WASHINGTON — Two Democratic senators headed to Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) turf Friday to denounce King’s recent, inflammatory comments about young, undocumented immigrants, and to appeal to House Republicans for action on immigration reform.
On their first day of August recess, Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) held a forum in King’s district at Ames Middle School with pro-immigration reform advocates and undocumented youths, known as Dreamers. The senators condemned King’s comparison of Dreamers to drug smugglers. In a July interview, King told Newsmax that, “for every one who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”
Durbin said the characterization is “just not fair.” “The suggestion that these are petty criminals or drug smugglers, it doesn’t square with the reality of the Dream Act.”
Durbin, a member of the Senate’s immigration “gang of eight”, was the original sponsor of the decade-old Dream Act, legislation that gives legal status to undocumented young immigrants. Although the 2001 legislation excluded immigrants over the age of 29, the immigration bill that passed the Senate in June has no age cap, making it the most generous version of the bill to date.
“We Iowans are a welcoming people,” Harkin said to applause. “We are a compassionate and caring people. We do not believe in characterizing people with hateful, spiteful, degrading language.”
The event’s panel included representatives from the business, union and religious sectors, each of whom stressed how immigration reform would benefit Iowa and the nation. Two undocumented immigrants also spoke about their experiences and stressed how their lives depend on Congress’ action, or inaction.
“What’s missing from Rep. King’s speech is the human aspect,” said Eduardo Rodriguez, a Dreamer from King’s district. “I doubt he knows any Dreamers, or any undocumented immigrants and their stories, the way he talks about them.”
Harkin quoted from the Tarrance Group, a conservative research firm, that found 69 percent of voters in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District favor comprehensive immigration reform. Sixty-five percent of those polled support an earned pathway to citizenship.
“[King's] district is changing … it’s vastly different from the picture he’s portraying,” Rodriguez said.
Durbin and Harkin also used the forum to address conservative criticism of the Senate bill. Many House Republicans have taken issue with the bill’s legalization measures and argued that its border security provision isn’t strong enough.
“It’s a very limited, tough 10 years,” Durbin said of the bill’s language on a pathway to citizenship. “People who say it’s amnesty — goodness sakes — these folks are paying a heavy price for having come here illegally or overstaying a visa.”
“This is a tough enforcement bill, and those who say it isn’t haven’t taken a look at it,” Durbin said.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has vowed in the past not to bring the Senate bill to the floor unless the majority of his conference supports it, and has said the House will “work its will” on immigration reform.
“My message and Tom’s message to the speaker is: Give us a chance to do things and come together, both political parties,” Durbin said. “Give the House of Representatives a chance to come up with a bipartisan approach. We have one, maybe they have one too. But just get it done.”
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Fermin Vasquez
Fermin Vasquez serves as the statewide Communications Coordinator for Californians for Justice. One of Los Angeles’ youngest emerging Latino leaders, Fermin was a Front Line Leaders Academy Fellow with the People for the American Way Foundation, based in Washington D.C. In 2010, Fermin became the first one in his family to graduate from college, and received his degree in Political Science from California State University, Los Angeles. He was also a founding member and President of Students United to Reach Goals in Education (S.U.R.G.E.), a support and advocacy organization for those that may not have come here with the right papers, but have been raised with the right values.
He is a contributor to the HuffPost LatinoVoices <em>DREAMers Blog Series</em>, and his posts can be read <a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fermin-vasquez” target=”_hplink”>here</a>.
Laura E. Enriquez
Laura E. Enriquez is a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles where she does research on the experiences of undocumented young adults. She is a dedicated scholar-activist and specializes in immigration, race/ethnicity, and gender. She has been mentoring, teaching, and organizing with undocumented young adults for the past five years.
She is a contributor to the HuffPost LatinoVoices <em>DREAMers Blog Series</em>, and her posts can be read <a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-e-enriquez” target=”_hplink”>here</a>.
Fernando Romero
Fernando Romero is the Coordinator for the Justice for Immigrants Coalition of Inland Southern California; he is also a co-founding member of <a href=”http://dreamersadrift.com/” target=”_hplink”>Dreamers Adrift</a>, a new media project for undocumented students, by undocumented students.
He is a contributor to the HuffPost LatinoVoices <em>DREAMers Blog Series</em>, and his posts can be read <a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fernando-romero” target=”_hplink”>here</a>.
Alma Castrejon
Alma Castrejon was born in Mexico City and came to the United States at the age of seven. In 2008, she graduated from UC Riverside with B.A. degrees in Political Science – International Relations and Chicano Studies. While at UCR she founded Providing Opportunities, Dreams and Education in Riverside (PODER), a support group for undocumented students on campus. In 2011, Alma received her Master of Arts degree in Education at CSU Long Beach. She has been a member of Dream Team Los Angeles (DTLA), a community and student group that advocates for undocumented student rights and immigrant rights, since 2009; she is also an active member of Graduates Reaching a Dream Deferred (GRADD), a group of undocumented graduate students that addresses the needs of immigrant students interested in pursuing graduate education. Alma will be applying to law school in the fall of 2012.
