Congratulations to Ramsey Clark
International Action Center founder Ramsey Clark, a former US Attorney General and internationally renown human rights defender, received the respected United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights on the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 10 December 2008.
The announcement of the award was presented by the President of the General Assembly, Miguel d´Escoto Brockmann, who is one of the five members of the selection committee. The award is made every five years to five human rights defenders whose life's work has been outstanding. It is presented on December 10, International Human Rights Day, every five years
At the UN Press Conference after accepting the award, Ramsey Clark emphasized the UN's role in ensuring world peace reminding journalists that “The greatest threat to human rights is war.”
The award is given to individuals and organizations in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Previous recipients have included Nelson Mandela, Amnesty International, Jimmy Carter, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Reverend Dr. Martin L. King.”
Assembly President Miguel D’Escoto said “As we mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we acknowledge the tireless work and invaluable contribution of these individuals and organizations that have fought to see the rights and freedoms embodied in this historic document become a reality for people in all corners of the world.”
“These awardees constitute symbols of persistence, valour and tenacity in their resistance to public and private authorities that violate human rights. They constitute a moral force to put an end to systematic human rights violations.”
The UN announcement described Ramsey Clark as “a veteran human rights defender and rule of law advocate, played a key role in the civil rights and peace movements in the US, and more recently has spoken out against abuses committed in the name of “counter-terrorism.”
The International Action Center, founded by Ramsey Clark in 1992 is known internationally for its major role in the anti-war movement in the U.S. and its actions in the forefront of extending solidarity to countries and peoples facing U.S. attack and threats.
The many activists and the large all-volunteer staff of the International Action Center along with hundreds of people who have worked with him over many years extend their enthusiastic congratulations to Ramsey Clark for his tireless and courageous efforts. This United Nations Human Rights Award is well deserved.
We remain committed to solidarity with peoples and countries under U.S. attack. We are determined to continue developing ever wider opposition to U.S. policies of endless war, expanding militarism, racism and growing poverty for millions. Si se puede!
* Contact us: http://iacenter.org/comments/
* Donate: http://iacenter.org/donate/
* About the IAC: http://iacenter.org/about/
Monday, December 22, 2008
The Politics of Immigration
As the immigration debate heats up again, interesting news
and opinion pieces are starting to appear in both the mainstream and
the alternative media. Here's a few of the new links in The Politics
of Immigration blog:
http://thepoliticsofimmigration.blogspot.com
and opinion pieces are starting to appear in both the mainstream and
the alternative media. Here's a few of the new links in The Politics
of Immigration blog:
http://thepoliticsofimmigration.blogspot.com
El Diario NY: U.S. Refugee in Mexico
By Elvira Arellano
Last week we welcomed Crystal Dillman, the widow of Luis Martinez, to Mexico. Martinez was murdered by a group of white youths in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, earlier this year – just because he was a Latino. His wife Crystal, an anglo, courageously stood up and demanded justice, her stand has made her a target of threats, intimidation by local police and hostility from neighbors. She has brought their children to make her home with Martinez’s family in Mexico.
Evidently, racism in the United States did not die with the election of Barack Obama! Racism attaches itself to a people based not only on their skin color but based on their country of origin. When the United States and Europe viewed Africa as a place they had the right to dominate and exploit, then Africans were treated as less than human in the United States. The long and much to be admired struggle of African Americans has begun to overcome these attitudes – especially as their numbers, unity and political strength grew. And we must remember the contribution of African Americans in ending U.S. support for apartheid.
When Crystal Dillman spoke out after the murder of her husband she correctly identified the source of the hatred against him as the anti-immigrant, anti-Latino hysteria in nearby Hazleton Pennsylvania, in the national campaign against legalization and in the media campaign of men like CNN’s Lou Dobbs. In fact, hate crimes against Latinos have risen by 40% since 2005.
Crystal Dillman was welcomed in Mexico at an international conference dealing with migrant issues which drew representatives from the United States, Mexico and Central America. Conference participants reflected that long standing U.S. domination of Latin America, going back to the Monroe Doctrine, is at the root of racism against Latinos. The military conquest and acquisition of northern Mexico – now the states of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California and Colorado – the colonization of Puerto Rico, the constant interventions in Central America and the Caribbean testify to this history of arrogance. Historically, racism in the U.S. has two legs: the institution of slavery and the domination of Latin America.
The conference, which welcomed and gave shelter to Crystal Dillman, pledged a coordinated program to support the demand for legalization in the United States and especially a moratorium on the separation of families. There will be coordinated actions in the United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean on December 18th, the international day for the migrants, January 21st, the day after Barack Obama’s inauguration, March 8th, international women’s day, and May 1st, the day of the workers.We are from many nations, but we are one people joined by our struggle for respect and the right to keep our families together. As Latinos are joining to support the struggle for legalization of the undocumented the increasingly powerful Latino community will also become a voice for justice and respect throughout Latin America.
Last week we welcomed Crystal Dillman, the widow of Luis Martinez, to Mexico. Martinez was murdered by a group of white youths in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, earlier this year – just because he was a Latino. His wife Crystal, an anglo, courageously stood up and demanded justice, her stand has made her a target of threats, intimidation by local police and hostility from neighbors. She has brought their children to make her home with Martinez’s family in Mexico.
Evidently, racism in the United States did not die with the election of Barack Obama! Racism attaches itself to a people based not only on their skin color but based on their country of origin. When the United States and Europe viewed Africa as a place they had the right to dominate and exploit, then Africans were treated as less than human in the United States. The long and much to be admired struggle of African Americans has begun to overcome these attitudes – especially as their numbers, unity and political strength grew. And we must remember the contribution of African Americans in ending U.S. support for apartheid.
When Crystal Dillman spoke out after the murder of her husband she correctly identified the source of the hatred against him as the anti-immigrant, anti-Latino hysteria in nearby Hazleton Pennsylvania, in the national campaign against legalization and in the media campaign of men like CNN’s Lou Dobbs. In fact, hate crimes against Latinos have risen by 40% since 2005.
Crystal Dillman was welcomed in Mexico at an international conference dealing with migrant issues which drew representatives from the United States, Mexico and Central America. Conference participants reflected that long standing U.S. domination of Latin America, going back to the Monroe Doctrine, is at the root of racism against Latinos. The military conquest and acquisition of northern Mexico – now the states of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California and Colorado – the colonization of Puerto Rico, the constant interventions in Central America and the Caribbean testify to this history of arrogance. Historically, racism in the U.S. has two legs: the institution of slavery and the domination of Latin America.
The conference, which welcomed and gave shelter to Crystal Dillman, pledged a coordinated program to support the demand for legalization in the United States and especially a moratorium on the separation of families. There will be coordinated actions in the United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean on December 18th, the international day for the migrants, January 21st, the day after Barack Obama’s inauguration, March 8th, international women’s day, and May 1st, the day of the workers.We are from many nations, but we are one people joined by our struggle for respect and the right to keep our families together. As Latinos are joining to support the struggle for legalization of the undocumented the increasingly powerful Latino community will also become a voice for justice and respect throughout Latin America.
Americas Policy Program Commentary Immigrants Drive Prison Profits
Tom Barry | December 1, 2008
Americas Policy Program, Center for International Policy (CIP)
americas.irc-online.org
Immigrants are behind one of America's fastest growing, most profitable industries. That shouldn't come as a surprise. Immigrants have always been a core factor in U.S. economic development.
Mining, railroads, agribusiness, and, recently, construction have been among the many U.S. industries that historically been driven by an abundant supply of immigrants. But now, when the economy is imploding, most industries are shedding immigrants. The private prison industry, however, is booming, largely because of the ever-increasing supply of immigrants supplied by the federal government.
In the past, when the government detained immigrants—legal or illegal—they were placed in one of a handful of official processing centers where they awaited a hearing or deportation. The Department of Homeland Security still runs seven immigrant detention centers.
Since the early 1980s, sparked by the Reagan administration's new enthusiasm for privatization and the free market, the Justice Department and now also DHS have been outsourcing most of the immigrant detainees to private firms that own or manage scores of prisons that annually hold hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
At a time when most other industries are reporting slackening consumer demand and plunging revenues, the executives of the major private companies providing prison services attribute their fortunes to the sorry fate of America's immigrant population. They routinely tell investors that their major "customers"—Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Marshals Service, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—keep "bed occupancy" near capacity.
To understand how well the prison business is faring and how immigrants are key to prison profits, you can listen in on the prison firms' quarterly conference calls with major Wall Street investment firms. In early November, the country's prison corporations reported soaring profits.
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the country's oldest and largest prison corporation, boasted that it enjoyed a $33.6 million increase in the third quarter over last year, while earnings rose 15% during the same period. Formerly known as Wackenhut, GEO Group, the nation's second largest prison company, saw its earnings jump 29% over 2007. Another private prison firm that imprisons immigrants is Cornell Companies, and it reported a 9% increase in net revenues in the third quarter.
Private prisons have been booming over the past eight years. From 2000 to 2005, the number of private prisons increased from 16% of all prisons to 23%. All of the increase in federal prisons has been in prisons owned or operated by private firms.
Immigrants are the fastest growing sector of the federal detainees and prisoners, and there are hundreds of millions of dollars to be made by enterprising businesses and governments. The annual ICE budget for "detention and removal" is $1.2 billion.
In addition, the Justice Department's Office for the Detention Trustee has hundreds of contracts with local governments and private prison firms that provide beds for immigrants. Both ICE and OFDT have special offices that oversee the outsourcing of its immigrant prisoners. OFDT even boasts of its "enterprise" system of detention.
Private prison companies aren't worried that the Democratic Party sweep will mean that fewer immigrants are sent their way because of party promises of enacting comprehensive immigration reform. GEO Group's chairman George Zoley assured investors on Nov. 3: "These federal initiatives to target, detain, and deport criminal aliens throughout the country will continue to drive the need for immigration detention beds over the next several years and these initiatives have been fully funded by Congress on a bipartisan basis."
Not only has the DHS crackdown on illegal immigrants have bipartisan support in Congress, it was the Democratic Congress, say private prison chiefs, that increased the 2009 budget for the crackdown. "The president only asked for a program funding of $800 million," noted Zoley. "It was the Democratic chairman [of the Homeland Security subcommittee] ... that added another $200 million to this program."
In a post-election conference to report third-quarter revenue increases, CCA board chairman John Ferguson told Wall Street investors: "One budget that was put in place for the full year was immigration customs enforcement ... and the funding for that is for 33,400 beds—that's an increase from 32,000 in the prior fiscal year, and also that compares to a little over 31,000 detainees in [2007]."
"Just to remind everyone," Ferguson told investors, "detainee beds would be sourced from us from several places that immigration customs boys need: that's border apprehensions, people that overstay their visas, [immigrants] that are identified as criminals, and the jails and prisons [that hold immigrants] who have completed their time and will be deported."
Addressing investor fears that recent decreases in illegal immigration inflows might dampen company returns, Ferguson said, "So even though we have seen the border crossings and apprehensions decline in the last couple of years, we are really talking about dealing with a population well north of 12 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States."
The CCA chief assured investors that the company's dependence on detained immigrants is not a factor of policy but rather of law enforcement. "The Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Marshals Services, Immigration, and Customs Enforcement are carrying out statutory obligations for their responsibility ... We should continue to see their utilization of the private sector to meet their statutory obligations and requirements."
The prison executives even intimate that the economic crisis will fatten their business. When asked by an investment company representative about a possible downturn in detained immigrants as a result of new government policies, James Hyman, president of Cornell Companies, said, "We do not believe we will see a decline in the need for detention beds particularly in an economy with rising unemployment among American workers."
What is more, he told investors that there exists a pool of "10 million plus illegal immigrants" the company draws from and there is an "imbalance" between the number of immigrants and number of available prison beds.
Cornell also waxed enthusiastic about the continued good prospects for its prison business based on immigrant numbers and federal commitment to enforcement and "prison beds." Hyman said, "Today, ICE has about 33,000 detention beds available, which seems small but has increased substantially from only 20,000 beds in 2005. The Federal Bureau of Prisons, which houses criminal aliens and today has about 52,000 beds in their system, including 22,000 inmates housed in the private prisons."
To illustrate the increase in business generated by immigrants, Hyman pointed out that the "Southwest Border Districts for the USMS [U.S. Marshals Service] have about 19,000 detainees today, which is over a 70% increase since the beginning of the decade"—driven by the immigration crackdown including almost doubling of the number of Border Patrol agents.
But won't the economic downturn mean decreased state and local budgets for incarceration? None of the private prison firms seem too worried.
CCA's Chief Financial Officer Todd Mullenger offered investors a rosy forecast. "The other thing that could be on the positive side," he said, "[is that] we could see some new states or existing states come to us with a more aggressive push toward privatization to help them reduce their budget shortfall." Moreover, "they might be willing to shutter some old inefficient facilities ... and outsource those inmates as a cost-cutting mechanism."
"Remember we're in two markets—the state market and the federal market," noted Zoley of GEO Group. "At the state level you're obviously hearing about states with different deficits all around the country including the Sunbelt states where our customers are primarily located. But from coast to coast we're seeing the continued need for more capacity. Florida itself has a budget deficit I think of $3 billion or $4 billion, and yet in the last month it just issued an award to us for a new 2,000-bed facility."
Full of confidence that the private prison industry is the business to be in these days, Zoley confidently added: "The federal market is being driven for the most part as we've been discussing by the need for criminal alien detention beds. That's being consistently funded."
Tom Barry directs the TransBorder Project of the Americas Policy Program (www.americaspolicy.org) at the Center for International Policy in Washington, DC. He blogs at http://borderlinesblog.blogspot.com/.
To reprint this article, please contact americas@ciponline.org. The opinions expressed here are the author's and do not necessarily represent the views of the CIP Americas Policy Program or the Center for International Policy.
For More Information
Expect "Rule of Law" to Rule Immigration Policy
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5696
Reframing the Immigration Debate: The Actors and the Issues
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/2959
Chertoff's Challenge to Obama
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5647
The Deterrence Strategy of Homeland Security
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5269
Americas Policy Program, Center for International Policy (CIP)
americas.irc-online.org
Immigrants are behind one of America's fastest growing, most profitable industries. That shouldn't come as a surprise. Immigrants have always been a core factor in U.S. economic development.
Mining, railroads, agribusiness, and, recently, construction have been among the many U.S. industries that historically been driven by an abundant supply of immigrants. But now, when the economy is imploding, most industries are shedding immigrants. The private prison industry, however, is booming, largely because of the ever-increasing supply of immigrants supplied by the federal government.
In the past, when the government detained immigrants—legal or illegal—they were placed in one of a handful of official processing centers where they awaited a hearing or deportation. The Department of Homeland Security still runs seven immigrant detention centers.
Since the early 1980s, sparked by the Reagan administration's new enthusiasm for privatization and the free market, the Justice Department and now also DHS have been outsourcing most of the immigrant detainees to private firms that own or manage scores of prisons that annually hold hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
At a time when most other industries are reporting slackening consumer demand and plunging revenues, the executives of the major private companies providing prison services attribute their fortunes to the sorry fate of America's immigrant population. They routinely tell investors that their major "customers"—Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Marshals Service, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—keep "bed occupancy" near capacity.
To understand how well the prison business is faring and how immigrants are key to prison profits, you can listen in on the prison firms' quarterly conference calls with major Wall Street investment firms. In early November, the country's prison corporations reported soaring profits.
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the country's oldest and largest prison corporation, boasted that it enjoyed a $33.6 million increase in the third quarter over last year, while earnings rose 15% during the same period. Formerly known as Wackenhut, GEO Group, the nation's second largest prison company, saw its earnings jump 29% over 2007. Another private prison firm that imprisons immigrants is Cornell Companies, and it reported a 9% increase in net revenues in the third quarter.
Private prisons have been booming over the past eight years. From 2000 to 2005, the number of private prisons increased from 16% of all prisons to 23%. All of the increase in federal prisons has been in prisons owned or operated by private firms.
