On Wrong Side of History Again: Supreme Court Upholds Law Aimed at Immigrant Workers

by the Coalicion de Derechos Humanos

Last week, the Supreme Court upheld the 2007 Arizona Legal Workers Act which mandates the use of E-Verify by all Arizona employers and allows Arizona courts to revoke business licenses of employers found to "knowingly or intentionally" hire undocumented workers.

The Act was originally signed into law by former state governor Janet Napolitano in 2007 and challenged by a broad coalition of business and civil rights groups. While the decision does not explicitly address other state immigration laws, such as Arizona's draconian SB 1070, it follows a long history of racist persecution of undocumented people and communities of color.

In effect, the decision sends a green light for continued raids in Arizona and the enactment of similar forms of racist and anti-immigrant legislation in other states.

For over a hundred years, workers from Mexico and other Latin American countries have been actively encouraged by businesses and the federal government to enter the US in an unauthorized fashion. Through their sweat and toil, these workers and their families have built important sectors of the country's economy, while undergoing the cruelest forms of degradation. In light of such a history, the Supreme Court's decision yesterday is shameful and hypocritical.

Rather than addressing US foreign policy and free trade agreements which have been responsible for the mass displacement of workers in Mexico and other parts of the world, this decision is based on the erroneous premise that penalizing employers will address the immigration issue. Employer sanctions will not stop people from leaving loved ones behind, and undergoing untold amounts of risk to enter the US to survive or join their families.

Moreover, employer sanctions in the past have clearly shown that it is the worker, and not the employer, who bears the brunt of such measures. We have seen how such measures in Arizona have driven workers into the underground economy and into even more abusive and precarious working and living conditions. Only days after Joe Arpaio announced his 20th raid in Phoenix, this misdirected decision will simply give more license to criminalize and persecute undocumented communities and communities of color.

This decision comes at a moment when the Arizona economy is in dire straits. This measure will increase regulation in a way that will result in intrusive police enforcement at the work-site and create tremendous financial costs. Building and administering a flawed E-Verify system, hiring additional enforcement agents, and conducting more inspections, raids and prosecutions will be an additional economic burden on Arizona residents who already suffer from the lack of resources for basic services in education, healthcare, jobs and infrastructure.

The Supreme Court has stood on the wrong side of history before. In 1857, the Court ruled that people of African descent could never be US citizens and were not protected by the Constitution. Four decades later, the Court upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine. In 1944, the Court ruled the constitutionality of the government order to force Japanese Americans into internment camps. In all these shameful instances and others, the Court sanctified the oppression of vulnerable groups. And just like these earlier rulings, the 2011 decision will also one day be relegated to the dustbin of history.

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Coalicion de Derechos Humanos

P.O. Box 1286
Tucson, AZ 85702

Office: 520.770.1373
Or 1.800.682.4280
Fax: 520.770.7455
www.derechoshumanosaz.net

Border Patrol Arrests Families in Louisiana Returning Home from Faith Event

By Rebecca Fontaine

On April 15, 2010, in Louisiana, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents detained over forty members of the Evangelical Latino congregation, “El Buen Pastor.” The families were returning home to Raleigh, North Carolina. The church members were traveling on Interstate-10 in Louisiana, returning from an annual jubilee in Texas, called the “Santa Cena” or “Holy Week.” The vans were not cited with any traffic violations; rather the stop and the arrests were motivated by CBP’s suspicion — based on Latino appearance — that the church members may be undocumented.

CBP claims that they can use race as a factor to make stops and arrests within a 100-mile radius of the border. CBP also claims that the southern shoreline is border territory.

Primarily families — men, women and children members of El Buen Pastor — were traveling in the vans. When CBP stopped them, the agents aggressively questioned the travelers. CBP agents handcuffed many of the men and took them away in patrol vehicles. Some of the churchwomen recounted the impacts they suffered at the hands of the CBP agents:

The officials were banging on the door. My sister in law told the officials to lower their voices. . . All of us were scared.

We said, “we are coming from a church event.” There were babies in the car and they were all crying. However, the officials did not change their tone. My niece is special needs and she started to moan and throw her arms around in the air. Her father was worried that she was going to accidentally detach herself from the feeding machine . . .

