Friday, September 11, 2009

Denuncia ‘guerra sucia’ de migra

Activista chileno: quieren deportarme por pasado de izquierdas en dictadura

Por Carmen Alarcón, El Diario-La Prensa (NY)
9 de septiembre, 2009

Nueva York — La sorpresa que recibió el chileno Víctor Toro Ramírez fue un documento del gobierno estadounidense interfiriendo en su caso por los nexos políticos de éste hace 36 años en Chile.

Toro, de 65 años, quien fue arrestado por agentes de inmigración a bordo de un tren de Amtrak en Rochester, Nueva York, en julio del 2007, y enfrenta una orden de deportación, está luchando por lograr asilo político.

Sin embargo, las razones políticas por las que fue perseguido en Chile durante la dictadura de Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) son las mismas que hoy están utilizando en su contra. [...]

Lea el artículo entero:
http://www.impre.com/eldiariony/noticias/2009/9/10/denuncia-guerra-sucia-de-migra-147207-1.html

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Disorder on the Border: Trashing the Law in the Name of Immigration Deterrence

By Randall Amster, CommonDreams
September 8, 2009

In two recent criminal cases in the United States, defendants received similar sentences for very different sorts of actions. In the first, a young man was convicted of negligent homicide for texting while driving and killing two scientists in the process. The New York Times reported [1] on the case and the sentence meted out to the young man:

"He pleaded guilty to two counts of negligent homicide, but his record will be cleared if he fulfills the sentence imposed by the judge. It included 30 days in jail, 200 hours of community service, and a requirement that he read Les Misérables to learn, like the book's character Jean Valjean, how to make a contribution to society."

In the second case, another young man received a sentence of 300 hours of community service, one year of probation, and a one-year ban from a large swath of land on the U.S.-Mexico border. His crime? Leaving jugs of water in the desert for would-be border crossers, in an attempt to help prevent deaths. [...]

Read the full article:
http://www.commondreams.org/print/46712

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Case by case, activists fight deportations

Immigrant students benefiting from blitz

By Maria Sacchetti, Boston Globe
September 7, 2009

A few months ago, Herta Llusho was just another college student. Then the government ordered her deported, and Llusho became an Internet celebrity almost overnight.

An army of supporters - including more than 2,800 Facebook fans, and counting - quickly launched a campaign on her behalf, and the 20-year-old immigrant from Albania recently won a three-month reprieve to remain in the United States. Now, she has become so popular that a stranger in Michigan recently spotted her in a restaurant and said, “Hey, you’re the girl that they’ve been talking about.’’

The bespectacled honor student is the third young person in the past few weeks to successfully delay deportation amid extraordinary public campaigns that combined grass-roots organizing with online social networking. [...]

Read the full article:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/07/case_by_case_activists_fight_deportations/?page=full

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

NYC, 9/9: Press Conference--Echoes of the Dirty War; Anti-Immigrant Agenda Hits New York

New Documents in the Victor Toro Case

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has started a defamation campaign against Victor Toro and Chile's Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR). DHS has submitted a series of documents which seek to defame Victor Toro and MIR. The documents have been submitted to the US federal immigration court which presides over the case of Victor Toro, who is facing deportation proceedings and is scheduled for a final hearing on January 11, 2010.

There appears to be a strategy on the part of DHS which consists of using the US immigration laws to persecute progressive people throughout the United States. Recently, a former member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Pol Brennan, was deported despite having lived over 25 years in the United States.

In response to this strategy of the US government, there will be a press conference during which copies of the documents submitted against Victor Toro will be distributed. In addition to Victor Toro, those present will include:

Ramsey Clark, Former Attorney General of the United States
Professor J. Patrice McSherry, author of the book Predatory States: Operation Condor and Covert War in Latin America
Carlos Moreno, Esq., Victor Toro’s Attorney
Labor Leaders and political activists will also be present.

Date: September 9, 2009
Time: 11:00 am
Place: International Action Center
55 West 17th Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY
Between 5th & 6th Avenues
(212) 633-6646
lapena2006@hotmail.com
http://larebeldiadelosinmigrantes.blogspot.com

* * *

Conferencia de Prensa
Ecos de la Guerra Sucia
Agenda Anti-Inmigrante Llega a New York
Nuevos Documentos en Caso Victor Toro


El Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de Los Estados Unidos(DHS) ha lanzado una campana en contra del historico ex preso politico chileno, Victor Toro, y del Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR). La campana ha sido presentada como parte del procedimiento que se le sigue a Victor Toro en la corte federal de inmigracion de Manhattan y que tendra una audiencia final el 11 de Enero del proximo ano.

El character agresivo y defamatorio de los documentos presentados contra Victor Toro y el MIR ha causado gran preocupacion en la comunidad inmigrante y los grupos progresistas de todos el pais. Parece haber una agenda de disenada a usar las leyes de inmigracion para perseguir a personas progresistas como Victor Toro. Recientemente, un ex-miembro del Ejercito Republicano Irlandes (IRA), Pol Brennan, fue deportado a pesar de haber vivido mas de 25 anos en los Estados Unidos.

