by Julia Preston, New York Times
April 8, 2009
While acknowledging that the recession makes the political battle more difficult, President Obama plans to begin addressing the country’s immigration system this year, including looking for a path for illegal immigrants to become legal, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.
Mr. Obama will frame the new effort — likely to rouse passions on all sides of the highly divisive issue — as “policy reform that controls immigration and makes it an orderly system,” said the official, Cecilia Muñoz, deputy assistant to the president and director of intergovernmental affairs in the White House. [...]
Read the full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/us/politics/09immig.html?_r=1
Thursday, April 9, 2009
A Year Without a Mexican: The Debilitating Loss of Economic Lifeblood
Why, residents ask themselves over and over, should local institutions bear all the financial and social costs? "It's outrageous," said Sol Varisco, who works with refugees and immigrants for Catholic Charities at the Des Moines diocese. "Is this how we enforce the law? Leave the churches and nonprofits to pick up the pieces?"
by Marcelo Ballve, Mother Jones
April 8, 2009
It all began with the whir and flicker of helicopters on May 12, 2008, an incongruous sound in a tiny Iowa town tucked amid cornfields. All over Postville, people craned their necks from orderly lawns, phones rang, and gossip flew. Reverend Stephen Brackett, the town's Lutheran pastor, was on his day off and didn't hear the helicopters at first, but when his church secretary called to tell him something unusual was happening, he at once suspected what it was. For years, there were rumors that the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant at the edge of town was under scrutiny by immigration authorities. Later that morning, Brackett's wife called with confirmation: She'd spotted two helicopters and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in jackets and flak vests down by the slaughterhouse. [...]
Read the full article:
http://www.alternet.org/story/134419/
by Marcelo Ballve, Mother Jones
April 8, 2009
It all began with the whir and flicker of helicopters on May 12, 2008, an incongruous sound in a tiny Iowa town tucked amid cornfields. All over Postville, people craned their necks from orderly lawns, phones rang, and gossip flew. Reverend Stephen Brackett, the town's Lutheran pastor, was on his day off and didn't hear the helicopters at first, but when his church secretary called to tell him something unusual was happening, he at once suspected what it was. For years, there were rumors that the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant at the edge of town was under scrutiny by immigration authorities. Later that morning, Brackett's wife called with confirmation: She'd spotted two helicopters and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in jackets and flak vests down by the slaughterhouse. [...]
Read the full article:
http://www.alternet.org/story/134419/
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Crime? Humanitarian Aid
by Julianne Ong Hing, ColorLines
March/April 2009
Dan Millis is a volunteer with the border humanitarian aid group No More Deaths, which regularly leaves water and sets up aid camps in the Arizona desert for immigrants. Last February, Millis was issued a $175 ticket for littering in a section of the Arizona/Mexico border that’s also a national wildlife refuge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers issued the ticket after Millis put several canisters of water along oft-traveled trails. The humanitarian worker faced a $5,000 fine and six months of jail time for his refusal to pay the ticket.
A federal judge found Millis guilty of littering, but didn’t issue a punishment, which Millis found strange but telling. “The ruling was an admission of the contradictory, hypocritical stance on immigration issues in this country,” Millis said. “The judge basically said, ‘Humanitarian aid is a crime, but the fact that it is a crime is ridiculous, so I’m not going to punish you.’” [...]
Read the full article:
http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=488
Also at:
http://www.ww4report.com/node/7094
March/April 2009
Dan Millis is a volunteer with the border humanitarian aid group No More Deaths, which regularly leaves water and sets up aid camps in the Arizona desert for immigrants. Last February, Millis was issued a $175 ticket for littering in a section of the Arizona/Mexico border that’s also a national wildlife refuge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers issued the ticket after Millis put several canisters of water along oft-traveled trails. The humanitarian worker faced a $5,000 fine and six months of jail time for his refusal to pay the ticket.
A federal judge found Millis guilty of littering, but didn’t issue a punishment, which Millis found strange but telling. “The ruling was an admission of the contradictory, hypocritical stance on immigration issues in this country,” Millis said. “The judge basically said, ‘Humanitarian aid is a crime, but the fact that it is a crime is ridiculous, so I’m not going to punish you.’” [...]