As my children watched the officers handcuff my husband they started to cry . . . As we were driven to the CBP office by the officers, one of my aunts was crying and upset trying to pray and sing hymns in a quiet voice. Everyone else was crying and the official just laughed, asking if God would save us from this.

CBP agents coerced the parents into signing documents they did not understand, despite trying to uphold their rights to remain silent and to consult with an attorney. The CBP agents threatened that if they did not sign, the men and women would be sent to separate detention facilities and the children would become wards of the state.

Everyone else was crying and the official just laughed, asking if God would save us from this.

For hours, the church members were crammed into the office as each family was processed. One churchwoman explained, “We waited in the office but there wasn’t really anywhere to sit. I remember my older son was tossing and turning because he wanted to sleep but there was nowhere to lie down. The children were crying.”

CBP Official: “Like winning the lottery”

The church members felt their rights were violated by the way officials treated them; CBP officials mocked them for wearing head coverings. Despite explaining that their dress is a way to demonstrate respect for God, the officials humiliated them, joking that the real reason they wear the veils is to disguise their messy hair.

The officers spoke of the church members as objects. “At the time of shift change a new official came in and I heard him say to the others, ‘Good job, congratulations.’ He told them they had caught a bunch and because there were so many of us it was like winning the lottery.”

The CBP arrest and treatment traumatized the families, especially the children.

A Call for Support

Now, church members are fighting to stop their deportation proceedings and uphold their human rights. With the support of Durham-based Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ), the families are fighting for suppression of removal in Immigration Court because the government did not legally obtain the information regarding the documentation status of the church members.

SCSJ represents the members in a suit against CBP for withholding public records about the arrest. SCSJ will also represent them in a suit based on emotional abuse CBP agents inflicted on congregation members and other violations of their constitutional rights.Buen Pastor is organizing with other faith communities and allies, in particular, Latino congregations that have suffered abuse by Immigration and other law enforcement authorities.

On February 18, members of El Buen Pastor led a vigil attended by over seventy people. They called on their faith to give them strength and courage to continue fighting for their human dignity.

Their next Immigration Court date is June 23^rd, 2011 in Charlotte, NC. The congregation is asking for other Latino and allied churches to write letters denouncing the CBP abuses inflicted against them.

If your congregation would like to write a letter or you would like to become involved contact staff organizer, Rebecca Fontaine at Rebecca@southerncoalition.org.

To follow the case, sign up on SCSJ’s Twitter or Facebook account.

Click here to read press articles about the arrest.

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Photograph by Josh Davis

Rebecca Fontaine works at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice as an immigrants' rights organizing and as a bilingual immigration paralegal.

Human rights approach long overdue on immigration|Ya es hora para los derechos humanos en la inmigración

English version follows:

No Human being is illegal
Time to ask tough questions on immigration


Ningún Ser Humano es Ilegal
La criminalización de la inmigración


Por Myrna Martínez Nateras
mnateras@afsc.org

FRESNO, California -- "Si yo hubiera tenido la opción de no emigrar hubiese preferido quedarme en mi pueblo, al lado de mis padres", dijo Rosa, una campesina originaria del sur de México y residente del área de Fresno, en California. "Igual que muchos otros jóvenes de mi pueblo, ni bien estamos en edad salimos en busca de trabajo; primero a los estados del norte de México y después, algunos de nosotras, seguimos a los campos de California".

Este es uno de los tantos testimonios que escucho permanentemente de inmigrantes residentes del Valle [Central de California] como parte de mis responsabilidades al frente de los programas de Migración y Movilidad Humana del Comité de Servicios de los Amigos Americanos (AFSC) en esta zona.

Y nos dicen que migrar no es una elección, es una necesidad.

Migrar para trabajar, sea dentro o fuera de los límites de un país, es parte de una situación socioeconómica que prevalece desde hace siglos y que provee mano de obra barata, algo imprescindible para el desarrollo económico de ciertas áreas. Este fenómeno es común en muchos paises y ha sido ampliamente estudiado.

En el Valle Central de California la industria agrícola ha dependido, desde sus inicios, de mano de obra barata ­de inmigrantes legales o no. La legislación referente al empleo de esta mano de obra ha sido determinada por intereses políticos y económicos.

