Tag Archives: Immigration Reform

North Carolina Students Protest AZ Anti-Immigrant Law

3 Aug

Students, immigrants, workers, clergy and union members stood shoulder to shoulder, clenched fist to clenched fist in support of repealing Arizona’s racist and dangerous anti-immigrant law, SB 1070, at a march in North Carolina.  While the question of the law’s legality plays out in the courts, students are leading the way in showing the human face that is being lost in this debate by calling immigrants “illegal”.

Hundreds march on North Carolina State Capitol in protest of Arizona’s SB1070

By Kosta Harlan | August 1, 2010

Protesters against Arizona's SB 1070. (Photo: Justin Valas)

Raleigh, NC – About 250 immigrant workers, youth and their allies marched on the State Capitol building here, on July 29, in protest of Arizona’s SB1070. Protesters chanted and held colorful signs reading, “Stop deportations,” “No toSB1070″ and “No more racism!”

After the march, several community leaders addressed the demonstration to express their solidarity and support in the struggle.

March on North Carolina State Capitol (Photo: Justin Valas)
One of the members of the North Carolina DREAM Team, Viridiana Martinez, stressed, “No one can speak for us, we have to speak out for ourselves,” and urged everyone at the demonstration to continue the struggle for justice.

James Andrews, president of the North Carolina AFL-CIO, said, “The North Carolina labor movement supports each of you in the struggle for immigrant rights, human rights and labor rights.” He added, “We will continue to stand with you as long as we see this kind of abuse and exploitation [of your community].”

The protest was organized by North Carolina ICE Watch in partnership with Black Workers for Justice, the Father Charlie Mulholland Catholic Worker House, North Carolina DREAM Team, North Carolina Justice Center, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, Pueblo Unido, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Student Action with Farmworkers and other immigrant justice organizations. Other organizations including the Umbrella Coalition, the NAACP, United Electrical Workers Local 150 supported the rally.

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DREAM U Opens Doors to Show Need for DREAM Act

15 Jul

Immigrant students won’t let Congress stop them from going on to higher education at “DREAM University”, launched yesterday with 27 students outside the White House.  As the larger debate over immigration reform stalls in the Senate, students are continuing to draw attention to the greatest casualty of this country’s broken policies: children of undocumented immigrants.  The DREAM Act would allow children who came here with their parents illegally the opportunity to go to college and have a path to citizenship.  They should not be punished for their parents desire to raise them in a better place, and our society should not suffer by denying them an education because of bad policies. 

DREAM University opened its doors to the inaugural class of immigrant students receiving free lectures and workshops as a symbol for what this country and themselves stand to gain if the bill passes.  Classes are taught by volunteer professors, in a similar way to the 1960s teach-ins.  The goal is for students to attend 20 classes in various subjects, all for free.  Of course, the classes will not translate into college credit – but they are based on the premise that no one should be denied the opportunity to learn.  During breaks students will likely make their way over to Congress for a little lobbying.  Organizers expect the event to be ongoing until we see movement from Congress.  Explaining the inspiration for the action, Carlos Saavedra, coordinator for United We DREAM said, “if we really wanted to make a point about education … we needed to literally build a university in different parts of D.C.”

According to an Associated Press report, students are expected to come from all over the country with students in Massachusetts and Denver and Los Angeles already raising funds for the trip.  The “university” has assigned Residence Hall, Curriculum, and Admissions advisers, that are helping put it all together.  The event is gaining traction on facebook, with over 450 confirmed guests and an active wall.  Hopefully, one day soon these students will be able to attend one of the great accredited university’s the nation’s capitol has to offer.

Below is the press release from the National Immigration Forum which is organizing the United We DREAM Network, which is hosting the action:

DREAM Act Activists Take the Stage in Nation’s Capital

July 14, 2010

DREAM University Spotlights Hurdles to Higher Education Experienced by Immigrant Youth

Washington D.C. – Hundreds of young immigrant students from across the country are gathering this month in Washington, D.C., to pressure Congress for swift passage of the DREAM Act, bipartisan legislation that will benefit talented undocumented immigrant kids who yearn to attend college or serve in the United States military.

