Immigration


WOMEN 4 WOMEN

Women for Women Thursday, April 4, 2024  The April Women for Women will feature ECDC and New Beginnings,  helping refugees resettle  in the Wausau area. New Beginnings for Refugees is a Wausau-based community organization which supports refugees throughout critical stages of the resettlement process in Central Wisconsin. We strive to complement the work of ECDC, an experienced national resettlement agency who is opening an office in Wausau.   May programming will feature Maxwell Johnson from the Conservation voters!   Topic: Women for ...

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Everybody wants to use God…

“You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” Anne Lamott, American contemporary author. “The will of God (or Allah) is the passing off of the responsibility of mankind.” Unknown source “Religious freedom exists to safeguard the right to practice religion free from persecution... Practicing religion is about what you do or don’t do, not about controlling what others do.” Dale Richter, writing in the blog host website Medium.com Recent national and world events demonstrate the ...

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Immigration: Reality vs Demagoguery

A recent news headline from National Public Radio reads, “Despite efforts of 3 U.S. administrations, migrant families keep crossing the border.” Migration from Mexico and Central America has increased over the past several years. In contrast to the past, this increase in migrants is being fueled by families. In August alone about 91,000 family groups were detained at the border. Clearly efforts to seal the border to prevent, deter, or otherwise frighten immigrants away are not working. Yet, as the NPR headline indicates, for decades we have continued the same, ...

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Refugees in Search for the Promised Land

Saturday afternoon, the first one this month, we sat in Whitewater hall and listened to some of Central Wisconsin's latest arrivals speak about their personal journeys.  Refugees from Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nicaragua, each happy to be here, safe, and feeling welcome, they all agreed.  Missing terribly, and worried about loved ones left behind was another thought held in common.  Stories of violence, and threats of violence, too, sewed their stories together.  A couple of the men, one an Afghan, another from a refugee camp in Tanzania had ...

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Oaths Of Office & The Common Good

Ben Franklin once said, “The good we do together surpasses the good we can do alone.” The meaning of that statement has stayed with me throughout all my endeavors to work for the common good, especially throughout my teaching career.  It should be internalized by all those who seek an office in our government, at every level, in our democracy.  So, it is astounding to me how many elected officials don’t know or care what their oaths of office to The People and the Constitution really mean.  A conversation that I had with the Lt. Governor a few years ago offered ...

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ALLOW ALL IMMIGRANTS ACCESS TO DRIVER LICENSES

Can you imagine living in Wisconsin without a driver’s license? There are Wisconsin residents who happen to be undocumented immigrants. They have families and many of them are employed. Yet they cannot operate a vehicle on Wisconsin roads. An estimated 32,000 Wisconsin residents are undocumented and therefore cannot get a Wisconsin driver’s license. Of the residents who would get licenses, 14,000 live with children and would be able to better care and provide for them. 22,000 residents who would get driver licenses are employed and would be able to get to work ...

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Action Alert

Stopping Trump #39’s assumption of emergency powers will require massive citizen action. The House and Republican controlled Senate have voted to overturn the declaration. But Trump vetoed the resolutions. Overriding a veto will be very difficult and will only happen with extraordinary public pressure. Lawsuits have been filed to end the declaration. But these may take years to resolve and the outcome is not assured. Most federal judges have been appointed by Republican presidents. Historically the courts, especially the U.S. Supreme Court, have been ...

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A HISTORY OF THE WALL

The first wall between Mexico and United States was not built to keep out people. It was built to keep out cattle. The first federally funded border fence between Mexico and United States went up in 1911. It was mean to keep out the ticks that came with the cattle from Mexico. Mexican cattle wandered over the southern border with “Texas fever” caused by ticks. This destroyed many cattle on both sides of the border. This increased the price of beef. A barbed-wire fence was put up but did not help very much. There have been repeated outbreaks of Texas fever, ...

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Make America America Again

Like nearly all Americans, I am the offspring of immigrants. The peasant farmers whose family name I inherited came from Ireland. They left a homeland savaged by famine, trading a grim reality of financial ruin and starvation for the promise of a new and better life. They were part of what might be described today as a massive caravan that took incalculable risk to make its way across a vast ocean seeking refuge and comfort from the Mother of Exiles. My immigrant ancestors settled first in New Jersey before journeying to northern Illinois and eventually Wisconsin. ...

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What About the Caravan?

U.S. troops shot rubber bullets and tear gas at caravan members reaching the U.S. border. Why would people travel for one month to reach our border only to be fired upon? Let’s look at the beginning. In mid-October about 160 people began their long dangerous journey from San Pedro Sula, Honduras. This is is the center for gangs and drug trafficking. The 160 people decided to travel together for safety, as is often done in their land. By the time they reached the Guatemala border, more than 1000 people were in the caravan. By the time they reached Mexico, the ...

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