No hay que olvidar que en este país, precisamente, el gran desarrollo económico fue impulsado por inmigrantes chinos, irlandeses, armenios, filipinos, italianos, mexicanos y muchos más, que contribuyeron también a la formación de ciudades, fortunas individuales y lujos del cual no disponen.

Es decir: si se quiere buscar soluciones al tema de la inmigración, no podemos limitarnos solamente a cuestiones legislativas.

A los trabajadores inmigrantes siempre se les adjudicaron etiquetas despreciativas. Hasta los años 80 del siglo pasado se les llamaba "wetbacks". Hoy predomina el término "ilegales".

Si catalogamos a los trabajadores de ilegales ¿por qué entonces no se utiliza el termino "empleadores ilegales" para quienes los contratan? Esta es una prueba obvia de la discriminación anti-inmigrante.

La insistencia en usar el termino "ilegal" bajo la justificación de "llamar las cosas por su nombre" o "porque entraron ilegalmente al país" no ha logrado más que deshumanizar a los inmigrantes, poniéndolos en categoría de criminales y violadores intencionales de la ley.

El uso constante de la palabra "ilegal" por parte de algunos medios de comunicación, instituciones que abogan por una inmigración limitada y políticos que responden a los sectores más conservadores, al referirse a los inmigrantes sin papeles, no ha logrado más que reforzar la percepción negativa de éstos, agudizar el sentimiento anti-inmigrante, aumentar las tensiones sociales y dividir comunidades que parecen cada día más lejos de llegar a un acuerdo.

Esta polarización política ha paralizado la reparación legislativa de la migración, prolongando aún más sus problemas. Poner a los trabajadores inmigrantes y sus familias en la categoría de ilegales solamente ha contribuido a la justificación de la violación y negación de sus derechos humanos y laborales más básicos, como salud o educación. En resumen, es una justificación para su marginación social y cultural.

Bajo la excusa de esta "ilegalidad" observamos una complacencia social que justifica la creación de leyes y sistemas de aplicación de las mismas con consecuencias devastadores no solamente para las familias de los inmigrantes sino para comunidades enteras.

Y digamos, además, que enfocarse en este aspecto ayuda a distraer la atención de las razones de la migración (la economía que necesita de esta mano de obra) y mantiene comportamientos discriminatorios y racistas contra estos trabajadores.

Repetidamente se menciona que estos trabajadores son quienes cosechan las frutas y verduras que llegan a nuestras mesas, limpian nuestras casas y cuidan a nuestros niños. Estos inmigrantes son esto y mucho más: son seres humanos que aspiran a tener una voz política, personas que están enriqueciendo la cultura de nuestras comunidades, que se educan ­muchos hablan dos o tres idiomas­ conocen su oficio y tienen una sólida ética laboral.

Las únicas variables en el debate sobre la migración son: la leyes, el sentimiento vigente en la opinión publica y el discurso político. Y las constantes son: las condiciones y demandas económicas que atraen esa mano de obra inmigrante.

Históricamente, la inmigración a Estados Unidos se ha regido por leyes; éstas a su vez han cambiado de acuerdo con las reglas económicas del momento y los intereses temporales. Un ejemplo es el llamado Programa Bracero (1946-1964): se lo aprobó rápidamente para traer trabajadores mexicanos cuando se los necesitaba desesperadamente, en la posguerra, y cuando se terminó esa demanda, se canceló el programa.

Los legisladores conocen el funcionamiento y los intereses del sistema del que son parte. Negar una reforma migratoria significa reconocer no solo el nivel de contradicciones e intereses encontrados en el poder, sino también la incapacidad de superarlos: queremos el trabajo de los inmigrantes pero no queremos que se queden aquí ni que se reproduzcan y mucho menos que tengan poder politico y sindical. No queremos que sean "legales" porque entonces ya no trabajarán en los empleos más sucios y peor pagados.

Pero la situación actual es insostenible. El fenómeno de la migración requiere urgentemente buscar soluciones más permanentes que no se darán solamente con cambios legales y vaivenes políticos. Es tiempo ya de abordar este fenómeno desde un lente económico y de derechos humanos.

