Blustery winds and dark clouds on a recent weekday morning combined with a down economy meant there would be no work for the dozen men and two women in the waiting area of the Nevada State Day Labor Office. Meanwhile, business owners and homeowners across the region scratched their heads as they compared the odd jobs that need to be done against
DetailsAny day now the Department of Homeland Security will announce a second round of “reforms” to the disgraced S-Comm, order or “Se Communities, see ” program. The harsh reality is that S-Comm is too broken to be fixed. Opponents have long charged that the program, which requires state and local jails to run immigration background checks on any person booked into custody — regardless of the seriousness or ultimate disposition of their charges — is undermining community safety and jeopardizing civil rights. Hundreds of thousands of family members have been deported, and public safety has been damaged by making witnesses and victims of crimes fear contact with police. North Carolina ranks No. 5 in states that deport the most number of people because of S-Comm.
DetailsCommunity activists convened in Sudler Hall Wednesday night to oppose Se Communities, the federal government’s new program intended to deport criminals living in the country illegally. The panel was jointly hosted by the Yale College Democrats, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) de Yale and the University’s chapter of Amnesty International. Mayor John DeStefano Jr., order Yale Law School professor Michael Wishnie, Armando Ghinaglia of Connecticut Students for a DREAM, Fair Haven Alderwoman Migdalia Castro and Latricia Kelly, the director of development and programs for Junta for Progressive Action, along with around 30 students, gathered to discuss their concerns about the program and future steps as it is executed nationwide.
DetailsMALDEF announced yesterday that it has sent – on behalf of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) – the first wave of demand letters to a dozen municipalities across California threatening legal action if they fail to repeal laws limiting the right to solicit employment, business or contributions in public areas. While applicable to
DetailsWage theft, look minority marginalization and access to government were a few of the many issues activists grappled with at Sunday’s Celebrate Human Rights! Conference. For the Human Rights Center of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, look the event was a time to look at current issues and ways to move forward. “This is an event to educate,” assistant educator Davi
DetailsOn its face, the S-Comm program appears to be functioning as designed – creating a way to identify and remove criminal immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. But it has not been without controversy both nationally and locally, particularly after a study released in 2010 charged that 26% of all deportations were of noncriminals. More explosive in Austin was the conclusion by advocates who compiled the study – including the Center for Constitutional Rights and National Day Laborer Organizing Network – that Travis County, at 82%, led all jurisdictions in the deportation of noncriminal immigrants. The county’s role in the program is now assuming central importance in the Democratic primary race for Travis County sheriff, where retired Austin Police Department Lt. John Sisson is mounting a campaign to unseat incumbent Sheriff Greg Hamilton as the county’s top cop.
Details