Read the full article:
http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=488
Also at:
http://www.ww4report.com/node/7094
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
May 1 Support Grows: San Francisco Longshore and Postal Workers
Resolution of Letter Carriers Union – Golden Gate Branch #214
Adopted April 1, 2009
* Support May Day 2009 March and Rally in San Francisco for worker and immigrant rights.
* Support ILWU decision to stop work in Bay Area ports on May 1, 2009 to protest repression of port workers and immigrants by the Department of Homeland Security.
Whereas, the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10 has voted to stop work in Bay Area ports on Friday, May 1, 2009, International Workers Day; and
Whereas, the ILWU action is being called to protest two policies of ongoing repression by the Department of Homeland Security:
* First, the unfair implementation of Transport Workers Identification Credential (TWIC) cards in seaports, in violation of elementary civil rights and civil liberties, causing hundreds of longshore workers to be unfairly denied work in the ports.
* Second, the ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) raids in homes and workplaces, which have victimized many thousands of immigrant workers, often resulting in prolonged detention under harsh conditions, and the separation of families including the separation of children from their parents – all in violation of elementary civil rights and civil liberties; and
Whereas, a united May Day march and rally for immigrant and worker rights will take place on Friday, May 1, 2009, gathering at Dolores Park at 12:00 noon, and marching at 2:00 p.m. to the San Francisco Civic Center; therefore be it
Resolved, that Golden Gate Branch 214 of the National Association of Letter Carriers support the May 1 2009 march and rally for immigrant and worker rights and encourage participation by our members; and be it further
Resolved, that NALC Branch 214 support the decision of ILWU Local 10 to Stop Work in all Bay Area ports on Friday May 1, 2009 to protest repression of port workers and immigrants by the Department of Homeland Security; and be it further
Resolved, that NALC Branch 214 support ILWU Local 10 in opposing the unfair implementation of TWIC cards in seaports, resulting in hundreds of longshore workers being denied work in the ports in violation of their civil rights and civil liberties; and be it finally
Resolved, that NALC Branch 214 oppose the ICE raids in homes and workplaces, which have victimized many thousands of immigrant workers, often resulting in prolonged detention under harsh conditions, and the separation of families including the separation of children from their parents – all in violation of elementary civil rights and civil liberties.
Adopted by NALC #214, meeting in San Francisco, CA, April 1, 2009, by unanimous vote.
Adopted April 1, 2009
* Support May Day 2009 March and Rally in San Francisco for worker and immigrant rights.
* Support ILWU decision to stop work in Bay Area ports on May 1, 2009 to protest repression of port workers and immigrants by the Department of Homeland Security.
Whereas, the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10 has voted to stop work in Bay Area ports on Friday, May 1, 2009, International Workers Day; and
Whereas, the ILWU action is being called to protest two policies of ongoing repression by the Department of Homeland Security:
* First, the unfair implementation of Transport Workers Identification Credential (TWIC) cards in seaports, in violation of elementary civil rights and civil liberties, causing hundreds of longshore workers to be unfairly denied work in the ports.
* Second, the ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) raids in homes and workplaces, which have victimized many thousands of immigrant workers, often resulting in prolonged detention under harsh conditions, and the separation of families including the separation of children from their parents – all in violation of elementary civil rights and civil liberties; and
Whereas, a united May Day march and rally for immigrant and worker rights will take place on Friday, May 1, 2009, gathering at Dolores Park at 12:00 noon, and marching at 2:00 p.m. to the San Francisco Civic Center; therefore be it
Resolved, that Golden Gate Branch 214 of the National Association of Letter Carriers support the May 1 2009 march and rally for immigrant and worker rights and encourage participation by our members; and be it further
Resolved, that NALC Branch 214 support the decision of ILWU Local 10 to Stop Work in all Bay Area ports on Friday May 1, 2009 to protest repression of port workers and immigrants by the Department of Homeland Security; and be it further
Resolved, that NALC Branch 214 support ILWU Local 10 in opposing the unfair implementation of TWIC cards in seaports, resulting in hundreds of longshore workers being denied work in the ports in violation of their civil rights and civil liberties; and be it finally
Resolved, that NALC Branch 214 oppose the ICE raids in homes and workplaces, which have victimized many thousands of immigrant workers, often resulting in prolonged detention under harsh conditions, and the separation of families including the separation of children from their parents – all in violation of elementary civil rights and civil liberties.
