Oregon's Immigrant Rights Organization to Throw Party for LGBT Equality

November 29, 2011

Oregon's Immigrant Rights Organization to Throw Party for LGBT Equality

Salem, Ore.--On December 8th, Causa, Oregon’s Immigrant Rights Organization, will host a “Coming Out Party” marking our year of work towards LGBT equality. The event will showcase Causa's LGBTQ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer) work and highlight the importance of and history behind creating alliances and conversations between the LGBTQ community and the Latino community.

December 8, 2011 | 6:00-8:00 pm
Causa’s Coming Out Party
theSlate
2001 NW 19th Ave #104
Portland, Oregon

While Causa has always been supportive of LGBTQ issues, in this past year we have been intentional about our work for LGBTQ equality, and are moving this work forward as part of our organizational identity. This is the first time in Causa's history that our organization has hired an organizer to do LGBTQ alliance building work with the Latino community and the only group to organize LGBT Latin@s in the mid-valley.

“Even though we’ve taken action in support of LGBT equality for years, we feel this year was our ‘Coming Out’ year because we started our work for LGBT equality in a more integrated, public way,” says Steinbauer. “The Coming Out Party will be a fun time to celebrate this work and recognize the leadership and contributions of LGBT Latinos and Latinas.”

“Causa was honored to accept this year’s Equality Champion award at Basic Rights Oregon’s (BRO) 2011 Annual Dinner,” said Francisco Lopez, Causa’s Executive Director. “This award along with feedback from our staff and supporters has helped us recognize the many ways our alliance has made us stronger, from joint fundraising to strategizing on legislative and electoral campaigns to mobilizing our bases in support of each other’s issues. We are excited to celebrate our "Coming Out" as an organization, while recognizing the LGBTQ Latino immigrant community.”

Tickets for the event are $15 advance, or $25 at the door. Those interested in purchasing tickets can link here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/201409, visit Causa's website at www.causaoregon.org or contact Causa’s LGBT organizer, Christian Baeff at 503-737-7014 or christian@causaoregon.org

For media inquiries, please contact Francisco Lopez, Executive Director of Causa at 503-269-5694 or Erik Sorensen, Communications Director at 503-488-0263

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Causa, Oregon's Immigrant Rights Organization, is the largest Hispanic civil and human rights and grassroots advocacy organization in the Pacific Northwest. We work to defend and advance immigrant rights through coordination with local, state, and national coalitions and allies. For more information, visit www.causaoregon.org

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Bring Isaac and Jonathan home for Thanksgiving

DreamActivist has an urgent call to action to bring Isaac Barrera and Jonathan Perez home to their families for Thanksgiving. Take action now!

During the National Immigrant Youth Alliance's Week of Action, 15 undocumented youth and parents were arrested for standing up for themselves and our community in protest of unjust laws like Alabama's HB56. 13 of these undocumented youth and parents were released, while 2 undocumented youth were transferred to a detention center and are awaiting deportation.

On Thursday Nov. 10th, Isaac Barrera and Jonathan Perez walked into a Mobile, Alabama Border Patrol office protesting against HB56. Both were detained and, within hours, transferred to the Basile immigration detention center in Southern Louisiana. Isaac and Jonathan are now doing what they do best, organizing from within the detention center where they are gathering stories of others detained, those not connected to a larger network.



TAKE ACTION-- SIGN THE PETITION AND MAKE A CALL

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Another Anti-immigrant Extremist Loses Seat

We reported last week about the defeat of Russel Pearce, Arizona State Senate President, self proclaimed "Tea Party President" and the mastermind behind Arizona’s racial profiling and anti-immigrant Senate Bill 1070.

It appears yet another anti-immigrant extremist has joined Pearce in losing thier seat. Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy gave up his bid for re-election after investigators found problems with his use of public money.  Levy's heir apparent, Republican Angie Carpenter, was handily defeated by her Democratic rival ending a decade of extremism and hate.

