Viernes, 09-01-2006: Immigrant-Rights-Agenda Report
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Blogsource:
http://humane-rights-agenda.blogspot.com/2006/09/viernes-09-01-2006-immigrant-rights.html
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~~~ Links to Articles ~~~
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0609010141sep01,1,5787809.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
September 1, 2006 Why this immigrant rights march is brought to you by Miller
By Oscar Avila + Tribune staff reporter
Email: oavila@tribune.com
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http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060901/OPINION02/609010312/1014
Originally published September 1, 2006
Immigration: A local take on the national movement
The Ithaca Journal - Ithaca, NY
Cecilia Montaner-Vargas & Julie Ann Newman / Guest Columnists
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http://www.counterpunch.org/sustar08312006.html
August 31, 2006
Racism, Divided Families and Deportation: The Case of Elvira ArellanoBy LEE SUSTAR
Email: lsustar@ameritech.net
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http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-rally31aug31,1,713186.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california
Thousands to Join Labor Day Rallies
Events include marches in downtown L.A. and Wilmington. Workers will press for immigrant rights and better wages.
By Teresa Watanabe, Times Staff Writer
August 31, 2006
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http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/9751/1/337
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 08/31/06 16:14
A reality-based strategy for immigrant rights
Author: Emile Schepers
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http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/9728/1/337/
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 08/31/06 13:28
Chicago mother fights deportation
Author: Pepe Lozano
Email: plozano@pww.org
Related Link:
Latino Families United Committee
http://www.somosunpueblo.com/cflu_families.htm
Contact Information
Elvira Arellano - President
Email: earellano@somosunpueblo.com
Main Office (Pilsen)
2300 S. Blue Island Ave.
Chicago, IL. 60608
Telephone (773) 523-8261 Fax (773) 523-8109
E-Mail: PSF@somosunpueblo.com
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http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/9731/1/337
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 08/31/06 13:41
Day laborers find hope in San Francisco program
Author: Marilyn Bechtel
Email: mbechtel@pww.org
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http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-2348.html
Protest for gay couples’ immigration rights
It is hoped that the protest will send a clear message to the US Congress and the White House regarding immigration rights
29-August-2006
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http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7034/703401.html
August 30, 2006
Socialist Workers Party candidates: Legalize all immigrants now!
‘We’re workers, not criminals!’ (lead article/statement by SWP candidates)
Related articles:
Contingents from 17 states expected at Sept. 7 D.C. rally
http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7034/703402.html
Anti-immigrant ordinance defeated in Palm Bay, Florida
http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7034/703455.html
In tour of Boston, leader of struggle for immigrant rights campaigns for legalization
http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7034/703456.html
Chicago: Arellano wins support against deportation wins support
http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7034/703457.html
La migra arrests 326 immigrants in Houston raids
http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7034/703458.html
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http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20060828204007296
Excerpt: Tuesday, August 29 2006 @ 10:48 PM PDT
A Look at the First Annual Sacco And Vanzetti Memorial Parade
Monday, August 28 2006 @ 08:40 PM PDT
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http://www.counterpunch.org/jacobs08282006.html
August 28, 2006
Talking to Nativo Lopez: ‘The Immigrants' Rights Movement is in Good Hands" By RON JACOBS
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0608280086aug28,1,3489236.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
August 28, 2006
Church closes off its doors to activist's debate
Pastor denies entry for Sunday service
By Andrew L. Wang ~ Tribune staff reporter
Email: alwang@tribune.com
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http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0828/p01s03-ussc.html
From the August 28, 2006 edition –
For mother and son, an immigration predicament
By Amanda Paulson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0608280086aug28,1,3489236.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
August 28, 2006
Church closes off its doors to activist's debate
Pastor denies entry for Sunday service
By Andrew L. Wang ~ Tribune staff reporter
Email: alwang@tribune.com
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http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4244117
Updated: 8/26/2006 10:09 PM
Latinos seek political clout
Immigration law dominates forum held in Littleton And at a Denver seminar, a national movement shares ways to mobilize volunteers and pursue election issues.
By Jennifer Brown / Denver Post Staff Writer
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0609010141sep01,1,5787809.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
September 1, 2006 Marchers had to duck into fast-food restaurants for water when they first took to Chicago's streets in support of illegal immigrants five months ago. At the next two marches, family-owned grocery stores offered free bottled water from trucks emblazoned with their names. This time, as demonstrators march from Chinatown to House Speaker Dennis Hastert's (R-Ill.) Batavia office this weekend, they will have Miller Brewing Co., as a sponsor. The brewer has paid more than $30,000 for a planning convention, materials and newspaper ads publicizing the event. The support of a major corporation for a controversial political cause shows how fierce the competition has become to woo the growing market of Latino consumers. For Miller, the march offered a special chance to catch up. This spring the brewer drew the ire of pro-immigrant forces over contributions to U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), who sponsored legislation that would crack down on illegal immigrants. That prompted a short-lived boycott by some Latino groups. Now, march advertisements feature not just the organizing committee's trademark blue globe but Miller's logo and a Spanish translation of its "Live Responsibly" slogan, a company effort to build goodwill among Latinos. But this march is no Cinco de Mayo parade. The politically charged event will promote a controversial plan to end deportations and offer legal status for all 11 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants. That creates potential pitfalls for any businesses lending support, experts say. At the same time business sponsorships have forced activists to confront whispers that they are commercializing their movement when they accept much-needed donations. "We would love to have 20 corporate logos. It doesn't mean we are selling the movement out," said Jorge Mujica, a member of the March 10 Committee. "The principles and demands remain the same. They are helping out this movement and we are happy with that." Labor unions remain the movement's backbone with four major unions bringing at least 600 marchers on buses from throughout Chicago. Religious groups have been key too. Some marchers will bed down in churches and a mosque. But businesses have become vital to this weekend's Immigrant Workers Justice Walk, which will cover 45 miles to Hastert's district office. Hundreds of marchers plan to cover the entire span from Friday through Monday, and organizers need food and water for them. Sometimes political and commercial messages are mingled. At a July march, Chicago-based food producer V&V Supremo printed signs with its logo that urged "Moratorium Now, Legalization Yes." Jimenez Market, an area chain, had its sign on display as workers passed out more than 5,000 bottles of water and other supplies worth nearly $17,000. Co-owner Jose Perez acknowledged it is good publicity but stressed that "we are supporting our people. Without them, our business would go downhill." This weekend, the Los Comales restaurant plans to donate 500 tortas, Mexican sandwiches filled with steak, ham and other toppings. The Laredo Bakery is donating bread while other restaurants are donating water, fruit and other supplies, organizers said. Those businesses are natural allies--"part of the same brotherhood," as one marketer put it. But the presence of Miller at a welcoming reception the day before the Aug. 12-13 planning convention raised eyebrows. The convention brought together labor unions, anti-war groups, immigrant service organizations and even socialist political candidates. Hours before bashing NAFTA and U.S. foreign policy, participants at the Aug. 11 reception mingled with the Miller Girls, the company's public relations ambassadors, amid a display of Miller logos. That Miller was involved in the first place is one measure of the growing power of immigrants. After the boycott announcement, the company approached march organizers to try to find common ground, and agreed to back the march organizers' efforts. Miller is also bankrolling informational ads in Voces Migrantes, or Migrant Voices, a community newspaper in Chicago, and has promised scholarships for area Latinos. Mathew Romero, the company's local market development manager, said Miller felt it was important to speak out against Sensenbrenner's legislation, though his campaign was one of many the company supported. Romero noted that company founder Frederick Miller was a German immigrant and many current executives are foreign nationals. Miller is now part of London-based SABMiller. Romero said he wasn't worried that some opponents of illegal immigration would be upset at the company's support of "the free movement of people, labor, goods and services." "As long as you are stacking facts against facts, they are free to make their own decisions. We will stand by our positions," he said. George San Jose, president of the San Jose Group, a Chicago-based marketing company specializing in the Hispanic market, said he understands why companies chase Hispanic purchasing power, which tops $700 billion annually in the U.S. Brewers, he said, have been especially aggressive. But San Jose would advise clients that there are better ways. "A company sponsoring one of the two sides of the immigration debate is no different than a company sponsoring groups for or against abortion [rights]. It's one of those heated political debates that companies should stay clear of," he said. At the request of march organizers, media executive Robert Armband sent e-mails to thousands of business contacts, asking if they would consider helping the March 10 Committee. "It certainly is an opportunity to reach the masses, but it might not be the right vehicle to come out as a sponsor," said Armband, publisher and chief executive of La Raza, a Chicago newspaper. March organizers say they have not made any full-fledged sales pitches to major corporations and are having internal discussions about whether they should make a real push. That can be a tough decision, according to march organizer Gabe Gonzalez. Gonzalez said he represents those in the movement--maybe half the total, he thinks -- who don't even consider themselves capitalists. Many have been involved with labor campaigns targeting specific companies. March organizers shot down a suggestion that they approach Coca-Cola, for example, because of what they perceive as the company's labor abuses in the developing world, a cause celebre among liberal activists. Although immigrant activists see legalization as an issue of social justice, Gonzalez said corporations might back the idea