March in Austin, Texas for Immigrants' Rights

Hi Friends, In Texas and across the country, people are coming together for a unity rally in Austin, Texas on September 2nd.  Will your organization join the effort?   Texas is the new ground zero in the fight for immigrant rights and for Latino equality.  The politics of racism, scapegoating, and xenophobia are emboldened, and the risk of it spreading to other states is real.  The governor has already signed legislation mandating racial profiling, threatened legal action to end legal protections for Dreamers, and endorsed the repugnant strategy that seeks to make life unbearable for Latinos so that they “self-deport” from the state. In the face of these attacks, the response from our sisters and brothers in Texas has been inspiring.  Immigrant and civil rights leaders are organizing in unprecedented ways, and together, sending a clear message that communities will defy this extremist agenda. In support of our members, partners, and those fighting from the bottom-up, we launched #BastaTexas - a website, a frame, and a hub to lift up and connect bold, creative, and effective efforts to resist and overcome the attacks on immigrants and people of color. On September 2, we are joining efforts to plan a unity march, rally, and concert in Austin.   Will you endorse the September 2nd action and help us build a movement to turn the tide in Texas?  Endorse the event here.  And share the FB event.  - NDLON team PS.  And if you’re ready to travel to key cities in Texas to help organize for the coming weeks, let us know, and join the Freedom Summer volunteers!

Texas Protests Over SB 4 Lead to Call to ICE

By the end of the state legislative session in Texas on Monday, the Capitol had devolved into scuffles and grave accusations. A Democratic lawmaker had accused his GOP colleague of threatening to "put a bullet" in another lawmaker's head. That GOP state representative, meanwhile, accused a counterpart of threatening his life, saying he was prepared to use his gun in self-defense.

To understand how the day ended this way, one must first rewind to its start.

Earlier Monday, demonstrators gathered in the Capitol to protest a recently signed law aimed at what have come to be known as "sanctuary cities" — or cities that, as NPR's Nina Totenberg put it, "have limited their cooperation with federal immigration authorities." Earlier this month Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law, which also allows "police to inquire about the immigration status of anyone they detain, a situation that can range from arrest for a crime to being stopped for a traffic violation," according to The Associated Press.

Protesters from around the state descended on the Legislature, first watching Monday's session in silence then gradually growing louder. The demonstrators, many of whom were Latino and dressed in red, shouted slogans from the second-floor viewing area, eventually interrupting the proceedings below.

Miguel Amante - Jefe de policía de Laredo reacciona a aprobación de la ...