California Senate passes Trust Act

State Comes Full Circle from Prop 187 Days to Model Smart Immigration Enforcement

Washington, DC – Yesterday, California took a key step in positioning itself as the “anti-Arizona” on immigration enforcement, with the state Senate passing a bill that would restore common sense to the proper role for states with respect to immigration.  In fact, California was the first state to embrace an SB 1070-like measure with the passage of Proposition 187 in 1994.  Fortunately, the state has now come full circle and is breaking new ground by passing what we see as the “anti”-187 and “anti”-SB 1070: the TRUST Act.

The TRUST Act passed the California Senate with a 21-13 vote, moving the bill to the State Assembly, where it is also expected to pass.  As the Los Angeles Times explains, the TRUST Act would “prohibit police and sheriff’s officials from detaining arrestees for possible deportation unless the suspects have previous convictions for a serious or violent felony. The measure is aimed at blunting federal immigration enforcement, in particular the Secure Communities program, under which fingerprints of arrestees are shared with immigration officials who issue hold orders.”  The federal “Secure Communities” program was created to target serious offenders, but has been widely criticized by elected officials, law enforcement and others for sweeping up tens of thousands of immigrants without criminal records and destroying immigrants’ relationship with the police.  That is why the California legislature—and, hopefully, soon the Governor—are taking concrete steps to address this with the TRUST Act.

"Show me your papers" - Arizona

In allowing the notorious "show me your papers" provision of Arizona's SB 1070 bill, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively supports the rollback of rights and protections that have been long fought for and honored in this country -- specifically,  the freedom from racial discrimination. Importantly, the Court struck down the other three provisions that had been challenged in the case.
Ruling on whether or not the "show me your papers" provision (Section 2B) "pre-empted" federal authority in immigration, the highest court in the country decided it was "premature" to block it. However, we are alarmed that this provision, very much the heart of SB 1070, can only be implemented through racial profiling.
The provision requires state and local law enforcement to determine the immigration status of any person lawfully stopped, detained or arrested whenever there is "reasonable suspicion" that the person may be undocumented, and to verify that person's status with the federal government.
As an Arizona community leader has pointed out, "and we know what 'reasonable suspicion' is: brown skin."
Although the ruling left open the potential for legal challenges on the implementation of the law, we are deeply concerned, in the meantime, about the rights and protections of our communities in Arizona. Already, it has been the practice of police in the Tucson sector to "hold" people they have stopped for 20 minutes until they can make contact with a federal agent - not a problem given that there are literally thousands of Border Patrol agents constantly milling around, particularly with the decrease in cross border migration. This practice will undoubtedly increase the number of immigrants who are being detained and deported simply because they were driving their children to school, going to a grocery store, or just going about their daily lives.

Supreme Court blocks some of Arizona SB 1070

 The U.S. Supreme court today struck down most provisions of the Arizona law SB 1070 while sustaining one of its most controversial provisions.

The court sustained the “show me your papers” provision of the law that requires state law enforcement officers to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest.

The most conservative members of the court voted to sustain the entire law.  Imagine this.  Judges who consider themselves conservative support a law that requires all persons to carry papers to show their immigration/citizenship status.   This is a practice most often found in repressive regimes such as that of Syria or Nazi Germany.

The decision was a partial victory for the Obama administration, which had sued to block several parts of the law.

Developments in the immigrants' rights arena

Last Friday, President Obama announced he would grant "deferred action" on deportation to certain young immigrants eligible under specific guidelines for a two-year period. While we welcome this decision, we also recognize its limitations in scope and implementation. Some immigrant youth will have much-needed reprieve, but countless others in our communities will continue to fall through the net. Our struggle continues. Several key developments in recent months - from the SCOTUS hearing on SB 1070 to Alabama's HB 658 to the new Border Patrol strategy - illustrate the challenges that we continue to face as diverse communities and as a movement for rights, justice and dignity of all people. We hope you'll join us in this journey as we continue to affirm the need to offer real opportunities for adjustment of status, a generous legalization program that upholds our humanity and respects our dignity.
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Supreme Court ruling on SB 1070 expected  

Later this month, the Supreme Court is slated to announce their final ruling on Arizona's anti-immigrant racial profiling law, SB 1070. What does this mean for our communities and how will we respond? We have compiled a few key resources to help make sense of it all.  Read more... 

Delusions with the Democratic Party in Arizona

An Illusion Becomes a Delusion

Maybe I am Missing Something

By

Rodolfo F. Acuña

The delusion takes over in ordinary life to the point that we develop a false consciousness.  During 911, for example, many Americans were convinced that we never violated the sovereignty of another state, although history is replete with examples to the contrary.

Thus, our delusions obfuscate reality. We don’t know that Donald Duck is not real.

I guess illusions are great if you want to control children by fixating them on the television tube.  But when the illusions become delusions and create false consciousness we have a problem.

This is how I felt about my last article dealing with the Arizona Democratic Party, criticizing its neglect by not building a core and its failure to protect the rights and interests of Latinos within that state. A small sector of readers reacted as if I were criticizing Holy Mother the Church. 

