America's Voice Blog

Posted 01/30/12 at 05:33pm By Van Le

East Haven Mayor Thinks Eating Tacos Equals Reaching Out to Latinos; RI4A Delivers 500 of Them

taco bellThey’re calling it Taco-Gate.

Here’s the story: on Tuesday, the FBI arrested four East Haven Police Department officers and charged them with conspiracy, false arrest, excessive force, and obstruction of justice.  Over many years, it seems, these officers have been abusing minorities, especially Hispanics, and then trying to cover it up.  According to a New York Times article:

They stopped and detained people, particularly immigrants, without reason, federal prosecutors said, sometimes slapping, hitting or kicking them when they were handcuffed, and once smashing a man’s head into a wall. They followed and arrested residents, including a local priest, who tried to document their behavior. 

It’s disgusting stuff.  But apparently, anti-immigrant tendencies in the East Haven, Connecticut community doesn’t end there.  That very night, a reporter asked East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo what he’d  do to reach out to the embattled local Latino community.  His now infamous answer:

“I might have tacos when I go home,” Maturo said.  “I’m not quite sure yet.”

We are overwhelmed by Maturo’s compassion.

As Digby at the blog Hullaballoo put it:

We often say in these parts that conservatives don't have a sense of humor. But that's wrong. It's just that it's the kind of cruel stupid humor most of us get past before we're out of high school.

On Thursday, our friends at Reform Immigration for America fought humor with humor by asking their supporters to text a number to have a taco sent to the mayor on their behalf.  Last week, 500 tacos ended up making it to the East Haven office.  The mayor eventually put out this statement:

The events of the past few days have focused our Town, and my administration, on the need to deal sensitively and compassionately with the challenges currently facing our Town. We will continue to address those challenges while also striving to provide the services our residents have come to expect.

Which wasn’t enough of a response, it seems, for the Atlantic:

We have to say, this is a funny prank but kind of a weak protest. Did the French send Marie Antoinette 500 cakes? Okay, so they didn't have 500 cakes, and that was kind of the point. But still, no! They chopped off her head!  (We're not endorsing that method.)

Posted 01/10/12 at 06:31pm By Mahwish Khan

Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice Holds Blood Drive to Show Alabamian Solidarity Against HB 56

ACIJ blood driveOn Saturday, the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ACIJ) hosted a community blood drive “to celebrate the contributions of immigrants to our communities with caring and dignity.”

According to the press statement issued by the local coalition, which formed to fight Alabama’s monster of an immigration law, HB 56, participants “physically demonstrate that regardless of the heated rhetoric of hatred and division coming from extreme and wrongheaded political leaders, that we are one people, one family and one Alabama.”

Victoria L. Colman from Alabama.com notes that 72 people showed up at a local church to show their commitment and solidarity.  According to her report on the blood drive:

Cesar Mata, an ACIJ member and one of the drive's volunteer coordinators, said he and other ACIJ members came up with the idea for the event during one of the organization's planning meetings.

"I wanted to show that immigrants are here and that we went to contribute to the state," Mata said.  "I wanted to show that we're not just asking for things, we want to give too.”

…”We are one family, one Alabama and the best gift is to give the gift of life for our Alabama brothers," Mata said. "I don't care if my blood goes to Gov. (Robert) Bentley or Scott Beason." 

Alabama’s HB 56 was put into effect in September of last year, and is considered the worst immigration laws in the country. The law borrows language from Arizona’s hated SB 1070, which was in large part written by Kris Kobach, an anti-immigrant law professor and Kansas’ Secretary of State. Besides initially turning teachers into ICE officers, the law still make it so that it is criminal for undocumented immigrants to receive water or other utilities.

More from Joey Kennedy’s blog post about the event:

Learning as much as possible about immigration in general and Alabama's overreaching immigration law, in particular, along with strategies for repealing or revising this xenophobic legislation, are important for those who oppose the law.

