Defend Immigrants' Rights

 

When ICE Comes Knocking

 

What to do if ICE comes KNOCKING - Do you know your rights? (English & Spanish) https://issuu.com/news_review/docs/ice_110918?e=2059002/65749844 dd caption

DSA Condemns Interference With Migrants Rights to Legal Counsel

Joint statement by Democratic Socialists of America Immigrants’ Rights WG and International Socialist Organization Immigrants’ Rights WG on recent human rights interference by the governments of the United States and Mexico

February 4, 2019

The undersigned organizations condemn in the strongest terms possible actions taken to disrupt legal counsel to members of the Central American Exodus. Specifically, attorneys of the bi-national nonprofit organization Al Otro Lado have been barred from travel into Mexico or forcibly removed from Mexico after the placement of alerts on their passports — this after United States authorities began actively referring asylum seekers sent back to Mexico to visit Al Otro Lado’s offices in Tijuana. These actions are mind-blowingly contradictory. DSA members from several chapters across the country have supported Al Otro Lado in a range of capacities, and we can directly attest to the importance of its mission and the organization’s vital role in migration justice.

While neither the origin or rationale of the alerts has been determined, what is abundantly clear is a pattern of obstructive behavior designed to withhold the good faith consideration of asylum that is covenanted to individuals internationally by multilateral accords. Less than a week before Al Otro Lado attorneys found their travel impeded, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security began implementing the "Migrant Protection Program,” returning asylum seekers back to Tijuana to pursue the major portion of their asylum proceedings from Mexico. Near simultaneously, the transitional shelter in Tijuana preventing the worst humanitarian outcomes was abruptly shut down, its residents turned out on the street.

Las opciones si ICE toca a su puerta | Noticiero | Noticias Telemundo

California Legislature to Protect Undocumented Immigrants

New York Times.
LOS ANGELES — Top Democratic lawmakers in California are moving to enact sweeping legislation to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation, the first sign of what they say will be an effort to resist immigration policies championed by President-elect Donald J. Trump.

The measures, which will be introduced Monday, would provide free legal help to undocumented immigrants during deportation proceedings, offer more assistance in criminal court, and further limit local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration agents. The measures contrast sharply with the kind of policies that Mr. Trump pressed on the campaign trail.

“Throughout the presidential campaign and since, the president-elect has made many troubling statements that run counter to the principles that define California today,” said Kevin de León, the Senate president pro tempore, who is backing the package. “There is no greater policy area than immigration where the comments run headlong to the values we share as Californians.”

The legislation suggests the level of opposition Mr. Trump may face in California, a state where 40 percent of the population is Latino. The leaders of both chambers of the Legislature are Latino, as is the state’s attorney general-designee, Xavier Becerra. Mr. de León said that pushing immigration measures would be a priority of the Legislature.

The bills are likely to pass, as both the chambers of California’s Legislature, as well as the governor’s office, are controlled by Democrats. The measures are the latest in a long line of immigrant-friendly policies passed by the Legislature, whose members include a number of immigrants and the children of immigrants. The state already offers in-state college tuition rates and driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants.

The Migrants Rights Movement - 2016

In 2016, we need to stop leaving people behind. It doesn’t serve our movement to use corrupt messaging that serves the needs of those in power. It divides our community into those who are deserving and those who are not and throws other oppressed communities under the bus.

It’s time for us to step up our words and our actions and drop these phrases from our own movements. Let’s end the divide-and-conquer tactics of the state and commit to liberation for all of our people.

1. We are a nation of immigrants.

The United States of America is a settler colonial nation that has been built upon the lands and the genocide of indigenous people.

2. This country was built by immigrants.

This country was built by the slavery of African people and the exploitation of oppressed people from across the world.

3. We are not criminals.

We become “criminals” the moment we set foot on U.S. territory. Our poverty, our nationality and our immigration status are profiled and criminalized and we are always “suspect” as we struggle to survive inside a racist nation that persecutes us. Many of us have made mistakes that have been highly criminalized: does that make us any less deserving to be with our loved ones? Even when we try to follow the rules set for us, we aren’t protected from the deportation machine. Millions of “law-abiding” immigrants have gotten deported. Respectability politics doesn’t keep our families together in the face of white supremacist systems and logics.

NNIR; Immigration in the next year

As a memorable 2010 comes to a close, we ask for your support of NNIRR. Giving an end-of-the year donation takes only a few minutes, and your contribution will help us to continue the fight for immigrant rights and justice. Please contribute as much as you can.

We're sure you've seen the news -- the Republicans and anti-immigrant proponents are promising to squash any proposals for genuine immigration reforms, while drumming up more anxieties through their hateful and misguided proposals like Arizona's SB 1070.Among their plans is a challenge to the 14th amendment, which ensures citizenship of those born in the U.S., including the children of undocumented immigrants. And with the 2012 general election on the horizon, anti-immigrant posturing will likely storm ahead.

So we will have a lot to do -- all of us -- to stop the further deterioration of rights and continue the fight for the well-being and safety of all immigrants and their families.