Over 450 Turn-out for Immigrant Action Day

Today, over 450 Latinos and Immigrant Rights Advocates attended CAUSA's annual Immigrant Action Day at Chemeketa Community College in Salem

The topics covered this year included prospects for passing fair and just immigration reform, the impact of Oregon stricter Driver's License rules, immigrant advocacy efforts at the local, state and federal level and know your rights information.

Organizers at today's event signed people up to attend the May 1st Rally for Immigrant Rights to take place at the State Capitol in Salem. The goal is to bring more than 10,000 to rally for Comprehensive Immigration Reform among other issues important to the Latino and Immigrant Communities.

CAUSA's annual event drew people from as far away as Florida.

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Napolitano to Investigate Bellingham ICE Raid

According to the Associated Press, the raid that took place in Bellingham Washington on Tuesday came as a surprise to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

Napolitano told lawmakers that she was unaware of the raid and was only briefed about it on Wednesday morning.

By Wednesday afternoon, Napolitano was calling for an investigation into the raid and how it was conducted.

"I want to get to the bottom of this as well," she said. She said work-site enforcement needs to be focused on the employers.

The backlash from around the country over the raid was very large and came from civil rights, faith and immigrant advocacy organizations. The collective message was that inhumane raids must be stopped, and comprehensive immigration reform passed.

The AP spoke with Marissa Graciosa of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.

She said “it is disappointing that ICE has executed a raid since Obama took office saying the raids were destructive and ineffective.”

"We urge President Obama to deliver on his promise of change by stopping the raids, and signing just and humane immigration reform into law," Graciosa said.

The response from the Whitehouse with Napalitano calling for an investigation is a great victory for pro-immigrant organizations and advocates and the first step first step to passing just and humane Immigration Reform.

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Raids hurt our businesses, our communities, all workers and immigrants

Yesterday, 28 workers, including 3 mothers, were chained and arrested in a factory in Bellingham, Washington as part of ICE enforcement operations.

In this time of economic hardship, it is completely unacceptable for the Obama Administration to be executing raids on workers, businesses and communities.

Raids not only hurt our businesses, our communities, all workers and immigrants, but they victimize the very people that helped to bring change to the White House and elect President Obama.

These inhumane raids must be stopped, and comprehensive immigration reform passed NOW! It is time for the President to hear from us.

We must fight back against this first worksite raid. We must tell the Obama Administration:

Stop the Raids, Pass Just and Humane Immigration Reform
CALL the WHITE HOUSE NOW at 202-456-1414 and tell President Barack Obama:

• The raid in Washington state is unacceptable, and hurts all of our communities.
• He must stop the raids, and pass comprehensive immigration reform - NOW!

or
FAX a letter to: 202-456-2461

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Immigrant Action Day this Saturday

This Saturday, CAUSA will host it's annual Immigrant Action Day at Chemeketa Community College in Salem.

At this year's event, speakers will provide information about:

Comprehensive immigration reform possibilities under the Obama Administration

Impact of Oregon's stricter driver's license rules

Civil and legal rights

Advocacy Efforts at the State and National Level

Annual Immigrant Action Day
Date: Saturday, February 28, 2009
Time: 10 a.m. until 3:00 p.m
Location: Chemeketa Community College, 4000 Lancaster Drive NE, Building 2, Salem

Sponsors: LUS Chemeketa Community College Chapter and CAUSA

For more information, please contact Francisco López at (503) 269-5694

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400 Walk for Respect and Dignity in Columbia County

St. Helens, Ore.--On Wednesday, at least 400 members of the Columbia County Latino community and their allies joined together for a community walk, entitled “Procession for Respect and Dignity.”

Organized by Latinos Unidos para un Futuro Mejor (LUFM), or Latinos United for a Better Future, the procession began at the First Christian Church and winded through St. Helens ending at the Columbia County Courthouse. The group had grown out of the struggle against two Columbia County ballot measures targeting the immigrant community.

