http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/10/why_i_dont_use_the_i-word--in_any_form.html
BY RINKU SEN
"Since we launched the Drop the I-Word campaign, thousands of people and numerous media outlets have pledged not to label immigrants criminals and to affirm their humanity and dignity. Of those thousands, some are immigrants, both undocumented and with papers, who are asking us to stand up for our values, not just bear witness to their demise. Others are allies who recognize that this is an historic moment to support a resilient community. Still others are motivated by the simple recognition that journalists and everyday people alike can no longer allow fear mongers to dictate the parameters of our conversation.
We have also encountered skepticism, notably from progressive reporters. While our colleagues agree that “illegals” is a slur, they’re okay with its longer version, “illegal immigrant.” Ezra Klein at the Washington Post, for instance, dismisses “word games” that “paper over” the issue. But Klein picks the wrong target. As long as we use the word “illegal” in connection with immigration or immigrants, it papers over the fact that our laws are unjustly applied. It creates the illusion of simplicity, when that could not be further from the case. The only thing that should be simple is that immigrants are real people, not problems."
READ FULL ARTICLE AT THE LINK ABOVE.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Birthright Citizenship under attack
http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/10/efforts_to_revoke_birthright_citizenship_move_to_state_level.html
36Share
The Roots of the GOP’s Birthright Citizenship Mania
If you thought ending birthright citizenship and anti-immigrant slurs like “anchor babies” might go away after the elections wrapped up, we’ve got news for you.
Elise Foley reports for the Washington Independent that State Legislators for Legal Immigration, a coalition of immigration-restrictionist lawmakers in 41 states, is kicking off a national effort this week to get states to pass bills that rewrite the Constitution. The fourteenth amendment guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the U.S., regardless of the immigration status of the baby’s parents. If groups like the 14th Amendment Citizens Model Committee gets its way though, that right will be limited to people whose parents are legal residents or U.S. citizens.
At least a dozen Republican state lawmakers have plans to introduce bills in their states’ next legislative session to revoke birthright citizenship rights for kids born to undocumented immigrants. SB 1070-author and Arizona state Rep. Russell Pearce has already announced his plans to do so.
Right-wing lawmakers know what they’re proposing is currently against the law, and that’s the point. They’re itching for a legal battle so that they can get the Supreme Court to take up the issue. Legal scholars argue that the Constitution’s language on birthright citizenship is crystal clear. It says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
And yet the bills are on their way soon. Pearce has promised to deliver his by January. Check out Victor Goode’s breakdown of the right’s constitutional revisionism here.
Threats to roll back the 14th amendment’s birthright citizenship clause often sound too hare-brained to take seriously. But if right-wing lawmakers have their way, the talk may soon become bills, which may become laws.
36Share
The Roots of the GOP’s Birthright Citizenship Mania
If you thought ending birthright citizenship and anti-immigrant slurs like “anchor babies” might go away after the elections wrapped up, we’ve got news for you.
Elise Foley reports for the Washington Independent that State Legislators for Legal Immigration, a coalition of immigration-restrictionist lawmakers in 41 states, is kicking off a national effort this week to get states to pass bills that rewrite the Constitution. The fourteenth amendment guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the U.S., regardless of the immigration status of the baby’s parents. If groups like the 14th Amendment Citizens Model Committee gets its way though, that right will be limited to people whose parents are legal residents or U.S. citizens.
At least a dozen Republican state lawmakers have plans to introduce bills in their states’ next legislative session to revoke birthright citizenship rights for kids born to undocumented immigrants. SB 1070-author and Arizona state Rep. Russell Pearce has already announced his plans to do so.
Right-wing lawmakers know what they’re proposing is currently against the law, and that’s the point. They’re itching for a legal battle so that they can get the Supreme Court to take up the issue. Legal scholars argue that the Constitution’s language on birthright citizenship is crystal clear. It says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
And yet the bills are on their way soon. Pearce has promised to deliver his by January. Check out Victor Goode’s breakdown of the right’s constitutional revisionism here.
Threats to roll back the 14th amendment’s birthright citizenship clause often sound too hare-brained to take seriously. But if right-wing lawmakers have their way, the talk may soon become bills, which may become laws.
ICE and Secure Communities
So eventhough this blog has been very inactive, I would like to start posting more news and analysis. Right now I, Jaymes, am writing from Chiapas, México, and invite all compañeros involved with this group to contribute to this blog. I am especially interested in thoughts about this article, and developments regarding sanctuary city movements and how we can oppose secure communities-ICE.
This article brings up a lot of questions about the transparency of ICE, its´goals and objectives, and the what the future of the immigrant rights movement is going to look like on a city government level. Comment! Discuss!
full article here
http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/10/the_federal_government_continues_to.html
by Seth Freed Wessler
Tuesday, October 12 2010
The federal government is expanding a troubled deportation program despite well documented flaws in it. Now, with news that it’s impossible to opt out of the program, immigrant rights activists are going back to the drawing board.
Last week Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of Homeland Security, said that municipalities have no power to choose whether to participate in Secure Communities, a controversial program that checks the legal status of anyone booked into a local jail. The program has been criticized for indiscriminately shoving even lawful residents into deportation for petty offenses at best. Napolitano’s announcement comes as a shock to local advocates across the country who were previously informed that the program is optional and have mounted campaigns to convince localities to opt out.
Four counties have already voted to opt out of the program: Santa Clara, Calif.; Washington, D.C.; Arlington, Va.; and San Francisco. It appears they may have done so in vain. “What we have here is another set of conflicting statements from ICE as well as from DHS on Secure Communities,” says Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada.
In September, Secretary Napolitano wrote a letter responding to a request for clarification from Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat from California. Napolitano’s letter confirmed that local governments have the power to opt out of Secure Communities. The announcement appeared to open new space for advocates and municipalities to halt the program’s expansion. But two weeks ago, the Washington Post quoted an anonymous government source who said the program was actually not optional. Why? Because Secure Communities relies on fingerprint data that all local law enforcement already send to the FBI, that the FBI then shares with ICE, there appears to be no way around the program.
Finally, Napolitano confirmed late last week that the program is not, in fact, voluntary. “We do not see this as an opt-in, opt-out program,” Napolitano told the Washington Post.
On the same day that Napolitano made her announcement, she proudly proclaimed that the immigration agency once again deported close to 400,000 people in fiscal year 2010. The department claims that a record number of those deported are immigrants convicted of crimes. But the government’s own data complicates the the picture. Those lumped into the category of “criminal alien,” the term used by ICE to refer to deportees with convictions, are often guilty only of not being a U.S. citizen.
secure_communities_100510.gifIndeed, close to 80 percent of all those deported as a result of Secure Communities had no criminal convictions at all, or were charged with some small infractions like traffic violations. Rather than focusing on immigrants with serious violent crime convictions, as the government says it intends to, the program is rounding up undocumented immigrants en masse, along with lawful residents who may only have minor convictions, often for drug possession. Many local advocates say that the program, which is now operational in over 600 municipalities in 32 states, is one of a set of untargeted tools leading to the indiscriminate deportations of non-citizens.
The program is just one part of a set of immigration programs that’s led to another consecutive year of record levels of deportations.
In a recent ColorLines investigation, I told the story of Shahed Hossain. Shahed lived in Fort Worth, Texas, with his family from the age of 10, but was deported to Bangladesh after a slip of tongue at the border—he told a border guard he was a citizen rather than a permanent resident. The case reveals how far off the rails our rapidly expanding deportation system has gone. But rather than acting to bring the immigration system under control, the Obama administration is further expanding its reach.
Advocates in the four counties where governments already voted not to participate in Secure Communities are now bewildered.
Jazmin Segura from Services, Immigrants Rights and Education Network (SIREN) in Santa Clara, says, “ICE is lacking transparency and there’s a lack of trust. They have been back peddling with a lot of things they’ve said. It’s another lie from ICE and it’s very frustrating.”
Segura says local advocates are exploring whether there are legal avenues to get out of the program, especially in light of the fact there is no legislated requirement for municipalities to participate. “There is no federal mandate for Secure Communities to be enforced. It’s something ICE is going on it’s own. So a lot of groups are looking into the legalities.”
