Washington D.C. – On Dec. 15, seven undocumented immigrant youth, now referred to as the #Dream7, risked deportation by staging a sit-in outside of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office in the Capitol building, as part of a wave of protests demanding that Congress pass a clean Dream Act now.

They were arrested and sent to the D.C. jail, where they continue to stage a hunger strike. Among those striking are prominent leaders in the movement for justice for undocumented immigrants, including Belén Sisa, Erika Andiola and others.

Support for the #Dream7 is growing on social media. They are demanding that congress vote before the end of the year on a clean DREAM Act. A clean Dream Act refers to legislation that would give protection from deportation and a path to legal permanent residency and/or citizenship to undocumented youth who were enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that President Trump cruelly ended in September, leaving over 800,000 immigrant youths at risk of deportation. The “clean” part of it means that legal status for DACA recipients should not be paired with anything that would harm other immigrants, such as increased militarization of the border or increased raids and arrests of immigrants in the workplace or community.

Sisa’s mother Isa O’Neal says, “What my daughter and the others are doing is part of the struggle! It's our duty to fight for our freedom, it's our duty to win!”

The Legalization for All (L4A) Network, a national network of grassroots immigrant rights organizations around the U.S., supports the struggle for a clean DREAM Act. The network also encourages organizers to continue to fight against any and all deportations regardless of what congress does.

#WashingtonDC #DREAMAct #Dream7 #CleanDREAMAct

En los últimos años la mayor parte del movimiento por los derechos de los inmigrantes se enfocó en exigir que el congreso o el presidente tomaran acción para detener las deportaciones y legalizar a los inmigrantes indocumentados. Tras la falta de acción por parte del congreso y la creciente presión de los movimientos de base, el presidente Obama finalmente introdujo una acción ejecutiva, presentando un nuevo programa de acción diferida llamada DAPA y expandiendo el programa de acción diferida del 2012 para los llegados de infancia conocido como DACA.

Sin embargo esta acción ejecutiva es temporal y no cubre a todos los indocumentados. Arbitrariamente excluye al menos la mitad de los inmigrantes indocumentados y no propone dar estatus legal permanente a aquellos que califican. Dicho esto, esta medida tomada por Washington es la más importante en las últimas décadas realizada a favor de los inmigrantes.

Tomando en cuenta que el partido Republicano controla actualmente el congreso, nadie espera una ley de reforma migratoria en los próximos dos años, y debido a la acción ejecutiva que acaba de realizar el presidente Obama, es improbable que este inicie alguna otra acción. Sin embargo millones de trabajadores inmigrantes continúan amenazados diariamente con la deportación, y viven oprimidos bajo las sombras. Hacia donde entonces se dirige la lucha por los derechos de los inmigrantes?

Luchas estatales y locales por la igualdad: licencias de conducir, educación, alto a las deportaciones

No todos los activistas que luchan por los derechos de los inmigrantes estaban enfocados en Washington en los últimos años. A nivel local, un poderoso movimiento popular exigía #Ni1más deportación. Estas campañas en contra de las deportaciones individuales se concentraron en exigir un alto a la colaboración entre la policía local y cárceles del condado con ICE (Departamento de Servicios de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas). Luego de que una serie de victorias lograran que varios gobiernos locales y estatales se rehusaran a cooperar con el programa de deportación “Comunidades Seguras”, estas campañas locales procedieron a exigirle al presidente que pusiera un alto nacional a las deportaciones.

Parte de la acción ejecutiva de Obama fue la eliminación del programa de deportaciones “Comunidades Seguras”; programa que estaba siendo contrarrestado por los activistas a nivel de condado y estatal. La campaña #Ni1mas deportación, que lucha localmente en contra de las deportaciones de individuos, es mayormente responsable por haber presionado exitosamente la acción ejecutiva presidencial.

