VOTE | movementsaactions

An Election Day roundup of stories about why today's vote matters for immigrant rights.

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Women's eNews reports that today's elections hold key to determing whether victims of domestic violence will be able to obtain asylum in the United States.

Domestic violence is recognized as a legitimate basis for refugee protection by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as by nations such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

But here in the United States there has been no legal consensus on the matter.

Former Attorney General Janet Reno created guidelines in 2000 that were supportive of domestic violence victims seeking asylum, but the guidelines never received the required approval from both the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice. Current Attorney General Michael Mukasey recently returned the case of Rodi Alvarado, a woman from Guatemala seeking asylum on the basis of previous domestic violence, to the Board of Immigration Appeals, the body that had previously denied her claim. The case is likely to end up in the hands of the next attorney general and could set the precedent for how future similar cases are handled.

Imagine 2050 has a post up about voter suppression tactics by anti-immigration groups against Latino voters.

Social Contract Press spreads lies about voter fraud and contributes to suppression of the voting rights of Latino citizens. Anti-Latino groups, like the FIRE Coalition, are using SCP's false findings to encourage their followers to man the polls and discriminate against whomever they perceive as "illegal aliens". This is voter suppression and it's downright un-American.

TwitterVoteReport.com is one example of how new media technology has made it possible for voters throughout the nation to report problems and voter suppression at their polling locations using their cell phones. The site gives you instructions on how to report voter irregularities, and you can also see real-time reports that others are posting. The site provides the first citizen-driven comprehensive picture of voting conditions across the country. (You can follow Chicago-specific reports from ICIRR at twitter.com/icirr.)

The Immigration Policy Center reports that New Americans were 8.6 percent of all registered voters in 2006, and that there are 3 million more naturalized citizens eligible to vote today than in the 2004 presidential election. Massive voter registration and Get Out the Vote efforts in these communities have made New Americans pivotal voting blocs in many states, the center reports. And the Pew Hispanic Center reports that 75 percent of Latino voters view candidates' stances on immigration as important or very important in their voting decisions.

At RiseMovement.org, Dolores Huerta writes about her visit with nearly 300 people who have fasted for 20 days to bring attention to the need for humane immigration. She says: "It's time to uphold the promise we all made in the marches of 2006, it's time for us all to march together into the voting booths and give hope to our millions of undocumented brothers and sisters." The fasters' goal is to collect 1 million signatures in support of humane immigration reform by the time the polls close tonight - view the petition here.

Despite its absence from much of the election coverage and debate this year, immigration reform will be on many peoples' minds when they vote today. No matter who wins, our next president and Congress must be held accountable for upholding human rights and due process in America and making humane immigration reform a priority in 2009.

Photo: Korean Resource Center via Creative Commons/Flickr