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.

FIRM update 4.8.08

 

Building America Together!

 

In keeping with our campaign to gather pledges, organize forums and turn out the immigrant vote, the Illinois Coalition for Immigration and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), FIRM and other partners will hold a Boot Camp to train organizers that will be involved in citizenship, voter registration and GOTV programs leading up to the 2008 general elections.  To participate, or to learn more email Nicola at nwells@communitychange.org.

 

As we engage Americans in a conversation about what America stands for as a nation, the courageous testimony of individuals like Juan will hopefully remind us that being undocumented does not make one un-American: http://www.movementvisionlab.org/blog/juan2019s-story-undocumented-but-not-un-american/

 

 

Politics 2008

 

In a strong nod to gay/lesbian and immigrant rights, including Out4Immigration, Senator Clinton last week endorsed reforms that would support reforms in federal law impacting the same-sex partners of immigrants.  For the press release, go to http://www.pr.com/press-release/79586.

 

Congressional News

 

Democratic Leaders, in a bid to slow momentum for a discharge petition on the SAVE Act, announced late last week that they would hold a series of hearings in key House committees to discuss aspects of employment verification and enforcement related to immigration.  An article on the topic is pasted in below.  In the mean time, as of Tuesday, April 1, there were 185 signatures on the SAVE Act discharge petition.  To view signatures on the petition, go to: http://clerk.house.gov/110/lrc/pd/petitions/Dis5.htm.  In the mean time momentum is starting to build against the SAVE Act in the blogosphere: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/80847/.

 

State & Local News

 

Last week, the City of San Francisco announced a local media campaign promoting the city’s status as a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrants.  To view an article on the announcement go to http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/04/03/BA0NVUM70.DTL.

 

A recent article from Stateline.org analyzes the status of the avalanche of anti-immigrant bills in state legislatures and finds that the flood has turned into a trickle as state legislatures wind down.  To view the article, go to http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=297325.

 

In Arizona, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon slams Sheriff Arpaio’s anti-immigrant crackdown: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/112439.

 

Raids, Detention, Deportation

 

Advocates filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security re: home-based raids in New Jersey last week.  The suit focuses on the practices used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to gain entry into homes.  For an article on the suit, please go to http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/us/04immig.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin.  This is one among a number of suits currently pending against DHS and ICE on the conduct of immigration raids in both work sites and residences.

 

The Immigration Policy Center recently released a short report on the unintended consequences of raids, including their impact on children.  To view the report, go to http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/index.php?content=fc080331.

 

Immigration Agencies and Federal Regulations

 

The comment period on the new supplemental rule on No Match Letters released by the Department of Homeland Security lasts until April 25.  FIRM is part of an effort to generate as many comments in opposition to the new rule as possible.  For more information on the comment period, please contact rstolz@communitychange.org or go to the web site of the National Immigration Law Center at http://www.lwiw.org/SSA_NM/lwiw_comments.htm.

 

Advocates opposing the new regulation are also concerned about the impact that employment verification programs, including the No Match proposed rule, could have on non-immigrants.  One such example is profiled in this article that ran in the Los Angeles Times last week: http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-arizimmig5apr05,1,2329426.story

 

A recent report from the US Department of Homeland Security found that legal immigration dropped significantly last year, largely due to administrative problems within the US Citizenship and Immigration Service.  To review an article on the report, go to http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jVzJBVTd1tawK227QQZltW_jigzwD8VRA5JO1.

 

Last week the US Department of Homeland Security announced that it would use its waiver authority to try to speed up construction of a border wall along the United States-Mexico border.  The announcement immediately led to concerns with respect to environmental and economic impact.  For example, the Border Network for Human Rights released a statement opposing the announced waiver authority that garnered signatures from more than 25 organizations and many more concerned residents.  For more information, go to http://www.bnhr.org/.  To see the DHS announcement, go to http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1207080713748.shtm.

 

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security and a number of states negotiated temporary deals that would allow almost all states to remain in compliance with existing REAL ID Act regulations.  For an article with an update on the issue, please go to http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=297809.

 

FIRM Member Activities

 

This week and next, the Florida Immigrant Coalition will hold a series of events drawing attention to the root causes of migration in this hemisphere in an effort to reframe the issue of immigration.  The first event, co-sponsored by the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities and Global Local Links, will be held April 6 and will bring together environmental and human rights activists.  The second to be held on April 14 will focus on the impact of international debt and economic policies, and is co-sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee.  For more information on these events, please contact mrodriguez@floridaimmigrant.org.