And maybe some of the law's enthusiastic supporters should drop by to donate blood as well. As the AJIC points out: "We all bleed the same blood, and we all need blood donations in times of accidents or surgeries." And maybe, these folks can meet some of the decent, good people they're so afraid of. That might change a few minds.

Sign the petition against HB 56, or visit the ACIJ website for more information on what you can do to help fight against this egregious law.   

Posted 12/06/11 at 09:42am By Mahwish Khan

Occupy Birmingham Teams Up With Immigrant Rights Activists to Protest Gadsden Detention Center

Detention CenterOn Saturday, December 3, William Anderson, Ingrid Chapman, and Victor Palafox – some of my favorite organizers in Alabama  – teamed up with Occupy Birmingham and organized a protest of the Etowah County detention center in Gadsden, Alabama. According to Occupy Birmingham, followers of the popular “Occupy Wall Street” movement:

Opposition to the undue influence of money and corporate interests on the country’s politics has been one of the driving forces behind the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York as well as the hundreds of solidarity movements across the country. The same is true of the Occupy Birmingham movement, which plans to call attention to the link between corporate influence over state politics and Alabama’s new, repressive immigration policy, H.B. 56.

Various Occupy movements throughout the country have allied themselves with immigrant rights activists, frequently including a call for the DREAM Act and end to deportations in their list of grievances. In the end of November, Occupy LA called for "Los Angeles to be declared a sanctuary city for the undocumented, deportations to be discontinued and cooperation with immigration authorities be ended – including the turning in of arrestees’ names to immigration authorities," according to Southern California Public Radio. 

According to Lisa Rogers of The Gadsden Times, a crowd of about 150 to 200 people marched in the block near the courthouse and Etowah County Detention Center, yelling chants, such as “This is what democracy looks like,” “No papers. No fears," and "Immigrants are marching here.”

At one point, detainees, who were watching from the window, held up signs to thank the protestors for taking a stance.

“As I was leading chants I saw this and was temporarily silenced,“ writes William Anderson on his facebook page. “Makes you feel ...hopeful, yet haunted. People behind me looked confused, but I was choked up by the signs the detainees pressed to the window. ‘Help’, ‘I miss my children’, ‘Hungry’,’ Justice’…”

The Birmingham News reports that the Etowah County Commission approved on Nov. 1 for ICE to lease the third floor of the Etowah County Courthouse, an addition to the space it already leases from the county in the detention center. The Gadsden Times newspaper reported that ICE will pay about $111,000 a year to lease the jail and courthouse space.

Be sure to visit Occupy Birmingham's facebook page and thank them for standing up for immigrants who are being oppressed by the country's harshest immigration law. 

Posted 10/21/11 at 02:36pm By Mahwish Khan

Rally Against HB 56 Cruelty in Birmingham, Alabama With Congressman Luis Gutierrez (IL)

Rep Gutierrez Rally in Birmingham, ALabamaRep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) is visiting Alabama for a series of events on Saturday, which will end with a rally in Fair Park Arena at 4 PM. Rep. Gutierrez has long championed the issue of immigration reform, and was even arrested in 2010 and 2011 while protesting deportations under the Obama administration.

The Facebook page for the event notes that the event is being held under the “Alabama United: One Family, One Alabama” banner, hosted by the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice and La Jefa Radio Station. The rally “aims to show the unity of the people Alabama in the face of extreme injustice and man-made disaster.”

According to the press release from Guiterrez’s office today:

"Alabama's 'papers please' law has created a huge civil rights crisis for Latinos and all Americans across the nation," Congressman Gutierrez said.  "When people are scared to send U.S. citizen kids to school because a state has asserted its alleged right to sow discrimination and division, there is something very wrong in America.  When local governments deny access to water unless you can prove your status, when judges say you can only press charges against an abusive husband if you are willing to be deported, when a law turns neighbor against neighbor, we have to shine a spotlight on it and say: this is not America."

