S U P P O R T

     E D U C A T I O N

     J U S T I C E

    .  PROTEJA SUS DERECHOS
    .  REALIDADES Y MITOS SOBRE
         LA INMIGRACION ILEGAL

    .  PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS
    .  ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION:
         FACTS AND MYTHS

  .    THE PART OF  "ILLEGAL"
         WE DON'T GET
         QUE PARTE DE  "ILEGAL"
         NO ENTENDEMOS

  .  ABOUT US 
         SOBRE NOSOTROS
  .  ADVOCACY
         AYUDA
  .  LEGAL SERVICES
         SERVICIOS LEGALES
  .  EDUCATION
         EDUCACIÓN
  .  NEWS/EVENTS
         NOTICIAS / ACTIVIDADES
  .  ARTICLES
         ARTÍCULOS
  .  CONTACT US
         CONTÁCTENOS
  .  FAQ
         PREGUNTAS FREQUENTES

    RETURN TO HOME PAGE 

 
  
       Article # 5: Local Experts, Immigrants Discuss Ramifications of 9/11
                                          From Town Topics, September 28, 2005, by Candace Braun

                  Illegal immigration, and how the government's approach to it has changed since 9/11, were discussed by
                  local panelists, some of whom are immigrants themselves, in a forum held at the Princeton Public Library
                  on September 20.

                  The talk was the third in a series co-sponsored by the library and the Latin American Legal Defense and
                  Education Fund (LALDEF).

                  "The issue of illegal immigration appears as something that affects only the Latino community, but it's an
                  American problem," said Maria Juega, chair of LALDEF. "We cannot separate illegal immigrants from the
                  rest of the nation. They are, in fact, part of us."

                  Among the panelists to speak was Estuardo Arriola, a trustee with LALDEF, and an immigrant living in the
                  Princeton community.

                  Mr. Arriola, who crossed the border through Mexico on his fourth try in 1987, became a U.S. citizen in 1995.
                  He shared his own story with the library audience, telling how he's spent all his time since coming to the U.S.
                  working and trying to get his children a good education.

                  While he was able to find a job within four months of his arrival, today many of his fellow immigrants living
                  in the U.S. have been less fortunate, he said.
 

                  "We just need the opportunity to legalize our status, to prove we can work hard and integrate into society.
                  I can prove that to my community, because I did it," he said, adding that he recently started his own
                  business.

                  Mr. Arriola voiced concern for the increase in arrests and deportations, which are leaving many families
                  without a father, and thus, without an income. While these families are encouraged to seek help from
                  social services, according to Mr. Arriola: "We don't need anything for free. We want to work for it."

                  The Rev. Muriel Burrows of the Witherspoon Presbyterian Church spoke about her own experiences
                  emigrating to the U.S. from South Africa during apartheid.

                  She discussed her difficulties in becoming a U.S. citizen, and how she believes that the Patriot Act has only
                  made the process more difficult by giving the government permission to detain anyone believed to be
                  suspected of terrorism.

                  "If they don't like your point of view … the attorney general can arrest you, without probable cause," said
                  Douglas S. Massey, a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School
                  and an advocate for immigrants' rights.

                  In order to stop illegal immigration, the U.S. banned companies from hiring undocumented immigrants in the
                  1980s, but this method of keeping them out has failed, as many companies use a system of indirect hiring,
                  said Mr. Massey: "They take ads out in Mexican papers asking workers to come work for them."

                  The U.S. treats the Mexican border very differently than the Canadian border, even though a large Islamic
                  population lives in Montreal and Toronto, he added: "There are only a few hundred border patrol officers on
                  the border of Canada, and a few thousand on the border of Mexico."

                  Marlene Lao-Collins, associate director of social concerns for the New Jersey Catholic Conference, said she
                  believes that today's national policies do nothing but keep families apart and make it harder for those who
                  live here.

                  "After 9/11 the immigrants … all wore the scarlet letter. And it wasn't an A, it was a T," she said, referring
                  to the "t" in terrorist. "We have a moral obligation to take care of these migrants … and to welcome them
                  with open arms."
      

                  The Rev. Burrows concluded her speech by reading a list of the 14 ways to identify fascism because she
                  believes the U.S. government has been moving closer and closer to it since 9/11.
     

                  "I'm beginning to believe I'm back in apartheid South Africa," she said.

         BACK TO TOP ...  VOLVER AL PRINCIPO