The Immigrants of Spokane and Police of New Orleans

The people of Spokane are going to vote - and they will get to decide whether people in the city can be asked about their immigration status after an initial ban on being asked. This means that if this ban is repealed, workers who are illegal immigrants will now be vulnerable to being turned in for being "illegal" to U.S. immigration authorities. This news is actually somewhat surprising to me - I always thought that Washington was more liberal

On the other hand, let's go to New Orleans, Louisiana - where the exact opposite happened. Police will now no longer be profiling those whom they suspect of being "illegal" - go figure. So, in the South, they are helping immigration and in the Pacific Northwest, they may make it easier for illegal immigrants to get caught.

http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-reform-2016-new-orleans-police-stop-profiling-potential-undocumented-2322052

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/controversial-immigration-initiative-may-go-to-spokane-voters/

Marco Rubio, Obama, and Latin Ethnic Identity - A Short Piece

Regarding the article
http://www.latintimes.com/obama-immigration-anger-translator-marco-rubio-coward-abandoning-immigration-reform-370105

Marco Rubio was called cowardly from going away from support for comprehensive reform in immigration - of course, the President did not name Rubio directly but mentioned him as a candidate and stated that he is "running away from the solution".

I agree with the President's analysis on Rubio's position - but my question for the President is what has he done substantively to pass comprehensive immigration reform just as the President signed after passing through the House and Senate - the Affordable Care Act.

In addition- I wonder whether Rubio's insecurities in regards to being an immigrant and Republican is making him go towards opposition to comprehensive immigration reform.

LA School District closes its campuses to immigration officers

The Los Angeles Unified School District has declared all schools in its district as safe zones. What that means is that immigration officers will not be allowed on campus to take away children who are illegal immigrants. I believe this move is a good step on the part of the LA Unified School District as it helps advocate safety and promote safety for all children - not just children who are our citizens or who are here legally. If we want a more just world, we must learn to be just to everyone and ensure human rights - not just rights for our citizens.

In addition, I find it somewhat appalling that immigration officials would want to go to schools to snatch children from schools. Firstly, what would doing something like that say about how the U.S.  views education? Secondly, it would also be a slippery slope - today, it is a school district. Tomorrow it will be a hospital. Are we going to put people's education, livelihood, and even lifespan at risk simply because they do not have a visa or an American passport. I find it absurd to say the least.


http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/02/10/los-angeles-schools-close-their-doors-to-immigration-agents/

Exploring the Pakistani Americans of California

The Californian Pakistani-American diaspora of California is very interesting as it is diverse. There is a big difference between the Pakistani-American diaspora in the Bay Area for example versus the Pakistani-American community in Sacramento. For starters, those who are in the Bay Area are more educated in the sense of they are more likely to obtain higher education and come from urban cities of Pakistan such as Lahore and Karachi or Islamabad whereas the Sacramento community contains people more from village areas such as Okara, Gujrat, or even smaller cities like Faisalabad (formerly called Lyalpur).  When I mentioned this, it was pointed out to me that there could be two enclaves coming from the same place but their method of migration and their culture could be different although the push factor and pull factor could very well be the same.