Adopted by NALC #214, meeting in San Francisco, CA, April 1, 2009, by unanimous vote.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
NYC Area Events, April 3 and April 12
The Chameleon Ball:
A Celebration of Youth Activism & Entrepreneurship
Friday, April 3, 2009
7-11 pm
Benefits the youth organizing of IPOWER! (Immigrant People Organizing & Working for Empowerment & Rights). Entertainment will include a scene from a powerful play about immigrant youth in New York, created by the actors themselves based on their experiences and those of their friends.
At the Brecht Forum
451 West St (between Bank and Bethune Streets)
New York, NY
Subway: A,C, E, L to 14th St & 8th Ave, 1, 2, 3 to 14th St & 7th Ave
Donation: $5-$35 sliding scale
Information: 212-242-4201, brechtforum@brechtforum.org and http://www.brechtforum.org/
================
"Enemy Alien":
Special Anniversary Screening
Sunday, April 12, 2009
3 pm
On April 12, 2004, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released New York-based Palestinian activist Farouk Abdel-Muhti from immigration detention after a federal judge ruled that the government had no right to continue holding him in prison. Farouk had spent two years in detention and had been subjected to beatings, repeated verbal abuse, seven months in isolation, and health problems resulting from the withholding of necessary medication.
Farouk fought back through all this like the activist he was: with a stream of writings from prison, with media interviews, with organizing among his fellow prisoners. He died of a heart attack just three months after he was freed, but his release remained a victory both for him and for everyone who cares about human rights.
Celebrate the fifth anniversary of Farouk's release this April 12 at a special screening of "Enemy Alien: The Fight to Free Palestinian Activist Farouk Abdel-Muhti," a gripping first-person documentary-in-progress told through the eyes of filmmaker Konrad Aderer, the grandson of Japanese Americans interned during World War II.
At Women Make Movies
462 Broadway (above Grand Street), 5th Floor
New York, NY
Subway: Canal Street Station (J, M, N, Q, R, Z, and 6 trains)
After the screening there will be a discussion with people involved in Farouk’s fight for freedom, and the director will be seeking detailed feedback on the film and on how it can be used to further the work of organizations working for immigrants’ rights.
SPACE IS LIMITED. RSVP to producer@lifeorliberty.org with “Enemy Alien April 12 screening” in the subject line with your name, the name of your organization or affiliation if applicable, and the number of attendees.
Donations for the documentary and the rental of the space will be gratefully accepted (suggested minimum: $8, no one turned away). This can be done by cash, tax-deductible check made out to “Fractured Atlas” or online at the Life or Liberty donation page (also tax-deductible).
For more information and to see the trailer, go to http://www.lifeorliberty.org/
A Celebration of Youth Activism & Entrepreneurship
Friday, April 3, 2009
7-11 pm
Benefits the youth organizing of IPOWER! (Immigrant People Organizing & Working for Empowerment & Rights). Entertainment will include a scene from a powerful play about immigrant youth in New York, created by the actors themselves based on their experiences and those of their friends.
At the Brecht Forum
451 West St (between Bank and Bethune Streets)
New York, NY
Subway: A,C, E, L to 14th St & 8th Ave, 1, 2, 3 to 14th St & 7th Ave
Donation: $5-$35 sliding scale
Information: 212-242-4201, brechtforum@brechtforum.org and http://www.brechtforum.org/
================
"Enemy Alien":
Special Anniversary Screening
Sunday, April 12, 2009
3 pm
On April 12, 2004, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released New York-based Palestinian activist Farouk Abdel-Muhti from immigration detention after a federal judge ruled that the government had no right to continue holding him in prison. Farouk had spent two years in detention and had been subjected to beatings, repeated verbal abuse, seven months in isolation, and health problems resulting from the withholding of necessary medication.
Farouk fought back through all this like the activist he was: with a stream of writings from prison, with media interviews, with organizing among his fellow prisoners. He died of a heart attack just three months after he was freed, but his release remained a victory both for him and for everyone who cares about human rights.
