If Health Care Excludes Some Immigrants, Are Quarantines Next?

From: Roberto Rodriguez <xcolumn@gmail.com>

If Health Care Excludes Some Immigrants, Are Quarantines Next?
New America Media, Commentary, Roberto Rodriguez, Posted: Sep 16, 2009
NEW AMERICA MEDIA COLUMNS
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/

Editor’s Note: Germs and viruses know no boundaries, so for the United
States to not expand health care access to the undocumented would be
playing with fire, writes NAM contributing writer Roberto Rodriguez.

South Carolina Rep. Joe “You Lie” Wilson has touched a raw nerve with
his outburst during the president’s health care speech. Yet, he may
have also opened the proverbial Pandora’s box regarding “illegals”
with his accusation that they would get health care under reforms
proposed by Pres. Obama. Not dealt with properly by the president and
the Democratic Party, Wilson’s incivility could end up unleashing a
new and more rabid anti-immigrant movement of the kind seen in Europe.

Played out to its logical conclusion, this dynamic of not providing
health care for undocumented immigrants, in the event of a pandemic,
could lead to calls for widespread quarantines and calls for massive
dragnet raids, incarceration programs and large-scale deportations.
And as occurs now, the inability to distinguish between legal or
so-called illegal aliens – with the predisposed belief that all
“Mexicans” (Central and South Americans included) are an illegal and
illegitimate population – means that all red-brown peoples in this
country could be viewed and treated as suspect.

For rest of column, go to:
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=3b5fed2f67cf05fc570b13c6bf347d4f


Thanks & Sincerely
Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez
Column of the Americas
PO BOX 85476
Tucson, AZ 85754

NEW AMERICA MEDIA COLUMNS
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/

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Published in: on September 16, 2009 at 4:32 pm Leave a Comment
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Fear: It’s What’s Behind Door #2 – 21st Century Indian Removal

Fear: It’s What’s Behind Door  #2

Column of the Americas

Fear: It’s What’s Behind Door  #2

21st Century Indian Removal

By Roberto Rodriguez

Upon arrival recently from Mexico City, after inspecting my passport, a U.S. immigration official at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport instructed me to “Please go to door number 2.”

When the same thing first happened to me at DFW several years ago, I replied: “Did I win a prize?”

This time, it was on the same day that Bollywood Superstar, Shah Rukh Khan was detained at Newark’s Liberty International Airport. Officially, Kahn was “not detained” for 66 minutes. His papers were simply checked and luggage misplaced.

Using that criteria, I have been further screened, but “not detained” more than a dozen times since 9-11 of 2001.

Both times that I was “not detained” at DFW – the wait at the secondary inspection lasted a half hour. The officials were not rude, though I almost missed my flights home.

Might these be incidents of racial profiling?

Admittedly, I am a brown man – who knows first hand the meaning of driving while brown (My encounters with law enforcement as a youngster and a young adult number in the many dozens). People of color have always known this reality. Red-Brown people in particular also have known the meaning of this when encountering immigration authorities not just at ports of entry, but also at internal checkpoints. I’ve long dubbed the work of the migra as “Indian Removal” – because that’s precisely who they profile – not people who look “Hispanic,” but rather, people who are red-brown.  However, since 9-11 – the entire nation has gone wild[er], thus the fear-inspired: Department of Homeland Security. It is this same fear that prevents president Obama from defanging Arizona’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio – the face of racial profiling. That same fear permits programs such as Operation Streamline – a Federal Kangaroo Court in Tucson in which 70-80 Mexican or Central American people are tried, convicted and sentenced in court daily – all in one hour. Either they are instantly deported or sent to a private detention center.

Yet, what is happening at airports nowadays continues to be equally ominous. In my case, someone with my name is on a watch list. After the first time this happened, I was told that the person they are looking for is from South America – and about 20 years younger. After they ascertained that I was not him, they released me.

On at least several other occasions at DFW, without sending me to secondary, U.S. officials have raised the issue of me being on their lists. Once it was a rude encounter, treating me as though I should be thankful that I am permitted to fly U.S. skies.