While in office, Levy built a reputation as one of the most notable anti-immigrant public officials in New York state. According to America's Voice,

"During Levy’s tenure, New York’s Suffolk County was something of a 21st century breeding ground for racial violence: Latino immigrants were routinely beaten, pelted with rocks, and spit at. They were harassed by police officers and racial epithets were scrawled on their homes. They were afraid to leave their houses and lived under constant threat of assault. High school students casually talked about “beaner jumping,” where attacks on Latino immigrants were treated as a common pastime. 

Huffington Post reported that

"In 2009, the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, said Suffolk County political leaders, including Levy, "fanned the flames" of racial hatred before the stabbing death of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero by a group of young white men."

Then County Executive Levy dismissed the murder of Marcelo Luceroas, stating it was a “one-day story”.

Elected officials around the nation promoting anti-immigrant and anti-Latino agendas have to be taking notice and wondering if they are next.  One thing for sure, Americans are sick, tired and disgusted with those promoting agendas of hate.  It is only a matter of time before they are run out of office, as well.

To read the full article by America's Voice, "Anti-Immigrant Extremist Steve Levy’s Seat Won By Democrat, Another Vote Against Excess" please link here

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Uniting Communities: Supporting ALL Latinos

November 14, 2011

Uniting Communities: Supporting ALL Latin@s
by Aeryca Steinbauer

It’s been a year since Causa launched our Uniting Communities initiative! In this newsletter we bring you an update on our work to integrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality into the core work of Causa. While we have always worked as an ally with LGBT organizations, in this past year we included the struggle for LGBT equality as a core part of our organizational values.

Our understanding of and commitment to LGBT issues has grown in many ways.

We educated ourselves on the issues that LGBT Latin@s face, and forged relationships with LGBT Latin@ groups such as SOMOS, whose leaders helped organize our most recent Equality Assembly in Portland. Causa’s own LGBT Latin@s group has expanded to meeting every Monday in Salem, currently the only group to organize LGBT Latin@s in the mid-valley.

We increased the broader Latin@ community’s understanding of LGBT issues by bringing queer DREAM Activist Yahaira Carrillo to speak at Immigrant Action Day and including Causa’s LGBT Latin@s group in the May Day program. We launched a new series of leadership classes and community Equality Assemblies that include LGBT issues. In partnership with Basic Rights Oregon, we launched a Spanish-language radio advertising campaign that addressed the importance of family acceptance and marriage equality.

Throughout this year we’ve been asked many times why we’re doing this work. We work for LGBT equality because it’s a part of our organizational values of dignity and respect for all. We work for LGBT equality so we can better serve all members of the Latin@ community, especially since LGBT Latin@s are disproportionately affected by issues such as immigration reform, driver’s license access, and health equity.

Finally, we support LGBT equality because it is strategic. We simply can’t move forward a pro-immigrant agenda in this political climate alone. We must build alliances around common values with many sectors, including the LGBT community. Alliance building already made us stronger in our ability to mobilize, raise funds, and develop leadership in our base. Alliance building will be crucial in achieving driver’s license restoration, tuition equity, immigration reform, and justice for ALL Latin@ families, including LGBT families.

We were honored to accept a 2011 Equality Champion award at Basic Rights Oregon’s annual dinner, and we recognize the many ways our alliance has made us stronger, from joint fundraising to strategizing on legislative and electoral campaigns to mobilizing our bases in support of each other’s issues.

To recognize Causa’s year of working for LGBT equality more intentionally and publicly, we are throwing a Coming Out Party! Join us on December 8th to celebrate and support this work. Causa’s Coming Out Party will take place from 6:00-8:00 pm at theSlate (2001 NW 19th Ave #104 Portland, OR). Learn more about the event and purchase tickets for $15 online by linking here or contact Christian at christian@causaoregon.org or (503) 737-7014.

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Non-Citizens Eager to Serve in U.S. Military Blocked by Government Bureaucracy

Today, while we celebrate and honor those who have proudly served in the U.S. military, we need to remember that among those veterans are immigrants who fight and die on behalf of Americans every single day

The article below was originally posted at Immigration Impact. Immigration Impact is a project of the American Immigration Council whose mission is to strengthen America by honoring our immigrant history and shaping how Americans think about and act towards immigration now and in the future.

