To read this blog post in English, click here . Nota de la editora: MamásConPoder.org / MomsRising.org tiene una petición pidiéndo al Presidente Obama y al Congreso estadounidense que traten los niños refugiados de Centroamérica con dignidad, que aseguren satisfacer sus necesidades inmediatas y que les aprueben un proceso justo. Firme aquí . Durante las últimas semanas, las historias de los niños refugiados que huyen de la violencia innombrable en Centroamérica, así como su incierto destino en las manos de los legisladores estadounidenses, ha sido el foco de los titulares por todo el país. Lo...

On January 30, 2014, the House GOP released their principles on immigration reform. The principles emphasize border security, tougher enforcement, reforms to the immigration system, and a pathway to citizenship for those who entered as children. While the principles are a step in the right direction for kids and families, they fail to reflect several other points in the principles for children in immigration reform that were endorsed by over 200 organizations last year. Below are some key areas where the House GOP principles miss the mark for children and can be improved: · The principles...

This week First Focus and the Foundation for Child Development hosted a congressional briefing in cooperation with Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-CA) and the Congressional Asian and Pacific American Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Black Caucus focused on improving outcomes for America’s increasingly diverse children child population. The briefing focused on the Foundation for Child Development’s new report Diverse Children: Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration in America’s New Non-Majority Generation . This report comes out at a critical time. The demographics the U.S...

Since the election the headlines have been all about immigration reform and the urgency for Congress to finally get serious about it. As someone who works on immigration policy, I’ve been excited about the momentum that is building. But more importantly, as an advocate for children and as a daughter of immigrants, I’ve been mostly humbled by the way whole communities are beginning to unite around one shared goal: keeping our families together. As Americans, we strongly believe that families belong together. The family unit is at the heart of who we are as a country, and most of us would agree...

In April 2010, Arizona passed SB 1070, the first state law aimed at enforcing immigration laws in an effort to reduce the undocumented immigrant population. A federal district court enjoined the law one day before its implementation, and a final appeal reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Since the passage of SB 1070, five other states have passed similar immigration laws, including Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina, and Utah. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION On June 25, 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down three of four provisions of SB 1070 based on the grounds that federal law...

This week I’m going to Georgia, and I’m excited and hopeful. I’m honored to be joining several other women from around the country as part of the We Belong Together delegation. We’re tasked with documenting the impact of Georgia’s new anti-immigrant law on children and families. Their suffering is very real, yet their voices are often not heard. When I think of their stories, I’m reminded of my mother. Because of the extreme poverty in her hometown, she was forced to drop out of school at the age of thirteen in order to work and help my widowed grandmother support the family. She vowed that...

Throughout the mid-term elections, much has been said about the promises made by both political parties to secure votes. Yes, campaign promises are part of any political campaign, but perhaps unprecedented are the commitments made for lame-duck session of the 111th Congress. With the realities of a reduced Democratic majority in the Senate and a Republican controlled House looming, Democrats are eager to push their priorities through while they still can. But, in the mist of political haggling over what should be done and what must be done lies DREAM Act, a bill that should and must be passed...