The Procession for Respect and Dignity featured speeches by members of the community who shared their experience of the ballot measures. “When these measures first appeared on the ballots, I felt as though I would have to leave the town in which I loved so much,” said Gretchen Ramos, a Columbia County Resident. “How could I raise my children here? My husband is now legal, but I want my children to belong to a community that is united.”

Yesterday’s procession though St. Helens, brought responsible community members, who work hard to support their families and contribute to the local economy, together for a demonstration of solidarity.

"We organized this procession because as Latinos we want to show a positive image of ourselves that we are hardworking, honest people who care deeply about our family and community”, said, Yesenia Sanchez, President of Unidos para un Futuro Mejor (LUFM). "Human rights and dignity belong to everybody. It doesn't matter where you come from, the color of your skin, or your documentation status. Everyone deserves to be treated with human dignity.”

The situation that members of the community addressed yesterday is not unique to Columbia County. It reflects an issue of national concern. “This country needs to fix it's broken immigration system. We need just and humane immigration reform. Lacking that we will see poor localized solutions like Arizona and now Columbia County, said Marcy Westerling of the Rural Organizing Project, based in Columbia County. “What we have seen in this community could happen anywhere else in the country if one person decides to go on a crusade.”

At the close of yesterday’s procession members of Latinos Unidos para un Futuro Mejor (LUFM) delivered a letter from the community with a basket of white flowers to St. Helen’s City Hall. The basket of flowers is a symbol of peace.

Measure 5-190, which seeks to impose heavy fines on employers of undocumented immigrants, was approved by voters but has been placed on hold temporarily due to challenges to its constitutionality. Measure 5-191 failed at the ballot.

For comment, members of the press can contact Amanda Aguilar Shank at 971 645-5279 and Marcy Westerling at 503 369-3565 or 503 543-3647

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Racial Profiling problem at Portland Police Bureau

According to an article from The Oregonian today, Portland Police Bureau Chief Rosie Sizer addressed the problem her department has with racial profiling.

A 36 page report released by the Bureau shows that in 2007 Portland Police Officers searched people of color more often than whites during traffic stops.

A point of interest. According to Bureau data, minority drivers who were searched were found to possess contraband at lower rates compared to whites who were searched during stops.

To remedy the problems within her Bureau, Sizer pledges to diversify the force, improve officer training and relations within the community.

The full story from The Oregonian can be found here

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Photos: Procession for Respect and Dignity

Today, over 300 members of the Columbia County Latino community and their allies joined together for a community walk, entitled Procession for Respect and Dignity. Read more about the event here. More photos can be found here.

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Columbia County Latinos lead Procession for Respect and Dignity

A Group in the Shadows emerges in support of strong community values

St. Helens, Ore--On Wednesday, February 18th, members of the Columbia County Latino community and their allies will join together for a community walk, entitled Procession for Respect and Dignity.

The walk is organized by the new group Latinos Unidos para un Futuro Mejor (LUFM, or Latinos United for a Better Future), and is a public demonstration of the faces of Columbia County’s Latino Community that has been under attack for the last eighteen months by ballot measures 5-190 and 5-191. The Procession for Respect and Dignity will bring our neighbors and ourselves out of the shadows and show honest, responsible community members that work hard to support families and contribute to the local economy.

At a recent organizing meeting, community members brainstormed reasons that they felt the procession would be an important gesture. “We want to show the community that we are the same, we are human beings. We are respectful and contribute towards our community, and we deserve to be treated with dignity,” said Yesenia Sanchez, LUFM president.

“It is important to be organized and united in these difficult economic times in order to support the entire community,” added LUFM vice-president Martha Olmstead.

Latinos Unidos para un Futuro Mejor was formed in response to the passage of county ballot measure 5-190, yet to be implemented, which if enacted would fine local employers $10,000 for hiring undocumented workers. Since November, Columbia County has attracted wide attention for dramatic job loss as businesses close shop or move to other parts of the state. Lionila Jimenez, LUFM secretary commented, "I have the legal right to work in this country, but the measure has still affected me. My hours have been cut from five days a week to two or three. This measure is affecting the entire community."

