Howard's Sermons and Article Clippings.

Howard's Sermons and Article Clippings.

About Me

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Im a Mainline protestant minister who loves serving in multicultural and urban contexts. I'm very interested in how liberation theology and existential-humanistic psychology are applied to the praxis of pastoral care and counseling. My most profound encounters with God come as we sojourn as brothers and sisters seeking the inbreaking of God's reign, here and now.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Bill Would Repeal In-State Tuition For Immigrants

Bill would repeal in-state tuition for immigrants

Published February 11th, 2011

The Education Committee heard testimony Feb. 7 on a bill that would repeal in-state tuition rates at Nebraska’s universities and colleges for children of illegal immigrants who are not lawfully present in the United States.

State legislation passed in 2006 offered in-state tuition to students who:

•resided with his or her parent, guardian or conservator while attending a public or private high school in Nebraska;

•graduated from a Nebraska high school or received the equivalent of a high school diploma;

•resided in Nebraska for at least three years before the date the student graduated from high school or received the equivalent of a high school diploma;

•have the bona fide intention to make Nebraska his or her permanent residence;

•are registered as an entering student in a state postsecondary educational institution no earlier than the 2006 fall semester; and

•provided to the state postsecondary educational institution an affidavit stating that he or she will file an application to become a permanent resident at the earliest opportunity he or she is eligible to do so.
Fremont Sen. Charlie Janssen, introducer of LB657, said children of illegal immigrants should not be considered residents of the state and therefore are not eligible to receive in-state tuition rates.

“Nebraska should not grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants unless they do to all citizens,” Janssen said.

Giving a benefit or subsidy to someone who is not lawfully present and denying it to someone who is lawfully present is in direct violation of federal law, he said.

Dale Monsell, representing Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom, testified in support of the bill.

These students are not legally employable in the U.S. after they graduate, Monsell said, and their education should be the responsibility of their nation of origin.

John Wiegert, a resident of Fremont and supporter of the bill, said in-state tuition for illegal immigrants directly rewards people for their parents’ illegal acts.

Shirley Mora James, president of the Nebraska Hispanic Bar Association, testified in opposition to the bill.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Mora James said, granting in-state tuition to an undocumented student is not one of the benefits regulated by illegal immigration reform.

Individual states must decide whether or not to allow illegal immigrants to attend post-secondary institutions, she said, and the state of Nebraska has the authority to grant admission to undocumented students if it chooses to do so.

J.B. Milliken, president of the University of Nebraska, also opposed LB657.

The ability of undocumented young people to contribute to the state’s economy depends on their education, Milliken said in a letter to the committee.

The state claims that education is a priority, he said, so repealing a law that promotes education is counterproductive.

Rev. Howard Dotson of the Westminister Presbyterian Church testified in opposition to the bill, saying education plays an important role in the Latino community.

Nationwide, 50 percent of Latino youth fail to graduate high school, Dotson said. Having more Latino high school graduates in Nebraska who attend college will provide the community with invaluable mentors, he said.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.

Immigration Bill Gets Mixed Reception in Lincoln

Immigration Bill Gets Mixed Reception In Lincoln

Senator Doubtful Measure Will Get Out Of Committee

POSTED: 2:35 pm CST March 2, 2011

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A Nebraska lawmaker who has introduced an Arizona-style immigration bill said he is doubtful the bill would even get out of the Judiciary Committee as state senators openly questioned it at Wednesday's public hearing in Lincoln.

Sen. Charlie Janssen, of Fremont, told the committee that his bill, LB-48, would help Nebraska get a handle on what he believes is a serious illegal immigration problem. Janssen testified lawmakers cannot ignore their obligation to taxpayers as health care and education costs rise.

Janssen was among the first to testify in a packed hearing room. Janssen said he was grilled by his colleagues during the hearing on everything from costs of enforcement to what constitutes reasonable suspicion.

Janssen said the bill is a cost-saving measure for a state that faces a nearly $1 billion shortfall.

