[migrawatch-public] RAIDS AND RESISTANCE AUGUST 4TH TO AUGUST 18TH, 2007
WASHINGTON D.C.
IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES CONCEDING CRACKDOWN NOT AS TOUGH AS EXPECTED
A week after unveiling a major crackdown on businesses that hire illegal immigrants, the Bush administration is now conceding that its most heavily touted weapon in pursuing employers - an assault against Social Security fraud - will be nearly useless.
That's because when the Social Security Administration warns employers about bogus identification numbers, it remains barred from also alerting the Department of Homeland Security, the agency that's supposed to hand out penalties.
In addition, federal promises to hold companies responsible for hiring illegal immigrants could potentially be stymied by several other issues: Employers are still not required to check a new employee's Social Security number against a free federal database, there could be long gaps between when an employee is hired to when the warnings are issued each year, and there is no way to follow up on employees who have been fired. In many cases, illegal workers could still hop from job to job without being caught.
By Javier Erik Olvera and Lisa Friedman MediaNews
AUGUST 10, 2007
LEE, RHODE ISLAND
IMMIGRATION GROUPS CLASH OVER ERROR
An immigration raid that led to the roundup of eight Brazilians on Aug. 1 has underscored concerns of immigrants' rights groups and has led to a mistaken accusation that the state police collaborated with federal agents.
AUGUST 10, 2007
SOLDIERS FIGHTING FOR U.S. WORRY AS FAMILY MEMBERS FACE DEPORTATION
Yaderlin Jimenez was an illegal immigrant facing deportation. Her husband, a U.S. citizen and soldier, couldn't help; he was missing after an insurgent attack in Iraq.
The May disappearance of U.S. Army Specialist Alex Jimenez, of Lawrence, Mass., earned the case national attention. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff last month asked immigration officials to stop his wife's removal proceedings, and she became a legal resident.
But the Jimenezes' plight put a public face on the private anguish of a growing number of military families in similar straits who won't benefit from the same kind of attention.
"Every base has immigration problems," said Margaret Stock, an Army reservist and immigration attorney teaching at United States Military Academy at West Point. "The government they're fighting for is the same government that's trying to deport their families."
By Associated Press
AUGUST 11, 2007
LOS ANGELES, CA
IMMIGRATION RULES COULD HINDER L.A. COUNTY GARMENT INDUSTRY
Employers and employee advocates in the $33-billion industry say the extra steps required could cut -- perhaps deeply -- into their business.
"All of a sudden they want the employers to act as policemen," said Lee, former president of the Korean Apparel Manufacturers Assn. "I am a businessman.
More than 59,000 garment workers -- many believed to be undocumented immigrants -- are employed in the county. Nationwide, 26% of textile and garment workers and 18% of sewing machine operators are undocumented, according to 2005 data compiled by the Pew Hispanic Center.
Under the new regulations, employers must fire workers with discrepancies in their Social Security data -- or face fines.
The government also plans to increase fines by 25% against companies that knowingly hire undocumented workers and to expand criminal investigations.
Many workers already earn less than minimum wage and work as many as 13 hours a day, Herrera said.
Often, they take work home because many are paid by the piece.
Danny Park, executive director of the Korean Immigrant Workers Alliance, said he worries that employers will use the new rules to retaliate against garment employees who try to organize or join unions.
The enforcement will undoubtedly affect the apparel industry but won't shut it down, said Ilse Metchek, executive director of the California Fashion Assn. Metchek believes more manufacturers will move their operations offshore.
"If I have merchandise to get out the door, if I can't make it in Los Angeles," she said, "I will make it elsewhere."
By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
AUGUST 12, 2007
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
MAN MISTAKEN FOR FELON CAN SUE THE STATE
The California high court rules for a legal resident who was jailed by L.A. County and threatened with deportation. It was not until Perez-Torres' wife retained a lawyer that the parole
agent asked for a fingerprint comparison, the court said. The
comparison revealed the mistake, and the state dropped its case
against Perez-Torres. But the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service refused to release him for five more days.
By Maura Dolan Los Angeles Times
AUGUST 13, 2007
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ANOTHER IMMIGRATION RAID HAS TAKEN PLACE IN THE USUAL MILITARY STYLE, THIS TIME IN CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS. PROCLAIMING THAT THEY WERE GOING AFTER "CRIMINALS", IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE) AGENTS ROUNDED UP 27 "BRAZILIANS" IN YET ANOTHER EFFORT TO TERRORIZE OUR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY.