as a way to protect their bottom line. Whatever the motivations, Gonzalez said he would cooperate with almost any company willing to back the cause. "That's the nature of politics. You form coalitions based on mutual self-interest," Gonzalez said. "So will we work with corporations? We will work with anyone who will work with us." zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060901/OPINION02/609010312/1014 Originally published September 1, 2006 Immigration: A local take on the national movement The Ithaca Journal - Ithaca, NY Cecilia Montaner-Vargas & Julie Ann Newman / Guest Columnists As visible as our cultural diversity is here in Ithaca, the struggle of immigrants working and living in our community may not be so self-evident. Ithaca officially declared itself a Sanctuary City in the 1980s, where refugees and immigrants, both documented and undocumented, could come and live safely. This security for immigrants can no longer be guaranteed as this progressive declaration has long since expired. Currently, referral to federal immigration law enforcement and deportation are not uncommon here. Anyone who knows Bruce McDonald understands the impact these hurtful practices have on both immediate family and our community. Anyone who has felt fear walking in the streets, who has been targeted for the color of his or her skin, understands the power of discrimination that places fellow community members on opposite sides of the law. We must encourage our local officials to reject this unjust call from the national government to target those who contribute to our local economy and who help make our county the beautiful place it is. Some of our fellow citizens have stated, in letters to the editor, that immigrants don't pay taxes, exploit our health care, social service and educational systems, and depress wages. It is, however, not the undocumented immigrant that does these things; it is our system that allows two classes of workers to exist. One class is guaranteed equal rights, fair wages and equal treatment, while the other works for low wages in unsafe and unhealthy conditions and in fear of losing their jobs if they speak out against deplorable work conditions. According to a 1997 study by the Cato Institute, immigrant households paid an estimated $133 billion in taxes to federal, state and local governments. A National Academy of Sciences study found that immigrants have little negative effect on the income and job opportunities of most native-born Americans and may add as much as $10 billion to the economy each year. Most immigrants, documented or not, pay into Social Security and Medicare. Very few see benefit from the fruits of their labor due to their current legal status. Ithaca falls short when it comes to social service agencies willing to address the needs of immigrants. The Refugee Resettlement Committee no longer exists. Housing for the homeless doesn't extend to homeless undocumented immigrants. Some local law enforcement agencies target immigrant workers in the area. They take advantage of the fact that many immigrants don't know their legal rights thereby creating a culture of fear in the immigrant community. Out of the need for services and out of a collective outrage at national policy and legislation attacking immigrant workers and families in our country and community, local people, including members of the Workers Center, Catholic Charities, the Latino Civic Association, members of the Ithaca Asian American Association and representatives from other community service agencies, have come together to form the Immigrant Rights Coalition. The Coalition supports equal rights, living wages and equal opportunities for all workers, as well as the legalization of all immigrants as the only way to ensure that all people are treated like equal members of our society. The Coalition seeks to provide for the basic needs, protection, support, education and empowerment of local immigrants affected by pending national legislation, as well as to educate and involve our community in this movement. We advocate for the protection of the basic human rights that the rest of us have the privilege of taking for granted. We also believe that the only way migration of people from Mexico and other countries will stop is when conditions in their own countries, many which the U.S. has had a hand in creating, are improved. Until then, people will keep coming, no matter how big and how militarized the fences and walls are at the border. Contact the Immigrant Rights Coalition at TCWRC@yahoo.com or 269-0409 to get on our list-serve. Come to one of our meetings or find out more about specific actions and events you can become involved in. If you were present at the May 1 rally on The Commons, you witnessed the beginning of this local movement. If you weren't present, you can become a part of it now! Join us for a National Day of Action this Labor Day! Meet at noon Monday, Sept. 4 at Boynton Middle to march to the annual Labor Day Picnic at Stewart Park. There will be food, speakers and celebration. Cecilia Montaner-Vargas came to Ithaca 25 years ago from Chile and is a founding member of the Immigrant Rights Coalition. Julie Ann Newman works for Tompkins Community Action as a Section 8 housing caseworker. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz August 31, 2006 A given day might see elected officials, diplomats from the Venezuelan consulate, journalists from the New York Times or European national radio services, or representatives of the Latino and left-wing press. But during a church service on a humid, cloudy Saturday afternoon in late August, it was Duarte, a 65-year-old immigrant from the state of Guerrero, Mexico, who best expressed the widespread feelings of solidarity, dignity and defiance aroused among immigrants and their supporters by Arellano's public refusal to return to Mexico with her U.S.-born son, 7-year-old Saul. After a raspy prayer of thanks offered by Arellano--her voice worn down by interviews and bronchitis--Duarte responded to the pastor's invitation for others to speak. As often is the case at the Adalberto United Methodist Church, the service blended into a discussion of the struggle for social justice, as Duarte recounted the rising death toll on the U.S.-Mexican border. His voice barely audible over the six ceiling fans that strained to cool the small storefront church, Duarte described how increasing numbers of undocumented immigrants are forced to cross the Arizona desert to avoid the increasingly militarized U.S. Border Patrol. Meanwhile, Arellano's son Saul, who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, was in the corner behind the pulpit, slowly turning a sign that read, "Stop The Racist Deportations!" After the service, Duarte showed Arellano his meticulously organized clipping book, with articles from Spanish language newspapers documenting the lives lost on the border. He pointed to one story in La Raza newspaper that he finds especially disturbing: the death of Herminia Silva, a 35-year-old Mexican immigrant who passed after suffering a spinal injury while crossing the border in the Arizona desert along with her 10-year-old daughter, Adriana. It was an example, Duarte said, of how people are dying because of the "foolishness" of immigration laws. Given prompt medical attention, the injury wouldn't have been life-threatening. But the immigrant smuggler, or coyote, who got mother and daughter over the border did nothing to help. Thus, soon after reuniting with her husband in Chicago, Herminia Silva lay dying in a hospital bed--where she was pictured in a news photo, along with daughter Adriana, somehow managing a smile. Elvira Arellano took a long look at the photo, drew in a deep breath, and thanked Moises Duarte for coming. * * * The tragedy of Herminia Silva and other immigrant families separated by the maze of U.S. immigration laws is the reason that Elvira Arellano says that her struggle about her alone. "I'm not the only one affected. I'm part of the struggle for the legalization," she said in an interview at the National Immigrant Rights Strategy Convention, held just outside Chicago, a couple days before she began her vigil August 15. "I want my community to be able to be legalized and remain here with their families." It isn't the first time that the border has divided Arellano's family. Her grandfather was a guest worker in the bracero program, a system which brought "temporary" Mexican workers into the U.S. to do agricultural labor from 1942 to 1964. Now, she says, economic conditions in Michoacan and throughout Mexico are driving immigration out of the country. "In my town, the principle base of the economy is farming," she said. "My father is a farmer, and disgracefully, the free trade agreement has hurt them. They can't compete with the grains and corn that the United States exports into my country. It's sad, but they have no resources with which to keep working on the land and produce." Adding to the pressures on Arellano's family is the fact that her father has muscular dystrophy and can't walk. "I wanted to come to the United States because I wanted to give something better to my parents, in order to help my father," she said. If she were to accept deportation and return to Mexico with her son Saul, "I would not be able to offer him a dignified future," she said. Arellano's determination to escape rural poverty led her to return to the U.S. without papers after having been deported previously. Arellano's second arrest by immigration authorities took place back in 2002, at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, where she worked as a janitor. Billed as a step toward improved airport security following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the raid not only cost Arellano her job, but also led to charges that she violated immigration law. Today, workplace raids and deportations are once again making headlines as the beleaguered Bush administration tries to appease the Republican right with a crackdown, while trying to push legislation with a guest worker program demanded by Corporate America. In what was seen by many immigrant rights activists as a response to the mass protests for immigrant rights in March, the Bureau of Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) carried out raids at the IFCO paper packaging company near Chicago on April 19, arresting 26. Eleven were given orders of deportation, but won a one-year stay after activists rallied to their support. However, immigration raids in smaller cities with more recent immigrant populations have gone unchallenged. In Whitewater, Wis., for example, ICE agents and local law enforcement arrested 25 undocumented Mexican workers August 8 at the Star Packaging plant and issued orders of deportation--including several mothers of citizen children. * * * What's exceptional about Arellano isn't her situation, but the fact that she got in touch with organizers--and became an organizer herself. Now with a small child, Arellano was determined to fight a second deportation. She soon joined Adalberto Church, known for its ties to social movements. Working with the veteran Chicago Latina organizer Emma Lozano of Centro Sin Fronteras, she founded the group La Familia Latina Unida. Its aim is providing assistance for the families of an estimated 5 million children of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Of those kids, an estimated 3.1 million are U.S.-born, and therefore are citizens. There's a phrase that the anti-immigrant right uses for these citizen children of the undocumented: "anchor babies," a term that echoes, intentionally or not, an old racist term for African American kids. According to immigrant-bashing Rep. Tom Trancredo (R-Col.), "anchor babies" are borne by immigrant mothers like Arellano so the mothers can remain in the U.S. without the risk of deportation. It's not just Tancredo and the right that makes this argument. Liberal Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn wrote of Arellano: "She's not a particularly good cause celebre, as these things go. She has twice entered the country illegally, has been convicted of carrying a false Social Security card, speaks very poor English for someone who has been in this country nine years, and she plays her so-called 'anchor baby,' a 7-year-old son who is a U.S. citizen because he was born here, as her trump card." The reality is that only in rare cases do the undocumented avoid a deportation order because they have U.S.