By Guest Columnist AISHA YAQOOB MAHMOOD, executive director of Asian American Advocacy Fund
Society teaches us that education is the most powerful tool in providing people with the knowledge to better their lives. What if barrier upon barrier were put in front of this ladder of opportunity? This is the reality of many immigrant students who seek higher education.
By Guest Columnist ANTONIO MOLINA, chairman, Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
As a U.S. Navy Veteran, a community leader here in the state of Georgia, and current chairman of the board for the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, I am incredibly proud of the progress that the Latino community has made across the nation and the Peach state.
Christian Olvera offered a few words of resolve to Dreamers who, like him, suffered another setback when a federal judge in Texas ruled the Obama-era DACA program unlawful.
The first orders of business facing the incoming leader of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce may involve helping to manage inflection points as the economy recovers from the pandemic, and as two federal immigration lawsuits are resolved in Texas.
By Guest Columnist ISRAEL ARCE, surgical tech and Grammy-winning musician
It is a new year full of promise, particularly following the tumultuous election season. There is certainly no time to waste when it comes to promoting sensible solutions that will diversify our workforce while making our state more competitive and successful. Luckily, this seems to be exactly what Georgia state Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton) is working to achieve.
The co-editor of a new book intended to showcase “undocumented scholars doing kick-ass theoretical and empirical work” is to explore this new thread in the national discussion of immigration in a Jan. 25 webinar hosted by Emory University.
The Census count is complete and one early result shows that fewer than two-thirds of Georgians took the initiative to self-respond to the Census questionnaire.
A federal court in Maryland on Nov. 6 struck down President Trump’s order that “illegal aliens” be excluded from the Census count that’s used to award congressional seats to each state. The administration has appealed to the Supreme Court.
By Guest Columnist ROXANA CHICAS, post-doctoral fellow at Emory University and former TPS holder from El Salvador
COVID-19 continues to ravage our nation, yet Congress has reached a stalemate in negotiations for the next COVID-19 relief package and attacks on immigrant communities ensue. A timely compromise that meets the needs of American families and businesses is critical, as well as safeguards for the immigrant community, including myself.
By Guest Columnist SANTIAGO MARQUEZ, CEO of the Latin American Association
At the beginning of 2020, our state Legislature hit the ground running to accomplish the ample priorities on its plate for the year. In the midst of the annual kick-off, however, Georgia and the rest of the nation was forced to turn its attention to tackling the public health threat created by COVID-19.
The Trump administration will not fully reopen the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The ruling renews uncertainty for an estimated 16,000 individuals in metro Atlanta, and 24,000 in Georgia, who are enrolled in DACA.
Yehimi Cambrón is a visual artist making her way through these rocky times, painting murals intended to convey the immigrant narrative and help “redeem the soul of America.”
The Supreme Court ruling Thursday on the DACA case all but ensures immigration will be a major issue for the next president and Congress. Following are excerpts of comments by notable participants in the case decided 5-4, in a ruling in which Chief Justice John Roberts sided with four liberal justices and wrote for the majority.
The Supreme Court ruling today that rejected efforts by the Trump administration to end Obama-era legal protections to noncitizens who came to the U.S. as children will secure immediate threats of deportation to an estimated 16,000 individuals in metro Atlanta, and 24,000 in Georgia, who are enrolled in the program.
The Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has named a former UPS executive as its interim president.
“The federal folks in Washington need to get themselves together and figure something out …”
By Guest Columnist WESLEY THARPE, research director for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute
The hot topic of immigration is never far from Georgians’ TV screens and Twitter feeds these days. Stories of migrant children taken from their parents at the border captivate viewers on the nightly news. Candidates for high Georgia offices compete over who can be most threatening to the immigrant family next door. And President Donald Trump repeatedly claims that newcomers from other lands are bad for taxpayers, harm the economy and upend the nation’s social fabric.
By Guest Columnist MARK NEWMAN, retired partner with Troutman Sanders
Agriculture is big business in Georgia. One in seven Georgians work in agriculture and the industry contributes nearly $74 billion to our state’s economy. So, when the most important piece of legislation impacting Georgia’s farmers fails to pass the U.S. House of Representatives because of an unrelated immigration issue, it is cause for serious concern.
Emory University is continuing to support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, joining 16 other leading universities in urging the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York to support the program and reject the Trump administration’s effort to end DACA.
A placard at the Latin American Association on Buford Highway says it all.
“Help us rally support for legislation to protect DACA recipients!”
DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – an American immigration policy that has allowed individuals who entered the country illegally as minors to receive deferred action from deportation and be eligible to work.