According to ICE, the 27 arrested were part of "identity-fraud rings" that sold workers' permits and green cards to undocumented migrants. According to affidavits, an ICE agent over an extended period sold false documents to a group of undocumented migrants for thousands of dollars. ICE then made the arrests. This operation reflects the business as usual atmosphere in this country where the government fleeces undocumented workers of their money and then they are hauled off to jail.
AUGUST 13, 2007
COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA
THE TRIAL OF BENITO ACOSTA, AN ORANGE COAST COLLEGE STUDENT ARRESTED AT A COSTA MESA CITY COUNCIL MEETING LAST YEAR, WAS SET TO START WEDNESDAY, BUT THE CITY PROSECUTOR HANDLING THE CASE HAS ASKED FOR A 60-DAY DELAY.
The court case stems from a Jan. 3, 2006, council meeting. Acosta, 26, was speaking at the podium about a plan to train city police to enforce immigration laws. He expressed his strong opposition to the plan and urged people who opposed the immigration plan to
stand.
Mansoor told him to stop speaking because his time was up, and when Acosta -- who also goes by the name Coyotl Tezcatlipoca -- protested, several police officers removed him from the meeting.
"They're trying to criminalize Mr. Acosta's speech," said Belinda Escobosa Helzer, an ACLU attorney representing him. "It's very unusual that they would decide to bring criminal charges for a person exercising their 1st Amendment right at an open City
Council meeting."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California also filed a civil suit against the city on Acosta's behalf in March, claiming his civil rights were violated.
Some have pointed out that even though Jim Gilchrist of the Minuteman Project, who praised the immigration plan, also asked supporters to stand during the 2006 council meeting, he wasn't reprimanded by the mayor as Acosta was.
By Alicia Robinson The Daily Pilot
AUGUST 14, 2007
AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA
GIULIANI VOWS TO STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani vowed Tuesday to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States by closely tracking visitors to the country and beefing up border security.
MSNBC
AUGUST 15, 2007
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND
COUNTY TO REQUIRE IMMIGRATION COMPLIANCE ON GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS THAT DO CONTRACT WORK
County Executive John Leopold said hiring illegal immigrants will be seen as a breach of the county's contract. The order applies to both future and existing deals.
Leopold's announcement came on the same day Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said he fired his house cleaner after discovering she was an illegal immigrant.
Baltimore Business Journal
TACOMA, WASHINGTON
300 DETAINEES ILL; TAINTED FOOD SUSPECTED
About 300 immigrants being held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma spent the early part of this week recovering from suspected food poisoning.
By Lornet Turnbull
Seattle Times staff reporter
AUGUST 17, 2007
WASHINGTON D.C.
US: Census Won't Stop Immigration Raids
Immigration officials sharpened their message a day after being coy about whether they would agree to halt enforcement raids during the 2010 census. "We won't entertain any request to scale back our efforts," Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Kelly Nantel said Friday.
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER The Associated Press
AUGUST 17, 2007
WASHINGTON D.C.
LIBERTIES ADVOCATES FEAR ABUSE OF SATELLITE IMAGES
A new plan to allow emergency response, border control and, eventually, law enforcement agencies greater access to sophisticated satellites and other sensors that monitor American territory has drawn sharp criticism from civil liberties advocates who say the government is overstepping the use of military technology for domestic surveillance.
By ERIC SCHMITT - The New York Times
AUGUST 4, 2007
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
PROTESTERS DEFEAT ANTI-IMMIGRANT MINUTEMEN
On Aug. 4, over 70 people turned out at the Mexican consulate in Chicago for a militant counter-protest against the racist Minutemen. The anti-racist protesters outlasted and defeated the dozen racists who assembled to attack the government of Mexico.
By: John Beacham PARTY FOR SOCIALISM AND LIBERATION
AUGUST 10, 2007
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
IMMIGRANT GROUPS TAKE FEDS TO COURT
In attempt to force federal immigration authorities to disclose information on the June 6 raids in New Haven, two immigrant rights groups have filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
On behalf of JUNTA for Progressive Action and Unidad Latina en Acción, Yale Law School attorneys filed the suit under the Freedom of Information Act in New Haven U.S. District Court Friday. Click here to read the suit.