Immigrants are the fastest growing sector of the federal detainees and prisoners, and there are hundreds of millions of dollars to be made by enterprising businesses and governments. The annual ICE budget for "detention and removal" is $1.2 billion.
In addition, the Justice Department's Office for the Detention Trustee has hundreds of contracts with local governments and private prison firms that provide beds for immigrants. Both ICE and OFDT have special offices that oversee the outsourcing of its immigrant prisoners. OFDT even boasts of its "enterprise" system of detention.
Private prison companies aren't worried that the Democratic Party sweep will mean that fewer immigrants are sent their way because of party promises of enacting comprehensive immigration reform. GEO Group's chairman George Zoley assured investors on Nov. 3: "These federal initiatives to target, detain, and deport criminal aliens throughout the country will continue to drive the need for immigration detention beds over the next several years and these initiatives have been fully funded by Congress on a bipartisan basis."
Not only has the DHS crackdown on illegal immigrants have bipartisan support in Congress, it was the Democratic Congress, say private prison chiefs, that increased the 2009 budget for the crackdown. "The president only asked for a program funding of $800 million," noted Zoley. "It was the Democratic chairman [of the Homeland Security subcommittee] ... that added another $200 million to this program."
In a post-election conference to report third-quarter revenue increases, CCA board chairman John Ferguson told Wall Street investors: "One budget that was put in place for the full year was immigration customs enforcement ... and the funding for that is for 33,400 beds—that's an increase from 32,000 in the prior fiscal year, and also that compares to a little over 31,000 detainees in [2007]."
"Just to remind everyone," Ferguson told investors, "detainee beds would be sourced from us from several places that immigration customs boys need: that's border apprehensions, people that overstay their visas, [immigrants] that are identified as criminals, and the jails and prisons [that hold immigrants] who have completed their time and will be deported."
Addressing investor fears that recent decreases in illegal immigration inflows might dampen company returns, Ferguson said, "So even though we have seen the border crossings and apprehensions decline in the last couple of years, we are really talking about dealing with a population well north of 12 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States."
The CCA chief assured investors that the company's dependence on detained immigrants is not a factor of policy but rather of law enforcement. "The Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Marshals Services, Immigration, and Customs Enforcement are carrying out statutory obligations for their responsibility ... We should continue to see their utilization of the private sector to meet their statutory obligations and requirements."
The prison executives even intimate that the economic crisis will fatten their business. When asked by an investment company representative about a possible downturn in detained immigrants as a result of new government policies, James Hyman, president of Cornell Companies, said, "We do not believe we will see a decline in the need for detention beds particularly in an economy with rising unemployment among American workers."
What is more, he told investors that there exists a pool of "10 million plus illegal immigrants" the company draws from and there is an "imbalance" between the number of immigrants and number of available prison beds.
Cornell also waxed enthusiastic about the continued good prospects for its prison business based on immigrant numbers and federal commitment to enforcement and "prison beds." Hyman said, "Today, ICE has about 33,000 detention beds available, which seems small but has increased substantially from only 20,000 beds in 2005. The Federal Bureau of Prisons, which houses criminal aliens and today has about 52,000 beds in their system, including 22,000 inmates housed in the private prisons."
To illustrate the increase in business generated by immigrants, Hyman pointed out that the "Southwest Border Districts for the USMS [U.S. Marshals Service] have about 19,000 detainees today, which is over a 70% increase since the beginning of the decade"—driven by the immigration crackdown including almost doubling of the number of Border Patrol agents.
But won't the economic downturn mean decreased state and local budgets for incarceration? None of the private prison firms seem too worried.
CCA's Chief Financial Officer Todd Mullenger offered investors a rosy forecast. "The other thing that could be on the positive side," he said, "[is that] we could see some new states or existing states come to us with a more aggressive push toward privatization to help them reduce their budget shortfall." Moreover, "they might be willing to shutter some old inefficient facilities ... and outsource those inmates as a cost-cutting mechanism."
"Remember we're in two markets—the state market and the federal market," noted Zoley of GEO Group. "At the state level you're obviously hearing about states with different deficits all around the country including the Sunbelt states where our customers are primarily located. But from coast to coast we're seeing the continued need for more capacity. Florida itself has a budget deficit I think of $3 billion or $4 billion, and yet in the last month it just issued an award to us for a new 2,000-bed facility."
Full of confidence that the private prison industry is the business to be in these days, Zoley confidently added: "The federal market is being driven for the most part as we've been discussing by the need for criminal alien detention beds. That's being consistently funded."
Tom Barry directs the TransBorder Project of the Americas Policy Program (www.americaspolicy.org) at the Center for International Policy in Washington, DC. He blogs at http://borderlinesblog.blogspot.com/.
To reprint this article, please contact americas@ciponline.org. The opinions expressed here are the author's and do not necessarily represent the views of the CIP Americas Policy Program or the Center for International Policy.
For More Information
Expect "Rule of Law" to Rule Immigration Policy
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5696
Reframing the Immigration Debate: The Actors and the Issues
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/2959
Chertoff's Challenge to Obama
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5647
The Deterrence Strategy of Homeland Security
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5269
Paying the Price of the Immigration Crackdown
Paying the Price of the Immigration Crackdown
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5234
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Stanford law Professor Tino Cuéllar was named this week to lead President-elect Barack Obama's transition working group on immigration, putting him among the many scholars from the Bay Area who are helping shape the next administration.
The team is one of seven policy groups Obama has convened to develop priorities for the first months of his presidency on topics ranging from education to the economy to national security.
The task of overhauling the nation's immigration system stymied President Bush, who favored an approach combining tougher enforcement with legalization for the country's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants and a guest worker program to allow low-skilled foreign workers to enter legally in the future. Congress twice hammered out "comprehensive" bills on the issue, but Bush lacked the political capital to get the measures passed.
Obama must not only navigate the choppy political waters surrounding an immigration reform bill, but also address many related issues - whether to back an electronic workplace verification system up for reauthorization, how to tackle the unwieldy bureaucracy at the citizenship agency and whether to continue the current immigration enforcement raids.
Through a law school spokeswoman, Cuéllar declined to be interviewed, but lawyers and immigration experts across the country praised him Friday for his intellect and his grasp of both regulatory minutiae and the big picture of American immigration policy.
"He's brilliant beyond his years," said John Trasviña, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who met Cuéllar when he was a law student at Yale and encouraged him to go to work in Washington.
At 36, Cuéllar already has an impressive resume. Raised on the U.S.-Mexico border in Calexico (Imperial County), he earned his bachelor's degree at Harvard University before going to Yale Law School and finishing up with a doctorate in political science from Stanford, where he's now a full professor specializing in administrative law.
Along the way, he spent two years at the U.S. Treasury Department under President Bill Clinton, where he worked on fighting money-laundering operations.
Cuéllar has been described as a close adviser to Obama on immigration, and the American Bar Association recently suggested he could be on the short list to head the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency.
"He has considerable experience in the federal government, and his academic work has focused on analysis of complex organizations and the way they administer and devise public policy," said Yale Law School Professor Peter H. Schuck, who was one of Cuéllar's teachers and counts him as a friend. "He'll bring a very keen eye for organizational performance and a very innovative mind."
Cuéllar will co-lead the immigration policy group with Georgetown University Law Center Dean T. Alexander Aleinikoff, who was second in command at the Immigration and Naturalization Service during the Clinton years.
While Aleinikoff's background in immigration law is deep, Cuéllar brings a broader perspective, said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior staff member at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute in Washington.
The fact that Cuéllar grew up on the border may mean he has strong views about the border fence currently being expanded by the Department of Homeland Security, said Chishti.
"He also has ideas on how issues of trade and economic development (in other countries) implicate immigration movements," he said. "I think he will be very responsive to the concerns of American workers in the immigration debate."
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5234
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Stanford law Professor Tino Cuéllar was named this week to lead President-elect Barack Obama's transition working group on immigration, putting him among the many scholars from the Bay Area who are helping shape the next administration.
The team is one of seven policy groups Obama has convened to develop priorities for the first months of his presidency on topics ranging from education to the economy to national security.
The task of overhauling the nation's immigration system stymied President Bush, who favored an approach combining tougher enforcement with legalization for the country's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants and a guest worker program to allow low-skilled foreign workers to enter legally in the future. Congress twice hammered out "comprehensive" bills on the issue, but Bush lacked the political capital to get the measures passed.
Obama must not only navigate the choppy political waters surrounding an immigration reform bill, but also address many related issues - whether to back an electronic workplace verification system up for reauthorization, how to tackle the unwieldy bureaucracy at the citizenship agency and whether to continue the current immigration enforcement raids.
Through a law school spokeswoman, Cuéllar declined to be interviewed, but lawyers and immigration experts across the country praised him Friday for his intellect and his grasp of both regulatory minutiae and the big picture of American immigration policy.
"He's brilliant beyond his years," said John Trasviña, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who met Cuéllar when he was a law student at Yale and encouraged him to go to work in Washington.
At 36, Cuéllar already has an impressive resume. Raised on the U.S.-Mexico border in Calexico (Imperial County), he earned his bachelor's degree at Harvard University before going to Yale Law School and finishing up with a doctorate in political science from Stanford, where he's now a full professor specializing in administrative law.
Along the way, he spent two years at the U.S. Treasury Department under President Bill Clinton, where he worked on fighting money-laundering operations.
Cuéllar has been described as a close adviser to Obama on immigration, and the American Bar Association recently suggested he could be on the short list to head the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency.
"He has considerable experience in the federal government, and his academic work has focused on analysis of complex organizations and the way they administer and devise public policy," said Yale Law School Professor Peter H. Schuck, who was one of Cuéllar's teachers and counts him as a friend. "He'll bring a very keen eye for organizational performance and a very innovative mind."
Cuéllar will co-lead the immigration policy group with Georgetown University Law Center Dean T. Alexander Aleinikoff, who was second in command at the Immigration and Naturalization Service during the Clinton years.
While Aleinikoff's background in immigration law is deep, Cuéllar brings a broader perspective, said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior staff member at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute in Washington.
The fact that Cuéllar grew up on the border may mean he has strong views about the border fence currently being expanded by the Department of Homeland Security, said Chishti.
"He also has ideas on how issues of trade and economic development (in other countries) implicate immigration movements," he said. "I think he will be very responsive to the concerns of American workers in the immigration debate."
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
November 5th, 2008, a new day.
I woke up this morning to my alarm clock, which is the strumming sounds of a guitar. My first words were somewhere along the lines of "that's the Obama's a winner song," or "that's Obama waking me up." I have never felt so blessed, fortunate, safe, and energized about the world around me.
My neighbor, a 10 year girl, saw me tear up this morning on the steps of our apartment as David and the dog drove to work. She told me that she new Obama would win because the other guy didn't look happy. I smiled and told her that it wasn't about that other guy anymore, it is about the fact that Obama's presidency symbolizes possibility. She looked at me, paused, and said, "ya, that too."
As an immigrant, I have not always celebrated it. In fact, a great deal of my life has been spent in fear of what I am not and in fear of government policies determined by people who have never felt oppression running through their veins. As an immigrant child I was instilled to believe that I was less than and that no matter how hard I worked there would be that glass ceiling and that that was okay, because that's reality.
Obama's presidency puts all of that to the wayside. Obama's presidency just made anything possible, in the most beautiful way, for every person, including me. YES WE CAN! YES WE WILL.
My neighbor, a 10 year girl, saw me tear up this morning on the steps of our apartment as David and the dog drove to work. She told me that she new Obama would win because the other guy didn't look happy. I smiled and told her that it wasn't about that other guy anymore, it is about the fact that Obama's presidency symbolizes possibility. She looked at me, paused, and said, "ya, that too."
As an immigrant, I have not always celebrated it. In fact, a great deal of my life has been spent in fear of what I am not and in fear of government policies determined by people who have never felt oppression running through their veins. As an immigrant child I was instilled to believe that I was less than and that no matter how hard I worked there would be that glass ceiling and that that was okay, because that's reality.
Obama's presidency puts all of that to the wayside. Obama's presidency just made anything possible, in the most beautiful way, for every person, including me. YES WE CAN! YES WE WILL.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
4th National Grassroots Immigrant Strategy Conference
April 10-12, 2009 UIC College of Medicine, Chicago, IL
http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org/2009Conference/
Tel: (202)595-8990
Stop Immigrant Raids! Support Immigrant Workers Rights!
Together We Build A New Immigrant Rights Movement!
Calling for Workshop and Speaker Proposals
Mark Your Calendar!
National Immigrant Solidarity Network (NISN), the leading national immigrant activist network, is calling for 4th Grassroots Immigrant Strategy Conference the weekend of April 10-12, 2009 at Chicago, IL!
The conference will be our strategy planning meeting for grassroots immigrant activists looking 2009 and beyond. We want to send a clear message to the Congress and our new President: Stop Immigrant Raids! Support Immigrant Workers Rights!
For more information, please visit: http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org/2009Conference/
We're begin accepting program, workshops and speakers proposals (See blow our workshop/program focus), please download the workshop proposal form (PDF, Word), and send your proposal to: siuhin@aol.com and info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org
Our Focus:
The conference will focus on building multi-ethnic, multi-constituent, broad-based grassroots immigrant rights movements run by de-centralized volunteer-based community-rooted immigrant rights activists from youth, workers and community members who can play more active role on campaign formulation and decision making for local coalition building to organize popular education campaigns, such as: campaign to against immigrant dentition, deportation & raids; immigrant labor rights movement; campaign against local anti-immigrant ordinance; and linking the immigrant rights movement with other struggles, such as: anti-war and anti-globalization movements.
We'll also discuss the lessons from the 2008 election and what we should expect from the new President and the Congress affecting immigrant legislation for the next two years.
Workshops and Strategic Campaign Proposal:
The conference will be focus on the following areas, at the end of the conference, we'll draft a strategic campaign proposal.
- 2008 Elections and How It'll Impact Immigrant Rights Movement
- Linking Immigrant Rights Movements with Other Struggles
- Immigrant Raids, Detention & Deportation
- Immigrant Labor Campaigns and Day Labor Centers
- Housing, Education and Healthcare Rights for the Immigrants
- No to the Border Wall and Militization of the Border
- Strategic Resources for the Immigrant Activists
- Support Local Chicago Grassroots Immigrant Campaigns
- Building a Multi-ethnic, Multi-Constituents-Based Immigrant Rights Movement
- Congressional Immigrant Legislation
- International Immigrant Rights Campaigns
Please contact us: siuhin@aol.com and info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org if you can help us.
In solidarity!
Lee Siu Hin
National Coordinator
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
4th National Grassroots Immigrant Strategy Conference
April 10-12, 2009 UIC College of Medicine, Chicago, IL
http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org/2009Conference/
Tel: (202)595-8990
Stop Immigrant Raids! Support Immigrant Workers Rights!
Together We Build A New Immigrant Rights Movement!
Calling for Workshop and Speaker Proposals
Mark Your Calendar!
National Immigrant Solidarity Network (NISN), the leading national immigrant activist network, is calling for 4th Grassroots Immigrant Strategy Conference the weekend of April 10-12, 2009 at Chicago, IL!
The conference will be our strategy planning meeting for grassroots immigrant activists looking 2009 and beyond. We want to send a clear message to the Congress and our new President: Stop Immigrant Raids! Support Immigrant Workers Rights!
For more information, please visit: http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org/2009Conference/
We're begin accepting program, workshops and speakers proposals (See blow our workshop/program focus), please download the workshop proposal form (PDF, Word), and send your proposal to: siuhin@aol.com and info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org
Our Focus:
The conference will focus on building multi-ethnic, multi-constituent, broad-based grassroots immigrant rights movements run by de-centralized volunteer-based community-rooted immigrant rights activists from youth, workers and community members who can play more active role on campaign formulation and decision making for local coalition building to organize popular education campaigns, such as: campaign to against immigrant dentition, deportation & raids; immigrant labor rights movement; campaign against local anti-immigrant ordinance; and linking the immigrant rights movement with other struggles, such as: anti-war and anti-globalization movements.
We'll also discuss the lessons from the 2008 election and what we should expect from the new President and the Congress affecting immigrant legislation for the next two years.