Igualmente, han habido varias campañas victoriosas a nivel estatal en los últimos años, más notable en California, para lograr que los inmigrantes tengan acceso a licencias de conducir, al igual que acceso a la educación superior a través de las llamadas “DREAM Acts” (leyes estatales a favor de los DREAMERS.) El acceso a licencias de conducir elimina una de las principales causas de deportación: los inmigrantes indocumentados que son detenidos por la policía por manejar sin licencia son entregados a ICE y luego deportados. Las llamadas “DREAM Acts”, permiten que los inmigrantes indocumentados puedan pagar la matrícula estatal en las universidades, en vez de tener que pagar una matrícula internacional mucho más alta.

En los estados donde los políticos conservadores tienen más poder también se han llevado a cabo luchas defensivas en contra de leyes anti-inmigrantes como la SB 1070 de Arizona, al igual que la ley del estado de Georgia que prohíbe que los estudiantes indocumentados asistan a las universidades del estado. En el periodo actual, estas campañas defensivas continuarán siendo de gran importancia en los estados donde ya existan o se lleguen a proponer leyes reaccionarias.

No obstante, el movimiento no debe permanecer a la defensiva. En este nuevo periodo se deben crear audaces campañas a favor de las licencias de conducir y por la igualdad en matricula estudiantil en todos los estados donde todavía no se hayan aprobado.

Estas campañas tienen el mérito de incluir a todos los indocumentados y no corren el riesgo de estar atadas a medidas de represión en la frontera o en el lugar de trabajo; tal y como lo han hecho en todas las propuestas de ley para una reforma migratoria nacional.

Estas campañas a nivel estatal que exigen “licencia para todos” y “educación para todos”, son importantes componentes en la lucha por la igualdad de las nacionalidades oprimidas en los EE.UU y deben ser intensificadas en este periodo.

A pesar de la acción ejecutiva aprobada en noviembre, las deportaciones no cesarán. El hecho real es que los grandes números de deportaciones continuarán siempre y cuando el imperialismo norteamericano continúe destrozando a México y a Centro América. Incluso con la intensa militarización de la frontera y la opresión interna que existe, las personas continuarán emigrando hacia el norte. Las campañas en contra de las deportaciones deben continuar – #Ni1mas deportación continua siendo nuestra meta.

Defender y expandir DACA y DAPA, oposición a la militarización de la frontera y a las redadas laborales

La mayoría Republicana en la Cámara de Representantes del Congreso Nacional, ya aprobó una propuesta de ley para revocar la acción ejecutiva del presidente Obama. Aunque esto debe ser visto como parte del teatro político anticipando las elecciones del 2016, ya que el presidente vetara este tipo de iniciativas, es importante oponerse y señalar quienes son los políticos que descaradamente proponen las deportaciones y medidas de represión masivas.

El movimiento tiene que utilizar este periodo para exponer los males de la militarización de la frontera, la colaboración entra la policía y ICE, y de las redadas y auditorias laborales. Lo que necesitamos es que cada vez más personas se opongan a estas medidas represivas que continúan siendo incluidas en las propuestas de ley para una reforma migratoria comprensiva. Lo que queremos es la legalización de todos y completa igualdad, no mas represión. De igual forma queremos exponer y luchar en contra de la poli-migra, la colaboración cada vez más estrecha que existe en todo el país entre la policía local y ICE, la cual solo busca reprimir aun más a los inmigrantes.

Como demanda inmediata a nivel nacional, el movimiento por los derechos de los inmigrantes debe exigirle al presidente que expanda DACA y DAPA para que cubra a todos los inmigrantes indocumentados. El típico inmigrante indocumentado lleva aproximadamente 13 años en los EE.UU. La acción ejecutiva que fue aprobada en noviembre tiene un sabor agridulce, ya que millones de personas fueron excluidas arbitrariamente. El hecho de que todavía existe la enorme contradicción de que millones de trabajadores indocumentados, que son vitales para la economía de los EE.UU, continúan siendo profundamente oprimidos por la falta de estatus legal, nos demuestra por qué es necesario continuar avanzando por la legalización de todos y por la igualdad.

Hasta que el congreso no pase una ley para legalizar a todos los inmigrantes indocumentados, nuestra demanda debe continuar siendo la expansión de los programas de DACA y DAPA para que abarquen a todos los inmigrantes indocumentados. Aunque temporal, la realidad es que estos programas les permitirán a millones de familias trabajar con permiso en los EE.UU. Esto presiona aun más al congreso para legalizar a todos los inmigrantes en vez de continuar separando familias que ya han echado raíces en este país.