Arlington’s Tejada says “at the very least, we want clarification on the part of ICE to specifically and unambiguously specify if there is an opt out. If so, how’s it works? And if not, why not?”
Tejada also suggests there may be other ways around the program. Secure Communities requires that local jails hold inmates identified by ICE until the agency can transfer that person to an immigration detention center. There remains some question as to whether local governments that vote to opt out of the program can simply go on functioning as if no ICE hold, or “detainer” were issued.
Tejada nods in that direction. “There needs to be a clarification of the weight that a detainer carries. What is the local obligation to and weight of that detainer?”
Colorlines emailed the Department of Homeland Security asking for clarification but did not receive an immediate response.
Meanwhile, Secure Communities is rapidly expanding. At the end of September, the entire state of Texas activated the program. Today, the LA Times reports that Los Angeles is also moving forward with plans to bring county criminal jails into partnership with ICE.
Sarahi Uribe, of the National Day Laborers Organizing Network, which is part of a national campaign against Secure Communities, says groups “will continue to push for local governments to opt out of the program. These local governments went through democratic processes and held public hearings,” she says. “And now there being denied the right to opt out of something they never opted into.”
This article brings up a lot of questions about the transparency of ICE, its´goals and objectives, and the what the future of the immigrant rights movement is going to look like on a city government level. Comment! Discuss!
full article here
http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/10/the_federal_government_continues_to.html
by Seth Freed Wessler
Tuesday, October 12 2010
The federal government is expanding a troubled deportation program despite well documented flaws in it. Now, with news that it’s impossible to opt out of the program, immigrant rights activists are going back to the drawing board.
Last week Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of Homeland Security, said that municipalities have no power to choose whether to participate in Secure Communities, a controversial program that checks the legal status of anyone booked into a local jail. The program has been criticized for indiscriminately shoving even lawful residents into deportation for petty offenses at best. Napolitano’s announcement comes as a shock to local advocates across the country who were previously informed that the program is optional and have mounted campaigns to convince localities to opt out.
Four counties have already voted to opt out of the program: Santa Clara, Calif.; Washington, D.C.; Arlington, Va.; and San Francisco. It appears they may have done so in vain. “What we have here is another set of conflicting statements from ICE as well as from DHS on Secure Communities,” says Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada.
In September, Secretary Napolitano wrote a letter responding to a request for clarification from Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat from California. Napolitano’s letter confirmed that local governments have the power to opt out of Secure Communities. The announcement appeared to open new space for advocates and municipalities to halt the program’s expansion. But two weeks ago, the Washington Post quoted an anonymous government source who said the program was actually not optional. Why? Because Secure Communities relies on fingerprint data that all local law enforcement already send to the FBI, that the FBI then shares with ICE, there appears to be no way around the program.
Finally, Napolitano confirmed late last week that the program is not, in fact, voluntary. “We do not see this as an opt-in, opt-out program,” Napolitano told the Washington Post.
On the same day that Napolitano made her announcement, she proudly proclaimed that the immigration agency once again deported close to 400,000 people in fiscal year 2010. The department claims that a record number of those deported are immigrants convicted of crimes. But the government’s own data complicates the the picture. Those lumped into the category of “criminal alien,” the term used by ICE to refer to deportees with convictions, are often guilty only of not being a U.S. citizen.
secure_communities_100510.gifIndeed, close to 80 percent of all those deported as a result of Secure Communities had no criminal convictions at all, or were charged with some small infractions like traffic violations. Rather than focusing on immigrants with serious violent crime convictions, as the government says it intends to, the program is rounding up undocumented immigrants en masse, along with lawful residents who may only have minor convictions, often for drug possession. Many local advocates say that the program, which is now operational in over 600 municipalities in 32 states, is one of a set of untargeted tools leading to the indiscriminate deportations of non-citizens.
The program is just one part of a set of immigration programs that’s led to another consecutive year of record levels of deportations.
In a recent ColorLines investigation, I told the story of Shahed Hossain. Shahed lived in Fort Worth, Texas, with his family from the age of 10, but was deported to Bangladesh after a slip of tongue at the border—he told a border guard he was a citizen rather than a permanent resident. The case reveals how far off the rails our rapidly expanding deportation system has gone. But rather than acting to bring the immigration system under control, the Obama administration is further expanding its reach.
Advocates in the four counties where governments already voted not to participate in Secure Communities are now bewildered.
Jazmin Segura from Services, Immigrants Rights and Education Network (SIREN) in Santa Clara, says, “ICE is lacking transparency and there’s a lack of trust. They have been back peddling with a lot of things they’ve said. It’s another lie from ICE and it’s very frustrating.”
Segura says local advocates are exploring whether there are legal avenues to get out of the program, especially in light of the fact there is no legislated requirement for municipalities to participate. “There is no federal mandate for Secure Communities to be enforced. It’s something ICE is going on it’s own. So a lot of groups are looking into the legalities.”
Arlington’s Tejada says “at the very least, we want clarification on the part of ICE to specifically and unambiguously specify if there is an opt out. If so, how’s it works? And if not, why not?”
Tejada also suggests there may be other ways around the program. Secure Communities requires that local jails hold inmates identified by ICE until the agency can transfer that person to an immigration detention center. There remains some question as to whether local governments that vote to opt out of the program can simply go on functioning as if no ICE hold, or “detainer” were issued.
Tejada nods in that direction. “There needs to be a clarification of the weight that a detainer carries. What is the local obligation to and weight of that detainer?”
Colorlines emailed the Department of Homeland Security asking for clarification but did not receive an immediate response.
Meanwhile, Secure Communities is rapidly expanding. At the end of September, the entire state of Texas activated the program. Today, the LA Times reports that Los Angeles is also moving forward with plans to bring county criminal jails into partnership with ICE.
Sarahi Uribe, of the National Day Laborers Organizing Network, which is part of a national campaign against Secure Communities, says groups “will continue to push for local governments to opt out of the program. These local governments went through democratic processes and held public hearings,” she says. “And now there being denied the right to opt out of something they never opted into.”
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
21 Reasons to push for the DREAM Act
http://www.buzzfeed.com/flaviaisabel/20-good-reasons-to-risk-deportation-for-the-dream-1nzi
Humanizing this movement is crucial....
Humanizing this movement is crucial....
DREAM Act
Over 20 undocumented youth risk arrest, deportation, stage sit-in at congressional offices on Capitol Hill
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
For Immediate Release - Press Release
Juan Escalante
dreamactmedia@gmail.com and media@thedreamiscoming.com
Washington, D.C. Today, July 20th, over 20 undocumented immigrant youth from all over the country are risking arrest and deportation as they stage sit-ins at various congressional offices in Washington D.C. in order to urge congressional leadership to take action and pass the DREAM Act, a narrowly-tailored, bipartisan bill which would grant immigrant youth a path to citizenship. According to recent surveys by First Focus, 70% of the American public supports the DREAM Act.
They are holding sit-ins in the offices of the following elected officials: Senator Menendez, Senate majority leader Reid, Senator Feinstein, Senator McCain, and Senator Schumer.
Erika Andiola of Arizona states, “My parents sacrificed everything for me so I could pursue the American Dream. To deny my dreams is to deny the dreams of my parents. I’m doing this for them.” Andiola is a graduate of Arizona State University and holds a bachelor of arts in psychology.
After two months of coast-to-coast actions, including dozens of sit-ins, civil disobedience actions, and protracted hunger strikes by both undocumented youth and community members, they have decided to bring the cause of their lives to Washington D.C. The immigrant youth participating in today’s action hail from Illinois, Virginia, New York, California, Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, and Michigan.
Rosario Lopez of North Carolina states, “We have nothing to fear anymore except inaction. Our spirits grow stronger every day.” Lopez is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, holds a bachelor of science in biology, and aspires to pursuing a PhD. In June, she participated in a 13-day hunger strike in front of Senator Hagan’s office.
Jose Torres of Texas states, “The DREAM Act is the critical first increment in a longer process of immigration reform. We’re here to fight for our dreams and the dreams of our communities.” Torres is a graduate of the University of Texas. He holds a bachelor of arts in business administration and aspires to attend law school.