Their defense of the Democratic Party was delusional. I am accustomed to the excuse, “Well I vote Democrat because it is better of two evils.” I can buy that, but to say that the Party is looking out for the interests of Mexicans in Arizona is a bit much.

The email that bothered me most was from Luis Heredia, a longtime Democratic Party operative. Heredia worked for Raul Grijalava more than a dozen years ago. Since then he has tied his kite to the official Party bureaucracy.  His brother is the head of the Arizona Mi Familia Vota.

Moral Authority and the U.S. Supreme Court- Acuña

and La Mordida, by Rodolfo F. Acuña.

Direct forms of political control are easy to figure out. For a time, laws and police agencies can keep things together. However, most institutions and societies depend on social control to deceive people into thinking that they live in a democracy. They use processes that socialize them into believing that those in control have moral authority.

Belief systems exert a greater control on behavior than laws. For example, religion maintains control through laws. Nevertheless, institutions such as the Catholic Church maintain control more through their moral authority than their laws. A society does not stay together for a long period of time through the use of coercive powers alone.

Historical events such as the Black Plague in the first part of the 14^th Century shook the Church’s moral authority and two centuries later the Protestant Revolt ended the hegemony of Catholicism in Europe. No one can predict what effect the Church’s pedophile scandal will have. One thing for sure is that the scandal has reduced the moral authority of the Church Fathers and their interpretation of what god wants.

In the similar vein, government has suffered a loss of moral authority. This is good and bad; one thing is for sure it is leading to a divided society. Although the number of southern states passing anti-immigrant laws has grown to over a half dozen and they are flushed with emotion, it must be remembered that California and New York alone dwarf the population numbers and wealth of the red states.

Much has been written about the growth of the Latino population and its voting power. But truth be told, Latinos are growing increasingly disaffected with government and most are cynical about its fairness.

The institution that has taken the hardest hit in the past dozen years is the Supreme Court.

Support a progressive Democrat

I’ve sent you a short Bio of Wenona in previous e-mails. If you want me to re-send it, let me know, and I will.

Wenona is trying to get the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to support her campaign. That support translates into MILLIONS of dollars in contributions (cash as well as in-kind resources, such as staff, mailings, television ads, etc.).

The choice for the DCCC is, in my estimation, very simple. The DCC has to choose between Wenona and Wenona’s Democratic Primary opponent, Anne Kirkpatrick, who served one term in Congress before being ousted due to her having turned her back on her base: Latinos, Native Americans, Labor, environmentalists, and progressives.

A couple of relevant examples that illustrate the stark difference between Wenona and Kirkpatrick:

*   Kirkpatrick supports SB 1070. She opposed the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against SB 1070. Kirkpatrick called the DOJ lawsuit a “sideshow” and insisted that SB 1070 be allowed to stand.

*   Kirkpatrick did not vote for the Dream Act the two times it came before the House during her tenure.

*   Kirkpatrick voted for the Bush tax cuts that benefited the wealthy at the expense of the middle class and working families.

In contrast, since the signing of SB 1070, Wenona has been at the forefront of the opposition to SB 1070. For example, she traveled to Mesa, AZ, to gather petition signatures to recall Russell Pearce and on election day canvassed key precincts in Mesa and worked the phones in the historic recall of Russell Pearce.

And Wenona has stood, and continues to stand, with the DREAMers in their principled struggle to get the Dream Act passed.

And Wenona has been very active in the struggle to save the Mexican American Studies program in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD).

Arizona SB 1070 to Supreme Court


You and I have witnessed the fallout from the current patchwork of state immigration laws: while we win victories in California and Illinois, we face devastating moral and humanitarian crises in Alabama and Arizona. A stance must be taken at the federal level to ensure that we can move forward to reform our immigration system as an entire nation.

Next month, the US Supreme Court will take on Arizona’s extreme anti-immigrant law, SB 1070.



The impact of the Supreme Court’s decision on SB 1070 can’t be overstated. For all those who have fought back against this racist law for nearly two years, this could be the moment our government declares once and for all that state-sponsored hate and racial profiling will be not be tolerated.

While the justices debate, we will be in the streets and online across the country, calling for justice and equality under the law for all immigrant families. We are planning for a week of action with national and grassroots partners, to make sure the court knows that the entire country will be following their decision.



Donna DeLa Cruz

Pearce defeated in Arizona

New America Media, News Report, Valeria Fernandez, Posted: Nov 09, 2011

MESA, Ariz. -- Mesa voters got their say in a historical election that resulted in the recall of Republican Senator Russell Pearce, also known as the architect of SB 1070.

Pearce conceded defeat in a brief press conference in the City of Mesa surrounded by politicians, friends and controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

“If being recalled is the cost of keeping one's promises, then so be it,” said Pearce.

His opponent, Republican Jerry Lewis, expressed surprise. “I think people were tired of the vitriolic politics,” he said.

Pearce will be required to step down immediately from office once the results are made official. His recall marks the success of a new strategy of political organizing in Arizona that brought together a diverse array of voters representing various religious and political affiliations.

