Support for Immigration Reform Requires Opposition to Unjust Deportations
Families Facing Deportation Confront Southern ICE Office, Ask Supporters to Make Calls
We Don’t Want to Be Deported Before the Path to Citizenship Opens
04.22.2013 – New Orleans, LA
This morning, five families who are facing deportation entered the Southern regional field office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to demand that the office’s public advocate, Bryan Acuna, fulfill his duties by taking on their cases to stop their removals and cease the violent raids and targeting of low-priority cases that are rampant across the region.
Day Laborers React to Senate Immigration Proposal
Introduction Poses Test for President Los Angeles, CA – 04.17.2013In response to the introduction of the Senate ‘Gang of 8’ immigration reform bill, Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network issued the following statement: “President Obama should seize the opportunity presented today by immediately suspending deportations, at a bare minimum for…
Lawsuit Filed Against Federal Agencies to Uncover Possible Influence on Immigration Bill
Freedom of Information Act Suit to Shed Light on Tactics to Halt California TRUST Act
SAN FRANCISCO, April 9, 2013—The Asian Law Cacus, a legal and civil rights organization serving low-income Asian Pacific American communities, has sued federal immigration authorities for information about whether they helped defeat a bill meant to limit entanglement between California law enforcement and U.S. immigration agencies.
The lawsuit seeks information from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and the Department of Homeland Security under the Freedom of Information Act about possible efforts to encourage the Governor’s office and state sheriff’s association to oppose the TRUST Act, AB-4.
Had the TRUST Act passed last year, it would have restricted California’s involvement in the Se Communities program, which relies on local police to hold individuals suspected of being deportable upon arrest until ICE can pick them up for possible deportation. Last summer, the bill reached Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk with robust support from both legislative houses, but he vetoed it.
New Music Video from La Santa Cecilia Hits Close to Home for Undocumented Cast
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
Massachusetts Joins States Seeking TRUST to Protect Families and to Move Immigration Reform Forward
Immigrant Communities Rallied Today in Support of the TRUST Act authored by Sen. Eldridge & Rep. Sciortino
03.20.2013
Boston, MA –
As momentum for federal immigration reform grows, Massachusetts is set to lead the nation by advancing the TRUST act, a state bill to provide immediate relief from deportations, strengthen public safety, and propel the national conversation on immigration reform towards inclusion. Specifically the bill sets a clear standard for local law enforcement agencies not to submit to burdensome requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) most often prompted by the Se Communities (S-Comm) program to detain people for deportation who have otherwise been ordered released by the courts. The bill is authored by Sen. Eldridge in the Senate and Rep. Sciortino in the House and was introduced with 34 cosponsors.
NDLON Applauds Choice of Thomas Perez, Head of Civil Rights Division at DOJ, as Next Labor Secretary
DOJ Official who Investigated Sheriff Arpaio Poised to Carry on Solis Legacy of Promoting Civil Rights, Supporting Low-wage, Immigrant Workers 03.18.2013 – Los Angeles, CA In response to news that President Obama will nominate Thomas Perez as the next Labor Secretary, Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, issued the…
Judge Approves Landmark Settlement in Immigration Policy Case
FBI, DHS and ICE Agree to Release Crucial Documents Relating to Controversial
Deportation Dragnet Program, Se Communities
March 15, 2013, New York – Last night, a federal judge approved a settlement between the government and several rights groups in a long-running lawsuit demanding transparency in the controversial Se Communities (SCOMM) program.
Since its rollout in 2008, SCOMM has spread nationwide, over the protests of local and state leaders, contributing to the Obama administration’s widely criticized, record-setting deportation numbers. The program targets all people booked into local jails, regardless of how minor the charges or even if no charges are pressed at all. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has recently come under fire for revelations that it has trolled state agencies and local jails looking for low-level offenders so as to meet its arbitrary criminal deportation quotas.
New Data Sparks Anger: almost 2,000 Californians deported through S-Comm in January
Statistics reveal failure of ICE’s latest guidelines, add urgency to passage of TRUST Act March 11, 2013 – An analysis of new data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has found that 1,941 Californians were deported in the first month of 2013 alone, an alarming figure that would have been significantly lower were the TRUST Act already signed into law. The…