Author Archives: SOPHIA WILLIAMS

The first story that I know has been gaining more ground in news outlets is the Guantanamo Detainees.  The prisoners have been conducting a hunger strike since February, in protest of their indefinite detention and the raid of personal items in their cells that was committed by the U.S. Army.  The pressure is on for Pres. Obama to release them and end this entire crisis.

The mayoral race is still making headlines with the latest televised debate, that centered around the discussion of public safety.

The latest with uprising and civil war in Syria is the majority of the American public not supporting the need of military support to Syrian rebels.  62% of Americans feel that American military does not have the responsibility to intervene between government and anti-government groups in Syria. Pres. Obama has also expressed his reluctance to militarily intervene in Syria

Pres. Obama has visited Mexico and of course the big topic of discussion was immigration. Though Mexico’s president, Pena Nieto, has been very quiet on the ongoing immigration reform debates in the U.S.

Looking at the international sources that I could find that spoke on immigration reforms were interesting, mainly because none of them went in as much details and analyses of creating a reform in the United States immigration system.

The international sources I researched that really took a stab at discussing immigration legislation were: Jamaican Observer, Business Standard (India),  and the Guardian (UK).

What I found interesting but not that surprising is that foreign sources discuss immigration reforms more from the perspective of the people of their nation more so than, a general reform conversation for all immigrants from different nations. For example, an article in the Jamaican Observer, “Those Proposed Changes to U.S. Immigration Law,” focuses on the part of immigration legislation that would eliminate family visas which would tremendously impact Jamaican families.  It does not make mention of the elimination of family visas for other countries, that would essentially have the same exact impact for those families. “Currently two-thirds of visas are issued for family reasons. Only 14 per cent are issued for employment reasons. By eliminating family visas, at one stroke the migration route for many Jamaicans will disappear. Senators are planning to eliminate the family categories, partly to help clear a backlog of 4.3 million family visa applications, but also making it easier for some foreign workers to enter the country. Those family members could still apply for visas. But they would need other qualifications such as work skills and English proficiency to increase their chances.”

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Those-proposed-changes-to-US-immigration-law_13917884#ixzz2RLHxn6zT

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/J-cans-eagerly-await-immigration-reform-in-US_13363373

Compared to the NYT, for example, Jamaican Observer lacks an in-depth look at the entire immigration overhaul proposed by the Senate “Gang of Eight” in terms of its effects on American communities and businesses.

The Business Standard offers business news from cities around India. Its immigration reform news, obviously, centers more on the impacts of an immigration bill on businesses in India.  The article, “US Immigration Reforms to Give Fillip to Indian Start-Ups” states,   “However, leaked information based on the outline the bipartisan lawmakers had released to the media reveal Indian IT companies have to pay a much higher price in order to avail visas, once the proposals becomes a law.” Meanwhile, another similar article titled, “Active Lobbying to Make Immigration Bill More Practical: Premji” says, “The bill also has also proposed certain changes in the H-1B visa norms which are widely believed to affect the Indian IT services companies. For example, it says that if an employer has more than 50 employees or more than 50% of their employees on H-1B or L-1 visas, it must pay a $10,000 fee per additional worker”  So here we have two articles that discusses immigration reform only from two important standpoints: its effects on 1)BUSINESS, mainly the IT industry in different regions of 2)INDIA.  Once again another source is writing only behalf of the people of its nation.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/active-lobbying-to-make-immigration-bill-more-practical-premji-113041901067_1.html

http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/us-immigration-reforms-to-give-fillip-to-indian-start-ups-113041600550_1.html

The Guardian is the only exception here. It does not discuss the lives and futures of immigrants from the U.K. or even that from neighboring European countries.  It does more  of what the NYT, Huffington Post, and Fox News does, which is laying out all the elements of the U.S. immigration reform bill whereby dissecting each part by further analyzing and making sense of it.  The article “Giving Immigrants A Path to Citizenship is Key to US Economic Growth, ” points out that, “The “gang of eight”, a bipartisan contingent of US senators, has just released an outline of their long awaited comprehensive immigration reform bill. The bill concentrates on three broad components: a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized migrants, border security, and America’s outdated visa allocation system. The most important component of the bill removes the threat of deportation for most of the 11 million unauthorized migrants presently in the country.”  Similarly to American news sources, the Guardian fashions its articles to reiterate  a lot of arguments around the parts of the bill and what it will do for Americans and the nation moving forward as well as immigrants and their relatives moving forward in the American system.  In addition what kind of support the bill would receive from Congress and the rest of the nation.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/18/immigration-reform-plan-conservative-support?INTCMP=SRCH

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/17/immigration-reform-bipartisan-path-citizenship?INTCMP=SRCH

In your paper Everyday Danger, you clearly highlighted the many negative daily aspects of war.

