We were attacked almost twelve years ago on September 11, 2001. Joaquin Luna Jr. — an aspiring American DREAMer was upset in light of the attacks and wanted to do something, so he spoke of enlisting into the United States Armed Forces according to accounts made by his sister Nina Hinojosa.   But he could not enlist into the U.S. military because he was undocumented.   As a Mexican-American veteran of the United States Air Force, this story was moving to me and caused me to reflect on the green card soldiers I used to serve with.

Joaquin Luna Jr. lived in Texas and wanted to be an American citizen.  The United States was a country he would fight for.  He wanted to succeed and build here.  He put his hopes on the passage of the DREAM Act in December 2010, but the DREAM Act did not advance in 2010 because 39 Republican and 6 Democratic Senators did not support it.  Unfortunately he later took his life because he felt he had no hope in 2011.   As a consequence of not supporting the DREAM Act children, the Republican Party suffered in the Latin vote department during the 2012 Presidential cycle.

Living in Arizona, I often see Mexicans and Latinos being demonized and portrayed in a negative light by restrictionists and isolationists who make claims that we are a drain to society or unpatriotic.  Some right wing media outlets do not do an adequate job in portraying our patriotic contributions and it is discouraging for me to see an immigrant from Fiji and Iran being tied to Mexican immigrants and our southern border in light of their anti-American or anti-white sentiment.  This is yet another instance of Mexican immigrants and the entire border community taking the hit for the reckless actions of other immigrants. Luna represents what was pure and attractive about the DREAM movement in the beginning. He was someone who already believed himself to be American in every way. He wanted to give his all to our country and he only wanted one thing more from the US after pledging his allegiance to our flag — citizenship.

We do not take the immigration issue lightly or as joke, and the Mexican-American community is repudiating anti-American sentiment.  Carlos Galindo is an Arizona radio show host and an immigration rights activist within the Mexican American community who said it is wrong to lead others away from patriotism or loving this country.  He asks:  “Why do these self proclaimed undocumented ‘leaders’ such as Mohammad Abdollahi (immigrant from Iran) enjoy a safe haven in the U.S. while spewing violent anti American rhetoric?”

One of my favorite heroes is Dr. Hector P. Garcia. After World War II, Hispanic veterans suffered discrimination due to their skin color, and Dr. Garcia was courageous and showed leadership throughout that difficult period.  Dr. Garcia remains a central figure of the Mexican / Latino civil rights movement today, due to his refusal to stand idle while Mexican Americans were being dehumanized in post-World War II society.

Many of us remember our grandfathers, uncles, and ancestors who were drafted, and how a great number of them spilled their blood to defend our country in a time of war. We honor them for that and we refuse to allow others to make light of the contributions made by our indigenous forefathers and paying that ultimate sacrifice.

The fight for the Mexican patriotic image continues because the sentiment on all immigrants changed for the worse post 9-11, and hate crimes against Latinos rose.

The time is more crucial than ever in light of the Gang of Eight Legal Comprehensive Immigration (CIR) Bill recently passing the Democratic-controlled Senate but is still in need of climbing the hurdle in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.   We predict the Republican-controlled House of Representatives will vote this October on the immigration reform bill in a time polls are showing strong American support for immigration reform. As an American voter, I know it is the responsibility of our Congress to fix the broken immigration system under the United States Supremacy Clause, and we will soon see what the scoreboard will look like.

But with the summer recess break ending for Congress, we are now seeing images from conservative websites that are essentially tying radicals and extremists to the immigration issue during this critical time.  For instance, Prerna Lal (an immigrant from Fiji and co-founder of DreamActivist.org) sent a tweet about “killing white invaders.” The problem I have is seeing the likes of MRConservative showing an image of the southern border that ties into the “hate speech” while quoting Brietbart as a source.

Diyer Mendoza is a surviving brother of Joaquin Luna Jr. believes it is a possibility DreamActivist.org  may be  receiving donations from Republicans who do not want CIR to pass.   Mohammad has an agenda to “kill CIR” so naturally this raises a reasonable suspicion to find out where their donations are coming from.  Mendoza also believes the far right wing media ought to consider the Mexican immigrant children who love this Nation like Joaquin Luna Jr. because they are the ones really suffering and in a lot of pain because and feel they are hitting a brick wall.  The suffering will get worse because many of their parents are here undocumented.