The Congressman is calling on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano to suspend the deportation of immigrants with no criminal background who are picked up by Alabama authorities at least until Attorney General Eric Holder's challenges to the constitutionality of the law have been adjudicated.  Congressman Gutierrez led the national effort that resulted in revised federal deportation guidelines announced in August that target serious criminals and national security risks, but direct federal authorities not to pursue prosecution against immigrants with deep roots in their communities and no criminal activity, including military families, DREAM Act students, and the immediate families of U.S. citizens.

 The rally tomorrow is in part to show immigrants in Alabama that they are not alone, but also intends to show legislators in the state that Alabamians will not stand for HB 56 cruelty.

If you’re in Birmingham or thereabouts, don’t miss the rally tomorrow (Saturday, October 22nd, 2011) at 4:00 p.m. at Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, AL, and stand up for the dignity of all people and against HB 56.

Also, feel free to tweet about HB 56 using #CrisisAL. @AmericasVoice will be on standby to retweet.

Here's a map for the event:

 


View Larger Map

Posted 07/27/11 at 04:57pm By Web Team

Rep. Gutierrez and Others Arrested as They Protest “One Million Deported Under President Obama”

Rep. Gutierrez arrested in front of white houseWritten by Sofia Navas-Sharry:

“Yes, you can! Yes, you can!”

Those were the words that were chanted at the NCLR conference when Obama said that he couldn't just bypass Congress and change the laws on his own. The truth is that he actually can grant administrative relief to a number of undocumented immigrants. Clearly, he's not getting the message that on immigration, some bold, executive action is desperately needed.

Enter stage right: Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill), and ten other peaceful protesters, including Deepak Bhargava from the Center for Community Change and Gustavo Torres from Casa de Maryland. They, on Tuesday afternoon, sat down in front of the White House, practically knocking on his door, to deliver that message. The group sat in front of a banner which read “One million deported under President Obama.”

According to the authorities, they were arrested for “violating regulations for demonstrations in front of the White House” and “disobeying an official to come in compliance.” What they were really doing was protesting the many undocumented immigrants who have been deported during Obama's three years in office.

This is not the first time Rep. Gutierrez has been arrested for protesting in front of the White House. In May 2010, he announced that he would not move from in front of the White House until he was arrested...or until comprehensive immigration reform had passed. This time, Gutierrez and the others want the President to use his executive authority to stop deportations.

According to the New York Times:

In a letter to Gutierrez on Monday, Obama rejected his proposal to suspend deportations of undocumented college students with noncriminal records...“It didn’t disappoint me as much as I was saddened,” said Gutierrez after paying his $100 fine and was released by the police.

In his letter, Mr. Obama argued that immigration authorities had succeeded in increasing the numbers of convicted criminals among immigrants who are deported, while deporting fewer immigrants who lack legal status but have not been convicted of any crime.

But this Campus Progress infographic on non-criminal vs. criminal deportations tells a different story.

These are some of the brightest and most hard-working people in America, and it's incredibly unfortunate that they are being sent back to countries where they have no future. Why does Obama’s administration continue to rip mothers, fathers, and scholars -- much needed brain- and man-power -- away from our nation? Deporting a record number of immigrants is not the record that President Obama can afford to stand behind -- not in this economy, or with the election next year.

Posted 05/06/11 at 06:56pm By Pili Tobar

BREAKING: Florida’s Anti-immigration Bills Are Dead

lopez cantera and floresToday, anti-immigration bills, SB 2040 and HB 7098, died as the legislative session winds to an end in Florida.

The Miami Herald has the obituary:

The fierce fight to crack down on illegal immigration ended — for this year — in the Florida Legislature on Friday when House and Senate lawmakers reached the end of the 60-day session without an agreement.

State senators signed off on their more lenient proposal on Wednesday. But by then, it was too late for the House to take up the measure.

SB 2040 and HB 7098 allowed police to act as immigration officials and verify the immigration status of people they take into custody. The bills also required employers to corroborate job applicants’ immigration status through the federal e-verify program. These controversial bills were met with much opposition by different sectors of the community leaving Florida legislators in a very vulnerable position. 

