Executive Action Not Electoral Spin

for immediate release // excuse cross-posting Contact: B. Loewe, NDLON, 773.791.4668   Fact: President Has Authority and Responsibility to Act on ImmigrationInhumane Immigration Policy Requires Executive Reforms  Not Electoral Triangulation   In anticipation of political analysis of the impact of today’s elections on immigration policy, Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network…

NDLON Reacts to President’s CHC Gala Speech

In reaction to President’s speech on immigration tonight at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Gala, Pablo Alvarado issued the following statement:    “The President correctly noted that people want to know ‘where [his] heart is’ on immigration, and his reaction to the courageous shouts of Blanca Hernandez, summed things up perfectly.  The President said, ‘listen to what i’m…

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.

President Obama is Wrong. He Has the Authority and Responsibility to Stop Deportations

 

 
Administration Policy of Criminalizing Immigrants Poses Largest Barrier to Reform
 
09.17.2013 – Los Angeles, CA.  In response to the President’s comments in an interview with Telemundo where he says that he cannot further expand deferred action to suspend deportations, Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network issued the following statement:
 
“The President’s statement is factually inaccurate. He has the power to reduce deportations, the legal authority to expand deferred action, and the political obligation to lead the national debate through bold action. In fact, courageous leadership will only galvanize momentum for reform and focus Congress’s attention on their constitutional duty to modernize immigration law.

Day Laborers Respond to President’s Immigration Reform Speech, Call on Him to Suspend Deportations

    2013-06-11. Washington, DC. In response to the President’s speech this morning on immigration reform, Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, issued the following statement.   “The President must lead by example by exercising his broad authority and discretion.   Actions speak louder than words, and there are several steps…

President Can ‘Quarterback’ on Immigration Reform by Declaring a Moratorium on Deportations

President’s Executive Action Can Lead by Example for Congress    In response to the news of the President and Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ meeting regarding immigration reform today, Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, issued the following statement:   “This nation is in desperate need of modernizing its immigration laws. If…

Illinois Families Separated by Deportation Ask President Obama for Moratorium

 

March and rally on first day of the President’s 2nd term features stories of families broken up by immigration authorities, highlighting the need for policy that keeps families together.

 

The immigrant community in Chicago is calling for the President to grant immediate relief from deportations by ordering a moratorium.  While Congress deliberates, they say, the President can use his executive authority to make immediate changes to reverse his record on deportations.  President Obama’s first term was marred by a record 1.5 million people deported; 409,000 in the past year alone.  While he has announced his drive for immigration reform, the Chicago area witnessed an increase in aggressive enforcement. The week after President Obama’s reelection, ICE performed unheard of raids on an area Pallet factory and a Northwest side day laborer corner.

 

 

Below is a list of speakers at today’s march.

 

Speaker’s Stories:

 

Josefina Mora is a mother of three United States citizen between 5 and 10 years old. Her husband, Urbano Olmedo Lopez, has been away from his family since November 2012, after he was turned over to immigration authorities by local police during a driver’s license check point. When he was stopped he was on his way to court for another traffic ticket involving his lack of driver’s license. He arrived to the United States in 1985, at the age of 9. He has one prior deportation from his youth, but for the last 12 years that he has been married to Josefina, he has stayed out of trouble with the police and immigration.  Josefina describes Olmedo as a good parent and a hard-working husband. One of the hardest things for he has been the effect his detention has had on her children, one of whom has a hernia and the other an ear problem. She says it has been difficult to keep up with their medical needs without her husband, as he used to take them to the before his detention. Josefina also fears that the detention is having a psychological effect on her children, and is looking to take them to counseling, “I see them cry every night, and ask me when their father is coming home,” she explains.

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

President Obama’s Credibility Gap On Display at NCLR Convention

Washington, DC.
In response to President Obama’s speech today at the annual convention of the National Council de la Raza, Pablo Alvarado, Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network issued this statement:
“Despite soaring rhetoric, the President’s unbridled enforcement of unjust and outdated immigration laws has contributed to an unprecedented civil rights crisis for our community. And his administration has deported over one million people, surpassing the total number of people removed during Operation Wetback. The President can now claim the title, deporter-in-chief.
We know ICE has gone rogue, but we’re starting to feel like the President is going rogue on immigration too. It is not enough for him to blame Congress or to bemoan the difficulty of his job. He can- and must- take action to protect members of our community who are under siege.
The President can use existing authority to move the country in the right direction. He should take swift action to prevent the Arizonification of the country by refusing to let local police act as agents of deportation. For example, the President should, as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has requested, immediately suspend the Se Communities program until the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General can complete her report. At this rate, President Obama’s S-Comm policy will go down in history with Eisenhower’s ‘Operation Wetback.’ Both have the same pernicious consequences, but one has a better speech writer.” …

Record Deportations Demonstrate Credibility Gap for President Obama

(Los Angeles) In response to the Associated Press article published today, Pablo Alvarado, Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network commented,
“The alarming deportation statistics released in the AP report are a matter for national concern. The arbitrary enforcement of unjust immigration laws will widen the President’s credibility gap among Latinos. The President should either hold ICE accountable for belying his campaign promises, or the President himself should be held accountable. As the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has requested, the Se Communities program should be immediately suspended until the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General can complete her report. At this rate, President Obama’s S-Comm policy will go down in history with Eisenhower’s “Operation Wetback.” Both have the same pernicious consequences, but one has a more clever name.”
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network has led efforts against the Se Communities program; litigating in federal court to uncover the truth under the Freedom of Information Act and coordinating the Turning the Tide campaign whose local participants have led to the states of Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts opting-out of the troubling programs because of the dragnet effect reported by the AP today.
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