*****
No Human being is illegal

Time to ask tough questions on immigration


By Myrna Martínez Nateras
mnateras@afsc.org

FRESNO, CA-- "Had I been given a choice I would not have migrated to the United States," Rosa, a farm worker who hails from southern Mexico said to me, "As soon as I was able to do so I left in search of work; first in Mexico¹s northern states, then I continued north, following the crops, to toil in the California's fields."

Rosa's story is painfully repeated to me time and time again by immigrants who, like her now call the Valley home.

From its beginnings the Central Valley's agricultural industry has relied on easily exploitable labor, documented or not. Also from its beginnings these workers have been demonized in language designed to hide their enormous value to the industry and to our communities. What's happening today is no different ­ despite the growing demand for immigrants¹ services.

There¹s no clearer example of dehumanizing immigrants than the mainstreaming of the term illegal to describe workers like Rosa.

Immigrants tell me all the time that they do not leave their countries by choice, that they were forced to migrate, even if it meant circumventing current immigration laws. The human instinct to survive and economic factors are more powerful than immigration laws.

But in the day and age of instant news, we prefer catch words that simplify complex social issues, even if this means negating the perspective of those most impacted by our policies.

Under the pretext of the illegality of our friends and neighbors, laws and policies that persecute workers, separate families and devastate entire communities are implemented by government officials and applauded by a growing sector of our society.

The name-calling has all but delayed legislative action on immigration, prolonging the multiple concerns surrounding the debate and has led us down the path of a near irreconcilable polarization. But the cost has been even larger for immigrant workers and their families; they have been subjected to the point of dehumanization where their basic human rights are negated under the guise of their illegal status.

At best immigrant workers in our country are acknowledged for their back-breaking work. It's repeatedly mentioned that immigrants pick the fruits and vegetables we eat, clean our homes and take care of our children.

Immigrants are more than the work they do: they are human beings, they also struggle to have a political voice, they enrich the culture of our communities, they worry about their children's future, they excel in education‹many speak two or three languages--, they have a solid moral and work ethic.

It's absolutely true, immigration is regulated by laws, but laws have changed in order to respond to the economic rules of the moment. Just one example is the Bracero Program (1946-1964): it was fast-tracked when Mexican laborers were desperately needed and cancelled as soon as the demand for workers had declined.

Laws are not meant to last forever, they change in response to immediate needs. Law makers understand their role in ensuring that our society is not bogged down by obsolete and unjust laws. But lawmakers are standing in the way overhauling our immigration policies and that clearly points to the entrenched contradictions in our political system and our unwillingness to overcome them. We want immigrant labor but we don't want them here, we don't want their children and most certainly we don't want them to obtain political power. We want to keep them illegal, because by doing so we will keep them in the same low paying and unbearable jobs. We want immigrants to remain the perpetual them.

Our current situation is unsustainable. The immigration issue requires us to jointly find permanent and sustainable solutions that do not only respond to the shifting political winds and are not stuck on labels.

I often get asked what part of illegal I don't understand, answering the question will almost always mean ending up in a circular debate.

The question we should be asking is when will we start to understand each other. Let's start by upholding the worth and dignity of all people. The time to approach the immigration issue from a human rights framework is long over due.

Raise your voices: Tell Obama to end to all immigration-police collaboration & Stop SB1070!

Join in the National Day of Action

Against SB1070

For justice & human rights

Thursday, July 29, 2010

NNIRR, the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, invites you to take action against SB1070, Arizona's anti-immigrant racial profiling hate law. Click here to raise your voice against anti-immigrant hate laws and demand justice and human rights from any place in the country or world.

Here are the key websites for information and connections to campaigns and work specifically against SB-1070, Arizona's anti-immigrant racial profiling law:

• Coalición de Derechos Humanos, Tucson, AZ: http://www.derechoshumanosaz.net
• Puente Movement, National Day Laborer Organizing Network: http://www.altoarizona.com
• Presente.Org: http://www.movethegame.org
• Sound Strike: http://www.thesoundstrike.net/
• Also read NNIRR's statememts and calls to actions against immigration-police collaboration and reports on human rights violations here.

