Un Nouveau Départ

New Beginnings. This should be very interesting. As of right now I've changed the title of this blog to reflect my shift from a focus on immigration (from a recent political science course) to the adventures I will have in the next five months. I will be studying in Strasbourg (France) at l'Ecole de Management --> the school of business within the University of Strasbourg. This blog will capture my experiences in real-time so that friends, family, and others interested in studying abroad can get a first-hand look into what I am going through. I will be honest, sometimes blunt, as necessary. I may post in French as the use of two languages simultaneously over extended periods of time can cause a brain meltdown. I ask that you be patient with me and respond to any interesting posts. I will gladly take suggestions for post topics, and I look forward to you, the reader, living vicariously through my experience. Mmm let the fun begin!

And this is what you get when you type "let the fun begin" into Google Image :D

Napolitano Backs Immigration Bill

A recent NY Times article discusses the current situation involed in passing some kind of immigration bill. Since nothing progressive towards this issue has happened in a long time, Napolitano supports amnesty for illegal immigrant students, as she believes they have no fault for being here since many of them were brought by their parents. Napolitano also believes that this will help shift the focus to immigrant criminals who pose more of a threat to national security, and should therefore be the subjected more to deportation than students who do no harm.




To see the original article, follow here: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/napolitano-backs-immigration-bill/

You're Never Too Old To Get Deported

In world news, a 65 year old grandmother living in England for almost all of her life now faces deportation proceedings because there is no record of her emigrating to the country from Canada when she was just six months old. The BBC article which features Joan Wakely's story also explain's the UK unwillingness to provide amnesty, saying that she must complete a citizenship exam by February 2011. Joan has no intention of completing this exam and is exploring her other options.

This just goes to show what a funny world we live in. Even Canadians can be illegal immigrants.

Mexican Theme Park Turns Border Crossing Into Sport

The idea of a theme park in Mexico aimed at allowing guests to experience an illegal border crossing is pretty interesting to me. Of course this type of thing causes a lot of controversy: why would anyone pay 150 pesos (about $15) to climb fences, hide in ditches, and wait for a fake coyote to take them to to an American city? Some advertisements for this theme park entice people with sayings such as, "Make fun of the Border Patrol!" and "Cross the border as an extreme sport!"

Intended to make people more aware of what immigrants crossing the border go through, this theme park in Hidalgo, Mexico attracts tourists not only from the United States, but also Europe and Asia. For more information from the AZCentral.com article, follow here.

Film Review of "Sleep Dealer"

This film begins in Oaxaca, Mexico in a small village where many Mexicans leave to seek a better life. Set in a future not so distant from now, the U.S. Mexico border has been closed completely to immigrant workers. However, through a "Cybracero" program Mexican workers can hook themselves into machines located all over the Unites States in order to complete various jobs such as construction or farm work, all while still living in border towns such as Tiajuana. The details of the situation of Memo, the main character, delve much deeper than this, but for the sake of enticing you to watch the film I will leave a bit of mystery. My overall opinion of this film is that it is simple, honest, and tugs on the heart strings in the right places. Even though I am not of Mexican descent I have seen Memo's story in thousands of migrant workers who come to the United States each year and this is a great one. It's main themes are water control issues, (aqua) terrorism, family, hope, and making connections. The trailer below will give you a glimpse of this masterpiece, "Sleep Dealer".

Border Angels

Each year thousands of people attempt to cross the US-Mexico border in hopes of a better life for themselves and their families. However, the hardest part is not the actual border crossing, but rather the arduous journey through the scorching desert to the nearest source of civilization, and in most cases, water. In the September issue of Ode magazine, an article features the evidence of border angels--those who go out of their way to help people crossing the border by providing bottles of water to those along the journey. According to the article, it's only illegal to help undocumented immigrants, not to leave water in the desert for anyone to find. The article also features a water-finding GPS application for many cell phones which are sold in Mexican border towns. Those people making the journey can easily purchase these phones and applications to help with contacting family and finding water through GPS coordinates.

When I first read this article I didn't know where to put myself: such a delinquent move on one side of the perspective, but also such a selfless action made by so many people on the other side who just want to help humanity. The magazine's website did not provide any further details on the article, but simply through searching "border angels" in Google I was able to come up with a number of hits. BorderAngels.org is the website I recommend looking into if you're interested in hearing these people's stories and donating to this non-profit mission.

The Immigration Game, It Does Exist!

Oh, the internet. You've taught me things no one else could.

Just today, I thought I'd enter "the immigration game" into good ol' Google, just for kicks and giggles--and because the title of this blog is "The Immigration Game."

And lookie here what I found! An actual multi-player fact vs. fiction game about illegal immigration! That's right, the people at Gadkin Games LLC were kind enough to help out the unfortunate, un-informed masses of the United States by creating this very informative game.