At least 65,000 undocumented immigrant youth graduate from high schools every year, and many of them struggle to attend institutes of higher education and the military. The DREAM Act will grant youth who traveled to the United States before the age of 16 a path to citizenship contingent on continuous presence in the country, good behavior, and the attainment of at least a two-year university degree or a two-year commitment to the armed forces.
###
The DREAM is Coming project is a collaboration between multiple organizations, including the New York State Youth Leadership Council, the Immigrant Youth Justice League, Dream Team Los Angeles, Kansas Missouri Dream Alliance, Arizona Dream Act Coalition, the Orange County Dream Team, University Leadership Initiative of Texas, Virginia DreamActivist, and DREAMActivist.org.
To read the personal stories of the DREAMers, visit www.thedreamiscoming.com/meet-the-dreamers/
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
For Immediate Release - Press Release
Juan Escalante
dreamactmedia@gmail.com and media@thedreamiscoming.com
Washington, D.C. Today, July 20th, over 20 undocumented immigrant youth from all over the country are risking arrest and deportation as they stage sit-ins at various congressional offices in Washington D.C. in order to urge congressional leadership to take action and pass the DREAM Act, a narrowly-tailored, bipartisan bill which would grant immigrant youth a path to citizenship. According to recent surveys by First Focus, 70% of the American public supports the DREAM Act.
They are holding sit-ins in the offices of the following elected officials: Senator Menendez, Senate majority leader Reid, Senator Feinstein, Senator McCain, and Senator Schumer.
Erika Andiola of Arizona states, “My parents sacrificed everything for me so I could pursue the American Dream. To deny my dreams is to deny the dreams of my parents. I’m doing this for them.” Andiola is a graduate of Arizona State University and holds a bachelor of arts in psychology.
After two months of coast-to-coast actions, including dozens of sit-ins, civil disobedience actions, and protracted hunger strikes by both undocumented youth and community members, they have decided to bring the cause of their lives to Washington D.C. The immigrant youth participating in today’s action hail from Illinois, Virginia, New York, California, Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, and Michigan.
Rosario Lopez of North Carolina states, “We have nothing to fear anymore except inaction. Our spirits grow stronger every day.” Lopez is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, holds a bachelor of science in biology, and aspires to pursuing a PhD. In June, she participated in a 13-day hunger strike in front of Senator Hagan’s office.
Jose Torres of Texas states, “The DREAM Act is the critical first increment in a longer process of immigration reform. We’re here to fight for our dreams and the dreams of our communities.” Torres is a graduate of the University of Texas. He holds a bachelor of arts in business administration and aspires to attend law school.
At least 65,000 undocumented immigrant youth graduate from high schools every year, and many of them struggle to attend institutes of higher education and the military. The DREAM Act will grant youth who traveled to the United States before the age of 16 a path to citizenship contingent on continuous presence in the country, good behavior, and the attainment of at least a two-year university degree or a two-year commitment to the armed forces.
###
The DREAM is Coming project is a collaboration between multiple organizations, including the New York State Youth Leadership Council, the Immigrant Youth Justice League, Dream Team Los Angeles, Kansas Missouri Dream Alliance, Arizona Dream Act Coalition, the Orange County Dream Team, University Leadership Initiative of Texas, Virginia DreamActivist, and DREAMActivist.org.
To read the personal stories of the DREAMers, visit www.thedreamiscoming.com/meet-the-dreamers/
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Time for a More Radical Immigrant-Rights Movement
full article here: http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=time_for_a_more_radical_immigrantrights_movement
By David Bacon, July 2007
Like the civil rights movement four decades ago, the political upsurge in immigrant communities makes a profound demand -- not simply for visas, but for freedom and equality. It questions our values. Will local communities share political power with newcomers? Will workers be able to organize to turn low-paying labor into real jobs? Will children go to school knowing their teachers value their ability to speak two or three languages as a mark of their intelligence, not their inferiority?
Those who fear change are right about one thing. Once we answer these questions, we will not be the same country. Social change requires a social movement. Rights are only extended in the United States when people demand it. Congress will pass laws guaranteeing rights for immigrants as it did for workers in 1934, or African Americans in 1966 -- when it has no choice but to recognize that movement's strength.
In the South of the 1960s, courageous civil rights activists stopped lynching and defied bombings, while registering people to vote and going to jail to overturn unjust Jim Crow laws. They won allies, from unions to students to artists, who helped give the civil rights movement its radical, transformative character. They led our country out of McCarthyism.
Workers in unions, immigrants included, need labor law reform and enforcement. Many May Day marchers demanded not just legal immigration status, but the right to organize to raise their poverty-level wages. Immigrant janitors sitting in the streets of Houston, hotel housekeepers enforcing living wage laws in Emeryville, CA, and meatpacking workers organizing against company terror tactics at Smithfield Foods in Tarheel, NC, are as much a part of the immigrant rights movement as those marching for visas.
A coalition that can fight for these demands has its roots in immigrant rights groups, local unions, church congregations and college campuses. The Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, representing Wal-Mart, Marriott and other corporate giants, will not fight for these demands. Nor will the rightwing Manhattan Institute. But many national organizations will. The AFL-CIO and most unions in the Change to Win Federation will support these demands. So will the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Mexican American Political Association, and the American Friends Service Committee.
National groups can provide resources, but to build a movement on the ground, we might study the experience of the young activists in the south in the 1960s, and the radicals in the industrial workplaces of the 1930s. Could students be organized to go to Hazelton, Tucson and Prince William County, to provide support for communities challenging raids and local anti-immigrant laws? Could civil disobedience be as important to their tactics as it was to those who sat in at lunch counters or organized illegal unions at the Ford Rouge plant?
Immigrant communities don't need another bad Congressional compromise. They need a freedom agenda. It can be a program like the Freedom Charter of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement -- a vision to fight for. It can be a bill in Congress, like Sheila Jackson Lee's, forcing politicians to consider an alternative to guest workers and more raids. And it can be a mobilizer, drawing people to picket lines in front of the ICE detention centers holding their family members. There people can sing new Spanish or Arabic words to the old anti-slavery anthem: "Let my people go."
By David Bacon, July 2007
Like the civil rights movement four decades ago, the political upsurge in immigrant communities makes a profound demand -- not simply for visas, but for freedom and equality. It questions our values. Will local communities share political power with newcomers? Will workers be able to organize to turn low-paying labor into real jobs? Will children go to school knowing their teachers value their ability to speak two or three languages as a mark of their intelligence, not their inferiority?
Those who fear change are right about one thing. Once we answer these questions, we will not be the same country. Social change requires a social movement. Rights are only extended in the United States when people demand it. Congress will pass laws guaranteeing rights for immigrants as it did for workers in 1934, or African Americans in 1966 -- when it has no choice but to recognize that movement's strength.
In the South of the 1960s, courageous civil rights activists stopped lynching and defied bombings, while registering people to vote and going to jail to overturn unjust Jim Crow laws. They won allies, from unions to students to artists, who helped give the civil rights movement its radical, transformative character. They led our country out of McCarthyism.
Workers in unions, immigrants included, need labor law reform and enforcement. Many May Day marchers demanded not just legal immigration status, but the right to organize to raise their poverty-level wages. Immigrant janitors sitting in the streets of Houston, hotel housekeepers enforcing living wage laws in Emeryville, CA, and meatpacking workers organizing against company terror tactics at Smithfield Foods in Tarheel, NC, are as much a part of the immigrant rights movement as those marching for visas.
A coalition that can fight for these demands has its roots in immigrant rights groups, local unions, church congregations and college campuses. The Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, representing Wal-Mart, Marriott and other corporate giants, will not fight for these demands. Nor will the rightwing Manhattan Institute. But many national organizations will. The AFL-CIO and most unions in the Change to Win Federation will support these demands. So will the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Mexican American Political Association, and the American Friends Service Committee.
National groups can provide resources, but to build a movement on the ground, we might study the experience of the young activists in the south in the 1960s, and the radicals in the industrial workplaces of the 1930s. Could students be organized to go to Hazelton, Tucson and Prince William County, to provide support for communities challenging raids and local anti-immigrant laws? Could civil disobedience be as important to their tactics as it was to those who sat in at lunch counters or organized illegal unions at the Ford Rouge plant?
