NDLON in the News

Subheading phrase goes here.

Arrests During Protest of Travis County Deportation Program – keyetv.com Austin News, Weather, Traffic KEYE-TV Austin – Top Stories

text size Arrests During Protest of Travis County Deportation Program - keyetv.com Austin News, Weather, Traffic KEYE-TV Austin - Top Stories Arrests During Protest of Travis County Deportation Program - keyetv.com Austin News, Weather, Traffic KEYE-TV Austin - Top Stories Arrests During Protest of Travis County Deportation Program - keyetv.com Austin News, Weather, Traffic KEYE-TV Austin - Top Stories

Arrests During Protest of Travis County Deportation Program - keyetv.com Austin News, Weather, Traffic KEYE-TV Austin - Top Stories Updated: Monday, February 3 2014, 01:15 PM CST

Six people are arrested this morning in Downtown Austin, protesting what they call unfair and damaging deportations.

They chained themselves together in front of the Travis County Jail exit where undocumented immigrants are transported for deportation.

They’re protesting Se Communities, or S-Comm as it’s also known, rounds up undocumented immigrants who have committed minor offenses, and deports them. The protesters say this is a violation of human rights, separating them from their families who are here in the U.S.

The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it deports 19 immigrants per week on average.

The Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition says this practice diverts time and financial resources of local police departments, when it says police should be addressing “real dangerous crime.” The organization cites a 2013 report from the Texas Commission on jail standards, that shows it costs $106.05 each day dealing with detained undocumented immigrants under the S-Comm program.

The protesters say larger cities have denounced S-Comm, saying it destroys public trust, and they’re asking Travis County to do the same. Last week Immigrant rights advocates met with Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton to make the request, and he rejected it.

Arrests Made During Protest of Travis County Deportation Program

Details

President Obama urged to halt deportations for now

President Barack Obama is expected to renew his push for immigration reform during his State of the Union address tonight, but a group of more than 30 House Democrats led by Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona say that isn’t enough. They want him to use his executive powers to suspend deportations until Congress passes immigration legislation. The la…

Details

Fixing Immigration, in Principle – NYTimes.com

THE DEPORTER IN CHIEF As we wait for a bill, which could come in months or years or never, deportations continue. The Obama administration has expelled nearly two million people, breaking up thousands of the families President Obama has repeatedly promised to protect. If Congress fails, will he protect them through his own administrative action,…

Details

NDLON Responds to GOP Immigration Principles

For immediate release // excuse cross-postingContact: B. Loewe, 773.791.4668 bloewe{at}ndlon.org In response to the GOP’s principles on immigration released today, Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network issued the following statement: “We are concerned the nativists within the Republican party now control the the whip hand on the immigration reform debate.…

Details

NDLON Responds to 2014 State of the Union Speech

“Tonight’s speech was both a disappointment and a call to action for immigrants to increase pressure on the President for relief and for their rights. If the President wants 2014 to be a year of action, immigration is one area where he can and should lead by example. The President has already shown that he has broad legal authority in the realm of immigration; but to date, he has mostly exercised that authority poorly as part of a failed political strategy.

Details