 

The Northwest Federation of Community Organizations (WA, OR, MT, ID) has created a new tool to help educate members and potential allies about the issue of immigration.  This new board game, which was demonstrated at the FIRM Summit in February, can be ordered from NWFCO at their website at www.nwfco.org.

 

The Kentucky Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (KCIRR) will be celebrating the second annivarsary of historic marches that took place in Lexington, KY on April 10, 2006 on April 10, 2008.  For more information about KCIRR, please go to www.kcirr.org.  This march, which helped to launch KCIRR, drew nearly 10,000 local residents from across the Lexington area in one of the largest marches and rallies ever held in that city’s history.

 

In Texas and New Mexico, the Border Network for Human Rights is organizing a petition drive to oust the Sheriff of Otero County because of the Sheriff’s actions detaining residents and requiring them to prove their legal status and in engaging in a wide range of activities linked to aggressive immigration enforcement activities.  For more information about this campaign, please go to http://www.bnhr.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7.

 

Allies and Partner Activities

 

Over the last several weeks a group of Indian H2B Visa Workers marched from Mississippi to Washington, DC to bring attention to the human rights and labor rights violations brought down on them by the Signal corporation under the H2B Visa program.  Literally treated as modern-day slaves and tricked into exorbitant fees by H2B Visa recruiters, these workers are calling on the Indian embassy and the United States government to address their situations.  A class action law suit filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center is adding to the pressure.  A range of organizations are also supporting their cause, including South Asian American Leaders for Tomorrow (SAALT) and the New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice.  For more information, please to go http://www.neworleansworkerjustice.org/.

 

Resources & News to Use

 

Sojourners and the Christian Coalition for Immigration Reform has recently released a tool kit for pastors interested in materials that can be incorporated into sermons and other educational opportunities within congregations.  To download these resources, please go to http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=action.ccir&item=CCIR_main.

 

The Immigration Policy Center recently released a report on the impact of anti-immigrant hate speech on the growing number of hate crimes targeted at Latino residents in the United States.  To view the report, go to http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/index.php?content=fc080330.

 

The Immigration Policy Center also released a new report detailing the impact of a new employer verification program.  To view the report go to http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/index.php?content=fc080402.

 

An Iowa Op Ed by a state legislator makes the point, don’t attack immigrant, enforce labor laws.  From the DesMoines Register: http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=297325.

 

Please also find attached a fact sheet on employment verification provided by the National Council of La Raza.

 

Announcements

 

Last week many of us took a moment to remember Rev. Martin Luther King Jr on the anniversary of his assassination.  In case folks haven’t seen his last speech, one that eerily seemed to predict his death, I recommend taking a moment to listen and reflect on the vision he conveys with his words and his heart.  http://www.mlkonline.net/video-martin-luther-king-last-speech.html

 

The National Council of La Raza issued an RFP for organizations interested in applying for their Emerging Latino Communities grant program last week.  The application is attached, and the deadline is May 30, 2008.

 

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition is seeking a new executive director.  For more information about the position, please go to www.tnimmigrant.org or contact edsearch@tnimmigrant.org.  Applications are due by April 18th, 2008.

 

 

From the National Journal Congress Daily:

Dems Look To Contain Hot-Button Issue
   With congressional Democrats unable to come to terms on a comprehensive immigration bill, House Democratic leaders have hatched a plan to hold a series of hearings aimed at keeping control of the issue.
   They are unlikely to win consensus for more concrete actions, such as floor votes. “There’s a chance that something could slip through, but I’ve got to go to Vegas and play a crap game. Those are better odds,” said Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., assistant to Speaker Pelosi.
   “The leadership is smart enough to know that if you’re going to do something, you don’t want to see the debacle that the Senate experienced,” Becerra said, referring to a month-long debate last year on a broad immigration bill that eventually died. “No one wants to see this become the grave.”
   Sources in the Democratic leadership said the majority leaders want to curtail Republican efforts to force a floor vote on an immigration enforcement bill from Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., that would make E-Verify, a voluntary  electronic employment verification program, mandatory for all U.S. employers within four years.