It sounds like all fun and information, but the facts are biased and the creators are unrealistic in their concern for this country. Check out the game here, and even test your knowledge!

Want to meet the creators? Thanks to YouTube, now you can! Propaganda tool

Should Immigrant Veterans Face Deportation?

In this article by the Associates Press titled "Immigrant Vets Face Deportation Despite Service", two military veterans represent the growing number of immigrants who have served the United States in combat and now face deportation proceedings as a result of of the 1996 Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. It is true that each of these veterans has committed crimes since returning from active duty, however their case should be taken into careful consideration because of their service to this country. Rohan Coombs is a U.S. Armed Forces veteran who came to the country from Jamaica as a child, therefore the United States is the only home he knows.Coombs' attorney, Craig Shagin of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania states that, "They served in our uniforms, in our wars. If they were POWs, they'd be considered American prisoners."

California Democratic representative Bob Filner, chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, agrees with Shagin and is working to change the 1996 law. Filner concludes that, "An incredible number of kids come back with an injury or illness that puts them in trouble with the law. To simply have these people deported is not a good way to thank them for their service." ICE has not been keeping track of how many veterans are deported each year, but claims that it will now that this issue has surfaced in light of other immigration legislation. The United States Armed Forces is also notorious for ignoring non-life threatening injuries such as concussions and PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder), though legislation regarding compensation for these injuries is also making headway according to The Veterans Blog. The U.S. military acknowledges the dedication of the eight thousand immigrants that enlist each year, and is working to get them on the fast track to citizenship. In the meantime, Rohan Coombs among many other army veterans wait in immigration detention centers to find out if they will be deported from the country they have risked their lives to protect.

Woman Wins Immigration Battle to Stay in States

A One-in-a-Million Immigration Story



Silvia (depicted in the video above) represents hundreds of thousands of Mexican immigrants who are currently waiting in line to become legal citizens. No, the US government does not care if you have family here or have been here the majority of your adult life. No, the US government does not care that you have already been waiting a number of years. Yes, it is a very long line until you reach the naturalization counter for processing. And yes, the US government does care about you more if you have boatloads of money to skip ahead in line. So hand it over if you got it, otherwise it's the waiting game for you... And on a personal note, I do know people who are going through this exact situation, and yes, it's heartbreaking and frustrating all at the same time.

Perhaps Jan Brewer should move to Texas?

According to a poll conducted by a "non-partisan" group from New York, a slight majority of Texans support legislation similar to Arizona's SB1070. It's hard to actually find more data on this survey to find what the survey population consisted of, so all I can say is that the folks surveyed over telephone must be more extreme in opinion than the rest of the population who does not use telephones. I really doubt that the Texas population considered "reasonably suspicious" wants to be racially profiled, so hopefully the hard-lined Republican politicians don't get too far with this.

Poll Finds Most Texans Back Arizona-Style Immigration Law

Muslims Are Taking Over The World... at an Alarming Rate?

I found this video by searching "Muslim immigration" on Youtube.com. This is so biased and purposely misleading that I find it funny. But in reality it's kind of sad that some people actually believe this. Honestly, check out the highly-rated comments posted in response to this video, it's astounding the mindsets that still exist today. -Eva

The Initial Post

I'm going to be up front with you: I've started this blog as part of a class assignment. And for a writing class, I think it's a good idea because it incorporates our honest thoughts along with what we come across in the media and our daily lives. The interesting part of this assignment is that most of the people in this class did not have a blog before this assignment. In addition, most of us also do not have a Twitter account. This is a fact, it was proven by an in-class survey. Professor Nuno probably thought he must have entered a parallel universe where the older generation are more technologically involved then the younger generation. Talk about schooling, ay?

My reasoning for the majority of my classmates (including myself) not subscribing to Twitter or following umpteen blogs is that we simply cannot make the time. Sure the time exists, but it's split up between attending class, studying, eating, sleeping, the occasional shower & workout routine, keeping up with the family & friends, and working a job if we're not lucky enough to inherit a trust fund. So why am I not more involved in the online community? Apathy is an easy scapegoat, but it cannot suffice now that I've started a blog.

The conclusion my thoughts have come to today: is it more important to develop an online presence, or maintain personal connections? Should I blow off hang-out time with friends to delve into the interwebs for articles and other blog posts which I can use to soup up my own blog? What is more important in today's world, online credibility or a list of professional references you've worked hard to establish through various in-person activities such as having coffee? What ever happened to having coffee in order to foster good relations? And what's next, virtual coffee via Skype?

If you know of something like virtual coffee, please let me know, it will satisfy my cynical needs for the week.

-Eva