The legislation would require police to confirm the residency status of suspected illegal immigrants who have been stopped for another reason.

"(LB-48) makes it open season on immigrant women and children -- putting targets on their heads."
- Shirley More-James, resident


LB-48 got a mixed reception at the hearing as lawmakers and residents spoke.

"I think you have to look at the overall picture of what LB-48 will do -- deter illegal immigration into the state of Nebraska," proponent Susan Smith said.

But residents opposed to the bill spoke about concerns of racial profiling.

"(LB-48) makes it open season on immigrant women and children -- putting targets on their heads," Shirley Mora-James, a resident who opposes the bill, said.

Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady said he is also opposing the bill because enforcement costs would be too high and many who are arrested would just walk.

" It exposes the state and counties to serious liabilities and expenses in defending themselves." - Judge David Piester A retired federal judge also weighed in on the bill.

Judge David Piester said law enforcement agencies could end up paying the price in enforcing an Arizona-style immigration law if it's approved.

"It exposes the state and counties to serious liabilities and expenses in defending themselves," Piester said. "Equal protection and discrimination claims would almost certainly follow."

Community activists present at the hearing agreed and said they hope the bill never gets out of committee.

"Charity and reason will prevail," the Rev. Howard Dotson said. "It's a federal responsibility -- the senators understand that."

Arizona's bill has been suspended pending a court challenge.

Copyright 2011 by KETV.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved

Mayor Suttle's Focus on At Risk Youth

Day 14: Vote No because Mayor Suttle has focussed on at-risk youth
Posted on January 23, 2011

As an urban pastor, I have seen far too much poverty and violence. I serve on the Mayor’s Clergy Advisory Council and I’ve had the privilege of following his administration’s work over this past year.

Mayor Suttle has the vision and the strategy to bring peace and prosperity to our streets.

His three Es (education, employment and enforcement) and the From Poverty to Prosperity initiative will help keep our kids in schools and bring jobs to our under employed communities. We stop the bullets when more kids achieve their caps and gowns and have access to jobs.

Our law enforcement officers cannot suppress the violence on their own. It takes a village of concerned citizens to bring peace to our streets. We are One Omaha, and Mayor Suttle understands our commitment to educate and empower all of our citizens.

Mayor Suttle has made the difficult but necessary choices that have preserved our essential public services.

This recall will distract and detract us from the critical peacemaking work underway in our communities. The bottom line is that life is sacred.

Mayor Suttle’s vision will continue to help save lives and secure a brighter future for our youth. “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

Rev. Howard Dotson
Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor serving in Omaha

P.S. Join Mayor Suttle and Rev. Dotson tonight – From Poverty to Prosperity

Omaha Police and Illegal Immigration Omaha Crime Examiner

Omaha police and illegal immigration...is business the problem?
By Michael Ramon, Omaha Crime Examiner
December 27th, 2010 10:51 am CT

In a recent letter to the Omaha World-Herald the Reverend Howard Dotson, representing Equality Nebraska, opined that if an Arizona-type law became a reality in Nebraska the result would be disastrous for the immigrant community. He fears that local enforcement of immigration laws would result in immigrants being afraid to contact police if they become victims of crime, and suggests that such a law would encourage the targeting of immigrants since they would have no recourse in getting aid from the law enforcement community. Unfortunately, crime statistics (see www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr) confirm his analysis.


What role, then, is appropriate for local law enforcement? The answer depends on your values. If you think anyone should be able to contact the police if they become a victim of crime, the answer is to leave the enforcement of immigration laws to ICE. If you believe that an immigrant's status is more important than their protection and you are frustrated by the ineffectivement of the federal government in controlling illegal immigration, you would probably be inclined to want the state and local authorities to get involved. Omaha police probably see things differently. Given their limited resources and the expense of putting someone in jail, most officers would prefer not to arrest immigrants who are otherwise law abiding; clogging the jails and courts with these cases in not an effective way to lower the crime rate. It may, in fact, help to do the opposite.

