Deportees allowed to return to contest deportations.

ICE Abuse of  Voluntary Departure may effect thousands.

LOS ANGELES — Nine Mexican immigrants who agreed to be deported from the United States during the last five years will be allowed to return to fight their expulsions under an agreement announced Wednesday that could also include other Mexicans who consented to leave.

In a lawsuit against the federal government brought last year, the American Civil Liberties Union argued that enforcement agents had coerced the nine into accepting a type of removal known as voluntary return by failing to advise them of their rights or warn them of the consequences. After deportation, most immigrants living here without papers cannot legally come back for at least three years and often as long as a decade.

The immigrants contended they had strong cases for staying and would have made them in court if they had known they had that option. They said agents gave them “gross misinformation” about their choices and pressured them to sign removal papers, resulting in departures that were anything but voluntary.

In the agreement, federal officials did not admit any wrongdoing but agreed to alter the practices of border and enforcement agents to have them inform immigrants more thoroughly about their rights and about the obstacles to returning if they leave.

The authorities “use voluntary return as an option for individuals who may request to be returned home in lieu of removal proceedings, but in no case is coercion or deception tolerated,” said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman in California for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in a statement on Wednesday.

10 Ways President Obama Can Take Executive Action on Immigration to Protect Workers Rights

Emilio Garcia began working for U.S. Fibers in South Carolina in April 2010 as a maintenance worker. He worked 12-hour shifts with only a 30-minute lunch break because his wife and children depend on him. Garcia said that from the very beginning he and other workers were humiliated by management. Conditions were so bad that he and other workers decided to organize themselves with the assistance of the United Steelworkers (USW). But management wasn't happy with Garcia's organizing efforts, and they slowly began cutting his hours before firing him in July of last year. Garcia told his story to an audience today at a panel discussion hosted by the AFL-CIO. 

The discussion's main thrust was the need for President Barack Obama to advance the rights of workers by taking executive action on immigration. Emilio said: "I'm here because it is important that while the president considers taking administrative action to protect many of our families from being deported, he also has to consider that we are all workers and will remain as easy prey of exploitative companies if we do not count with any relief."

Here are 10 ways Obama can take executive action right now to provide relief to workers:
1. Extend work authorization to as broad a portion of the undocumented population as possible by providing deferred action to all who would qualify for a pathway to citizenship.

2. Design a deferred action program that is broad, clear, not burdensome or costly and doesn't exclude those who work in part-time or temporary jobs or those who work in the underground economy.
3. Discourage employers from firing employees who do the right thing and attempt to rectify their documents and tax records.

4. Create a process to protect workers against retaliation because they form or join a union or file a health and safety violation.

5. Provide workers timely information about immigration audits to protect employees' rights on the job.

6. Terminate programs that subject workers to inconsistent local enforcement standards rather than uniform federal policies. 

7. Make sure that immigration-related violations don't lead to the criminalization of immigrant communities and ensure that no individuals are removed without due process.

8. Instruct immigration enforcement agents to make sure that carrying out their duties doesn't interfere with workers who are involved in labor disputes.

9. Clarify the standards for what constitutes a workplace crime against immigrant employees so they have more protection against unscrupulous employers.

10. Engage in more public education promoting naturalization and reduce processing fees and expand fee waivers to ensure that more low-wage workers can access citizenship.

Lorella Praeli of United We Dream (UWD) highlighted the legal significance of executive action:

In line with many legal scholars, UWD fully believes that the President has the constitutional and legal authority to defer action on individual cases and confer employment authorization to millions on the grounds of prosecutorial discretion. The President has a historic opportunity to show courage where Republicans showed cowardice by starting the process that only Congress can finish.

Nadia Marin-Molina, the National Workers' Rights coordinator for National Day Laborer Organizing Network, added:

For administrative relief to be effective, it must take the weapon of intimidation away from unscrupulous employers who have used the threat of unchecked deportations to silence workers and lower standards. Workers who build our cities should not fear being deported from them.