Workshops and Strategic Campaign Proposal:
The conference will be focus on the following areas, at the end of the conference, we'll draft a strategic campaign proposal.
- 2008 Elections and How It'll Impact Immigrant Rights Movement
- Linking Immigrant Rights Movements with Other Struggles
- Immigrant Raids, Detention & Deportation
- Immigrant Labor Campaigns and Day Labor Centers
- Housing, Education and Healthcare Rights for the Immigrants
- No to the Border Wall and Militization of the Border
- Strategic Resources for the Immigrant Activists
- Support Local Chicago Grassroots Immigrant Campaigns
- Building a Multi-ethnic, Multi-Constituents-Based Immigrant Rights Movement
- Congressional Immigrant Legislation
- International Immigrant Rights Campaigns
Please contact us: siuhin@aol.com and info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org if you can help us.
In solidarity!
Lee Siu Hin
National Coordinator
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
Tourist Trap: Homeland Security sets up a new San Jose office to apprehend immigrant fugitives
Homeland Security sets up a new San Jose office to apprehend immigrant fugitives
By Raj Jayadev
ELOY, Ariz., is nothing like San Jose. More than a thousand miles away, located in the middle of the desert, it is a blazingly hot, desolate and unremarkable town roughly an hour-and-a-half south of Phoenix. It's so secluded that Greyhound doesn't even go there.
Eloy is host to one of the country's largest immigration detention centers. And now, a week after the largest immigration enforcement operation in California history, the distance from San Jose and Eloy already seems significantly shorter.
An estimated 436 people were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from the Bay Area, in what amounted to a sort of coming-out party for ICE's new San Jose Fugitive Operation Team (FOT).
Many of those who were picked up are likely headed to Eloy, and immigrant communities locally are on notice—the South Bay is in a new era of immigration enforcement.
ICE was established in 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. In order to expand ICE's field efforts, it created Fugitive Operation Teams to locate, arrest and remove "fugitives" from the United States. ICE defines a fugitive as "an alien who has failed to report to a Detention and Removal Officer after receiving notice to do so."
In 2003, there were eight teams created nationwide. By 2007, the first year since its inception that ICE reported a decline in its case backlog, there were 75 teams. As of Aug. 1, ICE's case backlog was just over 570,000, and the division had 95 Fugitive Operation Teams. ICE expects to have over 100 by the end of year. They have arrested 26,945 people so far in 2008.
Craig Myer, ICE's assistant field office director in San Francisco, says the recent three-week enforcement "surge" and first assignment of the San Jose Fugitive Operation Team was a major success.
"To have a team in San Jose means we can be out there more often, and have more flexibility to cover Northern California," Myers says. While Myers says they were not able to track the number of arrests specifically in San Jose, he estimates there are around 4,000 to 6,000 people locally that may be targeted by their efforts. The large number, Myers says, is why ICE in June of this year located a team in San Jose.
Will the Surge Work?
Virginia Kice, ICE's Western Regional Communications director, cannot say how large the San Jose ICE team is, but a 2007 report from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) says a team typically has seven members. The report also points to significantly climbing arrest goals per team.
The goal of each team in 2003 was 125 people, by 2006 that number jumped to 1,000 per team. That jump is consistent with the Office of Detention and Removal Operations Strategic Plan, "Endgame," indicating that the national aim of the FOT is to "eliminate the backlog of fugitive aliens by the end of 2012."
Despite a sharp escalation of arrests, the OIG report documented several critiques of the Fugitive Operation Team model. Among other conclusions the 2007 report states: "Fugitive alien apprehensions reported did not accurately reflect the teams' activities. ... [T]he teams performed duties unrelated to fugitive operations, contrary to Office of Detention and Removal Operations Policy."
The review points to ways the FOT can improve, given their aggressive goals, and notes their case logs may be "growing at a rate that exceeds the teams' ability to apprehend." Considering that there are now an estimated 12 million undocumented people in the United States, according to the Pew Institute's Hispanic Center, the potential backlog of cases could be enormous.
Angie Junk, staff attorney for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), is not surprised by the new San Jose Fugitive Operation Team or its surge strategy, but says immigrant communities in the South Bay now need to be particularly vigilant in protecting their rights.
"These enforcement increases are going to create an atmosphere of fear and terror, and will threaten due process for all in the community," Junk says. The ILRC, based in San Francisco, has created "know your rights" cards (which explain due process rights such as the right to attorney). The group has also established community raid networks and triage centers to help people deal with enforcement issues, and help families respond to an arrest.
"ICE has a history of violating people's rights by racially profiling, threatening and using unlawful interrogation techniques while picking up their targets," Junk says.
Kice points out that Fugitive Operation Teams do not conduct mass sweeps, but rather have individual targets.
However, Junk says that the teams often arrest whoever they may come upon during an operation. Myers confirms that this is common practice, and calls these actions "collateral arrests."
"If we go to a place, we are going to check everyone's identifying documents, and enforce the law," he says.
That accounts for a discrepancy of numbers. In last week's surge, ICE reported 436 arrests, and said that 185 of those were immigration fugitives. The rest, a significant majority, were collateral apprehensions or individuals that were not initially targeted by the FOT.
For now, Myers says, there is no active relationship between the federal agency and local law enforcement.
Relocating to San Jose or Silicon Valley? Let San Jose.com introduce you to some expert area real estate agents.
"We notified them of our operation for courtesy, but they did not assist," he says. When asked if ICE will be employing more statewide surge tactics, given the large number of arrests, he says that he does not know of any upcoming plans.
Either way, he expects the new San Jose Fugitive Operations Team to be busy.
"While the big enforcement operations get a lot of media responses," he says, "we are out there everyday, trying to meet our goal."
By Raj Jayadev
ELOY, Ariz., is nothing like San Jose. More than a thousand miles away, located in the middle of the desert, it is a blazingly hot, desolate and unremarkable town roughly an hour-and-a-half south of Phoenix. It's so secluded that Greyhound doesn't even go there.
Eloy is host to one of the country's largest immigration detention centers. And now, a week after the largest immigration enforcement operation in California history, the distance from San Jose and Eloy already seems significantly shorter.
An estimated 436 people were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from the Bay Area, in what amounted to a sort of coming-out party for ICE's new San Jose Fugitive Operation Team (FOT).
Many of those who were picked up are likely headed to Eloy, and immigrant communities locally are on notice—the South Bay is in a new era of immigration enforcement.
ICE was established in 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. In order to expand ICE's field efforts, it created Fugitive Operation Teams to locate, arrest and remove "fugitives" from the United States. ICE defines a fugitive as "an alien who has failed to report to a Detention and Removal Officer after receiving notice to do so."
In 2003, there were eight teams created nationwide. By 2007, the first year since its inception that ICE reported a decline in its case backlog, there were 75 teams. As of Aug. 1, ICE's case backlog was just over 570,000, and the division had 95 Fugitive Operation Teams. ICE expects to have over 100 by the end of year. They have arrested 26,945 people so far in 2008.
Craig Myer, ICE's assistant field office director in San Francisco, says the recent three-week enforcement "surge" and first assignment of the San Jose Fugitive Operation Team was a major success.
"To have a team in San Jose means we can be out there more often, and have more flexibility to cover Northern California," Myers says. While Myers says they were not able to track the number of arrests specifically in San Jose, he estimates there are around 4,000 to 6,000 people locally that may be targeted by their efforts. The large number, Myers says, is why ICE in June of this year located a team in San Jose.
Will the Surge Work?
Virginia Kice, ICE's Western Regional Communications director, cannot say how large the San Jose ICE team is, but a 2007 report from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) says a team typically has seven members. The report also points to significantly climbing arrest goals per team.
The goal of each team in 2003 was 125 people, by 2006 that number jumped to 1,000 per team. That jump is consistent with the Office of Detention and Removal Operations Strategic Plan, "Endgame," indicating that the national aim of the FOT is to "eliminate the backlog of fugitive aliens by the end of 2012."
Despite a sharp escalation of arrests, the OIG report documented several critiques of the Fugitive Operation Team model. Among other conclusions the 2007 report states: "Fugitive alien apprehensions reported did not accurately reflect the teams' activities. ... [T]he teams performed duties unrelated to fugitive operations, contrary to Office of Detention and Removal Operations Policy."
The review points to ways the FOT can improve, given their aggressive goals, and notes their case logs may be "growing at a rate that exceeds the teams' ability to apprehend." Considering that there are now an estimated 12 million undocumented people in the United States, according to the Pew Institute's Hispanic Center, the potential backlog of cases could be enormous.
Angie Junk, staff attorney for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), is not surprised by the new San Jose Fugitive Operation Team or its surge strategy, but says immigrant communities in the South Bay now need to be particularly vigilant in protecting their rights.
"These enforcement increases are going to create an atmosphere of fear and terror, and will threaten due process for all in the community," Junk says. The ILRC, based in San Francisco, has created "know your rights" cards (which explain due process rights such as the right to attorney). The group has also established community raid networks and triage centers to help people deal with enforcement issues, and help families respond to an arrest.
"ICE has a history of violating people's rights by racially profiling, threatening and using unlawful interrogation techniques while picking up their targets," Junk says.
Kice points out that Fugitive Operation Teams do not conduct mass sweeps, but rather have individual targets.
However, Junk says that the teams often arrest whoever they may come upon during an operation. Myers confirms that this is common practice, and calls these actions "collateral arrests."
"If we go to a place, we are going to check everyone's identifying documents, and enforce the law," he says.
That accounts for a discrepancy of numbers. In last week's surge, ICE reported 436 arrests, and said that 185 of those were immigration fugitives. The rest, a significant majority, were collateral apprehensions or individuals that were not initially targeted by the FOT.
For now, Myers says, there is no active relationship between the federal agency and local law enforcement.
Relocating to San Jose or Silicon Valley? Let San Jose.com introduce you to some expert area real estate agents.
"We notified them of our operation for courtesy, but they did not assist," he says. When asked if ICE will be employing more statewide surge tactics, given the large number of arrests, he says that he does not know of any upcoming plans.
Either way, he expects the new San Jose Fugitive Operations Team to be busy.
"While the big enforcement operations get a lot of media responses," he says, "we are out there everyday, trying to meet our goal."
300 workers arrested in raid at poultry plant...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/08/poultry.plant.raid
CNN.com
Powered by
300 workers arrested in raid at poultry plant
* Story Highlights
* Federal immigration agents conduct raid at plant in Greenville,
South Carolina
* About 58 allowed to return to their homes to take care of their children
* No response from Columbia Farms or parent company, House of Raeford Farms
(CNN) -- Federal immigration agents arrested about 300 workers Tuesday
in a raid at a poultry processing plant in Greenville, South Carolina,
the Department of Justice said.
The agents executed a criminal search warrant at 9 a.m. at the
Columbia Farms poultry processing plant, capping a 10-month
investigation into the plant's employment practices, said Barbara
Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
About 58 of those arrested were allowed to return to their homes to
take care of their children or for other humanitarian reasons, she
said. The others were to be held in an ICE detention facility in the
area.
"They are all illegals," Gonzalez said. "We have charged them with
being in violation of U.S. immigration laws."
The investigation has already resulted in criminal charges being filed
against 11 supervisors and a human resources manager, she said.
Maria Juan, 22, was one of about 50 relatives and friends of workers
who huddled at the edge of the plant after the raid, some weeping and
others talking frantically on cell phones, The Associated Press
reported.
She was seeking information about her 68-year-old grandmother, a legal
immigrant from Guatemala who went to work without identification
papers but was later released, the AP reported.
"Families are going to be broken apart," Juan told the AP. "There will
be kids and babies left behind. Why are they doing this? Why? They
didn't do anything. They only wanted to work."
No one from Columbia Farms or from its parent company, House of
Raeford Farms in Raeford, North Carolina, responded immediately to
telephone messages.
The Charlotte Observer newspaper first reported in February that plant
workers were in the country illegally and company managers knew it,
the AP reported.
The raid "is a drop in the bucket" that is unlikely to persuade anyone
in the United States illegally to go home, said Dan Kowalski, an
Austin, Texas-based lawyer specializing in immigration law.
He questioned the conclusion by Gonzalez and ICE that all of those
arrested are indeed illegal immigrants.
"A judge has to say that, they can't just say that," he said.
All AboutImmigration • Immigration Policy
CNN.com
Powered by
300 workers arrested in raid at poultry plant
* Story Highlights
* Federal immigration agents conduct raid at plant in Greenville,
South Carolina
* About 58 allowed to return to their homes to take care of their children
* No response from Columbia Farms or parent company, House of Raeford Farms
(CNN) -- Federal immigration agents arrested about 300 workers Tuesday
in a raid at a poultry processing plant in Greenville, South Carolina,
the Department of Justice said.
The agents executed a criminal search warrant at 9 a.m. at the
Columbia Farms poultry processing plant, capping a 10-month
investigation into the plant's employment practices, said Barbara
Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
About 58 of those arrested were allowed to return to their homes to
take care of their children or for other humanitarian reasons, she
said. The others were to be held in an ICE detention facility in the
area.
"They are all illegals," Gonzalez said. "We have charged them with
being in violation of U.S. immigration laws."
The investigation has already resulted in criminal charges being filed
against 11 supervisors and a human resources manager, she said.
Maria Juan, 22, was one of about 50 relatives and friends of workers
who huddled at the edge of the plant after the raid, some weeping and
others talking frantically on cell phones, The Associated Press
reported.
She was seeking information about her 68-year-old grandmother, a legal
immigrant from Guatemala who went to work without identification
papers but was later released, the AP reported.
"Families are going to be broken apart," Juan told the AP. "There will
be kids and babies left behind. Why are they doing this? Why? They
didn't do anything. They only wanted to work."
No one from Columbia Farms or from its parent company, House of
Raeford Farms in Raeford, North Carolina, responded immediately to
telephone messages.
The Charlotte Observer newspaper first reported in February that plant
workers were in the country illegally and company managers knew it,
the AP reported.
The raid "is a drop in the bucket" that is unlikely to persuade anyone
in the United States illegally to go home, said Dan Kowalski, an
Austin, Texas-based lawyer specializing in immigration law.
He questioned the conclusion by Gonzalez and ICE that all of those
arrested are indeed illegal immigrants.
"A judge has to say that, they can't just say that," he said.
All AboutImmigration • Immigration Policy
Only the migrant workers, not the government or any institution, are the rightful owners of the billions of dollars in remittances that they have earn
OFW remittances only for OFWs--advocate
Gov't hit for 'wrong' view
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20081028-168877/OFW-remittances-only-for-OFWs--advocate
First Posted 12:45:00 10/28/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- Only the migrant workers, not the government or any institution, are the rightful owners of the billions of dollars in remittances that they have earned in foreign lands, a US-based sociology professor and an advocate of migrants' rights said.
Jorge A. Bustamante, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants and Nobel Peace Prize nominee in 2006, said that it was a "wrong perspective" for governments to put the "responsibility of development on the shoulders of migrants" whose remittances, in the case of the Philippines, have kept the economy afloat amid the financial crunch worldwide.
"I think this is something important to clarify because this lack of appreciation is making the wrong perspective about the nature of remittances because sometimes when migration is associated with dependency some people believe that economic development has to be related with remittances, and that would be a wrong perspective, that would be unfair to the migrants," Bustamante said in his remark at the solidarity dinner of parliamentarians hosted by Senate President Manuel Villar and Representative Cynthia Villar late Monday at the Villa Pacencia Laurel in Mandaluyong City.
However, Bustamante stressed that he delivered his statements as an academician, not as UN rapporteur.
He is a professor of sociology, teaching international migration and human rights at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
The event was organized simultaneous with the opening of the Global Forum on Migration and Development at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
Bustamante is scheduled to attend the counterpart forum organized by progressive migrant workers group, the International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees.
"Remittances are the result of the work of migrants and they represent their savings that have the basic objective to support their families at home. Therefore remittances are the property of migrants and nobody else, therefore, this money that belongs to the migrants should not be associated with any claim by any institution, government or private, which might think that remittances should be used for the purposes of economic development," he said.