Given this conundrum, is there any way to control illegal immigration? The answer is simple: yes. Illegal immigrants come to the United States, Nebraska and Omaha because they find employment here. Take away employment opportunities and the illegal immigration problem will be solved. Of course than means holding businesses accountable. Our elected officials seem, for the most part, very reluctant to do that. The cynical might suggest this is because businesses and those who run them are politically powerful. Hiring illegal immigrants is a great way to increase profits; after all they will work for less money, they seldom complain about illegal working conditions and the American taxpayer has to pay their health insurance. Maybe we don't have an illegal immigration problem after all, we just have politicians who put self-interest and business interests ahead of our interests.

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Vigil Honors Five Dead Infants

Vigil Honors Five Dead Infants

By Martha Stoddard

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
Metro/Region

LINCOLN — Candle flames flickered in the wind Tuesday at a vigil for five babies who have died since Nebraska cut off Medicaid prenatal care for more than 1,500 women.

A small group gathered on the steps of the State Capitol to call attention to the consequences of the policy change.

“Standing witness is important,” said Rev. Neal Jose Wilkinson, a priest who works with Omaha’s Hispanic community.

Health officials have told lawmakers that five infants — four stillborn in Columbus and one born premature in Omaha — died since the March 1 change.

A lack of prenatal care is believed to have contributed to at least some of the deaths.

Shirley Mora James, with the Equality Nebraska Coalition, said there likely are more deaths that have not been reported because women did not seek care from a public clinic.

Jim Cunningham, a lobbyist for the Nebraska Catholic Conference, said the new policy punishes unborn children for their mothers’ status.

Nebraska officials cut off government-funded prenatal care for women who had received the care based on the Medicaid eligibility of their unborn children.

About 1,600 women lost coverage because of the change, of whom about 840 were illegal immigrants. An unknown number could not get coverage in the months since.

Attempts to reinstate coverage failed this year in the face of staunch opposition from Gov. Dave Heineman and others, who objected to providing prenatal care to illegal immigrants.

Three state lawmakers have said they plan to try again in the 2011 Legislature.

Progressive Omaha Sep 11 2011

Highlights of presentation by Howard Dotson to Progressive Omaha meeting, Saturday, September 11, 2010, by Barbara van den Berg

I tried to take notes at Howard Dotson's presentation, but since so much of this information was new to me, I ended up with a lot of spaces for details that need to be researched at a later time. Never-the-less, perhaps it is useful to write down a few observations that could be used in a follow-up discussion at the next Progressive Omaha monthly meeting.

Reverend Howard Dotson's main objective was to inform us of the up-coming screenings of 9500 Liberty, a documentary about the explosive battle over immigration policy in Prince William County, Virginia. Go to http://www.9500liberty.com to see a trailer. Here is a short list of some of the first screenings in Nebraska.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 8:00 p.m, at Midlands College, Fremont, 2nd Level of the Student Center. Saturday, October 9, 7:00 p.m., at Creighton University, Harper Center Auditorium Wednesday, October 13, 7:00 p.m., McFoster's, 302 South 38th Street, (38th and Farnam),Omaha Saturday, October 16, 2:00 p.m. Filmstreams, Ruth Sokolof Theater, 1340 Mike Fahey Street, Omaha

This film is extremely relevant to the situation in Fremont, Nebraska, and its Ordinance 5165 requiring presentation of citizen documentation to police, that has the potential of fomenting a very damaging culture war.

Reverend Howard's analysis is that immigration law is being made into a distraction for the November elections. Instead of focusing on war, peace, economic growth, unemployment, health care, financial reform...in other words...the really big, important issues of the day, campaigns are distracting voters with fears about illegal immigration. This, however, is not going well. Several anti-immigrant laws are being held up because of their unconstitutionality. The national organization of police chiefs recognize that it is impossible to do their work which requires the trust of immigrant communities if they have to follow these new anti-immigrant laws requiring residents to show documentation of citizenship. Police departments around the country do not want to do the work of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement (US Department of Homeland Security).