   “There is recognition that we maybe need to address this,” said one Democratic leadership aide. “That is what we intend to do, to not allow this to spin out of our control and discharge it.”
   A GOP discharge petition on the Shuler bill has 185 signatures, including 10 Democrats. Rep. Thelma Drake, R-Va., who filed the discharge petition on the bill, said Republicans will this week begin targeting a handful of Democrats who are considered vulnerable on the issue. “There needs to be a full court press now to get these signatures,” she said.
   House Democrats are concerned that another 10 rank-and-file lawmakers, likely Blue Dog Coalition members, will sign the petition. With that, Republicans could easily round up the few in their party who have not signed on and ensure that the measure comes to the floor.
   Senior Democratic leadership and rank-and-file aides said that the set of hearings, agreed to in a closed door meeting with Pelosi last week, is designed to dissuade Democrats from signing the discharge petition.
   Hearings might not be enough to satisfy lawmakers in both parties who are frustrated that smaller bills are caught up in the hot-button vortex of illegal immigration.
   Republicans accuse the Congressional Hispanic Caucus of holding “hostage” guestworker bills that would relieve employment shortages in high-tech and tourism industries.
   “Clearly, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has verbally stated that they’re opposed to bringing this forward because they want to see what they call comprehensive immigration reform,” said Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., who filed a discharge petition on a bill sponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., to give employers access to seasonal foreign workers.
   Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., who is leading the Hispanic Caucus’ talks on immigration, said he is sympathetic to employers scrambling for foreign workers, be they high-tech or low-skilled.
   Gutierrez added, “It is impossible for me, in good faith, to negotiate for a high-tech engineer or who is going to scoop the poop in the zoo when we have men in Iraq whose [illegal immigrant] spouses are being deported.”
   Most Democrats are supportive of a comprehensive bill that would require illegal immigrants to earn green cards or leave the country. But many lawmakers would be just as happy to ignore the issue because of its sensitivity.
   “When my buddy, my friend from Illinois, [House Democratic Conference Chairman] Rahm Emanuel, says ‘Immigration is the third rail;’ that’s not exactly helpful,” Gutierrez said.
   Emanuel has been working with Becerra, Shuler, Stupak and Gutierrez on a more limited bill that would boost immigration enforcement, respond to employers’ visa needs, and give some temporary visas to illegal immigrants.
   Democratic aides say the effort is at a stalemate because Republicans have been unwilling to lend their support.
   “I don’t think there’s a whole lot of fight left in this Congress for the issue,” said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind. “With the defeat of the Senate bill last year, I think all sides pretty much left it all out on the field.”
   Last year, Pence tossed his hat into the “comprehensive” immigration debate with a proposal to require illegal immigrants to leave the country and return on guestworker visas. “I’m just waiting for the opportune moment again,” he said. “I’ve lost track of the number of colleagues who say, ‘When you get around to this, we’ll do it like this.’” 

By Fawn Johnson and Christian Bourge

 

Undocumented, but not Unamerican - One Immigrant’s Story

]

SINK the SAVE ACT

Join David Neiwert, and countless other individuals in sinking the SAVE Act. David wrote a great post at Firedoglake on reasons we all need to speak out against the SAVE act,

 If there were political booby prizes handed out each year — something like the Razzies for the Beltway set — the award for Worst Legislation Proposed by a Democrat this year would have to go to Heath Shuler’s misbegotten “SAVE Act, an attempt to pass a “deportation only” approach to the immigration issue. Of course, it not only reflects the worldview of the anti-immigrant wing of the party, headed by Rahm Emanuel, but it’s a profoundly bad piece of legislation.

Among its more awful provisions, you may recall, are “verification” measures that essentially would require every American to get an OK from the federal government every time they get a new job or change jobs.

and provided the NAMES and contact info of all the reps that we need to email, call and target in this fights! Check out the list at the bottom of the post.

 The SAVE Act is a slap in the face to the American worker, immigrants, and everyone who believes in COMPREHENSIVE reform of our broken system.

FIRM Update 4.1.08

Building America Together! 

