Immigration Reform from the Ground Up: A Filmmaker’s Perspective
When I embarked on this journey over four years ago, I never thought I would witness what is happening in the country today: Congress is seriously debating passage of a bill that would overhaul our dysfunctional immigration system. What’s more, after several failed attempts in the past couple of decades, it looks as though the legislation has a real shot at becoming law. As a filmmaker and a first generation Hispanic American, I had only one thought in mind when I started directing DREAM: An American Story and that thought was: “I need to help the Hispanic American community in this nat
Today is the DAY!
Well...today is the day peeps...and it couldn't be more important that you find a way to get to the polls and vote on this Tuesday, November 6, 2012! Tons of organizations, like Voto Latino, National Council of La Raza and United We Dream have been working diligently to get our gente to the booths to vote for the next President of the United States and set the direction our country will take. [caption id="attachment_1374" align="alignnone" width="680" caption="Click on the image to understand why it's so important that you get out and vote today"][/caption] But it's not just the P
Why Passing the DREAM Act Would Benefit the Economy
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding passage of the DREAM Act. Many arguments have been made from both sides of the political spectrum regarding how the United States should deal with the issue of immigration. But aside from the political and social consequences of implementing legislation that would offer a select group of immigrants the opportunity to gain a path to citizenship, the DREAM act would create several economic opportunities for the country by providing more taxable income, saving taxpayer money and increasing revenue for higher learning organizations. Here’s how…
Sea change for immigration politics
An interesting opinion piece by Politico on the change of immigration politics. [caption id="attachment_1294" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Politicians are finally catching up to demographic reality."][/caption] Not so long ago, conservatives could use anti-immigrant positioning to rally their base and as a political wedge against moderates. Progressives, meanwhile, could promote pro-immigration policies — but couldn’t gain leverage with moderates or against conservatives. So conservatives’ anti-immigrant legislative agenda set the terms of the national debate. But t
Are the States Moving the Feds to Action on Immigration Reform?
Shortly after the DREAM Act was historically passed by the House in December of last year (but stalled in the Senate) I wrote about this phenomenon. I was then of a mind that it would only present problems (which it has) but later (August, 2011) amended my opinion to the following: ...there may be a silver lining in this cloud: I am hoping that the pressure being created at the State level, will increase pressure on Congress and the Administration to do something at the Federal level. In the weeks subsequent to that post, there seems to be general agreement that the states are actin
Second Half of California DREAM Act Jumps Major Hurdle
The LA Times reports today that AB 131 (the other half of the California DREAM Act) has jumped a major hurdle and has been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. This means that the bill is one step closer to becoming law in the state of California, to which Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) said that he "expected the bill to pass the Senate and Assembly next week and land on the governor's desk soon after." If AB 131 passes, as Assemblyman Cedillo predicts, undocumented students in California will have access to Cal Grants as well as other forms of public financial aid t