May Day in Oregon, great video

Help 1 million immigrants VOTE in November

One of the major demands of may 1 this year was to fight against the disenfranchisement of nearly a million immigrant voters. Despite quadrupling the price of citizenship in the US, USCIS has refused to clear the backlogs of individuals waiting for citizenship- some 2 to 3 years. Nearly a million immigrant voters that have done everything we’ve asked of them in order to become citizens will be denied the vote in Novemeber if we don’t act NOW.

FIRM is teaming up with partners around the country to unite and push for a clearing of the backlog in time to let these people exercise their right to vote!

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Today (May 2) at 11 AM Eastern Time, representatives of FIRM will meet with Acting Director Jonathan Scharfen of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.  The meeting was first scheduled following an action of 500 grassroots leaders at USCIS organized by National People’s Action and FIRM on April 14th.  At today’s meeting, FIRM hopes to get real commitments from USCIS to work collaboratively to resolve these backlogs so that hundreds of thousands of citizens-in-waiting will be able to participate in the general election, which is only 6 months away.

 

Please take a moment to call, or ask your members to call, the Office of the Acting Director at (202) 272-1000.  The message is:

 

“Good morning, my name is __________ and I live in _________.  I’m calling with an important message for new Acting Director Jonathan Scharfen.  With the general election only 6 months away, now is the time to signal to the immigrant community that you will do all that you can to ensure that hundreds of thousands of citizens-in-waiting stuck in naturalization backlogs will be able to participate in our Democracy.”

Listen to voices from DC for MAY 1

I’ve been hitting the streets in DC interviewing folks participating in the May 1 events here.

You can listen to all of the interviews here

My favorite interview is with Baltimore Rapper, Son of None, he spits a great rhyme at the end

Follow DC May 1 events on our Twitter!

Hey folks, we’ll be live tweeting from the MAy 1st events here in DC on Twitter. Just start following the name “Ocin”.

May 1! Unite!

In Honor of May 1 - Si Se Puede! The music video

Know the Truth About Immigrant Detention in the US

FIRM Update 4.28.08

Building America Together!

On May 1st, FIRM member organizations in a number of cities across the United States will engage in rallies and marches calling for unity in the movement, an end to raids, a pathway to citizenship and emphasizing the importance of civic participation as we gear up for the general election this fall. We’ve partnered with America’s Voice, a new 501c4 non-partisan communications organization, to make press and communications resources available to a number of events. If your organization is interested in participating, but has not yet contacted us, please e-mail mgraciosa@communitychange.org. More details to come soon.

Then on May 2, a delegation of FIRM leaders will follow-up on our joint action with National People’s Action with a meeting with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service to further pressure that agency to resolve the naturalization backlogs that could prevent one million naturalization applicants from becoming citizens in time to register to vote in the elections this fall. FIRM’s efforts build on the work of the New Americans Initiative, implemented by FIRM member organizations across the nation, including Illinois, Maryland, Washington, and several other states. For more information about the New American’s Initiative, launched by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, go to http://www.icirr.org/nai/aboutnai.html. FIRM’s focus on USCIS also builds on the powerful work of our partner organizations in the Ya Es Hora campaign (http://www.yaeshora.info/), the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (http://www.naleo.org/) and ACORN (http://www.acorn.org/) in holding the Department of Homeland Security accountable to democracy. For more information, contact rstolz@communitychange.org.

Politics 2008

As the Democratic candidates for President look down the final stretch toward the Democratic Convention in Denver, CO, how Senator John McCain positions himself on immigration remains a major question in this presidential election. For insight into McCain’s campaign, and his home state of Arizona, here is an article from The Politico: http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=58F65022-3048-5C12-00DD9CAEA3AACE30.

On April 16th, Janet Murguia, Executive Director of the National Council of La Raza gave an important address at the National Press Club on the matter of the tone of the immigration debate and the impact on the Latino community. For excerpts of the speech, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKcDn5TQJUA.

Congressional News

Growing frustrated with Democratic leaders, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus attacked the Democratic Leadership last week for failiing to act on comprehensive immigration reform. For an AP article on the scuffle, go to http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iVvNEQTRBcKr1H77I1lD06ZPkCbAD907QPTG0. Pressure is mounting on all sides, as proponents of smaller immigration related mesaures (visa reforms and expansions, enforcement measures) are held up by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ demand that nothing move if it does not address the 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. A series of hearings will begin in the House of Representatives on the issue of employment verification, beginning with the Ways and Means Committee (as early as the week of May 5).