Immigrant communities don't need another bad Congressional compromise. They need a freedom agenda. It can be a program like the Freedom Charter of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement -- a vision to fight for. It can be a bill in Congress, like Sheila Jackson Lee's, forcing politicians to consider an alternative to guest workers and more raids. And it can be a mobilizer, drawing people to picket lines in front of the ICE detention centers holding their family members. There people can sing new Spanish or Arabic words to the old anti-slavery anthem: "Let my people go."
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Of Borders and Bridges
This conference is about complex identities in education and will address issues around immigration. Our group, ISWI, has 45 minutes on Saturday, May 29th, to discuss our work and goals. Please contact Jayme (purplejayme@gmail.com) if you are interested or able to come!!
Of Borders and Bridges
Conference Schedule
Saturday May 22
1:00 Greeting
1:10 Jackie Chromey and Katie Richardson
Discussion about immigration related curriculum and the curriculum they have developed- Why does Immigration Matter to Me? Also cover some theoretical frameworks around identity investment, multicultural education and issues with the way national identity is constructed in public education
1:50 Dr. Laura Valdiviezo, Amherst Public Schools, Redistricting, Supporting Teachers and CLD Students
2:30 Manos Unidas- Anaelisa Vanegas
3:10 Dr. Nelida Matos- Family Involvement in Schools
3:50 Pioneer Valley Project- Maria Cuerda, Luis Perez and Fred Rose
4:30 International Language Institute of Massachusetts
4:55 Closing Thoughts
Saturday May 29
1:00 Greeting
1:15 Jackie Chromey and Katie Richardson
Discussion about immigration related curriculum and the curriculum they have developed- Why does Immigration Matter to Me? Also cover some theoretical frameworks around identity investment, multicultural education and issues with the way national identity is constructed in public education.
2:00 Jeff Napolitano- Comprehensive Immigration Reform
2:45 Hannah Marie Rhein- Bilingual Immigration related photo book
3:30 Clenghorn Neighborhood Center- Dolores Thibault-Muñoz and Joana Dos Santos
4:15 In Solidarity with Immigrants (ISWI)- 5 College student group
4:55 Closing Thoughts
Of Borders and Bridges
Conference Schedule
Saturday May 22
1:00 Greeting
1:10 Jackie Chromey and Katie Richardson
Discussion about immigration related curriculum and the curriculum they have developed- Why does Immigration Matter to Me? Also cover some theoretical frameworks around identity investment, multicultural education and issues with the way national identity is constructed in public education
1:50 Dr. Laura Valdiviezo, Amherst Public Schools, Redistricting, Supporting Teachers and CLD Students
2:30 Manos Unidas- Anaelisa Vanegas
3:10 Dr. Nelida Matos- Family Involvement in Schools
3:50 Pioneer Valley Project- Maria Cuerda, Luis Perez and Fred Rose
4:30 International Language Institute of Massachusetts
4:55 Closing Thoughts
Saturday May 29
1:00 Greeting
1:15 Jackie Chromey and Katie Richardson
Discussion about immigration related curriculum and the curriculum they have developed- Why does Immigration Matter to Me? Also cover some theoretical frameworks around identity investment, multicultural education and issues with the way national identity is constructed in public education.
2:00 Jeff Napolitano- Comprehensive Immigration Reform
2:45 Hannah Marie Rhein- Bilingual Immigration related photo book
3:30 Clenghorn Neighborhood Center- Dolores Thibault-Muñoz and Joana Dos Santos
4:15 In Solidarity with Immigrants (ISWI)- 5 College student group
4:55 Closing Thoughts
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Dream Act
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/18/headlines#10
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/18/yo_soy_el_army_us_military
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/18/yo_soy_el_army_us_military
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Do I Look Illegal To You? RALLY
So today, May 8th, there was a rally held at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Speakers ranged from UMass professors to volunteer lawyers to an Amherst city councilman to community organizers. I'd like to share some information gathered because it will be important for this group to connect to work being done at other campuses and in this region more broadly. I didn't take notes for all speakers so what follows is merely a snapshot.
Maria Cuerda spoke as a member of the Pioneer Valley Project and part of a legal resources project in North Springfield which tries to provide consultation and representation when needed. She said they (probably with other groups as well) are trying to pass an ordinance in Springfield that would require police to use languages other than English if that is what is needed.
Vladimir Morales was next and a very interesting, inspiring figure in local politics. Nearly 60, originally from the South Bronx but a resident here in Amherst for 28 years, Morales has been active in the immigrant rights movement for many years. In 1996 he was at the head of pressing (and passing!) the Legal Resident Alien's Right to Vote act. This means constitutional, legal involvement in local elections, not state or national. He mentioned that this is currently needed in Boston - and everywhere, right?? Major cities like New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C. already have this in place. In talking he said he would be interested in giving a workshop/talk on how local politics operate around here, from years of experience. I think in the fall this would be really great to have for students and community members.
Currently, Morales is pushing for the Select Board and Chair members to pass a resolution boycotting major Arizona based businesses. I have a petition if you want to sign on BUT YOU HAVE to be an Amherst registered voter. If possible, everyone should register as an Amherst voter so that we can sign more local petitions and vote in local elections. Morales mentioned that this boycott is a related resolution to a potential Sanctuary Status one, and is addressing the same issue of immigrant rights and responsibility of local governments in a different way. Good to know we have a knowledgeable, friendly, committed ally on the council.
For more information on boycott resolutions: nowaysb1070@gmail.com
The American Friends Service Committee is pushing for a similar resolution in Springfield, as well as Sanctuary City ordinances in several local cities. Jeff Napolitano is real cool and dedicated, if you don't know his name already.
Major companies that you can help boycott: US AIRWAYS, GODADDY (website makers), and UHAUL. Make sure if you interact with any of these companies that you tell them why you aren't going to support them.
Spirit Child, a hip hop artist and a member of the artist collective, Movement in Motion, performed. The Movement in Motion is an artist and activist collective that disseminates information through cultural mediums. They create rhymes, music, films, and other forms of artwork to dialogue with their respective communities. www.movementinmotion.org
After a constitutional law professor and a cultural studies professor spoke, TK, a member of the Food for Thought Books Collective and other organizations, solidly and eloquently connected immigrant struggles to LGBTQ struggles and emphasized that immigrants rights should be a priority for all queers and allies. She is helping with the push for the Arizona boycott resolution.
Finally, William Cano of the Alliance to Develop Power which did a lot to put on this week of actions at UMass, made some final comments about how these are issues for all to be passionate about, no matter documentation status or race.
While this action was largely about Arizona's bill, SB1070, the "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act," we should remember that this trend is far from isolated to only Arizona. Rather, this is part of national, historic efforts to differentiate "Mexican" from "Anglo" for the sake of national priorities and mainstream society's intents. When we contextualize this bill in a larger frame, we can see how important it is to pay attention locally.
in solidarity,
jayme
Maria Cuerda spoke as a member of the Pioneer Valley Project and part of a legal resources project in North Springfield which tries to provide consultation and representation when needed. She said they (probably with other groups as well) are trying to pass an ordinance in Springfield that would require police to use languages other than English if that is what is needed.
Vladimir Morales was next and a very interesting, inspiring figure in local politics. Nearly 60, originally from the South Bronx but a resident here in Amherst for 28 years, Morales has been active in the immigrant rights movement for many years. In 1996 he was at the head of pressing (and passing!) the Legal Resident Alien's Right to Vote act. This means constitutional, legal involvement in local elections, not state or national. He mentioned that this is currently needed in Boston - and everywhere, right?? Major cities like New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C. already have this in place. In talking he said he would be interested in giving a workshop/talk on how local politics operate around here, from years of experience. I think in the fall this would be really great to have for students and community members.
Currently, Morales is pushing for the Select Board and Chair members to pass a resolution boycotting major Arizona based businesses. I have a petition if you want to sign on BUT YOU HAVE to be an Amherst registered voter. If possible, everyone should register as an Amherst voter so that we can sign more local petitions and vote in local elections. Morales mentioned that this boycott is a related resolution to a potential Sanctuary Status one, and is addressing the same issue of immigrant rights and responsibility of local governments in a different way. Good to know we have a knowledgeable, friendly, committed ally on the council.
