Los Angeles, CA – On April 8, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board (LAUSD) passed a unanimous resolution calling on President Obama to use federal administrative action to suspend any further deportations. The resolution, introduced by LAUSD board member Bennett Kayser, is part of the growing Protect Our Families Campaign that has already gotten several resolutions passed by the city councils in Los Angeles, Carson, Santa Ana and Cudahy. Similar resolutions have also been approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the City Council of Berkeley and in Chicago, Illinois.

Board Member Bennett Kayser stated, “We have a broken immigration system that is harming families and children in this school district. On their behalf, I authored this motion calling on President Obama to immediately cease the deportations that are separating parents from their children.” LAUSD is the second largest public school district in the nation, with over 650,000 students. 70% are Latino of Mexican origin. Bennett Kayser is a strong advocate of public education and has fought against attempts by the privatization movement to take over LAUSD and attack the teachers union.

A key speaker in support of the school board resolution was Los Angeles City Council Member Gil Cedillo, who spearheaded the resolution.

The members of the Protect Our Families-Save the Children Campaign include Father Richard Estrada of Jovenes Inc., Angela Sanbrano of CARECEN, Armando Vázquez-Ramos of California-México Studies Center, and Nativo Lopez of Hermandad Mexicana. They urge the public to participate and be present at future presentations to protect migrant families.

Carlos Montes was present in the crowd to show solidarity and invite all to participate in the May 1 march and rally in Los Angeles, calling for Legalization for All and to Stop the Deportations. The march starts at 4:00 p.m. at Olympic and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.

#LosAngelesCA #CarlosMontes #legalizationForAll #borderRepression #ImmigrantsRights #NoMasDeportaciones #LosAngelesUnifiedSchoolDistrictBoard

Asheville, NC – Amidst the backdrop of continuing congressional inaction on immigration reform, over 100 community members gathered at Saint Lawrence Basilica and marched to the courthouse, demanding an end to deportations and full legalization for all families. The Asheville chapter of Coalición de Organizaciones Latino-Americanas (COLA) joined over 80 cities taking part in a National Day of Action to End Deportations on April 5, organized by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON).

With patience worn thin from discarded political promises, the marchers chanted “Hey Obama, don't deport my mama!” Protesters held signs that said “Liberation not deportation” and “ICE out of our communities,” with the hashtags #Not1More and #2Million2Many. Several speakers relayed their experiences dealing with the deportation of family members.

“More than 1000 people are being deported every day and President Obama has the authority and the power – he can definitely do what’s right,” said Bruno Hinojosa, a member of COLA. Speakers explained that, despite promises to take action on behalf of immigrants, President Obama has instead functioned as deporter-in-chief.

#AshevilleNC #ImmigrationAndCustomsEnforcementICE #immigrationRights #legalizationForAll #borderRepression #NoMasDeportaciones

Tampa, FL – The U.S. prides itself in having a day to ‘give thanks.’ They call this, ‘Thanksgiving’ and it's supposed to be a time when the family unites and shares a home-cooked meal. This tradition, however, is not always shared by immigrant communities.

For Alicia, a member and founder of Raices en Tampa, this year she will not be celebrating Thanksgiving with her family. Alicia's family is split apart between two countries.

In the fall of 1998, Hurricane Mitch swept through the Atlantic Ocean. The rainfall that fell during Mitch's travel through Honduras flooded over 2 million homes and killed about 11,000 people. The U.S. permitted the entry of some Hondurans during this time. Among them were Alicia and her other four family members: her father, mother and one older and younger brother. They arrived in Naples, Florida that year and attempted to rebuild their lives.

Many Hondurans arriving at this time were extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS is much like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) which was given to young undocumented immigrants in June of 2012. TPS is only available for two years and those who have it must reapply, while paying hundreds of dollars for new applications while losing all of their documentation in the meantime. They can face harassment, stalking, arrests and even deportations while they wait for their renewal request for TPS to be approved.

“Sometimes when I go to renew, if the person in Naples does not know what they are doing or if they want to be nasty, they will take my license and cut it in half,” says Alicia.