He said such claims "would be unfair and incongruent with
the nature of remittances, and this is something that has to do with the need to clarify some of the problems that we associate with the phenomenon of international migration all over the world."
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo repeatedly boasted that the remittances of the country's eight million overseas Filipino workers (OFW) have kept the economy afloat amid the international financial turmoil.
In 2007, OFW remittances totaled $14.4 billion.
Asked in an interview about the dangers of government treating remittances as its property, Bustamante said, "The danger is that remittances that are the property of migrants are stolen because only the migrants can decide what should be the destination of their own property."
Bustamante said governments should keep in mind that remittances were not touched for other purposes "than those that have been decided by the migrants themselves."
"Migrants are the only persons that could decide on what is the destination of their own money," he added.
John Monterona, coordinator of the group Migrante for Middle East, lamented that government fees and taxes imposed on OFWs were not being used for the benefit of the migrant workers.
The Overseas Welfare Workers Administration (OWWA) charges $25 each as membership fee for departing OFWs and $.015 for documentary stamp, he said.
With about 3,000 Filpinos leaving every day to work abroad, Monterona said the government through the OWWA earned billions in pesos from the OFWs.
"The question is where does OWWA spend its more than P10-billion fund," he said in an interview.
Gary Martinez, Migrante International spokesman, said that despite the contributions of the OFWs, the government has been remiss in its duty to protect the welfare of the workers.
He lamented that thousands of distressed OFWs remained in shelters without assistance from the Philippine embassy or consular offices.
Some of the workers on the death row are also deprived of legal assistance.
Martinez said that 29 Filipinos were facing death sentences in various countries.
Gov't hit for 'wrong' view
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20081028-168877/OFW-remittances-only-for-OFWs--advocate
First Posted 12:45:00 10/28/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- Only the migrant workers, not the government or any institution, are the rightful owners of the billions of dollars in remittances that they have earned in foreign lands, a US-based sociology professor and an advocate of migrants' rights said.
Jorge A. Bustamante, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants and Nobel Peace Prize nominee in 2006, said that it was a "wrong perspective" for governments to put the "responsibility of development on the shoulders of migrants" whose remittances, in the case of the Philippines, have kept the economy afloat amid the financial crunch worldwide.
"I think this is something important to clarify because this lack of appreciation is making the wrong perspective about the nature of remittances because sometimes when migration is associated with dependency some people believe that economic development has to be related with remittances, and that would be a wrong perspective, that would be unfair to the migrants," Bustamante said in his remark at the solidarity dinner of parliamentarians hosted by Senate President Manuel Villar and Representative Cynthia Villar late Monday at the Villa Pacencia Laurel in Mandaluyong City.
However, Bustamante stressed that he delivered his statements as an academician, not as UN rapporteur.
He is a professor of sociology, teaching international migration and human rights at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
The event was organized simultaneous with the opening of the Global Forum on Migration and Development at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
Bustamante is scheduled to attend the counterpart forum organized by progressive migrant workers group, the International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees.
"Remittances are the result of the work of migrants and they represent their savings that have the basic objective to support their families at home. Therefore remittances are the property of migrants and nobody else, therefore, this money that belongs to the migrants should not be associated with any claim by any institution, government or private, which might think that remittances should be used for the purposes of economic development," he said.
He said such claims "would be unfair and incongruent with
the nature of remittances, and this is something that has to do with the need to clarify some of the problems that we associate with the phenomenon of international migration all over the world."
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo repeatedly boasted that the remittances of the country's eight million overseas Filipino workers (OFW) have kept the economy afloat amid the international financial turmoil.
In 2007, OFW remittances totaled $14.4 billion.
Asked in an interview about the dangers of government treating remittances as its property, Bustamante said, "The danger is that remittances that are the property of migrants are stolen because only the migrants can decide what should be the destination of their own property."
Bustamante said governments should keep in mind that remittances were not touched for other purposes "than those that have been decided by the migrants themselves."
"Migrants are the only persons that could decide on what is the destination of their own money," he added.
John Monterona, coordinator of the group Migrante for Middle East, lamented that government fees and taxes imposed on OFWs were not being used for the benefit of the migrant workers.
The Overseas Welfare Workers Administration (OWWA) charges $25 each as membership fee for departing OFWs and $.015 for documentary stamp, he said.
With about 3,000 Filpinos leaving every day to work abroad, Monterona said the government through the OWWA earned billions in pesos from the OFWs.
"The question is where does OWWA spend its more than P10-billion fund," he said in an interview.
Gary Martinez, Migrante International spokesman, said that despite the contributions of the OFWs, the government has been remiss in its duty to protect the welfare of the workers.
He lamented that thousands of distressed OFWs remained in shelters without assistance from the Philippine embassy or consular offices.
Some of the workers on the death row are also deprived of legal assistance.
Martinez said that 29 Filipinos were facing death sentences in various countries.
The police arrested 10 immigrants in Jackson Heights
NYtimes.com
October 22, 2008
Police, Responding to Complaints, Arrest 10 Men at Day Laborer Gathering Place
By KIRK SEMPLE and AL BAKER
The police arrested 10 immigrants on Tuesday on charges that they blocked a sidewalk at a popular gathering place for day laborers in Jackson Heights, Queens, the chief spokesman of the Police Department said.
The arrests came in response to repeated calls from neighborhood residents complaining about the laborers —most of them undocumented — who congregate every day at the intersection of Broadway, 37th Avenue and 69th Street, said the spokesman, Paul J. Browne.
“Police responded to community complaints about them blocking the sidewalk and congregating,” Mr. Browne said, adding that there were 50 to 60 workers at the location on Tuesday morning before the arrests.
“We responded and asked them to disperse,” Mr. Brown said. “All but 10 of them did.”
Several day laborers who were at the intersection on Tuesday afternoon and said they had witnessed the arrests, denied that the police had given the men an opportunity to disperse. The police, they say, pulled up in two vans, demanded identification from a group of workers clustered near the curb, and took those men away.
Those arrested were charged with disorderly conduct for blocking pedestrian traffic and were taken to a local precinct, where they were being held pending arraignment, Mr. Browne said.
They were unable to provide verifiable identification, Mr. Browne said.
The arrests shocked day laborers who congregate at the intersection. By Tuesday afternoon, several hours after the arrests, about two dozen had returned to the site. The men, some of whom had been going to the intersection for more than three years, said it was the first time the police had arrested workers there.
Indeed, city authorities for years have generally left day laborers alone at the dozens of sites across the city where they gather to wait for work.
But the authorities said that Tuesday’s police action was simply a response to neighborhood complaints and did not represent the start of a crackdown on day laborers.
Mr. Browne described the action as “a police commander responding to complaints” from residents about “a large group congregating.”
Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Los Angeles, called the arrests “troubling.”
“If they were arrested for disorderly conduct based on the theory that they were blocking the sidewalk, that would be very serious because it raises First Amendment questions,” he said.
Federal courts, Mr. Newman added, have ruled that day laborers enjoy the same First Amendment protections as other people, particularly in public areas like sidewalks.
A 28-year-old Mexican laborer who would give only his first name, Enrique, said he was standing with the other laborers at the intersection late Tuesday morning when the two police vans arrived.
“One officer got out and said in Spanish: ‘You guys can’t be here. Come here and show me your identification,’ ” he recalled, and added that he and several other workers sidled away, ignoring calls from the officers to return. “I didn’t stop,” he said.
Several laborers who witnessed the arrests said they did not hear the police explain why the men were being detained.
“It’s abuse,” said Jorge, 26, a laborer from Ecuador.
A diminutive Mexican woman pushing a 2-year-old boy in a stroller appeared at the intersection, tears dampening her cheeks. She said her husband was one of those arrested.
He had called her on his cellphone as the police started asking the men for identification, said the woman, who gave only her first name, Olivia.
She said that both she and her husband were in the country illegally and had four children, all of whom had been born in the United States. She said she was afraid that her husband was going to be deported.
“He’s the one who works,” Olivia said, sobbing. “Who’s going to support the four children now?”
October 22, 2008
Police, Responding to Complaints, Arrest 10 Men at Day Laborer Gathering Place
By KIRK SEMPLE and AL BAKER
The police arrested 10 immigrants on Tuesday on charges that they blocked a sidewalk at a popular gathering place for day laborers in Jackson Heights, Queens, the chief spokesman of the Police Department said.
The arrests came in response to repeated calls from neighborhood residents complaining about the laborers —most of them undocumented — who congregate every day at the intersection of Broadway, 37th Avenue and 69th Street, said the spokesman, Paul J. Browne.
“Police responded to community complaints about them blocking the sidewalk and congregating,” Mr. Browne said, adding that there were 50 to 60 workers at the location on Tuesday morning before the arrests.
“We responded and asked them to disperse,” Mr. Brown said. “All but 10 of them did.”
Several day laborers who were at the intersection on Tuesday afternoon and said they had witnessed the arrests, denied that the police had given the men an opportunity to disperse. The police, they say, pulled up in two vans, demanded identification from a group of workers clustered near the curb, and took those men away.
Those arrested were charged with disorderly conduct for blocking pedestrian traffic and were taken to a local precinct, where they were being held pending arraignment, Mr. Browne said.
They were unable to provide verifiable identification, Mr. Browne said.
The arrests shocked day laborers who congregate at the intersection. By Tuesday afternoon, several hours after the arrests, about two dozen had returned to the site. The men, some of whom had been going to the intersection for more than three years, said it was the first time the police had arrested workers there.
Indeed, city authorities for years have generally left day laborers alone at the dozens of sites across the city where they gather to wait for work.
But the authorities said that Tuesday’s police action was simply a response to neighborhood complaints and did not represent the start of a crackdown on day laborers.
Mr. Browne described the action as “a police commander responding to complaints” from residents about “a large group congregating.”
Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Los Angeles, called the arrests “troubling.”
“If they were arrested for disorderly conduct based on the theory that they were blocking the sidewalk, that would be very serious because it raises First Amendment questions,” he said.
Federal courts, Mr. Newman added, have ruled that day laborers enjoy the same First Amendment protections as other people, particularly in public areas like sidewalks.
A 28-year-old Mexican laborer who would give only his first name, Enrique, said he was standing with the other laborers at the intersection late Tuesday morning when the two police vans arrived.
“One officer got out and said in Spanish: ‘You guys can’t be here. Come here and show me your identification,’ ” he recalled, and added that he and several other workers sidled away, ignoring calls from the officers to return. “I didn’t stop,” he said.
Several laborers who witnessed the arrests said they did not hear the police explain why the men were being detained.
“It’s abuse,” said Jorge, 26, a laborer from Ecuador.
A diminutive Mexican woman pushing a 2-year-old boy in a stroller appeared at the intersection, tears dampening her cheeks. She said her husband was one of those arrested.
He had called her on his cellphone as the police started asking the men for identification, said the woman, who gave only her first name, Olivia.
She said that both she and her husband were in the country illegally and had four children, all of whom had been born in the United States. She said she was afraid that her husband was going to be deported.
“He’s the one who works,” Olivia said, sobbing. “Who’s going to support the four children now?”
Border protection funds steady as illegal immigration stalls
Border protection funds steady as illegal immigration stalls
by Erica L. Green
Oct 09, 2008
WASHINGTON--On the heels of a vote by Congress to provide a steady flow of funds for beefing up immigration enforcement, a new study shows that the number of immigrants illegally crossing the border into the United States has actually stalled.
The study, released by the Pew Hispanic Center, showed that between 2000 and 2005, about 800,000 illegal immigrants entered the U.S. each year. But between the years of 2005 and 2008, an average of 500,000 entered annually, with a year-to-year slowdown.
The study, based on Census data, also found that while undocumented workers still make up 4 percent of the U.S. population--a 40 percent increase since 2000--more immigrants are looking to come into the country through legal means.
Amid the findings about the apparent slowdown, Congress last week approved a 2009 budget of nearly $40 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, with significant amounts going into immigration enforcement and deportation services.
The budget prompted some immigration policy analysts to decry what they deemed a continuation of “dead-end enforcement and deportation-only approaches” to funding Homeland Security, as opposed to the necessity of identifying immigrants who are actually a threat to national security.
“The more attention we spend on people who are really trying to make a living, is less attention that we’re spending on people who are criminals or don’t merit the right to be here,” said Mary Giovagnoli, an advocacy director at the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration think-tank in Washington, D.C.
The Homeland Security budget includes staff increases for Customs and Border Protection, a $775 million outlay for fencing along the border with Mexico, and a near $254 million increase to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Money was also designated to increase the number of detention beds for illegal immigrants rounded up in workplace raids.
“We need to make immigrant communities feel comfortable enough to come forward so that we can root out the ones who engage in criminal activity or who are making immigrant communities unsafe,” Giovagnoli said.
Giovagnoli cited a discontinued program started just last summer by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement--“Operation Scheduled Departure”--which gave illegal immigrants a chance to turn themselves and others in for a penalty-free deportation. Despite low participation, she said it was a step in the right direction.
“It was essentially a failure so they said, ‘Fine, we’ll just step-up the deportation enforcement even more.”
According to ICE, only eight people turned themselves in to the program, indicating a need for more enforcement.
“It was a pilot program in which we were looking to meet some of the criticisms that we weren’t working with families to make their transitions easier, but even when families had the opportunity to comply, they chose not to,” said Cori Bassett, a public affairs officer of ICE. “We have seen increased enforcement in the last year, and there’s always more to do and more resources to work with,”
While the Pew Hispanic Center report acknowledged there was not conclusive evidence explaining the illegal immigrant slowdown, a survey that it released last month showed that heightened enforcement and immigration laws were prevalent concerns among immigrants.
The September survey, which concluded that Hispanics in the U.S. see their situation deteriorating, found that 57 percent of Latinos worry about deportation, and 63 percent said they felt that there had been an increase in immigration enforcement targeted at undocumented immigrants. One-in-ten respondents in the poll said they had been stopped by authorities and questioned about their status.
But Homeland Security officials said even with the slowdown, there’s still a need for increased funding for immigration enforcement.
“We have been committed and have fought for immigration reforms, some of which have failed” said Laura Keehner, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. “But we are forced to enforce the laws that are on the books and carry out the wishes of the American people to protect our border.”
WASHINGTON--On the heels of a vote by Congress to provide a steady flow of funds for beefing up immigration enforcement, a new study shows that the number of immigrants illegally crossing the border into the United States has actually stalled.
The study, released by the Pew Hispanic Center, showed that between 2000 and 2005, about 800,000 illegal immigrants entered the U.S. each year. But between the years of 2005 and 2008, an average of 500,000 entered annually, with a year-to-year slowdown.
The study, based on Census data, also found that while undocumented workers still make up 4 percent of the U.S. population--a 40 percent increase since 2000--more immigrants are looking to come into the country through legal means.
Amid the findings about the apparent slowdown, Congress last week approved a 2009 budget of nearly $40 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, with significant amounts going into immigration enforcement and deportation services.
The budget prompted some immigration policy analysts to decry what they deemed a continuation of “dead-end enforcement and deportation-only approaches” to funding Homeland Security, as opposed to the necessity of identifying immigrants who are actually a threat to national security.
“The more attention we spend on people who are really trying to make a living, is less attention that we’re spending on people who are criminals or don’t merit the right to be here,” said Mary Giovagnoli, an advocacy director at the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration think-tank in Washington, D.C.
The Homeland Security budget includes staff increases for Customs and Border Protection, a $775 million outlay for fencing along the border with Mexico, and a near $254 million increase to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Money was also designated to increase the number of detention beds for illegal immigrants rounded up in workplace raids.
“We need to make immigrant communities feel comfortable enough to come forward so that we can root out the ones who engage in criminal activity or who are making immigrant communities unsafe,” Giovagnoli said.
Giovagnoli cited a discontinued program started just last summer by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement--“Operation Scheduled Departure”--which gave illegal immigrants a chance to turn themselves and others in for a penalty-free deportation. Despite low participation, she said it was a step in the right direction.
“It was essentially a failure so they said, ‘Fine, we’ll just step-up the deportation enforcement even more.”
