Houston, TX – Republicans in the Texas State Legislature introduced a new set of senate bills, SB 3 and SB 185, demonizing the immigrant community and racially profiling Chicanos, Mexicanos and others. SB 185 is strikingly similar to the racist SB 1070 in Arizona.

The difference is the bill “allows” instead of “requires” the police to ask anyone who ‘looks undocumented’ for identification. While the racial profiling appears voluntary, police departments that do not racially profile can have their funding cut by the Texas Attorney General. It is an unusual and one-of-a-kind bill.

“With SB 185, police will be checking students at high school and college campuses about their immigration status. This harassment of Chicano and Mexicano students at school by the police undermines their education. The Republican legislation legalizes racial profiling and creates a climate of fear and anxiety in the very large Chicano/Mexicano communities of Texas,” said Victor Ibarra, with the Frente Interdependiente de Latinos Unidos (FILU).

The Houston Police Officers Union endorsed these bills and offered material support to a Republican lobbying campaign to get the bills passed. The police union is one of the most racist and xenophobic organizations in Houston. They consistently defend racist police actions, including police guilty of murder.

On March 25, over 100 people from a number of immigrant rights groups gathered outside of the police union’s headquarters to protest their endorsement and to pressure them to revoke their support. Organizers, in a prearranged meeting, entered the office of the union to meet with police union representatives and were immediately threatened with arrest. The police union president backed out and refused to meet and talk.

The protest continued outside on the sidewalk for three hours. People chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, white supremacy has got to go!” The police union leaders could be seen inside of their building, laughing and making rude gestures. It was clear to everyone that the police are not on the side of the people, but work for big business and the rich.

If the Texas state legislature passes these new racist laws, it is certain the immigrant rights movement will call more protests all across Texas.

#HoustonTX #SB1070 #SB3 #SB185 #FrenteInterdependienteDeLatinosUnidosFILU

Tucson, AZ—El primero de Agosto del 2014 el Departamento de Policías de Tucson (TPD), utilizando la ley de discriminación racial SB1070, detuvo a Gerardo Ruiz Lopez debido a una supuesta infracción de transito. Después de haber sido detenido de manera cínica e inmoral, el conductor fue arrestado y transferido por un oficial encubierto, en un vehículo no identificado.

Esta es la triste realidad que viven los hombres y las mujeres que se encuentran indocumentados en la ciudad de Tucson. El señor Gerardo Ruiz Lopez fue arrestado y trasladado al Centro de Detención Eloy en el sur de Arizona; este centro de detención le pertenece a la corporación de cárceles privadas Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).

Gerardo Ruiz Lopez, pertenece al “Centro de Trabajadores” del Sur de Tucson (Southside Workers Center), una organización comunitaria donde los jornaleros pueden buscar trabajo sin ser perseguidos, y en donde también se les proporciona clases de ingles, clases sobre sus derechos, desarrollo de liderazgo, entre otros talleres. Miquiztli Valenzuela, miembro del Centro de Trabajadores dijo: “Gerardo es un trabajador ejemplar del Centro, siempre esta dispuesto a enseñarle a sus compañeros”.

Tras el arresto de Gerardo Ruiz Lopez, el pueblo de Tucson nuevamente se ve obligado a enfrentarse cara a cara y sin miedo alguno contra la injusticia social y el racismo. La Coalición de Redes de Protección del sur de Tucson, junto a toda la comunidad progresista y revolucionaria, salió a la calle a exigir que se suspenda la colaboración entre el Departamento de Policías de Tucson y las agencias de inmigración. La manifestación tuvo lugar en frente de la oficina central del Departamento de Policías de Tucson, en donde alrededor de 40 a 50 personas se reunieron. A través de consignas y cantos, la prensa local presencio la voluntad popular en acción. La Coalición hizo entrega formal al Departamento de Policías, las demandas y quejas del pueblo en contra de su práctica de discriminación racial. Esta política no tiene otro propósito que aterrorizar a la comunidad, dividir familias y promover el opresión nacional y la criminalización.

Ya basta de que seres humanos tengan que vivir en la sombra, donde constantemente se les violan sus derechos civiles y humanos. Todo ser humano tiene el derecho a vivir en paz y sin miedo. No mas deportaciones! No mas divisiones de familias! No mas poli-migra! Legalización para todos ahora!

#TucsonAZ #SB1070

The court struck down the part of SB1070 that made it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant in Arizona, saying that, according to federal law, not having legal authorization to live in the United States is a civil offense (like a traffic ticket), not a crime. The court also overturned the part of the law that made it a crime to work without legal authorization, again noting, while it is a crime for employers to knowingly hire the undocumented, it is not a crime for the undocumented to work. Finally, the Supreme Court ruled against the part of SB1070 that said that state and local police could stop and detain people on suspicion of being undocumented, saying that this was up to the federal government, not state and local officials.

