People gather outside a ballot drop-off site during a rally against Arizona Proposition 314 in Phoenix on October 20. Reuters
People gather outside a ballot drop-off site during a rally against Arizona Proposition 314 in Phoenix on October 20. Reuters
People gather outside a ballot drop-off site during a rally against Arizona Proposition 314 in Phoenix on October 20. Reuters
People gather outside a ballot drop-off site during a rally against Arizona Proposition 314 in Phoenix on October 20. Reuters

New reality for Arizona immigrants after sweeping Republican victories


Ellie Sennett
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Latest updates: Follow our full coverage on the US election

As early Arizona election results trickled in on Tuesday evening, there was optimism among the people who spent the day knocking on voters' doors to rally support for Kamala Harris and down-ballot immigration issues.

Arizona is the only swing state on the US border with Mexico, and with nearly a million immigrants living here, the stakes in the race between Ms Harris and Donald Trump were high.

A coalition of immigration advocates, including those from other border states such as Texas and California, huddled into Phoenix's expansive Corona Ranch and Rodeo venue for a night of food, drinks, live music and dancing.

Parents played and danced with their young children, running around waving blue balloons and chanting “Si se puede” or “Yes, you can”. Cowboy hats and campaign T-shirts were worn throughout the room.

“I think that there's a lot of reasons to be a little scrambled and afraid, but I'm feeling really good. I feel really grounded,” Greisa Martinez Rosas, an undocumented activist with the US advocacy group United We Dream, told The National.

“We've been preparing for this moment for the last three years. We know what it feels like to win, and we know what it takes to win.”

But Arizona Proposition 314 passed with a significant majority among voters – almost 63 per cent support. The measure makes it a crime for non-citizens to enter the state at any location other than a port of entry, allows state and local police to arrest non-citizens who cross the border illegally, and permits state judges to order deportations.

The rise in migrant crossings has been felt strongly in Arizona, and Republican backers of the measure claim it will help to better secure the US border and block a national surge in drug trafficking.

Immigration advocates, up early on election day in their final push to talk to Maricopa County voters, said the fate of this bill would have implications across the whole US.

“The reason that we are trying to actively fight against this resolution is because I think what we're going to see … more of a turn towards state and local enforcement of anti-immigrant laws … and then we're going to see copycats around the country,” Michelle Ming, United We Dream's policy director, told The National on Tuesday.

The bill's passing, paired with a sweeping Republican mandate including control of the White House, Senate and probably the House of Representatives, will result in reliving the “trauma” experienced by immigrant and undocumented workers under the previous Trump administration.

As the reality settled in throughout the night on Tuesday, those remaining in a fast-dwindling crowd chose to look at small victories.

“What the night is looking like for me – enjoying it with my peers, my team leads, everybody that has helped us reach 600,000 doors [knocked on in this election],” watch party guest Alex told The National.

“The last few days we've done the best that we can … and whether we lose or win [tonight], we are still going to fight until we win.”

Fear and resolve also crept in. “My sister is a Daca [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] recipient, so this morning, she asked me, like, 'What's going to happen to me?'” Bruna Sollod told The National in the early hours on Wednesday.

“And I said to her, 'Nothing, because I'm part of a movement that will fight for you and protect you, and so nothing's going to happen to you'.”

She added, however, that “we need to prepare for mass deportation”.

Mr Trump's victory came with a significant gains among Latino voters, particularly men.

“I could talk about the white vote because I'm definitely frustrated by a lot of white women who continue to do this to us,” Ms Sollod said. “But I think there's a lot of work to be done with voters in our own communities and having tough conversations with them, and I think those are lessons to try something new.”

Arizona helped to seal a swift victory for Mr Trump, who has promised mass deportations when he re-enters the White House in January. An estimated 11 million undocumented migrants live in the US, although conservatives say the true figure may be two or three times that number.

Mr Trump said he would call on Congress to provide funding for another 10,000 border patrol agents, and has even quoted a founding-era law – the 1789 Alien Enemies Act – as a means of deporting immigrants with criminal records.

That has particular implications for Arizona. About 13 per cent of the state's residents were born in another country, and 16 per cent of residents are native-born Americans with at least one immigrant parent. One in six Arizona workers is an immigrant, according to the American Immigration Council.

“Our communities have been here for generations, they have built their whole lives here, and the impact of this election in particular will directly effect a lot of people here in Arizona,” Victor Guillen Febres, an organiser who migrated to the US from Venezuela, told The National.

“I came here looking for opportunity, for a better life. It really was a pivotal moment for me in 2016 when I started seeing a lot of anti-immigrant rhetoric and hate.”

Mr Guillen Febres is a former Temporary Protected Status holder, a programme Mr Trump slashed in his first term and could threaten in a second.

Recent data from the Department of Homeland Security, first published by Forbes, shows that up to 2.7 million people could be deported within the next two years if Mr Trump again ends TPS and other immigration protection.

“Arizona has been here before,” said Alejandra Gomez, executive director of Arizona immigration group Lucha.

Discussing the stakes of the US election in Arizona, the phrase “SB-1070” – known as the “show me your papers” law – is mentioned frequently among these mainly Latin and Hispanic-American activists.

Under that state measure, local police were allowed to demand papers and investigate the immigration status of a person suspected to be undocumented, and make arrests without warrants if they believe they are deportable immigrants.

The fear it inspired for many families in Arizona is remembered well as they prepare for another Trump term.

“Time and time again at the doors we heard the stories of the families that were separated, and once again we're living that reality again. No matter what, we know we're still going to be here, this is our home,” Ms Gomez said.

Ms Sollod said that the work begins now. “Our mandate for the next few weeks and months is to show immigrants that they are not alone, they are not going back into the shadows … we're going to fight like hell to make sure people are able to stay with their loved ones.”

Two products to make at home

Toilet cleaner

1 cup baking soda 

1 cup castile soap

10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice) 

Method:

1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.

2. Add the essential oil to the mix.

Air Freshener

100ml water 

5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this) 

Method:

1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.

2. Shake well before use. 

Company profile

Name: The Concept

Founders: Yadhushan Mahendran, Maria Sobh and Muhammad Rijal

Based: Abu Dhabi

Founded: 2017

Number of employees: 7

Sector: Aviation and space industry

Funding: $250,000

Future plans: Looking to raise $1 million investment to boost expansion and develop new products

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Why seagrass matters
  • Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
  • Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
  • Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
  • Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
If you go

The flights

There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.

The trip

Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.

The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.

 

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Other must-tries

Tomato and walnut salad

A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.

Badrijani nigvzit

A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.

Pkhali

This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.

UAE's role in anti-extremism recognised

General John Allen, President of the Brookings Institution research group, commended the role the UAE has played in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

He told a Globsec debate of the UAE’s "hugely outsized" role in the fight against Isis.

"It’s trite these days to say that any country punches above its weight, but in every possible way the Emirates did, both militarily, and very importantly, the UAE was extraordinarily helpful on getting to the issue of violent extremism," he said.

He also noted the impact that Hedayah, among others in the UAE, has played in addressing violent extremism.

Updated: November 07, 2024, 9:23 AM`