-born children, according to Subhash Kateel, a founder of Families for Freedom, a New York-based group formed after the September 11, 2001 attacks to fight the subsequent wave of deportations in an effort to keep immigrant families together. The rise in deportations--including mothers of citizen children--long predates 9/11. It began with the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, passed by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton. "The enforcement has been increasing exponentially since 1996," said Kateel, "and just got that much worse [after 9/11]. That came from a Democratic president." Between 1996 and 2004--the latest date for which government statistics are available--more than 1 million people were deported. Most of those deported had children, Kateel said. "There is a longstanding rumor that if you've been in the country for 10 years and you have U.S. citizen children, they can't deport you," he said. "What the law really says, is that...they have a choice to deport you if [deportation] will mean an extreme or unusual hardship for a U.S. citizen child"--typically, a severe or terminal illness. If mothers of citizen children are already routinely deported, the question arises as to why Tom Tancredo seeks to remove automatic citizenship for U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants. The proposal--which can be found under the "Anchor Babies" heading on Tancredo's Team America Political Action Committee Web site--would involve changing the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the measure that outlawed slavery and guaranteed equal protection under the law, the cornerstone of subsequent civil rights legislation. Of course, it took the U.S. government nearly a century to enforce the 14th Amendment by outlawing legal segregation of African Americans. If Tancredo and his allies have their way, though, a new second-class citizenship--or worse--for millions of working people would again be the law of the land once again. The right's agenda of rolling back civil rights has created common ground for the immigrant rights movement and African Americans. Black leaders, including Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, have been public supporters of immigrant rights. Members of the Nation of Islam regularly come to the Adalberto Church to support Arellano's vigil. Some Black voices, however, have joined the anti-immigrant backlash. Among them is Mary Mitchell, a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, who denounced Arellano's comparison of her struggle to that of Rosa Parks, who defied segregation in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955. "As they say in the streets, Arellano is pimping the system," Mitchell wrote. "She is using Rosa Parks' name to buy herself more time, and that disgusts me." In fact, said Beti Guevara, associate pastor at Adalberto, Arellano first learned about Parks at a memorial service held for her last October at Chicago's Beloved Community Christian Church, where U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) is pastor. The keynote speaker was Mary Mitchell. "Elvira learned Rosa Parks 101 from Mary Mitchell," Guevara said. Just days after Mitchell's column appeared, Clergy Speaks Interdenominational, a group of leading Black clergy, visited Adalberto to pray with Arellano. Rush, who first rose to prominence as a leader of the local Black Panther Party in the 1960s, has also publicly supported Arellano. * * * Other leading Democratic politicians' letters of support for Arellano are displayed prominently all over Adalberto Church. There's a letter to immigration authorities from Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the son of a Serbian immigrant, who's facing a tough reelection campaign, backing Arellano and others in a similar plight. There's also a letter from Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who's tried to refuel his father's Democratic Party machine with the help of loyalists in the Hispanic Democratic Organization--although some of these backers currently face corruption charges. There are several letters from Rep. Luis Gutierrez, the city's most prominent Latino politician. An activist in the Puerto Rican community before entering electoral politics, Gutierrez years ago assumed the role of advocate for Chicago's burgeoning Latino community. Although his support for the proposed guest worker program has alienated many immigrant rights activists in Chicago, Gutierrez remains popular among the Mexican community, whose votes would be key for his possible challenge to Daley in next year's mayoral race. Conspicuous by its absence are letters from Illinois' liberal Democratic senators, Dick Durbin and Barack Obama--themselves the sons of immigrants, as they often point out in speeches at immigrant rights rallies. Durbin, who earlier sponsored a private bill to delay Arellano's deportation because of her son's medical condition, now refuses to support Gutierrez's private bill to win her a new stay. "We cannot fix the injustices of this system with private bills," Durbin said in a statement. "Only comprehensive immigration reform can permanently remedy this situation." Obama made took a similar line. "I don't feel comfortable carving out an exception for one person when there are hundreds of thousands of people just in the Chicago region alone who would want a similar exemption," he said in a speech. The claim that Arellano is seeking help for only herself is completely mistaken, said Rev. Walter "Slim" Coleman, pastor of Adalberto Church, a longtime community activist and an informal adviser to the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. "She is not holed up, she is not hiding, she is taking a position of conscience," Coleman said. "Our demand is for a moratorium on deportations, raids, arrests and sanctions until they fix the law--until they complete the process that the Republican Congress has stalled." However, Subhash Kateel of Families for Freedom rejects the notion that the current legislation--the amended version of Hagel-Martinez, or S 2611--would help immigrant families remain united. On the contrary, by excluding some 2 million people from any legal status and forcing millions more into a guest worker program, it further complicates the already labyrinthine process of uniting immigrant families. What's more, S 2611 would expand the border wall and increase enforcement by expanding the list of "aggravated felonies" that are deportable offenses for green card holders. "Most people think aggravated felonies are something violent, like murder," Kateel said. "But it could be shoplifting." He added, "Nothing in the immigration reform bills on the table right now, whether the most liberal or most conservative, do anything to protect Ms. Arellano." In fact, a growing number of immigrant rights groups that initially supported Hagel Martinez have concluded that no legislation this year is better than further restrictions on immigrant rights packaged as "comprehensive reform," as its supporters call it. In this context, support for Elvira Arellano has emerged as a rallying point for the planned weekend of Labor Day protests coordinated by the new National Alliance for Immigrant Rights (NAIR), founded in Chicago in mid-August by a collection of grassroots local groups and representatives of labor organizations. In Los Angeles, the March 25 Coalition will hold a women's march to highlight the struggle of Arellano and other mothers facing deportation and being forced to choose between uprooting their children and leaving them behind. Arellano's son Saul will attend the march. Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed in federal court on behalf of Saul aims to challenge the government's policy of effectively deporting the citizen children of undocumented immigrants by ordering their mothers to leave the country. Resolution of the lawsuit for Saul seems a long way off, and the GOP-run Congress will likely dig in on any attempt to pass a private bill, even if Sens. Durbin and Obama feel pressure to back it. For her part, Arellano urges immigrants who are citizens to register and vote. In any case, Arellano's vigil has already become a national issue, with NAIR calling for a moratorium on raids and deportations. It's an important focus for a new movement that is seeking to turn the mass immigration marches into rooted, local organizations that can function day to day. * * * The need for such organizing was in evidence in Whitewater, Wis., scene of the August 8 ICE raid at Star Packaging. It fell to Rev. Kenneth Abarca, pastor of Hispanic Ministries at Whitewater Community Church, to organize the initial support for some of the 25 workers arrested--including finding a place to stay for the 1-year-old son whose parents were arrested and detained. After nine days behind bars, the parents were able to post the $6,000 bail for the woman and $7,000 for the man by selling their car and most of their belongings and taking out a loan. Her sister--who also has a child--was also detained. Defending Latino immigrants is a new challenge for Whitewater Community Church, which launched its Spanish ministry just four years ago to support the new and growing community. Where the Adalberto church has long been a political hub in the heart of Chicago's Puerto Rican community, the Whitewater church currently meets in a high school while its new building is being constructed. Now it's trying to support the women, who have been ordered to leave the U.S. within six months, after building a life in Whitewater for the past five years. "It's difficult here," said the mother of a 1-year-old and 5-year-old. "There is much racism here against Mexicans. We can't work [while under an order of deportation], because to do so would have consequences." "We have to continue to struggle," she said, for the rights of Mexicans to come to the U.S. and work. "There's been enough suffering and dying in the desert." Lee Sustar is a regular contributor to CounterPunch and the Socialist Worker. He can be reached at: lsustar@ameritech.net zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Thousands to Join Labor Day Rallies Thousands of workers and their advocates are expected to hold rallies throughout Southern California over the Labor Day weekend, pressing for immigrant rights, middle-class wages and other causes. Some immigrant rights advocates plan to march through downtown Los Angeles on Saturday in support of legalizing undocumented migrants and registering citizens to vote. The participants, some of whom were involved in the massive pro-immigrant march downtown on March 25, plan to walk from Broadway and Olympic Boulevard to City Hall beginning at 11 a.m. Workers will gather Monday for their traditional Labor Day breakfast at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, followed by a 10 a.m. Mass celebrated by Cardinal Roger M. Mahony. The events will focus on "rebuilding Los Angeles' middle class" through campaigns to organize security guards, hotel workers and port drivers, said Mary Gutierrez, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. In Wilmington, thousands of union members and their supporters plan to gather Monday for their 27th annual Labor Day march and rally. The march is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at Broad and E streets, followed by a rally at Banning Park, at Pacific Coast Highway and Eubank Avenue. The rally will feature updates on various labor issues, including upcoming contract negotiations involving longshore workers, engineers, architects, port drivers and others, said Miguel Lopez of the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Labor Coalition. "Our main focus is labor uniting around all workers' rights, including immigrants'," he said. Also Monday, several immigrant women's groups plan to hold a march in downtown Los Angeles in support of immigrant families. The group, which plans to march at noon from Olympic and Broadway to City Hall, will urge a moratorium on the deportation of families with U.S. citizen children, said Gloria Saucedo of Hermandad Mexicana of Panorama