According to ICE, only eight people turned themselves in to the program, indicating a need for more enforcement.
“It was a pilot program in which we were looking to meet some of the criticisms that we weren’t working with families to make their transitions easier, but even when families had the opportunity to comply, they chose not to,” said Cori Bassett, a public affairs officer of ICE. “We have seen increased enforcement in the last year, and there’s always more to do and more resources to work with,”
While the Pew Hispanic Center report acknowledged there was not conclusive evidence explaining the illegal immigrant slowdown, a survey that it released last month showed that heightened enforcement and immigration laws were prevalent concerns among immigrants.
The September survey, which concluded that Hispanics in the U.S. see their situation deteriorating, found that 57 percent of Latinos worry about deportation, and 63 percent said they felt that there had been an increase in immigration enforcement targeted at undocumented immigrants. One-in-ten respondents in the poll said they had been stopped by authorities and questioned about their status.
But Homeland Security officials said even with the slowdown, there’s still a need for increased funding for immigration enforcement.
“We have been committed and have fought for immigration reforms, some of which have failed” said Laura Keehner, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. “But we are forced to enforce the laws that are on the books and carry out the wishes of the American people to protect our border.”
Dashed line
© Medill Reports, Northwestern University. A Washington publication of the Medill School.
by Erica L. Green
Oct 09, 2008
WASHINGTON--On the heels of a vote by Congress to provide a steady flow of funds for beefing up immigration enforcement, a new study shows that the number of immigrants illegally crossing the border into the United States has actually stalled.
The study, released by the Pew Hispanic Center, showed that between 2000 and 2005, about 800,000 illegal immigrants entered the U.S. each year. But between the years of 2005 and 2008, an average of 500,000 entered annually, with a year-to-year slowdown.
The study, based on Census data, also found that while undocumented workers still make up 4 percent of the U.S. population--a 40 percent increase since 2000--more immigrants are looking to come into the country through legal means.
Amid the findings about the apparent slowdown, Congress last week approved a 2009 budget of nearly $40 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, with significant amounts going into immigration enforcement and deportation services.
The budget prompted some immigration policy analysts to decry what they deemed a continuation of “dead-end enforcement and deportation-only approaches” to funding Homeland Security, as opposed to the necessity of identifying immigrants who are actually a threat to national security.
“The more attention we spend on people who are really trying to make a living, is less attention that we’re spending on people who are criminals or don’t merit the right to be here,” said Mary Giovagnoli, an advocacy director at the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration think-tank in Washington, D.C.
The Homeland Security budget includes staff increases for Customs and Border Protection, a $775 million outlay for fencing along the border with Mexico, and a near $254 million increase to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Money was also designated to increase the number of detention beds for illegal immigrants rounded up in workplace raids.
“We need to make immigrant communities feel comfortable enough to come forward so that we can root out the ones who engage in criminal activity or who are making immigrant communities unsafe,” Giovagnoli said.
Giovagnoli cited a discontinued program started just last summer by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement--“Operation Scheduled Departure”--which gave illegal immigrants a chance to turn themselves and others in for a penalty-free deportation. Despite low participation, she said it was a step in the right direction.
“It was essentially a failure so they said, ‘Fine, we’ll just step-up the deportation enforcement even more.”
According to ICE, only eight people turned themselves in to the program, indicating a need for more enforcement.
“It was a pilot program in which we were looking to meet some of the criticisms that we weren’t working with families to make their transitions easier, but even when families had the opportunity to comply, they chose not to,” said Cori Bassett, a public affairs officer of ICE. “We have seen increased enforcement in the last year, and there’s always more to do and more resources to work with,”
While the Pew Hispanic Center report acknowledged there was not conclusive evidence explaining the illegal immigrant slowdown, a survey that it released last month showed that heightened enforcement and immigration laws were prevalent concerns among immigrants.
The September survey, which concluded that Hispanics in the U.S. see their situation deteriorating, found that 57 percent of Latinos worry about deportation, and 63 percent said they felt that there had been an increase in immigration enforcement targeted at undocumented immigrants. One-in-ten respondents in the poll said they had been stopped by authorities and questioned about their status.
But Homeland Security officials said even with the slowdown, there’s still a need for increased funding for immigration enforcement.
“We have been committed and have fought for immigration reforms, some of which have failed” said Laura Keehner, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. “But we are forced to enforce the laws that are on the books and carry out the wishes of the American people to protect our border.”
WASHINGTON--On the heels of a vote by Congress to provide a steady flow of funds for beefing up immigration enforcement, a new study shows that the number of immigrants illegally crossing the border into the United States has actually stalled.
The study, released by the Pew Hispanic Center, showed that between 2000 and 2005, about 800,000 illegal immigrants entered the U.S. each year. But between the years of 2005 and 2008, an average of 500,000 entered annually, with a year-to-year slowdown.
The study, based on Census data, also found that while undocumented workers still make up 4 percent of the U.S. population--a 40 percent increase since 2000--more immigrants are looking to come into the country through legal means.
Amid the findings about the apparent slowdown, Congress last week approved a 2009 budget of nearly $40 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, with significant amounts going into immigration enforcement and deportation services.
The budget prompted some immigration policy analysts to decry what they deemed a continuation of “dead-end enforcement and deportation-only approaches” to funding Homeland Security, as opposed to the necessity of identifying immigrants who are actually a threat to national security.
“The more attention we spend on people who are really trying to make a living, is less attention that we’re spending on people who are criminals or don’t merit the right to be here,” said Mary Giovagnoli, an advocacy director at the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration think-tank in Washington, D.C.
The Homeland Security budget includes staff increases for Customs and Border Protection, a $775 million outlay for fencing along the border with Mexico, and a near $254 million increase to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Money was also designated to increase the number of detention beds for illegal immigrants rounded up in workplace raids.
“We need to make immigrant communities feel comfortable enough to come forward so that we can root out the ones who engage in criminal activity or who are making immigrant communities unsafe,” Giovagnoli said.
Giovagnoli cited a discontinued program started just last summer by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement--“Operation Scheduled Departure”--which gave illegal immigrants a chance to turn themselves and others in for a penalty-free deportation. Despite low participation, she said it was a step in the right direction.
“It was essentially a failure so they said, ‘Fine, we’ll just step-up the deportation enforcement even more.”
According to ICE, only eight people turned themselves in to the program, indicating a need for more enforcement.
“It was a pilot program in which we were looking to meet some of the criticisms that we weren’t working with families to make their transitions easier, but even when families had the opportunity to comply, they chose not to,” said Cori Bassett, a public affairs officer of ICE. “We have seen increased enforcement in the last year, and there’s always more to do and more resources to work with,”
While the Pew Hispanic Center report acknowledged there was not conclusive evidence explaining the illegal immigrant slowdown, a survey that it released last month showed that heightened enforcement and immigration laws were prevalent concerns among immigrants.
The September survey, which concluded that Hispanics in the U.S. see their situation deteriorating, found that 57 percent of Latinos worry about deportation, and 63 percent said they felt that there had been an increase in immigration enforcement targeted at undocumented immigrants. One-in-ten respondents in the poll said they had been stopped by authorities and questioned about their status.
But Homeland Security officials said even with the slowdown, there’s still a need for increased funding for immigration enforcement.
“We have been committed and have fought for immigration reforms, some of which have failed” said Laura Keehner, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. “But we are forced to enforce the laws that are on the books and carry out the wishes of the American people to protect our border.”
Dashed line
© Medill Reports, Northwestern University. A Washington publication of the Medill School.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Tourist Trap
Homeland Security sets up a new San Jose office to apprehend immigrant fugitives
By Raj Jayadev
ELOY, Ariz., is nothing like San Jose. More than a thousand miles away, located in the middle of the desert, it is a blazingly hot, desolate and unremarkable town roughly an hour-and-a-half south of Phoenix. It's so secluded that Greyhound doesn't even go there.
Eloy is host to one of the country's largest immigration detention centers. And now, a week after the largest immigration enforcement operation in California history, the distance from San Jose and Eloy already seems significantly shorter.
An estimated 436 people were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from the Bay Area, in what amounted to a sort of coming-out party for ICE's new San Jose Fugitive Operation Team (FOT).
Many of those who were picked up are likely headed to Eloy, and immigrant communities locally are on notice—the South Bay is in a new era of immigration enforcement.
ICE was established in 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. In order to expand ICE's field efforts, it created Fugitive Operation Teams to locate, arrest and remove "fugitives" from the United States. ICE defines a fugitive as "an alien who has failed to report to a Detention and Removal Officer after receiving notice to do so."
In 2003, there were eight teams created nationwide. By 2007, the first year since its inception that ICE reported a decline in its case backlog, there were 75 teams. As of Aug. 1, ICE's case backlog was just over 570,000, and the division had 95 Fugitive Operation Teams. ICE expects to have over 100 by the end of year. They have arrested 26,945 people so far in 2008.
Craig Myer, ICE's assistant field office director in San Francisco, says the recent three-week enforcement "surge" and first assignment of the San Jose Fugitive Operation Team was a major success.
"To have a team in San Jose means we can be out there more often, and have more flexibility to cover Northern California," Myers says. While Myers says they were not able to track the number of arrests specifically in San Jose, he estimates there are around 4,000 to 6,000 people locally that may be targeted by their efforts. The large number, Myers says, is why ICE in June of this year located a team in San Jose.
Will the Surge Work?
Virginia Kice, ICE's Western Regional Communications director, cannot say how large the San Jose ICE team is, but a 2007 report from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) says a team typically has seven members. The report also points to significantly climbing arrest goals per team.
The goal of each team in 2003 was 125 people, by 2006 that number jumped to 1,000 per team. That jump is consistent with the Office of Detention and Removal Operations Strategic Plan, "Endgame," indicating that the national aim of the FOT is to "eliminate the backlog of fugitive aliens by the end of 2012."
Despite a sharp escalation of arrests, the OIG report documented several critiques of the Fugitive Operation Team model. Among other conclusions the 2007 report states: "Fugitive alien apprehensions reported did not accurately reflect the teams' activities. ... [T]he teams performed duties unrelated to fugitive operations, contrary to Office of Detention and Removal Operations Policy."
The review points to ways the FOT can improve, given their aggressive goals, and notes their case logs may be "growing at a rate that exceeds the teams' ability to apprehend." Considering that there are now an estimated 12 million undocumented people in the United States, according to the Pew Institute's Hispanic Center, the potential backlog of cases could be enormous.
Angie Junk, staff attorney for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), is not surprised by the new San Jose Fugitive Operation Team or its surge strategy, but says immigrant communities in the South Bay now need to be particularly vigilant in protecting their rights.
"These enforcement increases are going to create an atmosphere of fear and terror, and will threaten due process for all in the community," Junk says. The ILRC, based in San Francisco, has created "know your rights" cards (which explain due process rights such as the right to attorney). The group has also established community raid networks and triage centers to help people deal with enforcement issues, and help families respond to an arrest.
"ICE has a history of violating people's rights by racially profiling, threatening and using unlawful interrogation techniques while picking up their targets," Junk says.
Kice points out that Fugitive Operation Teams do not conduct mass sweeps, but rather have individual targets.
However, Junk says that the teams often arrest whoever they may come upon during an operation. Myers confirms that this is common practice, and calls these actions "collateral arrests."
"If we go to a place, we are going to check everyone's identifying documents, and enforce the law," he says.
That accounts for a discrepancy of numbers. In last week's surge, ICE reported 436 arrests, and said that 185 of those were immigration fugitives. The rest, a significant majority, were collateral apprehensions or individuals that were not initially targeted by the FOT.
For now, Myers says, there is no active relationship between the federal agency and local law enforcement.
Relocating to San Jose or Silicon Valley? Let San Jose.com introduce you to some expert area real estate agents.
"We notified them of our operation for courtesy, but they did not assist," he says. When asked if ICE will be employing more statewide surge tactics, given the large number of arrests, he says that he does not know of any upcoming plans.
Either way, he expects the new San Jose Fugitive Operations Team to be busy.
"While the big enforcement operations get a lot of media responses," he says, "we are out there everyday, trying to meet our goal
By Raj Jayadev
ELOY, Ariz., is nothing like San Jose. More than a thousand miles away, located in the middle of the desert, it is a blazingly hot, desolate and unremarkable town roughly an hour-and-a-half south of Phoenix. It's so secluded that Greyhound doesn't even go there.
Eloy is host to one of the country's largest immigration detention centers. And now, a week after the largest immigration enforcement operation in California history, the distance from San Jose and Eloy already seems significantly shorter.
An estimated 436 people were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from the Bay Area, in what amounted to a sort of coming-out party for ICE's new San Jose Fugitive Operation Team (FOT).
Many of those who were picked up are likely headed to Eloy, and immigrant communities locally are on notice—the South Bay is in a new era of immigration enforcement.
ICE was established in 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. In order to expand ICE's field efforts, it created Fugitive Operation Teams to locate, arrest and remove "fugitives" from the United States. ICE defines a fugitive as "an alien who has failed to report to a Detention and Removal Officer after receiving notice to do so."
In 2003, there were eight teams created nationwide. By 2007, the first year since its inception that ICE reported a decline in its case backlog, there were 75 teams. As of Aug. 1, ICE's case backlog was just over 570,000, and the division had 95 Fugitive Operation Teams. ICE expects to have over 100 by the end of year. They have arrested 26,945 people so far in 2008.
Craig Myer, ICE's assistant field office director in San Francisco, says the recent three-week enforcement "surge" and first assignment of the San Jose Fugitive Operation Team was a major success.
"To have a team in San Jose means we can be out there more often, and have more flexibility to cover Northern California," Myers says. While Myers says they were not able to track the number of arrests specifically in San Jose, he estimates there are around 4,000 to 6,000 people locally that may be targeted by their efforts. The large number, Myers says, is why ICE in June of this year located a team in San Jose.
Will the Surge Work?
Virginia Kice, ICE's Western Regional Communications director, cannot say how large the San Jose ICE team is, but a 2007 report from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) says a team typically has seven members. The report also points to significantly climbing arrest goals per team.
The goal of each team in 2003 was 125 people, by 2006 that number jumped to 1,000 per team. That jump is consistent with the Office of Detention and Removal Operations Strategic Plan, "Endgame," indicating that the national aim of the FOT is to "eliminate the backlog of fugitive aliens by the end of 2012."
Despite a sharp escalation of arrests, the OIG report documented several critiques of the Fugitive Operation Team model. Among other conclusions the 2007 report states: "Fugitive alien apprehensions reported did not accurately reflect the teams' activities. ... [T]he teams performed duties unrelated to fugitive operations, contrary to Office of Detention and Removal Operations Policy."
The review points to ways the FOT can improve, given their aggressive goals, and notes their case logs may be "growing at a rate that exceeds the teams' ability to apprehend." Considering that there are now an estimated 12 million undocumented people in the United States, according to the Pew Institute's Hispanic Center, the potential backlog of cases could be enormous.
Angie Junk, staff attorney for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), is not surprised by the new San Jose Fugitive Operation Team or its surge strategy, but says immigrant communities in the South Bay now need to be particularly vigilant in protecting their rights.
"These enforcement increases are going to create an atmosphere of fear and terror, and will threaten due process for all in the community," Junk says. The ILRC, based in San Francisco, has created "know your rights" cards (which explain due process rights such as the right to attorney). The group has also established community raid networks and triage centers to help people deal with enforcement issues, and help families respond to an arrest.
"ICE has a history of violating people's rights by racially profiling, threatening and using unlawful interrogation techniques while picking up their targets," Junk says.
Kice points out that Fugitive Operation Teams do not conduct mass sweeps, but rather have individual targets.
However, Junk says that the teams often arrest whoever they may come upon during an operation. Myers confirms that this is common practice, and calls these actions "collateral arrests."
"If we go to a place, we are going to check everyone's identifying documents, and enforce the law," he says.
That accounts for a discrepancy of numbers. In last week's surge, ICE reported 436 arrests, and said that 185 of those were immigration fugitives. The rest, a significant majority, were collateral apprehensions or individuals that were not initially targeted by the FOT.
