Cuban Bishops Back Reconciliation, Greater Political Freedoms

Days after Chilean Catholic bishops urged for a national reconciliation on the fortieth anniversary of the military coup d’état that ousted President Salvador Allende, their Cuban counterparts issued their own call for unity.

A letter issued by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba (CCBC) to reporters earlier today advocated for dialogue between Cubans of differing opinions.

“The geographic proximity and family ties between the two peoples are unavoidable realities that should be taken into account in order to encourage an inclusive policy, through respect for differences”, read part of the CCBC’s communiqué that was entitled “Hope Does Not Disappoint.”

The letter included quoted remarks made by Pope John Paul II during a 1998 visit to support the CCBC’s view against the decades-old U.S. embargo against Cuba.  

“The forced isolation impacts the population indiscriminately … the measures imposed from outside on the country are unjust and ethically unacceptable,” the letter quoted the late pontiff as stating.

The document praised economic reforms enacted under President Raul Castro but noted that more needs to be done to remedy problems such as the low salaries of professional and government workers in health and education.

The group also criticized the lack of political liberalization that would allow for greater freedom of expression on the island.

“Cuba is called upon to be a plural society … there must be a right to diversity in terms of thought, creativity and the search for truth,” the letter mentioned.

CCBC secretary Jose Felix Perez said that copies of the letter to government authorities though an official response was not immediately provided.

Report: “Major” Changes in Mexico, CentAm Should Lead to Immigration Reform

A report released on Monday concluded that now is the best time for immigration reform in the U.S. since it can be beneficial not only for that country but also Mexico and Central America.

The joint study from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and the Wilson Center examined the demographic, social and economic changes in Mexico and Central America, and found that this can lead to greater “opportunities for their own people and strengthen regional competitiveness with new collaborative approaches on migration and human-capital development.” 

Among the “major” changes identified by the report are slowing population growth, rising educational attainment and growing middle classes in Mexico and El Salvador, the expanding economies in Mexico and Guatemala.  For example, the report noted that over the past decade Mexico has evolved into an immigrant destination that includes a foreign-born population at its highest level since 1940.

 “The longstanding assumption that the region has an endless supply of less-educated workers headed for the United States is becoming less and less accurate when it comes to Mexico; and in the years ahead, it is also likely to become less accurate first for El Salvador and gradually Guatemala,” said MPI President Demetrios Papademetriou.

As a result of their findings, the MPI and Wilson Center made several recommendations such as passing comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. that includes provisions like expanding the legalization process for millions of undocumented people.  At the same time, however, the report urges Mexico and Central America to modernize their immigration systems that would incentivize “greater back-and-forth movement and the skill and experience exchanges that accompany such movement.”

The MPI and Wilson Center report came out on the same day that a Heritage Foundation study concluded that a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform plan in the U.S. Senate would cost taxpayers over $6 trillion.  The Heritage report refutes the MPI/Wilson Center study by arguing against enacting immigration reform but also the conclusions reached by other think tanks.  (Last month, for instance, the American Action Forum conservative think tank projected that immigration reform could boost gross domestic product growth by a percentage point each year over the next decade).

While politicians wrangle over the possibility of changing immigration policy, a recent poll showed strong public support for a fair and wide-ranging reform:

Daily Headlines: January 31, 2013

* Cuba: Dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez claimed that she would soon travel abroad after receiving her passport under Cuba’s recently implemented migration reforms.

* U.S.: In an interview with Telemundo, U.S. President Barack Obama expressed his hope that major immigration reform can become a reality before the end of this year.
 
* Colombia: Peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC are renewed today amid growing tensions over the rebels’ latest military offensive.

* Ecuador: An Argentine appeals court opened the doors for Ecuadorian plaintiffs to collect billions of dollars in an environmental damages case against Chevron.

Video Source – YouTube via AFP
 
Online Sources- Reuters, Huffington Post, The Latin Americanist, IOL, Businessweek

Obama, Senators Present Aims for Immigration Reform

U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled his goals for comprehensive immigration reform on Tuesday afternoon.

Obama emphasized that “now is the time” for reform and presented plan in order to accomplish this based on better border enforcement, cracking down on businesses that knowingly hire undocumented workers, improving the legal immigration system and a pathway for citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants.

Regarding the final point, Obama said that a potential road for citizenship should include “passing a background check, paying taxes, paying a penalty, learning English, and then going to the back of the line behind all the folks who are trying to come here legally”. 

"The question now is simple.  Do we have the resolve as a people, as a country, as a government to finally put this issue behind us? I believe that we do," said Obama during a speech in Nevada.

The president also praised a reform plan presented by a bipartisan group of senators yesterday as “very much in line with the principles I've proposed and campaigned on for the last few years.”
Much like Obama’s immigration goals, the plan from the “Gang of Eight” coincides on the same basic principles.  Yet the Senate proposal differs in a few ways such as making a road to citizenship for undocumented immigrants conditional on stronger border enforcement.

The proposals have been met with cautious optimism among some Latino pro-immigration campaigners:

Daily Headlines: January 6, 2009

* Haiti: Thousands of shoes mysteriously dumped on a Floridian expressway last week will be given to Haitians.

* Guatemala: Dozens of people reportedly died after a large mudslide covered a heavily trafficked road in northern Guatemala.

* Cuba: Cubans are now permitted to legally construct their own homes according to an edict by President Raul Castro.

* U.S.: Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Texas are preparing to butt heads over several immigration measures.

Image- AP (“Thousands of shoes were dumped on the Palmetto Expressway causing significant traffic delays in Miami, Friday, Jan. 2, 2009.”)
Online Sources- cbs4.com, Voice of America, UPI, chron.com

Demand for high-skilled U.S. visas met in a single day

Dear readers, I present to you the zillionth reason why immigration reform should be more than just a mere political “hot potato”:

“The U.S. immigration authorities on Wednesday were to start rejecting applications from skilled foreign workers seeking visas to work in America during the 2008 fiscal year (since) the country had reached its limit for 2008 H-1B visa petitions in a single day and would not accept any more.”

Is it me, or shouldn’t we all be peeved about this; the massive backlog at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency and the inability to reward sufficient skilled laborers, for instance.

When will the politicos get together and work out meaningful immigration reform? I mean, what the hell are they waiting for? Oh, wait! How silly of me. I forgot that 2007 is not an “election year” and that politicians won’t touch the subject with a ten-foot pole! We'll have to wait until next year when the topic's inserted into some meaningless rhetoric by the presidential candidates before being tossed aside again after Election Day in November. Why worry?!

Before I get too angered about this, I’ll defer the last word to William Morin- director of government affairs for the world's biggest supplier of equipment for making microchips:

“These are people who are going to develop the next big thing, and you're driving people offshore. It boggles the mind that we would come to this point.”

Links- International Herald Tribune, Reuters

Image- CBS News