City. We Are America, a national coalition of labor, faith-based and immigrant rights groups, will hold a rally and vigil in Los Angeles on Sept. 9 to urge Congress to pass an immigration reform bill. The coalition is urging Congress to legalize undocumented immigrants, provide more family and work visas and strengthen protections against immigrant abuse. The rally is planned as part of the first National Latino Congreso, scheduled Sept. 6 to 10 in Los Angeles. The convention, billed as the first comprehensive gathering of Latino leaders and community members in nearly 30 years, will feature the rally to cap a "Justice for Immigrants" day of discussion and workshops on Sept. 9. "We're very concerned that Congress has basically frozen the process and not done anything about comprehensive reform," said Angela Sanbrano of the Central American Resource Center in Los Angeles. "We're calling on Congress to take up this issue seriously when they return from Labor Day break." zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz People's Weekly World Newspaper, 08/31/06 16:14 The immigrant rights movement is stronger than ever. The huge mass mobilizations to stop the harshly anti-immigrant HR 4437 won new allies for the immigrants and changed public perceptions in their favor. Though the Senate immigration bill, S 2611, cannot be regarded as satisfactory, the movement stopped the Senate from passing a bill as extreme as HR 4437, and got it to recognize that legalization has to be part of a comprehensive approach. But there is still a strong chance that an anti-immigrant bill, perhaps the “compromise” touted by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), could be rammed through in September. This plan, which has received favorable attention from the White House, would delay dealing with the 12 million current undocumented and with future labor migration until the border is declared “secure.” Then all undocumented would have to “self-deport” and come back exclusively as guest workers via corporate-controlled “Ellis Island centers” in Mexico and other countries. To participate, countries would have to agree to NAFTA-like neoliberal trade pacts with the United States. Immigrants could only apply for citizenship after 17 years in this indentured servitude. Immigrant-bashing is at the core of this year’s Republican electoral campaign. Repressive federal, state and local legislation and the scores of anti-immigrant “field hearings” being organized by the Republican House leadership are part of a massive strategy to distract voters’ attention from disastrous Republican policies. Although President Bush talks about legalization, he is sending the National Guard to the border, stepping up raids and deportations, and threatening much more to come. The class agenda is the same as ever: to weaken the working class by using the divisive ideological poison of racism and xenophobia, while providing big business with greater profits from exploiting both immigrant and non-immigrant workers. The anti-labor guest worker program that is a major agenda item for Bush is part of that, while repressing undocumented immigrants makes them even more desperately willing to work for low wages. And this hurts all workers. To fight this, we need unity, and a hard-headed, reality-based strategy. This spring and summer, important differences of opinion came to a head within the immigrant rights movement, over the place of electoral and legislative activities, the May 1 “Day Without Immigrants,” whether to work with Democratic elected officials, and over various legislative proposals ranging from the McCain-Kennedy bill to S 2611. Though disagreements are inevitable in such a diverse movement, they represent a problem when they become acrimonious and personalized, and when opposing positions are taken based on inaccurate information or superficial analysis. Anti-immigrant pushes in the legislative field can only be defeated by mobilizing members of the House and Senate. In practical terms, this means working with congresspersons and senators who can be pressured or persuaded to vote to stop the anti-immigrant juggernaut. Though there are Democrats who have been bad on immigration, the Republicans are much worse. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee unanimously voted “no” on HR 4437, as did most Democrats in the final House vote. In the Senate, Democratic members tried to amend out the worst anti-immigrant language, but only partly succeeded because the Republican majority blocked them. If the Republicans win on an immigrant-bashing platform in November, they will intensify anti-immigrant attacks in 2008. In this situation Democrats, on the other hand, will be more reluctant to stick their necks out for immigrants. If the Republicans lose, the immigrants win. The chair of the House Judiciary Committee, in which HR 4437 was crafted, will no longer be James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) but John Conyers (D-Mich.), a friend of immigrants’ rights and civil liberties. That will make it much more likely that pro-immigrant legislation can be achieved. Let us put aside empty rhetoric about the Democrats being just as bad as the Republicans and understand that the immigrant rights movement needs broad unity between left and center, Democrats and independents, citizens and non-citizens, labor, churches and civic and community organizations to advance its slogans of legalization and full rights for all. Certainly, each tendency should defend what it considers points of principle, but let us do it in a way that maintains and strengthens unity. This broad united front must stop any new push for anti-immigrant legislation, advance pro-immigrant legislation, and fight to block the Bush administration’s current enforcement crackdown. But it also needs to register voters and mobilize to erase the Republican congressional majority in November. Emile Schepers is an immigrant rights activist. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz People's Weekly World Newspaper, 08/31/06 13:28 Elvira Arellano and her son Saulito. PWW photo by Pepe Lozano. CHICAGO — Elvira Arellano, 31, an immigrant rights activist and mother of a 7-year-old child, has taken sanctuary in a church here, defying efforts by the U.S. government to deport her to Mexico. She told reporters, “I don’t only speak for me, but for millions of families like mine.” On Aug. 15, Arellano, president of the immigrant rights group La Familia Latina Unida, said she would not report to the Department of Homeland Security for deportation, in an effort to remain with her son Saul, or “Saulito,” who is a U.S. citizen. Arellano was arrested in 2002 in an immigration raid at O’Hare Airport where she worked. The government ordered her deportation. Arellano, who is undocumented, has gained wide support in her struggle to remain in the U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced a private relief bill in 2003, based on Saulito’s health problems. Arellano was granted three stays, the last of which has expired. Arellano has taken refuge at the Adalberto United Methodist Church in the heart of the city’s Puerto Rican community. She says she hopes her actions will promote legislation that protects families from being torn apart by deportation. In May, she carried out a 23-day hunger strike demanding a moratorium on deportations and immigration raids until Congress passes a more just immigration policy. Arellano talked with the World in Spanish at the church about her decision to take refuge there. She said she plans to stay as long as it takes to win an agreement from immigration officials not to deport her. “I understand my legal situation, but I’m here because I’m defending the constitutional rights of my son,” she said. “I’m not going to abandon my child. We’re going to stay together, and I have an obligation and a responsibility to ensure that my son grows up healthy with a future filled with opportunities here in the U.S.” She added, “The love of a mother for her child is unconditional and necessary. When a woman gets pregnant she also has rights, especially to struggle and fight for her children’s rights.” Arrelano’s attorney Joseph Mathews is seeking a temporary injunction to block her deportation. Deporting her would effectively lead to the deportation of Saulito, and thus violate his rights as an American citizen, Mathews told reporters. “And if you violate Saul’s rights, you violate the rights of all people born on U.S. soil,” he said. Arellano said she feels in high spirits, bolstered by the daily arrival of supporters from community and immigrant advocacy groups, labor unions and churches as well as elected officials. Saul Melendez, 28, a local high school counselor, is part of a team of young volunteers who have been taking one-hour shifts during the day and two-hour shifts at night, standing guard outside the church with the Puerto Rican flag. Melendez said they are showing the unity between the Puerto Rican and Mexican communities. Arellano is “ a symbol of resistance,” he told the World. “It’s important that she is taking a stand, saying ‘You can’t take me, I’m not going.’” Beti Guevara, associate pastor at Adalberto Church and longtime friend of Arellano, calls her “a hero to me” and “to all single mothers, especially for our kids who depend on us and don’t have father figures. She is fighting for the rights of all Latino women who are saying ‘don’t mess with my kids.’” Arellano urged her supporters to register and vote in the November elections and to continue to flood Congress with phone calls demanding comprehensive and just immigration reform. “The voters,” she said, “are the most important players who can support undocumented workers and immigrant families. They can stop families from being deported in order to remain united and not divided.” Related Link: Contact Information zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz People's Weekly World Newspaper, 08/31/06 13:41 Alfredo Arellano at SF Day Labor Program hq. PWW photo by Marilyn Bechtel. SAN FRANCISCO — Early on a chill, gray August morning, men seeking casual jobs pulled their jackets closer as they stood in little groups along the Mission District’s Cesar Chavez Street. There was something different about the group gathered in front of a cheerful, well-lit storefront that bore a sign, “Day Laborers Program: Hire Workers! Drop in or call.” They, too, were waiting for work — and for their weekly meeting at the San Francisco Day Laborers Program. There, they would talk about their problems on the job and in daily life, and about broader issues like the national campaign for immigrant rights in which many of them marched last spring. As the meeting got underway, conducted in Spanish by the laborers themselves, workers packed the room and crammed the hallway. On the agenda: a campaign for more bathrooms in areas where workers gather, announcements about available classes, and the sad news that an unidentified day laborer had been killed. Everyone listened attentively as program director Renee Saucedo urged them to bring friends to the Labor Day immigrant rights march. As the meeting ended and two workers brought in a large coffee urn, Josue Cobos said he has participated in the program for much of the time since its founding 15 years ago. A seven-year stint as a furniture restorer ended when his employer went out of business. Now he is seeking another regular job. “The program provides a friendly, warm and comfortable place,” he said, “where I can be with people I know.” Cobos also likes the way the hiring hall distributes jobs fairly through a rotating list. He said he finds jobs doing moving, painting and construction work once or twice a week through the program, and sometimes also waits for workers on street corners. Because work is so scarce, and housing costs are so high even for “single room occupancy” hotels, Cobos lives in a shelter run by a nearby church. Alfredo Arellano — like Cobos originally from Mexico City — lives at the same shelter. He has come to the day labor program for the last two and a half months. “Someone came to my church and told me about the program,” he said. He, too, wants a regular job, perhaps in a restaurant. Meantime, Arellano said, a class he found through the program has helped him do his