Immigrants are often scapegoats for all kinds of societal ills: a lagging economy, dangerous reproduction, even environmental degradation. Thankfully, there is a strong and growing immigrants’ rights movement that counters these attacks and highlights the real problems: xenophobia, racism and an out-of-touch immigration policy. All too often, however, immigration is portrayed as heterosexual and male. [...]
Isabel was paid only $2.00 per hour for her seven-hour shifts at a restaurant, and the owner confiscated her tips. He also made her and his other women employees purchase “schoolgirl” and “military girl” outfits to wear during night shifts. Elena’s supervisor made her sit on his lap and kiss him on the cheek when [...]
Since the Arizona state legislature passed the draconian anti-immigration bill SB 1070, other states seem to be in a race to catch up. Nebraska and Mississippi, with some of the nation’s smallest percentages of Latinos living within their borders, are nonetheless trying to pass some of the toughest anti-immigration laws we have seen to date, [...]
This week, two high-profile trials involving the racially motivated murders of Latinos in Pennsylvania and Arizona are exposing the unsettling implications of growing anti-immigrant sentiment. But while antagonistic political discourse and incendiary policy are shown to provoke ethnic violence—correlating with a 52 percent increase in hate crimes—they also indirectly drive sexual violence against immigrant women. [...]
There will be an unexpected guest at Thanksgiving this year, one you’ll barely notice. You only know her by her hands, which pick, process and package that rich feast your family will enjoy. And it’s easy to overlook what her mind and body endures each day to put food on tables, yours and hers. Building [...]
In 1995, Irma Medrano fled El Salvador after being subject to horrible abuse at the hands of her husband. For years he had routinely beaten her, strangled her with a leather belt and threatened to kill her. Every time she complained to the Salvadoran police she was told that they would not intervene in a [...]
With hope fading that Congress will tackle comprehensive immigration reform before adjourning in October, most immigrant advocates have turned their attention to passing The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minor’s (DREAM) Act. The DREAM Act would let undocumented young people (who meet certain criteria) enter the military, attend public colleges and apply for federal [...]
On the heels of controversial immigration law SB 1070, which allows police to detain anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant, Arizona’s legislature has passed a law targeting ethnic studies programs. The bill, which bans these programs because they supposedly teach “ethnic chauvinism”, represents another misguided effort by Arizona’s policymakers. As a professor of gender [...]
