Immigration Policies Inconsistant with American Ideals

Immigration is a hot topic that invokes very strong feelings on both arguments of the issue. It is also very much a feminist issue. The majority of immigrants are now women and they are suffering the backlashes.

Yesterday, I attended an Immigration Reform Conference sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) and the debate over immigration has many layers. The question arose of whether the U.S. is experiencing an immigration crisis or not. Perhaps it is not a crisis for those who enjoy U.S. citizenship, but for those undocumented "illegals", it is very much a crisis. There are an estimated 12 million undocumented persons living in the U.S. today who are exploited, discriminated against, and treated like second-class citizens who are denied the protection of the U.S. constitution.

Undocumented persons are denied their fundamental human rights and this practice clashes with American ideals. There is a huge gap between what the government preaches and what they actually practice. The very fabric of this country was built upon immigration, and American values preach the beauty of the melting pot and diversity. America was also built with the ideal that all human beings all created equal and therefore are all entitled to fundamental human rights. But this ideal is destroyed by our reality of "illegals" being treated like animals. The U.S. is constantly separating families, immigrant workers suffer from low wages, dangerous and harsh working environments. Immigrants are raped, murdered and made the target of other violent crimes because they are least likely to report crimes to police in fear of being deported.


It was suggested by one of the panelists at the conference that the immigration debate continues to surface during harsh economic times. The dialogue is used as a tactical poly by politicians in an attempt to single out a scapegoat and deflect attention from their own mistakes made in office. Immigrants are socially constructed as the "other" and their image is infused with negative perceptions as un-desirable and inferior. This fuels the grounds for discrimination against immigrants.

But it is important to note that not all immigrants are discriminated against equally. When one uses the word "immigrant", they are often referring to Mexicans and people from south and central America. Latino or Hispanic immigrants are hit the hardest by this discrimination and are the target of anti-immigration legislation. One only needs to look at the new Arizona immigration laws that encourage racial profiling and racism against Mexicans.

The misconception that fuels this discrimination against Latinos/Hispanics is centered around the premise that immigrants are taking jobs that belong to American citizens. However, this is simply not the case. Immigrant labor does not drain the economy, it fuels it. There are also strong historical ties between the U.S and Mexico/central America that keeps immigrants traveling to America, another fact that is constantly ignored.

Americans have mixed feelings about immigration, but there is absolutely no reason to discriminate against people who are fighting for a better life. Most immigrants are extremely hard-working, family oriented and share the ideals of the American Dream.

What if the Visitation Rights that were given to Same Sex couples were inclusive of those couples in which one partner is serving in the military?

This week President Obama signed a directive that would allow same sex partners hospital visitation rights if the one of them were to fall ill. Granting same sex couples the right to be beside their loved one as they pass (if the illness or injury is fatal) was a decision that came after hearing a story in which a woman was denied the right to hold her lover as her spouse died. Before the signed directive same sex partners would be denied visitation due to the fact that they were not considered family by blood or legally wed.

Of the 1,138 rights that are denied to same sex couples because same sex marriage is not legal in every state, hospital visitation was only one of them. Currently same sex marriage is legal in only 5 states as well as Washington D.C. Unfortunately under of the Defense of Marriage act (DOMA), same sex couples that legally wed in a state that allows same sex marriages will have an annulled marriage license once they return back to their state where same sex marriage licenses are not recognized. Obama has it in his agenda to repeal that as well as the controversial military ban on gays and lesbians serving openly known as Don’t ask Don’t tel (DADT)l.

I must say that although I am grateful to have this single right granted to me, I am disappointed with how he went about the issue. It should not take a story of sorrow to make one understand that love is not a bad thing even if it is between two people of the same sex. Love should not be taken away or toyed with it should not be a bargaining tool for votes. Instead of signing this directive that grants rights to only some of the LGBTQ community why don’t you do what is humane and repeal DADT and DOMA. Under DADT a civilian in a same sex relationship with a soldier cannot visit them openly if the soldier is wounded in battle therefore this directive does not extend rights to all LGBTQ couples. If he had repealed DOMA same sex couples could marry elsewhere in the U.S. and still have a legal marriage license upon return to their state. If DOMA was repealed, then the rights given to those married could be applicable to all same sex couples who are wed anywhere in the United States. If his adminstartion repealed both DADT and DOMA then the lesbian and gays serving our military could wed. Is this the next step? What he did was good for the community but I find that it was nothing great. It was fair and right but it was something that should have been done a long time ago.

