By CHARLENE OBERNAUER With an immigration reform bill coming out sometime in the coming week, many of us are sitting on our hands wondering what we can do to ensure that the principles that we care about are being included in an immigration reform bill. One of the best ways to help support this movement …
This week, we are featuring a personal testimony from Kandace, one half of the dynamic duo that is Never Neutral. On March 3, she stepped off on a 15-day, 200-mile journey to walk alongside the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) from Ft. Myers, Florida to Lakeland, Florida, home of Publix Supermarket. The CIW and allies …
by CHARLENE OBERNAUER Support for a minimum wage hike has become “the issue” distinguishing Democrats from Republicans. GOP pinup boy Marco Rubio has said that minimum wage laws simply “don’t work”, while President Obama just announced support for a federal minimum wage increase to $9. As the GOP struggles to win support among non-traditional allies: …
by KANDACE VALLEJO The moment that we’ve been promised seems to finally be materializing. This week marks the beginning of a hearing on immigration reform being held the Senate Committee on Judiciary. While Jose Antonio Vargas (an undocumented journalist who ‘came out’ as such in 2011) testified at the hearing, national news media picked apart, applauded, and critiqued Obama’s State of the …
By CHARLENE OBERNAUER The President steps up to the podium, straightens his tie and prepares to make one of the most important speeches of his lifetime on immigration reform. He starts by detailing the need to strengthen the border, then goes on to talk about legalizing workers, punishing employers who exploit the system, and honoring …
By CHARLENE OBERNAUER and KANDACE VALLEJO On Tuesday, immigrant rights advocates from across the country gathered in Las Vegas to hear President Obama lay out his plan for immigration reform. Obama’s pro-immigrant and uncharacteristically partisan inaugural address combined with his promise last week to align himself with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ progressive immigration reform proposal left advocates optimistic. With …
By CHARLENE OBERNAUER Over 150,000 workers lost their jobs between 2008 and 2012. And it wasn’t because of a bad economy, the great recession, or increasing taxes. It was because of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. Every time employers choose to move their business outside of our borders to cut back labor costs, …
By CHARLENE OBERNAUER Recently, some of the most powerful evangelical groups in the nation earned considerable attention for the formation of the Evangelical Immigration Table. The coalition is designed to push Congress and the White House for immigration reform in 2013, although the details of what kind of reform they support remain unclear. The coalition …
By KANDACE VALLEJO When nationally syndicated CNN columnist Ruben Navarrette declared last month that DREAMers (you know, the kids who brought us Deferred Action last year) “deserve a scolding,” people responded strongly to Navarrette’s analysis of the DREAMers as a group of “entitled” brats who were risking the movement for everyone else (including their parents). …
by KANDACE VALLEJO * This article was originally published on Civil Eats on November 16th, 2012. Following the election, millions across the nation are breathing a huge sigh of relief (or maybe crying, depending on where you fall politically). And while my friends and I celebrated over wine, cheese, and grapes, I wondered what Obama’s victory …
By CHARLENE OBERNAUER It’s no secret that immigration reform is on President Obama’s agenda for 2013. For many of us, this is exactly the moment we’ve been waiting for—or at least we hope it is. As Senators Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan scurry to create a proposal that would help secure some of the Latino … Continue reading »
Hi friends, We wanted to take a minute to introduce you to our newest project. This is never neutral (nn). We’re excited about this project, the process of writing, and learning new stories and strategies. But mostly we’re excited to be creating more dialogue, more thought, and a stronger movement for justice in this country. … Continue reading »
by CHARLENE OBERNAUER Why We’re Losing Hope. It’s something that all activists need to sustain ourselves. Hope that we’ll win a fair union contract from our greedy employer. Hope that people will show up to our film screening or donate to our online fundraiser. Hope that the next city budget won’t hurt working people as … Continue reading »
by KANDACE VALLEJO * Originally published on Waging Non-Violence The Undocubus, a busload of undocumented activists from Arizona, rode across the Deep South throughout the month of August to call attention to immigration policies that criminalize immigrants and separate families. The group arrived at the Democratic National Convention on Saturday, 48 years and eight presidential administrations … Continue reading »