JUNTA and ULA said they are concerned the raids were a "retaliation" against the city: Less than two days after the city approved an immigrant-friendly ID plan, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents swept through Fair Haven on June 6, arresting 29 undocumented immigrants. Mayor John DeStefano expressed similar concerns at the time, lashing out against the feds for "targeting" New Haven and allegedly violating immigrants' civil rights. Raids were subsequently suspended.
by Melissa Bailey NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 11, 2007
VIRGINIA BEACH
SMALL IMMIGRANT-RIGHTS RALLY HAS BIG GOALS
At 3:30 p.m. Friday, about a dozen people were at a rally at the Oceanfront on behalf of human rights for Hispanic people and illegal immigrants, leaving organizers speaking to a handful of spectators and passing beachgoers.
By JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, The Virginian-Pilot
AUGUST 11, 2007
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
IMMIGRANT ADVOCATES SUE OVER JUNE RAIDS
Two immigrant advocacy groups are suing the Department of Homeland Security to force the agency to turn over records tied to immigration raids made in June, two days after the city approved a landmark ID-card program.
COURANT.COM
AUGUST 14, 2007
WASHINGTON D.C.
US ACTIVISTS PLAN: ADOPT-AN-IMMIGRANT
The adoption of an illegal immigrant by a US citizen is currently a new way to protect the immigrants and demand a just reform of the law, according to activists.
The initiative, launched in Los Angeles last year, was put now into practice by the Latin American International Coalition in New Jersey.
According to activists of the program, this is a way to face anti-immigrant raids ordered by the White House.
The "Adopt Me" program will provide advice to undocumented immigrants about their rights in case they are arrested by immigration officials.
Prensa Latina
AUGUST 15, 2007
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ACTIVIST TO END SANCTUARY IN CHICAGO CHURCH
An undocumented Mexican immigrant who has been hiding out in a Chicago church in defiance of a deportation order for the past year announced plans Wednesday to leave the confines of the church and head to Washington, D.C.
Elvira Arellano added fuel to the immigration debate on August 15, 2006, when she announced her intention to defy U.S. immigration law and seek sanctuary in Adalberto United Methodist Church, in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood. The move, according to Arellano, was an effort to remain in the U.S. with her son, Saul, a legal citizen by birth.
Jessica Pupovac - AHN Writer
AUGUST 16, 2007
OMAHA, NEBRASKA
THE UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION SAYS IT'S PLANNING TO SUE THE FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AGENCY FOR WHAT IT CALLED MILITARY TACTICS THAT VIOLATED THE WORKERS' RIGHTS AGAINST ILLEGAL SEARCH AND SEIZURE.
Top union officials gathered today with Swift workers from plants raided in December by federal officials.
The Associated Press
AUGUST 16TH, 2007
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
VICTORY ON THE PICKET LINE
The remarkable struggle of immigrant strikers at South Chicago's Cygnus Corp., a nonunion soap factory, ended August 10 as improbably as it began two weeks earlier with dozens of workers jammed into a temporary staffing agency's office, voting on the spot to accept the agency's offer to send more than 100 back into the plant without penalty and with the threat of termination withdrawn. There was no hesitation when workers decided to strike over management's plan to terminate anyone whose immigration status couldn't be verified by August 10.
by Lee Sustar and Orlando Sepuldeva DISSIDENT VOICE
AUGUST 16, 2007
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA
PRINCE WILLIAM SOLIDARITY
On Thursday, August 9, fifty solidarity activists attended an
organizing meeting in Manassas, with participants coming from
throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Following a presentation
explaining the crisis, there was a discussion about how participants could express solidarity.
johnsteinbach@
NATIONAL IMMIGRATION SOLIDARITY NETWORK
AUG. 16, 2007
OMAHA, NEBRASKA
UNION CALLS FEDERAL IMMIGRATION RAIDS 'INCREASINGLY MILITANT'
The president of the Food and Commercial Workers union on Thursday called for congressional hearings into tactics used by federal officials during immigration raids last year at six Swift & Co. meatpacking plants.
