Neighborhood Block Party in Woodburn on August 6th

COMMUNITY NIGHT: NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK PARTY!
Join us for a Night of Fellowship, Food, Fun and Games!

When: Saturday, August 6th From 6PM-10PM

Where: Country Lane St. Woodburn, OR 97071

Purpose of Event is to provide:
- Contact Information to create Neighborhood Relationships and a Safer community
- More Information on CAUSA’s work and civic engagement

For More Information, Contact Lorena Manzo at (503) 984-4823

Sponsored by CAUSA Oregon and Country Lane Neighbors

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Dissecting the HALT Act

The following release comes from the Immigration Policy Center (IPC).  The Immigration Policy Center is the research and policy arm of the American Immigration Council. IPC's mission is to shape a rational national conversation on immigration and immigrant integration.

Dissecting the HALT Act
Last Safety Valves in Immigration System Under Attack

Washington D.C. - Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 26, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement will hold a hearing on the “Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation Act” (HALT Act), a bill that would suspend discretionary forms of immigration relief until January 21, 2013—the day after the next Presidential inauguration.

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Memorial Today for Nathaniel "Nacho" Cordova

On monday,  we posted the sad news with very heavy hearts at the loss of a friend of CAUSA and an ally in the cause for social justice. Our friend, Nathaniel Cordova died on Saturday in a motorcycle accident.

Nacho, as he was known by all who knew him, was a professor and the chair of Rhetoric and Media Studies at Willamette University. He was a strong supporter of CAUSA, attending many of our May Day celebrations and events and being a vocal advocate for civil rights and social justice. He was a loving father and devoted husband and there is no shortage of people whose lives he has touched as a professor, a colleague, a friend and a fellow human being.

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Executive Director of SHARE, Jose Artiga visits Portland

Portland, Ore.-- On Monday, Jose Artiga, Executive Director of the California-based SHARE Foundation. met with a group in Portland to talk about the current economic, environmental, and political struggles in El Salvador and the importance of the upcoming elections.   Salvadoran appetizers and live music accompanied the evening of great conversation.

SHARE's mission is to strengthen solidarity with and among the Salvadoran people in El Salvador and the United States in the struggle for economic sustainability, justice, and human and civil rights.

Here are some photos from the evening:

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Jose Antonio Vargas interviewed on Colbert Nation

Last Night, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas was interviewed by Stephan Colbert of the Colbert Report where he discussed his life as an undocumented immigrant in America.

Vargas made headlines last month after admitting publicly that he has been in the United States without documentation since childhood. On June 22nd,  Vargas' personal essay about his life was published in the New York Times Sunday Edition.  The award winning reporter hoped that his personal story would raise awareness about the plight of undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as innocent children.

Here is his interview from last night on the Colbert Nation:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Jose Antonio Vargas
www.colbertnation.com

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More Fear and Loathing from the House Judiciary Committee

The following release comes from the Immigration Policy Center. The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research and policy arm of the American Immigration Council. IPC's mission is to shape a rational national conversation on immigration and immigrant integration.

More Fear and Loathing from the House Judiciary Committee

Committee to Take Up Reps. Smith and Goodlatte's Restrictive Immigration Bills

Washington, D.C. (June, 13, 2011) – Tomorrow, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take up two immigration bills that supposedly address community safety, but in reality are simply the latest attempts to restrict immigration and limit due process for immigrants. Neither Chairman Lamar Smith’s (R-TX) “Keep Our Communities Safe Act of 2011,” or Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s (R-VA) “Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act of 2011” (SAFE Act) offer solutions to the immigration crisis. Instead, Chairman Smith’s bill would authorize indefinite detention for a wide range of immigrants, while Rep. Goodlatte’s bill would eliminate the diversity visa—a lottery that offers 50,000 visas per year to immigrants from countries that send few people to the U.S. Once more, the House Judiciary Committee is using fear to restrict our immigration system.

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A Conversation with Jose Artiga of SHARE Foundation in Portland & Salem

CAUSA and SHARE invite you to join us for an exciting event in a town near you.

Come participate in a conversation with Jose Artiga, Executive Director of SHARE, about the current economic, environmental, and political struggles in El Salvador and the importance of the upcoming elections.

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Oregon Businesses Join Fight Against E-Verify Bill

Last Week, the Immigration Policy Center's Immigration Impact blog had an article about a coalition of Oregon Businesses joining the fight against a national E-Verify bill being proposed by Rep. Lamar Smith (TX-R)  H.R. 2164 would make it mandatory for all businesses to use the flawed E-Verify System-- spelling disaster for the agricultural industry and the economy. The Oregonian was the first to break the story about the group of 22 Oregon Businesses joining the growing national opposition to the enforcement-only bill.

Oregon Business Community Latest to Join Fight Against National E-Verify Bill

This week, business and agricultural communities across the U.S. continued the fight against mandatory E-verify, an electronic verification system requiring employers to use a federal database to verify the immigration status of employees. Over the weekend, thousands of protestors marched on Georgia’s state capitol to protest HB 87—a bill which contains mandatory E-Verify—adding their voice to the state’s agricultural community’s who fear the program will leave them without enough migrant workers to harvest crops. This week, a group of Oregon businesses joined the campaign against an enforcement-only E-Verify bill (H.R. 2164) introduced by immigration hawk Rep. Lamar Smith’s (R-TX) last month. The group called Rep. Smith’s measure a “recipe for disaster.” continue reading

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Take the Pledge to Drop the I-Word

The I-word, you ask?  Members of the press and journalists often use the word out of ignorance. Anti-immigrant talk show hosts use it to describe people they say don’t belong in “their country", people of brown skin color or people they hate.

As you might have already guessed, the word is “illegal” and it is more than just a word. It is a disgusting label and it's use has become a way to disparage and dehumanize the human beings it is directed.

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FBI Prevents States from Opting Out of Flawed Secure Communities Program

It has now become clear that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) won’t let states that are concerned with the flawed Secure Communities program opt out of participating.

According to Mahwish Khan at America's Voice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is playing a major role and is the reason states are being forced to comply with DHS’ greatly flawed Secure Communities program.  Khan says that, "it’s all part of a much larger scheme, with even bigger problems."

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14,000 March in Atlanta Against New Anti-immigrant Law

Atlanta, Ga.--Yesterday, supporters of immigrant rights and comprehensive immigration reform marched in Atlanta, Georgia to speak out against the new extreme anti-immigrant House Bill 87, a bill which mirrors that of Arizona's racial profiling law, SB1070. Civil rights groups say the bill creates "an unwelcome environment for people of color and those in search of a better life".

It is estimated that about 14,000 people participated in the march and rally that surrounded the blocks around the Georgia State Capitol.

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