Florida legislators have been under tremendous pressure and scrutiny this past week after the Latino community, business and agriculture industries and immigration rights advocates all came out in strong opposition to the bills and demanded the bills be stopped. Florida’s economy can’t afford an immigration law, much less an anti-immigrant law. The unintended consequences to a state that relies heavily on tourism and investment would be devastating.  

On April 20th immigrant rights advocates began running ads against Latino members of the state legislature that supported these immigration bills. The ads aired on several Spanish language radios for over a week.  These ads targeted Senator Anitere Flores, the original sponsor of SB 2040, and Representative Carlos López-Cantera, at the time a strong supporter of HB 7098.

The ads echoed that anti-immigrant, anti-Hispanic bills hurt, but they hurt even more when they come from or are supported by one of our own. In response to the ads, Rep. López-Cantera clarified his position and spoke against immigration bills in Florida. He said Florida isn’t Arizona and doesn’t need an Arizona type law. Sen. Anitere Flores eventually withdrew from SB 2040 and explained she was no longer behind SB 2040 and would not support an Arizona style bill for Florida either.

The ads asked Sen. Flores and Rep. López-Cantera whether supporting these immigration bills was worth betraying their communities. Evidently, the response was NO.  The Latino community made it clear, Latino lawmakers won't be allowed to support a bill that would be harmful to the immigrant population.

The defeat of SB 2040 and HB 7098 is a great victory for immigrant rights advocates, faith, business and agriculture leaders who worked so hard with the Hispanic Community to ensure the anti-immigrant, harmful bills did not pass.

Yesterday, Politico noted the role of the Hispanic community in the defeat of the Arizona-like bills:

A targeted radio campaign by the group Democracia Inc. and its allies may have caused two Hispanic Florida Republicans to back away from their support of a controversial immigration bill.

Sen. Anitere Flores and House Majority Leader Carlos Lopez-Cantera were both targets of a Spanish-language ad buy against the bill that questioned both their commitments to the Hispanic community — and both quickly backed down in the face of community pressure.

"Sen. Anitere Flores is sponsoring an anti-immigrant law that will affect not only undocumented immigrants, but all of us who are immigrants or refugees and who prefer to speak Spanish. It's a law like the one in Arizona that has been called "discriminatory" by groups representing us" said the narrator in the ad against Flores. "An anti-immigrant, anti-Hispanic law hurts, but it hurts more when it is one of us who is sponsoring it."

No immigration bill will pass in the state of Florida, at least not for now. However, we’re not out of the woods forever. Florida doesn’t need an immigration bill and the mere possibility of one tarnishes the appeal of the state for both tourism and business investments.

The question Florida legislators should ask themselves next time they think of introducing an immigration bill should be: Is passing an immigration bill in Florida worth ruining the states’ economy and reputation? Is it worth throwing the Latino community on your back? – Think about it.

I did, my answer was NO.

Posted 03/18/11 at 02:46pm By Adam Luna

Help Stop the Deportation of Georgia Dreamer, Mario

Mario Aregullin

Since Christmas, Mario has been sitting in a Georgia detention center. Though he’s been in the United States since he was a baby, he was forced to spend Christmas, New Year’s, and Valentine's Day away from his family, friends, and his bride-to-be, Brandy. 

It was only days before his wedding when Mario was pulled over and arrested on his way to meet up with Brandy, a U.S. citizen who doesn’t speak Spanish.

Mario is upstanding member of his community. He graduated from high school in 2008 and enrolled in technical school. On top of that, he is an active member of his church, and everyone who knows him says he has outstanding moral character.

  But more than anything, Mario wants the chance to be able to to start a life together with Brandy.
 
Unless we act now, Mario could see this future slip away. You can help by sending a fax to local ICE officials telling them to stop his deportation. Let them know that upstanding people like Mario shouldn't even be making it on to their list of those to be deported.

