Thursday, September 27, 2007

Midwest Dialogues on Immigration

Midwest Dialogues on Immigration
with Jane Guskin, co-author of
"The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers"

Madison, Wisconsin
Tuesday, October 2, 2007, at 7 pm
Rainbow Bookstore
426 West Gilman, just off State
http://rainbowbookstore.org/
Co-sponsored by Community Action on Latin America (CALA)
http://calamadison.org and Union de Trabajadores Inmigrantes (UTI) http://immigrantworkers.org

Chicago, Illinois
Wednesday, October 3, 2007, at 7 pm
Open University of the Left
2040 N. Milwaukee Ave.
at the In These Times building, second floor
http://openuniversityoftheleft.org

St. Louis, Missouri
Saturday, October 6, 2007, at 1pm (tentative)
Community Arts & Media Project (CAMP)
http://www.stlcamp.org/

Bloomington, Indiana
Wednesday, October 10, 2007, at 7 pm
Boxcar Books and Community Center
310A South Washington Street
http://boxcarbooks.org

Have you heard an anti-immigrant argument that you feel is wrong, but need the facts to contest? (For example: "Immigrants are a drain on social services.") Do you have your own fear or concern about the issue? (For example: "Are the lowest-paid US-born workers really hurt by immigration?") Bring your concerns to an upcoming dialogue, facilitated by Jane Guskin, co-author (with David Wilson) of the newly released Monthly Review Press book "The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers." We'll work together to develop effective responses using facts, rational reasoning and personal experiences.

To set up a dialogue in your community, write the authors at thepoliticsofimmigration@gmail.com

What people are saying about "The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers":

"We desperately need to put aside false information about immigrants, to see them as we see ourselves with honesty and compassion. This book gives powerful meaning to the slogan 'No Human Being is Illegal.' I hope it will be widely read."
- Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States

"As the immigrant rights movement grows in size and energy, we need quick facts and deep history. This book gives us both."
- Aarti Shahani, co-founder, Families for Freedom

"Guskin and Wilson have identified the hot-button points in the national immigration debate, and have set out to undo the stereotypes, misinformation and prejudice that paralyze rational thought on the subject. This book is a great reality check, a good teaching tool, and a powerful weapon against racism."
- David Bacon, author of Communities Without Borders: Images and Voices from the World of Migration

For more information about the book "The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers":

Website: http://thepoliticsofimmigration.org
Blog: http://thepoliticsofimmigration.blogspot.com
Email: thepoliticsofimmigration@gmail.com
Myspace: http://myspace.com/thepoliticsofimmigration
Order the book: http://monthlyreview.org/politicsofimmigration.htm

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Rally at Georgia Prison; No-Match Protest

Immigration News Briefs
Vol. 10, No. 24 - September 23, 2007

1. Marchers Rally at Georgia Prison
2. Arrests at Texas Military Base
3. Illinois Workers Fired Over No-Match
4. Border Agency Arrests 202 in Alabama

Immigration News Briefs is a weekly supplement to Weekly NewsUpdate on the Americas, published by Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012; tel 212-674-9499;fax 212-674-9139; wnu@igc.org. INB is also distributed free via email; see below or contact nicajg@panix.com for info. You may reprint or distribute items from INB, but please credit us and tell people how to subscribe.

1. Marchers Rally at Georgia Prison
On Sept. 15, some 100 people rallied outside the StewartDetention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, a privately run immigration prison, to protest the treatment of detainees. The rally culminated a week-long 105-mile march through six counties, organized by the Prison & Jail Project, a 15-year-old civil rights and prisoner rights advocacy group based in Americus, Georgia. The group's annual "Freedom Walk"--now in its 12th year--highlights racial and social inequities in the criminal justice system in rural southwest Georgia.

About eight people from the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and the Atlanta Minuteman Project held a counter-demonstration with banners reading: "Enforce our existing laws" and "Secure ourborders." [...]

Read the full article:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/09/26/18449929.php

Monday, September 24, 2007

No Justice with No-Match Rule

A Bush administration proposal would have resulted in mass firings of workers just in time for Christmas. But an effort by the labor and immigration movements has led courts to intervene and halt the plan -- for now.

By David Bacon
The American Prospect, web edition September 10, 2007

Merry Christmas! You're fired.

This could be the scenario for over eight million workers this coming holiday season, if a new regulation announced by the Bush administration goes into effect. [...]

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney charged that "this rule is a new tool to repress workers' rights in the name of phony immigration enforcement. Employers have used SSA 'no-match' letters to fire workers when they try to organize, when they report a wage claim or workplace hazard, or when they get injured. The new rule gives employers a stronger pretext for engaging in such unlawful conduct." [...]

