President Trump's distaste for immigrants is no secret, and he only continues to become harsher with the help of Senator Jeff Sessions. While he argues that immigrants are dangerous and causing crime, Tucson's police chief has quite a different opinion. Because of the great amount of anti-immigrant sentiment that is plaguing the United States currently, immigrants feel less and less safe and trusting of the government and law enforcement, causing them to become more secretive for fear of deportation. We need to build trust and positive rhetoric with immigrants rather than alienating them and treated them as outsiders, because they are not. Read the police chief's piece here.
Recent Updates to DOS Visa Website /
Following are updated links to some Department of State web pages. The old links will no longer work.
· U.S. Visa website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas.html
· Visa Bulletin: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html
· Visa Appointment & Processing Wait Times: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html
A Thanksgiving Reminder /
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, let’s not forget the generous spirit that is the foundation of Thanksgiving. Despite the negative and harsh words expressed by some of our political figures, as well as harsh policies supported by those same political figures, America must remain true to our constitutional foundations of freedom and fairness and our aspirations to welcome people from all cultures and countries. Read The New York Time's article on Thanksgiving religious inclusion here.
Trump's Continued Crackdown on Immigration /
The Trump crackdown on immigration only continues to worsen. Not only are arrests of immigration up significantly from this time last year, but the number of arrests that were performed on people with no past criminal history or convictions has also increased dramatically. When ICE is in search of a certain person, while they do not call their raids "sweeps", they often end up picking up more people along the way who were not the initial targets. In addition, during the legal process of applying for U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident status, ICE will often be waiting at the courthouse to pick up immigrants who have been charged with minor crimes before they have had a fair trial. Is this a good use of taxpayer funds? I don’t think so.
Don’t Give In to Demagogues on Immigration /
An eloquent letter to the editor from an immigrant whose family came to the United States through the diversity visa lottery program.
Trump Continues to Attack High-Skilled Lawful Immigration /
Trump is now targeting the STEM OPT program in his continued efforts to discourage legal high-skilled immigration to the United States. STEM OPT currently allows over 40,000 foreign STEM students at U.S. universities to work in the U.S. in a STEM field for three years after graduation. President Bush conceived the program, Obama extended it, and now Trump is trying to end it, which will only hamper America's leading position in the world. What does this say about Trump’s professed support of a merit-based immigration system? And from a larger perspective, what message does it send about America’s historical role as a nation that welcomes immigrants and benefits from their economic and cultural contributions?
Timothy R. Bakken
Founder