For now, Myers says, there is no active relationship between the federal agency and local law enforcement.
Relocating to San Jose or Silicon Valley? Let San Jose.com introduce you to some expert area real estate agents.
"We notified them of our operation for courtesy, but they did not assist," he says. When asked if ICE will be employing more statewide surge tactics, given the large number of arrests, he says that he does not know of any upcoming plans.
Either way, he expects the new San Jose Fugitive Operations Team to be busy.
"While the big enforcement operations get a lot of media responses," he says, "we are out there everyday, trying to meet our goal
Thursday, October 2, 2008
NATIONAL DAY OF ACTIONS AGAINST THE RAIDS & DEPORTATIONS
March and Rally for Worker & Immigrant Rights
WHEN: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2008
Indigenous Peoples Day
2pm-5pm
In front of Wells Fargo Bank
450-45 75th Street, Queens, NY
Take the #7 or the F/V to Roosevelt/74th St. Stop
Actions to be held in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Madison, Detroit, South Bend, Seattle, Phoenix, Tucson, Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and others
Why Wells Fargo?
* Wells Fargo Bank houses and profits from racist, terrorist Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona
* Wells Fargo profits from the sweat of immigrant labor making tons of money from remittances
* The Wall Street Bail Out will be stolen from the people. Wells Fargo will profit from that theft
In May of this year and then again in August, the Department of Homeland Security through the hated ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) carried out some of the biggest anti-worker raids in U.S. history. These raids are made against workers at the very same time that the super-rich get saved on Wall Street!
The raids in the immigrant community are calculated to not only terrorize immigrant workers but they are meant to break unions, divide working people and send a message to us all: don’t fight back or else.
The economy is reeling from rising unemployment, housing foreclosures, price hikes—and the crisis on Wall Street is affecting every one but the super-rich. Yet it was them that made the crisis in the first place, not the people! At the same time, fear mongering such as that by Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Phoenix occurs which is meant to divert us from the real enemy. As one activist put it “Arizona has become for the immigrant rights movement what Mississippi was for the Black Civil Rights movement.”
This is a time to come together.
We call on people from every walk of life, from every nationality, black, Latin@, Asian, Arab, Native, and white, U.S. or foreign born, documented or undocumented, in a union or unorganized to come out on October 12.
October 12 is part of a national day of action in over 30 cities. This day is known in the Latino community as Dia de la Raza and is a day for Indigenous People as a counter to the racist Christopher Columbus day, which is a day of conquest and disaster for the Americas.
Join us on October 12 to tell the Bush administration and all the presidential candidates: We demand:
* Bail out the people, not the Banks!
* Immediate Legalization for undocumented workers!
* Moratorium on the ICE raids!
* Moratorium home foreclosures!
* Money for hurricane victims not for war in Iraq!
* No to ICE & police brutality. Justice for Sean Bell & all victims of brutality!
* Political asylum for Victor Toro!
* Union jobs at union wages for all!
* Solidarity not racism!
* No to Lou Dobbs & all hate-mongers!
Event initiated by the May 1st Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights. For more information visit www.may1.info or call 641.715.3900 x97869# or 212.633.6646.
WHEN: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2008
Indigenous Peoples Day
2pm-5pm
In front of Wells Fargo Bank
450-45 75th Street, Queens, NY
Take the #7 or the F/V to Roosevelt/74th St. Stop
Actions to be held in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Madison, Detroit, South Bend, Seattle, Phoenix, Tucson, Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and others
Why Wells Fargo?
* Wells Fargo Bank houses and profits from racist, terrorist Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona
* Wells Fargo profits from the sweat of immigrant labor making tons of money from remittances
* The Wall Street Bail Out will be stolen from the people. Wells Fargo will profit from that theft
In May of this year and then again in August, the Department of Homeland Security through the hated ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) carried out some of the biggest anti-worker raids in U.S. history. These raids are made against workers at the very same time that the super-rich get saved on Wall Street!
The raids in the immigrant community are calculated to not only terrorize immigrant workers but they are meant to break unions, divide working people and send a message to us all: don’t fight back or else.
The economy is reeling from rising unemployment, housing foreclosures, price hikes—and the crisis on Wall Street is affecting every one but the super-rich. Yet it was them that made the crisis in the first place, not the people! At the same time, fear mongering such as that by Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Phoenix occurs which is meant to divert us from the real enemy. As one activist put it “Arizona has become for the immigrant rights movement what Mississippi was for the Black Civil Rights movement.”
This is a time to come together.
We call on people from every walk of life, from every nationality, black, Latin@, Asian, Arab, Native, and white, U.S. or foreign born, documented or undocumented, in a union or unorganized to come out on October 12.
October 12 is part of a national day of action in over 30 cities. This day is known in the Latino community as Dia de la Raza and is a day for Indigenous People as a counter to the racist Christopher Columbus day, which is a day of conquest and disaster for the Americas.
Join us on October 12 to tell the Bush administration and all the presidential candidates: We demand:
* Bail out the people, not the Banks!
* Immediate Legalization for undocumented workers!
* Moratorium on the ICE raids!
* Moratorium home foreclosures!
* Money for hurricane victims not for war in Iraq!
* No to ICE & police brutality. Justice for Sean Bell & all victims of brutality!
* Political asylum for Victor Toro!
* Union jobs at union wages for all!
* Solidarity not racism!
* No to Lou Dobbs & all hate-mongers!
Event initiated by the May 1st Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights. For more information visit www.may1.info or call 641.715.3900 x97869# or 212.633.6646.
ICE picks up more than 1,200 in N.J., Cali
By Patrick Young, Esq. CARECEN Program Director
October 1, 2008 12:32 PM
Widespread ICE raids have taken place this week in
California and New Jersey. In both states, raids
appeared to be focused on so-called absconders, cases
where a person was ordered deported at some point in
the past. The California raids appear to be
particularly massive with more than 1150 people
arrested. Large round-ups like the one in Cali
overwhelm local social service agencies as children
are left without parental support and find they must
rely on suddenly overburdened organizations.
Not only is the scale of the California sweep
unprecedented, the fact that it took place at the same
time as the smaller Jersey raidsis notable. Generally,
large raids have been geographically isolated as ICE
concentrated resources from around the country in one
state or region. Here, ICE was able to mount major
operation in two states at virtually the same time.
Also notable is the fact that these raids occurred
just weeks after other large raids in states in the
center of the country.
October 1, 2008 12:32 PM
Widespread ICE raids have taken place this week in
California and New Jersey. In both states, raids
appeared to be focused on so-called absconders, cases
where a person was ordered deported at some point in
the past. The California raids appear to be
particularly massive with more than 1150 people
arrested. Large round-ups like the one in Cali
overwhelm local social service agencies as children
are left without parental support and find they must
rely on suddenly overburdened organizations.
Not only is the scale of the California sweep
unprecedented, the fact that it took place at the same
time as the smaller Jersey raidsis notable. Generally,
large raids have been geographically isolated as ICE
concentrated resources from around the country in one
state or region. Here, ICE was able to mount major
operation in two states at virtually the same time.
Also notable is the fact that these raids occurred
just weeks after other large raids in states in the
center of the country.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Why am I Avoiding it...
I began this blog as an informational resource, with hopes of making it more personal at some point. I have been wanting to write about my own experience. But I'm not ready.
More than 1,100 arrested throughout California in immigration raids
By Denis C. Theriault
Mercury News
Article Launched: 09/29/2008 09:28:52 PM PDT
Billing a series of raids as the largest sweep of its kind in California, federal immigration authorities Monday announced more than 1,100 arrests throughout the state this month, part of a three-week effort that saw teams from the Bay Area and beyond knocking on doors in search of fugitive immigrants.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 1,157 men and women — 436 in Northern California — the latest splash in a five-year push targeting immigrants who have ignored deportation orders or returned to the United States illegally after being deported. The sweep, which concluded Saturday, also produced 420 arrests in the Los Angeles area and 301 in the San Diego area. Those arrested came from 34 countries.
And although ICE officials hailed the sweep as a success, particularly because of the number of arrests, they said it was only the scale of the effort that was remarkable.
"This is something we do on a daily basis," said Craig Meyer, ICE's assistant field office director in San Francisco. "This was just a big surge to get as many boots on the ground as we could."
Teams from Northern and Southern California worked together to rove the state, turning up 595 immigrants with outstanding deportation orders and 346 with criminal convictions. In Northern California, which includes the Bay Area, 185 were fugitives and 92 had criminal convictions, ranging from petty theft to more serious crimes. A breakdown of arrests by municipality and county was not available, Meyer said.
In one case, ICE agents apprehended a Fremont woman who had been ordered deported after convictions for voluntary manslaughter and threatening a witness. The onetime legal resident, whom authorities did not identify, was sent back to her native Portugal shortly after her arrest, officials said.
The sweep marked the first large-scale operation for ICE's months-old San Jose team, one of a handful added this year in California, as ICE continues its five-year crackdown against immigrants who ignore deportation orders. In patrolling Northern California, it joins two teams in San Francisco and one each in Sacramento, Fresno and Bakersfield.
"It spreads us out a little more, gives us a little more reach," Meyer said of the new South Bay crew. "They know the area better and they can get out there quicker and be on the ground more often."
Nationwide, there are now 95 teams in operation, ICE officials said, with more than 100 expected by the end of the year. In 2003, when ICE's Fugitive Operations Program was created, only 17 teams were in place.
That expansion, along with the establishment of a federal investigation center in Vermont, has led to a surge in arrests. Last year there were 30,407 arrests nationwide, nearly double the year before. This year, ICE agents are well on their way to topping that number, with 26, 945 arrests logged as of Aug. 1.
The crackdown has continued to cut into the number of immigrants nationwide who have standing deportation orders. In 2007, for the first time, the suspected number of fugitive immigrants in the United States declined. The backlog is now down to fewer than 560,000, about 34,000 fewer than on Oct. 1, 2007.
But for Basil Robledo, director of programs for the Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) in San Jose, the latest arrests are one more step on a disturbing path following last year's failure by Congress to reform the nation's immigration laws.
He said federal officials have instead turned to heavy-handed enforcement — a strategy that Robledo says has led to fear and broken families.
"It is a scary situation for folks in the community," he said. "People keep their kids home from school. It creates less of a willingness to talk to police. They see ICE agents and they see a uniformed person, and that blends into all of law enforcement."
Meyer acknowledged the complaints his agency receives, particularly those concerning children and families, stressing that "when children are involved, we're very careful with that."
Still, he said, "these are the laws that are in place. And we're just following through, doing our job."
Reach Denis C. Theriault at dtheriault@mercurynews.com. or 408-920-5035.
Mercury News
Article Launched: 09/29/2008 09:28:52 PM PDT
Billing a series of raids as the largest sweep of its kind in California, federal immigration authorities Monday announced more than 1,100 arrests throughout the state this month, part of a three-week effort that saw teams from the Bay Area and beyond knocking on doors in search of fugitive immigrants.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested 1,157 men and women — 436 in Northern California — the latest splash in a five-year push targeting immigrants who have ignored deportation orders or returned to the United States illegally after being deported. The sweep, which concluded Saturday, also produced 420 arrests in the Los Angeles area and 301 in the San Diego area. Those arrested came from 34 countries.
And although ICE officials hailed the sweep as a success, particularly because of the number of arrests, they said it was only the scale of the effort that was remarkable.
"This is something we do on a daily basis," said Craig Meyer, ICE's assistant field office director in San Francisco. "This was just a big surge to get as many boots on the ground as we could."
Teams from Northern and Southern California worked together to rove the state, turning up 595 immigrants with outstanding deportation orders and 346 with criminal convictions. In Northern California, which includes the Bay Area, 185 were fugitives and 92 had criminal convictions, ranging from petty theft to more serious crimes. A breakdown of arrests by municipality and county was not available, Meyer said.
In one case, ICE agents apprehended a Fremont woman who had been ordered deported after convictions for voluntary manslaughter and threatening a witness. The onetime legal resident, whom authorities did not identify, was sent back to her native Portugal shortly after her arrest, officials said.
The sweep marked the first large-scale operation for ICE's months-old San Jose team, one of a handful added this year in California, as ICE continues its five-year crackdown against immigrants who ignore deportation orders. In patrolling Northern California, it joins two teams in San Francisco and one each in Sacramento, Fresno and Bakersfield.
"It spreads us out a little more, gives us a little more reach," Meyer said of the new South Bay crew. "They know the area better and they can get out there quicker and be on the ground more often."
Nationwide, there are now 95 teams in operation, ICE officials said, with more than 100 expected by the end of the year. In 2003, when ICE's Fugitive Operations Program was created, only 17 teams were in place.
That expansion, along with the establishment of a federal investigation center in Vermont, has led to a surge in arrests. Last year there were 30,407 arrests nationwide, nearly double the year before. This year, ICE agents are well on their way to topping that number, with 26, 945 arrests logged as of Aug. 1.
The crackdown has continued to cut into the number of immigrants nationwide who have standing deportation orders. In 2007, for the first time, the suspected number of fugitive immigrants in the United States declined. The backlog is now down to fewer than 560,000, about 34,000 fewer than on Oct. 1, 2007.
But for Basil Robledo, director of programs for the Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) in San Jose, the latest arrests are one more step on a disturbing path following last year's failure by Congress to reform the nation's immigration laws.
He said federal officials have instead turned to heavy-handed enforcement — a strategy that Robledo says has led to fear and broken families.
"It is a scary situation for folks in the community," he said. "People keep their kids home from school. It creates less of a willingness to talk to police. They see ICE agents and they see a uniformed person, and that blends into all of law enforcement."
Meyer acknowledged the complaints his agency receives, particularly those concerning children and families, stressing that "when children are involved, we're very careful with that."
Still, he said, "these are the laws that are in place. And we're just following through, doing our job."
Reach Denis C. Theriault at dtheriault@mercurynews.com. or 408-920-5035.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Forum blasts raids on workers
Catholics, including Utah's Bishop Wester, say the treatment of immigrants is inhumane
By Jessica Ravitz and Paul Beebe
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:09/11/2008 10:45:05 AM MDT
Utah's Catholic Bishop John Wester joined other Catholic leaders in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to voice concerns about U.S. treatment of immigrants, calling the increased number of worksite raids both inhumane and ineffective.
Wester represented the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is calling on the Department of Homeland Security and President Bush to "reconsider use of . . . raids," which involve "hundreds of law enforcement officials using weapons," and instead turn the focus back on efforts to institute a "comprehensive overhaul of the broken immigration system," he said during the conference, which was accessible by phone.
Ever since talk about comprehensive reform died in Congress last year, Wester, chairman of the bishops' committee on migration, said raids - similar to this year's February raid in Lindon that led to 57 arrests and the December 2006 raid in Hyrum, which led to the arrest of 154 undocumented workers - have become the government's tool for dealing with immigration concerns.
Such raids are "designed to create an atmosphere of fear," Wester said. And while no one questions the right of officials to enforce immigration laws, church leaders - many of whom have first-hand knowledge of helping communities cope after raids - he said the toll on family members, who often end up separated, criminalizes those who just want to support their loved ones and victimizes the innocent, including the left-behind children who are U.S. citizens.
"Imagine a little child coming home from school and his primary caregiver is not there?" said Wester, who also on Wednesday submitted a written statement to DHS. "Our current policies do little to solve the problem of illegal immigration to this country; they simply appear to do so, often at the cost of family integrity and human dignity."
Martin Snow, whose Lindon guardrail manufacturing company was raided in February by 100 agents with their guns drawn, said taxpayers also bear a cost.
"How this thing went down was a big expense," said Snow, whose company, Universal Industrial Sales, lost more than half its 100 employees in the raid and still faces 10 counts of harboring undocumented immigrants. "It would be beneficial if it could be done in another method. It could save taxpayers a lot of money.
Jim Judd isn't convinced that workplace raids prevent undocumented immigrants from finding jobs.
The feds ''need to hold the employers accountable for people they hire, to make certain they are hiring people in the country legally,'' said the president of the 23,000-member Utah AFL-CIO. "Many times the consequences fall on the employees, and the employers suffer little or no consequence."
