Author Archives: David

Stop “Secure Communities” in Massachusetts

Posted on May 15, 2012 by David

I’ve written before about the misnamed “Secure Communities” program, a federal initiative in which state and local police departments share information about their arrests with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). For those they suspect of being undocumented immigrants, ICE issues … Continue reading →

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Oppose HR 4970 – save the Violence Against Women Act

Posted on May 3, 2012 by David

Among other things, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) provides routes to legal immigration status for certain undocumented immigrants who are victims of domestic violence. Recently, the Senate passed a bill to reauthorize VAWA for the next few years – … Continue reading →

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The Republican war on immigrants

Posted on April 7, 2012 by David

In a post last week, I was critical of the Obama administration for increasing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement efforts and for promoting the “Secure Communities” program, leading to more undocumented people jailed and deported, more abuse of detainees … Continue reading →

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The Republican war on women: late-term abortion bans

Posted on April 4, 2012 by David

In the last few months, we’ve seen a series of attempts by state legislatures to limit access to abortion. Today, the Republican-controlled Georgia legislature passed a bill outlawing all abortions after the twentieth week of pregnancy, with no exceptions. Several … Continue reading →

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Lost in Detention: why I’m angry with the Obama administration

Posted on March 31, 2012 by David

Yesterday I wrote a post about the cruelty and violence of immigration enforcement in the United States. This morning I attended a screening of the documentary Lost in Detention, a powerful illustration of the real human consequences of the United … Continue reading →

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The cruelty and violence of immigration enforcement

Posted on March 30, 2012 by David

The United States has always been a nation of immigrants. Yet today, an arcane and arbitrary system of immigration laws prevents many people from immigrating to this country legally. Today, America is home to a population of an estimated eleven … Continue reading →

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Reflections on social justice

Posted on March 27, 2012 by David

This morning, I learned some horrific news. In Germany, an 11-year-old transgender girl has been forcibly institutionalized by the state in an attempt to “cure” her of her gender identity. I had hoped that we had moved beyond the days … Continue reading →

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Reflections on atheism and the Reason Rally

Posted on March 26, 2012 by David

This Saturday I joined some of my friends at the Reason Rally in Washington DC, a gathering of several thousand atheists, agnostics, humanists and freethinkers at the National Mall. Having been rather exhausted by a nine-hour bus journey each way, … Continue reading →

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Perry v. Brown and Proposition 8

Posted on March 18, 2012 by David

I wrote this post about four weeks ago, but never got around to posting it here, due to being busy with work. At the time, the whole internet was talking about the landmark decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of … Continue reading →

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Stop SB 2061: an open letter to my state senator

Posted on February 26, 2012 by David

Here is the text of the communication I sent on Friday to my state senator expressing my opposition to Senate Bill 2061, an anti-immigrant bill which would potentially have a devastating impact on thousands of undocumented immigrants and their families … Continue reading →

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