What’s disconcerting is that despite U.S. officials knowing full well that I am not the person they are looking for – I remain on their watch list – or treated as such. This time, the official told me: “You’ve gone through this before, haven’t you?”

“Yes. This happened to me here at DFW several years ago.”

If they know this, not explained is why they continue with their intrusive behavior. Outdated computers? At the same time, what do South American countries have to do with America’s “War on Terror” and how did someone with a name like Rodriguez get on that list? The myth continues to be perpetrated – by the likes of CNN’s Lou Dobbs — that peoples from the south have something to do with this so-called war. The vast majority of Arabs, South Asians and Muslims don’t have anything to do with this war either, but that seems to matter little for media types and government officials who apparently believe that all these mostly red-brown peoples “fit the profile.”

By the way, if you would like to know what’s behind door number 2, you guessed it: people of color.

It is clear that we now have a big brother apparatus unable and unwilling to purge its massive lists of innocent individuals. Truthfully, it’s the whole notion of a Homeland – conjured up by the Bush-Cheney administration, which has permitted these violating intrusions to be viewed as routine. It is this environment, since 9-11, where and when I have found myself constantly “not detained” at airports nationwide. One time, I unnecessarily missed a flight. Other times – even before 9-11 – I was detained at the Hollywood-Burbank airport (while picking up a passenger), while another time my car was dismantled at an internal checkpoint in New Mexico.

With President Obama in office, this was supposed to change. Instead, we continue to move towards a Lou Dobbs vision of the world or the Arpaio-ization of the nation – a nation free of red-brown peoples.

Rodriguez, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona, can be reached at: XColumn@gmail.com

Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez

Column of the Americas

PO BOX 85476

Tucson, AZ 85754

NEW AMERICA MEDIA COLUMNS

http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/

ARCHIVED COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS

http://web.mac.com/columnoftheamericas/iWeb/

Site/Welcome.html

XColumn@gmail.com

Published in: on September 1, 2009 at 10:51 am Comments (1)
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Foto de Kennedy

Published in: on August 28, 2009 at 4:17 pm Leave a Comment

Ten Things Ted Kennedy Did For Latinos

26 August 2009, 1:10 PM. By Cindy Casares via Guanabee.com

Senator Ted Kennedy died shortly before midnight last night succumbing to brain cancer at the age of 77. Nicknamed the Liberal Lion of the Senate, he worked passionately for over forty years on issues that affect Latinos and other ethnic minorities every day. Let’s take a look back at his amazing career.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

A hundred years from now, Teddy Kennedy may be most remembered for getting through Congress the immigration bill that changed what America looks like. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which Kennedy was put in charge of by his elder party members after only three years in office, abolished national-origin quotas that had been in place since 1924. Essentially, these quotas kept people who weren’t from western Europe from immigrating legally into the U.S. The bill was largely opposed by Southern states, (surprise!), but thanks to Kennedy’s championing, (his first speech on the Senate floor was for this bill), it was passed and signed into law by Lyndon Johnson on July 1, 1968, opening the door for millions of Latinos, (those of us who weren’t, you know, already born here), amongst others, to make a life for themselves in this country.

tedkennedy_1962

Civil Rights Act of 1991

This act greatly improved the language from the two previous Civil Rights Acts, written in 1866 and 1964, to give more leeway to employees suing their employers for discrimination. It was about time, seeing as the first two Civil Rights Acts were written when American government was less than representative of the people.

nohealthcare

Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

Latinos continue to be the most uninsured racial/ethnic group of US children even though most of their families are working. Kennedy was inspired by a health insurance plan in Massachusetts to introduce a bill, in 1997, which provides matching funds to states for health insurance for children of families with incomes that are modest, but too high to qualify for Medicaid. The bill was to be financed with 75 cents a pack cigarette tax increase–something cigarette lobbyists were up in arms about. After MUCH deliberation, and with the help of first lady Hillary Clinton, it was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 5, 1997. On January 14, 2009, the House passed a bill authorizing spending $32.8 billion more to expand the health coverage program to include about 4 million more children, including coverage of legal immigrants, with no waiting period for the first time. A cigarette tax increase of 62 cents—bringing the total tax on a pack of cigarettes to $1.01—an increase of tax on chewing tobacco from $0.195/lb. to $0.50/lb.—as well as tax increases on other tobacco products will fund the program’s expansion. President Obama signed the bill into law, with two amendments from the senate, on February 4, 2009.