Read the full article:
http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=no_justice_with_nomatch_rule

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Immigration Raids Echo History of African Americans

Raids on undocumented workers today are nothing new forAfrican Americans, who saw raids on their own population more than 150 years ago

by Jean Damu
New America Media, September 13, 2007

In August local law enforcement and immigration officials in a small Pennsylvania town began receiving reports that undocumented immigrants were being offered sanctuary at a nearby residence. Furthermore, the reports went on to say, during the daytime hours, the immigrants were blending into portions of the local population and working in one of the city's factories. [...]

Read the full article:
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=b1799b3bdaa10de0d629888ae9aaea26

Monday, September 17, 2007

Pro-Immigrant Rallies, More Raids...

Immigration News Briefs
Vol. 10, No. 23 - September 16, 2007

1. Pro-Immigrant Rallies in DC, Wisconsin
2. Iowa: Egg Factory Raided Again
3. Nebraska: Tyson Workers Arrested

Immigration News Briefs is a weekly supplement to Weekly News Update on the Americas, published by Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012; tel 212-674-9499; fax 212-674-9139; wnu@igc.org. INB is also distributed free via email; contact nicajg@panix.com for info. You may reprint or distribute items from INB, but please credit us and tell people how to subscribe.

1. Pro-Immigrant Rallies in DC, Wisconsin
On Sept. 12, some 150 activists (according to the Chicago Tribune) marched through the House of Representatives' Rayburn Office Building, chanting for an end to deportation raids. The protesters had arrived in buses from Chicago, New York, Rhode Island and elsewhere. Capitol police arrested two Puerto Rican activists from Chicago following a tussle near the office door of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, where demonstrators taped up a letter demanding she take action for immigrant rights. The two were charged with disorderly conduct and released. Pelosi was out of town. [...]

Read the full article:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/09/17/18448092.php

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Stop the Raids Picket MON 9/17 in Hartford, CT

FREE THE DANBURY 11!
STOP THE RAIDS AND DEPORTATIONS!

Solidarity picket at the federal courthouse
Monday, September 17th, 8 a.m.
450 Main St., Hartford [Connecticut]

The next hearing of the Danbury 11 is on Monday, where they will argue for a trial on grounds that ICE violated their 14th Amendment rights.

Join us for this next stage of the fight!

On September 19, 2006, eleven day laborers jumped into a van expecting to go to work on a construction site, but were instead taken straight to jail. Their driver was not a contractor, but a
federal immigration agent in disguise.

Homeland Security declined to release their names. They were jailed 150 miles from home to impede their defense and streamline their deportations. Six were shipped to prisons in Texas.

The Danbury 11 joined the nearly 16,000 Latino workers currently being unjustly held in a system of local and national prisons. Their case puts U.S. immigration policy on trial.

This raid, like all the other raids being carried out by ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement, arm of Homeland Security) is designed to induce terror and keep workers from fighting for decent wages and conditions.

This protest was initiated by Stop the Raids! Students of Trinity College.
For more information, contact Randy at Randy.Ferrufino@trincoll.edu or 978-549-6509.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Detainees on Hunger Strike, More Raids...

Immigration News Briefs
Vol. 10, No. 22 - September 9, 2007

1. AZ: Detainees on Hunger Strike
2. Nebraska: Lawncare Company Raided
3. Arrest Protested in Hartford
4. Florida: 195 Picked Up in Raids
5. "Anti-Gang" Raids in Boston Area
6. "Anti-Gang" Raids: Chicago, North Carolina, Oklahoma

Immigration News Briefs is a weekly supplement to Weekly News Update on the Americas, published by Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012; tel 212-674-9499; fax 212-674-9139; wnu@igc.org. INB is also distributed free via email; contact nicajg@panix.com for info. You may reprint or distribute items from INB, but please credit us and tell people how to subscribe.

1. AZ: Detainees on Hunger Strike
According to information confirmed by Raha Jorjani of the School of Law Clinical Programs at University of California, Davis, at least 30 immigration detainees have been refusing some or all meals at Pinal County Jail in Florence, Arizona. The hunger strikers are among some 60 detained immigrants who were transferred on or around Sept. 5 from the Florence Service Processing Center to the county jail, which has a new contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to provide bed space for immigration detainees [...]

