Deferred Action for Victims of Arpaio’s Raids
(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.
Gutierrez Grills ICE Dir John Morton at Judiciary Hearing – C-SPAN Video Library
Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) questions ICE Director John Morton on deportations and detention at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on March 19, 2013. The hearing was called to look into the release of immigrants in detention, site but Rep. Gutierez explored the huge increase in deportation and detention under President Obama.
Job Center Helps Immigrant Workers As They Await Reform | The Brooklyn Ink
When Victoriano de la Cruz hustled for construction work on Brooklyn’s streets, check he earned $60 a day. But since joining the Bay Parkway Community Job Center in Bensonhurst, he’s picked up skills and commands a wage of up to triple that amount, enough to build a new home in his native Mexico. De la Cruz, 35, was one of a half-dozen immigrant day laborers at the job center on Monday. The red-and-yellow trailer on the edge of Gravesend Bay is run by the Workers’ Justice Project, a group advocating equal pay and rights for immigrant and low-wage workers. Its denizens are grateful for the structure and organization the center provides, but see nationwide legal action as key to foreign workers’ prosperity. “I think it’s very important,” de la Cruz said. “Immigration reform could help guarantee a fair wage for immigrant workers, and make sure they work in safe conditions.”
A Brooklyn Corner and a New Worker Center
It is thirty-six degrees and windy, look but a patch of shifting sunlight warms Hellen Rivera, treat a luckless jornalera, online or woman day laborer. Tall and fair-complexioned, Rivera looks so unlike the other Latina workers that I mistake her for Polish. She wears a long, black wool coat and orange beret and scarf—a contrast to most of the workers’ bulky, pra
El Patrón Es El Ladrón! – Jose Ucelo Fights his Deportation
Like many struggling workers, Mr. José Ucelo Gonzalez looks for work every day at the Home Depot by Brookhurst Ave. and the interstate 5 fwy in Anaheim. On March 9th, 2012, Mr. Ucelo accepted a job offer by Michael Tebb; owner of M.T Asphalt, an Anaheim based company. The agreement was $10 an hour. After a hard 10-hour day work, Mr. Ucelo tried to collect his salary, but instead he got verbally abused and challenged to a fistfight by his employer. Mr. Ucelo remained calm and tried to deescalate the situation, but the harassment continued. Tebb accused his employee of robbery and threatened to call the police if he insisted on asking for his pay. The contractor got in his truck and left. Mr. Ucelo called 911 to ask for assistance but before he could give his location to the operator,
La Mirada repeals ordinance targeting day laborers after court ruling – Whittier Daily News
A reluctant City Council Tuesday voted unanimously to repeal a city law banning solicitation of employment or contributions from public streets, including the sidewalks. City Attorney James Markman told the council it had no choice because of a U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that struck down Redondo Beach’s ordinance prohibiting the
Undocumented Adults Coming Out in Immigration Debate – USA Today
Since coming to the U.S. and overstaying their tourist visas 12 years ago, Genoveva Ramirez Lagunas told her two children the same thing countless illegal immigrants have told their children: Don’t tell anyone about your status. On Sunday, Lagunas found herself standing in front of a microphone in Chicago’s Federal Plaza to tell a crowd of 300…
Immigration rights groups accuse officials of racial profiling – latimes.com
Immigrant rights groups filed a raft of legal actions on Tuesday alleging abuse and racial profiling by Customs and Border Protection officers in five states. Three lawsuits alleging illegal by border patrol officers were filed in federal court in Washington, case Texas and New York. Six separate legal complaints were also filed with CBP in…
5 Questions for John Morton and an Agency Gone Rogue
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.
Beware of police brutality against immigrants – Miami Herald
By involving city law-enforcement agents in an effort to eradicate illegal immigration, the U.S. government has also created a public safety problem, especially in immigrant communities like ours. Undocumented immigrants, who are no less worthy than the rest of human beings for not having proper papers, do not call the police, even when they are victims or witnesses of crimes, for fear of being deported and separated from their families. The controversial immigration enforcement program, Se Communities, considered an invaluable tool in ferreting out dangerous foreign criminals, also grants carte blanche to criminals and some in authority to commit abuse against a segment of our community. Furthermore, it endangers any American who may be a victim of a crime witnessed by an undocumented person who fears reporting it.