Alicia's family has each had their fair share of bad experiences while in the U.S. Alicia's mother Irene was pulled over for driving without a license and the police officer threatened to jail her and have her deported. Knowing her responsibility as a mother to two minor children, Irene decided to never drive after that arrest. This quickly became a setback because, even to do a simple task like shopping for groceries, Irene had to ask someone to provide her with transportation.

“As an immigrant and one with such a temporary status, you grow up quickly and learn that the law is used to terrorize us,” says Alicia.

Irene was so afraid to drive that, in October this year, she decided to self-deport back to her native Honduras along with her youngest daughter. Irene put everything she had accumulated in 15 years up for sale. That which she did not sell she gave away to Alicia or friends and neighbors. In a week, everything this family had built with their own work, tears and struggles was only a distant memory.

“I want President Obama to know there are over 2 million deportations, now. All of this is happening without him really caring or even trying to stop them from happening. During his Thanksgiving, I hope Obama thinks about all of us undocumented immigrants who are torn apart from our families and can't share anymore meals with our families,” says Irene.

Raices en Tampa, which is group in Tampa, Florida that Alicia help found, has decided to push for a way to stop these attacks on the approximately 1.5 million undocumented immigrants in the state of Florida. So far, DREAMers Moms Orlando and United Families in Miami have endorsed the action and many others are beginning to express support.

Alicia is positive her work with Raices en Tampa will succeed. “No one deserves to be torn from their home or family for simply driving to work or going to school. We all need jobs, but how are we supposed to drive without a driver’s license? Florida should not deport anymore immigrants for driving without a license. Licenses for all now in the state of Florida!”

Raices en Tampa is collecting public support for their campaign, “Driver's Licenses for All Undocumented – Florida”. They ask that you take a picture of yourself with a sign that reads, “I support driver's licenses for all in Florida! #DL4ALLFL!” and that you email it to raicesentampa@gmail.com.

Marisol Márquez is a member of Raíces en Tampa

#TampaFL #Honduras #deportations #thanksgiving #legalizationForAll #borderRepression #DriversLicenses #ImmigrantsRights #RaicesEnTampa

So around the country people will call their senators to demand that they support legalization for all undocumented immigrants; that they reduce the time to reach legal permanent residency; that they eliminate the militarization of the border and surveillance drones from the bill; and that they stop the deportations now.

The current Senate bill has more than a ten-year wait for undocumented immigrants to become legal permanent residents. This and other barriers will act to exclude many from legalization.

Right now hundreds of immigrants are dying as they try to cross the border because the militarization of the border has driven them to harsh desert areas. The current Senate bill could lead to military drones flying over millions of Americans who live within 100 miles of the border – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Under the Obama administration, there has been record number of deportations. The call-in day will demand that Senators support a moratorium on deportations while the legalization process is starting.

Call the two U.S. Senators for your state. Find their phone numbers here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

Call the US Representative in your district by putting your zip code in the box in the upper right corner of this page: http://www.house.gov/representatives/.

For more details, go to facebook.com/LegalizationForAll.

#LosAngelesCA #deportations #immigrationRights #comprehensiveImmigrationReform #legalizationForAll #borderRepression

Milwaukee, WI – On May 30, activists from Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES) and Voces de la Frontera organized a rally of 200-plus outside the Federal Court House in downtown Milwaukee. Inside, Senator Ron Johnson met with delegates from Milwaukee’s Mexican and Latino community to discuss his position on immigration reform.

An immigration reform bill is making its way through Congress, recently approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. In response, immigrant rights groups across the country are making sure that the voices of those directly affected by the unjust immigration system are being heard. Johnson repeatedly says that the Senate bill does not put enough emphasis on border enforcement, despite the fact that the bill calls for a total militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border.

As the delegation negotiated with Johnson, the rally outside gained momentum, with speakers energizing the crowd under the slogan, “Family unity – citizenship now.” When the delegation came out of the meeting, after being unable to sway Johnson from his reactionary, far-right position, 18 trained activists took the streets and performed civil disobedience. The protesters linked arms and chanted, “Immigration is not a crime, family unity – now is the time!”

Francisca Meráz, an organizer with YES, was the spokesperson for the civil disobedience. She stated, “I am so tired of seeing my cousins cry when they get married because their mother or father could not be there, or when they see their mom or dad for the first time in years via Skype. Even worse, when I see their eyes light up with joy at the news of immigration reform, I am angry at the possibility that it will not provide a meaningful path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people in this country. I need a path to citizenship for my family, and that is why I am calling on the president to end the record number of deportations happening under his administration, and calling on Senator Johnson to help keep our families together by supporting legalization that is not contingent on enforcement.”

