Tag Archives: immigration

Opinion

#FreeRosa Case Shines a Light on Undocumented and Disabled

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Last week, the United States faced a defining moment when ICE agents arrested a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, Rosamaria Hernandez. Rosamaria is currently recovering from gallbladder surgery in an immigration detention center away from her family.  On the way to her surgery, federal agents followed her ambulance, stood guard outside her room, and refused to allow medical staff to close the door while they treated her.  Against medical advice, the agents then proceeded to pull Rosamaria from the hospital where she was receiving care.  Government employees, reporting that they are just doing their job, intend to deport Rosamaria back to Mexico.  She has lived in the United States since she was three months old. Rosamaria Hernandez has become the face of the Disabled Latinx movement.  Rosamaria’s family initially crossed the border from Mexico to get treatment for medical complications associated with her cerebral palsy.  Rosamaria’s parents made the decision to … Continue Reading ››
History

Jeff Sessions’ Praise of 1924 Johnson-Reed Act Recalls a Dark Past

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As President Calvin Coolidge signed the 1924 Johnson-Reed Act, he stated, "America must remain American." The Johnson-Reed Act, until 1965, restricted immigration of multiple racial and ethnic minorities into the United States before World War II, including Eastern European Jews. Many of these Jews later died in the Holocaust. The Act restricted these racial and ethnic groups in part due to eugenics “science” that said these groups were more likely to be “socially inadequate,” and become a “public burden.” Eugenicist Harry Laughlin, who managed the Eugenics Record Office, testified in 1920 about foreign-born groups in hospitals for the “insane.” His testimony included the remark, “the Italians, Russians, Austrians (largely Jews) constitute a large proportion of the insane.” Laughlin had been appointed around 1922 as the “Expert Eugenics Agent” to the House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, and much of his research and testimonies provided the justification … Continue Reading ››