You can also read Ali Noorani’s statement about today. He is the Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum and was at the White House meeting.

Angelica Salas, the Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, offered this after the meeting with the President:

“We believe that his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform is real, but we also know we want results and so that’s what we’ll be expecting within the next couple of weeks.”

And President Obama issued the following statement today via the Office of the Press Secretary:

“Today I met with Senators Schumer and Graham and was pleased to learn of their progress in forging a proposal to fix our broken immigration system. I look forward to reviewing their promising framework, and every American should applaud their efforts to reach across party lines and find commonsense answers to one of our most vexing problems. I also heard from a diverse group of grassroots leaders from around the country about the growing coalition that is working to build momentum for this critical issue. I am optimistic that their efforts will contribute to a favorable climate for moving forward. I told both the Senators and the community leaders that my commitment to comprehensive immigration reform is unwavering, and that I will continue to be their partner in this important effort.”

My thought is that the President is going to have to show some strong leadership to maneuver immigration reform in the Congress. He cannot be as ‘hands-off’ as he appeared in the initial stages of the health care debate because it stumbled and stalled, and we are still struggling to finish health care reform. I’m skeptical that we will see a comprehensive immigration reform before the summer, as it is going to take massive engagement in our communities and with our allies. Plus, the case for any immigration reform becomes more difficult to make in a recession, but we do have glimmers of hope and some very committed advocates. Certainly, if those of us who want immigration reform apply a full-court press in how we defend our positions and proposed policies, in addition to working on people who might be on the fence now, we have a better chance of making some real progress. My hope is that President Obama can do something to improve the immigration system through executive order, including remedying some of the situations with detention. And I’m still encouraged that we could see passage of the DREAM Act if the comprehensive approach does not come to fruition.

On a related note, I do like what DREAM Activist Prerna Lal has to say about the all or nothing approach to comprehensive immigration reform:

“If you believe in the one large comprehensive immigration reform bill or NOTHING, congratulations, you are a dinosaur. But you are also on your way to extinction, most likely through natural causes. So it’s not long till human beings will take over–get ready for the ‘invasion.’”

At the very least, passage of the DREAM Act would be a great beginning.

Two questions kept running through my mind as I spoke to Gaby. One is: Why would we not want these motivated young people in our society? The other question is: Why should we limit young people who have persevered despite the odds being stacked against them?

As I have explained previously, DREAM Act students are undocumented individuals, who were brought to this country as children. They didn’t have any choice in the matter, but their parents were seeking a better future. Some may have been legal at one point and their status lapsed, and others may have entered the country illegally. However, children traveling with their parents are rarely ever in the driver’s seat. They travel with their caregivers, similar to how other youngsters have been traveling throughout time.

Gaby Pacheco has completed three degrees at Miami Dade College. She holds two associates degrees and a bachelor’s degree in education. She told me that if the DREAM Act became law tomorrow that she would apply for her master’s or another graduate program that would allow her to continue on to earn a Ph.D. so that she could practice music therapy. More specifically, Gaby wants to work with autistic children to teach them how to survive and be productive in the world. In expressing her dream, Gaby told me, “I want to teach them how to live. When I was in 12th grade, I saw a lot of kids in group homes who didn’t need to be there.”

It’s obvious that Gaby has the motivation and existing education to achieve a graduate degree, but her undocumented status is holding her back. In trying to figure out why the US would not want a motivated young person like Gaby fully contributing to our country, I did a little research on special education teachers with some data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment for special education teachers is expected to increase faster than average for all occupations because there is a shortage of people who specialize in working with youth who are disabled. Gaby could most certainly work with special needs children, but she could also train others to work with this population as well if she had her graduate degree(s).

Sadly, I know young people who have the benefits of legalized status who don’t even have half the motivation or ambition that Gaby and her fellow DREAM walkers have. Despite not being able to work legally, to pursue advanced studies, qualify for financial aid, or even live without having to worry about other family members and their immigration status, many of these students have achieved more and shown more motivation than some of their documented peers. It doesn’t make sense to further limit these student by not regularizing them into our society, and it really isn’t realistic to assume that they would fit in back in their countries of origin. This country has become their home.