For more information on boycott resolutions: nowaysb1070@gmail.com
The American Friends Service Committee is pushing for a similar resolution in Springfield, as well as Sanctuary City ordinances in several local cities. Jeff Napolitano is real cool and dedicated, if you don't know his name already.
Major companies that you can help boycott: US AIRWAYS, GODADDY (website makers), and UHAUL. Make sure if you interact with any of these companies that you tell them why you aren't going to support them.
Spirit Child, a hip hop artist and a member of the artist collective, Movement in Motion, performed. The Movement in Motion is an artist and activist collective that disseminates information through cultural mediums. They create rhymes, music, films, and other forms of artwork to dialogue with their respective communities. www.movementinmotion.org
After a constitutional law professor and a cultural studies professor spoke, TK, a member of the Food for Thought Books Collective and other organizations, solidly and eloquently connected immigrant struggles to LGBTQ struggles and emphasized that immigrants rights should be a priority for all queers and allies. She is helping with the push for the Arizona boycott resolution.
Finally, William Cano of the Alliance to Develop Power which did a lot to put on this week of actions at UMass, made some final comments about how these are issues for all to be passionate about, no matter documentation status or race.
While this action was largely about Arizona's bill, SB1070, the "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act," we should remember that this trend is far from isolated to only Arizona. Rather, this is part of national, historic efforts to differentiate "Mexican" from "Anglo" for the sake of national priorities and mainstream society's intents. When we contextualize this bill in a larger frame, we can see how important it is to pay attention locally.
in solidarity,
jayme
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
So this organization is doing a lot of good work. One thing they do is create model ordinances that folks can make specific to their locality -- like we're trying to do this summer. Here's what they say about the variety of ordinances they provide:
"BORDC has developed two model ordinances for consideration by city councils across the country. These ordinances, which will have the force of law where enacted, allow individual municipalities to do what the federal government will not: protect the fundamental rights and liberties of law-abiding Americans to be free of arbitrary monitoring, surveillance, detention, search, or arrest by local law enforcement authorities; and bring to justice senior government officials complicit in torture."
Here's their website -- http://www.bordc.org/
"BORDC has developed two model ordinances for consideration by city councils across the country. These ordinances, which will have the force of law where enacted, allow individual municipalities to do what the federal government will not: protect the fundamental rights and liberties of law-abiding Americans to be free of arbitrary monitoring, surveillance, detention, search, or arrest by local law enforcement authorities; and bring to justice senior government officials complicit in torture."
Here's their website -- http://www.bordc.org/
Thursday, May 6, 2010
UC Berkeley Students Striking about AZ's law
article here: http://www.dailycal.org/article/109401/hunger_strike_will_continue_through_weekend
By Katrina Escudero
About 18 students and union workers decided Thursday evening to continue their hunger strike into next week, when Chancellor Robert Birgeneau will return to UC Berkeley from Europe.
After an informal discussion Thursday afternoon between five members of the "Hungry for Justice Coalition," Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost George Breslauer and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Harry Le Grande, the strikers said that they will continue their protest until Birgeneau agrees to discuss their demands in person.
The strikers have been camped out in front of California Hall since Monday afternoon, surviving only on water laced with sugar and lemon. At the time of the discussion, the strikers had been without food for 75 hours.
After the representatives of the strikers spoke with Breslauer and Le Grande for nearly two hours, they addressed about 100 supporters outside of California Hall, saying their discussion was simply a dialogue, not a negotiation.
"We spoke mostly about the strikers' demands," said External Affairs Vice President-elect Ricardo Gomez, one of the five students in the meeting. "It was a good step towards moving towards what the hunger strikers want to accomplish."
In a statement released Wednesday, Birgeneau addressed each of the demonstrators' six demands and stated that he is "personally prepared" to speak out against the recently passed Arizona immigration law. However, he did not fully agree to the strikers' other demands.
The demonstrators said they stand by their prior demands, asking Birgeneau to publicly denounce Arizona's immigration law; make UC Berkeley a sanctuary campus and provide extended protections for undocumented students; drop all student conduct charges against student activists; stop cuts to low-wage employees; suspend conduct procedures and initiate a democratic, student-led process to review the code; and to commit to using nonviolent means of ensuring safety at student demonstrations in the future.
Claire Holmes, associate vice chancellor of communications and public affairs, said Birgeneau is in Europe on university affairs and will return Monday. She added that campus officials will try to reach out to strikers again Friday.
"They had a very good dialogue - we're in the process of digesting the information and the exchange," she said. "We're thinking hard about what commitments we can make. We are very concerned about their health and well-being, and we want them to end the protest."
The strikers urged the demonstrators to e-mail the administration with their personal stories of how the Arizona law affects them in order for the administration to understand how the immigration law impacts UC Berkeley students.
"To see the protesters here gives me energy," said UC Berkeley sophomore Alejandro Jimenez while addressing the strikers. "I encourage you to stay strong, to hang in there and to know that you are inspiring a lot of people, keep it up."
By Katrina Escudero
About 18 students and union workers decided Thursday evening to continue their hunger strike into next week, when Chancellor Robert Birgeneau will return to UC Berkeley from Europe.
After an informal discussion Thursday afternoon between five members of the "Hungry for Justice Coalition," Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost George Breslauer and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Harry Le Grande, the strikers said that they will continue their protest until Birgeneau agrees to discuss their demands in person.
The strikers have been camped out in front of California Hall since Monday afternoon, surviving only on water laced with sugar and lemon. At the time of the discussion, the strikers had been without food for 75 hours.
After the representatives of the strikers spoke with Breslauer and Le Grande for nearly two hours, they addressed about 100 supporters outside of California Hall, saying their discussion was simply a dialogue, not a negotiation.
"We spoke mostly about the strikers' demands," said External Affairs Vice President-elect Ricardo Gomez, one of the five students in the meeting. "It was a good step towards moving towards what the hunger strikers want to accomplish."
In a statement released Wednesday, Birgeneau addressed each of the demonstrators' six demands and stated that he is "personally prepared" to speak out against the recently passed Arizona immigration law. However, he did not fully agree to the strikers' other demands.
The demonstrators said they stand by their prior demands, asking Birgeneau to publicly denounce Arizona's immigration law; make UC Berkeley a sanctuary campus and provide extended protections for undocumented students; drop all student conduct charges against student activists; stop cuts to low-wage employees; suspend conduct procedures and initiate a democratic, student-led process to review the code; and to commit to using nonviolent means of ensuring safety at student demonstrations in the future.
Claire Holmes, associate vice chancellor of communications and public affairs, said Birgeneau is in Europe on university affairs and will return Monday. She added that campus officials will try to reach out to strikers again Friday.
"They had a very good dialogue - we're in the process of digesting the information and the exchange," she said. "We're thinking hard about what commitments we can make. We are very concerned about their health and well-being, and we want them to end the protest."
The strikers urged the demonstrators to e-mail the administration with their personal stories of how the Arizona law affects them in order for the administration to understand how the immigration law impacts UC Berkeley students.
"To see the protesters here gives me energy," said UC Berkeley sophomore Alejandro Jimenez while addressing the strikers. "I encourage you to stay strong, to hang in there and to know that you are inspiring a lot of people, keep it up."
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
May Day! 11 anarchists arrested in Asheville!
Attention! 11 anarchists were arrested in Asheville, NC on Saturday as a part of May Day protests. They are currently each being charged with three felony charges each (more or less, the charges on one of the accused are unclear) and their bails are set at $65,000 each! It is incredibly important that we show solidarity with these folx, lovers! Comrades in Asheville threw newspaper vending machines through the windows of some stores and are now being charged with felony rioting. Whether you agree with the action or not, I do not think any of us agree with prison, and felony charges are no joke.
-http://denverabc.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/asheville-may-day-arrestees-need-your-help/
corporate media resource:
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20100503/NEWS01/100503038
I will be updating this post as I gain more information, I personally have friends/comrades in Asheville. Show your support!