occasional landscaping jobs better. A landmark agreement signed last month between the AFL-CIO and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network of over 40 day labor centers around the country pledges the organizations to work together to advance the workplace rights of all workers, to oppose punitive anti-immigrant laws and press for comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship and political equality. Renee Saucedo, who helped finalize the pact, said it “basically says we are sister organizations now. We stand for workers regardless of immigration status, we’re going to help each other out to defeat the anti-immigrant and anti-worker legislation now before Congress.” Saucedo said workers in the San Francisco program “felt pretty good about what’s going on” when they heard about the agreement at a recent Friday morning meeting. The organizing by day laborers and undocumented workers generally around workplace and immigrant rights issues “is a sign that immigrant rights is being considered part of a larger movement for workers rights and human rights for oppressed people in this country, including people of color,” she added. Saucedo said the San Francisco program serves over 200 workers who come to its office each day, and works with “literally thousands of day laborers” through its outreach at sites throughout the city. The program and the San Francisco Labor Council have worked together regularly in solidarity actions around day laborers’ rights, she said. The workers have set a rate of $50 for a minimum three-hour period, plus $15 per additional hour. Besides its hiring hall, the program offers classes in occupational health, job and life skills, and English as a second language. It has also helped workers reclaim thousands of dollars in unpaid wages. Its newest feature is the Women’s Collective, whose members are largely immigrant domestic workers. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-2348.html Protest for gay couples’ immigration rights It is hoped that the protest will send a clear message to the US Congress and the White House regarding immigration rights Immigration groups have organised protests to argue for the extension of right to same sex couples. The protest, led by Out4Immigration, will take place across California next week to highlight the discrepancy in current immigration law that only allows for heterosexual partners to apply for green cards because of their relationship. The protests will coincide with Labour Day marches in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Wilmington. It is hoped that the protest will send a clear message to the US Congress and the White House regarding immigration rights. Out4Immigration is acting in support of the Uniting American Families Act, formerly known as the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, currently introduced before Congress. It is the only current proposed immigration legislation to mention gay and lesbian binational couples. "Out4Immigration is eager to work with other immigrant rights groups to build a strong coalition to advance appropriate reform legislation for all immigrants," said Mickey Lim, Vice President of Out4Immigration. He added, "At a recent National Grassroots Immigrant Strategy Conference in Washington, DC, the attendees gave their unanimous support to helping pass the Uniting American Families Act and in turn, we'd like to offer our support in finding a path to humane immigration rights for all." Out4Immigration has shown how gay partners in the United States have been forced to take up residency in other countries that allow for immigration for same sex partners. In one example a US citizen was forced into moving to Spain in order to continue seeing his gay lover after US authorities had refused requests for the Spaniard to stay in the US. The immigrant has been forced to move country and learn a new language. According to the 2000 census the United States has 36,000 binational couples that could be separated due to a lack of legal protection. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7034/703401.html August 30, 2006 The following statement was issued August 30 by Róger Calero and Maura DeLuca, Socialist Workers Party candidates for U.S. Senate and governor of New York, respectively. Amnesty now! Unconditional, immediate residency for all undocumented immigrants! End the immigration sweeps and deportations! We urge participation in the Labor Day and other mobilizations for the legalization of immigrants—especially the September 7 march in Washington—to advance these demands, which the labor movement and all working people need to champion. The latest immigrant rights demonstrations build on the unprecedented mass mobilizations in the spring, when millions said, “We are workers, not criminals!” The May 1 actions involved 2 million workers, in what became the first nationwide general political strike in the United States. This working-class movement is setting an example for all workers: an example of solidarity, organization, and struggle. It is having an impact on many U.S.-born working people seeking a way forward. Elvira Arellano, a former airplane cleaner in Chicago waging a public fight against deportation, is not a unique case. She exemplifies the many immigrant workers who have gained self-confidence, are taking a militant stand in face of government and employer attacks, and are winning broad support. These developments confirm that the historic influx of immigration in recent decades has irreversibly strengthened the U.S. working class. Workers and farmers are driven to immigrate by grinding economic conditions in countries dominated by imperialism. But immigrants are not suffering victims. They are fellow workers who bring their class-struggle experiences, help broaden the horizons of their co-workers, and themselves shed prejudices about U.S.-born workers. The battle for the legalization of all immigrants is crucial for the labor movement. Working people as a whole face an increasingly brutal employer offensive against their wages, job conditions, and rights. Key to this offensive is the effort to maintain a superexploited section of the working class with diminished rights, to divide workers and drive down the wages of all. The use of undocumented labor today is an integral part of U.S. industry and agriculture. The migra police raids, deportations, and legal restrictions against the undocumented are designed not to expel most immigrants but rather to keep them as superexploited pariahs to fatten the profits of the already wealthy capitalists. All current “immigration reform” bills should be opposed. Both the House and Senate measures would beef up the immigration police. All variants of the Senate bill would impose heavy restrictions, including workers’ dependence on bosses for gaining legal status. Instead, the workers movement should take an unambiguous stand: immediate amnesty and residency with no conditions! Some Democratic Party “friend of immigrant” politicians warn against using militant methods that “might cause a backlash.” They insist, “Don’t be unrealistic. Go lobby the senators. Settle for what’s possible to get from Congress now. And elect us in November.” Such advice is detrimental. Supporting capitalist politicians or subordinating the struggle to who gets elected is a sure recipe for failure. The only effective course, the only effective lobbying working people can do, is through mass mobilizations and uncompromising struggles like that by Arellano. Capitalism, as its economic crisis worsens, is breeding sharper class polarization, including ultrarightist groups like the Minutemen and the Confederate flag-wavers who recently confronted immigrant workers and their supporters in Riverside, New Jersey. Such anti-working-class outfits must be taken on and defeated. This can’t be done by relying on cops or capitalist politicians, nor on small, isolated confrontations. They can be defeated only by workers organizing countermobilizations and other large, public, and disciplined actions with unwavering demands. Related articles: Anti-immigrant ordinance defeated in Palm Bay, Florida In tour of Boston, leader of struggle for immigrant rights campaigns for legalization Chicago: Arellano wins support against deportation wins support La migra arrests 326 immigrants in Houston raids zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Excerpt: Tuesday, August 29 2006 @ 10:48 PM PDT On Sunday, August 27th, 2006, about 50 people braved the pouring rain to gather for the first annual Sacco and Vanzetti Memorial Parade….. Around 2pm, one of the organizers read a speech highlighting the history of the Sacco and Vanzetti case. He tied their repression and execution, 79 years ago, to the current repression of immigrants and anarchists today….. Lastly, Jesse Diaz from the Los Angeles March 25 Coalition for Immigrant rights spoke about his experiences struggling along side west-coast anarchists against the anti-immigrant, Minute Men group, as well as other fascist and racist groups in the Southwest. Diaz also emphasized the fact that anarchists have an important role to play in the immigrant rights movement, and encouraged local anarchists to find ways to get involved with local immigrant rights struggles and communities….. For photos: For more information About Sacco and Vanzetti: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz August 28, 2006 I was at a conference titled Build the Left, Fight the Right this past June. The speakers and workshops at the conference ranged from the war in Iraq to the immigrant rights movement in the United States. One of the most interesting (and there were many) and hopeful (in terms of a brighter future for the world's majority) was a well-attended presentation by Justin Akers Chacon, co-author of No One Is Illegal, and Nativo V. Lopez, the National President of the Mexican American Political Association, and National Director of the Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana. The conversation after with the audience the two spoke covered topics ranging from immigrant organizing to the Democratic Party and union sellouts and working class solidarity. I recently exchanged a series of emails with Nativo Lopez, who has been touring the United States. Ron: Nativo. I heard that you were on a national tour. What is its focus? Who do you hope to reach? What has been the response so far? Nativo: The focus of the tour is to meet with the base organizations and coalitions of immigrants who were responsible for the mega-marches throughout the country, invite them to the National Immigrant Strategy Convention held in Chicago on August 11-13, and make the national links between our organizations to strengthen the movement from the bottom up. A mega-march does not a national social movement make. In other words, for us to sustain a truly national social movement for the rights of immigrants, we must build mass organizations of the immigrants, and strengthen those that already exist, as the backbone of the movement in a politically independent current that draws its strength from the immigrants themselves who know best what they want and what they are willing to fight for. The response from grassroots organizations and coalitions has been magnificent, and gives one every confidence that the movement is on the right track. There exist grassroots organizations in every community even if only in elementary form because of the newness of the immigrant community in a given locale. Where there is oppression and repression, there exist the seeds of organization with the immigrant workers and families. I heard you talk in New York during the Socialism 2006 conference. During that talk, you told the audience that the SEIU, UNITE and the leadership of the UFW were selling out the immigrant rights movement. What did you mean by that comment? Why do you think they are siding with the Democrats in favor of legislation that would penalize migrant men and women looking for work in the US? Nativo: The public, and private, positions taken by leaders of these three unions is well known. All three have agreed to a more onerous form of employer sanctions than currently exist in federal law, and they support a massive contract labor program much beyond the scale ever witnessed in