I asked Gaby what President Obama and his administration could do right now to help alleviate the situation for the DREAM Act students, and she gave me two suggestions. She said, “He could encourage the congress to pass the DREAM Act, which he indicated that he supported back in the primary debates between him and Hillary Clinton. And he can stop the deportation of DREAMers or undocumented people who have a legal spouse or child.”

Some immigration rights advocates have pushed for comprehensive immigration reform, similar to the bill in the Congress that has been introduced by Representative Gutierrez (this does include the DREAM Act). Furthermore, some have suggested that the approach to immigration reform must be a whole one and not piecemeal since coalitions that support various parts of it could be broken or rendered less effective in parts. However, sometimes policies are implemented incrementally. I think that the DREAM Act could be the first piece in a larger comprehensive immigration reform if we don’t see more movement from congress before the summer.

When asked what she thought about the whole comprehensive approach versus implementing immigration reform in pieces where the DREAM Act might be passed before other elements of the existing proposal, Gaby offered this, “My parents came for us (their children). I think they would be fine with that. The dream of this country is to better yourself and that has typically been done through the children.”

When I asked Gaby about elected politicians who have expressed support for their walk and work to advocate on behalf of the DREAM Act, I was told that Rep. Mario Diaz Balart has personally congratulated her for her effort. Regarding the candidates for Florida’s hotly contested senate seat, Gaby also expressed that Governor Charlie Crist has been supportive of the DREAM Act students, as has Representative Kendrick Meek, while Marco Rubio has not indicated support for the DREAM Act or commented about the students on this walk. Congressman Alcee Hastings also issued a written proclamation in support of the DREAM Walkers while indicating that he is a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act when they commenced on their long journey in Palm Beach, Florida. The local support expressed for these students has truly been bipartisan.

Finally, if you believe in the DREAM Act and realize the benefit that our country could benefit from such diligent and motivated young people, I encourage you to assist the Trail of DREAMS walkers. Gaby expressed to me that they are most in need of money for food to keep them nourished and healthy, in addition to gas money for the RV that follows the walkers with their supplies.

I have been banking since I started working at the age of 16. My first account was with Burke & Herbert in Crystal City, a small community bank in Virginia that has been in business for over 100 years. I started with checking and savings accounts. There were times when I was at risk of bouncing a check. I was lucky though, as the bank manager would call and tell me that I could authorize him to transfer the necessary funds from my savings and all would be fine, no insufficient funds, no overdraft, and no penalty fees. Yes, this was before PC banking, cell phones, text messages, and automatic overdraft protection plans.

A few years later, I moved to Woodbridge, Virginia where Burke & Herbert did not have branches and decided to transfer my accounts to another community bank with branches near my home. Through mergers and acquisitions, I ended up with Bank of America where today I am fully banked. There is something to be said about the benefits the bank offered me for agreeing to do more business with them -– free checks, no monthly fees, a safe deposit box, no-closing-cost mortgage refinance, and branch offices all over the country and abroad. The problem was I went from a valued customer at the bank where the branch manager knew my name and looked out for my interests to just being one in an infinite number of consumers who as individuals are insignificant.

As time went on, banking rules changed. I felt powerless every time I got one more bank notice in the mail.

Several years later, the ATM machine entered the market. I got a check card, then PC banking started, etcetera, etcetera, and etcetera. Suddenly, the bank had all the power over my money, the blessing of the Congress, and all I had was the burden of proof! I felt I was getting the shorter end of the stick and became angered about the unfairness of the banking system.

I work hard to earn my income, which now goes into my account as a direct deposit. Yet, the bank has been acting as though it is doing me a favor despite the fact that it makes profits off of my money.