"UPDATE 5/4/11 4PM MST: Thanks to an amazing outpouring of support, several people are being bailed out today. It’s not over yet, though — keep it coming!
UPDATE 5/3/11 12AM MST: Bail has been raised to $65,000 each. Your support is more crucial than ever!
UPDATE 5/3/10 5PM MST: Sorry for the prior confusion, the following has been confirmed: All arrestees appeared in court today and each faces 3 pending felony charges on top of the 10 misdemeanors, one of which will be felony rioting. The judge raised bail on each person (with one possible exception) to $50,000. The arrestees will all appear in court again tomorrow, and the felony charges are expected to be filed then. See this news article for more.
* this post will remain at the top of our blog for a few days *
A call for solidarity to the 11 arrested in Asheville, re-posted from Infoshop News:
Eleven people were arrested here yesterday evening, including folks from Milwaukee, Carrboro, Raleigh, Asheville, and OKC. Ten people have $10,000 bail and seven counts of misdemeanor damage to personal property, three counts of misdemeanor damage to real property; one person has $11,000 bail and an extra charge. One person has been bailed out by their family so far.
Everyone will be arraigned tomorrow at 8:30am, so we’ll know more then. Their charges and bail may change, and we may be able to get folks out then. We haven’t heard much from the people inside, so we aren’t sure who wants to be bailed out right now. We’ll update y’all once we have more information.
As you can probably tell, we could use cash money. We’re working on getting a paypal set up, but if you’d like to wire us money or send us checks, email howdotheywork@gmail.com.
More news as it comes! Thanks for all of the love and solidarity that’s been pouring in already, and good luck to everyone else who got in trouble yesterday."
corporate media resource:
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20100503/NEWS01/100503038
I will be updating this post as I gain more information, I personally have friends/comrades in Asheville. Show your support!
Notes and Thoughts from meeting!!!
ISWI minutes, April 30, 2010
Agenda? plans and things we want to keep in mind and in conversation about:
5 college alliance- Amherst College students/Hampshire students
--involvement of non-students
---grassroots
Sanctuary City
ICE Castles
language skill sharing- any language you know! let’s teach other! let’s learn! Not just Spanish and English but both of those are great!
safety for undocumented students/folx
connecting with Francisco
EPEC course at Hampshire- other student-taught course about immigration/immigrant rights
screenings, art
Susanna Loza- “Papers”?
safety network for undocumented folx traveling!
fighting the criminalization of undocumented folx
Amherst City Council- anarchist/social ecologist
Barbara- working in Cultural Center and in touch w/ Francisco
Alex Van Leer- voices, representation, Students for Justice in Palestine networking and connections
away this semester- in contact, media work
Lindsey- talking about summer plans, US Social Forum
Nate- timing, end of semester
Anike- ICE castles, revealing them, being vocal, access
Luis- Amherst College, structure
Nico- signing for hamp ISWI branch
Kasha- also signing for ISWI, medical support, lack of care at detainment centers
Issues that were raised about May Day/Pride:
connections to queer issues and ideals!
policing of bodies, subjugation of bodies
gay marriage- doesn’t necessarily help legal status, or other immigration worker equality issues
policy struggle
Governor Brewer- against queers, for concealed weapons without a permit
Marriage Equality-
“2nd class citizens”- what about folx who are not considered citizens at all??
On Amherst as a Sanctuary City:
Sanctuary status is much more of a symbol than a guarantee of safety- though an important symbol and message-
---wedge in the door, law enforcement has broad powers in Amherst, racial profiling is a problem here
anecdote: NYC: folks posed as sheriffs to evict undocumented family to make room for a shelter!
We would like to:
record video of experiences w/ICE, immigration services, arrests, profiling, personal/political
Gallery student voices, Melissa at Cultural Center
UNESCO-- Actively Anti-Racist Municipalities
---Amherst is already “Fair Trade” town
----using history of town
bringing in outside speakers
talk to Emma Rodick (Bill of Rights Defense Committee)
---putting ordinance together! collecting information now!
Goals:
-Ordinance- research over summer (Jayme)
-meeting with council members (present ourselves as students)
Summer Research, Political Climate Committee:
Ari
Jayme
Alex
that all??
By the end of year we want a strategy conversation
Make a Doodle has this already happened?
--MEETING FRIDAY- MOD 61 IF WEATHER IS NOT NICE, BACK ON THE LIBRARY LAWN IF IT IS! :)
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Holyoke Takes Up Immigration Equity Bill
Interesting article found in the Valley Advocate:
http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=11632
"Holyoke is a city that derives a deep sense of pride from its immigrant history. Now a city councilor is asking his colleagues to voice their support for a proposed federal law that would extend rights already given to immigrant partners in straight couples to gay couples, too.
Last week, Ward 4 City Councilor Tim Purington brought to the Council a resolution supporting the Uniting American Families Act. The bill would rewrite federal immigration law to allow gay Americans to sponsor non-American permanent partners or spouses for legal residency in the U.S. Currently, the law only allows that right to legally married straight couples.
A "permanent partner" is defined in the bill as an adult involved "in a committed, intimate relationship with another individual 18 years of age or older in which both parties intend a lifelong commitment." The two must be "financially interdependent," and neither may be married to anyone else. The proposed law would also provide rights to the children of the non-U.S. partner."
http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=11632
"Holyoke is a city that derives a deep sense of pride from its immigrant history. Now a city councilor is asking his colleagues to voice their support for a proposed federal law that would extend rights already given to immigrant partners in straight couples to gay couples, too.
Last week, Ward 4 City Councilor Tim Purington brought to the Council a resolution supporting the Uniting American Families Act. The bill would rewrite federal immigration law to allow gay Americans to sponsor non-American permanent partners or spouses for legal residency in the U.S. Currently, the law only allows that right to legally married straight couples.
A "permanent partner" is defined in the bill as an adult involved "in a committed, intimate relationship with another individual 18 years of age or older in which both parties intend a lifelong commitment." The two must be "financially interdependent," and neither may be married to anyone else. The proposed law would also provide rights to the children of the non-U.S. partner."
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Remember MayDay!
The WEEKEND: Brought to you by Organized Labor.
Remember MayDay!!
May 1st is International Labor Day. Established as a commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, 1886, May Day has since then been a pivotal time for recognizing labor’s achievements and voicing grievances. For over a century, MayDay has been honored, and is even a national holiday in over 50 countries.
In 2006, May 1st was chosen as the day to recognize the contributions of immigrants in the United States, bring attention to exploitative conditions and demand respect and dignity from work places to civil society. On this day there was a general strike to protest H.R. 4437, an immigration reform legislation that would have had devastating consequences. The millions of demonstrators on this day communicated a powerful message: We are here, even if you don’t see us everyday, and demand recognition.
This year, there is a national call to action in response to the extremely repressive bill passed in Arizona: SB1070 written by state Senator Pearce. This bill gives police further authority to determine people’s immigration status based only on “reasonable suspicion” that they are undocumented. Doesn’t “SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS” sound facist to you?? Keep alert to developments around this and find a way to express your disgust.
Also, keep alert to staff conditions and demands here in Western Massachusetts and right here on these five college campuses. The time is now for workers to feel safe voicing complaints and demands.
TODAY, MAY 1ST, ON INTERNATIONAL LABOR DAY, TAKE TIME TO APPRECIATE THE STRUGGLES WORKERS HAVE ENGAGED IN FOR CENTURIES AND HOW MUCH THEY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO OUR WORLD.
Remember MayDay!!
May 1st is International Labor Day. Established as a commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, 1886, May Day has since then been a pivotal time for recognizing labor’s achievements and voicing grievances. For over a century, MayDay has been honored, and is even a national holiday in over 50 countries.
In 2006, May 1st was chosen as the day to recognize the contributions of immigrants in the United States, bring attention to exploitative conditions and demand respect and dignity from work places to civil society. On this day there was a general strike to protest H.R. 4437, an immigration reform legislation that would have had devastating consequences. The millions of demonstrators on this day communicated a powerful message: We are here, even if you don’t see us everyday, and demand recognition.
