Washington Post Op-Ed: "Immigrants, Like Me, Want to Succeed. Congress Should Let Them"

José Andrés, an award-winning Spanish chef and restaurant owner who came to the US with fifty dollars and a knife set, has an op-ed urging immigration reform:

I understand that this is a difficult and complicated issue. But we are not asking for an open-door policy that allows unregulated immigration. Indeed, the bill before Congress would do more to secure our borders than any other law in history. What we’re asking is to give the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are already part of America’s DNA a chance — a chance to prove they are worthy of citizenship; a chance to contribute more to this incredible country; a chance to belong.

José Andrés himself recently became a US citizen and shares his story on the TODAY show.

MSNBC: "How America’s harshest immigration law failed"

MSNBC's Benjy Sarlin reports on Alabama's failed immigration law HB 56:

The vast scope of the law turned Alabama into an unprecedented test for the anti-immigration movement. If self-deportation didn’t work there, it’s hard to imagine where it could. Early reports suggested success: undocumented immigrants appeared to flee Alabama en masse. But two years later, HB 56 is in ruins. Its most far-reaching elements have proved unconstitutional, unworkable, or politically unsustainable. Elected officials, social workers, clergy, activists, and residents say an initial immigrant evacuation that roiled their communities ended long ago. Many who fled have returned to their old homes.

Meanwhile, South Carolina is resolving challenges to their immigration law (which contained measures similar to Alabama's law).

[via BillMoyers.com]

NYC Taxi Drivers Beefcake Calendar

The New York City taxi driver is an iconic character. Appreciated or feared, these drivers are known for their aggressive driving tactics and liberal use of the car horn (and in the case of my colleague, Protima, quite a few marriage proposals), but they are not generally known for their humor or muscular good looks. NYC-based writer and filmmaker Phil Kirkman and photographer Shannon McLaughlin sought to break through some of these stereotypes while also drawing attention to the vast working immigrant population in New York City by presenting the NYC Taxi Drivers 2014 Calendar. In this calendar, Kirkman and McLaughlin put a face (actually, twelve) to one of the most diverse and dedicated work forces in New York City. 

With 82% of taxi drivers born in a country other than the U.S., it’s fitting that 100% of the calendar's net sales will go to University Settlement, an organization founded in 1886 on New York City’s Lower East Side serving over 30,000 immigrant and working individuals and families every year with basic services such as quality education, housing, and literacy programs. The calendar can be purchased here. Or else (at your own risk) you can just ask your next male cab driver to take his shirt off. 

Noriko's Visa Adventure

The US Embassy Tokyo has a brief but informative video on the process of obtaining a visa at the consulate there. The video, one of many on the Embassy's Youtube channel, has some helpful pointers on what to expect, particularly in regards to the F-1 student visa (spoiler: Noriko gets one!). The Embassy also states they will respond to questions on their Twitter.

NBC Latino: Daniel Alarcón

Peruvian-American writer Daniel Alarcón, author of At Night We Walk in Circles, talks with NBC Latino about identity, writing in English and Spanish, and US patriotism. He says:

There’s something that gets lost in the immigration debate here in the United States: well, they don’t talk about how patriotic immigrants are. How much appreciation many immigrant families have for the opportunities that the United States has afforded them. So it wasn’t that we were sitting around thinking, “Oh, we’re so lucky to be here.” But there was a real patriotic strain in our family, and at least among the Peruvians that I grew up with, that was not unique.

The New York Times also profiled Alarcón and discussed how he navigates two cultures:  "'I think I’m an American writer writing about Latin America, and I’m a Latin American writer who happens to write in English.'”

D&B Holiday Party 2013

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Stephanie Carril and Matt Bray in deep concentration as they prepare dinner as part of the annual firm holiday party/cooking lesson at the Institute of Culinary Education.

BusinessWeek: "To Fix Immigration, Improve U.S. Education and Link Visas to Employer Needs"

Whatever the end results of comprehensive immigration reform, Harold L. Sirkin, a Chicago-based senior partner of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, points out that this reform should also address the labor needs of US businesses:

The success of many U.S. businesses, as we have noted before, depends on the availability of talent. According to government statistics, the average high-skilled manufacturing worker in the U.S. is in his or her late 50s. If the baby boomers continue to retire at present rates, and manufacturing continues to grow as we project, America could face a significant shortage of skilled workers in the years ahead. Many companies already are having trouble filling certain job vacancies.

The solution, Sirkin says, is to 1) update the US education system so that US workers can fill these positions; and 2) also hire qualified foreign workers. Particularly, he argues that the H-1B cap should be tied to labor needs, not politics (Protima also discussed this in her post on the immigration reform bill). SIrkin states: "Failing to include labor force demand as part of a solution to the immigration problem means our companies will be at a competitive disadvantage in talent development." Sirkin's post is a reminder that immigration reform is not only about undocumented immigrants (however important this issue is) but also about the needs and vitality of US businesses.