By Meleiza Figueroa, Truthdig
February 19, 2016
At first glance, Thursday seemed like a banner day for Hillary Clinton’s “minority firewall.” Several respected leaders of Latinx organizations offered their enthusiastic support for the Democratic presidential candidate, while at the same time—Beyoncé-style—her campaign dropped a new, emotionally charged ad into the Nevada market two days before the state’s crucial caucus event. In the ad, a 10-year-old Latina girl expresses fear for her parents, who have just received a letter of deportation. Clinton urges her to be “brave” and let Clinton do “all the worrying”; the candidate chokes up as she tells the child, “I’m going to do everything I can so you won’t be scared.”
Though the ad was obviously meant to be warm and inspiring, it chilled me to the bone. I grew up in Los Angeles—the great Latinx-majority metropolis I once heard described as “the northernmost city in Latin America”—as the child of immigrants, and I have been a witness to the great transformations wrought by the dynamics of immigration over the last few decades. And I cannot reconcile Clinton’s newfound role as “worrier-in-chief” for immigrants in the U.S. with what I know about the policies she has supported for that vast region south of our border where many immigrants to the United States (especially those lacking legal permission) come from.[...]
Read the full article:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/hillary_clinton_cries_crocodile_tears_for_latin_american_immigrants_2016021
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Saturday, February 27, 2016
B&H Photo Updates: More Workers Unionize, Government Files Discrimination Suit
Workers at B&H Photo’s Manhattan Warehouse Vote to Unionize
By Claire Voon, Hyperallergic
February 23, 2016
This morning, workers in the basement warehouse of B&H Photo Video‘s flagship store in Manhattan voted 46–14 to unionize, hoping to give themselves a voice in a work environment that many have described as hazardous and abusive. Their decision to organize with the United Steelworkers — North America’s largest industrial labor union — occurs three weeks after a group of B&H employees picketed outside the store, announcing their intention to join a campaign launched by around 200 others stationed at the electronics merchandiser’s two Brooklyn warehouses.
“After this victory, what is coming is respect, fair treatment for all workers, and a decent salary,” B&H worker Benicio Najera said in a statement. As Hyperallergic previously reported, the pro-union employees, who largely comprise a Hispanic community, have described years of discrimination based on their race from managers, the majority of whom are Hasidic Jews. Such complaints range from brief incidents of name calling to disparities in wages. Workers have also described dangerous workplace conditions that threaten their personal safety. This month, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) confirmed a number of violations in both of the company’s Brooklyn warehouses, fining B&H $32,000.[...]
Read the full article:
http://hyperallergic.com/277801/workers-at-bh-photos-manhattan-warehouse-vote-to-unionize/
B&H Sued by Labor Department for Discrimination
By Samuel Lieberman, New York Magazine
February 26, 2016
The Department of Labor filed an administrative lawsuit on Wednesday accusing B&H, the New York electronics retailer, of discrimination against Hispanic, black, female, and Asian employees at its warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The suit accuses the company — its official name is B&H Foto & Electronics Corporation — of forcing Hispanic warehouse workers to use separate and filthy restrooms. It further charges that B&H also failed to provide designated changing rooms for women, and that employees used “racist remarks, degrading comments and harassment” against Hispanic workers at the Navy Yard warehouse.[...]
Read the full article:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/02/bh-hit-with-discrimination-lawsuit.html#
Thursday, February 25, 2016
At Mexico-U.S. border, Pope Francis decries suffering of migrants
By Philip Pullella, Reuters
February 18, 2016
Pope Francis on Wednesday railed against immigration policies that force many underground and into the hands of drug gangs and human smugglers, praying at Mexico’s border with the United States in what was once one of the world’s deadliest cities.
He walked up a ramp lined with flowers to a cross erected in Ciudad Juarez in memory of migrants who have perished trying to reach the United States just a stone’s throw away.
There he blessed three small crosses which will be sent to the dioceses of El Paso, Ciudad Juarez and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Shoes of migrants who died were laid beside them.
Overlooking the Rio Grande that separates the two countries, it was the closest the pope came to the U.S. border during his six-day visit to Mexico.[...]
Read the full article:
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2016/02/18/at-mexico-u-s-border-pope-francis-decries-suffering-of-migrants/
February 18, 2016
Pope Francis on Wednesday railed against immigration policies that force many underground and into the hands of drug gangs and human smugglers, praying at Mexico’s border with the United States in what was once one of the world’s deadliest cities.
He walked up a ramp lined with flowers to a cross erected in Ciudad Juarez in memory of migrants who have perished trying to reach the United States just a stone’s throw away.
