Monthly Archives: January 2012

The Dream Act: Freeing Undocumented Youth to Contribute to US Economic Growth – Part 2

29 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in Immigrants, United States

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Source: eduinreview.com

The Dream Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) was first introduced in the US Senate in 2001. Under this Act, only immigrants who entered the United States at ages 15 and under, and have completed elementary and secondary education in the US will qualify for citizenship. But it is no give-away of Green Cards.

Under the rigorous provisions of the Dream Act, qualifying undocumented youth would be eligible for a 6 year long conditional path to citizenship that requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service (dreamact.info).

Moreover, the Dream Act does not require states to provide any benefits to undocumented students, nor does it make these students eligible for federal financial aid (naca.net.org).

In a December 2010 Report, the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation calculated that approval of the Dream Act would reduce US deficits by about $1.4 billion over the period 2011-2020 and increase government revenues by $2.3 billion over the next 10 years (cbo.gov).

Legalizing workers increases income tax revenues. Also, incomes generally increase for college-degree workers, thereby increasing tax revenues. Yet, when re-introduced in May 2011, the bill failed to pass.

So why is there gridlock on passing this legislation? Mostly fear as far as I can see:

  • Fear that more people will illegally invade the United States.
  • Fear that rampant fraud will infiltrate the application process for citizenship.
  • Fear that competition will increase for limited places in public universities and community colleges.
  • Fear that illegal parents of qualifying minors will gain “backdoor amnesty.”

Perhaps, there is also another fear, not publicized:

  • Fear that cheap, undocumented workers willing to break their backs and work long hours on our farms and in our factories will evaporate.

I do not know the answer to our immigration conundrum. In the hands of our politicians, it becomes a sword and a palm leaf. My fears about migrating to Brazil, and later to the United States, can fill this page. The majority of those fears did not materialize.

As a former international trade professional, I know that while our trade practices benefit American corporations, they impoverish small farmers and producers. Evidence abound that our NAFTA and CAFTA free trade agreements have increased poverty in Mexico and Central America.

People facing starvation and, in some cases, death under dictatorship governments supported by giant corporations will penetrate national borders.

I applaud California Governor Jerry Brown in taking the first positive step of dealing with the needs of our undocumented immigrant youth. The California Dream Act, signed in October 2011 and effective on 1 January 2013, will qualify them for state-funded financial aid for college. To take advantage of these benefits, they must prove they are in the process of legalizing their immigration status.

At last, there is hope for Antonio and thousands like him who live among us. I would like to think that some day, as a mathematics teacher, Antonio will inspire his students to achieve great things for America.

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The Dream Act: Freeing Undocumented Youth to Contribute to US Economic Growth

22 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in Immigrants, United States

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Source: ColorLines.com

When my husband and I left Guyana to start a new life in Brazil, our sons had no say in our decision. They were only two and four years old. Fleeing our oppressive government, my husband and I sought a more secure environment for them.

Millions of parents make a similar decision for their children’s well-being. Wars, famines, natural disasters, drug violence, ethnic or religious persecution, and other life-threatening situations force adults to migrate with or without their children to other countries.

The United States, still the planet’s top economy and world power, was built by immigrants. That this nation continues to attract more immigrants attests to its greatness and promise of liberty and law.

My family and I were blessed to be living in Brazil when President Sarney passed the Amnesty Decree-Law, allowing illegal and other immigrants with irregular status to apply for permanent residence. How different our lives would have been if we had continued to live in the shadows! Today, I would not be in a position to share my experience and knowledge of the Brazil market. To make a difference, however small, in another person’s life is of great importance. For this we are born: to contribute our talents and skills for the betterment of our community, our nation, and our planet. This gives meaning and purpose to our lives.

Two years ago at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, I met a Guatemalan man in his early twenties. I will call him Antonio. While Antonio and I sat next to each other waiting for an author presentation, we chatted about our writing interests and about our origins. While I am often mistaken for a Latino, my accent gives away my Caribbean origin. Antonio said I sounded like one of his friends from Belize. I hear that a lot.

Antonio is a poet and essayist with a fascination for mathematics. He was attending a writing course as well as classes in advance mathematics. Having successfully completed high school, he dreamed of going to college to become a mathematics high school teacher.

