Immigratioin: Foundational principles of our country are weakening on many fronts

DONALD TRUMP is hammering away at the principles that have been the foundation of the United States. While some actions such as the Muslim Ban garners headlines, it is the little things that will make a profound and lasting difference in the way we view our government and our country.

It's the little things:

The lead U.S. agency tasked with granting citizenship to would-be Americans is making a major change to its mission statement, says The Intercept.

In an email sent to staffers on Wednesday (Feb. 21), obtained by The Intercept, US Center and Immigration Services director L. Francis Cissna circulated the agency’s new mission and said that “this simple, straightforward statement clearly defines the agency’s role in our country’s lawful immigration system and the commitment we have to the American people.” 

The new statement also excluded the word “customers,” which previously described those the agency served, claiming that the term’s use “leads to the erroneous belief that applicants and petitioners, rather than the American people, are whom we ultimately serve.” When asked about the exclusion of the “nation of immigrants” phrase, USCIS said that the “statement speaks for itself.”

The USCIS' new mission statement reads:

"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values."

USCIS’s previous mission statement, still available on the agency’s website Thursday, read:

"USCIS secures America’s promise as a nation of immigrants by providing accurate and useful information to our customers, granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system."

Note the difference? The old statement emphasized the "service" provided to "customers."


“As U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services' name clearly states, its purpose is to serve citizens and immigrants, not function as law enforcement," said the Asian Americans Advancing Justice in a statement. "This change is just one of a daily onslaught of attacks on immigrant communities that is rooted in nativism and fear-mongering about immigrants. Director Cissna can change the words on a website but he cannot change our nation’s core values as a nation of immigrants.

With the new statement, the Trump-appointed leaders of the USCIS give the agency the image of a law enforcement agency with the task of keeping people out.

Cissna solidified this impression in the rest of his email: “I believe this simple, straightforward statement clearly defines the agency’s role in our country’s lawful immigration system and the commitment we have to the American people.” The director highlighted, specifically, the removal of the word “customers” from the new mission statement, making the case that the word gave a false impression.

“What we do at USCIS is so important to our nation, so meaningful to the applicants and petitioners, and the nature of the work is often so complicated, that we should never allow our work to be regarded as a mere production line or even described in business or commercial terms,” Cissna wrote. 

“In particular, referring to applicants and petitioners for immigration benefits, and the beneficiaries of such applications and petitions, as ‘customers’ promotes an institutional culture that emphasizes the ultimate satisfaction of applicants and petitioners, rather than the correct adjudication of such applications and petitions according to the law.” 

Cissna added -- and this is important-- “Use of the term leads to the erroneous belief that applicants and petitioners, rather than the American people, are whom we ultimately serve.”

“All applicants and petitioners should, of course, always be treated with the greatest respect and courtesy, but we can’t forget that we serve the American people,” the director wrote.

Again, Trump and his people, have his very narrow view of who and what "the American people" that they purport to represent, is all about.

In poll after poll, survey after survey, report after report, the overwhelming majority of Americans see our country as "a nation of immigrants." We believe and espouse the poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty that starts, ""Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore."

"The American people" Trump represents is actually in the minority -- a segment of the U.S. population that is getting smaller and smaller as we speak. 

"The American people" are not only Trump supporters. The majority of Americans voted against the charlatan candidate in November of 2016.

As Pew reports, "The American people" are increasingly coming from Asia. and whether or not Trump likes it or not, they're also coming from Africa and Latin America. Yes, the very countries he called "s--hole countries."

Without mainstream media looking over their shoulders, it's the little things that we tend to miss or overlook in this Trump administration. This is not the first time the government under Trump has sought to change the duties and priorities of the government. 

Since Trump has taken office, these "little thing" have been implemented. This is timely, one of the very first things Trump did when he took office, was that he rescinded the Obama-era rule that restricted weapons sales to the  mentally ill. Besides weakening the Affordable Care Act, rewriting the tax code to favor the rich and proposing massive changes in who's allowed to immigrate to the U.S., among the "little things" enacted or proposed by the Trump peope include:

• Removal of any reference to "climate change" from government websites;
• Allowing oil companies to drill off our coasts.
• Rescinding parts of the Clean Water Act  to exclude certain water sources that had been under federal protection.
• Appointing scores of judges who reflect Trump's anti-immigrant, pro-ultra rich, anti-labor, anti-environment. racist and xenophobic values.
• Removing thousands of acres of historic and cultural significance from National Monument designation and opening them up to drilling and mining;

 Little things ... that make a big difference.