However, the Supreme Court let stand the part of SB1070 that has police check the immigration status of anyone that they stop for other reasons. Right now almost all local police have to check the immigration status of anyone that they arrest under the federal ‘Secure Communities’ program, popularly known as the poli/migra. This has led to the deportations of thousands of undocumented people who were never convicted of any crime. The Supreme Court ruling opens the door for more local communities to pass similar laws to Arizona, which could lead to more deportations and the harassment by local police of people who they think might be undocumented.

Without the massive protests against SB1070 in 2010 when the law passed, the court ruling could have been worse. However, it is still a step back from before the passage of the law, in that it allows for a greater role for local police to stop people and check their immigration status. As we know, local police now target poor and working-class Mexicano/Chicano communities with checkpoints, racist patrols and brutality. The Supreme Court decision opens the door wider to more racial profiling by police. This shows that the struggle for equality and legalization for the undocumented cannot be left in the hands of the federal government or their courts, but needs a militant and broad mass movement for victory.

#SanJoséCA #ChicanoLatino #immigrantRights #Arizona #SB1070 #MexicanChican

Birmingham, AL – Nearly 2500 people came together here, June 25, to march and speak out against Alabama House Bill 56 (HB 56), recently signed into law by Governor Bentley. The bill is being called “the harshest anti-immigrant state law in the nation.” While many immigrant rights activists say, “the bill was inspired by SB 1070 in Arizona”, others describe the law as, “a pre-civil rights movement Jim Crow law enforcing inequality.” The new law is set to take effect on Sept. 1.

HB 56 turns K-12 public school teachers into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Schools will now be required to determine the immigration status of all their students at enrollment. HB 56 encourages teachers to report undocumented children and their families. This provision is meant to discourage undocumented families from enrolling their young ones into school, denying them a right to an education. The new law also places a ban on undocumented students attending any state colleges or universities. HB 56 makes it a crime to rent housing to undocumented people and even goes so far as to criminalize providing any form of transportation to undocumented people. The law requires police officers to racially profile and hold people in custody until their immigration status is determined.

Overwhelmingly, protesters wore white and carried candles to symbolize unity. The march began with prayers in both Spanish and English from Islamic, Christian and Jewish faith leaders. Protesters marched in dignified silence, at the request of the organizers. Activists at tables around the gathering site gathered petitions demanding the repeal of HB 56.

One of the organizers, Scott Douglas, head of the antipoverty group Greater Birmingham Ministries, looked at the very diverse crowd of protesters and announced, “You look like Alabama to me.”

Students for a Democratic Society activist Scott Daniel, said, “Organizers expected 1000 protesters, and there are well over 2000 people here. That just goes to show that the people of Alabama will not be silenced, that our voices will be heard.”

The protest drew the attention of local and national media, and it certainly drew the attention of Alabama's lawmakers who seek to criminalize and deny the rights of undocumented people. A broad movement of immigrant rights groups, religious organizations, farmers, small businesses, civil rights groups and students are uniting in state after state to oppose these new separate and unequal laws. The South is seeing a new movement for legalization and equality.

#BirminghamAL #SB1070 #HB56 #USImmigrationAndCustomsEnforcementICE

Voces de la Frontera and the AFL-CIO will rally, along with other unions, community organizations, student/youth groups, and supporters. The rally will begin at 5th and Washington at 1:30 followed by a march to Veterans Park. Keynote speakers will include Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO.

#MilwaukeeWI #MayDay #immigrantRights #SB1070

Participants took the opportunity to discuss the legislation, ask questions and plan actions to protest immediately upon its introduction. The great turnout to this meeting proves the dedication that this community has for its rights. This is not the first time Voces de la Frontera has brought together Milwaukee residents to discuss such important legislation. Joseph Oulahan, facilitator for the meeting and board member of Voces de la Frontera said, “We’re lucky to have Voces de la Frontera because other states where this has been happening don’t have the same support.”

Among many of the problems with this legislation, as with Arizona’s SB1070, is that it would promote discrimination by requiring that everyone carry identification that proves their legal status in the United States. People without the proper documents would risk being arrested, sent to jail and deported. Of course, this new law would disproportionately Latinos, African Americans and Native Americans, who would be stopped and questioned more frequently. The proposal would send Wisconsin back to the era before the civil rights movement.

The impact of such a law would severely impact the economy in Wisconsin. Contrary to what Governor Scott Walker’s campaign said, he is not ‘creating jobs’ but eliminating thousands of them. If all undocumented workers left Wisconsin, the state would lose $2.6 billion in economic activity and a total of $1.2 billion in state product and about 14,579 workers. Immigrant workers make up over 40% of workers on dairy farms (around 5,316 workers). Moreover, the anti-immigrant climate would cause Latinos – documented or not – to leave the state, causing a loss of taxes, businesses to close, the abandonment of homes and declining home values ​​when more people leave their neighborhoods.

For all those families and activists present, being in a room full of other people willing to fight against an unjust law was not just a fight for social justice, but a fight for many of our close friends and relatives. As tough as this struggle appeared in front of us, many encouraging and powerful words were given from the audience. “Together, with or without papers, we make this country!” said a community member.

