Immigration Dialogues in California

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 one of these upcoming dialogues in California facilitated by Jane Guskin or David Wilson, co-authors 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.

All events are free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale.

Bay Area Dialogue:

Sunday October 28, 2007
12:30 pm
Public Dialogue & Reception
with David Wilson, co-author of The Politics of Immigration
at The Institute for the Critical Study of Society
6501 Telegraph Ave (at Alcatraz)
Oakland, CA 94609
For details: 510-595-7417
www.tifcss.org

Southern California dialogues with co-author Jane Guskin, November 8-10:

Thursday November 8, 2007
7pm
Cal State University San Marcos
Academic Hall 102
San Marcos, CA
Driving directions:
http://www.csusm.edu/resources/images/maps/driving_directions.htm
Sponsored by Student Life & Leadership Cross Cultural Center, National
Latino Research Center (NLRC) & CSUSM MEChA
For details: agaribay@csusm.edu

Friday, November 9, 2007
7pm program (social hour with refreshments at 6pm)
Palomar Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship
1600 Buena Vista Drive, Vista, CA 92081
(in the Shadowridge section of Vista)

Saturday, November 10, 2007
11am
Escondido Public Library
Turrentine Room
239 South Kalmia, Escondido, CA 92025
www.escondido.org/library/
Sponsored by North County Forum

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

For more information about the book: http://thepoliticsofimmigration.org

Edwidge Danticat Testifies on Her Uncle's Death in Detention

On October 4 award-winning author Edwidge Danticat testified before the U.S. Congress' Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law.
.
I write today not in my own name, but in the name--and stead--of a loved one who died while in the custody of Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, and the Krome Detention Center in Miami. His name was Joseph Nosius Dantica and he was 81 years old. [...]

Read her full testimony:
http://bookcriticscircle.blogspot.com/2007/10/edwidge-danticat-testifies.html#links

Interview on KPFA, noon, Oct. 9

Tuesday, Oct. 9, noon PT (3 pm ET)

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

On "Against the Grain"
hosted by C.S. Soong

In Northern and Central California:
KPFA 94.1 FM and KFCF 88.1 FM

Live streaming:
http://kpfa.org/

Archived at:
http://www.againstthegrain.org/

News Briefs: NY Licenses; McDonald's Raids; Texas Rally; LI Raids

Immigration News Briefs
Vol. 10, No. 25 - September 30, 2007
(Note: Immigration News Briefs will skip the next two weeks;the next issue should come out the weekend of Oct. 20.)

1. NY Expands Driver's License Access
2. Raids at McDonald's in Nevada
3. Texas: 2,000 Rally Against Deportation
4. Long Island Raids Protested
5. Arizona Sheriff Raids Day Labor Sites
6. Farm Labor Contractor Fined

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

1. NY Expands Driver's License Access
On Sept. 21, New York governor Eliot Spitzer announced new rules under which the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will issue driver's licenses without regard to federal immigration status. The new rules reverse a policy change adopted four years ago under governor George Pataki that made it virtually impossible for immigrants to obtain driver's licenses if they could not prove legal status. Under the new rules, the DMV will accept a current foreign passport as proof of identity without also requiring federal immigration documents. The policy does not require legislative approval and will be phased in starting in December. It will be tied to new antifraud measures including the authentication of foreign passports and the use of photo comparison technology to ensure that no driver has more than one license. The State Department of Insurance estimates that the new rules will save New York drivers $120 million each year by reducing premium costs associated with uninsured motorists by 34%. [...]

Read the full article:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/10/06/18452421.php

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

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

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