“What’s preventing you from pursuing your dream?” I asked.

“I don’t have documents,” Antonio said in a low voice.

“How did you go to high school without documents?”

As my sons had already completed high school in Brazil, I have little knowledge of the US education system in relation to immigrants. Antonio explained that while undocumented students can attend elementary and secondary schools, they need documents to attend college.

“We are fighting to get the Dream Act passed by Congress,” Antonio said. “It’s the only way we can further our education and get good jobs.”

Like my sons, Antonio had left his country of birth at a very young age. He had had no say in his parents’ decision to illegally enter the United States. According to the Dream Act Portal (dreamact.info), about 65,000 young people share Antonio’s fate. They see themselves as Americans and want to be recognized as such.

To be continued next week…

How we obtained permanent residence in Brazil

15 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in About Me, Brazil, Immigrants

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Brazilian ID Card for Foreigners with Permanent Status / Brazil’s Cédula de Identidade de Estrangeiro

Nineteen months after our arrival in Brazil, President José Sarney signed a Decree-Law permitting all illegal immigrants (estimated at about 500,000) to regularize their situation with the Departamento de Polícia Federal (DPF). Miracles do happen.

Uneasiness clung to me the afternoon I accompanied my husband and two sons to the Federal Police Department in Fortaleza, capital of Ceará. Would we be deported? My husband led the way through the checkpoint at the entrance and onwards to the sector indicated.

We were not the only foreigners seeking amnesty at the four-foot high counter. The Federal Police Officer who attended to us was soft-spoken and cordial. We presented our Guyanese passports with Brazilian Entry Stamps, showing location and date of entry. While we completed the Provisional Registration Forms, our restless four and six-year-old sons disappeared behind a door at one end of the waiting area. An officer appeared with them. His smile put me at ease.

Later, armed with my Protocol from the DPF – valid for 180 days, awaiting a Registro Provisório (Provisional Register) – I went in search of a job. As mentioned in an earlier post (Brazilian Friend of the Heart, 16 Oct 2011), I obtained a secretarial position at a private school offering courses in British English and culture.

Our Registro Provisório was valid for two years. During that period, I worked at an import-export consultancy firm. When the DPF initiated our application process for permanent resident status, they renewed our Provisional Register for another two years. After paying our processing fees, we set about obtaining the necessary medical tests and documents required for submission to the Brazilian Immigration Authorities (DPMAF – Delegacia de Polícia Marítima, Aerea e de Fronteiras).

Medical tests covered vision, auditory, lungs, heart, blood, urine, and stool. My handwritten Declaração de Bom Procedimento (Declaration of Good Conduct) outlined my place of residence, job title and functions, name and location of sons’ school, and my reasons for seeking permanent residence in Brazil. My employer also had to provide a declaration of my employment status with his firm. The Guyana Embassy in Brasília confirmed that we had no criminal record.

Obtaining the Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais (Certificate of Criminal Records), took us to an unsavory place. Some of the people waiting in line increased my wariness. Our interrogation, in separate rooms, caused me even more concern for our safety. Although I was not mistreated, I felt like a crime suspect. What a relief when we left with our CACs, certifying “non-existence of criminal record”!

At some point, at the Federal Police Department, a female official took our complete fingerprints from both hands. My sons had fun removing the ink from their fingertips with a bright pink, grainy paste. In another office, a photographer took head shots for DPF records and our ID cards.

When my sons and I received our Brazilian ID Cards for Foreigners in 1994, I was managing the import/export operations of a large melon producer and exporter.

Starting Out in Brazil: Kindness from a Stranger

08 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in Brazil, Immigrants, Relationships

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Source: http://www.jangadeiroonline.com.br

Life is full of wonderful surprises.  There are times when, unexpectedly, strangers come forward to help us. Senhor Alencar in Fortaleza, Brazil, was such a person. A few months following our arrival in Fortaleza, Andrew – a friend of my husband who had helped us to settle down in our new home – took us with him downtown to Sr. Alencar’s home-improvement supplies store. The store was well located at the corner of two busy streets.