He added the raids often hurt those who are least to blame. As the family "breadwinner" is carted off by authorities, the people they love are left to fend for themselves.
In a written statement, Kelly Nantel of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arm of DHS, highlighted the department's respect for the Catholic leaders before adding, "We have no intention of abdicating our responsibility to enforce the law and we will continue to do so professionally and with an acute awareness of the impact that enforcement has on the individuals we encounter."
Wester said he hopes Americans will listen to people's stories and come to appreciate how complicated this issue is. Only then will they understand the need for a more comprehensive approach to reform - one that puts people on a path to living and working legally - and that enforcement, alone, cannot be the answer.
"Frankly, our country benefits greatly from immigrants. We always have. We're a country of immigrants," the bishop said. "What we really need to do is change hearts."
jravitz@sltrib.com
Worksite raids, by the numbers
* 685 arrested in fiscal year 2004
* 160 criminally charged in fiscal year 2004
* 3,900 arrested so far this year
* More than 1,000 criminally charged so far this year
* $9.7 billion: DHS's immigration enforcement budget in 2004
* $15 billion: DHS's immigration enforcement budget for 2009
Source: Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
By Jessica Ravitz and Paul Beebe
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:09/11/2008 10:45:05 AM MDT
Utah's Catholic Bishop John Wester joined other Catholic leaders in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to voice concerns about U.S. treatment of immigrants, calling the increased number of worksite raids both inhumane and ineffective.
Wester represented the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is calling on the Department of Homeland Security and President Bush to "reconsider use of . . . raids," which involve "hundreds of law enforcement officials using weapons," and instead turn the focus back on efforts to institute a "comprehensive overhaul of the broken immigration system," he said during the conference, which was accessible by phone.
Ever since talk about comprehensive reform died in Congress last year, Wester, chairman of the bishops' committee on migration, said raids - similar to this year's February raid in Lindon that led to 57 arrests and the December 2006 raid in Hyrum, which led to the arrest of 154 undocumented workers - have become the government's tool for dealing with immigration concerns.
Such raids are "designed to create an atmosphere of fear," Wester said. And while no one questions the right of officials to enforce immigration laws, church leaders - many of whom have first-hand knowledge of helping communities cope after raids - he said the toll on family members, who often end up separated, criminalizes those who just want to support their loved ones and victimizes the innocent, including the left-behind children who are U.S. citizens.
"Imagine a little child coming home from school and his primary caregiver is not there?" said Wester, who also on Wednesday submitted a written statement to DHS. "Our current policies do little to solve the problem of illegal immigration to this country; they simply appear to do so, often at the cost of family integrity and human dignity."
Martin Snow, whose Lindon guardrail manufacturing company was raided in February by 100 agents with their guns drawn, said taxpayers also bear a cost.
"How this thing went down was a big expense," said Snow, whose company, Universal Industrial Sales, lost more than half its 100 employees in the raid and still faces 10 counts of harboring undocumented immigrants. "It would be beneficial if it could be done in another method. It could save taxpayers a lot of money.
Jim Judd isn't convinced that workplace raids prevent undocumented immigrants from finding jobs.
The feds ''need to hold the employers accountable for people they hire, to make certain they are hiring people in the country legally,'' said the president of the 23,000-member Utah AFL-CIO. "Many times the consequences fall on the employees, and the employers suffer little or no consequence."
He added the raids often hurt those who are least to blame. As the family "breadwinner" is carted off by authorities, the people they love are left to fend for themselves.
In a written statement, Kelly Nantel of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arm of DHS, highlighted the department's respect for the Catholic leaders before adding, "We have no intention of abdicating our responsibility to enforce the law and we will continue to do so professionally and with an acute awareness of the impact that enforcement has on the individuals we encounter."
Wester said he hopes Americans will listen to people's stories and come to appreciate how complicated this issue is. Only then will they understand the need for a more comprehensive approach to reform - one that puts people on a path to living and working legally - and that enforcement, alone, cannot be the answer.
"Frankly, our country benefits greatly from immigrants. We always have. We're a country of immigrants," the bishop said. "What we really need to do is change hearts."
jravitz@sltrib.com
Worksite raids, by the numbers
* 685 arrested in fiscal year 2004
* 160 criminally charged in fiscal year 2004
* 3,900 arrested so far this year
* More than 1,000 criminally charged so far this year
* $9.7 billion: DHS's immigration enforcement budget in 2004
* $15 billion: DHS's immigration enforcement budget for 2009
Source: Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
COUNTER ANTI-IMMIGRANT LOBBYISTS
Urge Congress to support humane, equitable immigration reform –
not the proposals of FAIR and other anti-immigrant groups
BACKGROUND
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) was organized by John Tanton, the founder of Numbers USA, the Center for Immigration Studies and other anti-immigrant groups. FAIR is a lobbyist group opposed to all immigration, advocating, in its own words, “to set legal immigration at the lowest feasible levels.” FAIR ignores the dire need of refugees and asylum seekers for protection, the importance of family unity, and the high U.S. demand for immigrant workers of all skill levels. FAIR opposes family unity policies for immigrants, wants to criminalize providing humanitarian aid to undocumented persons, and claims responsibility for the failure of the DREAM Act and other pro-immigrant bills.
Unfortunately, hate and fear are very powerful motivators, and THIS WEEK (September 8-11, 2008) FAIR is bringing thousands of people to Washington, D.C., to push Congress towards an agenda of more raids, deportations, and inhumane detention; fewer opportunities for legal immigration; and decreased resources for immigrants and refugees.
CALL YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES EVERY DAY THIS WEEK!
The Capitol Switchboard can connect you – call 202-224-3121
Also call Nancy Pelosi (202-225-0100) and Harry Reid (202-224-3542)
Tell them that as their constituent, you urge them to:
-- Ignore FAIR and other groups that support hate and family separation.
They offer no solutions, but polarize communities with fear and hatred.
-- Only support immigration reform that is HUMANE and EQUITABLE.
Raids, detention, and deportation are inhumane and hurt children and families – we need a pathway to legal status for those who are undocumented and an improved immigration system that prioritizes family unity and reduces backlogs.
Quotes from FAIR spokespersons:
“The brown toxic cloud strangling Los Angeles never lifts and grows thicker with every immigrant added…When you import that much crime, illiteracy, multiple languages and disease, Americans pick up stakes and move away.”[1]
"They defend themselves from the illegal alien savages who kill their livestock, slit their watchdogs' throats, burglarize their homes and threaten the physical safety of their loved ones." [2]
not the proposals of FAIR and other anti-immigrant groups
BACKGROUND
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) was organized by John Tanton, the founder of Numbers USA, the Center for Immigration Studies and other anti-immigrant groups. FAIR is a lobbyist group opposed to all immigration, advocating, in its own words, “to set legal immigration at the lowest feasible levels.” FAIR ignores the dire need of refugees and asylum seekers for protection, the importance of family unity, and the high U.S. demand for immigrant workers of all skill levels. FAIR opposes family unity policies for immigrants, wants to criminalize providing humanitarian aid to undocumented persons, and claims responsibility for the failure of the DREAM Act and other pro-immigrant bills.
Unfortunately, hate and fear are very powerful motivators, and THIS WEEK (September 8-11, 2008) FAIR is bringing thousands of people to Washington, D.C., to push Congress towards an agenda of more raids, deportations, and inhumane detention; fewer opportunities for legal immigration; and decreased resources for immigrants and refugees.
CALL YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES EVERY DAY THIS WEEK!
The Capitol Switchboard can connect you – call 202-224-3121
Also call Nancy Pelosi (202-225-0100) and Harry Reid (202-224-3542)
Tell them that as their constituent, you urge them to:
-- Ignore FAIR and other groups that support hate and family separation.
They offer no solutions, but polarize communities with fear and hatred.
-- Only support immigration reform that is HUMANE and EQUITABLE.
Raids, detention, and deportation are inhumane and hurt children and families – we need a pathway to legal status for those who are undocumented and an improved immigration system that prioritizes family unity and reduces backlogs.
Quotes from FAIR spokespersons:
“The brown toxic cloud strangling Los Angeles never lifts and grows thicker with every immigrant added…When you import that much crime, illiteracy, multiple languages and disease, Americans pick up stakes and move away.”[1]
"They defend themselves from the illegal alien savages who kill their livestock, slit their watchdogs' throats, burglarize their homes and threaten the physical safety of their loved ones." [2]
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
ICE accused of tracking immigrants at Head Start
ICE accused of tracking immigrants at Head Start
Group says it's harming kids of illegal migrants, who then avoid the centers altogether
By GEORGIA PABST Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Aug. 31, 2008, 6:53 AM MILWAUKEE, WIS. — Immigration enforcement officials are now targeting migrant and seasonal Head Start centers in some states as part of efforts to track down illegal immigrants, the executive director of the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association says.
Yvette Sanchez, president of the Washington, D.C.-based association, was in Milwaukee recently for a meeting of the national board of directors at United Migrant Opportunity Services Inc.
She said immigration surveillance is emerging as one of the top three issues for the group, comprising migrant and seasonal Head Start directors, staff, parents and friends. Financial appropriations and the need for more bilingual materials are the others, she said.
"Several kids and babies died in the fields because parents were fearful of sending them to Head Start," she said in an interview.
"Since early 2007, many of our programs started to notice that Border Patrol of Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles were parked outside their centers, and some were following buses picking up children," she said.
Jason Ciliberti, supervisory Border Patrol agent in Washington, D.C., said it's not the agency's policy to stake out Head Start centers.
"It could have happened if we believe there was an immigration violation afoot, but it's not our policy or practice, I believe."
Gail Montenegro, a spokeswoman with ICE in Chicago, said: "Generally, our operations avoid actions at school settings. ... However, we will take into custody during these targeted operations anyone encountered who may be in the country illegally."
In testimony before the congressional subcommittee on work force protections in May, ICE officials were provided with a list of dates and places regarding ICE activities near migrant and seasonal Head Start programs in Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and New Mexico, according to a letter sent to ICE officials in Washington by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
"We ask that ICE enforcement and intimidation tactics near migrant and seasonal Head Start centers cease immediately," U.S. Reps. Joe Baca, D-Calif., Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, wrote.
"Parents were fearful of going to the centers or letting their kids get on the bus, and enrollment went down in some parts," Sanchez said.
In Tennessee, one family took their baby with them to the fields and left the baby in the truck where the baby died, she said.
Not a requirement
The criteria for participating in migrant and seasonal Head Start programs is low family income and agricultural employment, she said. "Since the Head Start program was started in 1965, we have never asked families if they are citizens, and it's never been a requirement," she said.
Migrant and seasonal Head Start programs operate in 39 states and serve more than 30,000 migrants and 3,000 children of seasonal farm workers, she said.
Migrant and seasonal Head Start programs serve children from 6 months to school age and also provide a variety of health and transportation services.
United Migrant Opportunity Services operates Head Start programs in Wisconsin that serve 530 children.
Cris Cuevas, director of the United Migrant program, said centers here have not been targeted by immigration officials.
Group says it's harming kids of illegal migrants, who then avoid the centers altogether
By GEORGIA PABST Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Aug. 31, 2008, 6:53 AM MILWAUKEE, WIS. — Immigration enforcement officials are now targeting migrant and seasonal Head Start centers in some states as part of efforts to track down illegal immigrants, the executive director of the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association says.
Yvette Sanchez, president of the Washington, D.C.-based association, was in Milwaukee recently for a meeting of the national board of directors at United Migrant Opportunity Services Inc.
She said immigration surveillance is emerging as one of the top three issues for the group, comprising migrant and seasonal Head Start directors, staff, parents and friends. Financial appropriations and the need for more bilingual materials are the others, she said.
"Several kids and babies died in the fields because parents were fearful of sending them to Head Start," she said in an interview.
"Since early 2007, many of our programs started to notice that Border Patrol of Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles were parked outside their centers, and some were following buses picking up children," she said.
Jason Ciliberti, supervisory Border Patrol agent in Washington, D.C., said it's not the agency's policy to stake out Head Start centers.
"It could have happened if we believe there was an immigration violation afoot, but it's not our policy or practice, I believe."
Gail Montenegro, a spokeswoman with ICE in Chicago, said: "Generally, our operations avoid actions at school settings. ... However, we will take into custody during these targeted operations anyone encountered who may be in the country illegally."
In testimony before the congressional subcommittee on work force protections in May, ICE officials were provided with a list of dates and places regarding ICE activities near migrant and seasonal Head Start programs in Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and New Mexico, according to a letter sent to ICE officials in Washington by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
"We ask that ICE enforcement and intimidation tactics near migrant and seasonal Head Start centers cease immediately," U.S. Reps. Joe Baca, D-Calif., Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, wrote.
"Parents were fearful of going to the centers or letting their kids get on the bus, and enrollment went down in some parts," Sanchez said.
In Tennessee, one family took their baby with them to the fields and left the baby in the truck where the baby died, she said.
Not a requirement
The criteria for participating in migrant and seasonal Head Start programs is low family income and agricultural employment, she said. "Since the Head Start program was started in 1965, we have never asked families if they are citizens, and it's never been a requirement," she said.
Migrant and seasonal Head Start programs operate in 39 states and serve more than 30,000 migrants and 3,000 children of seasonal farm workers, she said.
Migrant and seasonal Head Start programs serve children from 6 months to school age and also provide a variety of health and transportation services.
United Migrant Opportunity Services operates Head Start programs in Wisconsin that serve 530 children.
Cris Cuevas, director of the United Migrant program, said centers here have not been targeted by immigration officials.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Department of Homeland Security US Immigration and Customs Enforcement reports:
August 14, 2008,
ICE Arrests 42 Illegal Aliens at Airport
August 13, 2008 (Washington) - ICE agents arrested 42 men illegally present in the country at Dulles International Airport. ICE agents arrested the illegal aliens just inside the airport grounds at a checkpoint established to verify the identity and immigration status of workers entering a service gate. The arrests were part of a critical infrastructure protection operation. More at ICE.gov
ICE Teams Arrest 119 Fugitive Aliens
August 13, 2008 (Philadelphia) - ICE's local fugitive operations teams arrested a total of 119 fugitive aliens during the 10-day operation in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Of the 75 fugitives arrested, 26 had criminal records. During the operation an additional 44 immigration violators were arrested, 12 of whom had criminal histories. More at ICE.gov
ICE Arrests 57 Illegal Aliens in Asheville, N.C.
August 13, 2008 (Washington) - Fifty-seven illegal aliens working at Mills Manufacturing Corporation, a Department of Defense contractor, were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents. The arrests were based on an ICE critical infrastructure investigation that revealed that the illegal aliens had used fraudulent social security numbers to obtain employment. More at ICE.gov
ICE-Led Operation Arrests 80 in Massachusetts
August 8, 2008 (Boston) - ICE agents, together with federal, state and local law enforcement partners across Massachusetts, have arrested 52 gang members and associates from 24 different gangs and 28 other criminals. The four-day operation yielded arrests of 55 U.S. permanent residents who may be removable from the U.S. based upon their criminal history, 14 who were illegally residing in the U.S., two who are wanted on warrants of deportation, and three others who have re-entered the U.S. illegally after having been deported. All of the individuals have criminal records. More at ICE.gov
ICE Agents Arrest 54 Miami Area Criminals
August 8, 2008 (Miami) - In the Miami area, 54 criminals were arrested following a targeted enforcement operation headed by ICE special agents. Approximately 29 of those arrested are lawful permanent residents, while the remainder are immigration violators. All will go before an immigration judge. More at ICE.gov
ICE Agents Arrest 321
August 7, 2008 (Miami) - ICE agents, with federal agencies and local law enforcement officers, arrested 321 people from 12 countries in an operation targeting trans-national and violent criminal street gangs in South Florida. The enforcement operation included the arrest of 59 transnational gang members and associates. More at ICE.gov
ICE Team Arrest More than 60 in 5-Day Florida Operation
August 4, 2008 (Ft. Myers, Fla.) - A five-day law enforcement operation carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Florida Fugitive operations teams and local sheriffs' offices resulted in arrests of 55 fugitives and 7 immigration violators. Fifteen of those arrested had criminal histories that spanned from aggravated assault, battery, DUI, DUI hit and run, resisting officer without violence, burglary, weapons offenses, cocaine possession and larceny. More at ICE.gov
ICE Arrests 42 Illegal Aliens at Airport
August 13, 2008 (Washington) - ICE agents arrested 42 men illegally present in the country at Dulles International Airport. ICE agents arrested the illegal aliens just inside the airport grounds at a checkpoint established to verify the identity and immigration status of workers entering a service gate. The arrests were part of a critical infrastructure protection operation. More at ICE.gov
ICE Teams Arrest 119 Fugitive Aliens
August 13, 2008 (Philadelphia) - ICE's local fugitive operations teams arrested a total of 119 fugitive aliens during the 10-day operation in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Of the 75 fugitives arrested, 26 had criminal records. During the operation an additional 44 immigration violators were arrested, 12 of whom had criminal histories. More at ICE.gov
ICE Arrests 57 Illegal Aliens in Asheville, N.C.