#StPaulMN #DREAMAct #licenciasDeConducir #NoMasDeportaciones #Not1More #Ni1mas

Two years ago, the DREAM Act – which would legalize some immigrant youth who go to college or join the military – passed the House and came within five votes of passing the Senate, with every Republican and five Democrats voting against it. After shutting that effort down, now Senator John McCain (AZ) and retiring Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX) and Jon Kyl (AZ) have introduced a Republican alternative to the DREAM Act they’ve dubbed the “Achieve Act.”

Immigrant rights activists quickly dismissed the Achieve Act as unacceptable. Some have dubbed the Republicans’ alternative to be the “nightmare version” of the DREAM Act.

The DREAM Act itself has gone through several increasingly restrictive iterations over the years, in an attempt by Democrats to woo more Republicans to support it. Those efforts to woo Republican support via more restriction and repression have so far failed, though after the recent election the Republicans are again open to discuss immigration bills that include some mix of repression and legalization.

The new Republican Achieve Act is even more restrictive than the most recent version of the DREAM Act. It would funnel more youth into the military and make it harder for them to go to college. It would also never allow immigrants to get citizenship, only residency.

Another immigration bill the Republicans introduced in the lame duck session is a pro-business bill that would grant green cards to immigrants who get high tech advanced degrees in U.S. universities. Up to 55,000 immigrants could get visas annually if they’re in advanced degree science, technology, engineering or math fields. But it would not allow the total number of immigrants to increase; on the contrary the proposal would also eliminate the diversity visa lottery, which grants 50,000 green cards a year to immigrants from countries that don’t have a large number of immigrants in the U.S. The diversity visa lottery is one of the few avenues open for African immigration to the U.S. as well as immigration from some other underrepresented countries. Almost half of the 50,000 diversity visas go to immigrants from Africa and almost a quarter of all immigrants from African entered through the diversity program in 2011.

This focus on work visas, particularly for highly educated, high-skilled immigrants, at the expense of visas for immigrants from underrepresented countries and for lower-skilled immigrant workers, is the general approach that big business wants in immigration reform. The Republican proposal to push currently undocumented youth into a military track while preventing them from ever getting citizenship appears to be a non-starter, an attempt to juggle between big business interests and the Republicans' rabidly anti-immigrant base while trying to sound like they aren’t anti-immigrant.

President Obama and congressional Democrats are unlikely to give these Republican bills a hearing, as Democrats are publicly announcing plans to push for “comprehensive immigration reform” in the upcoming regular congressional session. They are planning to pick up where their last stalled comprehensive proposal left off, with a bill that would have a mix of increased repressive measures like a more militarized border and increased “interior enforcement” of immigration laws and a guest worker program with some sort of legalization that is yet undefined in scope or process. Immigrant rights activists are preparing to push for immigration reform legislation that legalizes all immigrant workers and that doesn’t increase repressive measures against immigrants or expand a guest worker program.

#WashingtonDC #DREAMAct #immigrationReform #AchieveAct

Immigration lawyer and National Lawyers Guild member Rachel Lang explained the details of the new policy that President Obama announced on June 15. The deferred action policy is not a new law and does not lead to permanent residency or citizenship for immigrant youth. Nor is it the DREAM Act. It’s simply a new temporary policy and this president or the next president could change or cancel it at any moment. But despite the limitations of the policy, it’s the first substantive motion toward legalization and away from repression against immigrants since the amnesty that Congress and President Reagan approved in 1986. President Obama announced this new policy under pressure from undocumented immigrant youth protesting and occupying his campaign offices in several cities across the country demanding that he take action.

Rachel Lang explained that to qualify for this new policy, a person needs to have come to the U.S. when they were under 16 years old, they have to have lived here for five years, they have to be in high school, have a high school degree or be pursuing a GED or have a GED. They also have to not have been convicted of several types of crimes and must not be considered a threat to “national security.” There are many different particular situations and many details of the new policy that are still unknown because the specific rules and the application forms won’t come out until mid-August.