Non-Citizens Eager to Serve in U.S. Military Blocked by Government Bureaucracy
BY MARGARET D. STOCK, COUNSEL TO THE FIRM, LANE POWELL PC
November 11, 2011

This Veterans Day, we celebrate those who have proudly served in the U.S. military, including immigrants. Immigrants have long served in all branches of the U.S. military as infantry soldiers, medics, foreign-language translators, and in every other job open to them. At last count, foreign-born service members made up about 8% of the 1.4 million military personnel on active duty. However, some highly qualified non-citizens have been blocked from serving due to the Obama Administration’s suspension of a recruiting program called the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI). Frustrated by the government bureaucracy responsible for halting MAVNI, those non-citizen volunteers are petitioning the government in hopes of reopening the program.
Started under the Bush Administration in 2008, MAVNI was a highly successful military recruiting program open to certain legal aliens who were also U.S. licensed medical professionals or who spoke certain strategic languages. Applicants were required to pass special immigration and security screening before being approved for enlistment and were put on an accelerated path to U.S. citizenship. If they failed to serve honorably for five years, they could lose their U.S. citizenship.

Although MAVNI was highly successful and saved the Pentagon hundreds of thousands of dollars, the program came to an end in 2010 when newly confirmed Obama Administration political appointees failed to extend it, even though MAVNI was scheduled to continue for several more years. Many blame government inefficiencies at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Department of Defense, which is primarily responsibility for the program and has reportedly experienced turbulence in the last year.

In the meantime, hundreds of frustrated MAVNI applicants began a White House petition, asking family members, friends, and colleagues for their signatures in a quest to get the attention of the Obama Administration and get the MAVNI program re-opened. Under White House petition rules, the MAVNI applicants need 25,000 signatures on their petition to earn a response. At this point, they have about 700.

Unlike many White House petitions that ask for legal changes or budget appropriations, the MAVNI petition does not seek Congressional legislation or taxpayer money. Leon Panetta, the Secretary of Defense, can put the program back into operation immediately by signing a memo. One would hope that the White House petition process might get Secretary Panetta’s attention, as MAVNI applicants report that letters and Congressional inquiries have not yet resulted in any action.

There is no question that MAVNI is critical in filling military shortages of medical professionals and foreign language speakers. In fact, senior military leaders testified repeatedly before Congress about the value of the program. MAVNI recruits many highly educated people who would not normally find an easy path to serving America due to America’s dysfunctional legal immigration system.

This Veterans Day, let’s hope the administration recognizes the vital role immigrants have and continue to play in the U.S. military and makes a greater effort to reopen the MAVNI program.

Photo by USACEpublicaffairs.

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Rep. Blumenauer Meets with Latino Community Members in NE Portland

November 10, 2011

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)

Portland, Ore.—On Wednesday, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR, 3rd District) met with members of the Latino Community at a NE Portland Church. The meeting was one of many organized Leaders' Assemblies taking place around Oregon where members of the community talk to their elected leaders about issues important to them.

Among the issues raised during the hour long meeting with Congressman Blumenauer included Legalization and the Dream Act, Making Prosecutorial Discretion Work, Local Law Enforcement and ICE Collaboration on Immigration Enforcement, Uniting families (hardship waivers for the 3-/10-year bars), Immigration Detainers/ICE Holds, Detention Reform, and Customs and Border Protection Reforms.

Leaders' Assembly Participants

During opening remarks, Causa’s Executive Director Francisco Lopez highlighted the support Congressman Blumenauer has given to the DREAM Act, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act (H.R. 4321, CIR ASAP) and the Family Reunification Act. He also praised the Congressman for a recent letter he signed on with other legislators addressed to President Obama asking for the elimination of the Secure Communities Program.

Several members of the NE Portland Community also had a chance to tell their personal stories to Congressman Blumenauer. Among the issues they have been touched by in their personal lives includes the difficulty for people to obtain citizenship through the current broken immigration system, having their families torn apart by programs like Secure Communities, the need for passage of the DREAM Act so children of immigrants can realize their full potential and the need for restoration of driver's licenses so that familes can take their children to the doctor and drive to work so they can support their familes.