Watch Juan’s story: http://www.movementvisionlab.org/blog/juan2019s-story-undocumented-but-not-un-american/#1206991018

Sign the pledge: www.buildingamericatogether.org 

Congressional News 

Representatives return from a two-week recess this week and will jump back into the politics of the SAVE Act discharge petition.  I’ve pasted in an article from the National Journal at the bottom of this e-mail reflecting some of the activities in Congress.  While Democratic leaders try to figure out how to head off the threat of a discharge petition, negotiations on a potential package of immigration proposals, including some relief for undocumented immigrants, appear to have stalled.  At the moment, it is unclear what, if anything, the Democrats may bring to the floor in order to create an alternative to the SAVE Act (also known as the Shuler-Tancredo bill, HR 4088).  For a list of those Representatives that have signed on to the discharge petition, please go to http://clerk.house.gov/110/lrc/pd/petitions/Dis5.htm.  181 Representatives have signed on to the petition, and 218 signatures are required to force the SAVE Act to the House floor for a vote.  Here is an Editorial that ran in the Chicago Sun Times on the SAVE Act: http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/856291,CST-EDT-edit23aa.article. 

On April 2, Secretary Chertoff will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing.  In that hearing, Senators anticipate raising concerns with respect to naturalization backlogs, implementation of the REAL ID Act, the Social Security No Match Rule, other recently announced regulations regarding passports and other issues.  For more information, go to http://judiciary.senate.gov/schedule.cfm. 

State & Local News 

News stories related to the involvement of local law enforcement agencies in immigration enforcement efforts have been on the rise as more states and localities adopt policies to cooperate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.  Please find an article that ran in the AP last week that highlights the trend and the consequences: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5heF80SqPHj0LbcvNXib8jm4eQFIAD8VN0MD80 

A growing number of reports are focused on the negative economic impacts of anti-immigrant laws at the state and local level.  Here is a study by economists of the impact of Oklahoma’s new anti-immigrant legislation http://immcomp.blogspot.com/2008/03/economists-project-potentially-massive.html that estimates under some scenarios that the law could cost the state between $1.8 and $3 billion annually.  Coverage of the report: http://newsok.com/article/3220599/. 

And in Arizona, businesses have successfully gotten the state’s House of Representatives to modify various aspects of the law that Arizona passed last year.  To review an article on the revisions, go to http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0328sanctions0328.html. 

Immigration Agencies and Federal Regulations 

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security issued a supplemental rule providing further guidance with respect to implementation of Social Security No Match letters.  For detailed information about the supplemental rule and next steps, please go to www.nilc.org.  When draft comments are prepared, please be prepared to get the word out.  We’ll need to generate as many comments as possible in order to make the case publicly that the Department of Homeland Security should not be using No Match letters as a basis for immigration status enforcement.  For more information, please contact rstolz@communitychange.org or Tyler Moran at the National Immigration Law Center at moran@nilc.org. 

Last week the New York Times also weighed in against the proposal: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/opinion/27thu2.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin. Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a new program to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal histories that are currently in prisons across the nation.  A fact sheet on the new initiative is attached to this bulletin. Coverage on the new policy can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/28/washington/28immig.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. 

Farmworker organizations and allies are circulating comments to proposed changes in the H2A Visa program that they are asking organizations to sign-on to.  The proposed comments are a direct attack on worker rights, and an effort by the Administration to streamline the H2A visa program at the expense of farmworkers.  To sign on to the comments (see attached) please contact Adrieene DerVartanian at adervartanian@farmworkerjustice.org by April 8 at 3 pm Eastern Time.  Her telephone number is 202-293-5420 in case you have any questions. 

FIRM Member Activities 

In Los Angeles, CHIRLA and a coalition of allies succeeded in getting the Los Angeles City Council to pass a resolution, by a vote of 11 to 1, that denounces the SAVE Act.  For coverage: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_8709777.  A copy of the resolution is attached to this e-mail.  For more information, contact Cynthia Buiza at cbuiza@chirla.org.  In Chicago, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights launched a campaign to ensure that immigrants in federal detention have access to clergy.  For an article on the campaign, go to http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-immigrantdetentio,0,2077908.story.  For more information about the campaign, contact Ana Guajardo at aguajardo@icirr.org.  

Immigrant organizations and criminal justice reform advocates are working together to stop the expansion of an immigrant detention center in Aurora, Colorado.  For more information about the campaign go to the new Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition web site at http://www.coloradoimmigrant.org/article.php?id=63. 