The meeting ended with high energy with all those present chanting: “El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido! Sí se puede!” [The people united, will never be defeated! Yes we can!]

#MilwaukeeWI #SB1070 #GovernorScottWalker #VocesDeLaFrontera

Washington, D.C. – At a press conference January 5 at the National Press Club, the most extreme anti-immigrant politicians from around the U.S. gathered to announce their plan to attack the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Their press conference was confronted by immigrant rights activists.

One of the activists, Burke Stansbury, stood up during the event and told the anti-immigrant politicians, “The bill is ignorant and wrong! It’s an inhumane and racist bill and it will be stopped!” as he was pushed out of the room. Other activists unfurled a banner that read “Protect the 14th Amendment”. Several other protesters then stood up one by one to speak out until they were each forced out of the room as well.

The anti-immigrant politicians at the press conference came from several state legislatures around the country. They’re spearheaded by Russell Pearce, the president-elect of the Arizona state senate. Pearce is one of the initiators of Arizona's racist SB1070 law passed last year that sparked massive outrage in the Latino community and provoked protests of hundreds of thousands of people in Arizona and around the U.S. last May.

As the next step in their anti-immigrant crusade, these politicians will now try to deny U.S. citizenship to children born in the U.S. whose parents aren't citizens.

These politicians plan to introduce bills in Arizona and at least 13 other states that would attack the essence of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing U.S. citizenship to anyone born in the country. Right wing nativist politicians in Alabama, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah hope to introduce similar bills.

If passed, these proposals would essentially overturn the 14th Amendment. Added to the Constitution in 1868 right after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment for the first time guaranteed U.S. citizenship to Black people in the U.S. who had formerly been slaves (and therefore non-citizens with no rights). The first sentence of the 14th Amendment says, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”

The 14th Amendment overruled the infamous racist Dred Scott Decision of 1857. In Dred Scott, the Supreme Court said that African slaves and their descendants could never be U.S. citizens and were not subject to the protections of the constitution. There were later challenges to whether the 14th Amendment applied to U.S.-born children of Chinese immigrants. In 1898 in the Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Court affirmed that it did apply to children of non-citizen Chinese immigrants: “The 14th Amendment affirms the ancient and fundamental rule of citizenship by birth within the territory ... including all children here born of resident aliens.” Two more Supreme Court rulings in the 1980s reaffirmed that all children born in the U.S. are citizens.

Immigrant rights and civil liberties activists declared these politicians’ proposal to be racist in that it is a targeted attack on the Latino community. Additionally, it directly attacks the part of the constitution that gave Black people U.S. citizenship after centuries of slavery. Activists also say these racist proposals on the state level will continue to worsen, and called on the federal government to guarantee full equality for immigrants nationwide.

#WashingtonDC #constitutionalRight #SB1070 #14thAmendment #RussellPearce

MLB’s racism tarnished the reputations of all the great ballplayers from its early era. Could white hitters like Mel Ott or Stan Musial have hit like the great African American pitcher Satchel Paige? Could a white catcher like Bill Dickey have thrown out a base stealer like the African American speedster Cool Papa Bell? Could African American Josh Gibson hit more home runs than Babe Ruth or Ted Williams? Because of MLB’s racism, we will never know. MLB’s segregation policy prevented them from facing all the best ballplayers of their era.

MLB ignored the demands from the people for equality in the 1930s and 1940s. Communist-led organizations and unions held rallies, gathered petitions and picketed at the MLB ballparks for an end to segregation in baseball. The Daily Worker’s fine sports writer Lester Rodney covered the Negro Leagues as well as MLB. He called for the best ballplayers to be admitted to MLB regardless of race.

MLB has buried this history. The owners want you to think that ‘visionaries like Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey or former MLB Commissioner Ford Frick were the only reason that baseball was integrated. But many MLB owners were hesitant to let the best nonwhite players join their team even after Jackie Robinson in the National League, Larry Doby in the American League and others had broken the color barrier. The first African American ballplayer on Boston Red Sox was Pumpsie Green in 1959. The Red Sox did not have regular nonwhite position players until the mid 1960s.

Fast forward to today’s MLB elite. After years of trying to get everyone to ignore past sins, Commissioner Bud Selig took a new direction. He honored Jackie Robinson by retiring his number 42 from all MLB teams. He embraced the Negro League players, even putting some in the MLB Hall of Fame. Heck that was over 60 years ago. We are more enlightened than that now.

Selig sees new markets for MLB, especially in Japan. Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui and other Japanese players are heavily marketed abroad. Caribbean countries like the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico have produced great MLB players for decades. Now MLB is testing ways to cash in on its new found internationalism.

But how enlightened are they? MLB has scheduled its All-Star game in Phoenix, Arizona. Furthermore, the MLB franchise in Arizona and its owner, Ken Kendrick, have been major financial contributors for the Republicans responsible for SB1070. But unfortunately for them, that darn immigrant rights movement is challenging MLB to step up to the plate.