There he blessed three small crosses which will be sent to the dioceses of El Paso, Ciudad Juarez and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Shoes of migrants who died were laid beside them.
Overlooking the Rio Grande that separates the two countries, it was the closest the pope came to the U.S. border during his six-day visit to Mexico.[...]
Read the full article:
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2016/02/18/at-mexico-u-s-border-pope-francis-decries-suffering-of-migrants/
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
ICE Agents Lure Undocumented Immigrant Out of a Church Using Fake Text Messages
By Jack Jenkins and Esther Yu-Hsi Lee, ThinkProgress
February 17, 2016
An undocumented immigrant was reportedly lured out of a church with fake text messages before being apprehended by federal agents last month, an unsettling incident that is raising questions about the often manipulative tactics used by immigration officials.
“This incident can only undermine local efforts to build trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities, and make immigrants concerned about going not only to church but also schools, hospitals, and other public places where they might now fear arrest,” Fred Tsao, Senior Policy Counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, told ThinkProgress.
According to Chicago radio station WBEZ, Reynold Garcia, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, entered the Christian Pentecostal Center in Schaumburg, Illinois one morning in early January. He and several others had gathered at the house of worship to pray for comfort, as agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had raided Garcia’s house the day before while he was away, taking his wife and two children with them.
Read the full article:
http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2016/02/17/3750332/immigrant-lured-out-of-church-with-fake-texts/
February 17, 2016
An undocumented immigrant was reportedly lured out of a church with fake text messages before being apprehended by federal agents last month, an unsettling incident that is raising questions about the often manipulative tactics used by immigration officials.
“This incident can only undermine local efforts to build trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities, and make immigrants concerned about going not only to church but also schools, hospitals, and other public places where they might now fear arrest,” Fred Tsao, Senior Policy Counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, told ThinkProgress.
According to Chicago radio station WBEZ, Reynold Garcia, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, entered the Christian Pentecostal Center in Schaumburg, Illinois one morning in early January. He and several others had gathered at the house of worship to pray for comfort, as agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had raided Garcia’s house the day before while he was away, taking his wife and two children with them.
Read the full article:
http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2016/02/17/3750332/immigrant-lured-out-of-church-with-fake-texts/
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Hillary Clinton is dead wrong about Bernie Sanders’ immigration record
Last week, Clinton slammed Sanders for voting against reform in 2007. But there was a very good reason he did.
By Daniel Denvir, Salon
February 12, 2016
In last week’s battle over the meaning of the word “progressive,” Hillary Clinton charged that Bernie Sanders had fallen short in failing to back immigration reform in 2007.
“I don’t think it was progressive to vote against Ted Kennedy’s immigration reform,” Clinton said, after slamming Sanders for his past opposition to the Brady Bill. She repeated this line of attack last night.
The Washington Post’s Callum Borchers called this “a solid answer by Clinton.” If so, that’s largely because many don’t understand the substance or politics of guest worker programs. Many immigrant rights groups have long opposed guest worker programs, and for good reason. They are geared toward maximizing exploitation and minimizing protection of immigrant workers.[...]
Read the full article:
http://www.salon.com/2016/02/12/hillary_clinton_is_dead_wrong_about_bernie_sanders_immigration_record/
By Daniel Denvir, Salon
February 12, 2016
In last week’s battle over the meaning of the word “progressive,” Hillary Clinton charged that Bernie Sanders had fallen short in failing to back immigration reform in 2007.
“I don’t think it was progressive to vote against Ted Kennedy’s immigration reform,” Clinton said, after slamming Sanders for his past opposition to the Brady Bill. She repeated this line of attack last night.
The Washington Post’s Callum Borchers called this “a solid answer by Clinton.” If so, that’s largely because many don’t understand the substance or politics of guest worker programs. Many immigrant rights groups have long opposed guest worker programs, and for good reason. They are geared toward maximizing exploitation and minimizing protection of immigrant workers.[...]
Read the full article:
http://www.salon.com/2016/02/12/hillary_clinton_is_dead_wrong_about_bernie_sanders_immigration_record/
Thursday, February 18, 2016
The Alliance for Prosperity: Solution to the Central American Migrant Crisis or Déjà Vu?