Sign the AFL-CIO's petition calling on President Obama to take executive action now.

I Question America- Fannie Lou Hamer

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: I Question America- Fannie Lou Hamer: Peter Dreier August 25, 2014 Fannie Lou Hamer testifying at the Democratic Party convention in Atlantic City in 196...

Groups protest Pro-corporate policies of Mexican Government and President Peña Nieto

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto praised Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers Tuesday for approving a series of immigrant-friendly laws, saying California is taking a lead role in the absence of national immigration reform.


He specifically mentioned a law that allows immigrants in the country illegally to obtain driver's licenses, a law that has yet to take effect because a final decision has not been made about the appearance of the licenses.

Watch the KCRA  report: Some protest as Mexican president visits Sacramento, speaks http://www.kcra.com/politics/mexican-president-to-face-protest-in-sacramento/27737714#ixzz3BZ0CXDM6

California also allows immigrants here illegally to apply for state-funded college scholarships and aid at public universities. And earlier this month, Brown and the Democratic legislative leaders announced a plan to spend $3 million to provide legal help for the estimated 3,900 unaccompanied immigrant children from Central America who are in the state.

Pena Nieto said such actions signaled that California was recognizing human dignity no matter a person's immigration status.

"The progress you have promoted not only benefits Californians because you have sent a very clear message to the U.S. and the entire world," he said during an address in Spanish to a joint session of the Legislature.

His visit followed Brown's trade mission to Mexico earlier this summer. The Democratic governor wants to promote greater cross-border cooperation with the country that is California's largest export market, most notably on alternative energy projects that could help combat climate change.

The Protest against Peña Nieto  organized by the Zapatista Solidarity Committee and others argued that Mexico is undemocratic and  suppresses political dissent.  A recent report ranks Mexico as seventh on the list of countries where journalists are killed.

Mexican President Peña Nieto comes to California Capitol

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto is visiting the Sacramento capitol this week and his publicity machine is in full motion getting plaudits written by paid publicists. If Governor Rick Perry came to California and made a report on the state of the economy in Texas would you accept his report without skepticism ?  As a counter balance, here are two recent posts on this blog about the actual conditions in Mexico.   The first is  excepts from a review of David Bacon’s book and the second is a post by Bacon on the PRI's assault on labor in Mexico.   There is much more to say. I recommend Bacon’s book, and the book Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey though a country’s descent into darkness.  by journalist Alfredo Corchado. (2013).

From A review of David Bacon’s The Right to Stay Home.

By Duane Campbell

The U.S. public is  engaged  in a sustained and divisive debate over immigration. Unfortunately, at the same  time , most in the  U.S. do not recognize that U.S. economic policy,  particularly NAFTA created many of  the conditions that produce the very immigration of some 8 million people  that many on the Right and the Tea Party   so oppose.

The passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994 accelerated a neo-liberal form of economic growth in Mexico that drove poor farmers, particularly in the indigenous south to lose their farms and their livelihood.  In  response  young men, and increasingly the young women,  made the dangerous trek to the U.S. in search of work and an income to feed their families and keep their families from losing their  farms.  

Enslaved - Teatro

Tribal Members rally to stop Klamath River Fish Kill

by Dan Bacher 

Over 200 Tribal members and their allies from the Trinity and Klamath river watersheds held a four-hour protest at the Bureau of Reclamation offices in Sacramento on Tuesday, August 19 to urge them to release more water from upriver dams to stop a massive fish kill. 

Members of the Yurok, Klamath and Karuk tribes, as well as leaders of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, displayed an array of signs and banners with slogans including “Fish Need Water,” “Let The River Flow,” "Give Us Our Water, " "Save The Salmon," "Tribal Rights Are Non Negotiable," "Release The Dam Water," "Undam the Klamath - Free the Trinity," "Fish Can't Swim In Money," and "Westlands Sucks The Trinity Dry." 

