On February 17th, local police officers enforcing racist law SB 1070 called border patrol and took a father of six into custody in Tucson, Arizona. Witnessing a family separation unfolding, I spontaneously ran up to the Border Patrol vehicle and crawled beneath it to prevent his detention. I did this to protest the Arizona police…
City Council Set to be first city in the South to Vote on Resolution On Civil Immigration Detainers
Immigrant workers and families will come closer to winning the Right to Remain in New Orleans today as City Council is set to vote on a resolution condemning Sherriff Marlin Gusman’s racial profiling-based deportation policy. Over the last two years the Sheriff has faced mounting pressure through civil rights lawsuits and public outcry to stop submitting to voluntary civil immigration holds also known as immigration detainers.
.Council members James Gray, LaToya Cantrell, and Susan Guidry will introduce a resolution limiting Sherriff Marlin Gusman’s practice of submitting to voluntary requests of federal immigration officials to detain individuals in Orleans Parish Prison. Immigrant workers who have survived the Sherriff’s policy will testify on the disastrous impacts on families; and advocates will testify on the impacts on city budget (the federal government does not reimburse jail costs) and constitutional integrity.
WHO: Council members Gray, Cantrell, and Guidry will introduce resolution. Immigrant workers and families, New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, Congress of Day Laborers, and advocates for criminal justice reform will testify.
WHERE: City Council Chambers, 1300 Perdido St., New Orleans
WHEN: 10 AM, Thursday, May 15, 2013
###
(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.
As the momentum for meaningful immigration reform continues to build, one person who stands out as moving in the opposite direction is ICE Director John Morton.
His record as director and as the person who has overseen the expansion of immigration enforcement and the resulting record deportations during the Obama Presidency has prompted organizations to call for his firing and has created a credibility issue for the administration.
As Morton is called to testify in front of Congress, below are five questions we would like to see asked.
“We must act,” declared President Barack Obama in his second inaugural address. “We cannot afford to delay.”
On a diverse stage that reflected the legacy of our country’s social movements for gay, women, and civil rights, the president spoke about the nation’s unfinished journey towards greater equality. Making reference to the voices of past civil rights leaders, the president forcefully spoke to meet the nation’s challenges, especially our duty to advance equality for gays, women, and immigrants.
March and rally on first day of the President’s 2nd term features stories of families broken up by immigration authorities, highlighting the need for policy that keeps families together.
The immigrant community in Chicago is calling for the President to grant immediate relief from deportations by ordering a moratorium. While Congress deliberates, they say, the President can use his executive authority to make immediate changes to reverse his record on deportations. President Obama’s first term was marred by a record 1.5 million people deported; 409,000 in the past year alone. While he has announced his drive for immigration reform, the Chicago area witnessed an increase in aggressive enforcement. The week after President Obama’s reelection, ICE performed unheard of raids on an area Pallet factory and a Northwest side day laborer corner.
Below is a list of speakers at today’s march.
Speaker’s Stories:
Josefina Mora is a mother of three United States citizen between 5 and 10 years old. Her husband, Urbano Olmedo Lopez, has been away from his family since November 2012, after he was turned over to immigration authorities by local police during a driver’s license check point. When he was stopped he was on his way to court for another traffic ticket involving his lack of driver’s license. He arrived to the United States in 1985, at the age of 9. He has one prior deportation from his youth, but for the last 12 years that he has been married to Josefina, he has stayed out of trouble with the police and immigration. Josefina describes Olmedo as a good parent and a hard-working husband. One of the hardest things for he has been the effect his detention has had on her children, one of whom has a hernia and the other an ear problem. She says it has been difficult to keep up with their medical needs without her husband, as he used to take them to the before his detention. Josefina also fears that the detention is having a psychological effect on her children, and is looking to take them to counseling, “I see them cry every night, and ask me when their father is coming home,” she explains.
While President Obama has repeatedly pledged to make immigration reform a centerpiece of his next term, not one question was asked of him on this topic by reporters during yesterday’s White House press conference.
Though the debt ceiling was the issue of the day, it is fair to assume immigration will take center stage in future White House press briefings.
To clarify and define what can be expected of President Obama’s reform proposal, and to further advance the national debate about immigration reform, tough questions should be asked that cut through political spin and rhetoric.
Below are just a few specific questions that we at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network feel should be asked of the White House.
While President Obama has repeatedly pledged to make immigration reform a centerpiece of his next term, not one question was asked of him on this topic by reporters during yesterday’s White House press conference.
Though the debt ceiling was the issue of the day, it is fair to assume immigration will take center stage in future White House press briefings.
To clarify and define what can be expected of President Obama’s reform proposal, and to further advance the national debate about immigration reform, tough questions should be asked that cut through political spin and rhetoric.
Below are just a few specific questions that we at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network feel should be asked of the White House. We encourage others to add their questions below in the comment section.
By J.A. Myerson, Wednesday Nov 7, 2012 12:46 pm | Source: Inthesetime.com A storm surge from Hurricane Sandy unmoored the Bay Parkway Community Job Center, New York City’s only center for day laborers, and moved it a couple hundred feet inland from the Bensonhurst shore, cracking one of its walls in the process. Ligia Guallpa of…