This year, there is a national call to action in response to the extremely repressive bill passed in Arizona: SB1070 written by state Senator Pearce. This bill gives police further authority to determine people’s immigration status based only on “reasonable suspicion” that they are undocumented. Doesn’t “SHOW ME YOUR PAPERS” sound facist to you?? Keep alert to developments around this and find a way to express your disgust.
Also, keep alert to staff conditions and demands here in Western Massachusetts and right here on these five college campuses. The time is now for workers to feel safe voicing complaints and demands.
TODAY, MAY 1ST, ON INTERNATIONAL LABOR DAY, TAKE TIME TO APPRECIATE THE STRUGGLES WORKERS HAVE ENGAGED IN FOR CENTURIES AND HOW MUCH THEY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO OUR WORLD.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Emergency Response needed to SB1070
Hi friends,
As many of you have heard, the Arizona state legislature just approved the toughest and most devastating anti-immigrant bill in the country, written by state Sen. Pearce, which would give police further authority to determine people's immigration status - pull over, question or detain anyone - based on "reasonable suspicion" that they are undocumented. In addition to the blatant legalization of racial profiling, this will further strengthen what is increasingly a police state for immigrants.
While the bill has passed the state legislature, Governor Brewer has not yet signed this bill into law. The governor has three days to either veto, sign or let it pass into law without action.
*First, please go to this link and and tell Gov. Brewer to VETO THIS BILL NOW! http://presente.org/campaigns/arizona
*Second, if you are in New York, let's all show the folks in Arizona resisting sb1070 that we are with them. This Friday there will be an EMERGENCY PROTEST in front of the Varick Detention Center in Manhattan from 4:30 - 6pm. Make signs, make noise, and turn out with other people. Details below.
Finally, for a glimpse at the resistance in Arizona, check out this video of students who chained themselves to the Arizona State Capitol in protest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW3jD-P7JPs
As many of you have heard, the Arizona state legislature just approved the toughest and most devastating anti-immigrant bill in the country, written by state Sen. Pearce, which would give police further authority to determine people's immigration status - pull over, question or detain anyone - based on "reasonable suspicion" that they are undocumented. In addition to the blatant legalization of racial profiling, this will further strengthen what is increasingly a police state for immigrants.
While the bill has passed the state legislature, Governor Brewer has not yet signed this bill into law. The governor has three days to either veto, sign or let it pass into law without action.
*First, please go to this link and and tell Gov. Brewer to VETO THIS BILL NOW! http://presente.org/campaigns/arizona
*Second, if you are in New York, let's all show the folks in Arizona resisting sb1070 that we are with them. This Friday there will be an EMERGENCY PROTEST in front of the Varick Detention Center in Manhattan from 4:30 - 6pm. Make signs, make noise, and turn out with other people. Details below.
Finally, for a glimpse at the resistance in Arizona, check out this video of students who chained themselves to the Arizona State Capitol in protest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW3jD-P7JPs
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Otro Mundo es Posible
6pm, April 22nd, O'Conner Commons, Amherst College.
A panel discussion on detention centers, sanctuary status and comprehensive immigration reform, as well as Arizona's strident push for anti-immigrant legislation.
Come hear community organizer and co-founder of the New Sanctuary Movement Juan Carlos Ruiz discuss the importance of sanctuary status and comprehensive immigration reform.
Active Amherst students Gloria Martinez, Melissa Bejarano, Kenneth Sentamu, Summer Frost, and Luis Feliz will share their experiences at the March for America mass rally in Washington, D.C. on March 21, 2010.
After the discussion, please stick around to hear about how you can get involved locally with the multi-campus organization ISWI. Food from Veracruzana restaurant will be served.
A panel discussion on detention centers, sanctuary status and comprehensive immigration reform, as well as Arizona's strident push for anti-immigrant legislation.
Come hear community organizer and co-founder of the New Sanctuary Movement Juan Carlos Ruiz discuss the importance of sanctuary status and comprehensive immigration reform.
Active Amherst students Gloria Martinez, Melissa Bejarano, Kenneth Sentamu, Summer Frost, and Luis Feliz will share their experiences at the March for America mass rally in Washington, D.C. on March 21, 2010.
After the discussion, please stick around to hear about how you can get involved locally with the multi-campus organization ISWI. Food from Veracruzana restaurant will be served.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Minutes from Meeting on April 16th
ISWI Meeting: April 16, 2O1O
Time Effectiveness at Meetings
- Sub-committees:
1. Early Summer Research Committee (legal resources, lawyers for the ordinance)
2. Outreach/Media Committee (compiling a master list of contacts with students, faculty, townspeople, etc., and attached to each name, include notes explaining what they have done, ex: Basler- Sociology professor at Amherst and spoke at the April 1st Hampshire Panel); (handling the media aspects of the group such as the blog, website, Facebook, etc.)
3. Events Committee
- Agenda: opening it up to membership to add/make suggestions to the agenda for meetings via e-mail; goal is to keep the discussions more focused
- Compile all the minutes of our past meetings and quickly run down everything so we can all be on the same page
- Q&A formatted discussion so all members can give input, we can all listen to the different perspectives of every member, of every level of participation
- Worker's Rights Workshop on May 7th @ Hampshire
- Dinner & Banner-Making before May Day: discuss structure and plans for next year
- May Day: set up a table in downtown Amherst to speak to local people, hand out cards with our contact info
Time Effectiveness at Meetings
- Sub-committees:
1. Early Summer Research Committee (legal resources, lawyers for the ordinance)
2. Outreach/Media Committee (compiling a master list of contacts with students, faculty, townspeople, etc., and attached to each name, include notes explaining what they have done, ex: Basler- Sociology professor at Amherst and spoke at the April 1st Hampshire Panel); (handling the media aspects of the group such as the blog, website, Facebook, etc.)
3. Events Committee
- Agenda: opening it up to membership to add/make suggestions to the agenda for meetings via e-mail; goal is to keep the discussions more focused
- Compile all the minutes of our past meetings and quickly run down everything so we can all be on the same page
- Q&A formatted discussion so all members can give input, we can all listen to the different perspectives of every member, of every level of participation
- Worker's Rights Workshop on May 7th @ Hampshire
- Dinner & Banner-Making before May Day: discuss structure and plans for next year
- May Day: set up a table in downtown Amherst to speak to local people, hand out cards with our contact info
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Torn Apart by Deportation
Color Lines, the national newsmagazine on race and politics, published this article in October, 2009. Read the full article here:
http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=618.
http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=618.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Upcoming Immigration-Related Events
**courtesy of the Immigrant and Worker Rights Coalition (wmciwr@lists.riseup.net)
April 12-15
Five College Tour: How Democracy Works Now. Come see these sneak previews of a new, multi-part documentary on immigration reform: "How Democracy Works Now," by Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini. For more information go to http://www.howdemocracyworksnow.com/home
* Monday, April 12th. 7pm. Smith College, Stoddard Auditorium: The Game is On
* Tuesday, April 13th. 4pm. Amherst College, Merrill 3: Mountains and Clouds
* Tuesday, April 13th. 7:30pm. Hampshire College, Main Lecture Hall: Marking Up the Dream
* Wednesday, April 14th. 4:30pm, UMass, 106 Thompson Hall: The Kids Across the Hill
* Thursday, April 15th. 7pm. Amherst Cinema: Last Best Chance
Tuesday April 20 - 7:00 pm at Traprock, 22 Miles St. Greenfield, MA
Screening of the film "Children in No Man's Land"
Presented by the Immigrant and Worker Rights Coalition (IWRC)
This film tells the story of the 100,000 children who risk their lives every year alone, trying to get into the United States. Come see and hear the untold story of these and other undocumented children. A discussion will follow the screening.
(TENTATIVE) May 9th Springfield, MA
Fundraiser for Immigrants: Help immigrants in Springfield raise money for The Pioneer Valley Project's food campaign and for people in crisis. There will be food, music and raffles.
May 21-30, Thorns Marketplace Basement, Northampton, MA
Of Borders and Bridges: Complex Identities in Education
Sponsored by Commonwealth Center for Change
This project is a multimedia artistic and academic venture by artist Katie Richardson, exploring how diversity and belonging are constructed and contested in public education and how this impacts people as individuals and as a nation.
