NDLON Responds to DOJ Report, Calls for Severing of DHS Ties to Sheriff Arpaio

Today the Department of Justice concluded its three year investigation into civil rights violations in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. In response to the detailed report, Pablo Alvarado of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network issued the following response:

 

“The Department of Justice report formally and forcefully describes a civil and human rights crisis in Maricopa County; one that has moved hundreds of thousands to demonstrate around the globe over the past several years.

 

 It is a ringing indictment of a Sheriff’s office that has ‘treated all Latinos as if they were undocumented’ and the federal immigration contracts that have made such prejudice possible. It is the most detailed chronicle of the failed end result of the federal programs that make monsters out of local law enforcement.

 

We have waited three years for federal intervention to restore justice in Maricopa County. Now that the Department of Justice has outlined the symptoms, it is time for the Department of Homeland security to terminate its immigration contracts with the Sheriff as a first step toward a .”

 

The Department of Justice report outlines years of biased policing that created “a chronic culture of disregard for basic legal and constitutional obligations (page 2).”

 

It goes on to detail that deputies used excessive force against Latinos and built a “wall of distrust between MCSO officers and Maricopa County Latino residents (page 2).”

 

The report finds, “Since roughly 2007, in the course of establishing its immigration enforcement program, MCSO has implemented practices that treat Latinos as if they are all undocumented, regardless of whether a legitimate factual basis exists to suspect that a person is undocumented (page 6).”

 

“Sheriff Arpaio has promoted a culture of bias in his organization and clearly communicated to his officers that biased policing would not only be tolerated, but encouraged (page 9).”

 

The Full Report can be read: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/mcso.php

Amidst Calls for Arpaio’s Resignation, NDLON Calls on White House to Take Action

As the call for Sheriff Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona to resign grows, Pablo Alvarado of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network issued the following statement:
 
“We are pleased attention has properly returned to Sheriff Arpaio and we agree he should resign. However, the White House role in Maricopa’s crisis deserves greater scrutiny and requires immediate action. Sheriff Arpaio’s mishandling of crime cases is the direct result his out-of-control and discriminatory focus on immigration; focus he’s able to implement through federal contracts
President Obama’s contracts granting immigration authority to the Sheriff fueled his conversion into a Frankenstein and the President’s refusal to pull the plug continues to enable Maricopa’s monstrosity. 
The process to bring Arpaio to justice should be swift. The President and Secretary Napolitano have a moral obligation to ensure it begins with cutting the Sheriff off from federal immigration enforcement contracts and concluding the delayed Department of Justice investigation.”

Background

NEW MANU CHAO ‘ALTO ARIZONA’ PROTEST VIDEO

Phoenix, AZ

In September, Manu Chao ended his US tour with a ‘Festival de Resistencia’ free concert in Phoenix, Arizona, to protest against anti-immigrant policies that have made the state of Arizona a “capital of prejudice.” The free concert was held in collaboration with the National Day Labourer Organising Network (NDLON), whose ‘Alto Arizona’ campaign is part of an ongoing effort to bring visibility, recognition, dignity and to migrants who have been targets of hate in Arizona and around the world.

 

Last year, Arizona passed Senate Bill 1070, the beginning of a wave of the most anti-immigrant legislation the US has not seen in generations. The passage of SB 1070 Arizona dramatically expanded police powers to stop, question and detain individuals for not having proper identification, a move that encourages racial profiling and legitimizes intolerance.

 

NDLON is a national migrant worker organisation that has been seeking to bring relief  to the state of Arizona and challenge the spread of Arizona-style laws to other states such as Georgia and Alabama.  In Arizona, NDLON and local member organizations are asking the federal government to bring Maricopa County’s Sheriff Arpaio to justice by taking away his immigration law enforcement power and by concluding the three-year-old Department of Justice investigation into his civil rights abuses. The law is currently being blocked by a federal judge.

 

As the son of parents who fled Franco’s Spain, Chao can personally relate to the discrimination and displacement experienced under aggressive governance. “For the past year, we’ve carried the people of Arizona in our hearts as we witnessed them suffer under such ignorant laws” says Chao.

 

While in Arizona, Manu Chao visited the perimeter fence of the notorious jail facility known as ‘Tent City’, which was conceived by Sheriff Arpaio, and where inmates are forced to suffer degrading and to endure the extreme temperature range of the desert by living outside in tents.