Like the radical civil rights leaders in the1930s and 1940s, people from MLB cities across the country have started to protest and demand that the 2011 All-Star game be moved. They want MLB to renounce the racism of SB1070. Protests in Milwaukee, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Minneapolis and Washington D.C. have grabbed many fans’ attention.

Some players who are likely to be chosen to play in the All-Star game, like the Milwaukee Brewer pitcher Yovani Gallardo and San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, have said that they would not attend an All-Star game if it is in Arizona. The outspoken manager of the Chicago White Sox has followed suit and said that he would not attend unless the Arizona laws are changed.

While as many as 30% of MLB ballplayer are from other countries or are of Latin ancestry, this is not about them. This is about racist discrimination and national oppression. This is about one set of laws for some people and another set of laws for other people. It is time for sports fans to stand for full equality for all people.

No matter which team you like, you root for all of the players whether they are black, white, brown, Asian or red. Arizona’s SB1070 is wrong, you know it, I know it and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig knows it. The question is, will MLB back its racist buddies in Arizona or will they take a principled stand?

Foster Richards can be reached at leftsportsrev@yahoo.com

#Arizona #AZ #ImmigrantRights #Sports #CivilRights #BoycottArizona #SB1070 #MajorLeagueBaseball #MLB #BudSelig

This essay was written by one of five people arrested at the Move the Game protest in Minneapolis on August 11, 2010. The protest confronted a meeting of Major League Baseball (MLB) team owners and league Commissioner Bud Selig, demanding that they move the 2011 All Star game out of Arizona unless the anti-immigrant law SB1070 is repealed. The essay focuses on part of the arrestees’ jail experience, bringing to light this largely hidden site of large numbers of immigrant deportations.

What city were you born in?

8/12/2010

Minneapolis, MN – Expecting to hear a question about country of origin, I was thrown off. On August 11th, 5 of us had been arrested during a “Move the Game” protest organized by The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAc) and their Boycott Arizona Minnesota Campaign (BAM!) demanding that the 2011 All-Star Game be moved out of Arizona unless the state repeals it's racist, anti-immigrant law, SB1070. Arrested for attempting to present a 110,000 signature petition to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, during an MLB owners meeting at a downtown Minneapolis hotel, we prepared to refuse to state our birthplace during the booking process in jail, since that question that is used to determine whether someone might be an undocumented immigrant. ICE can then interview people and put them into deportation proceedings.

Given the nature of our initial protest for immigrant rights and our personal political beliefs, we had decided not to answer that question.

I asked if it was necessary to answer that question and was met with a forceful threat that if we did not answer we would be unable to complete the booking process and be returned to the holding cell. That is exactly how the system is arranged. Clerks and deputies shoot off questions at you in order to catch you off guard. It is extraordinarily easy to be lost in the process, and that is used to their advantage.

If these questions were purely used for identification purposes it would be one thing, but files of those who are undocumented are flagged, opening them up to questioning by ICE and the possibility of deportation. Three of us who had not been charged refused to answer any question that inquired about place of birth. We were each held in solitary confinement for varied amounts of time until we agreed to go through with the booking process.

My 12 hours in custody and 6 hours in solitary confinement is nothing compared to the years of separation that families face when a loved one is deported. I do not kid myself that my night and the nights of my fellow protesters in jail will by itself greatly impact the system, but I believe in this movement, in the strong organizers in our communities, and hope to use our story to further the fight for immigrant rights. What happens in jails is largely invisible to the outside world. Yet it is precisely this process of asking a seemingly innocent question about city of birth during the booking process (before people have even been convicted of a crime), that has contributed to the skyrocketing of deportation over the past year under the “Criminal Alien Program”. By telling our story, I hope to shed some light on this largely invisible source of deportations and tearing apart of families, so we can organize to stop it.

Molly Glasgow is a member of the Minnesota Immigrant Righs Action Committee (MIRAc).

#MinneapolisMN #InJusticeSystem #civilDisobedience #MIRAc #Arizona #BoycottArizona #SB1070 #MinnesotaImmigrantRightsActionCommittee #BoycottArizonaMinnesota #MajorLeagueBaseball #BudSelig #MoveTheGame #CriminalAlienProgram

Minneapolis, MN – Chanting “Move the game! Move the game!”, 100 immigrants and supporters confronted a meeting of Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Bud Selig and team owners at a ritzy Minneapolis hotel on August 11, 2010. The protest was part of the national movement demanding that Major League Baseball move the 2011 All Star game out of Arizona unless the state repeals its recently passed anti-immigrant law, SB1070. Losing the All Star game would be a big blow to Arizona, resulting in an estimated $60 million loss of revenue. Thirty percent of MLB players are Latino, and many have spoken out against SB1070.

