S-Comm Under Fire in New Bedford – South Coast Today

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Under the Se Communities program, fingerprints taken by local police are automatically sent to federal immigration authorities. If there is a match, police are authorized to hold the suspect for an extra 48 hours, not including weekends. The program is currently active in Suffolk County and will go into effect throughout the state in 2013. “The country has to have rules and we have to have laws that we follow,” Hodgson said. “If you think those laws are unfair, then change the laws.” Critics say Se Communities alienates immigrants from police and has resulted in a swell of deportation cases of otherwise law-abiding people who have lived in the country for decades. “I see it every day from a human perspective,” said defense attorney Rachel Self. “It’s a rare day that I have that a true criminal winds up actually being picked up in this.”

“A Better Life”

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I watched the film, “A Better Life,” recently at the Mountain View Day Workers’ Center.  The star of the movie, Damien Bichir, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.”  His acting beautifully conveyed the wide variety of emotions he felt as he experienced ongoing rejection and betrayal in his business and personal life.  I was mesmorized.  Even though I do volunteer at…

Se Communities: End it, Don’t Mend it

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for Century, order Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left; border-style: none; padding: 0px;”>Any day now Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will announce a second round of “reforms” to the disgraced “Se Communities” deportation program, S-Comm. And once again, it appears that ICE is more interested in spin than substance. The timing of the announcement–immediately before the DHS Office of Inspector General Report–seems primarily designed to take the pressure off of ICE rather than an honest attempt to address the fundamental flaws of the program.

Propuesta Pro-Inmigrante, Trust Act, en Massachusetts – Univision

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Organizacion empieza a preparar propuesta de ley en pro de los derechos de inmigrantes con miras a que esta llegue a Beacon Hill.

Tras introducirse formalmente el proyecto de ley anti-inmigrane sb 2061 en la casa estatal la semana pasada, organizaciones como Centro Presente se preparan para proponer una medida en pro de los inmigrantes la cual llevaria el nombre de “Trust Act” o Acta de Confianza. “El principal elemento que contiene es el de detener las deportaciones de aquellas personas que sean detenidas por el servicio de inmigracion y aduanas y que unicamente hayan cometido faltas menores, aparte de otros elementos simbolicos como el reconocer la humanidad, las contirbuciones positivas, economicas, politicas y culturales que la comunidad inmigrante dan a nuestro estado.”

Se Communities: The Real Cost of Failed Immigration Policy

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In his 2013 proposed budget, President Obama outlined the administration’s plan to cut $17 million from the failed and expensive 16-year-old 287 (g) program to expand the equally failed and expensive four year-old Se Communities program. Both programs were created to allow state and local police to check fingerprints of the most violent, dangerous criminals who are booked in jail against federal immigration databases. If there is a discrepancy on the federal database, then local law enforcement must hold the person on a “detainer” until federal ICE agents can find out whether that person is documented or not. They then make decisions about whether or not to put that person into deportation proceedings.  Until the federal government takes responsibility to reform an immigration system that is outdated and no longer serves our interests, it is up to states to take action. – Huffington Post 03.02.0212

Santa Cruz County planners give blessing to Live Oak day worker center

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A long-planned day worker center is set to go into a Live Oak neighborhood after its permit was approved Friday by county planners. The development comes after years of work by supporters of the plan, who hope to create a safer environment for workers and employers to conduct business. But the approval comes amid objections of many neighbors who showed up at a hearing Friday to lodge concerns about traffic and safety. “A lot of happiness, ask very happy, ” beamed day laborer Rodrigo Perez, who spoke through a translator and predicted the center would be popular with workers. “They will come because we need the center. They are already waiting for it to open.” – Santa Cruz Sentinel 03.02.2012

Baltimore Mayor Signs Order to Prevent Police from Asking About Immigration Status

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Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has signed executive order prohibiting police officers from asking people they come in contact with about their immigration status. “Police are working to make our city safe. We are not working as immigration agents, seek ” Mayor Rawlings-Blake said. The announcement comes just days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it would begin implementing the Se Communities program in Baltimore—the controversial federal program that sends booking information from local jails to a joint database shared by the FBI and ICE. The order bars discrimination against immigrants, and bans the use of city funds to investigate or question people suspected of violating of federal immigration law unless required by the state or U.S. government, [according to WAMU.org] COLORLINES 03.05.2012