“If Hispanics tip the scales in Nevada, North Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania, Clinton would have the tools to implement real immigration change that would provide relief for millions of our friends, relatives, and neighbors.”
The importance of the Senate in these elections
“If Hispanics tip the scales in Nevada, North Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania, Clinton would have the tools to implement real immigration change that would provide relief for millions of our friends, relatives, and neighbors.”
People stand together as they hold a vigil to support President Barack Obama's immigration executive action on April 18, 2016 in Miami, Florida (arquive)
Imagen Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Blanca Gámez is actively working to get out the Hispanic vote for Hillary Clinton. But she is quite clear that the White House is only half of the goal. Gámez knows if Democrats don’t gain back control of the Senate deportation relief for undocumented immigrants like her and her parents would evaporate.
Gámez, who works for the organization For Our Future, is a young undocumented woman who arrived in the United States when she was only 7 months old. Her sister is an American citizen. Her mother is undocumented, while her father is a legal permanent resident. Gámez is protected by DACA, the executive action President Obama implemented in 2012 for DREAMers. Her mother qualifies for the DAPA program, Obama’s executive action to protect the parents of citizens or permanent residents.
However, several Republican governors sued and tied up DAPA in the courts. The preliminary case reached the Supreme Court in June. Justices were unable to reach a reach a verdict resulting in a 4-4 tie. The Court is expected to take up the case again next year. People like Gámez hope that at that point Clinton will have named a ninth justice to complete the Court and vote for Gámez’s mother future --and her family’s. And here is where the Senate comes into play: It is the chamber is in charge of confirming Supreme Court nominees.
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The firing of undocumented workers at Trump's golf clubs just shows how the practice of employing immigrants without legal work papers is much more common than we might imagine. Such is life in the United States.
The Trump administration should be wary of fueling fake news predictions about an imminent American invasion which unrealistically raises expectations about Maduro's removal.
At some point we will have to accept the fact that the border between Mexico and the United States is nothing more than an invention.
The United States has had a major role in the evolving drama of the fight for democracy in Venezuela and Nicaragua. And so far, it’s been surprisingly coordinated, a veritable model of multilateralism.
Has the Maduro regime reached breaking point? It remains hard to say, but tomorrow is another - more hopeful - day for the restoration of democracy in the South American nation.
It’s impossible to get into Trump’s head but what comes out of his mouth are racist remarks. But, saddest of all are the millions who tolerate his views, cheer him on and emulate his behavior.
The time is well past due for the U.S. government to conduct a thorough review of leaders and their senior colleagues before they leave office to determine if they merit visas.
Ironically, Republican Senator Marco Rubio explained it best when he announced he would seek re-election in Florida despite denying returning to the Senate for most of the year. But I digress on Rubio’s chamaleonic nature. In recent week, Rubio has said: “The future of the Supreme Court will be decided in the next couple of years and I think I have something to offer in this fight.”
On March 16, 2015, President Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat. Senate Republicans have refused to even give him an up or down voteon his confirmation. Their excuse was that voters should decide the future of the Court this November. The result is that Garland becoming the record holder as the nominee who has waited the longest for a confirmation vote (before him the record belonged to Justice Louis Brandeis, because several senators didn’t feel comfortable with a Jewish man on the High Court). Already several Republicans like Senator Ted Cruz and John McCain have said that if Clinton wins on Tuesday they will obstruct all Court nominations. In other words, the previous argument of waiting until the people decided is not as convenient and are now looking for a new one.
Without a complete Supreme Court there won’t be any DAPA. Without a Democratic-controlled Senate there won’t be a confirmation vote to make the Court whole. More than 4.5 million parents plus their American children depend on Democrats winning back at least four additional seats on Tuesday to keep the faith alive. But, if Democrats don’t win states like Florida, Pennsylvania and North Carolina --and protect Democratic seas like in Nevada where the Latino vote is the keystone in these elections-- the consequences could be nefarious for families like the Gámezes.
Without a doubt a Hillary Clinton victory is critical for undocumented immigrants. Trump has promised to eliminate DACA, and of course, DAPA. Clinton promised to not only implement DAPA, but expand it until Congress approves comprehensive immigration reform. However, if the Supreme Court kills DAPA, there won’t be any more immigration-related executive actions.
From a political perspective, Republican legislators will feel they can continue with their anti-immigrant rhetoric and keep their jobs. Translation to Trumpish: obstructing immigration reform reaps rewards. But, if Hispanics tip the scales in Nevada, North Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania, Clinton would have the tools to implement real immigration change that would provide relief for millions of our friends, relatives, and neighbors. More importantly, Republicans will have to ask themselves: “can we afford to block immigration reform while the Latino community keeps growing?”
Only Latinos can answer that question. We need to show we understand that control of the Senate is key for Gámez’s life and her family’s and that will raise our voices on their behalf.
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