A delegation of five of the protesters – members of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAc) and U of M Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) – entered the hotel where the baseball owners were meeting in an effort to deliver 110,000 petitions directly to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. As the delegation entered the hotel the police quickly handcuffed and arrested them, refusing to let them bring the petitions to Selig. Police also refused to allow Minneapolis City Council member Cam Gordon, who was present at the protest, to deliver the petitions to Selig in their place. As the five were arrested inside the hotel, the rally outside grew more spirited, with chants of “let them in!” and more chants of “move the game!”

Niger Arevalo of MIRAc spoke about the need to fight racist, anti-immigrant laws like SB1070 in Arizona, and also to fight anti-immigrant laws in Minnesota like HF3830 (the SB1070 copycat bill), 287g, and the recently-passed English-only law in Lino Lakes, MN. Carlos Roa from MoveTheGame.org said, “It is obvious that Commissioner Selig cares more about the profits of baseball than protecting the human and civil rights of players and fans. We won’t rest until Commissioner Selig and MLB team owners stand on the right side of history.” The other speakers at the rally were Minneapolis City Council member Cam Gordon (Ward 2, Green Party), American Indian Movement (AIM) leader Clyde Bellecourt, and Victor Contreras from Centro Campesino, who mobilized a bus load of people to the protest from Southern Minnesota.

The August 11 protest was organized by MIRAc and the Boycott Arizona-MN (BAM!) campaign. It was endorsed by MoveTheGame.org, Centro Campesino and SEIU Local 26.

Video from the August 11 “Move the Game” Protest (from Twin Cities Indymedia)

#MinneapolisMN #civilDisobedience #MIRAc #Arizona #BoycottArizona #SB1070 #MinnesotaImmigrantRightsActionCommittee #BAM #BoycottArizonaMinnesota #MajorLeagueBaseball #MLB #BudSelig

Minneapolis, MN – The outpouring of online anger at Target turned to the streets on Aug. 5, as more than 50 people protested outside of Target’s store on Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue in the heart of Minneapolis’s Latino community. Target is under fire for contributing $150,000 to MN Forward for television ads in support of Minnesota Republican governor candidate Tom Emmer, a man infamous for his extreme anti-immigrant, anti-gay and anti-minimum wage views.

Outrage ensued when Target’s support for Emmer came to light last week. A Facebook group called “Boycott Target Until They Cease Funding Anti-Gay Politics” quickly amassed over 46,000 members and within days MoveOn.org collected more than 260,000 signatures against Target’s support of Emmer.

The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAc) and the Boycott Arizona-MN (BAM!) campaign rallied numerous communities to protest outside the Lake Street Target store, all outraged at Emmer’s extreme right wing politics and at Target’s support of the candidate.

According to Anh Pham of MIRAc, “We organized this protest because immigrants spend a lot of money at Target and we don’t want that money going to people who attack our community. This is a powerful opportunity to join together in alliance with workers, poor people and the LGBTQ community. Target really screwed up – but we are building a broad and powerful coalition to stop Target from doing this again and to stop Emmer’s agenda in its tracks.”

MIRAc’s Ana Vasquez outlined Emmer’s voting record for anti-immigrant bills, including drastic measures like denying prenatal care to women who are undocumented and his praising of Arizona’s anti-immigrant SB1070 bill, calling it “a wonderful first step.”

Jennie Eisert of the Anti-War Committee spoke about the outrage toward Emmer and Target from the LGBTQ community. Emmer supports bills to deny domestic partner benefits to gay and lesbian couples and supports a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Target is particularly vulnerable to criticism from the LGBTQ community, as they have spent years cultivating a gay-friendly image.

Deb Konechne of the Welfare Rights Committee and Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout spoke about Emmer’s long record of attacks on working class and poor people, which blew up in his face in the recent flap over Emmer’s proposal to lower the minimum wage and to cut wages for servers that get tips.

Target’s large financial contribution to MN Forward is one of the first examples of the fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2009 ruling that allows corporations to give unrestricted money to political campaigns. Target’s CEO Gregg Steinhafel was unprepared for the whirlwind of anger from the LGBTQ community, immigrants and workers. As they spun into damage-control mode, Target initially said they were supporting Emmer because of his pro-business policies, not because of his social policies. Then under increasing pressure, on Aug. 5 Steinhafel issued an apology, saying he was sorry that gay Target employees felt offended by this. Organizers of the Thursday’s Target protest declared that the half-apology was not enough, because Steinhafel did not commit to stop funding for MN Forward or Emmer’s campaign and also only addressed the anger felt by the LGBTQ community, not by immigrants or workers.

#MinneapolisMN #PoorPeoplesMovements #Labor #LGBTQ #MIRAc #SB1070 #TomEmmer #MinnesotaImmigrantRightsActionCommittee #BAM #BoycottArizonaMinnesota #Target

Salt Lake City, UT- 200 protesters filled the Utah State Capitol Building in solidarity with undocumented immigrants on July 29. Their chants rang through the capitol, expressing outrage at Arizona’s latest piece of racist legislation aimed at Mexican and Chicano people. On the day that SB1070, the anti-immigrant law, went into effect in the neighboring state of Arizona, groups such as the Salt Lake Autonomous Brown Berets and the Revolutionary Student Union (RSU) joined with Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) for a rally. The coalition sent a clear message to Utah’s legislators, “Racist legislation not welcome here!”