By Jeff Abbott, Truthout
February 13, 2016
This year Guatemala inaugurated a new president: Jimmy Morales, a former comedian known for a racist television show in which he regularly performed in blackface and mocked Guatemala's indigenous populations. Morales, who took office on January 14, had positioned himself as a political outsider who was able to ride the wave of popular discontent to the office. But before his inauguration, Morales was paid a special visit by US Vice President Joseph Biden, whose late arrival disrupted the events planned for the day. Biden privately met with the new president in an upscale hotel in Guatemala's wealthy Zone 10. Guatemala's daily newspaper reports that the two discussed the importance of Washington's latest plan to curb northern migration, the Alliance for Prosperity.
A month prior, the US Senate passed the controversial Alliance for Prosperity Plan as part of the 2016 budget on December 18, 2015, in a vote of 66 to 33. The plan includes $750 million to improve governance, strengthen security and promote the economic integration of the northern triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. In late 2015, Mexico and Nicaragua were both added to the plan, with each country receiving nearly $120 million of the funds made available to secure their borders.[...]
Read the full article:
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34776-the-alliance-for-prosperity-solution-to-the-central-american-migrant-crisis-or-deja-vu
February 13, 2016
This year Guatemala inaugurated a new president: Jimmy Morales, a former comedian known for a racist television show in which he regularly performed in blackface and mocked Guatemala's indigenous populations. Morales, who took office on January 14, had positioned himself as a political outsider who was able to ride the wave of popular discontent to the office. But before his inauguration, Morales was paid a special visit by US Vice President Joseph Biden, whose late arrival disrupted the events planned for the day. Biden privately met with the new president in an upscale hotel in Guatemala's wealthy Zone 10. Guatemala's daily newspaper reports that the two discussed the importance of Washington's latest plan to curb northern migration, the Alliance for Prosperity.
A month prior, the US Senate passed the controversial Alliance for Prosperity Plan as part of the 2016 budget on December 18, 2015, in a vote of 66 to 33. The plan includes $750 million to improve governance, strengthen security and promote the economic integration of the northern triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. In late 2015, Mexico and Nicaragua were both added to the plan, with each country receiving nearly $120 million of the funds made available to secure their borders.[...]
Read the full article:
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34776-the-alliance-for-prosperity-solution-to-the-central-american-migrant-crisis-or-deja-vu
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
North Carolina High Schoolers Could Be Deported to “Certain Death”, Despite Teacher and School Board Opposition
Global Voices
February 13, 2016
On the night of Thursday February 11, 2016, the administration of Durham Public Schools in North Carolina unanimously passed a resolution condemning the arrests and intended deportations of its students. Immigration and Citizenship Enforcement (ICE), an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has targeted Riverside High School, which has the highest proportion of Latino students in the Durham public school system (23%), as well as other high schools in the area, with at least six young people already being held in detention out of state.
One of the recent ICE victims is high schooler Wildin David Guillén-Acosta, who was arrested in front of his home as he was leaving for class on January 28. The new DHS guidelines announced over the New Year's holidays are specifically aimed at the large numbers of Central American children who made their way across the Mexican-U.S. border over the last two years. During this time, increased Mara Salvatrucha and 18th Street gang youth recruitment, extortion and murders have been reported. Young Central American immigrants, often fleeing from extreme levels of violence in their homeland, are recruitment targets for these notorious gangs. Wildin, who was a minor when he left Honduras in 2014, escaped their net — but that hasn't stopped ICE from arresting him.[...]
Read the full article:
https://globalvoices.org/2016/02/13/north-carolina-high-schoolers-could-be-deported-to-certain-death-despite-teacher-and-school-board-opposition/
February 13, 2016
On the night of Thursday February 11, 2016, the administration of Durham Public Schools in North Carolina unanimously passed a resolution condemning the arrests and intended deportations of its students. Immigration and Citizenship Enforcement (ICE), an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has targeted Riverside High School, which has the highest proportion of Latino students in the Durham public school system (23%), as well as other high schools in the area, with at least six young people already being held in detention out of state.
One of the recent ICE victims is high schooler Wildin David Guillén-Acosta, who was arrested in front of his home as he was leaving for class on January 28. The new DHS guidelines announced over the New Year's holidays are specifically aimed at the large numbers of Central American children who made their way across the Mexican-U.S. border over the last two years. During this time, increased Mara Salvatrucha and 18th Street gang youth recruitment, extortion and murders have been reported. Young Central American immigrants, often fleeing from extreme levels of violence in their homeland, are recruitment targets for these notorious gangs. Wildin, who was a minor when he left Honduras in 2014, escaped their net — but that hasn't stopped ICE from arresting him.[...]
Read the full article:
https://globalvoices.org/2016/02/13/north-carolina-high-schoolers-could-be-deported-to-certain-death-despite-teacher-and-school-board-opposition/
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