They demanded increased water releases, known as preventative flows, from Lewiston Dam into the Trinity River, the largest tributaryof the Klamath River, to prevent a fish kill from taking place in the currently warm and low water conditions. They also asked federal officials to release more water from Iron Gate Dam on the Klamath. 

Civil Rights Groups sue to stop deportations

The ACLU and other groups sue the U.S. to stop the summary deportations of Women and Children from Central America claiming refugee status.
http://alj.am/1q2VvCj

Michael Brown, Ferguson, and Opportunity in the U.S.

Justice for Michael Brown: Community Control of Police and Equality for All

Statement by the Democratic Socialists of America National Political Committee, August 21, 2014

Democratic Socialists of America calls for a full federal civil rights investigation into the killing of Michael Brown and an end to the militarization of local police forces. The action of the Ferguson, Missouri, police department exemplifies the dangers to the lives of ordinary Americans, particularly people of color, posed by overly aggressive, heavily armed police forces.

Over the past thirty years, federal, state and local government have abandoned commitments to fighting poverty and unemployment, conditions that disproportionately limit the life opportunities of young persons of color. Most low income youth only encounter the state as a repressive force that relegates them to a life within the prison-industrial complex, even for the most minor and non-violent of drug-related offenses. These activities rarely lead white youth to be arrested, let alone imprisoned.

In the case of Ferguson, Missouri, police-mandated media blackouts and the pervasive detainment, harassment and arrest of journalists cloud public understanding of the ongoing crisis. The constant barrage of tear gas canisters into crowds, backyards and neighborhood streets in recent days has further hampered a full understanding of the situation on the ground.

RIP - Grantland Johnson

Our friend and ally, Grantland Johnson has passed. He was an ally in the fight against NAFTA, a supporter of DSA's anti racism work, a labor ally, an ally in the struggle against the Bakke decision, against the U.S. intervention in Central America, in support of immigrants, educational reform,  and numerous other campaigns. 

By Robert D. Dávila
bdavila@sacbee.com

Published: Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014 - 1:08 pm

Grantland Johnson, a trailblazing politician who rose in rank to serve his native Sacramento as a city councilman, county supervisor and top health official in state and federal governments, died today.

He was 65 and had been receiving dialysis in recent years for kidney failure caused by hypertension and diabetes.

Johnson was widely respected in the community as a thoughtful leader with keen political instincts and a passion for ideas. Although often viewed through the prism of race – he was the first African American elected to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors – he was a conciliator who worked with disparate interests in search of solutions to common problems.

Rev. Lennox Yearwood Talks Police Brutality with Bill Fletcher, Jr.

Facts About Immigration and the U.S. Economy: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions | Economic Policy Institute

Facts About Immigration and the U.S. Economy: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions | Economic Policy Institute

Facts About Immigration and the U.S. Economy: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions | Economic Policy Institute

Facts About Immigration and the U.S. Economy: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions | Economic Policy Institute

Another Opportunity Missed

By Duane Campbell, Democracy and Education Institute

www.democracyeducationinstitute.org

California education policy makers have once again written and published a nice looking report on school curriculum – this one on the need for improved civic education.  As is the norm for these tasks, a group of “well respected” civic leaders have participated.

They have written a report, Revitalizing K-12 Civic Learning in California, and they call it a Blue Print for Action. http://www.powerofdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CLTF-Final-Report.pdf

They call for a major revision of civic education.  That is fine.

On Page 42 they call for discussion of their proposals on social media. Well, here is some discussion.

 They even recognize the diversity of California students.  They say,

“Civic learning is also vital for our increasingly diverse California society. In 2012-

2013, our 6.2 million K-12 students were 53 percent Latino, 26 percent white,

9 percent Asian and 6 percent African American, with the remaining 6 percent

comprised of other ethnicities. In addition, an increasing number of our students

are not native speakers of English. Almost 4 in 10 kindergarteners are English

language learners. This diversity, and the attention it requires, is now acknowledged

in our school funding model. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) recognizes

the necessity of investing in the reduction and ultimate removal of inequitable

outcomes in California public schools. Revitalizing civic learning opportunities, in

an equitable manner, can contribute to meeting these goals.”

