Page 12
March 14, 2018
MCS Still in
Business
O PINION
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
$50.00
A small distance/travel
charge may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or more
$30.00 each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: 1 small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$50.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
and Hallway
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
Other Services) : $30.00
Heavily Soiled Area:
$10.00 each area
(Requiring Pre-Spray)
Area/Oriental Rug Cleaning
Regular Area Rugs
$25.00 Minimum
Wool Oriental Rugs
$40.00 Minimum
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $70.00
Loveseat: $50.00
Sectional: $110 - $140
Chair or Recliner:
$25.00 - $50.00
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services) : $5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949
Black Immigrant Lives Matter Too
We are stronger
together
M arC h. M orial
We are long over-
due for a discussion
about immigration as
it relates to black im-
migrants, particularly
at this moment as the
current presidential administration
clamors to end legal protections
for Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) recipients, and
congressional leaders lurch from
one proposed bipartisan solution
to another in search of a perma-
nent legislative fix.
To be sure, to live in this coun-
try as an undocumented person
is to live a life overshadowed by
fear, but combine that fear with the
harsh realities of race in our nation
and you have a volatile mix.
The numbers are troubling—
and telling. Black immigrants
make up a small percentage of
DACA recipients. They are an
estimated 12,000 of 700,000 re-
cipients, and comprise less than
10 percent of all our nation’s en-
tire immigrant population, but at
2 percent, they are predictably
overrepresented in deportation
proceedings as a result of criminal
by
convictions, and according to the
deputy director of the Black Al-
liance for Just Immigration,
the same yawning disparity
holds true for detention rates.
The alliance’s state of
black immigrants report
estimates that “one out of
every five noncitizens fac-
ing deportation on criminal
grounds before the Execu-
tive Office for Immigration Re-
view is black.”
While undocumented black im-
migrants share a universal story of
migration, struggle, and survival,
they must also contend with the
heightened risk of social vulnera-
bility commonly tied to race in our
nation.
As we enter the proverbial
ring to fight for the civil and hu-
man rights of those brought to
this country as children, who
recognize no other home, and as
President Obama once noted, are
“Americans in their heart, in their
minds, in every single way but
one: on paper,” we must ensure
that solutions that benefit one
immigrant community do not de-
rail the opportunities of another.
Therefore, the stories and voices
of black immigrants must remain
top-of-mind and relevant through-
out this debate.
The Trump administration re-
cently left the fate of these 700,000
undocumented immigrants in the
hands of the Supreme Court. A
decision to allow the Trump ad-
ministration to end the DACA
program—which currently shields
those young men and women from
deportation—would have resulted
in the near immediate loss of that
protection.
The added travesty for black
immigrants is that over-policing in
their communities and increased
engagement with the criminal jus-
tice system would have increased
their risk of deportation. But in a
widely expected setback, the Su-
preme Court rejected the adminis-
tration’s request to hear the case.
While the court’s decision of-
fers a timely lifeline to DACA re-
cipients, who faced the imminent
expiration of the program’s legal
protections, the reprieve is tempo-
rary.
The disturbing language said
to come from the White House
claiming that Nigerians live in
huts, that all Haitians have AIDS,
or that Africans should return to
their slur-worthy countries, would
evidence a disdain for immigrants
who come from majority black
countries.
Various proposed congressional
resolutions have highlighted the
urgency of amplifying the experi-
ences of black immigrants. There
are bipartisan proposals on the ta-
ble that offer a permanent fix for
DACA recipients and DREAMers
(undocumented immigrants who
are eligible, but have not applied
for DACA), in exchange for end-
ing established channels to legal
immigration such as Temporary
Protected Status (TPS), protec-
tions for immigrants who come
from countries experiencing en-
vironmental or social upheaval,
the visa diversity lottery program,
and family-based immigration
programs—some of the very pro-
grams that created and create legal
pathways for black immigration.
We are stronger together. The
immigrants’ rights movement
needs to be inclusive and incor-
porate the realities of its diverse
constituencies. Now is the time for
rights groups, advocates, and allies
to begin to specifically look at and
address the complicated needs and
reality of black undocumented im-
migrants whose stories and voices
are rarely heard above prevailing
media narratives. It is time to af-
firm that their lives matter, too.
Marc H. Morial is president
and chief executive officer of the
National Urban League.