ACTION: Historic Event in Maryland’s International Corridor

Council members from both Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties are partnering with CASA de Maryland, in a bi-county, multi-jurisdictional tour of Long Branch and Langley Park, Maryland.

These two jurisdictions are the heart of Maryland’s “International Corridor,” home to one of the most diverse areas in the state.

 

  

Our community does not stop at county lines. Our residents live, work, and raise their families without regard to which county jurisdiction they are in. That is why it is so important for us to work collaboratively and across counties and cities to address the complex issues that face this area: health care, transportation, community safety, services for the vulnerable, and economic opportunity,” said Gustavo Torres, CASA’s Executive Director.

“While our community has deep needs, it is rich in multicultural resources,” said Councilmember Will Campos, Prince George’s County Council, District 2. “Through creative thinking and unusual partnerships, our diversity will strengthen the social and economic strengths of a vital cross-border community,” said Councilmember Campos.

The event will be Friday, June 13, 2008, 12:00pm to 1:30 pm and will begin at CASA Pine Ridge Community Center, located at -8615 Piney Branch Road, Silver Spring, MD 20901.

Attendees will include State Senators Jamie Raskin and David Harrington, Prince George’s County Council Chair Samuel Dean, Montgomery County Councilmember George Leventhal, D.C. City Councilmember Muriel Bowser, City of Takoma Park Mayor Bruce Williams, Maryland Delegates Tom Hucker, Victor Ramirez, and Heather Mizeur, business leaders, and community stakeholders.

 

 

 

ACTION: AZ Superintendent to Abolish Ethnic Studies Program

Today, I read this article from Latina Lista about Tom Horne, a school superintendent in Tuscon, Arizona who wants to do away with an ethnic studies program at a local High School. The classes he’s looking to eliminate include African American studies, Native American studies, Mexican American/Raza studies and Pan Asian studies.

Horne, who claims to have a long history of “opposing ethnic studies and gender studies” says that the decision is “not based on a question of academics or education, but ‘values.’”

The classes he’s proposing for elimination have been proven to help Latino students at the high school perform at higher levels.

Countless studies of such classes have shown that such programs don’t just enrich the curriculum but broadens the knowledge base of the students and fosters a sense of pride.

On a personal level, I am terrified by this justification. What he is proposing is a return to close-minded isolationist education that limits worldviews and works to keep people in agreement by keeping them in ignorace. Not only am I offended, as a woman, by his proud opposition to “gender studies”, but as a student of ethnic studies myself I am outraged that he is inserting “values” into his argument.

It is tactics like this that are working to re-institutionalize bigotry, mysoginy and racism. By eliminating these types of learning opportunities for young people, Horne is sending a message that Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans and Asian Americans are not are part of our “values”.

Whatever happened to the melting pot? Whatever happened to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? What is my country heading towards - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness only if you can prove that your values match ours?

Is anyone else outraged by this?

If so, take ACTION!

Horne will be in Tucson tomorrow in order to talk “about reasons TUSD should abolish its Ethnic Studies department”. Prior to his press conference, however, community members will gather in opposition to this deluded strategy of axing programs that lift up minority students.

Community members representing the four TUSD Ethnic Studies Departments (AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES, NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES, MEXICAN AMERICAN/RAZA STUDIES, and PAN ASIAN STUDIES) will be holding a PRESS CONFERENCE in SUPPORT of ETHNIC STUDIES

Where: TUSD’s GOVERNING BOARD ROOM , 1010 E. 10th Street, Tucson, AZ 85719
Time: 9:30 a.m., Thursday, June 12, 2008

 

Action Alert: Let My People Stay - Week of Action & Prayer

From CAUSA in Oregon…

Dear Immigrant Rights Supporter,

Next week marks the one year anniversary of the ICE raid on the Fresh Del Monte fruit and vegetable processing plant in North Portland. Please join CAUSA and our allies for Week of Action & Prayer to remember the 167 immigrant workers who were torn from their livelihood and their families.  A calendar of events can be found below.  

Donations from the events will go to benefit families affected by the raid.   While many individuals were immediately deported, others are still in the process of deportation proceeding and seeking legal relief.

Organizations co-sponsoring the week of events between June 6^th and June 12^th  include: Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, Portland Central America Solidarity Committee, Portland Jobs with Justice, CAUSA, Ascension Catholic Church, Justice Commission of Ainsworth United Church of Christ, Bridgeport United Church of Christ, Zion United Church of Christ, Justice Witness Team of the Central Pacific Conference of UCC, Faith-Labor Committee of Jobs with Justice, Peace and Social Concerns Committee of the Multnomah Friends Meeting, the Social Justice Council of the First Unitarian Church, the American Friends Service Committee, Witness for Peace NW, and the Committee of Solidarity and Mutual Support.

