New Music Video from La Santa Cecilia Hits Close to Home for Undocumented Cast

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As Immigration Reform Again Takes Center Stage This Week…

LA SANTA CECILIA, in Partnership with Leading Migrant Rights Group and the Americas Business Council (abc*) Foundation, Spotlights the Real-Life Faces and Stories of Undocumented Immigrants with the Poignant New Video for Hit Single “El Hielo” (ICE)

Starring an Undocumented Cast of Key Figures in the Fight for Immigrant Rights, New Video by “Los Angeles’ Best Latin Alternative Band”, Directed by Alex Rivera, hits close to home for many.

In conjunction with the video’s release premiering today on VEVO, the band will now appear at immigration reform events on April 9th In Phoenix, Arizona, and April 10th at The U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C.

Watch the video at http://bit.lyelhielovid

 

Immigrant Laborers Rebuild Work Center, Restore Their Sense Of Mission | Fox News Latino

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They toiled to repair and rebuild the homes, s apartments and businesses that Hurricane Sandy damaged. They ran into areas where danger lurked — contaminated water, downed power lines, hidden debris capable of puncturing skin. And while the day laborers of Bay Parkway Community Job Center helped in the recovery of Hurricane Sandy, their own facility laid in shambles.  Sandy’s angry, unforgiving winds shook the old center, an 8-by-12 wooden shack, off its foundation, blowing it 100 feet away, causing major damage. But with grants from several foundations and the work of the laborers, the center was brought back to life. It is a renaissance of sorts for the center — now a 40-foot trailer the workers painted in red and yellow, the colors of the old shack — and also a new incarnation for the laborers and their place in the larger community.

How Obama Could (but Probably Won’t) Stop Deporting Illegal Immigrants Today – Keegan Hamilton – The Atlantic

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If the current congressional push for immigration reform were to fail, however, a presidential pardon for undocumented immigrants with no criminal history might be Obama’s last ditch alternative to prosecutorial discretion. Rather than scaling back on detentions, Obama could instantly–and permanently– legalize millions of illegal immigrants….

Immigrant advocates push bill at Statehouse rally | Boston Herald

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Immigrant advocates are pressing lawmakers to back legislation they say will help reduce the level of deportations in Massachusetts. Several dozen activists rallied on the steps of the Statehouse on Wednesday in favor of the bill that would instruct local law enforcement agencies not to forward information to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on illegal immigrants who don’t have serious criminal convictions. Sen. James Eldridge, the bill’s lead Senate sponsor, said the measure is a reaction to the federal Se Communities program, which shares arrestee fingerprints with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Eldridge said most of those deported under the program from Massachusetts had no criminal convictions. He said lower level encounters with police, like traffic stops, shouldn’t end up triggering deportations.

Deferred Action for Victims of Arpaio’s Raids

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(Originally published at Politic365.com)
Despite the fact that political winds are blowing away from Arizona-style attrition politics, some officials in that state are determined to keep their tent staked in the ground, by hook or by crook.  For those living under the shadow of Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio, looking at federal immigration reform comes with a specific perspective and particular issues to be resolved. When asked what his favorite song is, Arpaio immediately snaps back, ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra.  One can see why.  Even as Congress crafts proposals to reform our immigration system, which will possibly include some form of legalization, a well-oiled deportation machine continues to churn in Arizona.  Through interlocking departments, it criminalizes and deports the very people who stand to benefit from that same legislation.  For such reform to be meaningful, it must improve the lives of the people of Maricopa County and reign in the immigration and law enforcement actions that were once considered rogue and now look as if they’re taking root system-wide.