Celebrate the fifth anniversary of Farouk's release this April 12 at a special screening of "Enemy Alien: The Fight to Free Palestinian Activist Farouk Abdel-Muhti," a gripping first-person documentary-in-progress told through the eyes of filmmaker Konrad Aderer, the grandson of Japanese Americans interned during World War II.
At Women Make Movies
462 Broadway (above Grand Street), 5th Floor
New York, NY
Subway: Canal Street Station (J, M, N, Q, R, Z, and 6 trains)
After the screening there will be a discussion with people involved in Farouk’s fight for freedom, and the director will be seeking detailed feedback on the film and on how it can be used to further the work of organizations working for immigrants’ rights.
SPACE IS LIMITED. RSVP to producer@lifeorliberty.org with “Enemy Alien April 12 screening” in the subject line with your name, the name of your organization or affiliation if applicable, and the number of attendees.
Donations for the documentary and the rental of the space will be gratefully accepted (suggested minimum: $8, no one turned away). This can be done by cash, tax-deductible check made out to “Fractured Atlas” or online at the Life or Liberty donation page (also tax-deductible).
For more information and to see the trailer, go to http://www.lifeorliberty.org/
Why Immigrant Workers Will Fill the Streets This May Day
by David Bacon, Truthout
March 27, 2009
In a little over a month, hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of people will fill the streets in city after city, town after town, across the US. This year these May Day marches of immigrant workers will make an important demand on the Obama administration: End the draconian enforcement policies of the Bush administration. Establish a new immigration policy based on human rights and recognition of the crucial economic and social contributions of immigrants to US society.
This year's marches will continue the recovery in the US of the celebration of May Day, recognized in the rest of the world as the day recognizing the contributions and achievements of working people. That recovery started on Monday, May 1, 2006, when over a million people filled the streets of Los Angeles, with hundreds of thousands more in Chicago, New York and cities and towns throughout the United States. Again on May Day in 2007 and 2008, immigrants and their supporters demonstrated and marched, from coast to coast. [...]
Read the full article:
http://www.truthout.org/032709A
March 27, 2009
In a little over a month, hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of people will fill the streets in city after city, town after town, across the US. This year these May Day marches of immigrant workers will make an important demand on the Obama administration: End the draconian enforcement policies of the Bush administration. Establish a new immigration policy based on human rights and recognition of the crucial economic and social contributions of immigrants to US society.
This year's marches will continue the recovery in the US of the celebration of May Day, recognized in the rest of the world as the day recognizing the contributions and achievements of working people. That recovery started on Monday, May 1, 2006, when over a million people filled the streets of Los Angeles, with hundreds of thousands more in Chicago, New York and cities and towns throughout the United States. Again on May Day in 2007 and 2008, immigrants and their supporters demonstrated and marched, from coast to coast. [...]
Read the full article:
http://www.truthout.org/032709A
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
DHS Signals Policy Changes Ahead for Immigration Raids
by Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post
March 29, 2009
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has delayed a series of proposed immigration raids and other enforcement actions at U.S. workplaces in recent weeks, asking agents in her department to apply more scrutiny to the selection and investigation of targets as well as the timing of raids, federal officials said.
A senior department official said the delays signal a pending change in whom agents at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement choose to prosecute -- increasing the focus on businesses and executives instead of ordinary workers.
"ICE is now scrutinizing these cases more thoroughly to ensure that [targets] are being taken down when they should be taken down, and that the employer is being targeted and the surveillance and the investigation is being done how it should be done," said the official, discussing Napolitano's views about sensitive law enforcement matters on the condition of anonymity. [...]
Read the full article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/29/AR2009032901109.html
March 29, 2009
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has delayed a series of proposed immigration raids and other enforcement actions at U.S. workplaces in recent weeks, asking agents in her department to apply more scrutiny to the selection and investigation of targets as well as the timing of raids, federal officials said.
A senior department official said the delays signal a pending change in whom agents at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement choose to prosecute -- increasing the focus on businesses and executives instead of ordinary workers.
"ICE is now scrutinizing these cases more thoroughly to ensure that [targets] are being taken down when they should be taken down, and that the employer is being targeted and the surveillance and the investigation is being done how it should be done," said the official, discussing Napolitano's views about sensitive law enforcement matters on the condition of anonymity. [...]
Read the full article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/29/AR2009032901109.html
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