Jezebel: Immigration

Obama Doesn't Have Time for Jan Brewer's Shit, But Don't Tell Her That

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:20:00 EST

President Obama arrived in Phoenix yesterday and was greeted at the airport by Arizona governor Jan Brewer. And that was where the niceties ended. Brewer gave Obama a hand-written letter, and then the two got into a tense conversation. They were seen talking over each other, and she pointed at him. Then Obama walked away while Governor Brewer was mid-sentence. Ooh, diss. More »

Missing American Teen Accidentally Deported To Colombia

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST

A 15-year-old Dallas girl who ran away from home in the fall of 2010 has finally turned up in what's pretty much the last place you'd expect to find her. Jakadrien Turner is now locked up in a Colombian prison, the country is refusing to send her back to the U.S., and she may be pregnant. Even more incredibly, Turner didn't manage to slip out of the country on her own. She was sent to Colombia by the U.S. government after giving police officers a fake name, which actually belongs to an illegal immigrant. More »

How Long Does It Take To Get A Visa For Your Family?

Gwen Sharp, Ph.D. — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:15:00 EST

Here's a revealing look at the wait time to get a family-sponsored immigration visa in America. With the removal of strict, racialized quotas in 1965, the U.S. turned to a policy based on a set of priorities for deciding who would be granted a visa; among the various categories was a preference for those who had sponsoring relatives already living in the U.S., with different visas and priorities based on family relationship: More »

Michele Bachmann, Visionary, Calls For English To Be Declared Official Language of America

Erin Gloria Ryan — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:10:00 EST

Speaking to a crowd in South Florida and demonstrating the tact and progressive thinking for which she's now universally acclaimed, Midwestern embarrassment Michele Bachmann told a crowd in the heavily Spanish speaking neck of the woods that illegal immigrants should be deported, babies born in the US shouldn't automatically be granted citizenship, and English should be made the official language of the country. Guess this means Michele Bachmann's going to have to learn to speak English. More »

Herman Cain: Why?

Erin Gloria Ryan — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:10:00 EDT

Herman Cain, a pizza-making businessman who has never held any political office, is running for President. He peppers his speech with inscrutable metaphors and has terrible ideas, and yet, he's still among the GOP frontrunners. This guy can't be serious. Can he? We try to get to the bottom of what's really behind Cain's rapid ascent on the Good Ship WTF. More »

Immigration Authorities Don't Care Too Much About Gay Marriages

Irin Carmon — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:35:46 EDT

The Australian half of a couple married in Massachusetts is being deported, despite the fact that the Obama administration has stopped defending the Defense of Marriage Act and has urged discretion on deportations. More »

Women Subjected To "Virginity Tests" At Heathrow Airport

Irin Carmon — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:55:00 EDT

At least 80 Indian and Pakistani women emigrating to the UK in the 1970s were subjected to "virginity tests." The Guardian reports that the practice was far more widespread than previously acknowledge; the government has yet to apologize. More »

Judge Rules Against Shackling Pregnant Woman

Irin Carmon — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:30:00 EDT

At nine month pregnant, Juana Villegas was arrested on a driving charge and, when found to have a previous deportation order, shackled despite significant risk to herself and her child. Federal court rightly found this to violate her rights. More »

Gay Couples' Green Card Applications Put On Hold Pending DOMA Cases

Irin Carmon — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:33:00 EDT

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is not known for its rapid responsiveness, but that's belied by its announcement recently that same-sex partners of citizens won't automatically be denied green cards, now that the Obama administration has announced it won't fight for the Defense of Marriage Act. More »

Megyn Kelly Compares "Undocumented Immigrants" To Calling Rape "Non-Consensual Sex"

Irin Carmon — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:10:00 EST

Fox News' Megyn Kelly is pretty peeved at the efforts to get journalists to stop using "illegal immigrants," saying, "What if there was a push...to re-brand the use of the word rapist to nonconsensual sex partner?" More »

Unrealized DREAM

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 10:55:55 EST

Los Angeles, December 18: Undocumented UCLA students Martha Vasquez, Jessica Ortiz, and Miriam Vasquez hold hands as they follow the Senate's cloture vote on the DREAM act. The measure fell five votes short of the 60 needed to move forward.