1) Is there one positive experience you can recall from your time out there on the carriers?

2) Also what was your greatest takeaway from your time spent in Vietnam?

Sophia Williams

Sophia Williams

The immigration reform debate is still being hotly discussed around the nation.  Lawmakers are still hammering out the right language in which to finally include in the proposed immigration legislation that was reached by labor and business.

According to a Huffington Post article, “Immigration Deal Reached by ‘Gang of Eight,’ Chuck Schumer, Lindsey Graham Say,”  the latest news  is that the Senators who are a part of the “Gang of Eight” (those in charge of tackling immigration reform plans) have agreed upon a bipartisan deal with big businesses and labor (AFL-CIO). The agreement outlines a guest worker program for low skilled immigrants in industries such as construction, restaurant, hotels, etc.  In the article Senator Graham states that “the bill would have three goals: to prevent a “third wave” of undocumented immigrants moving into the United States, to allow employers who can’t find American workers at competitive wages to hire guest workers and to weigh immigration decisions largely on merit rather than family relations.” Also he included that, “Undocumented immigrants will have a path to citizenship, but it will be earned, it will be long, and I think it will be fair” Huffington Post carefully noted that not everyone in the”gang of eight” were on the same page, being that Senator Marco Rubio had said that no deal has been reached as yet and stating “Reports that the bipartisan group of eight senators have agreed on a legislative proposal are premature.” Sen. Jeff Flake is also not certain that a deal has been fully decided on.

A Fox News article, named “Hill Leaders Agree About Progress on Immigration Reform But Say Final Deal Still in the Making,” similar to the aforementioned article discusses the same deal that was crafted between big business and labor, as well as also noting that a fianl deal has yet to be reached. Fox News does enjoy being very analytical and strategic in their news stories and this article proves it by going ahead to include that Rubio is looking to run for president in the 2016 election and that maybe he is using his influence on the proposed bill.  This is in light of his Republican candidates whom took the strong position on illegal immigration.  However, Fox News makes it obvious that there has been a more positive shift in Republican policies around overhauling the current immigration policies and using that as a competitive edge in the next presidential elections. Both Huffington and Fox makes the point about the deal that was crafted and how some  in the “gang of eight” are not quite certain on it, however Huffington does not directly get into the politics behind the deal while Fox many times discusses the competitive nature of both political parties.

New York Times concentrates many of the rhetoric around immigration reform on what is best for immigrant families and how creating a responsive immigration legislation can positively uplift and impact immigrant families which subsequently will drive the American economy.  NYT article, “Time to Strengthen Family Immigration,” strongly underscores that Congress should put forth a bill that will help to keep and unite families and greatly strengthen America’s immigration system values. NYT and Huffington Post writings on the latest immigration reform legislation news  argues for the personal lives of undocumented immigrants and their relatives so as to accentuate the positive potential that this legislation  can have on the future lives of present and future immigrants.

Continuing the discussions on deal that the labor group, AFL-CIO, and big business decided on with the eight senators, the National Journal, points out a very precise and detailed reasoning of positive and negative viewpoints in the article, “3 Ways Work Visas Could Still Blow Up the Immigration Bill.”  Akin to Fox News reporting on the this latest deal, National Journal uses strategic analysis to emphasize the potential results this deal could have for immigrants, business, labor, government, and America’s economic future. However, in much more words, this article establishes more as to why the new foreign worker program  for low skilled immigrants can cause more harm than good.  Unlike Fox News, National Journal does not focus more on the fact that not everyone in the “gang of eight” thinks this is a final deal. In the article that is made mention of, but they examined, for example, how the amount of visas to be given each year to prospective immigrants does not match the number of positions needed to be filled by low-skilled immigrants in the workforce. “The prospect of 75,000 visas available seven years from now is not enough to appease business groups or Republicans. Unless labor and business can start talking remotely in the same ballpark, the deal is finished. The AFL-CIO is willing to endorse 200,000 visas per year at some point in the future. That is close to what business groups say they need in terms of numbers, but not in terms of timing,” this quote provides a more clearer understanding of that which I mentioned.