Some time ago, I deposited a check into my checking account using the Bank of America ATM near my home. The machine returned by check card but without a receipt. Upon my return home, I logged into PC banking and was surprised to see there was no record of a pending transaction in my account. Within twenty-four hours, I filed a claim with Bank of America.

A week later, correspondence came informing me that “There was no deposit made at an ATM” within a period that included the date of my transaction. “Therefore, we are unable to credit your account, thus closing this dispute,” said the letter. I called the issuer of the check and explained the incident. The person automatically put a stop payment to the lost check, issued a new one, and mailed it to me.

Six days after the first bank letter declaring the dispute closed, I received a second notice from Bank of America. In it, the bank said that the item had been found and was being posted to my account. By the time I received the letter, it was too late to tell the bank that the issuer had put a stop payment on it. Fifteen days after the second letter, a third Bank of America letter arrived at my home. This time the bank was informing me that a fee had been charged to my account because the item had been returned to the issuer.

Wait, wait! This was the item Bank of America lost, did not post to my account, closed the inquiry on, later found, and tried to post to my account. How was it my responsibility that the bank lost my check resulting in a stop payment by the issuer?

Bank of America was messing with the wrong consumer. That evening, I called to ask for a refund to my account in the amount of the penalty fee and an apology for the four weeks of inconvenience the bank caused me. I got the refund, but the apology never arrived!

Between the original date of my deposit and the notice of the fee, I conducted over 60 transactions, big and small. I’m one of the lucky consumers who does not live close to the margin. I cannot fathom the snowball effect of overdraft and penalty fees that living on the edge would have caused and cost me. This is only one of the many unsavory and time-consuming interactions I have had with Bank of America over the last several years.

The truth is that even if my deposits, my savings, my credit card, and my mortgage are insignificant in the grand scheme of Bank of America, they are significant to me. The bank makes money off my money in overnight investment transactions. With my savings, for which I get less than 1% in interest, the bank makes loans available to others who need capital at significantly higher interest than what it pays me or The Fed. It charges me 10% interest on the balance of my credit card. It gets to keep an administrative fee for collecting my mortgage payment and distributing the proceeds. And the bank tries to hit me with other fees and penalties to squeeze even more money from me. Now multiply that times millions of consumers. Yes, sometimes I wish I was a banker.

The bank has been playing “ring around the rosey” with consumers, and bankers seemed to have forgotten that in the end “ashes, ashes, we all fall down.”

When I was a kid in El Salvador (more than 30 years ago), my mom kept her business revenue (hard, cold cash) in the safest place in our home, the freezer. She did not make any interest on her money, but no institution robbed her either. She was a founding member of the small bakers union in 1950. Today, my mom lives in the United States and still keeps a significant stash of cash in the safest part of her house, under the proverbial mattress! I did not understand this until now.

As a result of the financial crisis, I have regained control over my money. I call to complain and demand refunds from the bank when they are owed to me. Also, I am interviewing banks and credit unions in my community to see if they are interested in my business and my deposits. Three weeks ago, I visited the Woodbridge branch of Burke & Herbert and opened a savings and a checking account. I also met the manager and other staff there. That is right Mr. Global Banking Institution, I am an investor deserving of respect. I demand services and products at fair prices. If I don’t get what I need from my banking institution, I am willing to shop around and take my money to a bank where I am somebody.

Call you senators today and ask them to support real financial regulatory reform, including the creation of a strong independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

Aracely Panameño has worked on behalf of consumers on various issues including health, education, and financial services for more than 20 years. She holds a BA in business administration and public policy from The Catholic University of America and is an MBA candidate at Johns Hopkins University.

“Well, the Center for American Progress today released the first-ever cost assessment of a mass deportation policy for the 10 million undocumented persons currently in the country and the 500,000 that successfully cross the border each year. And guess what? It would essentially drain the Treasury. The data analysis estimates the cost to be at least $206 billion over 5 years ($41.2 billion annually), and could be as high as $230 billion. We arrived at this number even after assuming that 2 million of the 10 million would leave on their own–a pretty large assumption.”