(UPDATED: Feb. 23, 11 a.m. to add AAAJ statement, links and minor editing.)

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Tramp administration rescinds DAPA program for parents of Dreamers

With the DAPA program ended, families may be separated again as parents are deported.

THE Department of Homeland Security rescinded an Obama administration memo that would have protected the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program, known as DAPA, and Expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (expanded DACA) program.

While DAPA was rescinded, for the time being, it appears the DACA program designed for those young immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as undocumented children will remain in place although the door is still open the administration might review that decision at a later date. Thus, the breaking up of families becomes more likely with parents being deported and children allowed to remain in the U.S.

“Maintaining the DACA program is a critical step to protecting the millions of undocumented youth who have been able to come out of the shadows since the program was first launched in 2012," said Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif and chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific Americans Caucus.

DAPA, had never actually taken effect after being signed in 2014. Courts had blocked it pending further litigation, which has been ongoing. While the program was argued in the courts, deportations in this group were minimal. With the program ended, the parents become vulnerable to deportation.

There are an estimated 1.5 million unauthorized AAPI immigrants in the country, 169,000 of whom are eligible for original or expanded DACA. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data, however, AAPi enrollment has not been great.

"Like many undocumented communities, undocumented Asians and Pacific Islanders face language access challenges, access to resources such as healthcare, livable wage, and many more," says Anthony Ng, a policy advocate for immigrant rights at the Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles legal advocacy group.

"During times where we see policies targeting immigrant communities, undocumented Asians and Pacific Islanders don't necessarily think they may be as vulnerable as someone who crossed the border. Most undocumented Asians and Pacific Islanders come over with some form of visa that expires, they think they are less vulnerable when, in fact, any non-citizen is susceptible to these policies targeting immigrants."

"However, by rescinding DAPA and continuing to build a mass deportation force, the Trump Administration continues to generate fear and anxiety within our immigrant communities," she said.

"The decision is bittersweet, coming on the 5th anniversary of DACA," said the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice), an affiliation of five civil rights organizations. 

"Due to the strong advocacy by undocumented youth and their allies, the Administration has not kept its promise to end the DACA program, which provides work authorization for around 800,000 people. We celebrate the continuance of the program as a victory," said the AAAJ statement.

Trump has voiced his anti-immigrant views since the first days of his presidential campaign. In his address to Congress earlier this year, he created VOICE, a new agency to tally the crimes committed by immigrants and attempted to restrict travel from six predomiantly Muslim countries.

In the meantime, AAAJ encourages DACA recipients and DACA-eligible people to know their rights and consult with an attorney or BIA-accredited representative about applying for or renewing their DACA applications.

For a variety of know your rights materials, visit Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA’s website.

To schedule an appointment for immigration or citizenship related services, contact immrelief@advancingjustice-la.org or call Advancing Justice-LA's toll-free in-language hotline numbers:

• Chinese: (800) 520-2356
• Korean: (800) 867-3640
• Tagalog: (885) 300-2552
• Thai: (800) 914-9583
• Vietnamese: (800) 267-7395
• Khmer: (800) 867-3126
• English: (888) 349-9695

"If this Administration truly cares about immigrant families, they must stop pursuing xenophobic and hateful policies that do not reflect our widely-shared values as a nation," said Chu. "Instead, we must take more substantive steps to ensure that we keep families together and work toward a permanent solution to fix our broken immigration system.”

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Immigrant Heritage Month launches 'I Am An Immigrant' campaign

George Takei appears in a video celebrating Immigration Heritage Month

IT'S A CLICHE, but "America is a nation of immigrants," and it's appropriate, especially this year, that we take time to acknowledge that.