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PARTIAL LIST OF EVENTS/ACTIONS

(Note: these are the announcements that were emailed to NNIRR))

1. Phoenix, AZ

Thursday, July 29

Rally at Wells Fargo, 9am

1st Ave. and Washington

Rally at the 4th Ave. jail, 4pm

4th Ave. and Madison

Sponsored by Alto Arizona and others http://www.altoarizona.com

2. Tucson, AZ

¡YA BASTA! Enough

Comunidades Uniéndose a La Resistencia! Communities Uniting to Resist!

Resistiendo unid@s hasta el 29 de julio!

Resisting together up to and all day July 29th!

The State Bldg. in on corner of Congress and Granada.

El Edificio Estatal esta en la esquina de Congress y Granada.

July 28 5:00pm:

Demonstration begins. Resistencia Unida at State Bldg. - YA BASTA!

July 28 7:30pm:

Sundown. Vigil begins. Candles begin to light. Bring your arte, candles and veladores for the all-night vigil!

July 28 9:00pm:

Musica! Energizing ourselves to maintain an all-night presence at the State bldg. Spoken word, beat box, poetry, songs shared TODA LA NOCHE!

July 29 5:30am:

Calpolli Teoxicalli Sunrise Ceremony/Ceremonia al amanecer

July 29 7:00am

Interfaith service AT PRESIDIO PARK (City Hall)

July 29 8:00am

ALL OUT! Massive Convergence at State Bldg.!

REPUDIO a la SB1070!

July 29 4:00pm:

ALL WORKERS OUT! SEGUIMOS EN RESISTENCIA!

THE RESISTANCE CONTINUES!

We act on the principle that if a law is unjust, our duty is RESISTANCE!!

For more information, please call (520) 770-1373 [ Email: kat@derechoshumanosaz.net ]

Coalición de Derechos Humanos, Tucson, AZ: http://www.derechoshumanosaz.net

3. North Carolina

Raleigh and Charlotte

http://ncimmigrants.blogspot.com/

Media Alert

For immediate Release

Contact:

Roxana Bendezú or Stacey Bonilla

704-264-4444 or 704-737-7124

Roxanabendezu@ gmail.com

Stacey.bonilla@ yahoo.com

ARIZONA DOESN’T SPEAK FOR ME!!!

NO SB1070!

WHAT: On Thursday, July 29^th, 2010, Charlotte United: A Coalition of Community Partners, will host a rally and live theater performance, followed by a candlelight prayer vigil.

WHO: Charlotte United: Action NC, Grassroots Leadership, Unity Group of Charlotte, Bonilla Community Services, American Friends Service Committee, Immigrant Solidarity Committee, Saint Peters Catholic Church Social Justice Committee, Glenn Hutchinson, Tom Strini.

WHEN & WHERE: 6:30 pm on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at Marshal Park (555 S McDowell St Charlotte, NC 28204)

BACKGROUND: Opposition has sparked across the state of Arizona and the country to defeat SB1070 and any policies that further criminalize people and separate families. We know that if SB1070 is not stopped in Arizona now, similar laws will spread throughout the country. In North Carolina, legislators are considering an Arizona like bill.

In May of this year, Senate Joint Resolution SJ1349 was introduced in the NC Senate. The federal government needs adopt a comprehensive immigration reform that will not only protect American jobs, but will also lead to a path to citizenship for the close to 12 million undocumented people in our country. An enforcement only approach is unreasonable and will not solve the root causes of undocumented immigration. A comprehensive approach from the federal government is the answer.

As a state that has led the civil rights movement in the 60’s, it us up to North Carolina to set an example for the rest of the nation and say, this is not acceptable. This law can only terrorize communities if the federal government cooperates with it. We demand that the Obama Administration take decisive action and not comply with Arizona’s SB1070. We as North Carolinians, stand firm in our belief that “an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere”.

4. North Carolina

Raleigh, NC: 5pm July 29th:

From Arizona to North Carolina: March for Immigrant Justice

WHAT: A march to protest racial profiling and discrimination against immigrant and minority communities

WHEN: July 29 at 5 p.m.

WHERE: Gathering at Nash Square, at the corner of Dawson and Hargett, to march through downtown Raleigh to the State Capitol

RALEIGH (July 29) -- Concerned North Carolinians will hold a march and rally in downtown Raleigh on July 29 to protest racial profiling and discrimination against immigrant and minority communities.