U.S. history. It is hard to discern why they have taken this position even though it is tantamount to support perpetual servitude for the immigrants and undermining wage and other labor standards for all workers. Perhaps it has something to do with their affiliation and participation in the Essential Worker Coalition, which is comprised principally with corporate and agri-business employers who advocate the same positions. Perhaps this is the trade-off they are willing to accept (without having consulted their respective membership, or the immigrant communities) for some form of legalization for some workers. Perhaps it is a strategy to build their unions on the short-term basis by obtaining contracts from these employers who would potentially be the employers of the "guest-workers" in the various industries where they could be employed. This is all supposition, however, because they refuse to explain their positions to our organizations. We are only left to judge by the practical implications of their positions on the legislation. And, we have certainly concluded that it is not in the interest of the immigrant workers, their families, or workers generally. Are you surprised at the stance taken by these unions? Or is this about par for the course? Nativo: In fact, I was surprised in that these unions have traditionally been at the forefront in defense of the rights of immigrants, and played a progressive role in shaping the new policies of the AFL-CIO when they were affiliated with the labor federation. I have said that Cesar Chavez, Bert Corona, and Ernesto Galarza, all three iconic figures in Mexican American labor and immigration history, are turning over in their graves by what they are witnessing in relation to the advocacy for a massive contract-labor program. All three individuals played a role in the elimination of the old Bracero Program in 1964. At the conference you made a clear and concise equation. You essentially stated that if the fruits of immigrant labor wasn't illegal, than neither should the producers of those fruits. Would you mind elaborating on that statement? Nativo:: All serious economists recognize that labor produces value. This is the basis for the comment above. If all workers (labor) produce value, wealth for the country, immigrant workers do so to a greater degree. They do not enjoy a collective bargaining agreement, vacations, pensions, health insurance, etc. as do many other workers particularly those who belong to a union. Therefore, they are producing greater value for the employer. It is no secret why corporations "outsource" and go abroad in search of cheaper labor, land, natural resources, etc. But, only labor of the three factors just mentioned produce value over and above what is required to sustain the worker. Certainly this value is not considered illegal, therefore, neither should the producers of such value be considered illegal. Contrariwise, the term could just as easily be applied to all those workers throughout the world who are employed by U.S. corporations, but then again, that would be just silly. Now, this equation has another dimension to it. If we recognize that all workers produce value irrespective of their immigration status, and immigrant workers produce greater amounts, a fair exchange for their value would be legal permanent residence. It is a known fact that immigrant workers in the U.S. have a higher labor participation rate than native-born workers. This becomes the basis for our demand of legalization for ALL. The immigrant worker is producing more than enough value to warrant permanent residence status in exchange, a fair exchange. Over the past year or so, the anti-immigrant organization The Minutemen have received a high (and often positive) profile in the corporate US media. Why do you think this is happening? Nativo: Every right-wing movement requires its shock troops and these are generally found within the lower middle classes, popular sectors, and even amongst workers. The U.S. experience is no different. Certainly it comes in a different form, but this phenomenon is connected to political circles in the U.S. Congress and even sectors of capital that oppose globalization, which does not serve its interest. Capital, in this sense, is divided. Remember the comment I made earlier about the Essential Worker Coalition, which advocates for a massive contract-labor program. This group is representative of a different sector of capital. Again, circles within the corporate media also represent different sectors of capital. The Lou Dobbs and O'Reillys of the media world are given free rein to spill their venom nightly only because they represent a view corresponding to a certain sector of capital. Therein you have complementary remarks by these television hosts about the Minutemen. As regards the Minutemen and similar organizations, what do you see as the best strategy for negating their essentially racist agenda? Nativo: The best response to these organizations is to build mass organizations within the immigrant communities, and broad coalitions representative of the majorities labor, church, business, youth, African-American, and across national origin lines, within the peace, environmental, and women movements, and across international borders with international and bi-national organizations and social movements, for fair and progressive immigration reform legislation, policies, and practices. Second, it is important to conduct education within those sectors targeted for recruitment by the hate-mongers as difficult as this may be. And, third, support those individuals and organizations which have the courage to organize counter-protests to those of the Minutemen in order to reduce the social space of operation and message of these racists. What do you say to people that blame immigrants for the declining wages almost all workers face in the US (and other northern countries)? Nativo: This is difficult, but we must be honest with people. We should not play word games, for example, not mention amnesty and instead call it a "path to citizenship." We should be willing to explain the role of capital in undermining wage and working standards for all workers in the U.S., and other advanced industrial and technological countries. In many ways, capital has made our explanation easier to make the logical and economic connections of the devastation wrought on community after community. Wal-Mart has made it easier for us to make the argument that big-box is not necessarily better for our communities especially when you consider that the local community is subsidizing this corporation by way of land write-downs, government-sponsored health services, deferred taxes, etc. One of the defining aspects of Marxist analysis (at least in my mind) has been the fact that workers around the world have more in common with each other than they do with the ruling elites in their own countries. What are your thoughts on this and how do you think this relates to immigration? Also, if this internationalism is key to any movement for immigrant rights, how can that best be organized and expressed? Nativo: The internationalization of capital (commonly referred to as globalization) breeds its opposite international labor organization, social movements, and solidarity. The information and technology revolutions have made the world smaller, and the sharing of experiences between communities vexed by the same or similar corporate enemies easier and faster. The World Social Forums are a good example of this expression of internationalization of organization, movement, and solidarity. This will only grow stronger. The national movement for immigrants' rights in the U.S. will only become stronger by formalizing connections with other social movements, but especially those from whence the immigrants sojourn. This movement will soon develop a clearer international dimension in terms of what it advocates for itself within the U.S., and what it advocates for its brethren left at home and left to fend for themselves against unfair trade agreements concluded between the elites. Can you elaborate a little on why the Sensenbrenner Bill and the subsequent "compromises" should all be rejected? Nativo: These immigration legislative proposals are restrictionist, exclusionary, and criminalizing by their very nature. While the first, Sensenbrenner, is all enforcement, the second, Hagel-Martinez (S.2611) is enforcement, plus the illusion of something beneficial to the vast majority of immigrants currently in the U.S. Both would codify in law provisions to criminalize workers, build a border wall, deploy the national guard on the U.S.-Mexico border, eliminate legal rights to judicial review, require local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities, and create massive detention facilities for prolonged and indefinite incarceration of immigrants. Both would result in the separation and deportation of millions of families, and undermine the legal rights of U.S. citizens. Neither proposal fairly address the current need to legalize the estimated 12 million undocumented in the U.S., or provide for future flows of immigrants. They both represent the tendency towards criminalization and militarization of our immigration issues. This will only lead to social conflict, death on the border, and potential social explosion. What about the immigrant rights movement? Are there elements that organizers and other interested folks should be aware of? Trends they should combat? Nativo: I believe that the immigrants' rights movement is in good hands to the degree that we invest faith and confidence in the immigrants themselves. They know what they want. They know what they are willing to fight for. While the movement has a spontaneous element to it as do all movements there has always existed the organizational element. This is the kernel of leadership that exist in all communities some more experienced than others, and some more independent than others. The real test of the movement is whether it will be able to develop a strong enough independent leadership, build mass organization within the immigrant communities, and steer the movement in a direction that accords with the legitimate interest of the immigrants and not those that are extraneous to the immigrant or the movement. Only time will tell. Ron Jacobs is author of The Way the Wind Blew: a history of the Weather Underground, which is just republished by Verso. Jacobs' essay on Big Bill Broonzy is featured in CounterPunch's new collection on music, art and sex, Serpents in the Garden. He can be reached at: rjacobs3625@charter.net zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz August 28, 2006 In a scene filled with theatrics and rhetoric, an anti-immigration activist from Los Angeles was barred from entering Sunday services at a West Side church where Elvira Arellano, an illegal Mexican immigrant, has taken refuge from authorities. Emblematic of the acrimony of the national debate over undocumented immigrants, half a dozen men stood abreast at the entrance of Adalberto United Methodist Church blocking Ted Hayes' entry as others banged drums to drown out his shouts. "Behold I stand at the door and knock," Hayes called out repeatedly, his hand pumping in the air with a single pointed finger. "May I come to church please?" One church member stood chest-to-chest with Hayes as others rained boos upon the homeless advocate who flew from the West Coast last week to protest Arellano's defiance of a government deportation order. Arellano, 31, has drawn international attention during her nearly two-week stand in the church. She has been in the country illegally and was ordered deported. Arellano has resisted deportation because she says her 7-year-old son, Saul--an American citizen--would be left alone if she were sent back to Mexico. Because Arellano ignored her deportation order, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement now considers her a fugitive. Last week attorneys filed a lawsuit on her son's behalf, charging that his rights would be violated if his mother were to be deported. On Friday, Hayes asked Rev. Walter Coleman, pastor of the storefront church at 2716 W. Division St., if he could attend the noon service Sunday. Coleman gave him no answer, so Hayes decided to show up. When Hayes