En respuesta a este estrategia del gobierno se llevara a cabo una conferencia de prensa en la que se distribuiran copias de los documentos presentados contra Victor Toro y en la que participaran, ademas de Victor Toro:

Ramsey Clark, Ex-Procurador General de los Estados Unidos
Profesora J. Patrice McSherry, autora del libro Predatory States: Operation Condor and Covert War in Latin America
Carlos Moreno, Esq., Abogado de Victor Toro
Ademas reprentantes sindicales y activistas politicos.

Fecha: Septiembre 9, 2009
Hora: 11:00 am
Lugar: International Action Center
55 West 17th Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY
Entre 5ta y 6ta Avenidas
(212) 633-6646
lapena2006@hotmail.com
http://larebeldiadelosinmigrantes.blogspot.com

Monday, September 7, 2009

Health Care Debate Revives Immigration Battle

By Julia Preston, New York Times
September 5, 2009

The Obama administration took an overhaul of the country’s immigration laws off its legislative agenda this year, but the prickly issue of public benefits for illegal immigrants has resurfaced in the health care debate.

During the summer recess, members of Congress faced persistent questions from constituents worried that health care changes could leave taxpayers footing medical bills for illegal immigrants. President Obama has not been able to extinguish the doubts despite giving repeated assurances that illegal immigrants would be excluded from any subsidized benefits under proposals before Congress. [...]

Read the full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/health/policy/06immighealth.html?_r=1&ref=us

Friday, September 4, 2009

183 Remains Recovered in Arizona

Five Weeks Left in the Fiscal Year, the Count Has Already Reached Last Year’s Total

For Immediate Release
August 28, 2009
Contact: Kat Rodriguez: 520.770.1373

Arizona— The number of human remains recovered on the Arizona-Sonora border since October 1, 2008 has reached 183 three weeks into the month of August. With five weeks left in the fiscal year, the count has already reached the fiscal year total for 2007-08. From the beginning of the fiscal year to the end of July, 162 human remains were recovered—this figure does not reflect any of the 21 remains recovered through August 24th.

The compilation of data from medical examiner reports from Pima, Yuma, and Cochise counties is an attempt to reflect more accurately the human cost of irresponsible U.S. border and immigration policies. The count of 183 includes 121 males, 27 females, and 34 individuals of unknown gender (19% of the total). The number includes 98 individuals of unknown identity, which is approximately 54% of the total recovered. The identification of at least 29 of the unknown individuals is hampered by the fact that only skeletal remains were recovered. The remains of 168 individuals had been recovered at the same time last fiscal year. [...]

Read the full press release:
http://www.derechoshumanosaz.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=145&Itemid=1

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Woman facing deportation remains at Simi church

By Jacky Guerrero and Tom Kisken, Ventura County (CA) Star
August 23, 2009

Two years ago today, an illegal immigrant threatened with deportation found sanctuary at a tiny church in Simi Valley. The news is there is no news.

A deadlock that once involved television cameras, city officials who wrote to the Department of Homeland Security, and protesters with bullhorns continues, although few people pay attention.

A 31-year-old woman from Oxnard named Liliana, accused of falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen during a failed attempt to enter the country a decade ago, remains on church property 730 days after she arrived with her then-5-month-old son. She stayed there when her uncle died and when her father was in the hospital with prostate cancer, fearful leaving even for a few hours could mean deportation.

As they have from the beginning, immigration authorities say only that they have the right to arrest lawbreakers at what they call appropriate times and places. They have made no visible effort to contact Liliana.

Read the full article:
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/aug/23/woman-facing-deportation-remains-at-simi-church/

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Low-Wage Workers Are Often Cheated, Study Says

By Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
September 1, 2009

Low-wage workers are routinely denied proper overtime pay and are often paid less than the minimum wage, according to a new study based on a survey of workers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

The study, the most comprehensive examination of wage-law violations in a decade, also found that 68 percent of the workers interviewed had experienced at least one pay-related violation in the previous work week. [...]

According to the study, 39 percent of those surveyed were illegal immigrants, 31 percent legal immigrants and 30 percent native-born Americans. [...]

Read the full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/us/02wage.html?ref=us

Read the study:
http://nelp.3cdn.net/59719b5a36109ab7d8_5xm6bc9ap.pdf

Join the Effort to End the 287(g) Program

This week, 521 organizations from around the country -- civil rights, criminal justice, community and immigrant rights organizations – joined together to send a letter to President Obama urging him to terminate the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) widely criticized 287(g) program, which relinquishes the authority to enforce civil federal immigration law to local enforcement and corrections officials.

Please add your voice to this demand by sending President Obama an e-mail in support of the demand to terminate the 287(g) program and to restore fundamental fairness for all in our immigration enforcement policy. Your e-mail also will be sent to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and your US Senator and Congressperson.

Go to:
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6074/t/7154/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1992