Rally to Call on Gov. Brown to Protect Civil Rights of Californians and Expand Protections for Long-Excluded Workers

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Domestic Workers, Day Laborers, and Supporters Urge Gov. Brown to Sign Two Landmark Bills into Law


Los Angeles – Hundreds of Californians from throughout the state will hold a major rally in Los Angeles September 29, 2012, urging Governor Jerry Brown to sign two measures that would expand basic protections to long-struggling workers and protect Californians from family-shattering deportations. Each proposal would create a national model for powerful, progressive policy.

It is a matter of leadership, vision, and state pride, say supporters of the two bills.  The California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (AB 889 – Ammiano) would end the outdated exclusion of domestic workers from basic labor protections by extending rights such as overtime pay and meal and rest breaks to the caregivers, childcare providers, and housecleaners caring for California’s families and homes. The TRUST Act (AB 1081 – Ammiano) would bring relief to families who fear deportation as a result of the most trivial of arrests, and rebuild confidence in law enforcement. The bill prevents the costly detention of aspiring citizens in local jails for deportation purposes, only allowing immigration “holds” for those charged or convicted of a serious or violent felony. 

Letter from ICE Director John Morton to Hate Group, FAIR, Stirs Controversy

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s practices with local police are facing scrutiny this week as the injunction on the racial profiling provision of SB1070 was lifted and section 2b went into effect. ICE had previously rescinded Maricopa County’s 287(g) agreement–which enabled local sheriffs in Arpaio’s office to act as immigration officers–after the Department of Justice exposed…

President Obama Must Do Everything to Stop Abuse in Arizona as SB1070 Goes into Effect

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Day laborers pledge to continue fight against discriminatory law at community level, Look to California for Alternate Direction
 
September 18. Phoenix, AZ.
In response to the lifting of the injunction against section 2b, the racial profiling provision of Arizona’s SB1070, Pablo Alvarado, the director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, issued the following statement,
 
“Laws requiring people to be judged by the color of their skin have no place in the US.  Not today and not ever.  While courts have yet to stop all of SB1070, all of us who believe in human rights and cherished constitutional values have an obligation to do everything we can to ensure that Arizona’s current lawmakers are on the losing side of history.
 

New Wave of Local Intiatives Seek to Restore Trust Damaged by DHS Arizona Style Policies, Push Back Against Se Communities Program

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California TRUST Act, DC Bill Set New ‘Commonsense’ Trend 

 

7.10.2012. Washington, DC. 

Days after the California senate passed a “Post- Arizona SB1070” bill called the TRUST act, and on the day the Washington DC council is signed a similar bill (Bill 19-585) into law, more than twelve cities launched efforts to develop local policies that restore the trust in law enforcement damaged by the Department of Homeland Security’s coercive “Se Communities” deportation program. Groups are calling for an end to the program and urging local officials to join a trend of municipalities led by Cook County, IL, California, and Washington, DC to counter the criminalization of immigrants, to protect against racial profiling, and to prevent the wrongful extended incarceration of residents for the sole purpose of deportation by setting commonsense standards for how to respond to immigration authority’s voluntary hold requests.

CALIFORNIA SENATE PASSES ‘TRUST ACT” TODAY

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Vote repudiates Homeland Security’s “Se Communities” program;

Creates Contrast with Arizona’s harsh approach to immigrant residents

 

 

SACRAMENTO

The California State Senate passed the TRUST Act today aimed at countering the strict deportation policies implemented by the federal government under its “Se Communities” program. Its sponsors contrast the common-sense tone of the California bill with the harsh law passed in Arizona, much of which was overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court last week.

 

After a forthcoming concurrance vote in the California Assembly, the TRUST Act will be sent to Gov. Jerry Brown to sign. The bill responds to and repudiates the state’s forced participation in the program enforced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Securities, which has led to the incarceration and deportation of tens of thousands of undocumented residents in California who have committed no crimes.

Immigrants Will Emerge on Winning Side of History Following Supreme Court Ruling on Arizona’s S.B. 1070

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Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on Arizona’s controversial state immigration law, S.B. 1070, Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, issued the following statement:

“The court’s ruling in part confirms what we have said since the beginning: Arizona’s war of attrition against immigrants is not only inhumane, it’s also unconstitutional. However, allowing the racial profiling section to go forward poses a great risk to the constitution the court is charged to defend and to the Arizona families who will be targeted if it goes into effect. 

Asm. Ammiano formally introduces “TRUST Act 2.0” to counteract discredited deportation program

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70,000 CA deportations under “Se” Communities program spark anger;

Bill puts state at forefront of movement to curb burdensome immigration detentions in local jails

Sacramento, CA – As the imposition of the scandal-plagued “Se” Communities or S-Comm deportation program in Massachusetts and New York today spurs fresh controversy, California Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-SF) formally introduced a revamped version of AB 1081, the TRUST Act, to reform California’s participation in the program. 

The new incarnation of AB 1081, which captured national attention last year, formally appeared “in print”  late yesterday and will pick up where the previous version left off, in the state Senate. The bill is expected to be heard in the Senate Public Safety committee next month. (Background information below.)

Unnecessary Roadblocks Prompt Fayetteville Community Meeting with Fairburn Police Chief

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The Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights calls to end roadblocks associated with racial profiling in immigrant communities. 

What: Press Conference Before Meeting with Fairburn Police Department 
When: Monday, May 14th 1:00 pm 
Where: 191 South West Broad St. Fairburn, Ga. 30213 
Who: CPG, Fayetteville Community and the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) 

Recent activation of 287(g) agreements, Se Communities, and HB87, that merge local police with complex federal immigration authorities has led to an increase in racial profiling and discrimination in law enforcement practices. 

In Fayetteville, community members will be meeting with Fairburn Police Chief James McCarthy on Monday the 14th to call for an end to roadblocks they describe as focal points of discrimination. 

DOJ Suit Highlights Agency Battle with DHS Over Arizona Policy, President Must Take Responsibility

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05.10.2012 Washington, DC. In response to the Department of Justice announcement that it will be suing Sheriff Arpaio of Maricopa County in its civil rights case against him, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network released the following statements,

Chris Newman, legal director states, “It is very clear a dispute has broken out between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, and it’s forcing a dilemma for the White House. The DOJ is arriving late to a civil rights crime scene caused in large part by the Department of Homeland Security.  Janet Napolitano got Arpaio his immigration badge when she was Governor, and rather than correct her mistake as Secretary of DHS, she chose to create more Arpaio’s by expanding the dangerous “Se Communities” (SCOMM) program throughout the country.  

Puente Calls for Immediate Federal Action, Shut Off S-Comm in State, as DOJ Arpaio Case Heads to Court

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05.10.2012 Phoenix, AZ. In response to the DOJ announcement that it will be suing Sheriff Arpaio after negotiations in its civil rights case failed and the Sheriff’s subsequent promise to appeal in what will be lengthy court proceedings, Carlos Garcia of Puente Arizona released the following statement: “While suing and investigating the Sheriff’s office, the federal government should end its own role in…