Author: mopress

December 25, 2005

Dear Friends:

On behalf of Ramsey – "Tezcatlipoca" Irma "Citlalmina"
and our families, we thank you for the love and support that
you have given us. Know that I will travel to
Springfield, Missouri again to be with my husband from
December 29 through January 1.

We also thank you for bringing forth the spiritual/cultural
movement of the 21st century. This movement is one that
pertains to the masses of our people and is to be taken
seriously. Life is serious, and as you well know I have
learned the significance of this. Below is Ramsey’s message.
I know that these words are for his people whom he loves.
He states the following:

"The pain that I feel for my people is so great and I’m unable
to cry as a Mexicano. I would like to cry, but I have no more tears.

We must take the time and thank God for giving us life once more. I’m
convinced now that He has a mission not only for us, but for those
around us. Citlalmina, I cannot find the words to share with you that
my heart, my love, my spirituality is like never before in my life.
Every night it is a new vision and/or dream that He brings to my life
for me to share with you and those close to our hearts.

He has shared with me that one day soon we will be totally free
from the chains and shackles of the oppressor. He took my life and gave
it back to us. Now it is our destiny to bring life, love, liberation,
and justice in the same way that our beloved brother, Jesus did on this
day of His birth."

Amor,
Tezcatlipoca

******************

www.freeramsey.com

Email from Irma Muniz (Dec. 21, 2005)

Although precise dating is impossible, several scientists
speculated on the basis of its spread and variation that the
mutation arose between 20,000 and 50,000 years ago. That
would be consistent with research showing that a wave of
ancestral humans migrated northward and eastward out of
Africa about 50,000 years ago.

–Rick Weiss, Washington Post (Dec. 15, 2005)

Each year, 65,000 undocumented students graduate from our nation’s high
schools. Brought by their parents as young children, many have grown up
in the United States, attended U.S. K-12 schools, and share in our
American culture and values. Some have little memory of their homeland
or their native language. Like their U.S.-born peers, these individuals
share the same dream of pursuing a higher education. Unfortunately, due
to their immigration status, they are typically barred from many of the
opportunities that currently make a college education affordable –
in-state tuition rates, state and federal grants and loans, private
scholarships, and the ability to work legally to earn their way through
college. In effect, through no act of their own, they are denied the
opportunity to share in the "American Dream." If passed, the “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien
Minors (DREAM) Act,” S. 2075, a bipartisan federal proposal led by
Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), and Richard Lugar
(R-IN), would facilitate access to postsecondary educational
opportunities for immigrant students in the United States who currently
face barriers in pursuing a college education. The “DREAM Act” would
also allow hardworking immigrant youth who have long resided in the
U.S. the chance to adjust their status, enabling them to contribute
fully to our society.

The “DREAM Act” was introduced in the U.S. Senate in November
2005. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) is the sponsor of the bill, and the
lead Republican cosponsors are Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Richard
Lugar (R-IN). The Senate Judiciary Committee must now consider and
approve the “DREAM Act” before the bill can be considered for a vote by
the full Senate. Similar versions of this bill garnered significant
support from both Democrats and Republicans last Congress when it was
approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee with a 16-3 bipartisan vote.
In addition, last year, 48 senators and 153 representatives signed on
in support of the “DREAM Act” and its companion bill in the U.S. House
of Representatives. The House version of the “DREAM Act”, which has
been championed by Representatives Chris Cannon (R-UT), Howard Berman
(D-CA), and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), currently awaits
reintroduction.

NCLR Position

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
urges passage of the “DREAM Act,” S. 2075. The “DREAM Act,” which
provides a path to U.S. citizenship for hardworking and talented
immigrant students who have been raised in the U.S., is critical to
improving the pipeline from high school to college and providing
meaningful employment for Latinos.

Dear Mr. President:

The undersigned national Latino organizations write to express our
extreme disappointment with the Statement of Administration Policy
(SAP) issued yesterday supporting the "Border Protection,
Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005" (H.R.
4437). This bill defies any attempt at serious or effective immigration
reform, which you yourself acknowledged is urgently needed. Your SAP is
baffling in light of recent statements made by RNC Chairman Ken
Mehlman, which correctly
point out that the House Republican proposal overreaches in ways which
are harmful to the country and which will alienate the Latino
community.
Your support of H.R. 4437 is inconsistent with the very principles for immigration reform that you have put forward.
The impact of H.R. 4437 on the Latino community would be
devastating. This bill is excessively harmful to American
families,
businesses, and communities as well as immigrants. Among its many
appalling provisions: it criminalizes 11 million undocumented workers;
it subjects family members, employers, religious institutions, and
others to criminal penalties under broadened definitions of smuggling,
harboring, and transporting; it expands expedited removal and mandatory
detention; and it creates an unworkable employer verification system
that will
displace millions of workers and disrupt the economy. All of these
provisions will have a far-reaching impact on the entire Latino
community, yet none would solve our very real immigration problems.
H.R. 4437 does not put us on a path toward comprehensive immigration
reform; rather it stymies
constructive debate and is an affront to those who are truly
interested in solutions.

As you know, leaders from both political parties have
acknowledged the need to address our immigration problems in a
comprehensive manner and are working on realistic, rational immigration
reform legislation.

However, House Republicans have provided this shortsighted and
mean-spirited bill which is intended to appear tough on immigration
without resolving our nation’s immigration problems. Only a
comprehensive approach that provides a path to citizenship for current
undocumented immigrants, creates new legal channels for future flows of
needed immigrants, reduces family immigration backlogs, and protects
worker rights will reduce undocumented immigration and bring order to
our immigration system.

We are shocked and saddened by your Administration’s statement of
strong support for H.R. 4437. It is difficult to understand how you
will explain your posture on this legislation to the Latino community,
which is following this debate very closely. We urge you to withdraw
your support for H.R. 4437 and get back on the path toward
comprehensive immigration reform.

Sincerely,

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
Educational Fund
National Council of La Raza (NCLR)