Tag Archives: immigration

Immigrants Made American Fashion

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Immigrants and American Fashion

Some of the most popular American fashion icons – Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, and Ralph Lauren – were children of immigrants from Eastern Europe whose parents worked in New York City’s garment industry. Calvin Klein, DKNY, and Ralph Lauren are among the most recognizable global clothing brands. Levi Strauss, founder of Levi’s and blue jeans, was an immigrant from Germany. Levi’s, of course, popularized the iconic blue jeans, which are synonymous with American.

The fashion baton has been passed onto Asian-Americans and Asian immigrants. This Fusion article showcases the creativity and innovations of Asian Americans and Latino Americans who are becoming the icons of fashion.

International Human Rights Day

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International Human Rights Day

On December 10 of every year since 1950, the United Nations has commemorated International Human Rights Day. The theme last year was Human Rights 365 – a reminder that every day is Human Rights Day. Of course, commemorating a day once a year is a starkly different action from pursuing the goal of fewer human rights violations every day, but the day should serve as a poignant reminder that human rights violations occur every day throughout the world. This year, the theme is the 50th anniversary of the two International Covenants on Human Rights: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (celebrating its 67th birthday) has three articles concerning immigration and migration. Article 13 announces the right of freedom of movement and residence with an individual’s country. The second clause of Article 13 declares that, “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.”

Many forced migrations are the result of human rights violations. Asylum as a process (in which the recipient is green card eligible after a year) in the immigration system that is designed to accommodate some individuals who have been victims of human rights violations. The United States has a ceiling of 70,000 asylum acceptances this year. Article 14 recognizes that persecution causes people to seek safety, declaring everyone has the right to seek asylum (unless they themselves are persecutors).

Article 15 asserts that everyone has the right to a nationality and that “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.”

Thirty articles comprise the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They are not all immigration-related, but many are connected to immigration and its consequences (standard of living, education). On this day, it is important to recognize the important of human rights in our modern world and that immigration is a basic, fundamental human right worthy of protection.

In commemoration of this day, Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon says, “On Human Rights Day, let us recommit to guaranteeing the fundamental freedoms and protecting the human rights of all.”

You can follow the worldwide activities associated with this day on social media through #HumanRightsDay.

Immigration in State of the Union

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State of the Union 

“Yes, passions still fly on immigration, but surely we can all see something of ourselves in the striving young student, and agree that no one benefits when a hardworking mom is taken from her child, and that it’s possible to shape a law that upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.” – Barack Obama, January 20, 2015

The word ‘immigration’ was only uttered twice Tuesday night in President Barack Obama’s seventh State of the Union speech, but the immigration motif was prevalent throughout the address.

The president made quick mention of the inherent unfairness of breaking apart families to remove a low-enforcement priority mother from her US citizen children. That is the basis of DAPA (Deferred Action for Parental Arrivals). The guiding light of American immigration policy is family reunification. Dismantling families would run contrary to that. DAPA is receiving most of the attention from Obama’s November 20, 2014 Immigration speech, in which he announced a series of executive orders to make incremental improvements to the immigration system in the face of congressional paralysis, especially in 2007 and 2013-2014. The “hardworking mom” mentioned during the speech would be someone that DAPA would protect temporarily, for the sake of keeping families intact.

The president dedicated much of his speech to trumpeting the job creation, research & development, innovation, and overall economic improvement of the United States in recent years. Underlying these important markers is immigration. American businesses rely on non-immigrant and immigrant visas to succeed. There are currently 140,000 Emplyoment-Based visas available per year and the H-1B visa system has been criticized for years by American businesses, some politicians, and immigration advocates as being damagingly low. The president has vowed to make improvements throughout the immigration architecture. He has declared his intention to modernize the employment process for immigration. We eagerly anticipate these reforms, as they will be in the best interests of our country, our fellow citizens, and immigrants.

Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador

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DHS – TPS

DHS announced yesterday (January 7) that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has been extended 18 months for eligible nationals of El Salvador. It is effective as of March 10, 2015 and extends until September 9, 2016. The strict 60-day re-registration period started yesterday and ends March 9, 2015.

 

Temporary Protected Status exists to protect a certain country’s nationals from returning to their home country in times the country is suffering extraordinary circumstances, such as armed conflicts, epidemics, or environmental disasters. The Secretary of Homeland Security (Jeh Johnson) has the authority to designate TPS for a country if he believes the conditions are too dangerous for nationals of that country currently in the United States to return safely. The nationals must already be in the United States for TPS at the time of TPS designation. For example, TPS from Honduras requires continuous residence since December 30, 1998 . TPS is not permanent immigration status, but TPS confers a safeguard against removal from the US and the ability to obtain employment authorization and travel authorization. It does not lead to other immigration statuses like a green card, but a TPS recipient is not barred from applying for nonimmigrant status, adjusting status, or applying for any other immigration benefit by virtue of TPS. Primary and secondary forms of evidence are required to file for TPS, in order to demonstrate eligibility for nationality, identity, date of entry, and continuous residence in the United States.

 

The current TPS designated countries, in addition to El Salvador, are Republic of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Syria. The West African nations of Republic of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are the most recent additions and were designated for 18 months of TPS in November 2014 because of the outbreak of the Ebola virus.

International Migrants Day

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“On International Migrants Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to shape diverse and open societies that provide opportunities and lives of dignity for all migrants.”

 

Ban-Ki Moon and the United Nations celebrated International Migrants Day, December 18, this past Thursday. This is the fifteenth celebration of International Migrants Day, and it is in recognition of the increasing number and importance of immigrants and non-immigrants to countries and communities around the world. The United States has prided itself on having thriving immigrant communities, but the rest of the world has been experiencing its own migrant experiences. Western European countries post World War II have been built on the strength of migrant communities, Brazil and Argentina are renown for their immigrant communities, and Canada is a rich mosaic of migrants.

In the United States, 13% of all Americans are immigrants today and that does not include the millions of nonimmigrants who are currently residing in the country as F-1 visa students, H-1B workers, and B1/B2 visitors. Migration can sometimes involve difficult and arduous journeys and International Migrants Day tries to draw attention to the peril of those migrations. It also rallies support against racism and intolerance encourages better public perception of migrants and migration. The State Department lamented the hardship many migrants have faced in trying to escape to better lives.