This Week, Lame Duck Scrambling For Gay And Immigrant Rights

Irin Carmon — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:06:06 EST

The scramble to get anything done in the waning days of the Democratic-controlled Congress has come down to a few pieces of legislation, including Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the DREAM Act. What are their chances for success? More »

Our Newest Citizen Can't Wait To Chow Down On Turkey

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:21:03 EST

[New York, November 18: Theodore Lieberman, 2, adopted from Ethiopia, sits between his parents during the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services first Adoption Day ceremony. Seventeen adopted children were naturalized in time to celebrate their first Thanksgiving. Image via AP.]

Woman Married Five Times In Immigration Scam

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:08:00 EDT

Sonia Estrada's citizenship scam was uncovered after she applied for a fifth marriage license — without bothering to divorce her other four husbands. "Each guy paid her a few thousand bucks and got their papers," says a NYC official. More »

Yet Another Reason To Adore Scott Fujita

Irin Carmon — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:44:20 EDT

We already had plenty of reasons, but here's the linebacker co-writing (with congressman Michael Honda) an op-ed on behalf of LGBT equality when it comes to immigrant families. Swoon. More »

Some Women Are A Lot Less "Secure"

Irin Carmon — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:14:18 EDT

This woman is being deported after calling the police for protection during a fight with her partner. Charges that she had illegally sold a $10 phone card were dropped. Welcome to "Secure Communities." More »

Sharron Angle's Bigotry May Well Pass Go

Irin Carmon — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 10:03:03 EDT

Sharron Angle may not be talking to journalists, but she's got jokes. In the past day, she's sent Joy Behar flowers to thank Behar for calling her a bitch and launched a Monopoly-inspired game to mock Harry Reid on immigration. More »

British Couple Caught Committing Immigration Fraud

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:05:00 EDT

Note: When entering a sham marriage to obtain a visa, don't forget your bride's name. More »

101-Year-Old Woman Becomes U.S. Citizen

Margaret Hartmann — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:22:00 EDT

As an infant, Eulalia Garcia Maturey entered the U.S. from Mexico. Now thanks to a Certificate of Lawful Entry she received during World War II, she'll become a U.S. citizen next week on the 101st anniversary of her crossing. More »

Is Jan Brewer The Next Sarah Palin?

Irin Carmon — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:35:53 EDT

Arizona governor Jan Brewer is reminding us of Sarah Palin inasmuch as she makes all women in politics look bad and makes their defenders queasy. She's also reactionary — and has a way with words. More »

One Out Of Every 15 U.S. Children Is An "Anchor Baby"

Irin Carmon — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:07:50 EDT

Amid current hysteria over immigrant women and the babies they're "dropping," it is interesting to know just how many people — and it's good to remind the ideologues we're talking about humans here — are affected by the divisive pandering. More »

Eva Longoria Has Some Thoughts About Arizona's Immigration Law

Dodai Stewart — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:49:00 EDT

Rosario Dawson recruited fellow actresses Longoria and Jessica Alba to record a spot for the United We Win campaign; Longoria adds: "If my father got pulled over because of [his skin], I could guarantee you I would be outraged." More »

"Anchor Baby" Paranoia Has More Than One Factual Problem

Irin Carmon — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:04:20 EDT

Columnist Connie Schultz on the new Republican obsession with Latina women allegedly "dropping" "anchor babies." More »

Sarah Palin Makes Bill O'Reilly Look Sane

Irin Carmon — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:45:07 EDT

What would it take for us to cheer on a sexually-harassing, feminist-pounding, doctor-murderer-inciting television host? When he's talking to Sarah Palin about immigration. Or, lately, anything else. More »

