Fight fire with fire - Link to your pro-immigrant blog here!

For some reason the anti-immigrant blogging world thinks that they rule the online immigration debate- maybe that’s because in many ways they do… for now. The pro-immigrant blogosphere is still ramping up our energy.

The only way we can succeed is by supporting one another! So if you write about immigrant rights, post a link to your site here! Let’s keep building our momentum!

And… Just to get you riled up, here’s a little article from the washington post on anti-imigrant bloggers.

Salon.com asks- Are we placating the GOP or protecting the workplace?

It’s not often that you see a progressive blog on the ICE raids. Much of the progressive blogosphere has completely ignored the heart of the raids and detention crisis in our country. The ones that do talk about it usually treat it as a “wedge-issue” or political power play by republicans…. That is to say, they totally miss the point.

The lasting and irreversible effect of the raids on our communities remains yet to be entirely seen. But the eradication of vibrant rural economies, and the spread of extreme desperation throughout our immigrant communities does not bode well for any of us. It’s about time that progressive bloggers take note of what is happening in America’s neighborhoods. The longer we remain silent on the fear and destruction that our immigration detention complex is spreading, the harder we make our ability to fix our broken immigration system.

Check out the Aimee Molloy’s piece at Salon.com, and if you’ve seen other good blog entries around immigration from more mainstream sites, post them here!

 Placating the GOP base or protecting the workplace?

Whether or not the Bush administration’s stepped-up immigration raids are a political stunt to soothe angry Republican voters, they still carry a human price tag.

By Aimee Molloy
July 27, 2007 | NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — On the morning of March 6, 2007, swarms of armed federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, gathered in the blistering cold outside the Michael Bianco Inc. leather goods factory in New Bedford, Mass. At about 8 a.m., as a helicopter circled overhead and police kept watch in Coast Guard boats in the nearby harbor, the agents rushed the building military-style, blocked the exits, and ordered the employees to turn off their sewing machines, where most were busy stitching backpacks and vests for the U.S. military. By evening, 361 workers — mostly from Guatemala and El Salvador — had been taken into custody after they were unable to prove they had legal status to work in the United States The factory owner and three managers were also arrested and charged in connection with hiring illegal aliens.

Over the last several months, as immigration reform has been debated on Capitol Hill, massive arrest and deportation operations like this have become a key component in the enforcement of existing laws. In the first five months of 2007, 3,226 undocumented workers were arrested on the job, compared with just 485 in all of 2002. Recent raids have included an operation that netted 62 sanitation workers at an Illinois pork plant, 21 employees of a Mexican restaurant chain in Arkansas, and 31 workers at a Dallas factory that repairs Fossil watches.

Wife and children emprisoned at Hutto reunite with family

The Hazleton win last week was indeed a great success for us all. Even though ICE continues to raid our communities, there are consistent smaller wins along the way that can help keep all of us going!

Here is a great story about a family that has just been reunited after emprisonment from Hutto (I think the picture says it all.)

 

A Cuban man has an emotional airport reunion after his Venezuelan-born wife and children are released from a Texas prison.

Family divided at U.S. border reunited in Miami
BY ALFONSO CHARDY
achardy@MiamiHerald.com

Immigration authorities Friday abruptly released the Venezuelan-born wife and children of a Cuban refugee who was paroled into the country on the same day his family was put in deportation proceedings at the Texas-Mexico border.

An emotional Ocdalis Gómez, 22, and her children Abel, 2, and Winnelis, 6, immediately boarded a plane in Austin, Texas, bound for Miami, where they rejoined Abel Gómez, 30 — the Cuban migrant who for weeks desperately tried to gain freedom for his family.

When Abel and Ocdalis reunited at Miami International Airport, the husband and wife held each other tightly for a few seconds while their children stared in awe at the television cameras trained on the family. Then Abel Gómez picked up the children, hugged and kissed them and proudly displayed one on each arm for the cameras.

”I’m immensely happy,” he said when he finally was able to speak, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Thanks to God, I am now next to my family again.”

Dozens of farm workers exposed to toxins- Need Action and Support!

Dozens of farm workers exposed to toxic pesticide Chlorpyrifos.
Send your e-mail today!

Farm workers need you to e-mail the California Department of Pesticide Regulations immediately. More than 75 workers were laboring in the grapes last Saturday, when the adjacent almond orchard was sprayed with the dangerous pesticide Chlorpyrifos. The toxic chemical drifted over workers. Within minutes, workers complained of headaches, dizziness, vomiting, nausea, memory loss and chest pressure.
 