 

Manu Chao, along with bandmate Madjid Fahem, serenaded the walls of the jail with a heartfelt rendition of his song ‘Clandestino’. This version was captured on film by filmmaker Alex Rivera, whose work strives to draw attention to the Latin-American community in the US. The footage was produced by the National Day Labourer Organising Network (NDLON) and can be seen on the ‘Alto Arizona’ site http://www.altoarizona.com 

 

NUEVO VIDEO DE MANU CHAO DE PROTESTA ‘ALTO DE ARIZONA’

 

29 de noviembre 2011. Phoenix, AZ

En septiembre, Manu Chao terminó su gira por EE.UU. con un concierto gratuito “Festival de Resistencia” en Phoenix, Arizona, para protestar contra las políticas anti-inmigrantes que han convertido al estado de Arizona en “La Capital de los Prejuicios.” El concierto se celebró en colaboración con la Red Nacional del Jornaleros (NDLON), que sostiene la campaña “Alto Arizona”. La campaña “Alto Arizona” es parte de un esfuerzo continuo para lograr visibilidad, el reconocimiento, la dignidad y la curación a los inmigrantes que han sido objeto de odio en Arizona y en todo el mundo.
El año pasado, Arizona aprobó la ley SB 1070, que marco el comienzo de una ola de legislación  anti-inmigrante. La más severa que se ha visto en generaciones en los EE.UU. La aprobación de la SB 1070 en Arizona amplio dramáticamente los poderes policiales para detener, interrogar y detener a personas por no tener una identificación adecuada, una estrategia que alienta la discriminación racial y le da legitimidad a la intolerancia.
NDLON es una organización nacional de trabajadores inmigrantes, que ha estado tratando de llevar alivio al estado de Arizona y frenar el avance de las leyes estilo “Arizona” a otros estados, como Georgia y Alabama. En Arizona, NDLON y las organizaciones locales miembros están pidiendo al gobierno federal traer ante la justicia a el alguacil del Condado de Maricopa, Joe Arpaio. Pedimos que le quiten el poder que tiene para ejercer leyes de inmigración y también pedimos que se le de una conclusión a la investigación empezada por El Departamento de Justicia hace tres años por sus violaciones a los derechos civiles. Actualmente, la ley está siendo bloqueada por un juez federal.
Como hijo de padres que huyeron de la España de Franco, Chao personalmente puede identificarse con la discriminación y el desplazamiento sufrido bajo tan agresiva gobernanza. “Durante el último año, hemos llevado al pueblo de Arizona en nuestros corazones, mientras somos testigos de su sufrimiento a causa  de estas leyes ignorantes”, dice Chao.
Durante su estadia en Arizona, Manu Chao visitó el perímetro de la notoria cerca de alambre del centro carcelario conocido como “Tent City”, que fue creada por el Sheriff Arpaio, y donde los reclusos son obligados a sufrir tratos degradantes y a soportar temperaturas extremas del desierto viviendo afuera en carpas.
Manu Chao, junto a su compañero de banda, Fahem Madjid, canto frente a los muros de la cárcel con una interpretación sincera y profunda de su canción ‘Clandestino’. Esta versión fue filmada por el cineasta Alex Rivera, quien con su obra se esfuerza por llamar la atención hacia la comunidad latinoamericana en los EE.UU.. El video fue producido por la Red Nacional del Jornaleros (NDLON) y puede ser visto en el sitio http://www.altoarizona.com ‘Alto Arizona’

Brewer’s 1070 Countersuit is Counterproductive for Arizona

Phoenix, AZ. In response to the Governor of Arizona pressing her countersuit to defend SB 1070, Pablo Alvarado, Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, a litigant in the injunction suit against SB 1070 issued the following statement:
“Like Governor Wallace before her, Governor Brewer is choosing to stand on the wrong side of history with her defense of unconstitutional, regressive, and immoral legislation.
Brewer will lose in court and in the court of public opinion. Any short term political gain by scapegoating Americans in waiting will be offset in droves by future generations in Arizona who will have been inspired to wipe away the stain on the state caused by her repugnant, unconstitutional, and anti-American nativist crusade.
Yet, like a driver who refuses to admit they’re lost, the Governor refuses to turn around.
Governor Brewer’s inability to govern and failure to provide real solutions to the state’s problems will no longer be shielded by the diversion created by her spectacle of scapegoating.”
The Governor’s countersuit today precedes another event in court. Tomorrow, on the anniversary of the implementation of SB 1070, local leader Salvador Reza of the Puente Movement as well as Peter Morales, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, will face trial for their act of conscience that prevented Sheriff Arpaio’s raids on last July 29th….

Department of Justice Should Intervene in not just Investigate Maricopa County

Salvador Reza of the Puente Movement responded to today’s Department of Justice settlement for access to records in Sheriff Arpaio’s office with the following statement.
“Nearly three years after the beginning of their investigation, the Department of Justice should be intervening in Maricopa county not just investigating. The people of Maricopa have been living with a likely criminal at the head of our law enforcement for years and it’s time for relief. The County Sheriff’s Office should be placed under receivership without delay. Anything less than immediate intervention in our human rights crisis makes President Obama and former Governor Napolitano accomplices in the reign of terror- and likely criminal behavior- of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.”

The Department of Homeland Security which empowers Sheriff Arpaio through its ICE Access programs has recently come under fire for the expansion of Arpaio-style policies throughout the country through the “Se Communities” program. The agency has been accused of emulating the lack of transparency and discriminatory practices under investigation in the office of Sheriff Arpaio. As a result, the DHS’ spread of Arpaio-style policies is also coming under investigation by the OIG and is facing a growing call for an end to ICE Access programs that entangle local police in immigration laws.