Emilia, a representative NAVIGATE, also spoke at the event. NAVIGATE is a group organized by immigrant youth to help other immigrant youth overcome barriers to staying in school and to help them apply to and get into college. She said that this new policy comes after many years of collective struggle by immigrant youth and this shows that collectivity and organization are the keys to winning victories in the struggle. She also emphasized that this is only the first step and that the community needs to get more organized to continue the struggle for permanent legalization for youth who qualify for the two-year deferred action, and also to fight for legalization for their parents and the rest of the community who doesn’t qualify for deferred action.

Israel Esquivel of the Mexican consulate also spoke at the workshop about the services that the consulate has for people from the Mexican community applying for deferred action.

William Martinez, a MIRAc member who helped organize the forum, said, “We’re happy that a lot of people came to learn about this new policy. We’re going to keep working with the community to inform everyone. The struggle continues to stop deportations, not just of students but also of their parents and families. We hope everyone will participate to continue educating and mobilizing our community and our allies. That’s how we’ll win.”

#RichfieldMN #MIRAc #MinnesotaImmigrantRightsActionCommittee #DREAMAct #undocumentedImmigrants #deferredAction

Tampa, FL- About 30 people protested outside of the Democratic Party campaign office on June 13. They were there to say no to President Obama's massive deportations of undocumented people and to demand the passage of the Dream Act. The protesters consisted mostly of undocumented youth and allies from around the Tampa area. In almost 100 degree Florida weather, the protesters rallied for two hours waiting to hear from someone inside. While they rallied, many speakers came forward to talk about a range of issues affecting undocumented people throughout the U.S.

Groups there included United We Dream, Students Working for Equal Rights (SWER), Student/Farmworker Alliance and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). They were all there together to fight for legalization and the right for people to an education. The Dream Act, as many people talked about, provides partial legalization for young undocumented people who have graduated high school and want to enroll in higher education. All of the Dreamers in Tampa spoke of how they wanted to further their education without fear of deportation. They talked about living in constant fear and oppression at the hands of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and the police.

The crowd marched in circles in front of the office chanting, “Hey Obama! Don't deport my Mama!” “Money for jobs and education, not for racist deportation!” and “El pueblo vive, la lucha sigue!” Meanwhile speakers from different groups came up to talk about their demands. Marisol Marquez of SWER spoke, “Though we may disagree with some things of the Dream Act, like requiring black and brown people to fight overseas in wars of oppression, this still is a pathway to citizenship. We say stop the deportations and let young people have the right to an education!” Speakers continued to come up while the group marched and chanted in front of the office. As the protest came to a close, the group posted a letter to the door of the office with a list of demands.

This protest was part of a nationwide day of action in support of the people's rights to citizenship, employment and education. Across the U.S. groups came together to tell President Obama to stop the deportations and to demand a better future for undocumented people. Under the Obama administration the U.S. has seen more than a million deportations. Many of the Dream Act supporters tell the stories of families broken apart by ICE and the constant deportations. On top of this, the past four years has seen an increase in ICE's budget. This has led to the record number of arrests and deportations over the past few years.

The Dream Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), first introduced in 2001, provides a pathway to legalized citizenship for young undocumented people. However, Democrats and Republicans have both refused to pass the act during the Bush and Obama administrations. Since 2001 undocumented youth have taken to the streets with increased militancy demanding the right to be in the U.S. These brave people risk it all to fight for a better future.

On June 14, the years and dedication to the fight came to the fore. President Obama announced that he would be enacting a Dream Act-like measure that essentially would have the same benefits of the Dream Act. Over the years, the Dreamers endured a life of struggle, dedication and risk of deportation. Without the dedication to the fight, this victory would not have been won. Though this is a small victory for undocumented people and a blow the institutional racism aimed against Black and brown people in the U.S., it still proves that through action and struggle, people can win.