Back when he was candidate Obama, we were led to believe that he would not walk away from the 12 million undocumented people living in the shadows here in the United States and that there would be a “humane and comprehensive” immigration reform. You can see that here:

And now here we are in March 2010, and the raids continue, but today the Department of Homeland Security tells us that it overstated the number of deportations during President Obama’s first year in office. It’s rather convenient that DHS chooses to correct its deportation numbers on the day that multi-ethnic, immigrant rights groups hold the following press conference. Please do watch the press conference on immigration reform on this C-SPAN link and share your thoughts. It definitely is a compelling news conference.

My thought is that President Obama could stop the raids at a minimum before enacting comprehensive immigration reform, but I’m not holding my breath. However, there is something we all can do if we are bothered by the continued raids and lack of movement on immigration reform, we can contact the White House online. I’m going to do it, and I encourage you to do so as well. Comments on this blog only go so far, but a comment directly into the White House will have a stronger impact.

“Here’s why the political elite in California are watching this tragic murder case involving alleged killers who come from private schools and lives of power and privilege:

The case has elicited the involvement of California’s Democratic Party political stars, from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to County Federation of Labor chief Maria Elena Durazo — all rallying around the accused while doing nothing to support the family of the widely-loved dead young man, who went, simply, by the name Lu.”

I think that Villaraigosa, Durazo, Romero, and De Leon should have said nothing publicly about Fabian Nuñez’s kid, Esteban and his trials and tribulations, especially without expressing sympathy for the real victim in this case, a deceased young man, Lu Santos. Politically a “no comment on this pending case” would probably have served all of these leaders better than expressing sympathy for Fabian Nuñez and his child, who is out on bail, in my view.

Last week these brave young adults encountered the KKK as they walked through Georgia. Later today these DREAMers will enter Gwinnett County, Georgia and ask to meet with Sheriff R.L. “Butch” Conway, who runs a 287(g) program in a similarly oppressive fashion to Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County, Arizona. In essence, those localities that have been allowed to enforce immigration laws under the 287(g) program have done so by profiling, intimidating, and in many instances terrorizing local Latino communities. Sheriff Conway, a proponent of the 287(g) program, has led an effort to deport hundreds of immigrants from Gwinnett County in the past three months. The DREAMers are requesting to meet with the Sheriff in person to explain the hardship that his actions are causing to families like their own.

Juan Rodriguez, one of the walkers, has offered this statement:

“We’re not afraid of unjust laws. We’re not scared of Sheriff Conway. We actually hope to share our own experiences as immigrant students with him, and to explain the fear and pain that detentions and deportations cause within families. Local enforcement of federal policies like the one Sheriff Conway is proudly implementing are proof of the need for real immigration reform. These policies have the long-term effect of criminalizing immigrants – the vast majority of whom are here only to work hard and provide for their families.”

Rodriguez and the other walkers have been asking to meet with Sheriff Conway, but their requests have been denied. It is easier to turn the other way and ignore the issue than to engage in a healthy dialogue, but today when the students request a meeting with Sheriff Conway in person, they will be accompanied by attorneys from the Southern Poverty Law Center and other legal advocacy organizations in case they are detained. Additionally, these legal observers will be able to witness what happens.

I ask those of you who support the DREAM Act and humane, comprehensive immigration reform to follow what these brave young people will be doing today on Twitter and/or on Facebook. Also, check the national news for any stories about this, and spread the word among your friends. There are students here in the US with legalized status who not even consider influencing public policy in such an audacious manner, but these DREAM activists are persisting in spite of their undocumented status. These students are definitely giving their documented counterparts a run for the money in the political engagement department.

Finally, if you are able, please consider donating to the Trail of Dreams Walkers. They need funds for food, water, and shoes.

