Clarissa Martinez comprehensive immigration reform Douglas Rivlin Edward Kennedy Frank Sharry hbo hispanics illegal immigrants immigrants immigration immigration reform last best chance latinos legalization premiere Senator Ted Kennedy Ted Kennedy the senators' bargain undocumented

Immigration Debate: Press One For Culture War In English

Monday, April 5th, 2010

This originally appeared at NewsJunkiePost.com (03/25/2010) as part of Douglas Rivlin’s Immigration Thursday’s column and was cross posted at AlterNet.org.

There are number of illuminating moments in the HBO Documentary “The Senators’ Bargain” that aired Wednesday night on HBO2 (and airs Friday at 6 p.m. ET on HBO Latino and is available on HBO On-Demand; see a trailer here).  The documentary looks behind the scenes at the fight in the U.S. Senate in 2007 for comprehensive immigration reform legislation and focuses especially on Senator Ted Kennedy and his staff.  Among the remarkable moments are a floor speech by Sen. Trent Lott (of all people) imploring his colleagues to buckle down and pass an immigration bill that – while far from perfect – begins to address the problems with the current system (sound familiar?) and a showdown in Sen. Robert Menendez’ office the day before the vote where advocates make their case for his “yea” vote on cloture to move the bill forward.

But there is one scene that sums up the long and short of the immigration issue as it played out in 2007 and as it plays out today (and as it has throughout the history of the United States).  Frank Sharry, one of the advocates fighting for the bill is shown speaking to a group of Hispanic evangelical leaders in a hotel meeting room in D.C.  He addresses the crowd in Spanish and responds to a question about why there are so many negative and hurtful things said about the Latino community in the context of the immigration debate. …

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The Senators’ Bargain: Trailer, Twitter & Liveblog

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

Today thousands will march on our nation’s capital calling for immigration reform. Last week Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham, both featured in The Senators’ Bargain, outlined their plan for reform of our ” badly broken” system.  And President Obama made a statement asserting his “unwavering” commitment to the issue.

As immigration reform grows more visible on the political agenda, we’re preparing for the premiere of The Senators’ Bargain this Wednesday, March 24 8 PM ET/PT on HBO2. We hope it will bring transparency and context to the new political battles unfolding before our eyes, and serve to ignite discussion.  To expand the conversation online, during the live broadcast we’ll be answering questions on Twitter and featuring stars from the films as livebloggers who will provide live commentary on the events of the film here.

We’re incredibly excited.  As a sneak peak, watch the trailer for The Senators’ Bargain:

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Missing Coach K

Friday, March 19th, 2010

In August of 2009, my wife Clarissa Martinez and I waited with a few thousand other people on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol for the Kennedy funeral motorcade to make a brief stop on its way to Arlington National Cemetery where the Senator was to be laid to rest.  A few hundred current and former Kennedy staffers lined the steps on the East side of the Capitol’s Senate side.  Clarissa and I came early so we were near the front of the area where the general public was gathered on the lawn on the opposite side of the parking area.  It was hot.  We waited for hours.  I will remember it for the rest of my life.

After the hearse and the procession escorting the Senator’s body departed the Capitol grounds, my wife, who was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. as a teenager, said to me, “You know, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Senator Kennedy.”

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Watching the events in The Senators’ Bargain brought back how sad we were that day and the deep sense of trepidation Clarissa and I shared as advocates for immigration reform.  …

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