What We're Talking About

The human price of failing to act on immigration reform  

On Tuesday night, President Joe Biden delivered the annual State of the Union speech, calling the nation “strong.” But in the speech that lasted a little more than an hour, he spent less than a minute talking about immigration. Most of that discussion focused on securing the border from unlawful migration, arresting human smugglers and seizing drugs.

You can watch the full address here and read his prepared remarks here.

But what he failed to mention in his speech are the people, and the human price of failing to act on immigration reform.

When Russia first invaded Ukraine, more than 20,000 Ukrainian refugees used Mexico as a transit route to enter the United States. This happened two months before Biden announced a program that would streamline the process for Ukrainian citizens to immigrate to the United States through a sponsorship program, Sahan Journal reports. During that time, Ukrainians were able to cross into the U.S. and apply for asylum, humanitarian parole or a tourist visa. 

But the problem is that those who entered the country without sponsorship are now excluded from receiving federal benefits available to other Ukrainian refugees who arrived under Biden’s Uniting for Ukraine program.

“Our system is set up to dissuade that kind of migration to the U.S.,” Edmundo Lijo, the director of St. Paul’s immigrant and refugee program, told Sahan Journal. “And the way we do that is to make it really hard to get employment authorization.”

The same is true for those trying to flee gang violence in Haiti. In 2023 alone, The Haitian Times has published numerous stories attempting to make sense of the Biden administration’s new immigration rules for Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Cubans.

“This [parole process] seems much more of a gamble and much more of an iffy situation,” potential sponsor Karen Wires of Virginia told The Haitian Times.

And the hardship doesn’t end once immigrants arrive in the U.S., with states like North Carolina introducing anti-immigrant bills in their state houses, as La Noticia reports.

Late last month, 41 state legislators (all white and all Republican) introduced a bill that would require local law enforcement agencies to collaborate with federal immigration agencies to enforce immigration law. 

And while proposals like this have been blocked by the state’s governor in the past, we must continue to talk about the negative impacts they will have on our communities, especially our most vulnerable neighbors. —Alicia Ramirez

Uplift. Respect. Love.

 Uplifting our Communities 

Is it time to reform the current police state system?: It has been 31 years since the public saw four white Los Angeles police officers brutally beat Rodney King. Decades later, African Americans continue to live with the threat and trauma of police brutality. Read more in this op-ed from The Oklahoma Eagle.

Essie Justice Group demands an end to police-conducted traffic stops: Recent tragedies, including the deaths of Tyre Nichols and Keenan Anderson, serve as reminders that policing and punitive policies are a threat to the safety of Black individuals, Essie Justice Group says. The group, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting women with incarcerated loved ones, has called for an end to the nation’s mass incarceration policies. Black Voice News has more.

‘White fragility’ takes center stage in Pa. township: Eddie Graham, president of the Cheltenham Area Branch NAACP, recently joined The Source with Andrea Lawful Sanders on WURD Radio to talk about “white fragility,” and how it impacted his decision to resign as president of the Springfield Township Board of Commissioners. 🎧 Listen to the interview here.

The growing crisis of US gun violence: Our Body Politic host Farai Chideya interviews senior news writer and founding staffer at The Trace, Jennifer Mascia, on the recent shootings in California, and the failure of gun regulation in the U.S. She then speaks with Dr. Thema Bryant, president of the American Psychological Association, on how to identify individuals who are likely to commit acts of domestic terrorism and how affected communities can heal. 🎧 Listen to the full episode.

CW: Mentions various types of gun violence and suicide

Candlelight vigil honors Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay mass shooting victims: The vigil was a night for attendees to denounce gun violence and advocate for support of gun regulation, but organizers said it was also a reminder to grieving Asian Americans across the country to ask painful questions about the long-neglected mental health issues in the community. Read more from Documented.

Supreme Court rulings undermine Indian law: Indian law is a framework for making decisions about Indigenous sovereignty and peoples, but more recent Supreme Court rulings like Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta has created new debates despite centuries of precedents. Prism has more.

ICYDK: In 2022, the Supreme Court reversed the decision by the Oklahoma Court of Appeals and remanded Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta for further proceedings, holding that “the federal government and the state have concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by non-Indians against Indians in Indian Country.”

Oglala Sioux Tribe v. United States trial begins this week: Oglala Sioux Tribal President Frank Star Comes Out is scheduled to hold a press conference after the trial to discuss the merits of the case, and specifically, how the U.S government’s failure to keep their treaty promises has created a crisis of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) on Pine Ridge. Learn more about the case from Native News Online.

Exclusive funding for HBCU founders launches with $5M from Costco: Nex Cubed, a global accelerator that invests in  founders from underrepresented backgrounds, has launched its latest accelerator fund, the HBCU Founders Fund, which will invest in startups where at least one founder is an HBCU student, alumnus or faculty. Read more from The Plug.

Inspector general declines to further investigate funds missing from Detroit Public Library: Detroit’s inspector general Kamau Marable is declining to further investigate $685,000 stolen from the Detroit Public Library, stating it is an “internal dispute” between the OCFO and library officials. Outlier Media has the full story.

 Respecting & Honoring Arts & Culture

‘You are valid’: Artist Mari Uchida recently joined Immigrantly to talk about photography, why she chose it as a passion and her projects, including the inaugural Broadway Asian Men calendar “Unapologetically Asian,” with East Side Stories and Collaborazians. 🎧 Listen to the full episode.

 Centering Love 

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Dorothy Bolden was taken into police custody for refusing to wash another dish after hours. The white family who employed her assumed “the help” was too dumb and helpless to exercise her rights, but they never suspected she’d called her sisters for backup. 

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