Tag: immigration

What if NC passed an Arizona Show-Me-Your-Papers law, and nobody noticed?

May 23, 2013 at 12:03 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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House Bill 786, the “RECLAIM NC” Act, will be up for a vote soon on the NC House floor.  In spite of the restricted driving permit that could be offered to some immigrants, it is on balance a bill that will be harmful to the immigrant community in North Carolina, and will increase racial profiling even among US citizens. In the midst of so much going on at the General Assembly, this sweeping immigration legislation has not received the attention and scrutiny it deserves.

In community forums about the bill’s provisions around the state — Hendersonville, Raeford, Charlotte, Durham, Greenville, and Wilson so far – advocates have seen that there are a variety of opinions on the bill, but that once immigrant families understood the many negative provisions in the bill and the difficulty of obtaining a “restricted driving permit” under HB 786, they did not support the bill.

Beyond being costly, increasing incarceration of immigrants, and eroding civil liberties for all North Carolinians, there are six specific reasons I believe that legislators should vote AGAINST HB 786: Read More…

Sharing the DREAM of college access, crossing a bridge to a brighter future for North Carolina

May 21, 2013 at 7:26 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Last night, the DREAMers did it again. They took a hopeful message and their own personal stories to a new audience, asking members of the Winston-Salem City Council to support a resolution on in-state tuition for North Carolina high school graduates, regardless of immigration status. The DREAMers keep insisting that our public policies must reflect our deepest values of fairness and equal opportunity, showing that the power of people is stronger than inhumane laws and a broken immigration system. Read More…

Tuition equality is gaining momentum nationally

April 30, 2013 at 3:42 pmCategory:NC Budget and Tax Center

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Colorado joined a growing number of states (16 in total) yesterday in recognizing the importance of an affordable post-secondary education to all their residents, regardless of immigration status. The Governor signed legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants who graduate from state high schools the ability to attend state colleges at the in-state tuition rate.

Meanwhile, a similar proposal in North Carolina is languishing in the Rules Committee, which means young people like Marco Cervantes can’t afford college.

Charging the same tuition rates to all residents is a great way to invest in our state and in our future workforce. The higher tuition rate often charged immigrants—in Colorado the out of state rate is three times in-state tuition—is a barrier for many students and a drain on the economy.  That is because it is increasingly necessary to have some kind of post-secondary degree to attain a family-sustaining job and secure middle-class status.

Today is a great day to call your state reps to voice support for HB 904 and in-state tuition equality. Also, sign the petition here.

As one of the bill sponsors in Colorado noted:  “in Colorado the doors are open and the dream is alive.”

Can North Carolina say the same thing?

Why NC anti-immigrant bill should be called the “Repo” Act

April 29, 2013 at 2:21 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Towed carHB 786, or the RECLAIM NC Act, should be called the “Repo” Act.

Most of the attention in the RECLAIM –er, Repo Act — has been focused on a provision that would provide a limited number of undocumented immigrants driver permits, or on the part cribbed from a racist Arizona bill that would allow law enforcement officers to arrest people they “suspect” might be undocumented immigrants.

One overlooked horror in this bill is Part X. This provision would impound and then sell at auction all the cars driven by anyone who is found guilty of driving without a license, whose insurance has lapsed and a few other similar violations.

Last fiscal year, more than 215,000 people were charged with one of those misdemeanors, according to statistics maintained by the Administrative Office of the Courts. If “Repo” were law in 2012, all the vehicles these people had been driving would have been impounded. Read More…

Kentucky experience indicates that anti-immigrant bills cost taxpayers and communities

April 29, 2013 at 1:16 pmCategory:NC Budget and Tax Center

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North Carolina legislators are considering an anti-immigrant bill (HB 786) that would impose new law enforcement costs on state and local governments and could result in additional consequences in the state’s communities. The Arizona-style “show me your papers” provision and other enforcement measures in this bill would take away from other investments state and local governments need to make—as this fact sheet points out.

States that considered or enacted similar restrictive immigration laws and enforcement mechanisms have faced real costs to implementing such laws. In fact, the estimated cost of an anti-immigrant bill filed in Kentucky in 2011 raised concerns among stakeholders and the bill ultimately failed to make its way to the Governor’s desk.

This Kentucky bill comprised many of the core provisions that are in HB 786, including the “show me your papers” provision, the authorized seizure of vehicles during certain illegal activities, and new and ramped up criminal penalties. Read More…