Family members of Joaquin Luna Jr say:  “We are not here to provoke hatred against white people or the United States.  We are hear to help other who want an opportunity to live the American Dream and prosper.  To contribute taxes and help build.  We are fighting for DREAMers who love this country because we love this country.”

I will never forget September 11, 2001.

I know leaders in other countries envy us and our freedoms.  It is our beacon light [of freedom] terrorists will continue to try to chip away from us because they do not want to hear their own citizens achieving freedoms that emulate the United States.

Joaquin Luna Jr., is a good example of a DREAMer we would like to see Republican and Conservative websites focus on.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 16, 2013

[email protected]

Mexican-American and Woman-Led Organization Responds to Sen. Marco Rubio’s Immigration Reform

Shirl Mora James, Civil Rights and Immigration Lawyer now President of SOMOS INDEPENDENTS — a Mexican-American and woman-led organization believes Senator Marco Rubio of Florida ought to rescind his support for Arizona’s SB 1070 law in order to be taken seriously.

She states:

In order for Senator Marco Rubio to be the GOP immigration champion, he needs to rescind and retract all previous statements where he showed his support for Arizona’s SB 1070 law and statements made against immigrants and their children.  He has to show strong support for U.S. children and their parents in order to be taken seriously by women and Mexican-Americans.

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12 Steps to Securing Our Borders and Legal Immigration

Why is securing our borders and legal immigration needed?

A healthy and legal immigration solution will secure our borders, create a safer North American Continent and promote a stronger relationship with our contiguous neighbors.  Enforcement-only initiatives promote a situation that emulates the failed days of Prohibition, which serves only to encourage the underground labor market.  Our government needs the additional tax revenues that new immigrants generate in order to sustain the burgeoning entitlement programs baby boomers require as they continue to retire.  By developing a reasonable legal immigration plan, we create a system where immigrants share American tax burdens as they continue to contribute millions of dollars into our tax coffers.  New immigrants sharing our tax burdens will help discourage our government from increasing taxes, because under the current system these entitlement programs will drain all federal revenues within 15 years.

Our 12 point plan addresses securing our borders, fixing the  immigration system, developing a process for legal immigrants to enter, demand for labor, the D.R.E.A.M Act, sustaining international trade relationships, and employer sanctions that will assuredly be implemented by the current Congress.

How to fix a broken immigration system.

12 Steps to Securing Our Borders and Legal Immigration

Immigration Reform Efforts Currently Being Led By DeeDee Garcia Blase, Lionel Sosa and Joe Penalosa

1.       BORDER SECURITY:  The preservation of our national security must be the paramount objective of the immigration policy of the United States.  At least 5,000 additional border patrol agents should be added on the border between the United States and Mexico and an additional 10,000 border patrol agents should be assigned to duty on the North border. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should work in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to take appropriate measures, including the addition of drug and bomb sniffing canine units that will deter drug activities.

2.       PROCESSING APPLICATION FEES:  The creation of a path to citizenship for undocumented persons should not increase the bureaucracy in Washington or add to the already heavy burdens on the American taxpayer.  All applications for legal status by undocumented immigrants should be processed as efficiently as possible and all expenses in connection with the processing of such applications, including background checks, should be borne by the applicant in the amount of $500.00

3.       OFFENSE FINE: There is no right that we Americans hold more dearly than the privilege of calling ourselves citizens of the United States.  We do not advocate amnesty, therefore, undocumented individuals should be required to pay a fine as a civil penalty (not to exceed $1,500 per person of $5,000 per family) for entering in the country illegally and after a background check clearance has been carried out.