There are a few items that I will be blogging about this week, but in the never ending search for new material, I came across this piece regarding Latinos and the “tea party movement.” Essentially, Latinos have become the perfect scapegoats for the Tea Partiers. Here’s the latest video from the Facebook group “Cuentame” exposing some of the hate being spread around at these tea parties:

In California politics, Mayor Villaraigosa’s cousin, John Perez was sworn in as the new Speaker of the Assembly. Perez is the first openly gay speaker to serve in this role. Today he expressed that his sexuality does not define him, but he gave a nod in acknowledging gay political leaders who came before him. Perez also distinguished himself from his cousin, Mayor Villaraigosa, when asked about the possibility of following his older cousin’s career path:

“It’s not my goal in life,” Perez said in a recent interview with the Times. “You never rule anything out but it’s as close to a rule-out as you can possible do. I love my cousin. We’re very different people in many ways. Just because he did it doesn’t mean I want to do it.”

You can read Speaker Perez’s swearing-in speech here. I particularly liked the part about public-private partnerships in the community colleges and his expressed commitment to fight for higher education in California.

In regards to the recent earthquake in Chile, I have come across some interesting pieces about why Chile is poised to recover more quickly from this disaster than Haiti was. Most notably, Chile has more modern building codes, but its economy is considered one of the “best run” in all of Latin America. Also, this week, Secretary Clinton will be hand delivering the first American assistance to Chile in the form of satellite phones.

Politicians on both the left and the right have been guilty of this kind of spending. We have seen this in California with former assembly speaker Fabian Nuñez spending campaign cash on French wine and Louis Vuitton. This kind of expending should not be excused, and I think that Latino politicians have to be extra careful in not appearing to be “on the take.” And Rubio should be especially careful, as he has been running on the “fiscal conservative” platform and lists “spending” as the first issue on his website (under the “issues” tab). There is also this idea that Miami, where Rubio is from, is a place known for fraud, just google “fraud and Miami” to get an idea. So Rubio and his people should have definitely been on top of any spending that might look questionable in the eyes of the public.

The Democrats in Florida have already jumped on this Rubio “spending spree” with this short ad:

In concluding, I should note that Marco Rubio has agreed to pay back some of the charges to the state GOP, namely some airfare charges that he says were a “mistake.” But what are your thoughts? Should the public forgive and forget or should we be angered that our politicians think that they can get away with these expenditures, especially at the expense of one’s political party or campaign? If you donate to a party or political campaign, how do you expect those dollars to be used?

I think that Deutsch probably rationalized using the “coconut” term because Rubio has expressed rather conservative views, especially in regards to immigration. But again, this illustrates that not all Latinos are immigration or pro-migrant friendly. Deutsch has since apologized for using the term. Hopefully, Deutsch will not make this kind of silly remark again. He reveals how little he knows about Latinos and the extent that the traditional media misconstrues our identities and issues.

Finally, I don’t even know if Marco Rubio would consider himself to be “dark” or “brown.” I know that some people claim to be “brown and proud,” but typically that is an idea expressed by Mestizo Latinos. Our colonial history has made us rather color sensitive. If we are going to go back to putting candidates through a skin color monitor, I keep going back to Rubio’s opponent, Charlie Crist, who seems to be sporting his own “tan,” but isn’t being compared to tropical produce. In comparison, Rubio looks pretty light in my view. What do you think?

Photo: Charlie Crist on the left, Marco Rubio on the right

I think that whether Fabian Nuñez makes a run for the state treasurer in four years will largely depend how the murder trial that his son is involved in turns out. The trial of Esteban Nuñez is scheduled for April of this year after being rescheduled. If you all remember, the younger Nuñez displayed a very interesting myspace page that has since been taken down. I’m still bothered when I look at the pictures of young Esteban Nuñez. What does this say about his father and his agenda in the public sphere? Tell us what you think. Should Fabian Nuñez return to public life or should he stay in the private sector? I personally think that he shouldn’t even be in lobbying because he represents part of what many people loathe, the revolving door where electeds become lobbyists and continue to feed at the public trough. And Nuñez is certainly young and resourceful enough to reinvent himself.