New York Times (Opinion)
By Lawrence Downes
March 24, 2015
Immigration
reform, once such a hopeful subject, is now stuck in a scorched and
barren place. Legislation is dead in Congress. The 2016 presidential
primary race is about
to re-energize the Republican Party’s nativists, as candidates –
following the example set Monday by the hard-right Senator Ted Cruz –
start lining up to denounce unauthorized immigrants and pledge their
allegiance to the fantasy of a sealed border. Meanwhile,
President Obama’s program to give deportation relief to some
unauthorized immigrants has been stymied, nationwide, by a hostile
federal district judge in Texas.
The
deportations continue. Family suffering and separation continue. So
does the struggle, by immigrants and advocates, to assert their rights
and dignity using the tools
at hand: art, protest, persuasion, prayer.
And
music. Los Jornaleros del Norte, the Day Laborers of the North, are a
band in Los Angeles. They sing at pro-immigrant rallies. They make
albums. Their name refers
to their presence on this side of the border, of course, and also
alludes to a far more famous band, Los Tigres del Norte, giants of
norteño, the music of the Mexican-American borderlands.
Their
recent video “Serenata a un Indocumentado” recalls the protest
serenades organized by advocates on the street outside an immigration
prison in downtown Los Angeles.
It was directed by Alex Rivera, a filmmaker who often explores
immigration, borders and globalization.
It’s
sweet, sentimental, powerful – a reminder for those who aren’t touched
directly by this national scandal that the failure of immigration reform
is not just a crisis
of politics and economics, but also a matter of family and love.
Los Jornaleros are about to begin a “tour” of immigration detention sites around the country. Here is their plan:
“From
San Diego to Maricopa County, from Texas to Alabama and beyond, music
will serve as a tool to uplift immigrants’ humanity. We will highlight
and redress family separation,
unjust detention, inhumane incarceration conditions, criminalization of
communities of color, and senseless deportations. We will confront
dehumanization and unite in song to overcome walls that divide our
community into deserving and undeserving, good and
bad, winners and losers."
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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