The rally and action were part of the week of action called by the Legalization for All Network.

#MilwaukeeWI #immigrantRights #CivilRights #legalizationForAll #borderRepression #SenatorRonJohnson

On April 17, a bipartisan group of eight senators released their proposal for “Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” While there are parts of the proposal that would improve the lives of millions of undocumented, it falls far short of a real legalization plan and it includes many bad parts that cannot be supported. What needs to be done, first and foremost, is to rebuild a mass and militant movement for legalization and against more militarization of the border and against workplace repression. We need to go all out to mobilize for May 1 and keep the pressure on politicians to come up with a better immigration reform bill.

The proposal would establish a temporary “Registered Provisional Immigrant” (RPI) visa for the undocumented that would have to be renewed after six years. This RPI visa would help millions of undocumented to come out of the shadows and to work without fear of ICE raids. The RPI visa would let the former undocumented get drivers licenses and be able to drive without fear of having their cars impounded. Many of the undocumented who have not been able to visit their relatives outside the U.S. for many years would be able to travel with the RPI visa. Their families here in the U.S, which include many legal permanent residents and native-born and naturalized U.S. citizens, would not have to continue to live in fear of being broken up by deportations.

While the RPI visa would improve the lives of the undocumented, it falls far short of the “legalization for all” that the community needs. Unlike legal permanent residency, those with an RPI visa cannot sponsor their family members to come to the U.S., nor can they apply for citizenship. There is an arbitrary cut-off date of Dec. 31, 2011 to qualify for the RPI visa, excluding all those who came in 2012.

The proposal also sets up four major barriers to legalization. First of all, there is at least a ten year wait in order to become a legal permanent resident. Second, there is a requirement that the U.S.-Mexico border be declared “secure” and that 90% of the undocumented who try to cross are being turned away before any of those with RPI visas can legalize. Third, there is the requirement that anyone with an RPI visa show that they had no more than 60 days of unemployment at any one spell in order to legalize. Finally, those on an RPI visa must apply for a new visa under a new system that emphasizes education and English speaking ability, which could exclude many from Mexico and Central America.

A major exception to this long wait and many barriers is made for undocumented youth who have a college degree or who have served in the military, and for agricultural workers, who only have to wait five years to become legal permanent residents. In addition the “DREAM” youth can apply for citizenship immediately after becoming legal permanent residents. On the other hand, the requirements to qualify are stricter than from the DACA (Deferred Action for Child Arrivals), since the DACA only requires a high-school degree, while the DREAM part of this proposal requires a college degree or two years progress towards a bachelor’s degree or military service.

There are other positive parts of the proposal, such as the expansion of immigration by immediate family of legal residents (spouses and minor children), as well as a number of smaller fixes to problems in the current immigration law.

On the other hand, the proposal would eliminate visas for siblings of U.S. citizens and married children of citizens who are over 31 years old. There is no recognition of same sex partners in the proposal. And the proposal puts into law an effort to shift immigration away from family reunification to a point system that favors those who speak English and are highly educated. Instead of the ideal, written on the Statue of Liberty, of “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free...” there is a philosophy of give us your leisured, your rich, your highly educated that serve the needs of U.S. corporations.

The proposal vastly increases temporary worker programs to the benefit of U.S. businesses. It increases the number of skilled temporary workers (H-1b) from 65,000 per year to as much as 180,000 per year. The bill also establishes a new temporary worker program for unskilled workers that ramps up to 75,000 per year. These visas are not guest workers as they could switch employers and could apply for permanent residency.

But worst of all, the proposal begins, and is very clearly focused on, increasing the militarization of the border, including the deployment of the National Guard. The current policy is killing hundreds of people trying to get into the U.S.; the current bill would increase this. In addition, the proposal wants to expand a federal program to arrest, charge, convict and jail undocumented migrants on criminal charges for crossing the border. This is another step towards criminalization of the undocumented.