The blog, Immigration Impact, have many articles which speaks on the state of immigrants in their local communities as well as the national response to immigrants from federal lawmakers.  A recent article that considers the importance of a comprehensive immigration reform that calls for strengthening immigrant families and communities and bolstering the economic impact on small and big businesses is “Small Business Owners Support Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”  The article conveys the overall message from a survey of small business owners who strongly believe in a comprehensive reform that can exponentially impact local economies and communities.  Immigration Impact describes in this article the percentage of small business owners who recognizes a need for comprehensive immigration reform, a need for more low and high-skilled immigrant workers via the worker visa program, and a need for a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants.  And overall, many of them agreed that immigration’s role in the American society is beneficial, positive, and strengthening. Like the Huffington Post and New York Times, Immigration Impact discusses an immigration reform that strengthens and protects immigrant families while being able to provide a small and quick analysis that does not contains heavy details behind the numbers and wording of the reform.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/31/gang-of-eight-immigration_n_2988656.html?utm_hp_ref=immigration-reform

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/opinion/time-to-strengthen-family-immigration.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/31/rubio-warns-that-reports-senate-agreement-on-immigration-reform-are-premature/

http://www.nationaljournal.com/3-ways-work-visas-could-still-blow-up-the-immigration-bill-20130401?mrefid=site_search

Small Business Owners Support Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Immigration reform has taken new steps this year as President Obama has revived talks around creating effective immigration legislation that leads to the pathway for citizenship for the 11 million immigrants currently undocumented in the U.S.

**I recently changed two of my sources…my 2 new sources are: Huffington Post & Fox News, along with my original sources, Immigration Policy/Impact, The National Journal, and the New York Times

All sources emphasize a comprehensive immigration legislation plan that includes a pathway to citizenship by 1. Waiting in line for 8yrs (before obtaining permanent residency), 2. Paying a fine and back taxes 3. Passing background checks and 4. Learning English and the history of the United States. However, some sources argue a lot more for immigration reform from the standpoint of lawmakers.  While the others arguments more center around an immigration reform that reflects the ideals and realities of the millions of undocumented immigrants.

The National Journal covers the debate around immigration reform in a broad sense. It looks into the core and the importance behind creating changes in the current immigration laws. One example of this is an article titled “Democrats Dilemma on High Skilled Immigration Reform.”  This article argues for more H-1B visas given to foreign citizens, which will then increase the rate at which green cards are distributed.  This will result in  those educated in the U.S. given the opportunity to stay here while also attracting more immigrants.  Lastly, both groups will ultimately be allowed to live and work legally.

Immigration Policy/Impact argues many of the same points as The National Journal except Immigration Policy/Impact discusses immigration in a more relaxed and laid back tone of voice, while still making brilliant points as to the massive importance of a new immigration legislation. An example of this is an article titled “Skilled Immigrants Come Through All Immigration Channels.” This article basically states that immigrants complement native born workers; and also reforms in immigration is needed to provide opportunities for immigrant entrepreneurship in order to spur innovation and job creation.

The New York Times and Huffington Post (HP) offer similar reports on the debates of immigration reform.  Both sources share the decisions and plans from Washington as well as contributing blog posts from everyday people. However,  NYT more discusses immigration reforms for all immigrants, while HP leans more towards the discussions of immigration and the effect on Latino’s.  For eg: a NYT article titled “Illegal Immigrants Actually Hurt the U.S. Economy,” asks the question, if deporting the 11 million undocumented workers mean more jobs, lower taxes, and a stronger economy? An economist, Giovanni Peri, concludes that undocumented workers do not compete with skilled laborers, instead they complement them.  Another difference between HP and NYT reporting is that, HP does not only speak about reforms and how the government is going about creating those reforms, but they also discuss the rights of immigrants, the daily lives of immigrants as well as their struggles and concerns that helps to influence aspects of the legislation.  An example of this is the article titled “Congress Must Address Real Roots of Immigration,” that explains the main factors that drive many immigrants to illegally migrate to the U.S.

Fox News offers all the facts and information surrounding the new immigration legislation, but mostly, only from what lawmakers and the President decides.  A great example of this is the article titled “House Reps Push Specific Immigration Changes, Say Reform is Not A Race,” in which several Reps focused more on improvements in the visa system for immigrants who graduate from American schools and dealing with immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.  In addition, the article goes on to say that House Leader Cantor also supports the Senate plan for stronger enforcement of border security, employment verification, and a guest worker program as part of reform plans. Fox News is essentially making the point that, the House Reps are more cautious before passing any form of immigration legislation. The Reps want to carefully look into the current laws to understand what is going on.

Another example of Fox News bias reporting, from the point of view of only Washington, is an article titled “Reps Rip Obama Immigration Plan; Rubio Calls it Dead on Arrival.”  This  demonstrates that House Reps does not agree with and criticizes the White House plan on immigration reform that would allow immigrants to become permanent residents within 8yrs.

1) New York Times

2) Alltop

3) Immigration Policy Center

4) National Journal (The Next America)

5) Center for Immigration Studies

Immigration