arrived, Coleman "straight up told me that I'm not coming in," he said. Hayes works with the homeless in L.A. and is affiliated with the Minutemen, an anti-illegal immigration group. With his arguments wending through discussions of slavery, the 14th Amendment and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Hayes said he came from California to protest because "what this woman, these people are doing is killing my people." "They're taking our heritage," said Hayes, who is black. "They're taking my civil rights. They're taking my icons, like Rosa Parks and Dr. King. "These people were citizens. This lady's no citizen. She's a criminal." Arellano was criticized recently after she compared herself to Parks, the black Alabama seamstress who refused to give her bus seat to a white man in 1955. Hayes said Arellano should go back to Mexico and protest for reform of the government there, which he called corrupt. After the two-hour service, Coleman said he didn't want Hayes at the service because he didn't want to create more volatility. "He's a provocateur," Coleman said, "and his aim and the aim of the Minutemen is to create a violent situation inside the church." Arellano was aware of the confrontation outside but said she paid Hayes no heed. "I have no opinion on him," she said after the service. "I don't want to waste my energy on such a negative person." Outside, the sidewalk was quiet, the silence broken only by the sounds of cars and several men playing dominoes nearby. About an hour earlier, after he was rejected at the door, Hayes leaned against a tree and stared at the ground in front of the church, a duct-taped Bible in his leathery hands. After chatting with a few passersby, he got into the car of the lone Illinois Minuteman member who joined him Sunday. Within moments, Hayes was gone. And the doors to the church, shut tight to keep him out, opened again. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz From the August 28, 2006 edition CHICAGO Elvira Arellano's situation isn't all that unusual: an undocumented immigrant ordered to report to US Immigration and Customs, a single mother whose young son is a US citizen. But in the two weeks since Ms. Arellano entered her church in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood to avoid deportation - invoking the notion of church as sanctuary - her standoff with the US government has escalated into a public battle that has rallied activists on both sides of the immigration debate. To supporters, her case is a symbol of a "broken" immigration system and of all the families who could be split by deportation. But critics, too, claim Arellano as a symbol - of the sort of lawbreaker they say has no place in America. In many ways, the standoff in the Chicago church neatly encapsulates - and holds a mirror to - the nation's struggle over which bedrock values will take primacy in immigration law: family unity versus abiding by the rules, compassion versus law and order. As for Arellano - a small, shy woman with a quick smile - she says she just wants what's best for 7-year-old Saul, although she hopes her struggle will shed light on the many other illegal immigrants in similar circumstances. "This was my last hope," Arellano says in Spanish, in between taping a segment for FOX News' "Geraldo At Large" and fielding questions by phone from a radio station in Arizona, in the small room above the Adalberto United Methodist Church where she's been staying since Aug. 15. "My son doesn't want to go. He thinks this is his country." The law is not on Arellano's side, and seeking sanctuary in a church - a strategy employed in the 1980s by many Central American asylum-seekers - doesn't afford legal protection either. Federal agents are as entitled to go into a church as anywhere else to nab an immigration fugitive, which is what Arellano became when she opted not to show up at Immigration and Customs (ICE) offices for deportation. And, as her detractors point out, she has twice entered the US illegally. (She was turned back at the Mexican border during her first attempt nine years ago, but managed to cross into the US several days later.) "It's quite easy from a legal perspective," says Carlina Tapia, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association in Chicago, noting that Arellano forfeited any right to legal challenges or benefits when she became a fugitive. From the political and moral perspectives, Ms. Tapia says, the case is more complicated. She hopes it leads lawmakers to "work on the difficult task of compromise" on immigration reform, though she's skeptical that it will. The Rev. Walter Coleman, the pastor who took Arellano in, estimates that nearly 6,000 supporters have come to the church in the past two weeks. But Arellano's critics have been equally vocal: The Chicago Tribune editorialized against her stand, as did several columnists who say her defiance is the wrong way to go about reform. Her stand "is arrogant and defiant, and that's probably the worst thing about it," says Rosanna Pulido of the Illinois Minuteman Civil Defense. "If our laws are wrong, go back to Mexico." During a candlelight vigil at the church last week, families packed the sweltering church and representatives from Arab, African, Korean, and Polish communities talked about the larger issues they say her case represents. "This is a critical, defining moment for our country, and it should be a moment of mercy," said Rami Nashashibi of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, joining others in a call for a moratorium on raids and deportations "unless and until we get comprehensive immigration reform." Roberto Lopez of Centro Sin Fronteras, the local group supporting her, says they never planned her case to draw so much national attention. Arellano has been an activist for immigrant families for several years, and when she got the deportation notice it was a shock, he says. Originally discovered by agents several years ago while working as a janitor at Chicago's O'Hare Airport under a false Social Security number, Arellano had been granted a stay of departure because of requests from legislators and medical needs of her son. "We believed immigration [officials] would extend the stay," says Mr. Lopez. When they didn't, "our last option was prayer and to have faith." More than any other immigration question, the prospect of separating mother and son is drawing the most attention from Arellano's backers. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, 3.1 million children are in a situation similar to Saul's - US citizens with an undocumented parent. "Families struggle when kids are born here, are as American as apple pie, and their parents, who have been here for years, are here illegally," says Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum. The Senate's version of immigration reform - which cleared in May - would ease the situation for some families by cutting the waiting time for those with family-based visa requests, she says. That wouldn't help in Arellano's situation, because children can't file such requests. Critics, meanwhile, say Arellano's argument that deportation would infringe on Saul's rights as a US citizen is ludicrous. "Are we going to exempt anybody who has kids from compliance with laws?" says Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. For now, Arellano's standoff is likely to continue, at least until media attention fades. An ICE official said the agency would not go into the church to get Arellano because of the image it would present. From the ICE perspective, her status as a fugitive is hardly unusual. Nearly 600,000 immigration fugitives are in the US, most of whom simply disappear when their deportation orders come. The agency's priority is tracking down those with criminal records. Arellano's many advocates, meanwhile, say they hope for the best for her, but also for more widespread reform. "That's why we're supporting her - so that we can have a big change for everyone," says Rosa Villa, a Mexican immigrant who brought her children to the church vigil. "It's an unjust system that takes parents from children and children from parents." Full HTML version of this story which may include photos, graphics, and related links zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz August 28, 2006 Emblematic of the acrimony of the national debate over undocumented immigrants, half a dozen men stood abreast at the entrance of Adalberto United Methodist Church blocking Ted Hayes' entry as others banged drums to drown out his shouts. "Behold I stand at the door and knock," Hayes called out repeatedly, his hand pumping in the air with a single pointed finger. "May I come to church please?" One church member stood chest-to-chest with Hayes as others rained boos upon the homeless advocate who flew from the West Coast last week to protest Arellano's defiance of a government deportation order. Arellano, 31, has drawn international attention during her nearly two-week stand in the church. She has been in the country illegally and was ordered deported. Arellano has resisted deportation because she says her 7-year-old son, Saul--an American citizen--would be left alone if she were sent back to Mexico. Because Arellano ignored her deportation order, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement now considers her a fugitive. Last week attorneys filed a lawsuit on her son's behalf, charging that his rights would be violated if his mother were to be deported. On Friday, Hayes asked Rev. Walter Coleman, pastor of the storefront church at 2716 W. Division St., if he could attend the noon service Sunday. Coleman gave him no answer, so Hayes decided to show up. When Hayes arrived, Coleman "straight up told me that I'm not coming in," he said. Hayes works with the homeless in L.A. and is affiliated with the Minutemen, an anti-illegal immigration group. With his arguments wending through discussions of slavery, the 14th Amendment and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Hayes said he came from California to protest because "what this woman, these people are doing is killing my people." "They're taking our heritage," said Hayes, who is black. "They're taking my civil rights. They're taking my icons, like Rosa Parks and Dr. King. "These people were citizens. This lady's no citizen. She's a criminal." Arellano was criticized recently after she compared herself to Parks, the black Alabama seamstress who refused to give her bus seat to a white man in 1955. Hayes said Arellano should go back to Mexico and protest for reform of the government there, which he called corrupt. After the two-hour service, Coleman said he didn't want Hayes at the service because he didn't want to create more volatility. "He's a provocateur," Coleman said, "and his aim and the aim of the Minutemen is to create a violent situation inside the church." Arellano was aware of the confrontation outside but said she paid Hayes no heed. "I have no opinion on him," she said after the service. "I don't want to waste my energy on such a negative person." Outside, the sidewalk was quiet, the silence broken only by the sounds of cars and several men playing dominoes nearby. About an hour earlier, after he was rejected at the door, Hayes leaned against a tree and stared at the ground in front of the church, a duct-taped Bible in his leathery hands. After chatting with a few passersby, he got into the car of the lone Illinois Minuteman member who joined him Sunday. Within moments, Hayes was gone. And the doors to the church, shut tight to keep him out, opened again. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Updated: 8/26/2006 10:09 PM ++++++++++++++++++++++ Join Up! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Immigrant-Rights-Agenda/ Join Up! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Aztlannet_News/ Key Link http://www.0101aztlan.net/
Why this immigrant rights march is brought to you by Miller
By Oscar Avila + Tribune staff reporter
Email: oavila@tribune.com
http://www.counterpunch.org/sustar08312006.html
Racism, Divided Families and Deportation: The Case of Elvira Arellano
By LEE SUSTAR
Email: lsustar@ameritech.net
Moises Duarte may not be the best known among the 5,000 people who've come to a Chicago church to show support Elvira Arellano's vigil against a deportation order.
