UN Scrutinizes US Treatment of Immigrants

Thank you to the Detention Watch Network listserve and Peter Schey of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law for this article covering the UN’s investigation of US treatment of immigrants, including worker abuses, government raids and family separation. The world is watching….

U.N. migrant rights investigator takes testimony By Teresa Watanabe, Times Staff Writer 7:00 PM PDT, May 3, 2007

In the first broad international scrutiny of U.S. treatment of migrants, a United Nations human rights expert took testimony about worker abuse, government raids, family separations and other issues as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Los Angeles on Thursday.

Jorge A. Bustamante, U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, met with day laborers, restaurant workers, farm labor advocates, gang-intervention specialists and others in San Diego and Los Angeles this week in the start of a seven-city, fact-finding mission undertaken at the invitation of the U.S. government. His trip will include visits to the U.S.-Mexico border and federal detention facilities, along with meetings with senior government officials, immigration attorneys, community advocates and migrants themselves.

“There is concern in the United Nations human rights community about rising anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States,” said Bustamante, who will present his report to the world body in the next year.

Ireland rallies for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Comprehensive Immigration Reform isn’t all about US.

Immigration reform isn’t just important to the citizens of the US (shout out to Immigration Orange)- families, communities and industries around the world are watching the US to see how reforms in Congress will affect their lives. Will Filipino families still need to wait 20 years to be reunited? Will a family in Guatemala get to see their child thrive in the US? Will our loved ones around the globe be safe?

A rally of nearly 1500 people in Dublin, Ireland brought that message  straight to the heart- “We must show the undocumented Irish of the US that Ireland has not turned its back on them.”

One story of the thousands: “Sharon works in a bar in Manhattan and hasn’t been home once since she left for America three years ago and her mum is just too ill to visit. She lives with her Irish boyfriend David Loughnane and David’s sister Jillian brought Sally to the meeting from her home in Co Laois.

Sally finds life hard without her only daughter. “She is dying to come home and see me but I don’t want her to come back if it means she won’t be able to get back into America. “She means everything to us. I am not medically fit enough to travel and am in and out of hospital. My husband can’t go either because he minds me.”

The rally was co-organized by the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform – I’m very interested in learning about other international responses to US reforms- let us know if you have any stories to share…

An international perspective on undocumented migration

America is big. Working on migrant rights in this HUGE country can be so consuming that we as advocates don’t always have the time to connect with other immigrants rights organizations around the globe. However, most of the opportunities that we do have to connect are usually rich and full with the realization that the movement we are in is, in its deepest core, a truly transnational struggle that unites humans beyond country, politics and creed. 

FIRM is committed to lifting up the struggles and actions of not only grassroots organizers in America, but across the world.

One interesting group is PICUM – The Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants – “a non-governmental organization that aims to promote for respect for the human rights of undocumented immigrants in Europe. PICUM also seeks dialogue with organizations and networks with similar concerns in other parts of the world.”

PICUM has a new report “Undocumented Migrants Have Rights” Check it out HERE

Do you know of other international immigrant rights organizations out there?