By OSKAR GARCIA Associated Press Writer
AUGUST 16, 2007
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
CATCHING SPEEDERS EASIER THAN BUILDING BRIDGES
Many of the 7th and 8th graders pointing police radar guns at passing cars were the children of immigrants, just as the Skokie police had hoped.
Viewed as a forward-looking approach to immigration, Skokie was one of 10 municipalities and organizations to receive a chunk of the $1.5 million in grants for "immigrant integration initiatives" doled out this month by the Chicago trust.
BY DEBORAH HORAN CHICAGO TRIBUNE
AUGUST 17, 2007
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
LEGAL STATUS IS NO BAR TO RIGHTS
This week, bolstered by new funds, the Immigrant Workers' Rights Project, a coalition that includes the Institute for Labor Studies & Research, the Immigrants in Action Committee at St. Teresa Church in Olneyville, and Fuerza Laboral (Power of Workers), renewed efforts to inform immigrant workers about their right to pursue claims for job-related injuries, no matter their status in this country.
By Karen Lee Ziner THE PROVIDENCE Journal Staff Writer
AUGUST 18, 2007
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
ELVIRA ARELLANO LEAVES SANCTUARY FOR L.A. RALLY
Elvira Arellano, the illegal Mexican immigrant who avoided deportation for a year by taking refuge in a Humboldt Park Church, arrived here today and she is expected to speak and participate in a march for immigrant rights through downtown later this afternoon.
Arellano, slipped out of Adalberto United Methodist Church on the Northwest Side on Thursday night, a day after announcing she would travel to Washington, D.C. for a Sept. 12th prayer vigil and fast on the National Mall. Arellano's trip to Los Angeles marks the first time in a year she has ventured outside the Humboldt Park church, her friends and supporters say.
From the Chicago Tribune
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__,_._,___ FIRME articulo desde compas de FRENTE CONTRA LAS REDADES
RAIDS AND RESISTANCE AUGUST 4TH TO AUGUST 18TH, 2007
RAIDS AUGUST 10 TO AUGUST 18TH, 2007
WASHINGTON D.C.
IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES CONCEDING CRACKDOWN NOT AS TOUGH AS EXPECTED
A week after unveiling a major crackdown on businesses that hire illegal
immigrants, the Bush administration is now conceding that its most heavily
touted weapon in pursuing employers - an assault against Social Security
fraud - will be nearly useless.
That's because when the Social Security Administration warns employers
about bogus identification numbers, it remains barred from also alerting
the Department of Homeland Security, the agency that's supposed to hand
out penalties.
In addition, federal promises to hold companies responsible for hiring
illegal immigrants could potentially be stymied by several other issues:
Employers are still not required to check a new employee's Social Security
number against a free federal database, there could be long gaps between
when an employee is hired to when the warnings are issued each year, and
there is no way to follow up on employees who have been fired. In many
cases, illegal workers could still hop from job to job without being
caught.
By Javier Erik Olvera and Lisa Friedman MediaNews
AUGUST 10, 2007
LEE, RHODE ISLAND
IMMIGRATION GROUPS CLASH OVER ERROR
An immigration raid that led to the roundup of eight Brazilians on Aug. 1
has underscored concerns of immigrants' rights groups and has led to a
mistaken accusation that the state police collaborated with federal
agents.
AUGUST 10, 2007
SOLDIERS FIGHTING FOR U.S. WORRY AS FAMILY MEMBERS FACE DEPORTATION
Yaderlin Jimenez was an illegal immigrant facing deportation. Her husband,
a U.S. citizen and soldier, couldn't help; he was missing after an
insurgent attack in Iraq.
The May disappearance of U.S. Army Specialist Alex Jimenez, of Lawrence,
Mass., earned the case national attention. Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff last month asked immigration officials to stop his wife's
removal proceedings, and she became a legal resident.
But the Jimenezes' plight put a public face on the private anguish of a
growing number of military families in similar straits who won't benefit
from the same kind of attention.
"Every base has immigration problems," said Margaret Stock, an Army
reservist and immigration attorney teaching at United States Military
Academy at West Point. "The government they're fighting for is the same
government that's trying to deport their families."
By Associated Press
AUGUST 11, 2007
LOS ANGELES, CA
IMMIGRATION RULES COULD HINDER L.A. COUNTY GARMENT INDUSTRY
Employers and employee advocates in the $33-billion industry say the extra
steps required could cut -- perhaps deeply -- into their business.