The event is part of a national day of action against the enactment of the Arizona law SB 1070, which mandates that all local police and sheriffs demand documents from people they suspect might be in the state without authorization. The marchers will gather at 5 p.m. at Nash Square (the corner of Dawson and Hargett in Raleigh) and walk to the State Capitol for a rally.

SB 1070, or the “Arizona Law,” requires that all law enforcement agencies determine the immigration status of a person if there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person is unlawfully present. Under this law, people who look “foreign” can be targeted for minor infractions – having a broken taillight or jaywalking – and then asked for proof of legal status. U.S. citizens and legal residents who “look like” foreigners could be at risk of arrest and deportation if they cannot produce acceptable forms of identification to verify their immigration status.

While North Carolina has not passed similar legislation, racial profiling continues to be a serious concern across our state. Currently in North Carolina, at least 29 county and local law enforcement agencies are participating in either the 287(g) or "Secure Communities" programs, which are partnerships between local law enforcement and ICE (Immigration Customs and Enforcement).

These programs focus on identifying and apprehending immigrants who may be in the country without authorization, resulting in the arrest and deportation of undocumented people after they have been arrested for minor violations. This has led to the widespread fracturing of families and created a climate of heightened fear in our communities.

On July 29, the marchers will call on state and federal officials to stop unfair treatment of immigrants and to work for a just immigration policy that includes compassion for those who are trying to overcome poverty and political oppression. Participating groups oppose racial profiling in Arizona, North Carolina and throughout the country. The marchers seek laws that are inclusive and respect the dignity of all human beings.

“From Arizona to North Carolina: March for Immigrant Justice” is being organized by NC ICE Watch in partnership with Black Workers for Justice, the Fr. Charlie Mulholland Catholic Worker House, NC DREAM Team, NC Justice Center, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, Pueblo Unido, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Student Action with Farmworkers and community leaders.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Fernando Mejia (English and Spanish), mobile 208-830-0313, fernando@ncjustice.org or Jeff Shaw (English), mobile 503-551-3615,jeff@ncjustice.org.

5. New York

We Are All Arizona!

National Day of Action against SB 1070 Law: March Across the Brooklyn Bridge

Thursday, July 29^th

9:30am Gather at Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn

(take A/C trains to High Street, OR 2/3/4/5/R trains to Borough Hall)

10:00am March across Brooklyn Bridge

11:00am Press Conference & Rally at Foley Square in Manhattan

(take 4/5 to Brooklyn Bridge OR N/R/W to City Hall)

Why We Are Marching:

• We stand in solidarity with the people of AZ against the inhumane and unjust law SB1070
• We oppose Arizona-like laws that have spread throughout the nation, including right here in NYC
• We condemn racial profiling in all forms as exemplified by SB1070 and moreover we denounce the racism that underlies these laws

Our Demands:

1) We want humane legalization for all, not a “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” that creates more Arizonas through harsh enforcement policies like 287g, border militarization, and increased deportations.

2) We want an end to mass detentions, deportations, 287g, Secure Communities programs that criminalize immigrant people.

Organized by:

New Sanctuary Movement, Families for Freedom, Immigrant Defense Project, Black Institute, Churches United to Save & Heal, Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights, DRUM-Desis Rising Up & Moving, VAMOS Unidos, American Friends Service Committee, Wind of the Spirit (NJ)

Endorsed by (in progress):

Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, Damayan, Sistas and Brothas United, NY Immigration Coalition, World Can’t Wait, Sikh Coalition, Urban Youth Collaborative, Immigrant Communities in Action, Center for Immigrant Families, Sikh Coalition, United for Peace and Justice, South Asian Americans Leading Together, Boycott Arizona Coalition, Muslim Consultative Network, New Immigrant Community Empowerment, CAAAV, Center for Constitutional Rights, Peekskill Area Pastors Assoc., La Union, National Economic & Social Rights Initiative, Coney Island Avenue Project, Youth on the Move , Sikh Coalition, SA Bar Assoc. of NY, Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund, Adhikaar, NYS Youth Leadership Council

To endorse- email monami@drumnyc.org

For details, call Families for Freedom- (646) 290-5551

6. Oakland, CA

Stop Arizona SB 1070! * Stop Secure Communities

Join us to stand for an end to the discrimination and persecution of immigrants!