During his address, Congressman Blumenauer highlighted the special skills and contributions that immigrants bring to the United States and their importance in the fabric of the community. Blumenauer confirmed that he would continue working towards positive solutions for immigrant families in 2012 and would fight against anything in congress that represents hate, division or right-wing anti-immigrant ideology seeking to destroy the values of this country.

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Architect of Arizona's Anti-immigrant Law SB1070 Thrown Out of Office

November 9, 2011

Architect of Arizona's Anti-immigrant Law SB1070 Thrown Out of Office

Organizations around the nation react, offer warning to those promoting an anti-immigrant agenda

Last night during an historic recall election in Arizona, State Senate President, self proclaimed "Tea Party President" and the mastermind behind Arizona’s racial profiling and anti-immigrant Senate Bill 1070, Russell Pearce was defeated by Jerry Lewis.

Many around the nation are warning that the result of yesterday’s recall election is a new dawn and that those who use divisive politics and destructive demagoguery against immigrants and Latinos will be voted out of office.

Francisco Lopez, Executive Director of Causa Oregon said last night about the results, “The message out of Arizona is loud and clear: If you attack Latinos and Immigrants, pass destructive laws that hurt our communities and promote an anti-immigrant agenda, you will be voted out of office. Many around the country should take notice and learn from the example Russell Pearce represents. Americans want sensible and humane policies not divisive and anti-immigrant laws that divide families, hurt communities and damage public safety.”

Petra Falcon, Executive Director of Promise Arizona in Action said, “This election was a contest of values, and it is a victory for all of us who still believe in the promise of America and democracy. Hispanic voters, like most voters across Arizona, are tired of the angry rhetoric and the extremist positions that typified Pearce’s record on immigration issues. Latinos, like everyone else, want sensible, federal solutions to real issues that our families confront everyday. We want elected officials who best represent these values, and get the job done.”

In a release, Angelica Salas, Executive Director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), had this to say "Russell Pearce’s demise should be a warning call to all anti-immigrant zealots intent on climbing the mountain of discord and resentment by blaming, criminalizing, and insulting immigrant families. State legislatures, members of Congress and Presidential contenders alike should pay attention to District 18 voters when they say common sense, justice, and sound politics wins votes not hard-line, obstinate, and punitive bluster."

Benjamin Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council said, “Arizona’s business, faith, and immigrant rights communities came together to organize a successful recall election against one of the nation’s most notorious anti-immigrant legislators, State Senate President Russell Pearce. The recall election highlighted Pearce’s extremist agenda and anti-immigrant demagoguery, which have damaged the state’s reputation and economy, and the voters spoke clearly in rejecting it.”

More statements to follow.

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Border Fence Display Exposes Hate Dividing Salem and the Nation

November 7, 2011

Salem, Ore.-- Today, members of Willamette University's Causa Chapter sponsored a display at the college outside the Mark O. Hatfield Library. The Border Fence Project exposes the hate that is dividing the Salem Community and the Nation.

On Tuesday, the fence will be on display at the Oregon State Capitol between noon and 5pm.  Join students and community leaders at the Capitol to reflect on the hate driving immigration policy.

Tuesday November 8th, 2011
The Border Fence Project
Border Fence Display at the Oregon State Capitol
12pm-5pm
900 Court Street NE
Salem, Oregon

For more information contact Jenne Ristau at jristau@willamette.edu

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PHOTOS: Drawing the Line Between Police/ICE Collaboration

November 6, 2011

Salem, Ore.-- On Saturday, 75 people from around Oregon attended the Confronting the Polimigra: Drawing the Line Between Police/ICE Collaboration Summit at Willamette University in Salem.  The goal of the day-long summit is to strengthen the network of community organizations working across the state to address the damaging connection between ICE and local law enforcement.  It also gave the chance for community advocates to come together and learn from one another as we work to end the criminalization of our communities and improve the lives of immigrants in Oregon.

For more details on how you can get involved in this work, please contact Robin Wright at robin@causaoregon.org

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DOJ Responds Forcefully to Civil Rights Disaster in Alabama, What Will DHS Do?

This release come from the American Immigration Council. AIC's mission is to strengthen America by honoring our immigrant history and shaping how Americans think about and act towards immigration now and in the future.