"All of a sudden they want the employers to act as policemen," said Lee,
former president of the Korean Apparel Manufacturers Assn. "I am a
businessman."
More than 59,000 garment workers -- many believed to be undocumented
immigrants -- are employed in the county. Nationwide, 26% of textile and
garment workers and 18% of sewing machine operators are undocumented,
according to 2005 data compiled by the Pew Hispanic Center.
Under the new regulations, employers must fire workers with discrepancies
in their Social Security data -- or face fines.
The government also plans to increase fines by 25% against companies that
knowingly hire undocumented workers and to expand criminal investigations.
Many workers already earn less than minimum wage and work as many as 13
hours a day, Herrera said.
Often, they take work home because many are paid by the piece.
Danny Park, executive director of the Korean Immigrant Workers Alliance,
said he worries that employers will use the new rules to retaliate against
garment employees who try to organize or join unions.
The enforcement will undoubtedly affect the apparel industry but won't
shut it down, said Ilse Metchek, executive director of the California
Fashion Assn. Metchek believes more manufacturers will move their
operations offshore.
"If I have merchandise to get out the door, if I can't make it in Los
Angeles," she said, "I will make it elsewhere."
By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
AUGUST 12, 2007
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
MAN MISTAKEN FOR FELON CAN SUE THE STATE
The California high court rules for a legal resident who was jailed by
L.A. County and threatened with deportation. It was not until
Perez-Torres' wife retained a lawyer that the parole
agent asked for a fingerprint comparison, the court said. The
comparison revealed the mistake, and the state dropped its case
against Perez-Torres. But the federal Immigration and Naturalization
Service refused to release him for five more days.
By Maura Dolan Los Angeles Times
AUGUST 13, 2007
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
ANOTHER IMMIGRATION RAID HAS TAKEN PLACE IN THE USUAL MILITARY STYLE, THIS
TIME IN CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS. PROCLAIMING THAT THEY WERE GOING AFTER
"CRIMINALS", IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE) AGENTS ROUNDED UP
27 "BRAZILIANS" IN YET ANOTHER EFFORT TO TERRORIZE OUR IMMIGRANT
COMMUNITY.
According to ICE, the 27 arrested were part of "identity-fraud rings" that
sold workers' permits and green cards to undocumented migrants. According
to affidavits, an ICE agent over an extended period sold false documents
to a group of undocumented migrants for thousands of dollars. ICE then
made the arrests. This operation reflects the business as usual atmosphere
in this country where the government fleeces undocumented workers of their
money and then they are hauled off to jail.
AUGUST 13, 2007
COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA
THE TRIAL OF BENITO ACOSTA, AN ORANGE COAST COLLEGE STUDENT ARRESTED AT A
COSTA MESA CITY COUNCIL MEETING LAST YEAR, WAS SET TO START WEDNESDAY, BUT
THE CITY PROSECUTOR HANDLING THE CASE HAS ASKED FOR A 60-DAY DELAY.
The court case stems from a Jan. 3, 2006, council meeting. Acosta, 26, was
speaking at the podium about a plan to train city police to enforce
immigration laws. He expressed his strong opposition to the plan and urged
people who opposed the immigration plan to
stand.
Mansoor told him to stop speaking because his time was up, and when Acosta
-- who also goes by the name Coyotl Tezcatlipoca -- protested, several
police officers removed him from the meeting.
"They're trying to criminalize Mr. Acosta's speech," said Belinda Escobosa
Helzer, an ACLU attorney representing him. "It's very unusual that they
would decide to bring criminal charges for a person exercising their 1st
Amendment right at an open City
Council meeting."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California also filed a
civil suit against the city on Acosta's behalf in March, claiming his
civil rights were violated.
Some have pointed out that even though Jim Gilchrist of the Minuteman
Project, who praised the immigration plan, also asked supporters to stand
during the 2006 council meeting, he wasn't reprimanded by the mayor as
Acosta was.
By Alicia Robinson The Daily Pilot
AUGUST 14, 2007
AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA
GIULIANI VOWS TO STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani vowed Tuesday to stop the
flow of illegal immigrants into the United States by closely tracking
visitors to the country and beefing up border security.
