The Commission on Immigration Reform – Progressives View

10/11/2016 by Jo Condrill

Immigration Reform

As I am learning more and more about immigration laws following my interviews with two immigration law professors, the Progressives for Immigration Reform report caught my attention. Barbara Jordan, the first black woman ever elected to a state office in Texas, chaired The Commission on Immigration Reform. There were four Republicans and four Democrats on the commission and they worked together. It can be done! The report of the commission was issued in 1997 two years after Barbara Jordan passed away. The report still bore her name. “Becoming an American: Immigration & Immigrant Policy.”

“We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present: unemployment, inflation… but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America.” Barbara Jordan

Once the Commission’s report was submitted, politics entered in and the president did not give it the necessary support to get it through the legislative branch of our government

Progressives for Immigration Reform

Progressives for Immigration Reform, a 501(c)(3) organization, issued a Policy Brief in January 2009 supporting the Jordan Commission’s report. http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1195&context=articles

They continue to address the immigration issue and the disadvantages that the lack of enforcement of existing laws present for American citizens, http://progressivesforimmigrationreform.org/

Immigrants Coming to America

http://amzn.to/2ddZRJw — New Book 10/2016

While we have empathy for refugees and other immigrants, we must first and foremost, consider protection of the American way of life. Two immigration law professors give enlightening interviews on immigration laws, their experiences, and opinions in this new book. Twelve immigrants relate their dramatic, real-life stories about coming to America, assimilating into the American culture and becoming successful in building new lives for themselves in America and helping others improve their lives and businesses.

The book is available now at Amazon.com, the Kindle Bookstore, and IngramSpark.com for libraries, bookstores and others. Please leave a review/comments.

Immigrants Coming to America New Book

09/25/2016 by Jo Condrill

Immigrants – Who Are They?

Some immigrants come to America for jobs, some come to be with family, and some come to escape persecution.

After losing the war and enduring 3 years of imprisonment, this father became a refugee. It was difficult to escape with a wife and six teenagers but he managed to get them all into one boat with many other people. Nearby countries would not take the refugees; there were already too many of them seeking help. Once these refugees were at sea, pirates took over the boat. They took everything of value and put the teenage girls in the pirate’s boat. If that happened to you, what would you do? “I would jump into the ocean,” our interviewee said. That was just the beginning of her long journey into the unknown, bound for America.

When Beatrice Davis decided to come to America, she just did it! She sold her car and her furniture, got a visa, bought a plane ticket and that was it. She didn’t speak English, but she got a job babysitting and started learning English by watching the children’s television programs and reading magazines with lots of pictures. In six months she could read, write, and speak English! She got a job in a hotel and after a short time, she was a tour manager for entertainers. She can speak several languages and she took them all over Europe for several years. Now she has a thriving business, Sassy B Worldwide, a global entertainment production firm.

Immigrants come for many reasons – some to get away from very bad situations, refugees and asylum seekers – some, like Enrique Barojas, are drawn by opportunities to better their lives. He currently works in the automotive field and manages a service shop, but his dream is to own a motorcycle repair shop and become an American citizen.

New Book Tells Immigrants’ Dramatic Stories in Their Own Words

Immigrants Coming to America presents real-life stories of immigrants from all over the world who came to America, assimilated into the American culture, and made better lives for themselves. They came from places such as Sri Lanka, Mexico, Norway, Syria, and Pakistan.

http://amzn.to/2ddZRJw

Check it out on Amazon.com in the Kindle bookstore.

You’ll laugh; you may cry; you will be entertained.

The print version will be available soon.

Get your digital copy now.

http://amzn.to/2ddZRJw

Immigrants Coming to America is available to international publishers for translation in

Columbine Communications & Publications 2017 ANNUAL CATALOG PROGRAM

Learning about Immigration

08/22/2016 by Jo Condrill

Jo Condrill Learns about Immigration while Writing a New Book

Immigration! What do you know about immigration? It’s amazing what a person can earn when they begin to write a book! When I started writing Immigrants Coming to America, it was to share the stories of some amazing people I had met who turned out to be immigrants. Two of them are Toastmasters, one is Past International President Dilip Abayasekara and the other is a relatively new Toastmaster, Michelle Fung. Four of the immigrants, I discovered, are members of my local mastermind team. Another immigrant asked me to interview her when she found out about the book, and the others were recommended by other people.

What Do You Know About Immigration Law?

As the book developed, I realized how little I knew about the immigration process and immigration law. So I contacted the dean of the local law school. He recommended two professors of immigration law and I interviewed them. I hear people argue about what should be done to improve the system, but sometimes I think they are not arguing the same issue. Did you know that the U.S. has immigration detention centers where U.S. citizens might be held if they don’t have the right documentation to get back into the country? I didn’t. What do you know about the law affecting Cuban refugees? I didn’t even know the difference between legal permanent residents and other immigrants. They cannot legally vote, for one thing.

I hear people argue about what should be done to improve the system, but sometimes I think they are not arguing the same issue. Did you know that the U.S. has immigration detention centers where U.S. citizens might be held if they don’t have the right documentation to get back into the country? I didn’t. What do you know about the law affecting Cuban refugees? I didn’t even know the difference between legal permanent residents and other immigrants. They cannot legally vote, for one thing.

My new book, Immigrants Coming to America, is available now! It has a thought-provoking Foreword by Paul E. White, an International Affairs Consultant with over 40 years experience in that area. In addition to the dramatic, inspiring stories of the immigrants and the interviews with the law professors, there are many references with much more information on this important issue. I believe that if we all had the same understanding of the terms affecting immigration, we might soften our stances and be open to discussion with an intent to solve the problems.

The U.S.Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for our security. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is part of DHS and they enforce the law. The laws are made by Congress and signed by the President.

Get your copy of Immigrants Coming to America now to be better prepared for the discussions that you know will be coming. Download a Kindle copy http://amzn.to/2ddZRJw, or ask your local librarian to get a copy for you. They will need this ISBN number:978-0-9740970-4-6, or ISBN: 987-0-9980921-0-2 (ebook). Thanks a lot.

Please leave a review on Amazon.coma after you have read the book.

Advice from a Hollywood Movie Mogul – Be Yourself

01/17/2015 by Jo Condrill

It’s an old story. Someone comes to the United States to become a movie star and discovers it isn’t as easy as the dream. Geir Ness was a young Norwegian who came to the United States to study acting. He had no connections and, in fact, did not know anyone in the U. S., but he did have a dream.

In the video below, Geir participates in a podcast interview for Expanding Horizons – Building Confidence. This segment was selected for you because it fits the theme of this blog so well.

Little did Geir know while he was studying acting that this very advice, “Be Yourself,” would lead him in a different direction from the one he was pursuing at the time.

Follow Advice or Change Course

Being yourself does not mean that you are “hell bent” to get what you want no matter what. It means that you are strong enough to make decisions about your life in the present; how you would like your life to be in the future; and wise enough to allow changes as you grow and change. You may find opportunities appear that you had never imagined, as they did with Geir.

http://Pixabay.com — Community in the Mountains of Norway

Geir is a very successful businessman today. You will find his travel schedule on the Laila website and you will have an opportunity to join his fan club.

Podcasts

You will find the rest of the story in The Sweet Smell of Success in the podcast show on YouTube Expanding Horizons – Building Confidence The show is also broadcast in 180 countries on Stitcher Radio/Deezer and Google. Please subscribe, rate and review our podcast show wherever you listen to it.

That’s it for now.

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