A Utah right-wing group, the Patrick Henry Caucus, is having its state senators propose copycat legislation: SB81 and SB251. Despite a last-minute federal government injunction against aspects of Arizona’s SB1070, these far right senators announced publicly that they are still proposing such legislation in Utah.

Inside the capitol building five dedicated women activists delivered inspiring speeches that energized the protesters to stop racist laws targeting Mexican and other immigrants. The messages of solidarity printed on signs and expressed by the speakers came from a variety of perspectives, all united in support of immigrants’ rights. One Christian speaker asked, “Who would Jesus deport?” Others represented socialist, feminist and LGBTQ groups.

Many in attendance were not satisfied with leaving their message within the confines of the capitol building and after the rally ended, they enthusiastically took their signs and chants to the streets. The approach of the marchers was noticed blocks away by the sound of pro-immigrant and pro-worker slogans, the sight of the red and black flags waving at the front of the procession, and students and immigrant rights activists holding protest signs declaring, “SB1070 tears families apart,” “Stop the hate!” and “Por la reforma migratoria.”

#SaltLakeCityUT #ChicanoLatino #SB1070 #RevolutionaryStudentUnion #MovimientoEstudiantilChicanoDeAztlánMEChA

On July 28, Federal Judge Susan Bolton placed an injunction on most of Arizona’s SB1070 until a Federal Court of Appeals rules on whether the state law is legal under the U.S. Constitution. The Court of Appeals case is now set to begin in November.

The editors of Fight Back! see this as a temporary and partial victory for the people’s struggle. Arizona’s SB1070, which would have made being undocumented a state crime (it is not a federal crime), met with a wave a protest centered in the Chicano and Mexicano community of Arizona. In April thousands protested the bill when it passed the state legislature and demanded that Arizona’s Republican governor veto the bill. When Arizona Governor Brewer signed the bill, a boycott Arizona movement was launched. There was a massive protest on May 29 in Phoenix that drew more than 100,000 people. Protests in Arizona and around the country were organized for July 29, the day that SB1070 was to go into effect.

We see the people’s movement against SB1070 as the political basis for the federal court injunction. As such, Judge Bolton’s injunction was a victory for the movement, as it put on hold some of the worst features of SB1070 which would have made undocumented into criminals, required local police to check the immigration status of people they regarded as ‘suspicious’ and make it a crime for undocumented immigrants to apply for work.

At the same time this victory is both temporary and limited, and the struggle against SB1070 and other racist, anti-immigrant laws must continue. Judge Bolton’s injunction on most of the law only prevents it from being implemented until a full panel of federal appeals judges can hear the case and make a ruling. Right-wing and racist anti-immigrant forces will make a big effort to convince the court to allow the law to stand. Forces in Arizona such as Sheriff Joe Arpaio are vowing to continue their crackdown on the Chicano and Mexicano communities, SB1070 or no. We need to continue to build the people’s movement against SB1070 and not have any illusions that the federal courts will stop the right wing.

There is a long history of federal courts upholding laws against African Americans, Chicanos and Mexicanos, Asian Americans and other oppressed nationalities. The Supreme Court upheld southern Jim Crow segregation laws and the incarceration of Japanese Americans into concentration camps during World War II. The U.S. Supreme Court never ruled against the forced repatriation of tens of thousands of Mexicanos and Chicanos to Mexico during the 1930s.

The injunction also allows major parts of SB1070 to go into effect. To try to prevent undocumented from getting work, it is now a crime to impede traffic to hire day laborers. While the federal government says that it was legal for big banks to use their bail out moneys from the government to pay huge bonuses to the same CEOs that helped to almost destroy the economy, it now says that it is illegal for hard-working immigrants to get a job? Outrageous! The judge also allowed the ban on transporting undocumented to stand, a huge loophole that will allow local police to target Chicanos and Mexicanos who are driving undocumented family members.

Last, but not least, the right wing is trying to copy and expand Arizona’s anti-immigrant laws across the country at the state and local levels. In California, home to the largest Chicano and Mexicano community in the country, the billionaire right-wing Republican candidate for governor and former E-Bay CEO Meg Whitman has attacked undocumented college students who now can pay in-state tuition if they are residents. The struggle against these racist laws and politicians must continue to build.

Continue the fight against Arizona’s SB1070 and all racist anti-immigrant laws!

Boycott Arizona!

#UnitedStates #SB1070

Raleigh, NC – About 250 immigrant workers, youth and their allies marched on the State Capitol building here, on July 29, in protest of Arizona's SB1070. Protesters chanted and held colorful signs reading, “Stop deportations,” “No to SB1070” and “No more racism!”