Grape worker Gloria Sanchez describes the incident:
“We were de-leafing the table grape vineyards when something weird started to smell like gasoline. I got out of the row and I saw a sprayer passing by and drops of pesticide were falling on me. I started throwing up and felt like I would faint.”
 
Some workers like Gloria were taken directly to the hospital. The rest of the crew was told to go home and take a shower…and then they were called later in the early afternoon that they should go to the hospital. Workers tell us they were afraid to go to the hospital because they couldn’t afford the medical costs or the loss of work.

Needing their wages, these same workers attempted to return to work on Monday, but were still affected by the insecticide exposure. Many of them fell ill again. 

We don’t know what the long term effects of this exposure will be on these farm workers–most of whom are women. We do know that Chlorpyrifos is a dangerous class two type pesticide that can affect the central nervous system, the cardiovascular system, and the respiratory system. It is one of the leading causes of acute pesticide poisoning incidents in the US.
 
This is the second major pesticide exposure incident in July. On July 10th over a dozen workers were also exposed to Chlorpyrifos (Lorsban) while picking oranges. Farm worker Concepcion Silvestre tells us what happened:
“We started to smell pesticides. Drops of whatever pesticide had been applied to the orange trees the day before were falling on us. We started to have headaches and our fingers started to become numb. We told the forelady what was happening and she told us that we were hung over.” The supervisor told the workers to change fields and continue their work. The workers refused as they felt sick and wanted to go home.
 
Please e-mail the CA Department of Pesticide Regulations (CDPR) today and tell them to investigate these incidents to the fullest extent of the law. It’s time to ban dangerous pesticides like Chlorpyrifos which put farm workers’ health at risk on a daily basis. Tell the CDPR to do its job and protect farm workers from being poisoned by toxic pesticides.

Hundreds Sign-Up for New Haven ID- Not Deterred by Federal Scare Tactics

Just weeks after terrifying raids on the New Haven community, seen as retaliation by Federal Agencies for pro-immigrant measures the mayor’s office has supported for several years, hundreds of immigrants have signed up for New Haven’s new municipal ID card. A bill was introduced today in the NYC city council to create a NY municipal ID. If you are interested in passing one in your area, post here!

I copied these two photos from USA Today, showing the lines and battling protestors.

We WIN! Hazelton Anti-Immigrant Ordinance Defeated

Special thanks to all the local residents, advocates attorneys, and staff at PRLDEF and ACLU for all of their hard work in winning this case.

This sends a loud and clear message that anti-immigrant ordinances are un-American and wrong for our communities. The Hazelton ordinance that would have attacked the immigrant community in Hazleton, PA has been ruled unconstitutional (see release for more information below). Mayor Lou Barletta and other Mayors and City Councails interested in targeting immigrant communities will nobe deterred from usinge this tactic to scapegoat immigrants and rip families apart.

PICC, the Pennsylvania Immigrant and Citizenship Coalition will be holding a press conference later today about the decision.

Unfortunately the damage to Hazelton has already been done. Hatred and racial tension have scarred the community, jeopardized many local businesses and has caused suffering within the entire town. Leaders continue to try to find healing and strength with their neighbors. Let’s hope that this ruling can prevent other towns from suffering the same fate.

More information to come….

From CCIR:

HAZLETON ANTI-IMMIGRANT ORDINANCE RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Coalition Applauds Decision to Prevent Chaos and Discrimination Washington, DC –

 Today, a federal judge in Scranton, PA ruled against the City of Hazleton in a landmark challenge (Lozano v. City of Hazleton) to local ordinances aimed at punishing landlords, employers, and people perceived to be immigrants.  The following is a statement by Clarissa Martinez, Campaign Manager for the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. 

“Today’s decision is a win in America’s effort to restore the rule of law while upholding our tradition of fairness and equality.  We are grateful that the court recognized these are not mutually exclusive concepts and made a decision to prevent the harmful effects we would have all suffered if this law had been implemented.  This ruling sends a clear message that the Hazleton ordinance, and other similar anti-immigrant laws around the country, are unconstitutional and will not be allowed to stand.”

Waiting for Hazelton Decision

The decision that will decide if Hazelton can proceed to implement their heinous anti-immigrant ordinance is set to be announced this afternoon around 3pm. We’ll keep you posted on developments.