Gary Liao, a local business owner and plaintiff in the court challenge to the measure said, "Measure 5-190, in addition to containing errors, omissions, and mixing jurisdictions, would create a climate of suspicion adversely affecting innocent employers and innocent people."

With measure 5-190 and its high-profile court challenge, the previously invisible Latino community has been thrust into the spotlight. In the Procession for Respect and Dignity, the community will speak with a united voice for the first time, and show that we are your neighbors: honest, working people who deserve respect and dignity.

WHEN: Wednesday, February 18, 2009. 4pm – 6pm
WHERE: In St. Helens, Oregon. Starting at the St. Frederic Catholic Church at 175 S 13th, and ending at the County Courthouse.
WHO: New community organization Latinos Unidos para un Futuro Mejor (LUFM), in collaboration with Columbia County Citizens for Human Dignity (CCCHD), and with support from the Rural Organizing Project, and CAUSA: Oregon’s Immigrants Rights Coalition.

Members of the media can contact Yesenia Sanchez at 503-396-9279 and Martha Olmstead at 503-369-9996 for comment.

House Judiciary Committee calls for Investigation of Sheriff Arpaio

Good news from our partners at the National Immigration Forum. According to the release below, members of the House Judiciary Committee requested Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to investigate misconduct by Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. We will report on developments.

For Immediate Release
February 13, 2009

Contact:
Katherine Vargas (kvargas@immigrationforum.org)
(202)383-5987 or (202)641-5198 (Mobile)

The Forum Applauds Calls for Federal Investigation of Sheriff Arpaio’s Misconduct

Washington, DC – On Thursday, February 12, Members of the House Judiciary Committee requested Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to investigate misconduct by Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The letter is a direct response to Sheriff Arpaio’s February 4 actions, when he forced 220 shackled immigrants awaiting trial to march through the streets of Phoenix to a segregated facility called “Tent City”. The following is a statement by Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan pro-immigrant advocacy group in Washington.

The National Immigration Forum commends House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI.), Immigration Subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Constitution Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Crime Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) for their leadership in calling for much-needed federal review and investigation of Sheriff Arpaio and his enforcement of immigration law. Sheriff Arpaio’s utter disregard of individual rights, as demonstrated most recently by his humiliating march of shackled pre-trial detainees through the streets of Phoenix, is perhaps the most egregious example of the current abuse of laws, such as those commonly referred to as 287(g) agreements, that empower local authorities to enforce federal immigration law. The Sheriff Arpaio’s reported use of racial profiling and excessive force cannot be justified under any circumstance, and certainly not as a means of enforcing immigration law.

Over the last two weeks, organizations from across the country have come together to repudiate the actions of Sheriff Arpaio. The Forum is proud to have worked with labor, civil rights, faith and immigrant organizations to submit a national sign-on letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano requesting she conduct a comprehensive review of Sheriff Arpaio’s management of the 287g agreement and determine the need to terminate Maricopa County’s participation in the program, based on the violations of the terms of the agreement which have resulted in civil rights abuses. Similarly, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund submitted a sign-on letter to Attorney General Eric Holder to direct the Civil Rights Division to initiate a federal investigation for potential civil rights violations during Sheriff Arpaio’s immigration enforcement actions. America’s Voice has also begun a similar petition calling for an investigation by the Department of Justice.

Sherriff Arpaio’s actions are public and have received widespread attention, but are not isolated instances. In order to genuinely address the potential for abuse in our current immigration system, the Obama administration must accelerate its efforts to fill key positions within DHS to give Secretary Napolitano the necessary resources and personnel to act swiftly to improve the rights of all. Likewise, the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties must be given adequate funding, staff, and support to provide the necessary oversight and compliance for local authorities enforcing immigration law.

Even with such changes, however, until the Administration and Congress tackle a comprehensive reform of our immigration system, demagogues and charlatans will attempt to pass off deaths in detention, forced marches, family separations, and civil rights abuses as all fair in the war on immigrants. We can and should do better, but today’s call for action by the Judiciary Committee is an important start towards ending at least one of the many instances of abusive treatment in our immigration enforcement system.