After the march, several community leaders addressed the demonstration to express their solidarity and support in the struggle.

One of the members of the North Carolina DREAM Team, Viridiana Martinez, stressed, “No one can speak for us, we have to speak out for ourselves,” and urged everyone at the demonstration to continue the struggle for justice.

James Andrews, president of the North Carolina AFL-CIO, said, “The North Carolina labor movement supports each of you in the struggle for immigrant rights, human rights and labor rights.” He added, “We will continue to stand with you as long as we see this kind of abuse and exploitation [of your community].”

The protest was organized by North Carolina ICE Watch in partnership with Black Workers for Justice, the Father Charlie Mulholland Catholic Worker House, North Carolina DREAM Team, North Carolina Justice Center, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, Pueblo Unido, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Student Action with Farmworkers and other immigrant justice organizations. Other organizations including the Umbrella Coalition, the NAACP, United Electrical Workers Local 150 supported the rally.

#RaleighNC #FarmLaborOrganizingCommitteeFLOC #SB1070

Saint Paul, MN – On July 29, the day Arizona’s anti-immigrant law SB1070 took effect, 250 people rallied against it at the State Capitol in St. Paul, MN. This was one of many actions around the country on the national day of action. The rally aimed to keep pressure on for the full repeal of SB1070, and for the repeal of the federal 287g program that allows local police to carry out immigration laws. The rally was held at the state capitol to send a strong message to Minnesota legislators against Minnesota's SB1070 copycat bill, HF3830.

The protest was organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAc) and the Boycott Arizona Minnesota (BAM!) campaign. Speakers at the rally included Javier Morrillo, President of SEIU Local 26, who made clear that the struggle to stop SB1070 is not over just because of the judge’s temporary injunction against a few parts of the law. In a statement he said, “Judge Bolton's decision demonstrates what we have known all along – a 50-state patchwork of conflicting, costly state laws will not solve our immigration problems.”

Anh Pham of MIRAc spoke at the rally about the history of racism and national oppression against Chicanos and Mexicans in Arizona. She said, “The whole Southwest, including Arizona, was once all part of Mexico until the mid-1800s. After the Mexican-American War, the US gained the northern territories of Mexico, which included the area all the way from Texas to California. It is no joke that for some the border truly did cross them. Now I’m not here to give a history lesson, but when I hear some of the politicians and newscasters talk about ‘illegal aliens’, you would think that one day people woke up to find that Chicanos and Latinos suddenly appeared out of real flying saucers.” Pham also talked about the more recent history of racism in Arizona, like the fact that in the 1980s Arizona was the last state in the country to honor Martin Luther King day as an official holiday.

Marco Davila and Ana Vasquez also spoke, explaining the various anti-immigrant laws and proposals, and laying out the next steps for the immigrant rights movement in Minnesota. It was announced that MIRAc is joining the national protest campaign to pressure Major League Baseball to move the All Star game out of Arizona, with a protest planned for August 11.

A guerrilla theater action was part of the rally, in which four people dressed as emergency public health workers in orange jumpsuits and medical face masks cordoned off the steps of the capitol with “CAUTION” tape, declaring they were quarantining it from the epidemic of anti-immigrant laws around the country. The four then removed the orange jumpsuits to reveal t-shirts underneath with the message “No one is illegal / Ningun ser humano es ilegal”.

The rally was opened up by Mexica dancers from the West Side of St. Paul, and also featured poetry from spoken word artist BUGS of Poetic Assassins, and music by guitarist Kestral.

#SaintPaulMN #Arizona #BoycottArizona #SB1070 #287g

Chicago, IL – 300 people rallied at the Cook County Courthouse, at the corner of 26th Street and California Avenue, July 29. They demanded an end to deportations, and said no to SB1070, Arizona’s racist, anti-immigrant law.

Armando Robles, President of United Electrical Workers Local 1110 and a leader in the Republic Windows and Doors occupation, was one of the speakers at the rally.

#ChicagoIL #ChicanoLatino #SB1070 #UnitedElectricalWorkersLocal1110

A ten by twenty-five foot banner with the bold words “No SB1070 in WI” was hung from a parking structure. Students from MEChA de Milwaukee and SDS spoke at the rally. Demonstrators chanted, “No papers, no fear. Immigrants are marching here!” Passersby greeted the demonstrators with thumbs up and honked their horns to express support.

#MilwaukeeWI #SB1070

Phoenix, AZ – Over 500 activists and community members gathered here on the morning of July 29 to protest SB1070 on the day the law was going into effect. The law has lost some of its teeth due to pressure from the immigrant rights movement, which resulted in the long overdue federal injunction. On July 28, a judge struck down the part of the law that required all Arizonans to carry their proof of legal status constantly, as well as the part that legalized and mandated racial profiling, declaring these parts unconstitutional. However, most of the law remains intact, including the parts that criminalize day laborers and target families with mixed immigration status.