While it is accurate that we have a general problem of civic engagement of the young,  it is also true that we have a very specific problem with the rate of Latino and Asian voter participation and  civic engagement.
 Rates of voting and voter registration provide a window into civic engagement.  The proportion of state voter  registration that is Latino and Asian has remained far below the proportions of these groups in the state’s overall population. In 2010, Latinos in the state made up 37.6% of the general population while they were on 21.2 % of the registered voters. The Asian population was 13.1 % of the state but  only 8.1 % of the registered voters.

The report, as is common, is well illustrated with compelling photos of very pleasant multi racial and multiethnic student faces.  They  even note  that the current History Social Science Framework and Standards are over 15 years out of date- a  reminder that the State Board of Education and the California Legislature should heed.

Two Detention Centers for Migrant Women And Children Open On 5th Anniv. of End to Family Detention

Two Detention Centers for Migrant Women And Children Open On 5th Anniv. of End to Family Detention

Five years ago immigration advocates praised the Obama administration for closing down the only large-scale detention center for immigrant women and children. Now, in response to the surge of Central American migrants caught at the border after seeking asylum, it has quietly opened two new family detention facilities that have more than 1,200 beds, and cribs.

While unaccompanied migrant children have largely been placed with family members already in the country, those who were stopped at the border with their mothers are being treated differently.

Democracy Now! has documented how more than 650 women and children, some as young as 18 months old, have been sent to an isolated detention center in Artesia, New Mexico. Watch the video above to see Democracy Now! producer Renee Feltz report on the poor conditions and lack of due process there, and the lawyers mobilizing to assist them. This week the first detainee in Artesia was granted bond as her asylum claim is processed, but it was set at $25,000, an unusually high sum since studies show refugees almost always show up to their asylum hearings.

Chicano Moratorium

August is the time to commemorate the anniversary of the historic Chicano Moratorium protest marches which were organized in joint opposition to the imperialistic Vietnam War and to the widespread discriminatory social practices we were experiencing here at home. This post includes four articles that have previously been

Massive marches targeted the Vietnam War
and injustice at home.

published in Latinopov.com and which describe the courageous acts of unity and resistance waged in the past by our community against a social system ingrained with injustice. These articles also pay homage to the martyrs of the movement who gave their lives so that our children could experience a better world and an expansion of their present rights. Unfortunately, this struggle is still being waged. Therefore, we must build on the struggles and achievements of the past such as those exemplified by the Chicano Moratorium protests in order to proceed forward and achieve further progress. History can be on our side, but only if we assert ourselves and continue to raise the level of political consciousness, organization and unity of our community to make it so.

See Latinopov.com

Jimmy Franco Sr. 

JOAN BAEZ ~ Plane Wreck At Los Gatos Canyon ~ Deportee

How the U.S. engineers coups in Latin America

How America Does Latin American Coups in the New Political Era

The days when U.S.-backed armed forces overthrew constitutional, democratically elected governments are long gone.

http://www.alternet.org/world/how-america-does-latin-american-coups-new-political-era/

Good article. The author  neglected the coup in Haiti.

A better world is possible

Harry Targ

There's something happening here

What it is ain't exactly clear…

I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound?

Everybody look--what's going down?

There's battle lines being drawn

Nobody's right if everybody's wrong

Young people speaking their minds

A gettin' so much resistance from behind…

Everybody look--what's going down?

We better stop, now, what's that sound?

Everybody look--what's going down

(From “For What It’s Worth,” Stephen Sills, Buffalo Springfield, 1967)

Meetings in Mexico, New York City and Richmond, California indicate a new time emerging. 

