Could the DREAM Act Be a Decisive Factor This Election Year? By Karla Resendez
With so many societal benefits, it’s hard to understand why all Republican presidential candidates have strongly criticized the DREAM Act, calling it a “handout,” and even threatening to veto it if it ever reached the presidential desk. This hateful anti-immigrant—often anti-Latino— strategy may be designed to gain votes during primary elections, but it will alienate the growing Latino electorate and could prove to be a costly setback this November.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the DREAM Act is not a Latino-only issue; the majority of Americans support it. The reasons for this vary widely, many support it because they have a personal connection with an undocumented student, some know it’s the morally correct thing to do, while others look at the economic benefits. Whatever the reason, many supporters of the DREAM Act, including Latinos, will continue to follow the elections closely to determine who will support the DREAM Act and will make decisions The impact of the Latino vote on the November on who to support in turn. elections is a matter of numbers; according to the Pew Hispanic Center, the Latino population has grown by 43% in the last 10 years and accounts for 56% of the nation’s population growth. Vast population growth correlates with the fact that the Latino vote will be key in decisive states including Florida, Colorado and Nevada.
Immigration, including the DREAM Act, has been a heated topic of conversation during the Republican presidential debates and could be one of the decisive issues this election year. The DREAM Act, which stands for the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors, addresses the plight of many undocumented youth who were brought to the United States as young children, providing them a path to earn conditional permanent resident status if they pursue higher education or serve in the armed forces. The impact that the DREAM Act will have during the elections is a little more complex. First, in the Currently, there are 2.1 million youth who would Latino electorate, immigration is a primary concern be eligible nationwide, and in Texas alone 258,000 when choosing a candidate. According to Latino students could benefit from the DREAM Act. Not Decisions, immigration is such a significant issue only does the DREAM Act embrace the principles for the Hispanic electorate that 51% consider it the of personal responsibility by granting status only most important issue followed by the economy to those who earn it, but passing it would also and creating jobs, and education. Secondly, when benefit the economy. A 2010 study conducted by deciding if a candidate is immigrant-friendly, the the North American Integration and Development DREAM Act has become a litmus test for the Center at UCLA found that passing the DREAM Act Hispanic community, who support it by 91%. So it could bring from $1.4 to $3.6 trillion in tax revenue is very likely that Latinos will make voting decisions over 40 years. based on who supports the DREAM Act.
Lilith Fund in Need of Spanish Speaking Volunteers
Standing for Justice By Carl A. Anderson
An excerpt from “Columbia” magazine
The Lilith Fund, an all-volunteer nonprofit that provides financial assistance to lowincome women in Texas to help them access reproductive services, including abortion, is seeking Spanish speaking volunteers to help with its hotline services. All that is required is a phone, internet access and three hours per month. Volunteers, including English speakers, are responsible for checking the Lilith Fund hotline for messages left by women in need and returning their phone calls. Volunteers then work with the women to see them through the process of getting funding for their abortion. By assisting Texas women in exercising their fundamental right to abortion by removing barriers to access, the Lilith Fund provides: • Direct financial assistance and counseling to
empower women seeking to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. • Education and outreach within the community about reproductive rights. • Envisions a society in which equal access to abortion is guaranteed for all women, regardless of economic situation.
The Lilith Fund, which takes its name from the first woman created by God, operates on the belief that reproductive equity and the right to choose an abortion is meaningless without access to abortion services. Restrictions on abortion access and funding are discriminatory because they especially burden low-income women. While opposing efforts to restrict abortion rights, Lilith is committed to fighting for access to abortion for all women. To contact the Lilith Fund, go to www.lilithfund.org.
Some say that Roe v. Wade should be accepted as “settled law” and that attempts to restrict or overturn it should end. This argument has appeal because there should be clarity and certainty in our laws. But it falls short because there is a principle more important than certainty in our legal system — justice. Although there are many problems with the legal reasoning in the Supreme Court’s opinion in Roe v. Wade, the most fundamental is that the court’s decision rests upon a falsehood, which is expressed in Justice Blackmun’s statement, “We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins.” Whatever Blackmun may have believed in 1973, it is simply untrue in 2012 to say that abortion does not take the life of an unborn human being. Because of this reality, abortion will never be settled law in the United States and must someday be overturned. As I wrote in my first book, “A Civilization of Love,” our situation is similar to that
The 2012 elections will be instructive for many parties involved. Anti-immigrant candidates will learn that pandering to nativists will backfire during general elections. Immigrant-friendly candidates will learn that Latinos were essential in helping elect them. Congress will learn that the DREAM Act is a key issue for a significant sector of the population they represent. DREAM Act eligible youth will learn that they have allies in their community. And finally, the Latino electorate will learn its own power in deciding elections and demand to be treated fairly and with respect.
faced by the civil rights movement after the Supreme Court ruled in the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson that “separate but equal” laws were constitutional. That decision enshrined the hateful system of de jure segregation throughout much of the United States and took 58 years to overturn. The Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson was based upon an untruth — the court rejected the obvious fact that the legally enforced separation of the two races “stamped” African-Americans “with a badge of inferiority.” The court went on to say that if African-Americans thought “separate but equal” laws were demeaning and unfair, it was only because they chose “to put that construction on” such laws. In his dissent, Justice John Marshall Harlan contended that the court’s view was pure fiction and that people knew it to be so. The same must be said of Roe v. Wade. If we remain determined and committed, it too will one day be brushed into the dustbin of history. Roe v. Wade will also one day be swept away for another reason: As I showed in my latest book, “Beyond a House Divided,” the decision has failed to gain the support of the American people after nearly four decades. Most Americans want legal restrictions on abortion that go far beyond what is permitted by the court’s ruling. TODO Austin // march 2012 // TodoAustin.com 05