Our Spirit Will Not Be Broken! Justice for Immigrants!

Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 3:00 pm

Oakland, Fruitvale BART Plaza

Street Theater, Speakers, Dance, Poetry, Praying & Interfaith Service

Sponsors: Black Alliance for Just Immigration, East Bay Interfaith Immigration Coalition, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, Just Cause, Mujeres Unidas y Activas Multicultural Institute

For information call East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (510) 540-5296 ask for Manuel

7. Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance (MIRA), Jackson, MS:

MIRA will host a news conference on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at Noon in Room 113 at the Mississippi State Capitol. Please call the MIRA office at (601) 968- 5182 for more information.

8. Rhode Island

Rhode Island joins National Day of Action against Arizona's SB1070

Community presents demands to Gubernatorial Candidates

Thursday, July 29 is the official date for the implementation of SB1070 in Arizona.

Around the country and in Latin America, there are plans for protests and resistance.

In Rhode Island, various organizations are planning a rally to show solidarity with the people of Arizona and at the same time, pressure candidates for Governor to commit to a different future for Rhode Island.

The event starts with a brief rally at 4:30 in the park behind the Armory (between Cranston and Westminster Streets, in Dexter Park) in Providence. At the end of the rally, people will have the chance to review the responses that the candidates have submitted to a series of questions and demands, such as:

• commit to veto and to speak against any “copycat” of Arizona's SB1070
• order the DMV to accept government ID from other countries in order to receive a license
• prohibit police from asking for ID from people without cause
• support “In-State Tuition” through which graduates of RI high schools are charged the same tuition whether they have papers or not, and
• rescind the executive order

“We are against the criminalization of our communities, whether they are Latino, Asian, or African American, and we also oppose the attempt to attack the citizenship of the children of immigrants, as is happening in Arizona,” said Marlon Cifuentes, organizer with English in Action.

Groups supporting the day of action include: DARE Direct Action for Rights and Equality; Providence Youth and Student Movement (PrYSM); Olneyville Neighborhood Association (ONA); English in Action (EfA); Immigrants in Action Committee; RI Jobs with Justice; AFSC, SE New England Chapter; and Ocean State Action.

For more information, contact Olneyville Neighborhood Association ONA at 228-8996.

9. Los Angeles

http://www.immigrationcoalition.org/

Protests and Press Conference in LA to STOP Arizona SB1070!

TODAY!! Tuesday July 27th & AGAIN on Wednesday the 28th at 5:00PM!

Downtown LA Federal building: 300 North Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Organized by the Southern California Immigration Coalition. Please help us spread the word!! And if you want to go to Arizona with us on Wednesday night, go to our website to reserve your seat!

[Get on the] Boycott Bus to Arizona

Southern California Immigration Coalition- SCIC is going to Arizona.

Be at Arizona July 29 to stop SB1070

Cost $35.00 per person

Meeting place is Centro Cultural Francisco Villa * 2100 Maple Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90011

We leave Wed night July 28

We return Thursday night July 29.

Please RSVP right away.

Phone # 323-602-3425

10. McAllen, TX

For More Info. Contact: (956) 207-2571

PRESS CONFERENCE TO ANNOUNCE

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF NON-COMPLIANCE to STOP SB1070

In Front of the Federal Courthouse, on the corner of 18^th and old Hwy 83 in McAllen, TX

1:30PM, Wednesday, July 28, 2010

How does the Rio Grande Valley weigh in with enforcement programs that rely on racial profiling and apprehensions in a race to rock bottom for Human Rights?

Southwest Workers’ Union will hold a press conference in front of the Federal Courthouse to issue a statement about the Federal Court hearings that put into question the legality of SB1070 in Arizona. Community members rally and vigil for Arizona and against racist enforcement programs because the Rio Grande Valley comes in 3^rd place in apprehensions (2008), behind San Diego, CA (second place) and Tucson, AZ which of course is in first place.

During our press conference we will announce our participation in events on July 29^th, 2010, in accordance with Puente Arizona’s call for an International Day of Non-Compliance (don’t consume, don’t comply) during which nation-wide and internationally there will be events to demonstrate against the racist SB1070. We call for peace in our communities and an end to the discrimination and violence against im/migrants.

