A recent spike in hate crimes and misled political commentary shows widespread misunderstanding of the effects of immigration on the economy, a condition which is especially harmful for the Latino and immigrant populations.

We all know the president wants to legalize the country’s estimated 12 million undocumented residents, but is the new strategy a means of sidestepping the legislative process involved in amnesty?

I am starting to wonder if the SB1070 and all the commotion and attention it has stirred up isn’t turning out to be one of the most heated American civil rights controversy since...

 Immigration reform, with all the attention it has received in the media limelight lately, has likely been the cause of shaping some rather unexpected relationships. Recently, a number of evangelical Christian leaders of notable influence have expressed...

        No doubt, Arizona’s SB1070 law has kindled much controversy having a clearly polarizing effect. However it seems that the controversy, rather than becoming buried with time, has had the effect of bringing the national immigration issue to the forefront of people’s minds and only increased a sense of urgency to address it appropriately and comprehensively. This would explain the flood of pro-active measures by opponents of the law...

        The sports world has not been immune to the onslaught of diverse and numerous boycotts that the law has instigated. In this case, it is the MLB (Major League Baseball) that has found itself in the crossfire of politics...

This morning at American University, President Obama spoke on his will to move forward with Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

A colleague forwarded me an interesting article from the Brownsville Herald that asked a question I’ve being secretly dying to know: what is border security, really?

The U.S. Mexico Border is the most secure it has ever been, with taxpayer-funded fences, more security personnel, and new technology. But "despite those efforts, calls for increased border security are elbowing out cries for an overhaul of U.S. immigration laws and inducing Congress and the administration to spend even more money on border enforcement."

That’s a big, big problem. Because while Democrats, Republicans, and just about everyone else agrees that border security is critical, there is no real quantifiable definition of what that means and how much it will cost to get there. The article speculates what "securing the border" may really mean.

"Is it when the entire southern border of nearly 2,000 miles is fenced, or double-fenced? Is it when illegal immigration arrests are at zero or close to it? Is it when everyone who crosses the border can be identified? Is it when Army troops are sent to the border, as they were after Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa raided a New Mexico border town in 1916, or when the number of Border Patrol agents has quintupled?"

Ironically, this article was released on the same day that Homeland Security Janet Napolitano spoke on the topic of border security. Her remarks, given at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, centered around the Department’s ongoing efforts and new efforts "to bolster security along the Southwest border."

Her full remarks are on the Homeland Security web site:

As interesting as this all sounds, aren’t we forgetting something? We need Comprehensive Immigration Reform that treats border security as only part of the solution, not THE solution.

Yesterday 8,000 Texas Republicans wrapped up a two-day convention in Dallas, with part of the outcome being the decision to get tough, really tough, on illegal immigration. According to an article in the San Antonio Express News:

The platform encourages state lawmakers to create a Class A misdemeanor criminal offense “for an illegal alien to intentionally or knowingly be within the State of Texas.”

It opposes amnesty “in any form leading to citizenship for illegal immigrants.”

The platform also emphasizes border security, encouraging “all means” to “immediately prevent illegal aliens.” Texas Republicans also want to limit citizenship by birth to those born to a U.S. citizen, “with no exceptions.” And the platform calls for an end to day-labor work centers.

The proposed proposal also requires law enforcement agencies to verify citizenship when a person is detained.

This tough stance could hurt the party when it comes to garnering Hispanic support. Minorities make up 66 percent of the state’s public school enrollment, demographers predict that Hispanics could outnumber Anglos in Texas by 2015. Of particular concern is the opposition to "any form leading to citizenship for illegal immigrants", which closes the door on the path-to-citizenship component that is a major component of comprehensive immigration reform proposals.

But according to the article, Republicans feel they are just getting back to their core values of limiting government and enforcing existing laws.

Another report in USA Newsweek described Republican Governor Rick Perry’s reaction to the immigration crackdown:

Long-time Republican strategist Lionel Sosa has also expressed his concern for his party’s tough stance. Sosa, who has led the Hispanic advertising and marketing effort for seven GOP presidential campaigns, starting with Ronald Reagan’s in 1980, has been a life-long Republican, always stressing that "Latino values are Republic values."  But according to the Houston Chronicle’s

report,

he is worried that the party may be ruining all the progress it has made with Latinos over the past two decades:

The party must do a better job of drawing Hispanics or what is now “a serious problem,” Sosa said, could turn fatal.

