A round up of stories today about opportunity in America, pulled from a variety of nonprofits, race and immigration blogs, and mainstream media outlets. Cross posted at State of Opportunity, a blog about human rights and the American Dream.
- The DREAM Act legislation which would provide undocumented students the means to stay in the country legally if they attend college or join the military is up for a vote today in the Senate. The Border Line reports that it remains unclear if enough Senators will come out in support of the bill, measure which would provide many students who arrived in the US legally as young children with access to federal funding for continue their education in hope of giving back to their communities.
- As the wildfires continue to rage in Southern California, Immigration News Daily has posted that about fifty undocumented immigrants have turned themselves into border patrol agents out of fear for their safety. Various bloggers such as Prometheus 6 are starting to draw comparisons between the immense devastation of the wildfires and that of Hurricane Katrina, and how the socio-economic status of the displaced populations has affected the care and attention each received.
- RaceWire has done a piece about Blackwater's new bid to get involved with security on the US-Mexico border. Author Seth Wessler explains how problematic this situation would be, despite apparent bipartisan support in Congress:
"Given Blackwater’s 'shoot first' policy, enacted with bloody clarity in Iraq and on the streets of New Orleans after Katrina, the plans to expand to the border region do not bode well. With vigilante groups like the Minutemen already taking their racist, nationalist stance to the front lines, guns in hand, the addition of Blackwater to the scene would only mean more dead immigrants with less accountability.
In a political climate where the rhetoric on immigration employs the lexicon of war, the possibility of Blackwater’s entry into the border security scene seems to fit the frame. As if it were not enough that the United States is building a wallalong the border and the the total number of deportations has increased by over 400% in the past ten years, the border itself may be handed over to private firms whose interests could not be less in line with the common good."
- The Unapologetic Mexican has joined the ranks of those reporting on a coalition of major newspapers and television networks who are petitioning to gain access to Jena Six member Mychal Bell's sealed criminal trial. Bell's lawyer seems to agree that the media presence may help temper further questionable rulings by District Attorney Reed Walters, and that case has been publicized enough to date that Americans have a right to know what is going on.
- The Republic of T is spreading the news about the just-announced date of next July's 'Blogging While Brown' conference. In a blogosphere in which people of color remain the minority, it is tremendously important for bloggers of color to organize themselves in order to maximize potential to publicize issues of import such as the Jena Six case.
- Feministing posts that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke this past weekend about the Roe v. Wade abortion ruling, about how she doesn't forsee the ruling being overturned in the next few years. She added, however, that if it were overturned, abortion would always be available to 'women of means' who could afford to travel to other states, but "would have a devastating impact on poor women."