Andrew was one of Sr. Alencar’s regular clients. If I recall correctly, Andrew went there for paint. He introduced my husband and me to Sr. Alencar: a forty-something year-old man with a gentle face and kind eyes, calm manner, and soft-spoken.  He and Andrew conversed in Portuguese, with Andrew interpreting for us.

Andrew told Sr. Alencar that we had recently arrived in Fortaleza from Guyana and intended to offer private English classes.

“I would be happy to put up a sign in my shop,” Sr. Alencar told us. “How can persons interested contact you?”

“They don’t have a phone yet,” Andrew said. “We’ll have to work something out and let you know.”

“If you wish, you can use my phone number for contact,” Sr. Alencar told us.

His offer surprised me. He did not have to do that. But he did.

“God bless you for your kindness, Senhor.”

Andrew translated my response. “Deus te abençoe.”

We consulted with a Brazilian lawyer to assist us in obtaining permanent resident status. After languishing in a state of limbo for two years, Sr. Alencar gave my husband a copy of an article published in a São Paulo newspaper. President José Sarney (1985-1990) had announced amnesty for all foreigners residing in the country in an “irregular situation.” Our Brazilian lawyer assured us that it was not a trick of the government and that we should present our documentation to the Federal Police, as instructed in the official announcement.

Through his interest and thoughtfulness for me and my family, Sr. Alencar changed the course of our lives in Brazil. A small thought, a small act can go such a long way.

What moves people to treat strangers with kindness? Only God knows what lies deep within our hearts. We are capable of reaching out to others with no expectation of something in return. In Brazil, I learned to accept the goodwill of others with joy and appreciation.

A few years before my sons and I left Brazil, I had the opportunity to visit Sr. Alencar at his store. Following years of one economic crisis after another, his store was a third of its former size. This time, I did not need someone to act as interpreter. I was fluent in Portuguese.

“The economy is bad,” he told me. “But, thanks to God, we’re still in business. I can’t complain.”

I thanked him for what he had done for me and my family. “Deus te abençoe.”

Year 2011: Reflections

01 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in Social Injustice, United States

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Source: http://www.designdazzling.com

Launching and maintaining this blog was an important achievement in 2011. Thanks to a 2011 in blogging report from WordPress, I know that visitors have come from the United States, Canada, Guyana and the Caribbean, Brazil and other countries in South America, Europe, South Africa, Asia, and Australia.

I would like to thank each one of you for stopping by and sharing my vision of our world. A special thanks to those of you who follow my blog and have taken the time to share your own thoughts. In this New Year 2012, may each one of you realize your goals and find the happiness and fulfillment you seek.

As I reflected on the Year 2011 during the past week, I was overwhelmed with thoughts of the challenges We-The-People have faced in the United States and around the world.

I will remember the Year 2011 as the year the economic crisis swept away two of my close friends. In the face of their loss, I was powerless to bring about the changes they needed to restore the lifestyle they once enjoyed. Losing one’s spacious, three-bedroom home and motor vehicle is a terrible blow to one’s self-esteem.

Like my friends, millions of Americans have lost their jobs and their homes. With Sears and Kmart planning to close as many as 120 stores in this New Year 2012, the future is bleak for those workers who will be laid off.

I have lost my trust in the US government’s ability to lead the world towards a brighter future for all.

I have lost my trust in the members of our government to put the well-being of We-The-People before their own personal interests.

I have lost my trust in our financial institutions and giant corporations to put the interests of We-The-People before their profits and billionaire salaries.

I have lost my trust in those who have coveted Earth’s resources for their own enrichment.

I have lost my trust in our species to protect and save our planet from self-destruction.

I have lost my trust in those who say one thing and do another.

In the face of deprivation and uncertainty about tomorrow, many Americans have begun to reevaluate their lives; to question the validity of amassing stuff; to focus more on spending time with family and friends; and to protest against the great divide between the Top One Percent and the rest of our nation.

The Occupy Movement – started in New York in September 2011 and spread across our planet – is the only positive sign I see for getting off the Freeway to Destruction in the Year 2012. I foresee a long struggle of detoxification from our myriad addictions: easy gains, oil, drugs, consumerism, and pornography, to name a few.

I have learned in life that it is through adversity that our strength, generosity, and goodwill towards others become manifest. My hope for the Year 2012 is that justice, truth, and good sense will prevail.