State & Local News

In Prince William County, Virginia, the County Board of Supervisors has begun debating in earnest the merits of the anti-immigrant ordinances that the county adopted a year ago. A vote on whether to repeal these higly-publicized ordinances could come up as early as this week. For information on politics in Prince William County, take a look at the following blog: http://www.antibvbl.net/index.php/2008/04/23/stewart-distances-himself-from-fair/

Put an End to Slave Workforce

Undocumented workers strike in France to gain worker rights- supported by many local businesses and citizens- watch the video for more.

FIRM Update 4.15.08

Building America Together!

 

With May 1st only a few weeks away, organizations in cities across the country are planning a wide range of activities.  If you have not yet sent a description of events planned in your community to rstolz@communitychange.org, please do so ASAP so that we can compile as strong a list as possible.  In the mean time, press coverage over the anniversary of the major May 1 marches has started, including this article that ran in the Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-marchanniversary_12met.ART.North.Edition1.467d5fc.html

 

On April 12-14, more than 500 grassroots community leaders gathered in Washington, DC for National People’s Action, a major gathering of community organizing groups across the nation.  At that gathering hundreds of leaders from African American, Latino, Asian, and urban and rural communities joined the Building America Together campaign and endorsed the FIRM Pledge.  FIRM and NPA members then held a series of actions on a range of issues important to low-income and minority communities, including the foreclosure crisis and immigration reform.  For more information go to www.npa-us.org.  On Monday, April 14, NPA and FIRM organized an action at the Department of Homeland Security demanding that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service quickly address naturalization backlogs that could deny hundreds of thousands of immigrants an opportunity to vote this fall.  At that action, USCIS agreed to a national meeting and local follow-up meetings to discuss progress on the backlogs.

 

Politics 2008

 

At the presidential level, pundits are noting that immigration has remained a relatively quiet topic among the main candidates vying for the office.  A useful summary article of the state of the debate can be found at http://www.mgwashington.com/index.php/news/article/immigration-debate-disappears-from-presidential-race/842/.

 

Julia Preston, reporter for the New York Times, posted a blog entry on the newspaper’s site calling for stories about personal experiences with the immigration system.  A number of very compelling stories followed.  If you’d like to post your own story, please go to http://news.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/share-your-immigration-story/.

 

At the bottom of this update, please fine included an excerpt from a statement made by Senator Obama on the issue of immigration.  It’s noteworthy in that it represents a rhetorical shift toward “requiring” legalization in an unfortunate nod to Americans concerned about sounding tough on immigrants.  At the same time, Senator Obama argues against the politics of division and bitter partisanship that derailed the immigration bill last year.

 

Congressional News

 

- A column from a prominent Hispanic evangelical leader condemning the SAVE Act: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/13/EDJ7102NGP.DTL

- An article that ran on New American Media last week on “big brother” aspects of verification programs: http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=52d0ebe8371c990bd462f7f8b57a87b9

- An article on how employment verification programs impact citizens: http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=4d22e7ba1e5ee4c8039d5b38ed1177f1

- For a fact sheet being circulated in the human needs community, please go to: http://www.chn.org/humanneeds/080414c.html

 

State & Local News

 

Tensions in Arizona over race, immigration and enforcement policies centering on the actions of Sheriff Arpaio are rising.  The Mayor of Phoenix recently requested the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation to examine Arpaio’s practices.  For coverage go to http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/04/13/20080413gordonarpaio0413.html or http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=8160458 to see how the story is spreading.  Tensions are emerging even among law enforcement agencies and fears of civil unrest due to Arpaio’s actions: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/04/10/20080410mr-sweeps.html.  Last week the New York Times also weighed in with an editorial critical of the 287g program, which encourages cooperation among federal immigration authorities and loca law enforcement officials, and called for its own investigation of Sheriff Arpaio: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/opinion/09wed1.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=arpaio&st=nyt&oref=slogin.

