Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Undocumented workers in the USA are feeling the pain of neglect. The theft of hope.

This neglect and politicking has gone on far too long. There should have been immigration reform a decade ago and the longer it continues to be a problem the bigger the problem becomes.

Posted to Web: January 12, 2004

  • Total number: Our best estimate, based on the March 2002 Current Population Survey and other data sources, is that there are 9.3 million undocumented immigrants in the country.1 They represent 26 percent of the total foreign-born population [figure 1].
  • Countries of origin: Mexicans make up over half of undocumented immigrants—57 percent of the total, or about 5.3 million. Another 2.2 million (23 percent) are from other Latin American countries. About 10 percent are from Asia, 5 percent from Europe and Canada, and 5 percent from the rest of the world.
  • Distribution by state: Almost two-thirds of the undocumented population lives in just six states: California (26 percent), Texas (12 percent), Florida (10 percent) New York (8 percent), Illinois (4 percent), and New Jersey (4 percent) [table 1]. But, the most rapid growth in the undocumented population since the mid-1990s has been outside these states.
  • States where the undocumented represent high shares of the immigrant population: The undocumented make up more than 40 percent of the foreign-born population in 10 states—most of which saw their foreign-born populations grow rapidly during the 1990s. High-growth regions are the Rocky Mountains, the Midwest, and the Southeast. The undocumented populations of Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina have grown so rapidly that they may already have surpassed New Jersey's [figure 2].
The US House needs to act on Immigration Reform. They need to do it now before they have their politicking over the budget and debt ceiling to ramp up. These are people that have come to the USA with hope to live a better life. To date, they have been scapegoats for hate and political fervor. They didn't come to the USA to be victims, they had that in their country of origin. No one believes desperation drives these people? 

12:11am November 27, 2013
“The speaker is sincere in wanting to get something done, (click here) and we’re pleased the President said he can accept the step-by-step approach we’re taking in the House,” a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said this week.  The very fact that it had to be said speaks volumes as Boehner continues to say he wants to act on immigration reform while at the same pushing taking no action. 
As the Speaker of the House, Boehner could bring any one of several piecemeal bills to the floor around immigration reform.  But Boehner continues to talk and do nothing.  The current House Boehner controls is on track to be the least productive Congress in history.  They are scheduled to be in session for less than ten days in December.  
Stop talking and vote. And when the House returns in January they can immediately vote on the continuing resolution they planned for the entire time.

Hunger strikes are very serious issues. It is a spiritual issue.

Food is sustenance and comfort. Food reaches into a persons commitment to themselves to take care of themselves. It is why obesity is such an issue for the First Lady. She sincerely wants the youngest of Americans to know there are better ways of taking care of themselves so they live long, happy and productive lives. Children are vulnerable to influence and to that end she sees an important role in stemming the epidemic among our youngest members.

Frequently, hunger strikes are the last form of protest of oppression. It is placing one's live on the line for another. When one is profoundly conflicted over their spiritual core there is nothing that matters more than expressing it.

We have seen many celebrities in recent years take up the cause of a hunger strike to make an impression on their own spiritual conflicts over the suffering of others. It is important for those capable of carrying a message to power to do so. It is important to realize when innocent people believe deeply enough to deprive their well being of food that someone step forward to recognize their commitment to a cause.

Today is profoundly a day whereby most Americans are seeking to celebrate a holiday begun at the nation's beginnings with bountiful harvests. It is especially understood that a hunger strike at this time of year carries a dire message.

U.S. Families of Camp Liberty Residents (click here) to Join the Worldwide Hunger Strikes Demanding Release of Seven Iranian Dissidents Taken Hostage by Iraq, Says USCCAR


PR Newswire

This can't be a good day for President Obama.

Between the muscle flexing in the Pacific and the First Lady taking up the cause of militant hunger strikers I wouldn't be surprised if he sleeps on the couch in the Oval Office tonight.

Posted By:KarenJ111/26/2013 6:49:24 PM
First lady Michelle Obama (click here) on Tuesday praised a group of immigration-reform advocates who are fasting to draw attention to the issue and pressure Congress to act. “As families begin to gather for Thanksgiving, I´m thinking of the brave #Fast4Families immigration reform advocates. We´re with you. -mo,” tweeted the first lady. Tweets written personally by Michelle Obama are signed “-mo.” The group Fast for Families is in the 15th day of their hunger strike. The activists have set up a tent on the National Mall and were visited by Vice President Biden earlier in the week. President Obama has called immigration....

BySTEPHANIE CONDON  
CBS NEWS 
July 23, 2013, 6: 08 AM


As leaders in Washington (click here) work behind the scenes on a compromise over comprehensive immigration reform, First Lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday will deliver the keynote address to one of the nation's largest gatherings of Latino leaders.
On the final day of the National Council of La Raza's annual conference, the first lady is slated to talk about a much safer issue, politically speaking -- the problem of childhood obesity. Her speech, however, caps off a three-day conference marked by passionate calls for congressional action on immigration reform, one of President Obama's top second-term priorities.
"Our community is eager to hear from such a prominent and passionate public figure who, in her time as first lady, has shown unwavering commitment to important causes for the growing Latino community such as children's health, nutrition and education," Janet Murguía, president and CEO of NCLR, said in a statement last month....

Is there room for two? This needs to be the quickest conflict on record.

SYDNEY Tue Nov 26, 2013 3:19am EST
(Reuters) - Australia summoned China's ambassador (click here) to express concern over its imposition of an "Air Defence Identification Zone" over the East China Sea, the foreign minister said on Tuesday, decrying the move as unhelpful in a region beset by tension.
"The timing and the manner of China's announcement are unhelpful in light of current regional tensions, and will not contribute to regional stability," Julie Bishop said in a statement.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade yesterday called in China's ambassador to convey the Australian Government's concerns and to seek an explanation of China's intentions."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the ambassador "fully expounded upon China's considerations and aims in setting up the East China Sea Air Defence Inspection Zone, and expounded upon our position and viewpoints"....
I sincerely doubt Japan, China and the USA have different and varying interests in a small place in the Pacific. There is no commercial interests likely to be developed there and certainly the nations are not interested in beginning a war over this small area of Earth. I mean for real already. I think Ambassadors are good places to start to come to a treaty for vigilance of such a sensitive area where the interests of national security converge.
There are no territorial interests of one nation that supercedes that of another. The only competition might be fishing. So, enough already. The nations involved need to come to terms with surveillance and end this hideous nonsense.
Honestly, boys will be boys.

BEIJING — U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, (click here) who won plaudits for his low-key style and for cutting visa waiting times for Chinese citizens entering the United States, announced Wednesday that he will step down early next year to rejoin his family in Seattle.
Locke, the first Chinese American to hold the Beijing post, might be best remembered in China for a photograph taken even before he arrived in 2011 that shows him with his young daughter at the Seattle airport, wearing a backpack and trying to pay for coffee with a coupon. The image circulated widely on social media, with many Chinese concluding that Locke, who was also seen flying economy class, was much more down-to-earth and less reliant on publicly funded luxuries than their own officials....