Tancredo and Graham FAIL to push anti-immigrant rhetoric

Both amendments that we reported on yesterday involving the Farm Bill, and a proposed border security act have been thrown out!

However, Democrats are still negotiating with Republicans to fund more detention beds and officers along the border. We’ll update you around those negotiations as we get word.

ACT NOW - Call Rep. Emanuel and Democratic Leadership to Hold Them Accountable to Immigrant Communities

Urgent Action Needed: Call Rep. Emanuel and the Democratic Leadership and Hold Them Accountable to Immigrant Communities

The Washington Times confirmed on Wednesday that Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), part of the Democratic Leadership team and responsible for designing the Democratic Party’s electoral strategy in the 2008 elections, said that a comprehensive immigration reform bill will not happen in the first term of a Democratic Presidency, even if there were Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.  To see the article, “Border Reform Not A Priority For Democrats,” go to http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070725/NATION/107250079/1001.

Rep. Emanuel is making two assumptions that are clear insults to the immigrant community: 1) rather than fight the anti-immigrant and racist resentment apparent in American politics, Democrats should use this resentment for their own advantage (either by pushing enforcement measures of their own, or by doing nothing at all); and 2) immigrants have no where else to go but vote for Democrats.  If Rep. Emanuel’s perspective wins in the Democratic Leadership, immigrants will face a punishing environment for at least the next six years!

If the Democratic Party follows Emanuel’s advice, Democrats will condemn immigrants to more years of raids, more families being torn apart, more border deaths, more violations of basic civil and human rights and more fear.  Emanuel’s statement also provides clear explanation for why anti-immigrant amendments continue to be attached to non-immigrant legislation even though Democrats control the House of Representatives.  What the Democratic Party stands for is at stake.

Call the Democratic Leadership NOW and demand that Rep. Emanuel and the Democratic Party take a stand for immigrant communities.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel: 202-225-4061

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: 202-225-4965

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer: 202-225-4131

If your Representative is a Democrat, call them and demand that they carry the message directly to Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Emanuel themselves. 

Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Talking Point: Now is the time for Democrats to show leadership on immigration reform - now more than ever.  Rep. Emanuel’s comments must not reflect the strategy of the Democratic Party; if it does it represents a clear betrayal of immigrant and Latino constituencies.  Democrats much show immigrant and Latino communties - NOW - that Democrats can and will lead on issues that are critical.

Action Alert: Support Health Care for Immigrant Kids- TODAY!

Support Health Care for Immigrant Kids - Today !

During this year’s national debate on children’s health care, there are major opportunities to make real improvements in health care for Latino communities. We urge you to take action now to ensure that the many legal immigrant children and pregnant women are no longer unfairly denied access to Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Take Action Now: Tell Your Senators and Representatives to support children’s health!

Under current law, all immigrants who have come to the U.S. after August 22, 1996, must wait at least five years before becoming eligible for these programs, even when they are otherwise eligible for the critical services offered under these programs.  Legislation, called the Immigrant Health Improvement Act (ICHIA), has been introduced in both the House and Senate to remove this “five-year bar” and right now, Congress has an opportunity to see this legislation pass as part of reauthorization of SCHIP

Medicaid and SCHIP help many families access health care when they cannot afford it. Unfortunately, because they are barred from these programs, many immigrant families cannot access health care in times of need. In fact, more than 11 million immigrants did not have access to health insurance in 2005. When faced with unfair and arbitrary limits to health coverage, children and mothers-to-be are forced to compromise their well-being by going without essential health care services.

House Energy and Commerce leadership are pushing for a strong reauthorization of SCHIP that includes the removal of the five year bar, however, they will need all the support they can get.  The Senate Finance Committee failed to include the removal of the “five year bar” as part of the bill to be introduced into the Senate, and both bills face tough opposition in the face of a veto threat from President Bush.  The Bush administration favors cutting funding, limiting coverage and relying on the private market.

Congress needs to hear from us to include ICHIA language in both the Senate and House bills.  All votes are important, but Republican support in both chambers will be especially essential for the bills to pass, and to isolate the President’s veto threat.

Click the link below to act now to send a message to your Senator and Representative that you support full funding for SCHIP, and the removal of the “five year bar.”

http://www.cccaction.org/campaign/schip

Thanks for doing your part!