[nabs-l] SHARE WIDELY: National Federation of the Blind Is Seeking to Support DREAMers

Sun Sep 24 22:35:09 UTC 2017

Joe and others who may share his sentiments,
I would like to preface this email by saying that I am neither an
expert, nor deeply involved in NFB leadership.
However, I am also a naturalized citizen, who self-identify as a 1.5
generation immigrant.

So, for those who argue that disability and immigration are two
completely separate issues, I am here as one of many living
counterexamples to that argument.

If NFB or any other organization for that matter claims to be a
consumer organization promoting the blind to live the lives they want,
I think it is the organization's responsibility to stand with blind
people who are affected by such major policy as DACA repeal. Bluntly
speaking, regardless of one's view on whether DACA should be allowed
or not, it is fact that with the repeal of DACA, blind people who are
DACA recepients cannot live the lives they want, figuratively and
literally.

My personal belief is that organizations serving the blind and
immigrant rights organizations must collaborate in order to meet the
needs of blind immigrants. Immigrant rights organization are not often
equipped well enough to understand and serve people with not just
blindness but any other disabilities. My personal experience of going
through the naturalization process is one evidence.
Similarly, organizations that are solely dedicated to serving people
with disabilities are often poorly equipped with the ability and
sensitivity to serve immigrants (whether the immigration was legal or
not)

I am afraid it may take too long to see collaboration between
disability focused organization and immigrant rights organization, but
I believe NFB's effort to learn more about the blind people affected
by the repeal of DACA is a necessary first step forward.