P.S.- Celebrate National Day of Silence today!!

Photo compliment of See-ming Lee

Irish Women Fight for Reproductive Rights

I wrote this piece for the University College Dublin College Tribune a few months ago, having been asked to write about Ireland's abortion ban from a pro-choice American perspective. Last week, the European Court of Human Rights heard a challenge to Ireland's incredibly restrictive abortion policy by three women who claim that the law as it stands violates their human rights. We'll be following the case as it develops, but here is a bit of back story.

Women will never achieve true equality until they are able to determine when they can and cannot have children. This belief lies at the core of pro-choice feminism. To lose control over one’s body means to lose power and agency in one’s life. When a government denies women the right to choose to have an abortion, it is implying that a woman cannot be trusted to make decisions about her own health and that her life is less valuable than that of a fetus. Thus, the Feminist Majority Foundation and other women’s rights organizations like it continue to fight for reproductive rights—not just abortion, but also the right to contraception, family planning, and comprehensive sexual education.

In the United States, like Ireland, abortion is a divisive issue. A recent USA Today/Gallup survey found that 47% of Americans consider themselves to be “pro-life,” while 46% of Americans identify as “pro-choice.” These labels are thrown around casually and frequently, and while this poll reveals a nation divided, the reality of the situation is somewhat different.
One out of every three women in the United States will have an abortion by the age of 45. 89% of these abortions are performed in the first trimester. Because abortion is legal in the United States, it is a very safe procedure. A doctor can perform a first trimester abortion in one to two minutes, without general anesthesia. Abortion is safer than taking an injection of penicillin.
Globally, 42 million abortions are performed every year. 20 million of them are illegal. Clearly, the prohibition of abortion does little to curb its practice. Unfortunately, illegal abortions can be incredibly unsafe, and worldwide about 75,000 women die every year from unnecessarily botched abortions. 5 million women are hospitalized every year due to complications of illegal abortion.

While abortion has been legal in the United States since the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973, the feminist movement has had to continually fight for legal, safe, and accessible abortion in this country. Year after year, individual states attempt to enact restrictive laws that hamper a woman’s right to choose, with varying degrees of success. Accessibility remains a huge problem; 34% of American women live in counties with no abortion provider, according to the National Women’s Law Center. The cost of travel is incredibly restrictive, and the cost of the procedure itself is also often prohibitive. Doctors who perform abortions face incredible risks from anti-choice terrorists, as the recent assassination of Dr. George Tiller tragically demonstrated.

Women in the United States seeking an abortion face significant challenges, but those are nothing compared to what Irish women must go through. According to The Safe and Legal in Ireland Abortion Rights Campaign, 5,585 women traveled to the UK to obtain an abortion in 2005. This figure is probably higher in reality given the covert nature of such travel. There is also no way to estimate how many women travel to other countries in the EU for the procedure or take their chances with an illegal abortion. While abortion has been prohibited in Ireland since 1861 and unconstitutional since the addition of the 8th Amendment in 1983, that has not stopped Irish women from seeking abortions.

In December, three women will challenge Ireland’s ban on abortion before the European Court of Human Rights. The women, known as A, B, and C, rightfully argue that Irish law endangers their health and violates their human rights. Should they succeed in their case, these women could totally alter the status of women in Ireland, empowering them to control their own bodies and have agency over their lives. As the American situation has demonstrated, that would only be the first step in the ongoing struggle for reproductive rights, but it would be an astounding victory and bring remarkable change to Ireland. The Feminist Majority Foundation and other American pro-choice advocates support them and their heroic effort to usher in an era of safe and legal abortion in Ireland.