2PM- Spiritual Fast and Boycott against SB1070: convene to celebrate the fast and boycott by gathering in front of the Basilica de San Juan in San Juan, TX (400 N. Virgen de San Juan Blvd. San Juan, Texas 78589

Sponsored by Southwest Workers’Union and Redes Ciudadanas of Texas.

* (We will also be supporting LUPE at 10AM for the “Vigil Against SB1070,” Corner of Cesar Chavez Road and Business 83 in San Juan, TX 78589.)

Background Info: Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler is in Arizona. He is challenging SB 1070, a Jim Crowe law that would make police arrest and prosecute people suspected of not having papers. Â SB1070 will be implemented on Thursday, July 29.

The Justice Department has argued the law oversteps constitutional bounds by creating a parallel immigration system that threatens the federal one and interfering with foreign relations.

According to the Migration Policy Institute website, five of the nine Southwest sectors accounted for 88.4 percent (640,198) of all border apprehensions. And Tucson, AZ accounted for more Border Patrol apprehensions in 2008 than any other sector. The Rio Grande Valley, Texas (10%) rated 3^rd place with Tucson, Arizona in first place (44%); and San Diego, Californiain second place (22%) regarding the most apprehensions in 2008.

Arizona was the premiere state partner in a Homeland Security program called 287(g), which since 2002 has made it okay for local law enforcement to ask about papers and detain immigrants without criminal charge. As a consequence, local police in the nation have detained thousands of im/migrants. During the hearing Kneedler argued that SB 1070 is an unconstitutional departure from the course they set.

11. SAN FRANCISCO, CA

JOIN THE SF DAY LABOR PROGRAM AND THE WOMEN’S COLLECTIVE AT A PRESS CONFERENCE AND RALLY TO INSIST THAT ATTORNEY GENERAL JERRY BROWN ALLOW SAN FRANCISCO TO OPT-OUT OF THE "S-COMM" PROGRAM!!

S-COMM is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program that operates within the criminal justice system and which allows state and local law enforcement to automatically provide information to ICE of anybody who is arrested, no matter how minor the charge. In April 2009, the California Department of Justice signed an agreement with ICE, which activatedCalifornia's participation in the program. Although S-COMM is a voluntary program, Attorney General Jerry Brown has prohibited San Francisco from not participating. Our "Sanctuary Law" has in effect been obliterated !

WHAT: Press Conference and Rally to pressure Attorney General Jerry Brown to allow SF to not participate in S-COMM program. Save our Sanctuary Law!

WHEN: Thursday, July 29, 2010, 11 am.

WHERE: In front of Attorney General Jerry Brown's San Francisco office, 455 Golden Gate Ave.

For more information, please contact Renee Saucedo at renee@lrcl.org, (415) 553-3404.

12. San Diego, CA

Contacts | Contactos

Adriana Jasso

Coordinator of the Raza Rights Coalition (proyecto de Unión del Barrio)

(619) 808-7277 (celular)

Bryan Constantino

Comité de Derechos Humanos Digna Ochoa

(619) 990-7360 (celular)

SAN DIEGO COMMUNITIES RALLY AGAINST SB 1070

AND EXPRESS THEIR SOLDARITY WITH THE COMMUNITIES OF ARIZONA.

San Diego, CA – On Wednesday, July 28, 2010 the Raza Rights Coalition and its member collectives will be organizing a protest in front of the Federal Building located in downtown San Diego. This action is a response from people in San Diego to the call for solidarity and national protests that numerous organizations in Arizona have made at the national level.

“If the judge responsible for considering the two lawsuits against SB 1070 delivers on Wednesday a decision in favor of the new law, it will give the green light to the nine other states that have already announced their intention to introduce similar legislation like the law in Arizona.” So states Adriana Jasso, coordinator of the Raza Rights Coalition. Actions to denounce and repudiate SB 1070 are urgent in order to ensure that the massage of the organized communities will be heard throughout the country.

A racist and repressive environment will not win the battle against the struggles of community based organizations that have for years worked to win dignity and human rights. This invitation is for all people to unite with this call for solidarity against SB 1070. United we can become one voice against racism and repression.

This action of solidarity will start at 5PM, on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at:

Federal Building, 880 Front Street, San Diego 92101