Business leaders, artists and entertainers, elected officials representing 32 states, and more than 250 companies and nonprofit partners (to date) are teaming up with “I Am An Immigrant” to honor Immigrant Heritage Month, a nationwide effort to gather and share the inspirational stories of immigrants in America. The celebration runs throughout the month of June.

“Immigrant Heritage Month is an opportunity for everyone to celebrate that immigration has always been an incredible source of strength and to celebrate our shared immigrant heritage,” said Facebook CEO and FWD.us Founder Mark Zuckerberg. “The important contributions that immigrants have made and will continue to make are a foundation for our nation and strong communities.”

RELATED: Know your rights, be prepared

Immigrant Heritage Month is even more meaningful this year in light of the anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies coming out of the Donald Trump administration, the spike in deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the rise in anti-immigrant attacks by people emboldened by these government actions, including the Executive Orders that the courts have ruled are unconstitutional travel bans based on religion.

Immigration Heritage Month celebrates its fourth year in 2017 with a series of interactive events and more support than ever before, including from organizations such as Facebook, Verizon, Snapchat, Refinery29, MTV, HBO, Airbnb, Square Inc., Univision and Upworthy, among others. 

These collaborations will bring the celebration of IHM to new audiences across a range of platforms, helping to engage more individuals and highlight more stories than ever before. Partners will support IHM 2017 efforts in a variety of ways, like sharing unique content and hosting IHM proclamation ceremonies. Several partners are utilizing their unique platforms to amplify the message of IHM. 

Artists and entertainers partnering with “I Am An Immigrant” to honor IHM 2017 include Priyanka Chopra, America Ferrera, George Takei, Uzo Aduba, Jason Sudeikis and Ilana Glazer. IHM 2017 also features new merchandise, digital tools like a social media profile picture filter, and a series of pop-up shops and events held across the country from New York City to Los Angeles and San Francisco. A full schedule of programming is available here on the newly redesigned website IAmAnImmigrant.com.

Also new to Immigrant Heritage Month this year is the “I Stand With Immigrants” campaign, a brand new initiative that provides avenues for allies to stand in solidarity with their immigrant employees, colleagues, constituents, neighbors, and friends. “I Stand With Immigrants” asks Americans to take meaningful action in support of immigrants, to share stories of the crucial ways that diverse communities enrich our society, and to join a growing coalition across the country to proclaim proudly that they stand with immigrants.

“To compete and win in the digital economy, we need all players on the field,” said Lowell McAdam, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Verizon Communications Inc.  “For the tech industry, that includes immigrants, whose skills and talents help keep Verizon – and America – on the leading edge of the internet revolution. The genius of America lies in the fact that we are a nation of immigrants bound together by national values of economic opportunity, rewarding hard work and providing access to education. That’s why we’re proud to join the “I Stand with Immigrants” campaign in recognizing the many contributions of immigrants.”

More than 70 governors, mayors, city council members and community leaders across the country have also issued proclamations officially declaring June Immigrant Heritage Month.

“Since even before our nation’s founding, immigrants have played an important role in shaping our country’s economy, culture and society. From food and fashion to music and academia, immigrants from all walks of life have enriched and built American culture and helped us become the world’s most powerful economic engine,” said FWD.us President Todd Schulte. “Immigrant Heritage Month is a powerful reminder of how the United States’ shared immigrant heritage makes us stronger and more connected as a nation.”

A load of stars have once again come together to help launch Immigrant Heritage Month, the annual celebration of America's international roots that takes place in June.

"Saturday Night Live" alum Jason Sudeikis, "Superstore" star America Ferrera, "Broad City's" Ilana Glazer, Emmy-winning "Orange Is the New Black" actress Uzo Aduba, and "Star Trek" icon George Takei are among the many celebrities appearing in a new video for Immigrant Heritage Month.

This year, it has extended its "I am an immigrant" campaign with "I stand with immigrants" — both of which are emblazoned on the shirts worn by the celebrities in the video. The new campaign aims to encourage Americans to take action in support of immigrant rights and to form coalitions with others.

In the video directed by Colombian actress and director Paola Mendoza, the stars recite a poem written by Lemon Anderson.