The Dreamers will not stop now. Though most of their demands have been met, they will not stop until the deportations stop. It is not just about demanding a pathway to citizenship or a right to education. The Dreamers, like everyone else, demand that the racist discrimination instituted by the U.S. government stop. Whether it's the deportation of undocumented youth, Trayvon Martin and the police murders of other African-American youth, the Islamophobia and racial profiling of Muslim people, or the systematic arrests and lockups of all people of color – the fight is the same. Only through continuous action will they be resolved, and the Dreamers vow to continue. The struggle moves forward.

#TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #immigrantRights #undocumentedWorkers #DREAMAct #DreamDefenders

The youth were protesting the new law banning undocumented immigrant youth from accessing higher education in Georgia. In a statement issued through TheDreamIsComing.com, one of the protesters, Georgina Perez, said, “We had a simple request of the president; do not comply with the ban on undocumented youth. Instead of hearing us out, when trying to deliver a letter [on April 5], the door was almost shut on us.”

While ICE agents interviewed the youth at the beginning of their detention, ICE did not move to place them in deportation proceedings.

“We wanted to challenge the system and the system completely broke down,” said Viridiana Martinez, one of the protesters. “It was a victory in that it proved that even in the South, in the state that holds the biggest detention center, undocumented youth took a stand and faced deportation and the system broke down.”

When asked about the connections between the struggles for immigrants rights in North Carolina and Georgia, Martinez told Fight Back!, “We came into this understanding the connections with North Carolina and Georgia. This is the South which historically has oppressed people of color and continues to oppress people of color.”

Martinez continued, “The immigrant youth movement needed to take a stand and to make that statement here in the South. You hear all this stuff about Arizona, but you rarely hear about North Carolina, South Carolina or Georgia. And things are only getting worse after the DREAM Act failed. There’s been no relief for our community, just more enforcement.”

Martinez emphasized, “Fear is the biggest weapon of the anti-immigrants,” and urged other undocumented youth to come out of the shadows and take a stand.

With bans on education pending in the North Carolina legislature – HB 11 and HB 343, introduced by Rep. George Cleveland (R-Onslow) – the struggle to demand justice for undocumented youth will escalate in the coming weeks and months. Martinez concluded, “It’s no longer about advocates speaking for us, but it’s about acting – taking a stance through actions. That’s what we’re bringing back home.”

#AtlantaGA #ImmigrationAndCustomsEnforcementICE #DREAMAct #NCDreamTeam #TheDreamIsComing #RepGeorgeCleveland

(April 7 update: The detained youth have been released)

Durham, NC – Two North Carolina youth are among the eight students who blocked traffic in an act of civil disobedience in Atlanta, Georgia on April 5. Earlier in the day, hundreds of youth marched through Atlanta chanting “Undocumented and unafraid!” and “Education not deportation!” After presenting a petition to Georgia State University’s president, eight undocumented youth occupied a street until their arrest.

Georgina Perez, Viridiana Martinez, Jose Rico, Dayanna Rebolledo, Andrea Rosales, David Ramirez, Maria Marroquin and Dulce Guerrero are being held in a detention center in Atlanta.

A newly passed law in Georgia bans undocumented students from enrolling in Georgia’s five most selective public universities. The ban also requires colleges to check the residency status of all applicants.

Jose Rico, one of the young people arrested and a member of the North Carolina DREAM Team, said, “I’m doing this because our communities are living in fear. 51,000 undocumented youth had their dreams torn apart when our senators voted against the DREAM Act. They are trying to criminalize our existence.”

Viridiana Martinez, another member of the NC DREAM Team who was arrested at the protest, said, “Rallying and protesting are no longer enough. Remaining in the shadows is no longer acceptable.”

Organizers with the NC DREAM Team note that two bills in North Carolina’s General Assembly, HB 11 and HB 343, would block undocumented students from accessing higher education in the state.

A vigil and protest is planned in Raleigh, NC at 6:30pm on Thursday April 7 to demand freedom for Viridiana and Jose Rico, as well as the other detained youth. Supporters are also encouraged to donate to the bail fund.

(Video Credit: MundoHispanico)

#AtlantaGA #DREAMAct #GeorgiaStateUniversity