MSNBC
AUGUST 15, 2007
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND
COUNTY TO REQUIRE IMMIGRATION COMPLIANCE ON GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS COMPANIES
AND INDIVIDUALS THAT DO CONTRACT WORK
County Executive John Leopold said hiring illegal immigrants will be seen
as a breach of the county's contract. The order applies to both future and
existing deals.
Leopold's announcement came on the same day Howard County Executive Ken
Ulman said he fired his house cleaner after discovering she was an illegal
immigrant.
Baltimore Business Journal
TACOMA, WASHINGTON
300 DETAINEES ILL; TAINTED FOOD SUSPECTED
About 300 immigrants being held at the Northwest Detention Center in
Tacoma spent the early part of this week recovering from suspected food
poisoning.
By Lornet Turnbull
Seattle Times staff reporter
AUGUST 17, 2007
WASHINGTON D.C.
US: Census Won't Stop Immigration Raids
Immigration officials sharpened their message a day after being coy about
whether they would agree to halt enforcement raids during the 2010 census.
"We won't entertain any request to scale back our efforts," Immigration
and Customs Enforcement spokesman Kelly Nantel said Friday.
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER The Associated Press
AUGUST 17, 2007
WASHINGTON D.C.
LIBERTIES ADVOCATES FEAR ABUSE OF SATELLITE IMAGES
A new plan to allow emergency response, border control and, eventually,
law enforcement agencies greater access to sophisticated satellites and
other sensors that monitor American territory has drawn sharp criticism
from civil liberties advocates who say the government is overstepping the
use of military technology for domestic surveillance.
By ERIC SCHMITT - The New York Times
RESISTANCE AUGUST 4TH TO AUGUST 18TH, 2007
AUGUST 4, 2007
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
PROTESTERS DEFEAT ANTI-IMMIGRANT MINUTEMEN
On Aug. 4, over 70 people turned out at the Mexican consulate in Chicago
for a militant counter-protest against the racist Minutemen. The
anti-racist protesters outlasted and defeated the dozen racists who
assembled to attack the government of Mexico.
By: John Beacham PARTY FOR SOCIALISM AND LIBERATION
AUGUST 10, 2007
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
IMMIGRANT GROUPS TAKE FEDS TO COURT
In attempt to force federal immigration authorities to disclose
information on the June 6 raids in New Haven, two immigrant rights groups
have filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
On behalf of JUNTA for Progressive Action and Unidad Latina en Acción,
Yale Law School attorneys filed the suit under the Freedom of Information
Act in New Haven U.S. District Court Friday. Click here to read the suit.
JUNTA and ULA said they are concerned the raids were a "retaliation"
against the city: Less than two days after the city approved an
immigrant-friendly ID plan, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
agents swept through Fair Haven on June 6, arresting 29 undocumented
immigrants. Mayor John DeStefano expressed similar concerns at the time,
lashing out against the feds for "targeting" New Haven and allegedly
violating immigrants' civil rights. Raids were subsequently suspended.
by Melissa Bailey NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
AUGUST 11, 2007
VIRGINIA BEACH
SMALL IMMIGRANT-RIGHTS RALLY HAS BIG GOALS
At 3:30 p.m. Friday, about a dozen people were at a rally at the
Oceanfront on behalf of human rights for Hispanic people and illegal
immigrants, leaving organizers speaking to a handful of spectators and
passing beachgoers.
By JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, The Virginian-Pilot
AUGUST 11, 2007
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
IMMIGRANT ADVOCATES SUE OVER JUNE RAIDS
Two immigrant advocacy groups are suing the Department of Homeland
Security to force the agency to turn over records tied to immigration
raids made in June, two days after the city approved a landmark ID-card
program.
COURANT.COM
AUGUST 14, 2007
WASHINGTON D.C.
US ACTIVISTS PLAN: ADOPT-AN-IMMIGRANT
The adoption of an illegal immigrant by a US citizen is currently a new
way to protect the immigrants and demand a just reform of the law,
according to activists.
The initiative, launched in Los Angeles last year, was put now into
practice by the Latin American International Coalition in New Jersey.
According to activists of the program, this is a way to face
anti-immigrant raids ordered by the White House.
The "Adopt Me" program will provide advice to undocumented immigrants
about their rights in case they are arrested by immigration officials.