Immigration reform

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During a strategic session in 2005 for a reform proposal sponsored by Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D-CA) to speed up the naturalization process for U.S. military service members, it was Kennedy who taught Solis how to fight for the cause.

“He was pushing me, pushing me. ‘Hilda, you have to do more! You have to do more!’” recalled Solis, who is no legislative slouch. “He was the one keeping everyone accountable.” They persevered, and the bill became law.

Never forgetting his own Irish-immigrant roots, Senator Kennedy was a champion for immigration reform who worked closely with Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona to reach a bipartisan agreement that could get passed during the last years of George W. Bush’s reign. Their plan would have made it possible for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants to acquire citizenship in the U.S. and to organize a convoluted employer sanctions system. It was not to be, despite having the support of the president, but Kennedy was never afraid of the long haul. Said Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) “I think his view is if it takes 10 years or if it takes 15 years to get a bill, then let’s do it in 15 years. He’s always had the long view and the big picture in mind.” In this video, Kennedy discusses his personal connection to immigrants and the values they carry to America.

The Only Politician Unafraid To Sing “Ay, Jalisco No Te Rajes” In Public On Behalf of Immigration Reform

Though he failed to pass his immigration reform bill, no one could say it was for lack of passion. Appearing on the Piolin radio show in Los Angeles in June of 2007–the highest rated morning show in Los Angeles at that time, thank you very much– Kennedy broke into a rousing rendition of “Ay, Jalisco No Te Rajes,” inspired by the home state of the show’s illegal immigrant host and honed by many years of experience in cantinas, no doubt.

Hate Crimes Bill

Kennedy was an ardent supporter of bills that sought to clarify the rights of minorities, both ethnic and sexual, when it came to acts of violence and crime. He championed the Matthew Shepard Bill which closed “flagrant loopholes” in previous hate crime bills that required ethnic minorities to be engaged in a federally-protected activity, like voting or going to school, and ignored sexual minorities altogether.

The DREAM Act

In March of this year, Senator Kennedy co-sponsored the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, a bill that would allow immigrant children who were raised in the US to attend state-run universities, apply for financial aid and attain citizenship.

Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act

This act, named for the Senator in March of 2009, revitalized President Clinton’s Americorps. Americorps rewards volunteers, who serve poor communities in the areas of education, public safety, health, and the environment, by helping to fund their higher education.

Universal Healthcare

It is widely known that Ted Kennedy’s life passion was healthcare reform. From the beginning of his career, he championed the idea of national insurance coverage only to miss out on its time on center stage because of his own health issues. But that didn’t stop him from being intimately involved, mostly by telephone, in the development of the current healthcare reform bill while Connecticut Democrat Christopher Dodd filled in for him as “designated hitter.” There’s no doubt that the strides he made during his career–the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Mental Health Parity Act, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and the COBRA Act–have set the stage for some great leaps in healthcare change.

ted-kennedy1Got Kicked Out Of Harvard For Cheating In Spanish Class

This one is unorthodox, but here goes: Ted Kennedy was a spectacular fuck-up. We don’t have to go into his many transgressions. You undoubtedly know them well. He was a wealthy, privileged, white male who blew many opportunities thrown his way. Did they hurt his ability to get elected to one of the most powerful positions in America? No. But it’s what he did while he was there–champion the causes of the poor, the alienated and the disenfranchised–that showed us what he was really made of. Maybe it was because he was such a fuck up in his youth that he could never forget his family’s humble beginnings, as immigrant Irish–the wetbacks of their day. His faithfulness to the immigrant, the working class, the poor and the gay made it okay to be the other Kennedy boy. The one who wasn’t the tallest or the most handsome or the most ready-for-TV. In the end, it was he who outlasted all the others and did more tangible good for the people of this country than any of his more glamorous family members. And that is the way we like to remember him most.

