Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Movement Drama

Lawd it never stops. Part of me once believed that it was just something that only happened with in the undocumented student movement, but it seems that history is full of it. And just as the legacies of fighting for social justice are carried on by a younger generation, so does the drama. It's inevitable anyway you cut.

But it really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone in or outside the movement. Drama is a part of every day life and given the intensity of the work that is done, said drama also intensifies. We are only human beings. Of course there are different ways to go about dealing with it, but if there's one thing dreamers are known for, it's being passive aggressive over social media. Like a bunch of bickering children.

Now whether said drama comes about because folks are dating within the circles, specific people are highlighted over others, difference of opinions and/or strategies etc. it'll eventually come about. The fact that the movement itself is split up the way it is right now, United We Dream vs The NIYA vs everyone else vs non-profits vs anyone who dares nay say.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Who has access to resources & support networks when it comes down to DACA?


Part of me has been saying this since day one. If you have any questions about how Deferred Action is going to work, how to qualify, where to sign up etc. you'd start by going to the USCIS web site it self and looking up that info yourself. Facebook is just confusing folks more than anything, but the logic remains the same. If you want to find out information about something, look it up online.

But there in lies a problem that is only compounded once I started seeing a patter of questions folks have been asking since the DACA announcement. The majority of them were how does one qualify, where do you go to get the app, how much is it going to cost etc. Things what were answered at first and in further detail once the application was made public and further guidelines were made clear by USCIS.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Self Deportation Station



You gotta love the folks over at Funny or die. They hit the nail on the head with their videos and this latest one about a "Self Deportation Station" is on point. They're clowning Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and it's def. worth a watch and good laugh.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Step by step for applying for DACA


For anyone applying for Deferred Action, read through the step by step guide that Educators for Fair Consideration have created. The guide, which can be found here, and it provides an excellent breakdown on the process and helps answers numerous questions that most folks have when starting to fill out their application.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival Applications

There are the forms needed to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. With that being said, Educators for Fair Consideration have an amazing step by step guide to helps folks as they apply for this process.

If you're reading this and thinking of applying, do so with time and ease. USCIS is only going to give folks a one time shot at applying, and if for whatever reason, your application doesn't go through, there won't be any second chances or appeals.

Remember to only trust attorneys that are recommended to you by trust worthy people. Don't pay for these services without seeing if you can do it for free, and if you do have to pay, be sure to keep track of everything. Forms after the jump.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Just providing a service


The majority of folks just want help getting theirs, which I can understand. Within the circles I'm in doing this kind of work, all across the board, most of the non-profits are gearing up to help folks with their applications. Some are charging to cover the over head cost and others are totally doing it for free. What remains to be seen is where things will fall after the elections and once the first wave of folks apply and get through. It's all new territory and anything can and will happen.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Lawyers Grifting Deferred Action

To be honest, I never really gave much thought on all the fucking shark lawyers and notaries were  coming outta the woodwork when the Deferred Action announcement was made. Folks were being warned left and right that they shouldn't be paying anyone to help them fill out an application that is yet to exist. That getting help from these asses could end up hurting someone in the long run.

Well now that I'm seeing more and more of these charlatans pop up everywhere, I found this Benouis firm on a facebook ad, and it really pisses me off. Like, to the point that I'm just going about my normal internet browsing and I see these fuckers trying to post up their shit on group pages and what not. They all have some stupid name that throws the words "Dream Act" and "deferred action" in there to get anyones attention.

All of this stuff hasn't really hit yet, but seeing all these putos trying to make money got the ball rolling. But that just goes to show you that I wasn't ready for everything that is to come. Because of the personal investment I have in all this work, just like all the other dreamers, it catches you off guard and you wanna make sure that no one gets taken advantage of. We've all heard countless stories of lawyers and notaries robbing people outta thousands of dollars and never helping them or just making things worse.

It can't be helped. There's approximately 1 one million plus dreamers that are going to be applying and going through this system. Not all of us have access to resources, connections or support to get the paper work done, cover the application fees and get help in case things take a turn for the worse. There are going to be folks who are going to get robbed and who are going to end up getting into deeper problems because they got grifted. And I can't help feel some responsibility for that.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Foot in mouth


I ain't gonna lie, I'm a hater, straight up. Why do I hate instead to congratulate? If the answer was only that simple, I wouldn't be putting my foot in mouth every other day. Take for example the screen grab from earlier today on facebook. It was from Chirla's page, read it and then come back to this, that's the only way things will make sense. 

As you can see, Karla has a point. Instead of trying to help someone out, the first thing I do is try to push them down even further. This isn't an isolated incident and it certainly won't be the last either. I'm not defending or taking back back what I wrote on that post, I still think the person who called themselves a wetback is still an idiot. 

That being said, for those of you who don't know, that's a word I first used myself when I first started this blog. "American Wetback" was the first tittle I had when I started blogging about being undoc and what that meant for me. That was back in 2006. I ended up changing the name of the blog to what it is now a year or so later, but after I made that comment, I remembered what I did half way into taking a shower. 

Saturday, August 04, 2012

Details on Deferred Action Guidelines

Click to Embiggen 

Seems everyone is getting into flow charts and visuals as of late with all the deferred action stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love it since I'm a visual learner myself. Anyway, Deferred Action, USCIS and the announcement made today about the guidelines. This is the announcement everyone was waiting for, the nitty gritty details on qualifying for deferred action and work permits.

Even some of my concerns were answered with this newest update, but, bottom line is that deferred action is not a law. It's not mandated by anyone to the point of everyone in the government having to comply, at its core, it's still up to the discretion of the individuals on the ground, doing the paper work, bossing those that do the paper work etc.

Deferred Action only benefits "good immigrants' who don't have any kind of criminal record, are staying outta trouble by staying in school and aren't on the radar of ICE. This means that most dreamers are going to qualify for this, but it still leaves out folks who are too old or those of use who had run ins with the law, along with our parents.

At best, whoever comes after Obama, they can decide to end it or keep. Ultimately, nothing has changed but everything has, you feel me? But don't get it twisted, I'll be getting my work permit and paying my $500 just like everyone else. And in true fashion, mainstream media has decided to focus on the cost of the permit and spinning it to look like anyone who is undoc can get a work permit for $500.

Friday, August 03, 2012

Checking myself, before I wreck myself

You know how sometimes you say the quite part loud and the loud part quietly? Well for me it's like that the majority of the time and while I have been actively working on not drinking hater-aid, I get annoyed with constantly having to check myself before I wreck myself. Annoyed is putting it nicely, I'm down right fed up with having to mentally check myself all the motha fucking time.

I'm connected to too many things all at the same time, and I've noticed more and more when I reach my thresh hold of information consumption cause all I wanna do is comment or reply some stupid smart ass remark to postings on facebook or observations in conversations.

I remember a time when I use to say all sorts of stupid shit and no one would care, but seeing as how I'm some sort of public figure, I can't be really saying what I'm thinking. Much like a politician, I just gotta say what others wanna hear and keep the real me in check because the id isn't suppose to run wild like that. It's a delicate balance that I have yet to find, and it's gonna take a lot more work to get there.

But at the same time, I am making progress. I do keep shit to myself and in my mind now rather than throwing it out there and taking a swig of hater-aid. It guess it says more about me that I need to work on this, than it does on the people and things I wanna hate on. I'm sure there's some proverb that would could describe this a lot better, but I can't think of one right now. So.... wax on, wax off.

C/S