Read the full article at:
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2007/09/09/18446504.php

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Updated: Upcoming Dialogues on Immigration

with Jane Guskin & David Wilson
authors of The Politics of Immigration: Questions & Answers

For information:
Website: http://thepoliticsofimmigration.org/
Blog: http://thepoliticsofimmigration.blogspot.com/
Email: thepoliticsofimmigration@gmail.com

SEPTEMBER 2007


Tuesday, Sept. 11, between 10 and 11 am
Interview
on WBAI's "The War On Immigrants Report,"
hosted by Adem Carroll and Subhash Kateel

In the New York area listen to:
WBAI, 99.5 FM

Live streaming and archives:
http://wbai.org/

Previous interviews:
"America's Work Force: The American Workers' Radio Network,"
hosted by Ed "Flash" Ferenc
http://www.awfradio.com/segments.html
(click on the Sept. 5 program)

Interview with Jane Guskin by Vincenzo Ronchi and Ana Lourdes Alvarenga
on the website of the Brazilian Community of Manhattan,
a Catholic organization based at Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Greenwich Village
http://www.catolicosny.org/?imigracao

* * * * * *

Upcoming Dialogues in the NYC area:

Thursday, Sept. 13, 7 pm at Bluestockings Bookstore
Tuesday, Sept. 18, noon to 1:30 pm at meeting of Rockland Immigration Coalition
Thursday, Sept. 27, 7 pm at Vox Pop


For details, go to:
http://thepoliticsofimmigration.blogspot.com/2007/09/upcoming-dialogues-on-immigration.html

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Poultry Plant Raided, No-Match Letters Halted...

Immigration News Briefs

Vol. 10, No. 21 - September 2, 2007

1. Ohio Poultry Plant Raided
2. Judge Halts New "No-Match" Letters
3. Lawsuit Settled Over Kids' Detention

Immigration News Briefs is a weekly supplement to Weekly News Update on the Americas, published by Nicaragua Solidarity Network, 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012; tel 212-674-9499; fax 212-674-9139; wnu [at] igc.org. INB is also distributed free via email; contact nicajg [at] panix.com for info. You may reprint or distribute items from INB, but please credit us and tell people how to subscribe.

*1. Ohio Poultry Plant Raided
At around 10am on Aug. 28, more than 300 federal and local officials swarmed the Koch Foods poultry processing plant in Fairfield, Ohio in a raid led by special agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE agents executed criminal search warrants at the site; they had identified 180 Koch employees at the Fairfield plant they wanted to question. [...]

Read the full article at: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/09/03/18445576.php

Monday, September 3, 2007

Upcoming Dialogues on Immigration

with Jane Guskin & David Wilson
authors of The Politics of Immigration: Questions & Answers

For information:
Website: http://thepoliticsofimmigration.org/
Blog: http://thepoliticsofimmigration.blogspot.com/
Email: thepoliticsofimmigration@gmail.com

SEPTEMBER 2007

Wednesday, Sept. 5, between 8 and 9 am

Interview
on "America's Work Force: The American Workers' Radio Network,"
hosted by Ed "Flash" Ferenc

For listeners in northeast Ohio:
WKTX 830 AM and WELW 1330 AM

Live streaming and archives:
http://www.awfradio.com/

* * * * * *

Dialogues on Immigration

Have you heard an anti-immigrant argument that you feel is wrong, but need the facts to contest? (For example: "Immigrants are a drain on socialservices.") Do you have your own fear or concern about the issue? (For example: "Are the lowest-paid US-born workers really hurt by immigration?") Bring these arguments and concerns to a dialogue, and we'll work together to develop responses using facts, rational reasoning and personal experiences. To set up a dialogue in your community, write us at thepoliticsofimmigration@gmail.com

Upcoming Dialogues in the NYC area:

Thursday, Sept. 13, 7 pm

Participatory dialogue
at Bluestockings Bookstore
172 Allen St, New York, NY
(at Stanton Street one block south of Houston Street,
take the F or V train to Second Avenue)

For more information: call 212-777-6028
or visit http://www.bluestockings.com/ or
http://www.myspace.com/bluestockingsnyc

* * * * * *

Tuesday, Sept. 18, noon to 1:30 pm

Participatory dialogue
at meeting of Rockland Immigration Coalition
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
26 South Madison Street
Spring Valley, NY

For more information: call 845-634-5729 ext 314
or email: peacepoet@aol.com

* * * * *

Thursday, Sept. 27, 7 pm

Participatory dialogue
at Vox Pop Cafe
1022 Cortelyou Road
Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, NY
(take the Q train to Cortelyou Road or the F to Ditmas Avenue)

For more information: call 718-940-2084
or visit http://www.voxpopnet.net/