Events include marches in downtown L.A. and Wilmington. Workers will press for immigrant rights and better wages.
By Teresa Watanabe, Times Staff Writer
August 31, 2006
http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/9751/1/337
A reality-based strategy for immigrant rights
Author: Emile Schepers
http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/9728/1/337/
Chicago mother fights deportation
Author: Pepe Lozano
Email: plozano@pww.org
Latino Families United Committee
http://www.somosunpueblo.com/cflu_families.htm
Elvira Arellano - President
Email: earellano@somosunpueblo.com
Main Office (Pilsen)
2300 S. Blue Island Ave.
Chicago, IL. 60608
Telephone (773) 523-8261 Fax (773) 523-8109
E-Mail: PSF@somosunpueblo.com
http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/9731/1/337
Day laborers find hope in San Francisco program
Author: Marilyn Bechtel
Email: mbechtel@pww.org
29-August-2006
Dave McElhill
Socialist Workers Party candidates: Legalize all immigrants now!
‘We’re workers, not criminals!’
Contingents from 17 states expected at Sept. 7 D.C. rally
http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7034/703402.html
http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7034/703455.html
http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7034/703456.html
http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7034/703457.html
http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7034/703458.html
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20060828204007296
A Look at the First Annual Sacco And Vanzetti Memorial Parade
Monday, August 28 2006 @ 08:40 PM PDT
Contributed by: Anonymous
http://boston.indymedia.org/feature/display/187113/index.php
http://www.infoshop.org/sacco_vanzetti.html
http://www.counterpunch.org/jacobs08282006.html
Talking to Nativo Lopez: ‘The Immigrants' Rights Movement is in Good Hands" By RON JACOBS
Church closes off its doors to activist's debate
Pastor denies entry for Sunday service
By Andrew L. Wang ~ Tribune staff reporter
Email: alwang@tribune.com
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0828/p01s03-ussc.html
For mother and son, an immigration predicament
By Amanda Paulson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0828/p01s03-ussc.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0608280086aug28,1,3489236.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
Church closes off its doors to activist's debate
Pastor denies entry for Sunday service
By Andrew L. Wang ~ Tribune staff reporter
Email: alwang@tribune.com
In a scene filled with theatrics and rhetoric, an anti-immigration activist from Los Angeles was barred from entering Sunday services at a West Side church where Elvira Arellano, an illegal Mexican immigrant, has taken refuge from authorities.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4244117
Latinos seek political clout
Immigration law dominates forum held in Littleton And at a Denver seminar, a national movement shares ways to mobilize volunteers and pursue election issues.
By Jennifer Brown / Denver Post Staff Writer
Signs of a growing Latino movement to build political clout in Colorado were evident Saturday at two workshops to teach activism and the rules of immigration reform.
In north Denver, 24-year-old Mexican immigrant Jaime Lopez learned how to mobilize volunteers and research election records at "Politics 101: Training for Colorado's Latino Community."
And at a Federation of Employers and Workers of America seminar in Littleton, seasonal landscaper Gregorio Guerrero wanted to know how Colorado's new immigration laws could affect his chances of keeping a job.
The Latino community makes up about 19 percent of Colorado's population, but is underrepresented at the voting booths, said Crystal Clinkenbeard with America Votes, one of the organizers of "Politics 101."
"When 75,000 people turned out for the immigration march in Colorado, that should have been a very clear signal that there is a very motivated group of people that should be able to make their voice heard in the political process," she said.
America Votes, along with the League of United Latin American Citizens, chose Denver as one of five cities where they are holding seminars this year because of the "growing progressive power" in Colorado.
The point is for participants to make connections and learn that the "political process is not a mystery - it's hard work based on political principles," Clinkenbeard said.
The progressive organization advocates for the environment, civil and human rights, and reproductive rights.
Lopez, who immigrated to the United States with his parents 12 years ago, hopes to canvass neighborhoods for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter.
"A lot of people don't think that Latinos want to know about politics and they don't care about politics, but we can get more of them to vote," said Lopez, a maintenance worker who hopes to go to college and major in political science.
The federal immigration debate, as well as new Colorado laws aimed at cutting public services for illegal immigrants, have inspired political activism among Latinos, said Lopez, one of about 20 people at the north Denver workshop.
But others, including fellow "Politics 101" participant David Corral, believe politicians are using the hot-button immigration issue to polarize voters. He is more concerned about the war in Iraq and education.
At the Littleton workshop, about 60 business owners and immigrant workers questioned 6th Congressional District Democratic candidate Bill Winter and state Rep. Michael Garcia, D-Aurora, about immigration reform.
"Coming to America has been the best thing that could have happened to me," said Manuel Castañeda, who grew up in a Mexican village without running water and now owns a multimillion-dollar landscaping company in Oregon.
He wants a federal immigration program that will give more immigrants the chance to work legally in this country.
"We are constantly having trouble finding willing, qualified and legal workers," Castañeda said.
A younger group of activists also was at work Saturday.
Leaders of the Colorado Young Democrats say they registered 200 voters - mostly young Latinos - at City of Cuernavaca Park, drawing them in with hip-hop music and bean burritos.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com
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KEY LINKS:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Aztlan Chicano 0101 Website & Groups
http://www.0101aztlan.net/
Aztlannet News Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Aztlannet_News/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Immigrant Solidarity Network
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Border01 · US-Mexico Border Actions Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Border01/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Immigrant-Rights-Agenda Yahoo Group!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Immigrant-Rights-Agenda/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pueblo Sin Fronteras
http://somosunpueblo.com/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
U.N. Refugee Agency
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services Home Page
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm
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Total Amnesty Is Humane Sanity! Build Bridges, Not Walls!
Venceremos Unidos! United We Will Win!
Peter S. Lopez ~aka Peta de Aztlan
Email: sacranative@yahoo.com
Sacramento, California, U.S.A.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Join Up! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Humane-Rights-Agenda/
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Wake Up! Join the Humane-Rights-Agenda Yahoo Group
Check Out Blogs!
Humane-Rights-Agenda Blog
http://humane-rights-agenda.blogspot.com/
De Todas Para Todas Blog
http://detodos-paratodos.blogspot.com/
c/s
1 comment:
Money is the lifeblood of the powerful and the chains and key to human enslavement
Hello all,
There is a radical and highly effective solution to all of our economic problems that will dramatically simplify, streamline, and revitalize human civilization. It will eliminate all poverty and the vast majority of crime, material inequality, deception, and injustice. It will also eliminate the underlying causes of most conflicts, while preventing evil scoundrels and their cabals from deceiving, deluding, and bedeviling humanity, ever again. It will likewise eliminate the primary barriers to solving global warming, pollution, and the many evils that result from corporate greed and control of natural and societal resources. That solution is to simply eliminate money from the human equation, thereby replacing the current system of greed, exploitation, and institutionalized coercion with freewill cooperation, just laws based on verifiable wisdom, and societal goals targeted at benefiting all, not just a self-chosen and abominably greedy few.
We can now thank millennia of political, monetary, and religious leaders for proving, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that top-down, hierarchical governance is absolute folly and foolishness. Even representative democracy, that great promise of the past, was easily and readily subverted to enslave us all, thanks to money and those that secretly control and deceptively manipulate all currencies and economies. Is there any doubt anymore that entrusting politics and money to solve humanity's problems is delusion of the highest order? Is there any doubt that permitting political and corporate leaders to control the lives of billions has resulted in great evil?
Here's a real hot potato! Eat it up, digest it, and then feed it's bones to the hungry...
Most people have no idea that the common-denominator math of all the world's currencies forms an endless loop that generates debt faster than we can ever generate the value to pay for it. This obscured and purposeful math-logic trap at the center of all banking, currencies, and economies is the root cause of poverty. Those who rule this world through fear and deception strive constantly to hide this fact, while pretending to seek solutions to poverty and human struggle. Any who would scoff at this analysis have simply failed to do the math, even though it is based on a simple common-denominator ratio.
Read more here...
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