A game of intertubes tag

A little game of Internet tag has been going on over the past week or so throughout liberal blogtopia. The premise is quite simple. Each bloggger lists his or her five favorite blogs, then each of them must list five more. It's a nice way to highlight your favorites and throw them a link and maybe some traffic.

My good friend Manny over at Latino Politico was nice enough to give me a plug, so it's only right that I continue this intertubes chain letter and highlight some of the blogs that I think are making a difference by getting out important information while being just plain great reads.

As Migra Matters tends to deal with a lot of policy, politics, legislation, and other sometimes dry and wonkish topics, I figured it would be nice to highlight some of my favorite blogs that feature the more human side of the immigration debate. Great writers with unique and provocative voices, the kind of voices not always easily heard in the din of talking points, media sound bites, and catch phrases that swirl around political discourse. Voices of the heart, voices of the soul, voices sometimes of anger and rage, other times heartbreak and compassion … The voices of humanity in a debate that often seems devoid of that very commodity.

First off, no list of great immigration/ human rights writers would be complete without the inclusion of Man Eegee-Latino Politico. And although the rules of intertubes tag would dictate that there are no "tag backs" I have to make an exception in Manny's case. He was one of the first writers I started reading when I first came to blotopia, and his unique voice has been with me ever since. He truly is the "heart" of my little circle of internet friends and acquaintances. The compassion and reason he brings to his writing coupled with a humanity that seems to ooze off every page have made him the conscience, the soul and the heart of the movement.

Next, in no particular order would be Nezua Limón Xolagrafik-Jonez at The Unapologetic Mexican, simply because the mans one of the most brilliant writers in all blogtopia bar none. A poet, revolutionary, voice of the resistance, who harkens back to a time when writing meant something and words could stir the masses to action. His views on everything from racism to cinema are provocative and challenging. If Nezua doesn't make you think…you must be comatose.. it's just that simple.

Then there's Kyle de Beausset at Immigration Orange. The Harvard student would never have had to write another word after his series "The Trip" where he sent back dispatches from his journey retracing the migrant odyssey from Guatemala, through Mexico to the US border. From the train of death to coyotes in border towns, de Beausset lived the life of a migrant and tells a story few Americans ever get to hear. The series was truly what great investigative journalism is supposed to be about. But he did not stop there and Immigration Orange is a daily must read for immigration/migrant news.

Another unique voice in the immigration/human rights field is Marisa Treviño at Latina Lista. Mixing a witty and sometime irreverent writing style , with passion and just the right touch of indignation, Treviño creates one of the most entertaining and a thought provoking blogs out there. Plus Marisa lends a much-needed feminist perspective to an issue that sometimes seems much too dominated by male voices.

Lastly I must mention my old friend and ally, Xicano Power over at ¡Para Justicia y Libertad!. Like Manny, I met XP when I first starting blogging on a regular basis. Prior to Migra Matters or ¡Para Justicia y Libertad! we would both post at the big liberal community sites like Daily Kos or My Left Wing and often be the only ones reading and commenting on each others work. But since then things have changed. XP has become one of the premiere writers on a variety of issues. His well-researched and thought provoking writing has him in much demand as a guest poster at various sites in blogtopia and like Nezua, he evokes the fire of indignation and the poetry of the soul with every post.

That wraps up my little game of tag. I hope I've piqued your interest in reading more from these fine writers…and now it's their turn to be "it" in this little game of intertubes tag.