The Center for Global Justice, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico sponsored the conference “Moving Beyond Capitalism” (with a variety of partnering activist and scholarly organizations) which was held from July 29 to August 4. About 200 participants came from Mexico, the United States, Central America, China, and Israel. Some were progressive academics, others community activists, environmentalists, film makers, artists, and trade union representatives. The support staff included activist retirees, mostly United States citizens, who live in San Miguel.

6 People show up for militia's Border Rights Rally in San Antonio.

• 
• 
• 
• 

Murrieta Convoy Arrives in San Antonio

Videolicious video created by news@mysanantonio.com

   half-dozen people from the San Antonio area gathered to hear radio host Pete Santillitalk about illegal immigration Wednesday afternoon.

The event had been promoted online as a stop in a caravan of activists from Murrieta, California, who opposed the busing of immigrant children to a center in that city.

Instead only Santilli, flanked by men in body armor, showed up.

Posted from Latino Rebels.

César Chávez Acción Award to Rudy Acuña

Professor Rudy Acuña co-founded the nation's first Department of Chicano Studies. He is best known for his landmark history of Mexican Americans in the United States—Occupied America, A History of Chicanos. First published in 1972 and currently in its 7th edition, it has become the standard text in Chicano Studies classes throughout the United States. Today, Professor Acuña continues to teach "History of the Chicano" at California State University at Northridge.

Republican dysfunction on immigration. NYTimes Editorial

It was a remarkable two days of legislative dysfunction, even for congressional Republicans, who have been pushing the limits of unhinged governance.




The House speaker, John Boehner, tried on Thursday to pass a bill dealing with the crisis of migrant children at the Texas border — a harsh bill to deport the children more quickly to their violent home countries in Central America, and to add more layers of border enforcement. But it wasn’t harsh enough to suit the Tea Party, and it was pulled for lack of votes. The hapless House leadership had to drag members back from the start of a five-week vacation to try again on Friday.



The revised legislation sought to appease the hard-liners, who were insisting on swiftly expelling migrant children but also intent on killing the Obama administration’s program to halt the deportations of young immigrants known as Dreamers. Tea Party members believe, delusionally, that the program, called DACA, has some connection to the recent surge of child migrants, who would never qualify for it. On Friday night, the House passed a bill that dragged immigration reform so far to the right that it would never become law.





As Congress takes the rest of the summer off, there may be no two happier House Republicans than Steve King and Michele Bachmann, charter members of the “hell no” caucus that resolutely blocks all efforts at sensible immigration reform. The Senate’s attempt to address the border crisis, meanwhile, is also dead — filibustered by Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who engineered the House revolt, was exultant. Nothing will happen there until September, if then.


Meanwhile, the border crisis is still a crisis and people are suffering. The Border Patrol and refugee programs will run short of money for aiding and processing traumatized children. Immigration courts will still be overloaded, due process will continue to be shortchanged or denied. Because House Republicans killed a comprehensive reform bill that passed the Senate more than a year ago, the larger immigration system, choked by obsolete laws, backlogs and bureaucratic breakdowns, still awaits repairs.


Eleven million people are still living outside the law with no way to legalize their status. Farmers and other business owners who depend on immigrant labor are still looking to Congress to bring order and efficiency to the system. They have been waiting for at least a decade. They will have to wait some more.


Congressional nihilism has created a vacuum. Now it’s President Obama’s job to fill it, to keep his promise to end the border crisis and find ways to redirect immigration enforcement and protect possibly millions of families from unjust deportation. Of course, regardless of what he does, the system will still be marked by chaos and pain. And the hard-liners will scream at any action he takes.










Having spent the summer howling about a catastrophe at the border, Republicans are now congratulating themselves for refusing to solve it.

Republican Plan in the House

Republican Plan in the House –Passed 

     Return the children to their country.

.    Deport faster- without judicial review.

    Further militarize the border.

    Deport Dreamers.

    Get out of town.

 See reports below. 

      The victims.