She is a contributor to the HuffPost LatinoVoices <em>DREAMers Blog Series</em>, and her posts can be read <a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alma-castrejon” target=”_hplink”>here</a>.
Juan Escalante
Juan Escalante is an undocumented student and recent graduate from Florida State University. He is a core-member of <a href=”http://www.dreamactivist.org/” target=”_hplink”>DreamActivist.org</a> and the founder of <a href=”http://dreamactivistfl.org/” target=”_hplink”>DreamActivistFL.org</a>; both are online organizations that provide resources for undocumented students across the country.
He is a contributor to the HuffPost LatinoVoices <em>DREAMers Blog Series</em>, and his posts can be read <a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/juan-escalante” target=”_hplink”>here</a>.
Nancy Meza
Nancy Meza is a human being from Jalisco, Mexico. She was brought to the U.S. by her responsible and courageous mother at the age of two and proudly grew up in East Los Angeles California. She is a graduate of Theodore Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights. After High School she attended East Los Angeles Community College and transferred to UCLA where she became actively involved in organizing around undocumented and immigrant rights issues with IDEAS at UCLA and Dream Team Los Angeles. She graduated with a degree in Chicana/o Studies and a Labor and Work Place Studies minor in 2010. She is currently an intern at the Dream Resource Center; a project out of the UCLA Labor Center and continues to organize with Dream Team Los Angeles where she is a member of the media and communications team.
She is a contributor to the HuffPost LatinoVoices <em>DREAMers Blog Series</em>, and her posts can be read <a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-meza” target=”_hplink”>here</a>.
Erick Huerta
Erick Huerta is majoring in journalism at East Los Angeles College. As a member of Dream Team Los Angeles, he is one of the coordinators handling the group’s communications and social media endeavors. He has lived in the U.S. for the past 20 years and has been chronicling his personal experiences as an undocumented resident for the last eight years on his personal <a href=”www.justarandomhero.blogspot.com” target=”_hplink”>blog</a>. He’s also a community reporter for the community of Boyle Heights and an avid cyclist. He can be recognized by his trademark bigotes.
He is a contributor to the HuffPost LatinoVoices <em>DREAMers Blog Series</em>, and his posts can be read <a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erick-huerta” target=”_hplink”>here</a>.
Jonathan Perez
Jonathan Perez is a queer undocumented political exile from Colombia, and a Co-Founder of the Immigrant Youth Coalition in Southern California. On why he contributes to the series, he writes, “It is shocking to most, but I don’t actually advocate for the DREAM Act. I organize for the rights of undocumented immigrants. I believe that in order to have meaningful changes we must first address the root causes. In order to change our realities we have to build a global movement and a global revolution. I write for the Huffington Post <em>DREAMers Blog Series</em> because it gives me the opportunity to give a different perspective to what the issues of undocumented people are.”
You can read his posts <a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-perez” target=”_hplink”>here</a>.
Mayra Hidalgo Salazar
Originally from Naranjo, Alajuela, Costa Rica, Mayra immigrated to the United States with her family when she was 6-months-old. She is undocumented and has dedicated her life to the immigrant movement in Florida. She lives in Lakeland, Florida where she is an organizer for Students Working for Equal Rights (SWER), a grassroots organization founded by undocumented immigrant youth in Florida. She also serves on the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC) and United We DREAM (UWD) Board of Directors. She helped start an immigration legal clinic that offers free legal immigration consultation to low-income immigrants in her community and serves as the Clinic Coordinator.
She also serves as the Migrant Scholar Advocate for Scaffold the Scholar, a professional development initiative for former farm-worker women working in early childhood education and is a member of the Polk County School Board Diversity Council. She was a project manager for the Trail of Dreams campaign in 2010, a 1,500 walk from Miami, FL to Washington, D.C., demanding that President Obama stop the deportation of undocumented students.
Currently a undergraduate college student, she aspires to eventually earn a law degree specializing in immigration law so she can continue to serve the community that taught her to persevere against all odds.
Jesus Cortez
Jesus Cortez is an undocumented graduate student at the California State University, Long Beach College of Education. He grew up in Anaheim, California and is a member of the Orange County Dream Team.
He is a contributor to the <em>DREAMers Blog Series</em>, and his posts can be read <a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jesus-cortez” target=”_hplink”>here</a>.
Angy Rivera
Angy Rivera is a Colombian-born, New York-raised undocumented immigrant who started the first undocumented youth advice column, Ask Angy, while a core member at the New York State Youth Leadership Council. She also blogs for DreamActivist.org.
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