August 13, 2008 (Washington) - Fifty-seven illegal aliens working at Mills Manufacturing Corporation, a Department of Defense contractor, were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents. The arrests were based on an ICE critical infrastructure investigation that revealed that the illegal aliens had used fraudulent social security numbers to obtain employment. More at ICE.gov
ICE-Led Operation Arrests 80 in Massachusetts
August 8, 2008 (Boston) - ICE agents, together with federal, state and local law enforcement partners across Massachusetts, have arrested 52 gang members and associates from 24 different gangs and 28 other criminals. The four-day operation yielded arrests of 55 U.S. permanent residents who may be removable from the U.S. based upon their criminal history, 14 who were illegally residing in the U.S., two who are wanted on warrants of deportation, and three others who have re-entered the U.S. illegally after having been deported. All of the individuals have criminal records. More at ICE.gov
ICE Agents Arrest 54 Miami Area Criminals
August 8, 2008 (Miami) - In the Miami area, 54 criminals were arrested following a targeted enforcement operation headed by ICE special agents. Approximately 29 of those arrested are lawful permanent residents, while the remainder are immigration violators. All will go before an immigration judge. More at ICE.gov
ICE Agents Arrest 321
August 7, 2008 (Miami) - ICE agents, with federal agencies and local law enforcement officers, arrested 321 people from 12 countries in an operation targeting trans-national and violent criminal street gangs in South Florida. The enforcement operation included the arrest of 59 transnational gang members and associates. More at ICE.gov
ICE Team Arrest More than 60 in 5-Day Florida Operation
August 4, 2008 (Ft. Myers, Fla.) - A five-day law enforcement operation carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Florida Fugitive operations teams and local sheriffs' offices resulted in arrests of 55 fugitives and 7 immigration violators. Fifteen of those arrested had criminal histories that spanned from aggravated assault, battery, DUI, DUI hit and run, resisting officer without violence, burglary, weapons offenses, cocaine possession and larceny. More at ICE.gov
Immigrant-friendly ordinance
Last night the Hartford, Connecticut city council voted unanimously in
favor of an immigrant-friendly ordinance that bars police and other city
employees from inquiring about or reporting immigration status. While
still awaiting the mayor's signature, the passage is a big win for
immigration activists in Connecticut. For a report on the ordinance:
http://hartfordimc.org/blog/2008/08/12/hartford-city-council-votes-unanimously-to-support-immigrant-rights/
favor of an immigrant-friendly ordinance that bars police and other city
employees from inquiring about or reporting immigration status. While
still awaiting the mayor's signature, the passage is a big win for
immigration activists in Connecticut. For a report on the ordinance:
http://hartfordimc.org/blog/2008/08/12/hartford-city-council-votes-unanimously-to-support-immigrant-rights/
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Passing on Some Upcoming Events
Wednesday, August 13, 2008, 7 to 8 pm
Radio interview with Jane Guskin and David Wilson
Authors, The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers
"Latino Media Collective"
Hosted by Oscar Fernandez, Janet Hernandez and Norberto Martinez
WPFW 89.3 FM, Washington, DC
Live streaming: http://www.wpfw.org/
* * *
Friday, August 15, 2008, 9 am
Protest: Against ICE and DHS
In support of Victor Toro and millions of undocumented immigrants
Protesta: Contra de la Migra En apoyo de Victor Toro y millones de inmigrantes indocumentados
At 26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY (corner of Worth & Lafayette)
Information: Tel:718-292-6137, 212-631-7555, 641-715-3900 ext.97869#
lapena2006@hotmail.com, MrnCrls@aol.com, may1@leftshift.org
Victor Toro is a citizen and national of Chile who was jailed and tortured there because of his opposition to the illegitimate Pinochet government (1973-1990). For more than 23 years, Victor and his wife Nieves Ayress (also a survivor of torture by the Pinochet regime) have been living in New York City and engaging in activism in the South Bronx, where they founded Vamos a La Peña, a nonprofit community organization that has served as a space for free expression and people's power for undocumented workers and other disenfranchised community members. On July 6, 2007,Victor Toro was arrested by US Border Patrol, an agency of the US Department of Homeland Security, while on board an Amtrak train in Rochester, New York. He was released on bond on July 9 and is now seeking political asylum with the help of his legal team. His wife Nieves is a US citizen; their daughter, Rosita Toro, is a legal permanent resident.
Victor Toro es un chileno quien fue encarcelado y torturado en ese pais por su oposicion al gobierno ilegitimo del dictador Pinochet (1973-1990). Durante mas de 23 años, Victor y su esposa Nieves Ayress (tambien sobreviviente de torturas bajo el regimen de Pinochet) han estado viviendo en la ciudad de Nueva York e involucrados en la lucha social en el Sur del Bronx, donde fundaron Vamos a La Peña, una organizacion comunitaria sin fines de lucro que ha sirvido como espacio de libre expresion y poder popular para los trabajadores indocumentados y otra gente marginada de esa comunidad. El pasado 6 de julio, 2007, Victor Toro fue arrestado por la Patrulla Fronteriza, agencia del Departamento de "Seguridad de Patria" de EEUU, mientras viajaba en un tren de Amtrak pasando por la ciudad deRochester, New York. Fue liberado bajo fianza el 9 de julio y ahora busca asilo politico con ayuda de su equipo legal. Su esposa Nieves es ciudadana estadounidense; su hija, Rosita Toro, es residente permanente legal
--
Contact thepoliticsofimmigration@gmail.com to subscribe
====================================
Authors, The Politics of Immigration: Questions & Answers
Website: http://thepoliticsofimmigration.org/
Blog: http://thepoliticsofimmigration.blogspot.com/
Email: thepoliticsofimmigration@gmail.com
Radio interview with Jane Guskin and David Wilson
Authors, The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers
"Latino Media Collective"
Hosted by Oscar Fernandez, Janet Hernandez and Norberto Martinez
WPFW 89.3 FM, Washington, DC
Live streaming: http://www.wpfw.org/
* * *
Friday, August 15, 2008, 9 am
Protest: Against ICE and DHS
In support of Victor Toro and millions of undocumented immigrants
Protesta: Contra de la Migra En apoyo de Victor Toro y millones de inmigrantes indocumentados
At 26 Federal Plaza, New York, NY (corner of Worth & Lafayette)
Information: Tel:718-292-6137, 212-631-7555, 641-715-3900 ext.97869#
lapena2006@hotmail.com, MrnCrls@aol.com, may1@leftshift.org
Victor Toro is a citizen and national of Chile who was jailed and tortured there because of his opposition to the illegitimate Pinochet government (1973-1990). For more than 23 years, Victor and his wife Nieves Ayress (also a survivor of torture by the Pinochet regime) have been living in New York City and engaging in activism in the South Bronx, where they founded Vamos a La Peña, a nonprofit community organization that has served as a space for free expression and people's power for undocumented workers and other disenfranchised community members. On July 6, 2007,Victor Toro was arrested by US Border Patrol, an agency of the US Department of Homeland Security, while on board an Amtrak train in Rochester, New York. He was released on bond on July 9 and is now seeking political asylum with the help of his legal team. His wife Nieves is a US citizen; their daughter, Rosita Toro, is a legal permanent resident.
Victor Toro es un chileno quien fue encarcelado y torturado en ese pais por su oposicion al gobierno ilegitimo del dictador Pinochet (1973-1990). Durante mas de 23 años, Victor y su esposa Nieves Ayress (tambien sobreviviente de torturas bajo el regimen de Pinochet) han estado viviendo en la ciudad de Nueva York e involucrados en la lucha social en el Sur del Bronx, donde fundaron Vamos a La Peña, una organizacion comunitaria sin fines de lucro que ha sirvido como espacio de libre expresion y poder popular para los trabajadores indocumentados y otra gente marginada de esa comunidad. El pasado 6 de julio, 2007, Victor Toro fue arrestado por la Patrulla Fronteriza, agencia del Departamento de "Seguridad de Patria" de EEUU, mientras viajaba en un tren de Amtrak pasando por la ciudad deRochester, New York. Fue liberado bajo fianza el 9 de julio y ahora busca asilo politico con ayuda de su equipo legal. Su esposa Nieves es ciudadana estadounidense; su hija, Rosita Toro, es residente permanente legal
--
Contact thepoliticsofimmigration@gmail.com to subscribe
====================================
Authors, The Politics of Immigration: Questions & Answers
Website: http://thepoliticsofimmigration.org/
Blog: http://thepoliticsofimmigration.blogspot.com/
Email: thepoliticsofimmigration@gmail.com
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Borderline existence
Immigration law means a borderline existence for U.S. wife of Mexican Because Evaristo Suarez twice entered this country illegally, he must wait 10 years before he can apply to legally return. His wife, Heather, and three children wait with him amid Tijuana's perils.
By Anna Gorman
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 22 2008
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-greencard22-2008jul22,0,7458475.story
By Anna Gorman
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 22 2008
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-greencard22-2008jul22,0,7458475.story
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Notes from May 1st Coalition Forum
I recently attended a meeting held by the May 1st Coalition (www.may1.info). A centerpiece discussion was the need for solidarity from all human rights groups. The main objective of the forum was to brainstorm ideas on how to achieve solidarity, which was described as being an act of reciprocity and identification. There was concern that the May 1st coalition and May Day protests in NYC were being confused with being solely for immigrant rights. This is not to say that the coalition is not, however from what I gathered, the statement of purpose for the May 1st Coalition and the historical roots and May Day focus on Worker Rights, which happens to encompass immigrant rights as well. There seemed to be great concern and avid discussion around how vital it is for the coalition to remember this.
I left the meeting invigorated about the niblets of knowledge I learned about the coalition, the people who are involved, and the other causes and movements happening all around the city and the country. One of the advocates I met was David L. Wilson, the co-author of “the POLITICS of IMMIGRATION: Question and Answers.” David shared that one of his interests is informing immigrants about their surroundings and options: socially, legally, and financially. I spoke with him briefly to express my own interests in providing undocumented immigrants. One of the lessons I learned was the importance of not getting lost in one’s cause and forgetting the rest of the world. To paraphrase: one of the speakers pointed out how important it is not to settle for just defending one’s plight, but it is also equally important to make a claim.
This event was my first of such meetings and everyone was extremely welcoming and eager. As I looked around the room washing my eyes over all of the faces, everyone felt familiar. It was as though I’d met them in my dreams, where I am safe and I am strong.
I left the meeting invigorated about the niblets of knowledge I learned about the coalition, the people who are involved, and the other causes and movements happening all around the city and the country. One of the advocates I met was David L. Wilson, the co-author of “the POLITICS of IMMIGRATION: Question and Answers.” David shared that one of his interests is informing immigrants about their surroundings and options: socially, legally, and financially. I spoke with him briefly to express my own interests in providing undocumented immigrants. One of the lessons I learned was the importance of not getting lost in one’s cause and forgetting the rest of the world. To paraphrase: one of the speakers pointed out how important it is not to settle for just defending one’s plight, but it is also equally important to make a claim.
This event was my first of such meetings and everyone was extremely welcoming and eager. As I looked around the room washing my eyes over all of the faces, everyone felt familiar. It was as though I’d met them in my dreams, where I am safe and I am strong.
May 1st Coalition Forum
May 1st Coalition Forum
Saturday, May 31 • 2-6 pm 2008
Church of the Village
48 St. Mark’s Place, New York
2-4 pm Building the movement in solidarity with immigrants & workers: organizing labor, students, the progressive movement, etc. for social change
4 pm Teatro Callejera: No Abres La Puerta
4:30-6 pm: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: With or without documents, you have rights. Hear legal and other experts on how immigrants & workers have the right to organize unions, what to say if ICE comes to your home or community, etc.
Being Young and Undocumented
Public awareness of the plight of undocumented/illegal immigrant youth experience is lacking. Granted, statistics, data, and life accounts of undocumented/illegal immigrants are vague and elusive for obvious reasons, it is still important for the public to be informed. In addition, it is equally important, if not more so, for the undocumented/illegal youth population to also be aware. They must be informed about their circumstances, its ramifications and other options. Unlike documented/legal immigrants or even undocumented/illegal immigrant adults, resources for the undocumented/illegal immigrant youth are not readily available or openly publicized. The undocumented/illegal immigrant youth face not only the challenge of being young and an immigrant, but they must also face living in the shadows of a group that is already in the dark. There is a need for attention and research that will develop accessible resources, tools, and knowledge fort the undocumented/illegal immigrant youth.
It can be argued that such attempts to provide resources, tools, and knowledge for the undocumented/illegal immigrant youth undermines attempts to curb entry and residence of undocumented/illegal immigrants. However, it is naïve to use ignore-tactics on a population treated and identified as deviant, in hopes that it will deter or diminish their numbers. With the ever increasing numbers of undocumented/illegal immigrant youth who have spent their years of adolescent development in the U.S., action must be taken to inform them and provide them with tools in order for them to take action and be active participants in changing their circumstance. In addition, it is neither becoming nor beneficial to the economic, social, and cultural health of the United States to treat undocumented/illegal immigrant youth with the same legal ramifications as undocumented/illegal immigrant adults. The responsibility of an intent to defy immigration laws cannot be put on the shoulders of undocumented/illegal immigrant youth; their circumstances were not of their own making. But it is not all for nil. There is still time to help shape and shift, celebrate and promote an informed America.
In order to provide programs and resources to support undocumented/illegal immigrant youth, efforts must be made to learn about the varying circumstances and experiences of undocumented/illegal immigrant youth. Initiative toward exploratory and ethnographic studies is a recommended jumping-off point to determine the needs of this hidden population, as well as the factors that informed their circumstance. From there actions can be taken to address not only the overall subject of immigration in the U. S., but also the subject of human civil liberties.
It can be argued that such attempts to provide resources, tools, and knowledge for the undocumented/illegal immigrant youth undermines attempts to curb entry and residence of undocumented/illegal immigrants. However, it is naïve to use ignore-tactics on a population treated and identified as deviant, in hopes that it will deter or diminish their numbers. With the ever increasing numbers of undocumented/illegal immigrant youth who have spent their years of adolescent development in the U.S., action must be taken to inform them and provide them with tools in order for them to take action and be active participants in changing their circumstance. In addition, it is neither becoming nor beneficial to the economic, social, and cultural health of the United States to treat undocumented/illegal immigrant youth with the same legal ramifications as undocumented/illegal immigrant adults. The responsibility of an intent to defy immigration laws cannot be put on the shoulders of undocumented/illegal immigrant youth; their circumstances were not of their own making. But it is not all for nil. There is still time to help shape and shift, celebrate and promote an informed America.
In order to provide programs and resources to support undocumented/illegal immigrant youth, efforts must be made to learn about the varying circumstances and experiences of undocumented/illegal immigrant youth. Initiative toward exploratory and ethnographic studies is a recommended jumping-off point to determine the needs of this hidden population, as well as the factors that informed their circumstance. From there actions can be taken to address not only the overall subject of immigration in the U. S., but also the subject of human civil liberties.
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