Kal Penn Destroys Joel Stein's "Humor Piece" On Immigration

Hortense Smith — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 14:35:00 EDT

Writing for Time, Joel Stein thought it might be funny to lament the changes taking place in his hometown of Edison, New Jersey, due to an influx of Indian immigrants. But Kal Penn, writing for the Huffington Post, isn't laughing. More »

Crazing Arizona

Anna Holmes — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:10:00 EDT

[Washington, D.C., June 3. Image via Getty]

Arizona Immigration Law Is An Attack On All Women

Linda Meric — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:30:00 EDT

In addition to the obvious racist and xenophobic implications of the new Arizona immigration law, in addition to the obvious concerns that this unlawful law targets residents based on the hue of their skin and the language on their lips… More »

The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowing In The Wind

Megan Carpentier — Mon, 31 May 2010 15:30:00 EDT

[Phoenix, May 29. Image via Getty]

Mother Of Michelle Obama Questioner Safe For Now

Irin Carmon — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:20:26 EDT

A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said investigations are based on "solid law enforcement work and not classroom Q and As." The little girl had asked Michelle Obama about what would happen to her undocumented mother. [CNN, earlier] More »

Second Grader Asks Michelle Obama If Her Mom Will Be Deported

Jessica Coen — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:40:19 EDT

The First Lady went to a Maryland school today to promote her anti-obesity campaign, but she was faced with an off-topic question from a young girl: "My mom said Barack Obama is taking everybody away that doesn't have papers." More »

Miss USA's Bigot Backlash And Stripping Scandal Begins Now!

Irin Carmon — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:30:55 EDT

Hours into her Miss USA tenure, Rima Fakih has her first (low-grade) scandal: a "Stripper 101" crown in college. Meanwhile, creative right-wing haters are implying, in more ways than one, that she won because of a pro-Muslim, pro-immigrant conspiracy. More »

Palin And Brewer Stand For Change You Don't Want To Believe In

Megan Carpentier — Sun, 16 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, under fire for signing the law that makes people's ethnicity probable cause for arrest, has enlisted Sarah Palin to convince people she's justified and not a racist. Good luck with that. [AP, Secure The Border] More »

Miniature American Flags For Others!

Megan Carpentier — Sat, 15 May 2010 17:00:00 EDT

[New York, May 14. Image via Getty]

America's First Embraced (And Neglected) Immigrant

Sadie Stein — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:00:34 EDT

As New York's fascinating "mystery of Ellis Island's first immigrant" shows, we've (not) come a long way, baby: then as now, immigrants are "both romanticized as the source of American versatility and demonized as the source of, well, immigrants." More »

Color Me Bad: The Arizona Law In Crayons

Irin Carmon — Thu, 06 May 2010 10:40:00 EDT

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best one. [9gag, via BuzzFeed, Earlier] More »

Is Immigration A "Women's Issue"?

Irin Carmon — Wed, 05 May 2010 19:20:26 EDT

Is the Arizona's new immigration law — wherein officials can ask to see an individual's papers based on the individual's appearance — a feminist issue? And what does that even mean? More »

The Semiotics Of Dress: Republican Targets "Illegals" By Their Clothes

Mimi Thi Nguyen — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:00:00 EDT

In his 1974-1975 lectures at the College de France collected in the volume Abnormal, Michel Foucault discusses the creation of new technologies in modern "criminal justice" that categorize individuals who "resemble their crime before they commit it." More »

Raising Arizona

Anna Holmes — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:10:00 EDT

[Phoenix, April 25. Image via AP]

Glimpsing The End Of American Apparel

Irin Carmon — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:30:00 EDT

The woes of American Apparel are mounting. Could the pantytime party be over? More »

Are "Sham Marriages" Really So Bad?

Anna North — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:30:00 EST

The UK is trying to put a stop to the practice of immigrants entering "sham marriages" to gain legal residency. But can the practice ever be stopped without trampling immigrants' rights? More »