DOJ Responds Forcefully to Civil Rights Disaster in Alabama, What Will DHS Do?

November 4, 2011

Washington D.C. – This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it was filing suit in South Carolina to block Act No. 69 (formerly SB 20), South Carolina’s new anti-immigrant law—modeled on Arizona’s SB1070. DOJ argues—like it did in Utah and Alabama—that the law is unconstitutional and interferes with the federal government’s ability to set and enforce immigration policy and is likely to result in civil rights violations. Following the legal challenge, the DOJ Civil Rights Division also sent a letter to Alabama’s public schools reminding them of their duty to provide public education to all children in the state regardless of immigration status.

The DOJ is challenging state legislatures that pass immigration enforcement laws that interfere with the federal government’s role in enforcing immigration laws and setting priorities. The DOJ’s effort on this case reflects their commitment to protecting constitutional principles and individual rights, a commitment that should extend to pursing vigorous challenges in other states that have passed similar laws, including Utah, Georgia, and Indiana.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also has a strong role to play and should respond to the civil rights crisis taking place in the states and make good on Secretary Napolitano’s assurance that her agency will not be complicit in enforcing Alabama’s new law through federal immigration enforcement actions. 

If one agency of the government is arguing that Alabama’s law is unconstitutional, another agency, DHS, should act consistently and closely review the cases of all immigrants brought to their attention as a result of Alabama’s new law and exercise appropriate discretion. Good government requires consistency across agencies. DHS, like DOJ, should treat implementation of Alabama's new anti-immigrant law as the civil rights crisis that it is and respond swiftly.

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New Report Reveals Families Shattered by Immigration Enforcement

November 2, 2011

Groundbreaking National Report by the Applied Research Center Releases First Data on the Intersection Of Immigration Enforcement And Child Welfare Systems

New York, NY--A new report from the Applied Research Center (ARC) conservatively estimates that there are more than 5,000 children currently living in foster care whose parents have been either detained or deported. To date, there has been no national data available on the numbers of children impacted by the intersection of immigration enforcement and child welfare systems. http://arc.org/shatteredfamilies/

"Shattered Families" offers groundbreaking national research on the perilous intersection of immigration enforcement and the child welfare system. Historic levels of detention and deportation, combined with a clear lack of child welfare policies are resulting in the separation of thousands of families across the United States. These families face formidable barriers to reunification, and in many cases will be permanently separated. ARC projected that at least 15,000 more children will face these threats to reunification in the next five years, if the same rate holds true for new cases.

“Immigration enforcement greatly increases the chances that families will never see each other again,” said ARC President Rinku Sen. “Detaining and deporting parents shatter families and endanger the children left behind. It’s unacceptable, un-American, and a clear sign that we need to revisit our immigration policies.”

In fiscal year 2011, the United States deported a record-breaking 397,000 people and detained nearly that many. According to never before released federal data acquired by ARC through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, a growing number of deportees are parents. In the first six months of 2011, the federal government removed more than 46,000 mothers and fathers of U.S.-citizen children.

For the first time, ARC’s “Shattered Families” provides evidence on the scale and scope of this growing national problem. These impacts are not confined to border jurisdictions or states. In fact, ARC identified at least 22 states across the country where children in foster care are separated from their parents because of immigration enforcement. http://arc.org/shatteredfamilies/

“Our research found time and again that families are being left out of decision-making when it comes to the care and custody of their children,” said Seth Freed Wessler, author and principal investigator of “Shattered Families.” “As a result, children of detained and deported parents are likely to remain in foster care when they could be with their own family.”

“Shattered Families” analyzes these problems, identifies key barriers, and presents policy recommendations for Department of Homeland Security, various levels of legislature, state child welfare departments, and juvenile dependency courts on how we can better protect families from separation and reunify families in a timely way.

About ARC - The Applied Research Center (ARC) is a 30-year-old racial justice think tank that uses media, research and activism to promote solutions. ARC’s mission is to popularize racial justice and prepare people to achieve it. ARC also serves as the publisher of Colorlines.com. For more information on ARC’s work, please visit www.arc.org.  

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