For more information on the events for the week of action and prayer, please visit http://www.oregonsanctuary.org/ or call (503) 550-3510

Let My People Stay: Week of Action & Prayer 

Calendar of Events

June 6th - 14th, 2008

June 6th - 8th: Special Prayers for Immigrants in Faith Communities

June 10th: 6 pm - One Year After Del Monte, Community Response to ICE Raids
Presented by Portland Central America Solidarity Committee (PCASC)
St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, NE 9th and Alberta, Portland OR

June 11th: 10:30 am - Vigil and Press Conference
Calling attention to unfair working conditions and our broken immigration system that terrorizes innocent people.
Del Monte plant, 9243 N Rivergate Blvd, Portland OR

June 12th: 6 pm - Interfaith Service and Dinner
Augustana Lutheran Church, 2710 NE 14th Ave. Portland OR
Bus line #8, childcare provided
Interfaith Service:
Religious leaders reflect on faith responses to ICE raids
A woman detained at the ICE raid at Del Monte tells her story
Children of immigrants read their poetry; Music
Mexican Dinner:
Prepared by immigrants. Donations gratefully accepted to support immigrants in their struggle.

June 14th: 4pm and 5:30pm - Screening of “Frozen Dreams”
A testimonial of the people detained at the ICE raid at Del Monte and how their lives have been affected. Produced by Emiliana Aguilar and the Committee of Solidarity and Mutual Support (CSAM).

James John Elementary School, 7439 N Charleston Ave, Portland OR

For more information on the events for the week of action and prayer, please visit http://www.oregonsanctuary.org/ or call (503) 550-3510

ACTION ALERT- STOP the SAVE Act!!!!

Today the Republican leadership filed their “discharge petition” on the SAVE Act (the Shuler-Tancredo bill) and they are gathering signatures to force the bill to the House floor for a vote. 

1)  Get on the call:  National Advocates are inviting everyone onto a call this afternoon, Tuesday, March 11 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time (4 Central, 3 Mountain, 2 Pacific) to provide updates and answer questions about these developments in Congress. 

Call-in information: 1-641-715-3300
Participant Access Code: 835651# 

2)  Call your Representatives TODAY and urge them to oppose the SAVE Act.   For a list of Representatives on the SAVE Act go to http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR04088:@@@P;  Urge these Representatives, especially the Democrats, to not sign the discharge petition.  At least one Representative who has co-sponsored the bill, Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL) has publicly stated that he would not sign the discharge petition. 

We’ve included an action alert and background materials for your use. 

Urgent Action Alert  Call Your Representatives TODAY and demand that they reject the SAVE Act! 

Today the Republican leadership filed their “discharge petition” on the SAVE Act (the Shuler-Tancredo bill) and they are gathering signatures to force the bill to the House floor for a vote.   Call the Capitol Switchboard today at 202-225-3121 to reach your Representative. What would the SAVE Act do?

• It would require more than six million employers to verify the work status of more than 130 million workers within four years, regardless of their status, using a federal database already known to have an unacceptably high error rate. 
• It would make it easier for the government to put religious and humanitarian workers behind bars for so-called “alien smuggling.”
• In a half-baked attempt to address our immigration crisis, the bill would throw more resources toward ineffective border and interior enforcement rather than offer a comprehensive solution.

 We need leaders who will tackle the tough issues and solve a complicated problem intelligently, not offer false promises and empty rhetoric.  The SAVE Act is the return of the Sensenbrenner Bill (HR 4437).  It represents a failure in leadership and a cynically motivated attack on immigrant families. Who supports the SAVE Act?The chief co-sponsors of the SAVE Act are Rep. Heath Shuler (D-North Carolina), Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-California), and Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colorado) who has made a career, including a failed presidential candidacy on anti-immigrant rhetoric.  Rep. Bilbray leads the House Immigration Reform Caucus and is a former lobbyist of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an organization recognized as a hate group by mainstream civil rights and research organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center. For a list of co-sponsors on the SAVE Act, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR04088:@@@P. 

Don’t let cynical election year politics hijack opportunities for real reform.  America needs rational, workable and humane immigration laws.  Make sure your voice gets heard!  

 The anti-immigrant groups are mobilizing too. 

I’ve pasted in an alert that they sent out this afternoon for you to see: 

Time to Act: Let’s Put on the Pressure!!!
Now Being Circulated: House Discharge Petition to force the “Enforcement-Only” SAVE Act to a Floor Vote!!
Urge Your Representative to Sign on Now!

House Minority Leaders are now introducing a “discharge petition” to force Speaker Pelosi and her leadership to bring the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act (H.R. 408 to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.  SAVE is a bi-partisan bill that enjoys widespread support. 141 House members have signed on as co-sponsors. House Majority Leaders do not want the bill to move quickly to the floor. Therefore, a “discharge petition” is needed to move it to the floor for immediate consideration.A “discharge petition” is a special procedure designed to allow House members to bypass obstructionist committees and move a bill directly for full House consideration. 218 House members must sign the petition to allow it to go to the floor. If successful, the discharge petition will bring the bill before the House for a vote.  Moving the SAVE Act to the floor is our best chance this year to get the full House to vote on a pro-enforcement bill that can help stem the tide of illegal immigration.