Chis Newman, an immigrant rights lawyer, rallied the activists July 28, in a meeting just before the protest saying, “This struggle did not begin with SB1070 and it will not end with it. SB1070 is a manifestation of the racist cancer that is affecting our Latino communities.” This means that the struggle for Chicanos and immigrants in this country is far from over.

Protesters rallied in front of the office of Sheriff Arpaio, one of the main figureheads of the racist, anti-immigrant movement. Not only does Arpaio wrench thousands of families apart with his excessive raids and deportations, he also commits human rights violations with his humiliating treatment of undocumented prisoners. An estimated 20 activists were arrested in the street, including members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), heroic local community organizers from Puente Arizona and others, as supporters chanted, “Arrest Arpaio” and “Down with 1070! We will not comply!”

Later, protesters blockaded the county jail, forcing sheriff department deputies to remain inside for over an hour. As a result of this blockade, Sheriff Arpaio was forced to cancel his raids and deportations for today. The July 29 demonstrations were a victory for the oppressed peoples of Phoenix and the rallies will continue across Arizona and the nation.

Grace Kelley is a member of University of Minnesota Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

#PhoenixAZ #SheriffJoeArpaio #civilDisobedience #Arizona #SB1070

Phoenix, AZ – Tensions build as July 29 nears – the date set for the racist law SB1070 to go into effect. Under this law police officers will have the power to demand immigration papers from any person who they stop. Garage sales have already begun lining the streets of Arizona as families flee trying to escape the impending oppression.

As the tension has mounted, so has the struggle for human rights. Activists from all over the nation are descending on Phoenix to organize against this law, joining grassroots organizations in Arizona. Already, on July 22, 16 people were arrested for blocking an intersection in an act of defiance saying, “We will not comply!”

In the 90-degree heat of the evening, over 100 community organizers sat outside gearing up for the huge events this Thursday, July 29. The actions will begin at 8:00 a.m. with a march to the courthouse. Later in the day activists plan to confront Sheriff Arpaio and rally outside the county jail. “After this Thursday, we won’t even be allowed to be on the sidewalks to find work,” said Karlos, an activist with PUENTE. Asked why he fighting back, Karlos replied, “They just want to scoop us up and throw us out, but we won’t let them.”

A somber testimony from a pair of Guatemalan day laborers at the meeting highlighted the urgent need for legalization and reform.

One of the workers spoke about how his cousin (also a day laborer), was picked up for a job one day. “I never saw him alive again,” the man confided. He had fallen to his death from a palm tree where he had been working. The employer disappeared without a trace and with no way to be held accountable by the law. “Now we just need $500 to send him home.” The activists at the meeting rallied and in an act of solidarity raised over $1000 passing around a baseball cap.

It is this kind of unity that will win the struggle for immigrant rights. These communities refuse to be silenced or bullied into submission. The meeting ended with people stating why they organized, one older Latino man shouted from the crowd, “Because we are not animals!” Copycat laws are starting to encroach on other states. Now is the time to get involved and help in the fight for full legalization!

#PhoenixAZ #ChicanoLatino #deportations #Arizona #SB1070

On July 22 MEChA held a community forum on Arizona's SB1070 and HB2281 as an effort to build for the July 29 action. Community members and several organizations such as Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) attended and engaged in planning sessions and discussions on Arizona, ICE and police collaborations (which are on the rise in Milwaukee), recent raids and the impact that the national day of action will have nationally and locally.

“It's important for the Milwaukee community to stand up and make our voices heard not only to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Arizona but also to shed light on the ways in which we are experiencing anti-immigrant oppression here. Our Latino working class communities have been the sites for large escalations of police presence unlike that any other part of the city. As immigrants we are criminalized and racially profiled. The reality is that people don't feel safe in their own neighborhoods. They may be trying to silence us with fear but we simply cannot and will not stand for it,” Anahi Sanchez, member of MEChA de Milwaukee, told Fight Back!.

Jeanette Martín of the Milwaukee and Madison MEChA chapters said, “July 29 will be a day to lay down the semillitas [little seeds] of education about our own struggle and it is our duty, as organizers, students and folks concientes of these injustices, to make sure we keep watering that seed and have community water it too.”

Milwaukee's action is taking place in concert with the hundreds of actions all over the country in solidarity with those in Arizona fighting SB1070 and the wave of attacks that have hit the Chicano, Mexicano and Latino community there. The slogans they are raising include “End police/Ice collaboration!” “Stop separating families. End the raids!” and “Boycott racism! Say no to Arizona's SB1070 & HB2281.”

Valeria Gonzalez of MEChA de Milwaukee stated, “These new Arizona laws and their copy-cat laws in states around the country are all manifestations of a civil rights crisis people in power are causing for the Chicanos, Mexicanos and Latinos by attacking the immigrants and undocumented people of our communities. This will be a historically momentous day when people all over the country stand together and demand an end to this unjust treatment.”

#MilwaukeeWI #StudentMovement #ChicanoLatino #SB1070 #MovimientoEstudiantilChicanoDeAztlánMEChA