As our nation begins a “new era of responsibility”, we expect the new administration to deliver its promise of change and restore accountability and integrity to the enforcement of our immigration laws and the treatment of immigrants in our country.

##

For more on the National Immigration Forum, visit www.immigrationforum.org. The National Immigration Forum is the leading immigrant advocacy organization in the country with a mission to advocate for the value of immigrants and immigration to the nation.

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Bill Introduced to Keep Oregon’s National Guard in Oregon

Last month, CAUSA joined with 52 other organizations, community leaders and concerned citizens on the steps of the Oregon State Capitol to call on Governor Kulongoski to keep Oregon’s National Guard in Oregon.

After the rally, organizers of the "Campaign to Keep Oregon's Guard in Oregon" delivered over 7000 signatures to state officials along with a demand that Oregon’s state militia not be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Oregon was one of several states that joined in the National "Bring the Guard Home! It's the Law" campaign. The campaign’s goal is to prevent the upcoming deployment of roughly 3000 Oregon Guard members to Iraq because the terms of the Congressional authorization have expired.

On Wednesday, a bill was introduced in effort to keep Oregon’s 3,500 National Guard from being deployed by the end of the year.

According to the Daily Emerald, House Bill 2556 would, “give the governor authority to withhold National Guard troops from federal deployment in situations where there is no legally valid authorization to use troops in a national conflict”.

For more on the story about HB 2556, please link to the Daily Emerald. Information about the campaign can be found at www.bringtheguardhome.org

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State Bill Would Help Undocumented Immigrant Students

A bill that will expand the eligibility for state need grants to undocumented students will be discussed in a public hearing before the House Committee on Higher Education today. Introduced in January, HB 1706 would expand the definition of students who are residents thereby expanding the state need grant program to help additional college students.

Last Friday, over 700 Latinos from around Washington State converged on the Capitol in Olympia to call for financial aid for undocumented students. One of the organizers of the capitol event, Ricardo Sanchez of Latino/a Education Achievement Project (LEAP), said in an interview with the Bellingham Herald:

“Most of the kids who are headed to college, they came here with their families when they were 2 or 3 years of age. Their parents came here to work. They’ve grown up in our system,” he said. “Now that they’ve proven themselves academically, what sense does it make to waste all of that?”

According to the AP, one of the bill’s cosponsors, State Representative Dave Quall echoed concerns saying that because many of these students are brought to the United States by their parents at a young age and are raised in the American education system, it wouldn't be right to deny aid to them.

The public hearing before the House Committee on Higher Education will take place 1:30 PM. The State Senate had a first reading yesterday on the their companion bill SB 5959.

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President Obama signs SCHIP into Law

This photo comes from our partners at Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM). SCHIP, or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program being passed by congress and signed into law by President Obama ensures that healthcare will be accessible to all children in the United States. Included in the law was also a provision providing health care for children of immigrant families and pregnant women. Read more at FIRM's blog, Standing FIRM.

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Senator Gillibrand Backpedals on Immigration

Last week we reported on Kristen Gillibrand’s ascension to the U.S. Senate and about her change in position on immigration. Gillibrand, a Democrat from the New York’s 20th Congressional District, was chosen by Gov. David Paterson to take the seat vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

According to a report from MSNBC, Senator Gillibrand is “backpedaling” on her once harsh positions on immigration. Gillibrand is said to be abandoning her position against “sanctuary cities” and “plans to come out in favor of legislation that would roll back federal laws that discourage states from offering the kids of illegal immigrants in-state tuition.”

According to the Associated Press, Senator Gillibrand said, "We need to recognize the heritage that the immigrant community has provided to this country and put policies in place that will reflect that core value."

Why the change of her position? MSNBC reports that she told the New York Times that "In a lot of these issues, it’s a case of learning more and expanding my view."