On Monday, March 24th CASA of Maryland joined with the Latino Student Union at the flagship College Park Campus of the University of Maryland for a rally and student speak-out, bringing together student activists from accross the state of Maryland to advocate for access to higher education for immigrant students. Over 14 high schools, colleges and universities were represented at the event, as well as local youth and immigrat advocates.  Legislation which would enable qualified immigrant students to attend MD colleges and universities at the instate tuition rate, regardless of immigration status, is currently pending in the Maryland General Assembly, and the action was timed as a last push during the legislative session, which ends the first week in April.  Many of the students present were graduating seniors from area high schools who chose to spend their spring break advocating for themselves and their classmates who will be unable to afford college next year if the instate tuition benefit is not authorized in the remaining months before the fall semester.  For more information, please contact ealex@casamd.org.

If you have news that you’d like to share with other groups in FIRM, please send a note about your work to rstolz@communitychange.org, and we’ll do our best to include it in our weekly bulletins.

 Allies and Partner Activities

 A coalition of organizations recently launched a new campaign in support of the DREAM Act that demands that the Presidential candidates enact the DREAM Act in their first 100 days as President.  The centerpiece of the campaign is a video by Brave New Films that can be viewed at http://adreamdeferred.org/?utm_source=rgemail.   

News to Use 

In Iowa, a coalition of religious leaders called on state legislators and the general public to treat immigrants with dignity.  The DesMoines Register: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080327/NEWS10/803270393. 

Undocumented immigrants could be a boon for the nation’s social security system.  Coverage from CBS news: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/25/politics/animal/main3968207.shtml. 

Last week the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights issued a new report on the raids: Over Raided, Under Siege.  To view a summary of the report, go to http://www.nnirr.org/resources/docs/executivesummary3_.pdf. 

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the primary anti-immigrant organization in the United States, admitted to fudging numbers estimating the impact of undocumented immigration in South Carolina.  For the article go to http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/392640.html. 

In the meantime FAIR has been fighting its label as a hate group by attacking the Southern Poverty Law Center, which designated FAIR as a hate group last fall.  For information on FAIR’s designation, please go to www.splcenter.org.

 Announcements If you’re in the mood to be alarmed, and if you happen to be in Washington, DC on April 19th (Hitler’s Birthday), check out this video on the National Socialist Movement’s anti-immigrant march on DC:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0DRtzrKb08&eurl=http://threewayfight.blogspot.com/  

From the National Journal:  IMMIGRATION
   At the request of the House Judiciary Committee, CBO is expected to provide informal cost estimates this week for an immigration enforcement bill sponsored by Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C. House Republicans are collecting signatures on a discharge petition to force a floor vote. The cost estimate could make it more difficult to bring the bill to the floor under pay/go rules.
   House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel and Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Michael McNulty, D-N.Y., sent a letter to House Democrats last week urging them to “get the facts” before signing onto the discharge petition. Among other things, Shuler’s bill would require all employers to use the Homeland Security Department’s “E-Verify” electronic verification system to check the authorization of all their workers.
   The Rangel/McNulty letter said DHS is not ready for a national roll-out of the program, which handled about 3.6 million inquiries last year. To meet the requirements in Shuler’s bill, that number would jump to 60 million annually and
DHS would have to enroll 4,000 employers per day for four years.
   Last year, when the Senate was debating a broader immigration bill, CBO declined to offer an estimate of how much a similar employment verification requirement would cost, saying much of the cost would depend on how regulations were drafted.
   GAO said last year that Homeland Security would need as much as $500 million annually to run the program while the Social Security Administration would need  up to $6 million a year.
   Earlier, private estimates of a mandatory employment verification system put the total cost — much of it borne by the private sector — at more than $11 billion per year.
   On Tuesday, House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller and Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., are hosting a staff briefing of the low-skill H-2B guestworker visa program. The panel will feature H-2B workers who were victims of employer abuses, such as being told falsely that they would be given green cards upon arrival in the United States.
   Lawmakers are hoping for a temporary increase in available H-2B visas as part of a limited immigration measure that might include provisions for high-skilled H-1B visas and new enforcement mechanisms. 

Undocumented, but not UnAmerican - VIDEO

Watch Juan’s story, and learn why being undocumented does not make you unamerican at the Movement Vision Lab.

Sally Kohn asks: “At what point did we close the borders on the American dream? Juan’s story, similar to the stories of many undocumented youth, shines a light on America’s unfounded fear of immigrants and pushes us towards building a more just immigration system based on community values. “

Watch the video. Share the Link. Sign the PLEDGE.