 

In Valley Park, Missouri, recent elections ousted the incumbent mayor who had made stemming illegal immigration that town’s major political cause.  The mayor-elect has already signaled a new direction on immigration.  The town has been burdened by legal suits ever since it enacted anti-immigrant ordinances in 2006. http://www.kmov.com/justposted/stories//kmov_justpost_080410_valleypark.4ff1ebdf.html

 

A story coming out of Texas demonstrates the sad state of affairs in the nation’s immigration debate.  A young girl who claimed to have been attacked by Hispanic students for submitting an anti-immigrant homework assignment lied about the assault, but the truth came to light following a wave of angry anti-immigrant media.  For a sample story, go to http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gZ1nT1vVtsPjlF3OBXD7k6zJzmkQD8VUT0601.

 

In Missouri, a chamber in the State Legislator voted to prohibit the state from implementing the REAL ID Act.  For an article on the action, go to http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/574609.html.

 

Raids, Detention, Deportation

 

The new commercial film, The Visitor, which tells a story about the impact of immigrant detention on friends and family members, is now out in the theaters.  To see a trailer of the film, please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KULst0-BQZk. A list of locations where the film is being shown can be seen at http://www.thevisitorfilm.com/visitorVenues.html.  A number of groups are organizing around this film to raise awareness about immigrant detention issues.  To see what folks are up to, go to http://www.takepart.com/thevisitor.

 

Immigration Agencies and Federal Regulations

 

Responding to concerns raised by business and political leaders, Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff defended the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and punted concerns about raids by turning attention back toward Congress: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gW2P1MWWgc-PQW-oo9bUzL6vR-PQD900HNJ80.  An article on the comments and letter sent by Mayor VIllaraigosa to Chertoff can be found at http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8876072?nclick_check=1.

 

There is a growing political response to waivers announced by the Department of Homeland Security to sidestep various protections in an effort to speed up construction of border walls.  A summary of the legal issues can be viewed at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/us/08bar.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin, and a press release announcing the intent of several House members to sue the Department can be seen at http://homeland.house.gov/press/index.asp?ID=351&SubSection=1&Issue=0&DocumentType=0&PublishDate=0.

 

A coalition of organizations have developed a detailed analysis of recently issued regulations that would govern the H2A Visa program, used primarily for agricultural workers. 

 

FIRM Member Activities

 

The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition celebrated a victory in the State legislature last week when an appropriations committee voted against a proposal to double the state’s immigration enforcement patrol.  For more information, contact julien@coloradoimmigrant.org.

 

Allies and Partner Activities

 

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union held the most recent of a series of hearings on the impact of ICE worksite raids in Boston, MA last week.  http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/04/08/commission_hears_testimony_on_us_immigration_raids/

 

Resources & News to Use

 

Tax Time! The Immigration Policy Center released a paper last week summarizing recent research on the tax contributions of immigrants.  To view the report, go to http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/index.php?content=taxday.

 

The following Op Ed ran in papers across the country last week highlighting the personal experience of immigration lived by Cristina Lopez of the Center for Community Change: http://www.charlotte.com/409/story/567612.html

 

Two videos were honored in a contest held by the Movement Vision Lab.  Each video tells a story about immigration from the perspective of community values.  To view them go to http://www.movementvisionlab.org/ccc/www/blog/announcing-the-results.

 

An Op Ed by a state legislator from Iowa makes the case that rather than pass anti-immigrant laws, it’s time to enforce wage laws that can benefit everyone: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080402/OPINION01/804020347/1036/Opinion

 

 

Posted on Mon, Apr. 14, 2008 in the Charlotte Observer:

Obama: Enforce tighter border, employer verifications

One of my fundamental beliefs is that for too long we have had a politics of division and distraction in Washington that’s stopped us from coming together to bring about real change. There are few better examples of how broken our politics has become than the immigration debate. Just last summer, we saw comprehensive reform fail in part because of bitter partisanship.

While I understand the passions — and legitimate differences — on both sides of this difficult issue, we must restore civility and reason to the conversation. The longer we go without comprehensive reform, the more pronounced this problem will become.

We must find common ground and take action on the two central issues that lie at the heart of this debate — and we cannot effectively address one without addressing the other at the same time.

First, we must reinforce our borders to deter the more than 2,000 immigrants who cross them illegally each day. Most of these aspiring laborers risk death in the desert to come here illegally, and they are diverting our attention from those trying to enter to do us harm.