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Southern Poverty Law Center takes on Nativist Lobby and Intolerance

Yesterday, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) held a national press call releasing a report that examines the racist roots of the three organizations most responsible for blocking Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies and NumbersUSA are reported to be part of the same network of organizations founded and funded by John Tanton, a retired opthamologist from Michigan. The SPLC says Tanton, the architect of the anti-immigrant movement, has been at the heart of the white nationalist movement for decades.

The three D.C. groups, Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), Center for Immigration Studies and NumbersUSA they say,

“have infiltrated the mainstream by presenting themselves as legitimate commentators, when, in reality, they were all conceived by a man who is convinced that non-white immigrants threaten America. They have never strayed far from their roots."

SPLC says their new report also examines how John Tanton, who still sits on FAIR's board of directors, founded the racist Social Contract Press and has corresponded with Holocaust deniers, white nationalist intellectuals and Klan lawyers for decades. The correspondence is documented by Tanton's own writings, which are stored at a University of Michigan library.

For the full report titled The Nativist Lobby: Three Faces of Intolerance, visit Southern Poverty Law Center at www.splcenter.org or by visiting this link.

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New Approach to Immigration Taking Root

This comes from our partners at the National Immigration Forum (www.www.immigrationforum.org). National Immigration Forum is the leading immigrant advocacy organization in the country with a mission to advocate for the value of immigrants and immigration to the nation.

For Immediate Release
February 3, 2009

Contact:
Katherine Vargas (kvargas@immigrationforum.org)
(202) 383-5987 or (202) 641-5198 (mobile)


Children’s Health Victory A Good Sign That A New Approach To Immigrants Is Taking Root

Washington, DC – On Wednesday, the House is expected to vote final passage for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill and President Obama is expected to sign it into law shortly there after. Among other things, the bill allows states to waive a five-year waiting period to extend health care insurance benefits to millions of legal immigrant children. It is the first piece of legislation directly related to immigrants and immigration that has passed this Congress and reached this President’s desk. The following is a statement by Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan pro-immigrant advocacy group in Washington.

Many legal immigrant children will no longer be required to wait five years to access health insurance and health care, but this victory is larger than that. Passage of SCHIP with the provisions for legal immigrant children is an indication that a new era is dawning in Washington. For more than a decade, Congress’ approach to legal immigrants has been mostly what we can deny them, take away from them, or erect as barriers to their success and full integration. We are overjoyed that a new page is starting to turn.

This year will see another fierce battle over immigration, including who is legal, who can earn legal status, and who can come legally in the first place. Ultimately, the coming immigration reform debate will be about what role immigrants play in our society; whether immigrants are seen as cogs in an economic machine or integral members of our communities, with families and futures we should support and honor. At the heart of it is whether we remain a welcoming country, supportive of the immigrants’ goal to be just as successful and productive as every other group of immigrants that has come to these shores. A child’s health and a parent’s peace of mind are a building block of success in American society.

The SCHIP bill marks a first step from the punitive to the practical. If the President and Congress continue to approach immigrants as partners with native-born Americans in the success of this country, then we are closer to the day when sensible immigration reform is crafted and enacted. This is a good sign that a fair and just solution to what ails our current immigration system is within our reach.

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Widow not married long enough to stay in U.S.

The Associated Press is reporting that a widowed Jamaican Woman who lost her husband in a Staten Island ferry crash in 2003 cannot stay in the United States. The reason the appeals court gave is that she and her husband weren’t married long enough.

Osserritta Robinson, 31, of Mahwah, N.J., is reported by the Associated Press as,

“one of about 170 immigrants who have been denied residency status because of what some call the "widow penalty" a U.S. law that requires an immigrant to be married for two years to remain in the country if the American spouse dies.”

Before her husband's death, Louis Robinson had filed citizenship papers on behalf of his wife. However, because of a government bureaucratic backlog, they were never processed.

Robinson's attorney, Jeffrey Feinbloom, had this to say about the court's decision:

"These people are victims. They've already been through the ultimate tragedy. They're just being re-victimized."

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has asked her staff to review the issue and others involving non-citizen spouses.

To read more on this story and get a copy of the court ruling, link here

Resources:
US appeals court nixes widow's immigration bid

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