jason DeParle reports that Tanton, a prodigious fundraiser and organizer, … Continue reading →

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The Constitution and Reading Aloud

Posted on January 6, 2011 by David S. Meyer

My first grader is starting to get bored of reading aloud in class.  Like most members of Congress, she can read faster than she can listen, and having to slow down as every reader stumbles through the words gets tiresome.  … Continue reading →

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Defeats and Victories

Posted on December 21, 2010 by David S. Meyer

Movements don’t disappear after a legislative verdict.  Victories and defeats change calculations about what’s possible and how to go about getting it, but they virtually never–at least in the United States–provide a decisive resolution to the sorts of issues that … Continue reading →

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Still a Dream?

Posted on December 17, 2010 by David S. Meyer

When we listen to the young people who have come forward about their undocumented legal status, we hear them express unvarnished optimism about the passage of the DREAM Act.  (Listen, for example, to the testimony on NPR’s Talk of the … Continue reading →

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Fasting for the DREAM

Posted on December 2, 2010 by David S. Meyer

Students in San Antonio are fasting in support of the DREAM Act, which would provide a path toward citizenship for young people who came to the United States (illegally) as children, and have attended college or served in the military … Continue reading →

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Protest after Defeat

Posted on September 27, 2010 by David S. Meyer

The Senate’s failure to consider both the DREAM Act and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, was a clear defeat for advocates of immigration reform and GLBT activists.  Both sets of activists are, understandably, frustrated with the Senate, President … Continue reading →

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