Prensa Latina
AUGUST 15, 2007
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ACTIVIST TO END SANCTUARY IN CHICAGO CHURCH
An undocumented Mexican immigrant who has been hiding out in a Chicago
church in defiance of a deportation order for the past year announced
plans Wednesday to leave the confines of the church and head to
Washington, D.C.
Elvira Arellano added fuel to the immigration debate on August 15, 2006,
when she announced her intention to defy U.S. immigration law and seek
sanctuary in Adalberto United Methodist Church, in Chicago's Humboldt Park
neighborhood. The move, according to Arellano, was an effort to remain in
the U.S. with her son, Saul, a legal citizen by birth.
Jessica Pupovac - AHN Writer
AUGUST 16, 2007
OMAHA, NEBRASKA
THE UNITED FOOD AND COMMERCIAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION SAYS IT'S
PLANNING TO SUE THE FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AGENCY FOR WHAT IT CALLED MILITARY
TACTICS THAT VIOLATED THE WORKERS' RIGHTS AGAINST ILLEGAL SEARCH AND
SEIZURE.
Top union officials gathered today with Swift workers from plants raided
in December by federal officials.
The Associated Press
AUGUST 16TH, 2007
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
VICTORY ON THE PICKET LINE
The remarkable struggle of immigrant strikers at South Chicago's Cygnus
Corp., a nonunion soap factory, ended August 10 as improbably as it began
two weeks earlier — with dozens of workers jammed into a temporary
staffing agency's office, voting on the spot to accept the agency's offer
to send more than 100 back into the plant without penalty — and with the
threat of termination withdrawn. There was no hesitation when workers
decided to strike over management's plan to terminate anyone whose
immigration status couldn't be verified by August 10.
by Lee Sustar and Orlando Sepuldeva DISSIDENT VOICE
AUGUST 16, 2007
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA
PRINCE WILLIAM SOLIDARITY
On Thursday, August 9, fifty solidarity activists attended an
organizing meeting in Manassas, with participants coming from
throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Following a presentation
explaining the crisis, there was a discussion about how participants could
express solidarity.
johnsteinbach@starpower.net
NATIONAL IMMIGRATION SOLIDARITY NETWORK
AUG. 16, 2007
OMAHA, NEBRASKA
UNION CALLS FEDERAL IMMIGRATION RAIDS 'INCREASINGLY MILITANT'
The president of the Food and Commercial Workers union on Thursday called
for congressional hearings into tactics used by federal officials during
immigration raids last year at six Swift & Co. meatpacking plants.
By OSKAR GARCIA Associated Press Writer
AUGUST 16, 2007
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
CATCHING SPEEDERS EASIER THAN BUILDING BRIDGES
Many of the 7th and 8th graders pointing police radar guns at passing cars
were the children of immigrants, just as the Skokie police had hoped.
Viewed as a forward-looking approach to immigration, Skokie was one of 10
municipalities and organizations to receive a chunk of the $1.5 million in
grants for "immigrant integration initiatives" doled out this month by the
Chicago trust.
BY DEBORAH HORAN CHICAGO TRIBUNE
AUGUST 17, 2007
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
LEGAL STATUS IS NO BAR TO RIGHTS
This week, bolstered by new funds, the Immigrant Workers' Rights Project,
a coalition that includes the Institute for Labor Studies & Research, the
Immigrants in Action Committee at St. Teresa Church in Olneyville, and
Fuerza Laboral (Power of Workers), renewed efforts to inform immigrant
workers about their right to pursue claims for job-related injuries, no
matter their status in this country.
By Karen Lee Ziner THE PROVIDENCE Journal Staff Writer
AUGUST 18, 2007
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
ELVIRA ARELLANO LEAVES SANCTUARY FOR L.A. RALLY
Elvira Arellano, the illegal Mexican immigrant who avoided deportation for
a year by taking refuge in a Humboldt Park Church, arrived here today and
she is expected to speak and participate in a march for immigrant rights
through downtown later this afternoon.
Arellano, slipped out of Adalberto United Methodist Church on the
Northwest Side on Thursday night, a day after announcing she would travel
to Washington, D.C. for a Sept. 12th prayer vigil and fast on the National
Mall. Arellano's trip to Los Angeles marks the first time in a year she
has ventured outside the Humboldt Park church, her friends and supporters
say.
>From the Chicago Tribune
Viva Zapata!
k.
posted by mike at 12:44 PM
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