For CCA and Country (A visit to Eloy Detention Center)

 

Visitors to Eloy Detention Center are greeted by a mural of three flags. They are, from left to right, there the stars & stripes of the United States, the rising sun of Arizona, and the maroon corporate logo of CCA. The three flags are painted as if they are being flown on the same level, with the Corrections Corporation of America’s flag flying to the right of the flag of the United States of America. This is, as any cub scout knows, a terrible violation of decorum, and highly disrespectful of the U.S. flag. 

It is also a violation of the Federal Flag Code, 4 U.S.C. §§ 4-10, for which CCA should be instantly deported.

The Dream 9 were in Eloy when I visited the for-profit prison in the middle of the Arizona desert. All of the nine young people had been brought to the United States as children and would have qualified for DACA relief, the legalization-lite the Obama administration had conceded after three years of escalating pressure from Dreamers. But seven of the Dream 9 had lost hope and left the country before DACA was announced, and so they no longer qualify. The other three – Marco Saavedra, Lulu Martinez and Lizbeth Mateo – did something almost beyond comprehension: they voluntarily left the U.S. a few weeks ago to go fetch the others back. In doing so, Martinez and Mateo made themselves ineligible for DACA. When the nine Dreamers presented themselves at the Nogales port of entry, they were arrested and ended up in Eloy.

Border Patrol Overkill

 

SAN DIEGO — San Diego is a town surrounded by military might. To the north is Camp Pendleton and its 37,000 active duty Marines. To the west, Naval Base Coronado is the command center for the Navy SEALS. To the east, the military trains its elite special forces in the Mountain Warfare Training Facility.

And then to the south, there’s the border and Tijuana.

Given the geographic proximity to all these Marines and Special Forces machos, it’s no wonder Border Patrol agents stationed in San Diego in the early 1990’s felt a bit chagrined at their inability to stop national security threats like dog whisperer Cesar Milan from unauthorized entry into the United States.

¿Apoyar o No Apoyar? Opinión Sobre la Reforma de Inmigración debajo de un vehículo de la Patrulla Fronteriza

El 17 de febrero, online policías locales aplicaron la ley racista SB 1070 y llamaron a la patrulla fronteriza; un padre de seis hijos fue llevado bajo custodia en Tucson, Arizona. Siendo testigo de una separación de familia, case yo espontáneamente corrí hacia el vehículo de la Patrulla Fronteriza y me metí debajo de ella…

Questions for the White House on Immigration Reform

Key Questions for the White House on Immigration Reform

Questions for the White House on Immigration ReformWhile 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. 

Why did Napolitano Wait So Long And Do So Little?

order helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;”>Despite Monday’s unfortunate Supreme Court ruling that allows Arizona, at least for now, to go forward with state-mandated immigrant-hunting and racial profiling, there is reason to believe that the tide is turning on the Arizona approach to immigration policies (replicated in Georgia, Alabama and several other states).

Just days before the court ruling, undocumented students pushed the president to announce a new Department of Homeland Security policy potentially offering DREAM-eligible students work permits instead of deportation to countries many of them have never known.

What Took Napolitano and Obama So Long in Arizona? – Miami Herald

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Despite Monday’s unfortunate Supreme Court ruling that allows Arizona, at least for now, to go forward with state-mandated immigrant-hunting and racial profiling, there is reason to believe that the tide is turning on the Arizona approach to immigration policies (replicated in Georgia, Alabama and several other states).

Just days before the court ruling, undocumented students pushed the president to announce a new Department of Homeland Security policy potentially offering DREAM-eligible students work permits instead of deportation to countries many of them have never known.

No doubt it was the threat of embarrassment to the president that finally led Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to codify what was common knowledge — that immigrant communities deserve relief from the threat of deportation. The new policy counteracts previous administration claims about DHS’ limited ability to act. It demonstrates that Napolitano has had the authority to relieve suffering all along. Her refusal to do so earlier or do more now shows that only pressure from organized and undocumented communities makes the difference.

Barrio Defense: How Arizona’s Immigrants are Standing Up to SB 1070

Shortly after the 2010 passage ofSB 1070, Arizona’s notorious immigration bill, 20,000 people gathered in Phoenix for a May Day march to protest the new law. Instead of ending with speakers or a formal program, as political marches often do, organizers broke the crowd into small groups and asked them two questions:

How will the new law impact you and your neighbors? What can you do about it?

And with that, a new phase of the migrant rights movement, based on an age-old model of community organizing, was born.