Published in: on August 27, 2009 at 9:23 am Leave a Comment
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Old White People on Government Health Care Rally To Prevent Black President From Giving Health Care to Brown People

from The Unapologetic Mexican by nezua

3837032372_d14cf3fa46foto ©daisydeadair.blogspot.com

I mean…let’s stop playin’. This is silly. The racial core of this argument is that THEY WANT THEIR COUNTRY BACK because it’s not fair that someone who looks so DARK could give health care to OTHER DARK people! Because it will come from the taxes of….not their retired asses, that’s for sure! And aren’t we supposed to be locking those brown folks up? Not giving them help!!!! And CERTAINLY not electing them into OFFICE!!!! WE WANT OUR COUNTRY BACK!!!

You hear the naked truth of the racist resistance baring itself more and more, lately. Good. It’s appalling. Let the ugly reality stand in its appalling pool of primordial goo. Strip fakers and fronters of their code phrases. I mean look at this crowd!!! I’m betting THEY ARE ON GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE in large part! And they rally against it because….oh, let me stop. It’s too much! I’m seething again.

But do read Daisy’s post, which includes original reporting of this rally. And probably one of the most striking parts of this is that the area in question has basically segregated itself over the issue.

We attempted to chat, but we mostly just stood there speechless and shaking our heads at each other. “We don’t belong in there,” one said. I agreed with the sentiment. She told me another meeting was happening in Spartanburg, a PRO health care meeting.

Spartanburg. And then, another realization hit me:

Spartanburg is heavily black.

The upstate has re-segregated itself into Greenville (run by whites, although a large black population) and Spartanburg (run by blacks, although a large white population) Counties. Why were there so few blacks at this meeting? They need health care, too, okay? But if I was scared to go in, I assume they would be, too. In fact, no doubt: If I were black, I’d stay far away.

Tell me, is this DEMOCRACY in action, Congressman Inglis? Are you the representative of the white upstate or ALL the upstate?

One of the women pointed back at the entrance to Gateway, and told me authoritatively, “You know, this is all really about integration. That’s really what it is. Always has been.”

Yes, I know.

I understand that Obama needs to NOT look like he is furthering race relations by talking honestly on these things. It’s almost as if the racist right is baiting him. People showing up strapped to rallies. And you know how that Reverse-Racism crowd is. They so fear discussion on race that they turn into podpeople screaming the second you truthfully point it out. But for someone who wants his “portfolio” to include moving forward on race…POTUS seems to be passing up a lot of opportunities at being real.

Published in: on August 24, 2009 at 11:32 am Comments (3)
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Peltier denied parole


This comes via Lorna Dee Cervantes‘ Facebook page.

Leonard was just denied parole yesterday, despite his serious health conditions and brutal beating he recently received in prison upon being transferred. He will not stand for parole again until 2025. Peltier is 64 years old. Appeal to Pres. Obama for his immediate release! Information on how to campaign for Peltier’s release is shown at the end of the film.

Published in: on August 22, 2009 at 12:59 pm Comments (1)

Crow Chief receives Medal of Freedom

President Barack Obama reaches around the head dress of Chief Joseph Medicine Crow to place a 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom around his neck, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Published in: on August 15, 2009 at 5:17 am Leave a Comment

A Racist Stew

Untitled picture

Published in: on July 12, 2009 at 8:12 pm Comments (2)

Chicano Studies: Past, Present and the Future

Published in: on July 10, 2009 at 2:32 pm Leave a Comment

Minutemen murder father and daughter in AZ

az

Published in: on June 15, 2009 at 11:22 am Leave a Comment
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