Reverend Howard also emphasized the importance of informing voters of the kinds of people and groups who are behind Ordinance 5165, namely FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which has been labeled as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Kris Kobach is FAIR's lawyer defending court cases against Arizona's anti-immigration law. Governor Heineman enabled Fremont to proceed with its ordinance and voters should call him on this. Reverend Howard feels that Heineman's opponent for governor in the November election, Mike Meister, should emphasize Heineman's anti-immigrant stand in campaigns and debates.

The kind of rhetoric that surrounds immigration debate started by these types of anti-immigrant ordinances shows little understanding of the immigration issue in general. Little is said about the demand side of the economy. Immigrants are consumers, business owners, homeowners, and renters, all contributing to the tax base of the local, state, and federal governments. When immigrant groups feel threatened and leave as they did in Prince William County, Virginia, the local economy suffers. Despite claims otherwise, large monopolistic transnational firms and big agriculture like an unending supply of labor that can be intimidated with arrest and deportation. Fomenting culture wars where neighbors turn on each other is a common tactic used by political parties in election years and this midterm election is no exception. Communities must resist being manipulated by our politicians and must stand up for constitutional rights of its residents. The culture wars started by anti-immigrant ordinances and funded by hate groups such as FAIR stir up racism, can lead to hate crimes, and social wounds that take centuries to heal.

Creighton Center for Health Policy and Ethics Roundtables

Wednesday, September 1, 3:30-4:30pm (CHPE Conference Room)

Prison Populations’ impact on Community Health – HIV as a case in point.
Discussants: Reverend Howard Dotson, Presbyterian AIDS Network, Ann Smolsky, Outreach Coordinator, Nebraska AIDS Project, Mark Foxall, PhD, Deputy Director, Douglas County Corrections, Mary Lou Flearl, MD, Omaha Correctional Center
Moderator: Mark Goodman
_________________________________________________________________

Wednesday February 9, 2011 “Mental Health Care for Crime Victim Families”

Wednesday, February 9, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Center for Health Policy & Ethics Conference Room
Panel:
Beth Croston Hansen, MS, LMHP, CCGC, OneWorld Community Health Centers
Daniel R. Wilson, MD, PhD, Professor and Chairman of Psychiatry, Creighton University
Pat Christopher, MPA, MS, LPC, NCC, Charles Drew Medical Center
Rev. Howard Dotson, Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church

These panelists represent an excellent cross section of our mental health service providers addressing the pressing concern of untreated Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and complicated grief present in families of crime victims in the Omaha community.

Moderator: Christy Rentmeester

Bibliography of sources related to this topic: Literature Review of Mental Health Concerns with Crime Victims

The Founder of Homeboy Industries is coming to Omaha

The Founder of Homeboy Industries is coming to Omaha this week

Cheril Lee (2011-02-22)
OMAHA, NE (kios) - Father Greg Boyle, Jesuit priest and founder of Homeboy Industries, will lead a consultation on microenterprises on Thursday afternoon and present a lecture Thursday night at Metro.

Reverend Howard Dotson is helping coordinate the events. He says Homeboy Industries began 20 years ago in East L.A. with the purpose of taking former gang members recently released from prison and helping rehabilitate them. Reverend Dotson says he hopes local intervention prevention and workforce development specialists are able to replicate the model in North and South Omaha where there are constant challenges due to gang violence. He says Homeboy Industries encourages gang members to, "remove the tattoos and helps puts them into workforce development, giving them job skills that match their skill level because the tagline for Homeboy Industries is 'Jobs, not Jail'. When these guys and gals come out of prison, if there's not a community and a sense of hope, many of them end up going back into prison because they end up being engaged in gang activity."

Father Boyle will lead a consultation from 1:00 to 4:00 at Creighton this Thursday. Additionally, he will give a lecture Thursday night at 7:00 at Metro Community College's South Omaha Campus. Reservations are not required.
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