Sunday, November 15, 2020

From Essential Workers on Covid-19 Mixed Status, Heroes Act, Demographics that gave Victory to a what a real Immigration Policy Reform

 Undocumented workers and their families contributed more than $1.6 trillion to the nation’s gross domestic product in 2018. This was while the Trump Administration launched it's Zero Tolerance policy on Immigration while undocumented neighbors buy groceries, pay taxes and support local businesses in economic activity that generates $190 billion in government revenue nationwide.

Undocumented immigrants disproportionately work in essential sectors and earn lower total wages compared to their US-born counterparts. A lot of them are in the food supply chain, groceries, meat packaging, manufacturing, transport, delivery, retail, housekeeping, maintenance, janitorial, farming, merchandising to name a few. COVID-19 infection rates for Latinxs are the highest of all ethnoracial groups in California and Los Angeles. California has one of the highest unemployment rates (over 30%) among the poorest and most vulnerable undocumented workers and their mixed-status family members (more than 5.3 million).

When these undocumented immigrants get sick with Covid-19, they cannot even claim for unemployment insurance.  Deferred action protections and legal work authorization should be immediately granted to all essential workers3. The important role of undocumented workers in the economy provides a strong argument for a policy of legalization and a pathway to citizenship within a broader program of immigration reform.

“Undocumented workers are fundamental to our economy, especially during the pandemic when many of them are the essential workers who are keeping us fed, safe and healthy,” said Sonja Diaz, founding director of the Latino Policy and Politics Initiative. “It would be only fair to recognize their contributions by including them in recovery efforts, and it is also clear that we cannot rebound from this crisis if we leave them behind.”

 Most undocumented workers are employed on the front lines, earning less than their legalized counterparts despite sharing equal labor responsibilities and risks. They are also excluded from receiving financial assistance from federal, state, and local governments, even though they boost the economy through tax contributions and consumer spending and stimulate employment and local investment. The pandemic has revealed the important role undocumented workers play in keeping the economy afloat.

From the recent conclusions of our elections on the changing demographics of the different demographics and sectors, we know the major issues start from healthcare, race, economy, as well as the changing needs even in a particular culture. Our nation is still divided and still in need of healing but time is always takes precedence in this process. Yet to heal to start the process we need to recognize the disparities of the effects of the pandemic both on on the deaths, cases as well as those essential workers such as the essential workers whom a big part are the non-documented whom sometimes we don't hear about when we talked about essential workers on Covid-19. 

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Where do We Go From Here to Heal, Move and Rise Mr. President Elect

 

What Do We Do Now?: A Workbook for the President-Elect Hess, Stephen  A Workbook for the President-Elect," complete with exercises to fill in and boxes to tick off; but it is also a compelling primer for the average citizen." Frank Gannon, Wall Street Journal.

This unique and daunting process always involves at least some mistakes—in hiring, perhaps, or in policy priorities, or organizational design. Early blunders can carry serious consequences well into a president's term; minimizing them from the outset is critical. In What Do We Do Now? Stephen Hess draws from his long experience as a White House staffer and presidential adviser to show what can be done to make presidential transitions go smoothly. Here is a workbook to guide future chief executives, decision by decision, through the minefield of transition.

I start with this as in the most recent transition in 2016 was a very good example of the failures right from the start of the transition process. This transition is the most consequential and historical one in our lifetime considering the dynamics, demographics and show of election results in the last 2 nights in our elections. From the Miami Cuban and Puerto Rican  Conservative Latinos in Florida citizens fearing  of socialism, to the new Mexican Latinos in Arizona from California more Liberal, to the African American voter turn out's in Georgia and Texas. Another good point to note is on top of the voter's list is a recognition of the racial divide which is now well showcase on how the results of this elections has come to a divided House and Senate.

Whatever the results of the presidential vote on Nov. 3, the time between Election Day and Inauguration Day seems set to be a dark and terrifying 11 weeks in the history of the United States. However, perhaps there’s some comfort to be taken in the fact that we’ve experienced fraught transitions before—and longer ones. To wit: When Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860 and prepared to take the reins from James Buchanan, who had kept a promise he made in his inaugural address not run for a second term, we suffered through a four-month slog of turmoil, because until the passage of the 20th Amendment in 1933, inaugurations used to take place in March. And during Buchanan’s endless lame-duck period, quite a bit went down: Seven states declared for secession, and Southerners seized forts and garrisons, arming themselves for the war we know now was coming.    Quote from

As we go through the final hours of the last remaining electoral college numbers to get to 270 to solidify our Mr. President Elect, as a nation we should start lowering the temperature and shifting the message to  We should praise whoever concedes as that would make it so much easier to heal and to transition. We should also remember Covid-19 had just reach 100,000 cases. We have to get back to solving the problems on Covid-19 and the stimulus as January 21 is still months from now. Meanwhile, people are sick, cannot pay bills and rent so the sooner a transition gets to work the better while the current administration works on the stimulus.

For Now, Let Us Respect the results, Welcome the President Elect and Thank the President.