“This is an exciting time for Arizona. We are (heading) in a new direction. We are saying, 'No' to the extreme divisive politics of Russell Pearce,” said Randy Parraz, co-founder of Citizens for a Better Arizona (CBA), the group that started the recall more than 10 months ago.

Arizona's experiment in Democracy Failing;

Arizona's Experiment in Democracy Failing... Badly

By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez

The experiment in Democracy seems to be failing badly in Arizona. Here, government, the state legislature, law enforcement, the educational system, the courts and the media are a testament to this colossal failure. Here, rampant hate and bigotry starts at the top and here, it is government by [ugly] mob rule.

A court proceeding earlier this month in Phoenix – with a decision expected any day now – attests to this experiment gone awry; the court hearing was as absurd as the daily Kangaroo trials in Tucson known as Operation Streamline (70 migrants are charged, tried, convicted and sentenced in one hour). This Phoenix proceeding was part of an appeals process, being held to determine whether Tucson’s Mexican American Studies (MAS) Department is out of compliance with HB 2281, the state’s anti Ethnic Studies or mind control measure. The program graduates nearly 100% of its students and sends over 70% percent of them to college. Yet, these phenomenal accomplishments are of little consequence for those trying to eliminate it.

SB 1070- Arizona Immigrants networks are stronger

One Year After SB 1070, Arizona's Immigrant Networks Are Stronger

By Valeria Fernandez
 New America Media

It’s a warm afternoon at a trailer park in Central Phoenix as Isidro Carreras sets up chairs on his lawn. Neighbors start arriving gradually, until a group of about 30 people has gathered in a circle.

The session of the Comité de Defensa del Barrio (Neighborhood Defense Committee) is about to begin. The group is one of many that was formed with the help of the pro-immigrant organization PUENTE as a support network for immigrant families in the wake of the passage of Arizona's tough immigration law, SB 1070.

One year after Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill into law, making it a state crime to be an undocumented immigrant in Arizona, immigrant networks have grown stronger. Two years ago, there were no Neighborhood Defense Committees here. Now there are about 20 of these immigrant groups in different parts of Phoenix alone.

“SB 1070 really hurt us, but also united us as one,” says Carreras, a 57-year-old undocumented immigrant from Veracruz, Mexico.

Last summer, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked five provisions of SB 1070 from taking effect, a decision that was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last week. But the rest of the law has been implemented, including a provision that bans so-called “sanctuary cities”—cities that limit police involvement in immigration enforcement.

Arizona and Multicultural Education

Multicultural education conference

The  Sacramento conference  on November 6 began with an excellent presentation by Dr. Eugene Garcia, a prominent researcher on Latino school achievement. and a  vice president for education partnerships at Arizona State University.  The morning speech was to some 600 students and teachers from the Sacramento community.

Garcia explained Arizona’s new immigration policies and the infamous SB 1070, and how it affects the education of children. 

"Arizona is taking a set of steps to mitigate what they perceive to be the negative effects of immigrants, particularly Mexican immigrants. There's a very ambiguous and negative climate towards Latinos in Arizona," Garcia said. "The idea here is to present a set of commentaries and analysis, research that we've done."

Garcia described dramatic demographic changes in Arizona ,  California and the Southwest leading to a 400% increase in Latino students in the last 30 years.  Of these students over 70% are U.S. citizens, but they are citizens impacted by the immigration experience.

In Arizona specifically, crime is down.   Employment and prosperity was actually up prior to the current national economic crisis. 

Community groups blast Arizona SB 1070

U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton's ruling yesterday temporarily halting select provisions ofArizona's SB1070 is a good start towards defeating the controversial legislation. Unfortunately, the ruling leaves intact the status quo of anti-immigrant racial profiling and immigration-police collaboration, setting the groundwork for heightened harassment and arrests of immigrants.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton's ruling yesterday temporarily halting select provisions ofArizona's SB1070 is a good start towards defeating the controversial legislation. Unfortunately, the ruling leaves intact the status quo of anti-immigrant racial profiling and immigration-police collaboration, setting the groundwork for heightened harassment and arrests of immigrants.

Judge Temporarily Blocks Provisions of SB1070

The ruling let stand a section on day laborers in which police will be allowed to charge persons with "harboring and transporting" immigrants who have no valid immigration documents.

Day of Action. July 29

NNIRR calls on members, partners, allies and friends tojoin in a national day of actions against SB1070, the Arizona anti-immigrant racial profiling law this July 29. SB1070 can be stopped by demanding and organizing for justice and human rights for all!

NNIRR is urging the Obama Administration to use all resources at its disposal to stop SB1070 -- and to end ALL immigration-police collaboration.

SB1070 is set to go into effect on July 29, giving Arizona police the power to stop and arrest anyone they suspect of being undocumented. The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against SB1070 to declare it unconstitutional; the DOJ is arguing that the state law usurps federal powers to regulate immigration.

Arizona community groups and their partners are leading dynamic efforts to oppose SB1070 and are organizing diverse actions andcampaigns like "Move the Game" to expose and build pressure to stop the hateful law.