The proposal also wants to step up enforcement in the U.S. It would ramp up the E-verify workplace system, making it mandatory over the next five years. This would facilitate the development of a national ID card system. The proposal also calls for a whole new system to track visitors to the U.S. to make sure that they leave the country. It also maintains the Secure Communities program, so that local police can be an arm of ICE.

There is also scarcely veiled racism in the bill. The Immigration Act of 1990 established a “Diversity Visa” to allow more immigrants from countries that don’t send many people to the U.S. It was widely seen as an effort to allow more Irish to immigrate and to allow for the legalization of undocumented Irish immigrants in the U.S. But over the years the Diversity Visa has become a major path for immigration from Africa. The proposal would eliminate the Diversity Visa, which would cut immigration from Africa in half and at the same time the proposal would add a new visa for immigrants from Ireland!

So what is to be done? Most importantly, we need to reflect on one of the best parts of the bill, the relatively faster legalization, with fewer barriers, of the undocumented youth. Why did they get a better deal? Because the undocumented youth carried out mass protests and militant actions, under the slogan, “Undocumented and unafraid.” What is needed more than ever is to rebuild a mass and militant movement for legalization that widens the legalization for youth by dropping the college and military service requirements, and opens up faster legalization for all the undocumented, not just youth and agricultural workers. This struggle for legalization for all needs to go hand in hand with the fight against more militarization of the border and the moves to expand E-verify.

#UnitedStates #immigrantRights #Racism #legalizationForAll #borderRepression #RegisteredProvisionalImmigrant

Miami, FL – Over 2000 people marched here, April 6, demanding legalization for undocumented workers and calling for an end to the deportations of immigrants. Young and old, undocumented and documented, workers and students came together in order to push local and national policy makers, including President Obama, into immediate action.

The rally included members of Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), SEIU, UNITE HERE, Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), Florida Immigrant Youth Network, and Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami (Haitian Women of Miami). These groups are among dozens calling for Florida's roughly 1 million undocumented workers to be treated fairly

The march began at noon in Jose Marti Park, located at the center of Little Havana in Miami. Leaders took to the stage and fired up the crowd with speeches directed toward President Obama and Florida Senator Marco Rubio ®, demanding that they “Say yes!” to immigrant rights.

Large numbers of undocumented Haitian and Central Americans joined the protest. Many are service workers in Miami or farm workers throughout Florida. These workers attended the rally seeking justice for their families and equal treatment in their workplace. Throughout the event, activists chanted and gave speeches in Spanish, Haitian Creole and English. In Haitian Creole, the crowd shouted, “Rezidans, wi! Depòtasyon, non!” Meaning, “Residence, yes! Deportation, no!”

Local leaders Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and Catholic Archbishop Thomas Wenski spoke out for immigrant justice. Archbishop Wenski, addressing the crowd in Spanish and Haitian Creole, pointed out that most of those in attendance were members of his parish. He declared that the government must not simply pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill, but a “just one.”

Several immigrants spoke about their families being separated due to current immigration policies. A tear-filled plea from a young immigrant from Nicaragua gripped the crowd. Marbelis Soza explained how her brother was seized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) and is currently being detained. He will be the fourth member of her family to be deported.

Raina Laham, an organizer with People's Opposition to War, Imperialism, and Racism (POWIR), was at the rally holding a sign that read, “Immigrants in, drones out,” as part of an anti-drone campaign in South Florida. “Not only are drones being used to kill innocents abroad,” Laham said, “but they also threaten civil liberties and lives at home by turning our borders into war zones.” Predator drones are currently being used by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency — largely along the southwestern border.

After an hour at the park, the activists began a 20-block march through the heart of Downtown Miami holding signs that read: “Keep families together,” “Undocumented and unafraid,” and “We all have a dream.” As the massive group took to the streets, cars honked in approval and locals cheered from their windows and storefronts. An hour later, the marchers arrived at the Torch of Friendship in Downtown Miami, where a stage was set up and Afro-Caribbean band Bachaco played.

As the rally drew to a close and the last speeches delivered, the activists in attendance left ready to continue the struggle for immigrant rights. Some groups are travelling to Washington D.C. for a national demonstration for immigrant justice on April 10.

#MiamiFL #ImmigrantsRights #ImmigrationAndCustomsEnforcementICE #drones #legalizationForAll #borderRepression