4.       REGISTRATION: Upon enactment, undocumented persons must register with the DHS for background check, and wait until the border is certified as “secure” by DHS in order to trigger legalization. Persons should be given the opportunity to remain in the United States as residents with a temporary legal status

5.       REGULARIZATION PROCESS: Upon certification, undocumented immigrants who satisfy the requirements for temporary legal status with moral character and no criminal record will enter into a six year program before becoming citizens of the United States.  No participants in the program shall be entitled to receive any federal government assistance while they are in the program which will consist of three phases.

6.       PAYING BACK TAXES: Undocumented immigrants must apply for a Social Security Number from the IRS and pay any income taxes owed.  We recognize that undocumented immigrants contribute to the system by paying state and federal sales, use and excise taxes.

7.       ASSIMILATION AND MANDATORY ENGLISH EDUCATION: Undocumented immigrants who are qualified to enter the Regularization Process shall be required to take courses in English and Civics as a condition to obtain a certificate of completion for citizenship.  The hours of study should be twice the amount to what the Reagan Administration had proposed as part of immigration legislation championed by the President in the 1980s.

8.      D.R.E.A.M. ACT and H-1 Visas:   Republicans who support H-1 Visas may as well support the DREAM Act. Republicans are increasing their support for H-1 visas because corporate lobbyists wish to reduce bureaucratic government.  Since the DREAM Act covers both students and immigrants who want to enlist our military, then the Act should be a win-win solution for our Nation.

9.       FUTURE FLOW LOW SKILLED GUEST WORKER PROGRAM:  The adoption of a guest worker program would permit individuals registering with DHS to legally enter into the United States to work in states whose governors, or other legally authorized persons, certify that demand for labor cannot be satisfied by existing populations of legal residents will strengthen the economy.  The number of workers admitted to such a program would depend on the demand levels identified by the States, and can suspend the program in the event that the national unemployment rate exceeds certain levels.

10.   JOBS, ECONOMY & LABOR MARKET:  Immigrants Move In, Americans Move Up.  According to the CATO Institute, “Multiple causes lie behind the shrinking of the underclass in the past 15 years. The single biggest factor is probably economic growth. Despite the current recession, the U.S. economy enjoyed healthy growth during most of the period, lifting median household incomes and real compensation earned by U.S. workers, which ushered millions of families into the middle class and beyond. Welfare reform in the 1990s, and rising levels of education, may also be contributing factors. Another factor may be immigration itself. The arrival of low-skilled, foreign-born workers in the labor force increases the incentives for younger native-born Americans to stay in school and for older workers to upgrade their skills…..”

11.    TARGETING CIRCUMVENTING CRIMINALS (TCC) / E-VERIFICATION: Although cooperation between state and federal law enforcement officers is essential to the protection of our borders, Section 287(g) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) has not provided a proper framework for the establishment of cooperation between state and federal law enforcement officers, this despite the fact that the costs of the administration of the 287(g) program sky-rocketed from $5 million in 2006 to $55 million in 2010. According to a report by DHS, the 287(g) enactment does not require sufficient focus on the identification and deportation of that small percentage of undocumented immigrants guilty of violent criminal offenses.   The ineffectiveness of the 287(g) program has resulted in an epidemic of states seeking to usurp federal authority by taking immigration matters into their own hands and adopting misguided legislation, most notably in Arizona, that unfairly scapegoat immigrants.  We need to get smart and concentrate on training and supervision that will focus on circumventing criminals that wish to do us real harm. Congress should consider replacing most of 287(g) resources with a national E-verification program that will discourage future illegal immigration only “after” Congress passes a reasonable immigration solution where the Electronic employment eligibility verification would not immerse America’s workers and business in burdensome bureaucracy and avoid eroding the freedoms of the American citizen.

12.   (OPTIONAL) FREER TRADE RELATIONS FOR SAFER NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT: The United States should continue honoring trade agreements, such as NAFTA, so that we do not undermine the stability of the economies and our relationships with our neighbors.

Conclusion

Despite what opponents to legal immigration say, benefits would include secured borders,  better military qualified readiness, furthered assimilation by immigrants that demonstrates their loyalty to America, shared tax burdens and increased revenues to the tax base for state, federal, and local governments, and our labor market needs will be maintained especially with the baby boomers retiring.