[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKnVD_oSDO0&w=560&h=315]
Since the tragic events of 9/11, Muslim and Arab communities in the United States have experienced increased scrutiny from local law enforcement agencies. Tensions between law enforcement officials and Muslim citizens have been especially high since the NYPD’s Muslim surveillance program was exposed to the public in 2011. The program, which was instituted in 2002 under the provisions of the Patriot Act, involved the infiltration of Muslim communities and mosques by undercover police officers tasked with gathering intelligence on potential terrorist plots. In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the effect of this program on community relations, our research team traveled to a small Muslim community in Astoria, NY, known as Little Egypt.
Earlier this year, the House of Representatives dismissed a comprehensive immigration reform bill entitled “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013”, which sought to establish a five-year route to lawful permanent residence, followed by citizenship, for illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. While many initially perceived this action as a death blow to immigration reform in the near future, some Republicans are now considerably concerned that the president will take executive action to bypass the congressional gridlock and institute his own revisions to U.S. policy. The White House recently confirmed that it, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security, had commenced a reexamination of its administrations unprecedentedly pervasive deportation policy. One change being thoroughly entertained by the Obama administration is one that would effectively make noncriminals and minor offenders the lowest deportation priorities. Though the president has declined to elaborate on when said policy reforms might be enacted, many, including Senator Marco Rubio, fear that this reassessment indicates his willingness to act unilaterally on the issue of immigration reform.
If Obama were to utilize his executive prerogative to take actions into his own hands, it would mean the further exacerbation of tensions between his administration and the GOP-dominated house. House Speaker John Boehner predicts that such action by the president would “make it almost impossible to ever do immigration reform, because he will spoil the well to the point where no one will trust him by giving him a new law that he will implement the way the Congress intended.” Is the immediate implementation of reform really worth inciting additional antagonism and, consequently, increasing the likelihood of political stalemates in the future? http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/21/politics/immigration-not-dead/
On February 23, hundreds of foreign-born youths from across the nation rallied and protested against President Obama’s apparent inaction in resolving the crackdown on undocumented immigrants that has characterized his administration. While the President’s official position on immigration reform has generally been one of sympathy and integration, his aspirations have been largely stifled by the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. Last year, the Senate passed a comprehensive reform bill that had the potential to be a momentous development for the civil rights and liberties of immigrants in the United States. The bill, entitled the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013”, sought to establish a five-year route to lawful permanent residence, followed by citizenship, for illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. Unfortunately, the current speaker of the House recently announced that his caucus was not ready to settle the issue this year, a decision that many perceive as an underhanded effort to shelve the bill until it loses relevancy.
In response to this profound blow, many members of the immigrant community have chosen to shift the focus of their discontent to President Obama, placing the onus of reform exclusively on his shoulders. Their protests concentrate on coercing the president into taking executive and/or unilateral actions to provide greater protections and opportunities for the undocumented, much like he did in 2012 when he instituted the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This program provided deferrals for over half a million illegal minors, affording them the right to obtain legal employment and driver’s licenses in specific states. While Obama maintains that he lacks the legal sanction to allow for any more of these deferrals, he remains outwardly devoted to immigration reform. http://nyti.ms/1fvaQ9C
Hello! My name is Christopher Augusto Rincon, and I am a prospective Psychology/English double major here at Hunter College. In my spare time I enjoy watching and reviewing films, practicing Mixed Martial Arts, and playing video games. Fun Facts: I’ve been kicked in the head three times, I have no canine teeth, and I’ve been on four service trips to third world nations (once to Costa Rica, once to the Dominican Republic and twice to Honduras).
My father was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. The son of a musical prodigy, he quickly demonstrated an aptitude for playing the violin. At the tender age of 18, he immigrated to the United States to receive higher education at the University of Georgia, where he was granted a full music scholarship. It was there that he met my mother, an all-American girl from Tennessee who was also pursuing a degree in music performance. Although my mother is predominantly of English descent, her lineage is so profoundly ingrained in American history that it is difficult to identify her as anything other than American. Shortly after my birth, my parents moved to Forest Hills, where we lived for 3 years before relocating to our current place of residence in Long Beach, Long Island.