April 12-15
Five College Tour: How Democracy Works Now. Come see these sneak previews of a new, multi-part documentary on immigration reform: "How Democracy Works Now," by Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini. For more information go to http://www.howdemocracyworksnow.com/home
* Monday, April 12th. 7pm. Smith College, Stoddard Auditorium: The Game is On
* Tuesday, April 13th. 4pm. Amherst College, Merrill 3: Mountains and Clouds
* Tuesday, April 13th. 7:30pm. Hampshire College, Main Lecture Hall: Marking Up the Dream
* Wednesday, April 14th. 4:30pm, UMass, 106 Thompson Hall: The Kids Across the Hill
* Thursday, April 15th. 7pm. Amherst Cinema: Last Best Chance
Tuesday April 20 - 7:00 pm at Traprock, 22 Miles St. Greenfield, MA
Screening of the film "Children in No Man's Land"
Presented by the Immigrant and Worker Rights Coalition (IWRC)
This film tells the story of the 100,000 children who risk their lives every year alone, trying to get into the United States. Come see and hear the untold story of these and other undocumented children. A discussion will follow the screening.
(TENTATIVE) May 9th Springfield, MA
Fundraiser for Immigrants: Help immigrants in Springfield raise money for The Pioneer Valley Project's food campaign and for people in crisis. There will be food, music and raffles.
May 21-30, Thorns Marketplace Basement, Northampton, MA
Of Borders and Bridges: Complex Identities in Education
Sponsored by Commonwealth Center for Change
This project is a multimedia artistic and academic venture by artist Katie Richardson, exploring how diversity and belonging are constructed and contested in public education and how this impacts people as individuals and as a nation.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
April 1st Panel Video!!
This was a panel on detention centers, the politics of documentation, the local context for immigrant communities including organizing currently underway, and why Sanctuary Status is crucially important. Presenters included
--William Cano: Community organizer with the Alliance to Develop Power, a Western Massachusetts organization undertaking a set of bold initiatives in community organizing, civic engagement, cooperative economic development, and community building activities. Visit www.a-dp.org
--Carleen Basler: Assistant Professor of American Studies and Sociology, Amherst College, currently teaching Borderlands and Barrios: Latino/a Representation in Film and Television.
--Flavio Risech-Ozeguera: Associate Professor of Law and Ethnic Studies, Hampshire College, currently teaching Border Matters: Mexico and the United States
--Chris Tinson: Associate Professor of African American Studies, Hampshire College, has taught Warfare in the American Homeland: Policing, Imprisonment and the Politics of Control. He will be available to answer questions about racial profiling, detention and much more.
A big big thank you to Nicola Chavez-Courtright for filming and uploading all of this!!
Here's the video::::
For the rest of the Q & A session, search for "In Solidarity with Immigrants 4/1 Panel- Hampshire College" and see parts 7,8 and 9.
--William Cano: Community organizer with the Alliance to Develop Power, a Western Massachusetts organization undertaking a set of bold initiatives in community organizing, civic engagement, cooperative economic development, and community building activities. Visit www.a-dp.org
--Carleen Basler: Assistant Professor of American Studies and Sociology, Amherst College, currently teaching Borderlands and Barrios: Latino/a Representation in Film and Television.
--Flavio Risech-Ozeguera: Associate Professor of Law and Ethnic Studies, Hampshire College, currently teaching Border Matters: Mexico and the United States
--Chris Tinson: Associate Professor of African American Studies, Hampshire College, has taught Warfare in the American Homeland: Policing, Imprisonment and the Politics of Control. He will be available to answer questions about racial profiling, detention and much more.
A big big thank you to Nicola Chavez-Courtright for filming and uploading all of this!!
Here's the video::::
For the rest of the Q & A session, search for "In Solidarity with Immigrants 4/1 Panel- Hampshire College" and see parts 7,8 and 9.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
April 1st Panel and Workshop Update
So, the panel on April 1st was really great and, it was filmed so anyone who wasn't able to come in person can watch the video! This blog is this group’s public facet, an open resource, that members should feel free to add to.
April 8th at Amherst College::::: Juan Carlos Ruiz, director of the New Sanctuary Movement, will be speaking. More info coming soon.
On the April 1st panel were professors Flavio Risech and Carleen Basler as well as William Cano of the Alliance to Develop Power. First I want to write up some things we learned from William’s “Know Your Rights” workshop. This was a succinct, informative workshop that we can offer again sometime soon. I have several resources that William passed out that are in English and Spanish that I could scan and make available. Here are some major points:
1. The right to remain silent. This one is major. Refuse to answer questions and do not lie.
2. The right to refuse entry to your home. Do not open the door. Ask the officer to slip the warrant under the door. The warrant needs to be signed by a judge and have your name on it if the officers are asking for you.
3. The right to know the charges against you. You must be charged with a crime within 48 hours of arrest. You should not be arrested without evidence of committing a crime.
4. The right to an attorney. Say “I need to speak to a lawyer.” This is a good time to pull out the “Know Your Rights” card that William passed out which says in English and Spanish that the card presenter is going to remain silent, not answer any questions, and require the presence of an attorney.
5. The right to a phone call.
6. The right to call your consulant. This is the only agency representing undocumented immigrants in this country and so this constitutes a second phone call that many are entitled to but may not know it.
7. The right to ask for a bond. Sometimes detainees are waiting for deportation when they could ask for a bond, pay it if they are able, and get out of prison.
8. The right to refuse to sign documents. Do not sign anything! Under pressure, you could be unintentionally signing your own pre-deportation paperwork!
Basically, it is ok to say your real name but DON’T SAY ANYTHING ELSE.
These are all rights that apply to individuals within the confines of the United States, regardless of documentation levels. These rights are crucially important for people to know, and it is also crucially important that we as a group, In Solidarity With Immigrants, find out how these rights get violated and we get organized!!!
The panel about detention centers, radicalization of Latinos in this country, politics of documentation and realities of the local situation (like how Springfield cops call ICE right away), really drew some connections for me. If you weren’t able to come, please check out the video of the panel.
Keep these conversations happening! And keep being curious, engaged, passionate people.
Yours,
jayme
April 8th at Amherst College::::: Juan Carlos Ruiz, director of the New Sanctuary Movement, will be speaking. More info coming soon.
On the April 1st panel were professors Flavio Risech and Carleen Basler as well as William Cano of the Alliance to Develop Power. First I want to write up some things we learned from William’s “Know Your Rights” workshop. This was a succinct, informative workshop that we can offer again sometime soon. I have several resources that William passed out that are in English and Spanish that I could scan and make available. Here are some major points:
1. The right to remain silent. This one is major. Refuse to answer questions and do not lie.
2. The right to refuse entry to your home. Do not open the door. Ask the officer to slip the warrant under the door. The warrant needs to be signed by a judge and have your name on it if the officers are asking for you.
3. The right to know the charges against you. You must be charged with a crime within 48 hours of arrest. You should not be arrested without evidence of committing a crime.
4. The right to an attorney. Say “I need to speak to a lawyer.” This is a good time to pull out the “Know Your Rights” card that William passed out which says in English and Spanish that the card presenter is going to remain silent, not answer any questions, and require the presence of an attorney.
5. The right to a phone call.
6. The right to call your consulant. This is the only agency representing undocumented immigrants in this country and so this constitutes a second phone call that many are entitled to but may not know it.
7. The right to ask for a bond. Sometimes detainees are waiting for deportation when they could ask for a bond, pay it if they are able, and get out of prison.
8. The right to refuse to sign documents. Do not sign anything! Under pressure, you could be unintentionally signing your own pre-deportation paperwork!
Basically, it is ok to say your real name but DON’T SAY ANYTHING ELSE.
These are all rights that apply to individuals within the confines of the United States, regardless of documentation levels. These rights are crucially important for people to know, and it is also crucially important that we as a group, In Solidarity With Immigrants, find out how these rights get violated and we get organized!!!
The panel about detention centers, radicalization of Latinos in this country, politics of documentation and realities of the local situation (like how Springfield cops call ICE right away), really drew some connections for me. If you weren’t able to come, please check out the video of the panel.
Keep these conversations happening! And keep being curious, engaged, passionate people.
Yours,
jayme
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