About the SAVE Act:  The SAVE Act is a bi-partisan bill written by Congressman Heath Schuler (D) of North Carolina.  FAIR Advisory Board co-chair Congressman Brian Bilbray (R) of California has taken the lead for Republicans. The SAVE Act has been around since November 6, 2007, but it has languished in committee despite its widespread support in the House, including 48 Democrats. 

What would SAVE do? The SAVE Act would reduce illegal immigration by both increasing border security and by improving interior enforcement. The measure would add technology, infrastructure and personnel at the border.  It would provide grants to border towns and counties to assist with enforcement of criminal law.  The number of federal judges would be increased in border states,thereby  increasing the number of immigration offenses that could be tried in those states.  The SAVE Act would also bolster the alien smuggling and harboring provisions of INA §274. 

Most importantly, the SAVE Act would make it mandatory for all employers to use the E-Verify electronic employment verification system, creating a quick and efficient way to verify the legal status of their employees. This would reduce the employment magnet bringing so many illegal immigrants into the U.S.To repeat: The House Discharge Rule provides a way for members to bring legislation to the floor when it has become mired in the committee or when the majority refuses to allow floor action.  Under House Rules, a member may submit a discharge petition to the Clerk of the House on any bill committed for more than 30 days.  The Clerk then keeps the petition available for members until 218 signatures are achieved.  Once the discharge petition receives 218 votes, a member can make a motion for the bill to be discharged from committee and brought to the floor for a vote.

Please call your Representative TODAY to urge them to sign the discharge petition on the SAVE Act!

Please call your Representative TODAY to tell them that the SAVE Act — H.R. 4088 — is a common-sense first step in solving the immigration crisis.  Tell them that signing the discharge petition on the SAVE Act will help promote real immigration reform in the United States.  And tell them that if they have not yet co-sponsored the SAVE Act, NOW is the time to do so.We want Members of Congress to support this bill, and if they won’t, explain why publicly.Meantime, FAIR will keep you posted on the development of this strategy and provide you with up-to-date information on any counter-maneuvering by some pro-amnesty Members of Congress that could require a quick response. To find the phone numbers of your Representative, click here. 

Call to Action: STOP Sherrifs from hunting victims of California fires

- Concerned community leaders are urged to communicate with Sheriff Kolender and Undersheriff Bill Gore at (858) 974-2250 or bill.Gore@sdsheriff.org. 

From community advocates in California:

- As evacuation orders are lifted on San Diego County communities, Sheriff Kolender plans to check i.d. of returning residents at checkpoints and continue his practice of detaining and handing over people suspected of being undocumented to U.S. Border Patrol.

- Sheriff Kolender, who typically says the Sheriff’s Department does not have the resources to do the federal government’s job of immigration enforcement, has refused to drop his policy of nonetheless helping Border Patrol when identifying potentially undocumented persons despite the tremendous demands on the Sheriff’s Department and the highly unusual practice of setting up military-style checkpoints outside people’s neighborhoods.

- Sheriff Kolender also dismissed advice that people who are undocumented will be afraid to return to family and residences in the area due to the Sheriff’s checkpoints and policy of cooperating with Border Patrol.

- “In a time of emergency, the Sheriff seems inclined to put immigration politics over basic human decency,” said Kevin Keenan, executive Director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties. “It will be a shameful mark on an otherwise commendable performance during the County’s historic wildfire tragedy.”

- The checkpoints may last between one and three days. During this time Border Patrol and other agencies will be assisting the Sheriff’s Department. North (San Diego) County is home to a large population of farmworkers, landscapers, and domestic workers–many undocumented–who help harvest tomatoes and other crops and tend to the area’s many wealthy residences. It is expected that this same population will be relied upon to rebuild, clean up, and hastily harvest surviving crops.

- “The Sheriff needs to prioritize helping people get home after this long ordeal,” said Norma Chavez Peterson, executive director of Justice Overcoming Boundaries. “He will exacerbate the area’s crisis by keeping residents displaced, rather than administering a safe and swift return.”

- Concerned community leaders are urged to communicate with Sheriff Kolender and Undersheriff Bill Gore at (858) 974-2250 or bill.Gore@sdsheriff.org.

Call to Action: Fight back in NY!

It’s time to fight back in New York State. Even if you aren’t in the state, please send whatever help you can! What happens in one state, ineveitably comes back to affect our own!

The Fair Immigration Reform Movement is urging organizations to make strong statements opposing Spitzer’s decision to comply with the REAL ID Act. We urge individuals to call Eliot Spitzer’s office to show opposition!!

For more information, or to get involved contact Milan Bhatt mbhatt@thenyic.org.