Immigration Heritage Month was officially recognized by President Barack Obama in 2015.

With less support from Donald Trump this year, more than just celebrities are pushing forward the Immigrant Heritage Month message. Private companies are also helping and supporting live events, including Zuckerberg's Facebook, Verizon, Snapchat, MTV, HBO, and Airbnb, among many others.

Learn more about “I Am An Immigrant” and Immigrant Heritage Month by visiting IAmAnImmigrant.com.

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Do European/Americans get too stressed out when talking about race?

From a BuzzFeed video.

DON'T BE too hard on your European/American coworkers or classmates. Life is getting more uncomfortable for them as they find it nearly impossible to not interact with people of color in our changing America.

As the Black Lives Matter movement, the political rhetoric of the presidential candidates,  the attacks against Muslims, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia and the attempts to use the Model Minority Myth against other people of color clearly demonstrates - race is still a dividing line in America.

The lens through which we People of Color (POC) see the world is dramatically different from the way European/Americans see the world.

While European/Americans may find it difficult to talk about race, that is a topic most of us are all too familiar with since we deal with it every day. EVERY DAY! 

Racism has taken a different form from the days of lynchings and cross-burnings that spurred the Civil Rights Movement.

In our country's discourse, racism is still defined as a matter of individual, intentional and overt action. If there isn’t a noose hanging, many people will not identify an action as being racist, even if it results in racial disparities. Redefining racism as something that is often systemic, unconscious and hidden is a reboot that all Americans need right now, whatever their age.

The brilliant satirist Molly Ivins said: ‘The second George Bush was born on third base but believes he hit a triple.’ In the same vein, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's father gave him $1 million to start his career and the Donald believes he's a self-made man.. That gets to the heart of what white privilege is all about, Bush, Trump and many folks in the top 1 percent are people who achieved their status in life and believe it’s solely because they have sacrificed and worked hard.

it may be too easy to dump on Euro/Americans in retaliation for all the slights and microaggressions heaped upon you as you were growing up, you might unwittingly push them into a self-defensive corner.

As this video from our friends at BuzzFeed demonstrates, not sharing the experiences of POC, even the most well-intentioned EA's - many of whom we call our friends - get tense and awkward about the topic or race. They may be reluctant to join the race conversation, you shouldn't avoid it either when the topic arises. It is important that they understand your perspective if you want your friendship to flower or professional relationship to prosper.

When is the best time for that conversation on race? It could be anytime or anywhere. Drinks after work, at a friend's party, during a video game, at a pizza joint or in the classroom. Your EA friend/corworker/classmate should feel honored that you trust them enough to include them with the thoughts we have been taught to keep to ourselves.

When the forbidden race topic comes up, try hard not to get defensive or too combative, says Derald Wing Sue, a psychology and education professor at Teachers College, Columbia University and author of “Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence.”and “Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender and Sexual Orientation,”

“Most whites get defensive – ‘Oh no, you are just over-sensitive. You are reading something into it,” Sue says. “Entertain a possibility that the individual bringing up the observation, complaint or a problematic situation may be accurate. Don’t shut it off immediately by denouncing it because it is not within your consciousness."

When people say that they are "color-blind" in their relationships, they are missing the point. The color of my skin helped define who we are. If someone doesn't see the tone of our skin, they are not seeing us.

People of color shouldn’t let themselves off the hook, either, says Sue. Consider how you might respond to the earnest efforts of whites you know by asking questions and allowing them to be human, too. “Committing blunders is okay if we learn from them. When you commit a racial blunder, it’s how you recover, not how you cover up. ... I try to communicate that we are all good, moral, decent individuals. I don’t see you personally as the antagonist or the enemy. ... You weren’t born wanting to be a racist. ... You took this on, through a painful process of conditioning, just like I as a person of color have been culturally conditioned in ways that have been harmful to me. . . . We need to work together to overcome these shackles of cultural conditioning.”

We are all human and we all have our own personal biases based on our own personal experiences and the environment in which we were raised. Maybe admitting that is Step One.

For more news about Asian/Americans and Pacific Islanders, link to AsAm News.

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