Within a dozen years, Latinos could be electing Democrats “because Democrats have the right message and Republicans have the wrong message,” Sosa said. “I don’t think it will happen. If it happens, then Texas will turn into a Democratic state and once Texas turns Democratic … We’ll never elect a Republican president again.”

“But I’m not gloom and doom about that. I believe that survival drives the culture. Things will change when more Republican candidates get it,” he said. “They won’t have to make a false choice between security and humanity.”

Sosa has always advocated for comprehensive immigration reform, and distills the issue down to it’s simplest core. "The immigration problem can be solved by issuing enough work visas to fill jobs that U.S. citizens don’t want...When that happens so much of this emotional rhetoric will subside, and we will be able to carry on a more civil conversation."

But with Arizona’s controversial SB 1070 setting off a a national firestorm, it appears that we are smack dab in the middle of the emotional roller coaster. I sincerely hope the civil conversation comes sooner rather than later. We need common sense immigration reform at the federal level, not a hodgepodge of state laws putting band-aids on the issue.

What’s happening on the border?

Just last week we reported on the brutal beating and subsequent death of Anastasio Hernández Rojas, who died a few days after being beaten by U.S. Border Patrol agents.  Today, a CNN article explored the events that led up to the death of a 14-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent after throwing rocks at the officer. The teen’s death marked the second at the hands of U.S. border authorities in less than two weeks.

Now the Mexican government has gotten involved:

Mexican officials complained Tuesday that they see an increasing trend.

"The growing frequency of this type of event reflects a worrisome increment in the use of excessive force on the part of some border authorities," the Foreign Ministry said.

According to the ministry, the number of Mexicans who have been killed or wounded by U.S. border authorities has increased from five in 2008 to 12 in 2009 and 17 so far this year.

The article also followed up on the Rojas case:

San Diego police, who are investigating the death of Anastasio Hernandez, said he was beaten with a baton and shot with a stun gun after he became combative. California medical officials ruled his death a homicide.

The investigation in that case continues.

What does the Border Patrol have to say in light of these recent events?

Rock-throwing can be considered a dangerous assault, Qualia said: "They’re not chunking pebbles."

 To resist deportation, as Rojas did, and throw rocks at agents, as Sergio Belmonte did, can both be considered acts of wrongdoing. But regardless, one thing is clear: neither deserved to be killed.

A new Rasmussen report provides insight into how Americans really feel about immigration. The telephone study, conducted earlier this month, found that a majority (58%) of U.S. voters believe that a child born to an illegal immigrant should not automatically become a U.S. citizen; only a third (33%) felt that the child should get automatic citizenship by virtue of being born in the U.S.

But while most Americans may disagree with the automatic citizenship law, they nevertheless support a welcoming policy towards new immigrants. According to a summary:

Still, there is a huge distinction in the minds of voters between dealing with illegal immigrants and overall immigration policy. Sixty percent (60%) of voters favor a welcoming immigrant policy that excludes only national security threats, criminals and those who would come here to live off our welfare system. Twenty-six percent (26%) disagree with such a policy, and 14% more are not sure.

On the surface, these attitudes may seem contradictory. But upon closer inspection, they make perfect sense. America is a country of immigrants, and Americans intuitively appreciate and understand this fact. We are a nation built by immigrants and continual enriched by them.

Nevertheless, the survey revealed Americans’ frustration with the current broken system, with three out of four feeling that the federal government is not doing enough to secure the border:

Among voters who are angry about immigration, 83% are angry at the federal government.  Only 12% direct their anger at the immigrants.

The growing frustration is also evident in the fact that respondents expressed support for Arizona’s controversial new immigration bill:

Arizona officials say their recent adoption of a tough immigration enforcement law is due to the federal government’s failure to enforce federal immigration policy. While President Obama, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and others have complained that the state’s law could lead to racial profiling, 58% of voters nationwide favor passage of a law like Arizona’s in their own state. 

It’s clear that Americans are fed up with the broken immigration system and want the federal government to get serious about border control now. But they also believe that immigrants should be welcomed here and treated fairly. 

So what’s the solution?

Piecemeal legislation like SB 1070 is nothing more than a band-aid approach that will do nothing to address the push-pull factors that create America’s migration patterns. This being the case, all signs point to comprehensive immigration reform legislation as the only long-term solution that will address the situation in a practical manner.