Miso Kwak

On 9/24/17, Ashley Bramlett via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Joe,
>
> I'll try to be nonpartisan here. The DACA is a major thing impacting all
> those immigrants in it.
> I would guess it may impact blind  people more in the following ways:
> 1. It may impact their ability to receive state vocational rehab services
> that we all get or can get.
> 2. Unemployment among any immigrant population is hindered by  the language
>
> barriers. I  have seen it firsthand.
> While most people can go out and grab low wage jobs, blind people are
> excluded from these service sector jobs which require little language
> skills. Immigrants including dreamers partake in these jobs such as
> housekeeping staff at hotels, cleaning facilities in public areas such as
> our colleges and universities, painting houses, and of course lawn
> services.
> Blind people who cannot fluently read and write english are more negatively
>
> impacted. When an immigrant I know tried to take ESL classes at Northern
> virginia community college, it is my understanding he could not follow the
> class due to the visual nature of it such as pictures in workbooks. And, of
>
> course Nova is terrible at accomodations and failed to help this student
> with special needs succeed.
>
> 3. Blind Dreamers may also have a harder time securing other government
> services.
> 4. Dreamers may be denied other services their fellow dreamers can partake
> of.
>
> I'm glad NFB is taking this up.
>
> Yes it is true we are vastly underemployed in general. It is true we have a
>
> ways to go in that area for all Americans.
> I think a huge hindrance to employment is accessibility of software. I've
> seen it firsthand. I'm hoping NFB will make headway in advocacy for
> accessibility sooner than later.
>
> Its also true that none of the NFB national resolutions spoke of this issue.
>
> However, I believe the resolutions were written prior to Mr. Trump's
> decision.
>
> Its something to ask the national office if you are still curious.
> I'm a naturalized citizen too, and I definitely understand your concerns.
> As a naturalized citizen, I want to be a first class citizen and earn my way
>
> including participating in the workforce but so far many barriers have
> hindered me such as attitudes of employers and accessibility of third party
>
> software.
> However, Dreamers have unique needs and challenges which I, as a naturalized
>
> citizen growing up here in American public schools, do not have.
>
> Good questions.
> I look forward to the outcome of such studies NFB conducts.
>
> Ashley
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joe via NABS-L
> Sent: Saturday, September 23, 2017 7:06 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Cc: Joe
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] SHARE WIDELY: National Federation of the Blind Is
> Seeking to Support DREAMers
>
> Dear all,
>
>
>
> This post has been gnawing at me for over a week. Maybe someone can help me
> understand our rationale in getting involved in an issue that is clearly
> partisan.
>
>
>
> My understanding is that the NFB seeks to enable all blind individuals to
> live the life they want, irrespective of immigration status. No argument
> here. I appreciate the work we do to provide equal opportunities for
> everyone--regardless of their legal status, which ought not to be any of
> our
> business anyway, and regardless of their membership in our organization.
>
>
>
> But now we're talking about devoting already limited resources to better
> inform policymakers about the administration's decision to rescind the DACA
> program. I don't understand how this became a priority.
>
>
>
> Why are we suddenly interested in providing assistance to beneficiaries of
> the DACA program? If we are doing our work correctly, then one could argue
> the affected blind beneficiaries are already being served.
>
>
>
> Why would we collect statistical analyses on the unemployment rate of the
> blind before and after the DACA program when we barely have a handle on the
> unemployment rate among the majority of blind Americans? If the general
> statistics are accurate, then the unemployment rate among the blind is
> somewhere in the neighborhood of 75%. I don't understand why our limited
> resources would not be devoted to solving for the employment needs of all
> blind Americans as opposed to the needs of the few. The fact we are largely
> excluded from the vast majority of minimum wage jobs accessible to the rest
> of the population should be of greater concern than the consequences of a
> program that was legally and constitutionally controversial to start.
>
>
>
> The DACA program is not likely to result in mass deportations and other
> grim
> predictions forecasted by one side of the highly polarizing issue. The
> point
> is part of a larger debate on immigration reform. Congress should enact
> legislation the way it should have done when the legislative measure was
> originally proposed under President Bush in 2007, and to be fair, a
> bipartisan effort is underway to provide at least a three-year reprieve to
> the affected community. Given the convoluted and hotly contested nature of
> the overarching dialogue on the matter, why would the NFB spend its limited
> political capital appearing to take sides on this issue?
>
>
>
> Looking through this year's resolutions, I see no mention of devoting
> resources to beneficiaries of the DACA program. How do we go about deciding
> outreach efforts in situations where our mission was not directed by the
> objectives agreed to by our convention?
>
>
>
> To me, the step feels like an opportunistic means of snagging attention on
> an issue that is already steeped in controversy. We are already fighting an
> uphill battle on employment equality for those individuals working in
> sheltered environments. We already face educational and employment
> disparities among highly qualified blind permanent residents and citizens,
> born and naturalized.
>
>
>
> But, perhaps I am missing something. I'm willing to be educated. As a
> naturalized citizen, I understand the benefits of something like DACA to
> get
> ahead in this country. For that, there are other immigration rights
> consumer
> groups. We can trust them to take up the cry for fair treatment. We can
> trust them to help undocumented individuals find and keep a place in our
> society. I would like to think we place our trust in the NFB to make that
> society more accessible.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
> Joe
>
>
>
> From: NFBNet-Members-List [mailto:nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On
> Behalf Of President, National Federation of the Blind via
> NFBNet-Members-List
> Sent: Friday, September 15, 2017 9:07 AM
> To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] SHARE WIDELY: National Federation of the
> Blind Is Seeking to Support DREAMers
> Importance: High
>
>
>
> National Federation of the Blind Is Seeking to Support DREAMers
>
> As the principal vehicle for collective action for the blind in the United
> States, the National Federation of the Blind is committed to enabling all
> blind people, irrespective of immigration status, to live the lives we
> want.
> To better inform our current and future advocacy and policy strategies, the
> National Federation of the Blind is collecting the following information to
> better understand the impact of the administration's recent decision to
> rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program among the
> blind in the United States. The information collected will be used to:
>
> 1. Identify DREAMers who are blind in order to better understand the
> impact on blind people and help inform the National Federation of the Blind
> regarding ways the organization can best provide assistance.
> 2. Develop an aggregate summary of the blind people in the United
> States who participate in the DACA program, which can be shared with
> government officials, advocates, and other interested parties.
> 3. Develop statistical analyses on the unemployment rate among the
> blind before and after the establishment of the DACA program.
> 4. Highlight general narratives of blind people living the lives they
> want because of the DACA program.
> 5. Coordinate a community of blind DACA recipients in order to maximize
> the resources available.
>
>
> If you or someone you know is blind and receives DACA benefits, please
> complete the National Federation of the Blind DACA form at the below links
> (available in Spanish and English), or share this information with them. If
> you know of a DREAMer who does not have internet access, we would
> appreciate
> your helping them complete the form.
>
> Spanish NFB DACA form: https://nfb.org/daca-es
> English NFB DACA form: https://nfb.org/daca
>
> Together with love, hope, and determination, the National Federation of the
> Blind transforms dreams into reality. Through this effort we seek to
> support
> the hopes and dreams of blind people seeking to be fully contributing
> members of our nation.
>
>
> Mark A. Riccobono, President
> 200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
> (410) 659-9314 | Officeofthepresident at nfb.org
> Twitter: @Riccobono
>
>
> <https://nfb.org/> Image removed by sender. National Federation of the
> Blind
>
>
> <http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind> Image removed by
> sender. Facebook     <https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice> Image removed by
> sender. Twitter     <https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind> Image removed by
> sender. Youtube
>
> The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
> who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we
> work
> together to help blind people live the lives they want.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Miso Kwak
University of California, Los Angeles | 2017
Psychology B.A. | Education Studies Minor | Disability Studies Minor
(909) 660-1897