Mario would qualify for the DREAM Act, a piece of legislation supported by a majority of the American people. The bill would allow for undocumented youth, like Mario, to earn legal status upon completion of two years of military service or two years of college—provided they were brought to the United States at a young age.  Though it was up for a vote in the Senate toward the end of last year  (around the time Mario was detained ), forty-one Senators decided to play the Christmas Grinch and denied thousands of hard-working young people a chance at bettering their lives and contributing to society. All despite the fact that legislation has majority support in the public and in Congress.

 

Posted 03/17/11 at 06:20pm By Adam Luna

Take Action Against Kansas State Rep. Virgil Peck (R) Who Suggested Shooting Immigrants

Virgil PeckThis week, we reported how Kansas State Representative Virgil Peck suggested shooting immigrants from helicopters as a way to control the border. It’s pretty hard to believe, but he said it:

"It looks like to me if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works maybe we have found a [solution] to our illegal immigration problem."

Regardless of your views on immigration reform, we can all agree that hate speech like this from supposedly responsible leaders is reprehensible. The normalization of hate is no laughing matter – and the incitement of mass murder is against the law.

That’s why we’re calling on the US Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate whether Rep. Peck’s call for the mass murder of immigrants violates federal law prohibiting the incitement of domestic terrorism and genocide, and whether his targeting individuals based on their race or national origin violate civil rights laws.

To add your name to the petition, click here.  Hate crimes against Latinos and immigrants are on the rise, and it’s time we hold politicians responsible for their actions.

Posted 01/25/11 at 10:44am By Adam Luna

A Message from Pedro, the Would-Be Arizona Marine Who Could Be Deported

Pedro—an orphan who grew up American and dreams of serving in the Marine Corps —faced imminent deportation last week from the country he hopes to serve.

Pedro's community bolted into action -- and so did you.

Last week, over ten thousand faxes were sent on Pedro's behalf, and this activism made a huge difference. Just moments before his scheduled deportation, Pedro received a 30-day reprieve. Now, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency is again reviewing Pedro's case.

Watch a message from Pedro and then share Pedro’s story with your family and friends -- and if you haven't already, send a fax to DHS and ICE, telling them that Pedro has your support:

Though we've already sent over 10,000 faxes to ICE and DHS officials, we can’t stop now.  Pedro could still be deported in just a few weeks, and there is less than a month to convince ICE that deporting an orphan and would-be marine is simply un-American.

Please share Pedro’s story with your family and friends, and ask them to send a fax, too.

Pedro is counting on us. Let's not let him down.

Posted 01/18/11 at 12:04pm By Adam Luna

Stop Pedro From Being Deported Today

Pedro GutierrezUpdate: Pedro Gutierrez just received some good news. While he is still at risk for deportation, he was granted a 30 day window by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ‘s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency office in Phoenix, AZ to remain in the country while his case is being reviewed.

Pedro Gutierrez, an orphan who grew up in Arizona, was brought here by his grandmother when he was only 7 years old. Though she passed away when Pedro was still a child, Pedro persevered and, with the support of his community, went on to graduate high school.

Like so many other dedicated young DREAMers, Pedro dreams of joining the Marines; however, despite having full support of a military recruiter, this young dreamer could be deported to Mexico – where he has no family or friends -- today.

 We cannot let this happen, and there are a number of things you can do to help:

  1. Send a fax to DHS.

  2. Post the link as your facebook status and invite friends to send letters.

  3. Tweet about it and let your followers know that action must be taken today.

Countless numbers of undocumented youth and their supporters were counting on the DREAM Act to pass toward the end of last year, but most Republican Senators --  along with a few Democrats --  decided to block it. Now, we must again fight to protect DREAMers like Pedro from deportation. As we find new ways to pressure Congress to pass the DREAM Act and urge President Obama to change the way ICE does business, one thing is clear: right now, Pedro desperately needs your help.

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