Today, these young students will be part of the inaugural class of the “DREAM University”. The “DREAM University” is a forum for immigrant students who yearn for higher education but are denied access due to their immigration status. Young participants will not have to prove citizenship status in order to attend free lectures by educators and organizers.

“We congratulate these inspiring students for their courage and determination to bring national awareness to their struggle to  access higher education and a fair opportunity to succeed,” said Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum and Chair of the Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign. “The DREAM Act is an integral component of comprehensive immigration reform and these young activists are key allies of the coalition fighting to fix our broken immigration system. “

Young immigrant students are the overlooked casualties of the immigration debate’s overheated rhetoric. They were brought to the U.S. as children through no fault of their own, were raised in America, educated in America and think of themselves as Americans. Many long to earn a college degree or serve the country in uniform but they face a dim future of dead-end jobs because they are stuck in a paperwork trap.

The DREAM Act addresses the purgatory-like status of these young immigrant students who are ready to give back to America – their home – through hard work and service. This bipartisan bill offers a practical solution. It defies common sense to put higher education out of reach for hard working immigrant students.  Doing so won’t force them to leave our country—the only country they call home. It would, however force them to remain in the underground workforce while America is deprived of the increased economic productivity and tax revenues provided by a better-educated workforce.

“Congress should emulate the courage of these young people, set political gamesmanship aside and pass comprehensive immigration reform this year” added Noorani. “Unless Congress acts swiftly to address illegal immigration with pragmatic and long lasting solutions, some of our best and brightest immigrant students will have their potential cut short. The DREAM Act guards our nation’s investment in the education of its youth, and ensures that America will reap the benefits of those investments.”

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For more information on the DREAM Act mobilization contact Tolu Olubunmi, United We DREAM Network.

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Students Take Action for a DREAM

18 May

As John McCain increasingly moves to the right because of his primary challenge from conservative talk-show host J.D. Hayworth, he is leaving undocumented young workers behind.  McCain has co-sponsored the DREAM Act in previous years, along with advancing comprehensive immigration reform.  But this year, he is putting up fences and running from his “maverick” past.  Yesterday a group of undocumented students took the fight to him… the Huffington Post covered one of their stories…

(cross-post from Huffington Post)

Steve Ralls

Director of Communications, Immigration Equality

Posted: May 17, 2010 07:14 PM

This evening in Arizona, a young, gay man is literally putting his life on the line.

In today’s Arizona, the fact that Mohammad Abdollahi is willing to speak up would be cause enough for concern. Abdollahi, who has been in the United States since the age of 3, risks arrest and deportation simply by being visible. Under the state’s new, anti-immigrant law, his mere presence means risking his continued residency in the only country he has ever known well enough to call it ‘home.’

Add to that, however, the fact that Abdollahi (who currently lives in Michigan) is gay, and originally from Iran, and you can begin to understand the true courage behind his current sit-in at the office of Senator John McCain.

If he is arrested, the 24-year-old faces deporation to one of the most notoriously homophobic countries in the world. Lesbians and gays are routinely tortured, and even executed, in Iran. There is little doubt that, if he is forced to return there, Abdollahi will, too, face unspeakable persecution simply because of who he is.

And yet, he is not deterred.

As journalist Todd Heywood first reported today in the Michigan Messenger, Abdollahi is risking his very life in order to press for passage of the DREAM Act, a critically important piece of legislation which would give young, undocumented people like him a path to citizenship and an opportunity to remain in the United States.

The young people who would benefit from the DREAM Act’s passage were largely, like Abdollahi, brought to the U.S. by their parents. They have called America home for the majority of their lives, but their futures are uncertain because they have been unable to obtain legal residency. (In Abdollahi’s case, his application for residency was rejected because his family mistakenly paid $20 less than the required fee.)

So today, Abdollahi and three other young people brought their stories to the Tucson office of Senator McCain.

But, as Heywood reports, Abdollahi’s action “is far from just an act of civil disobedience. As a young gay man, he faces deportation to a country where he knows neither the language nor the culture — and worse, where homosexuality is punished with torture and executions.”

Simply put: Abdollahi, if arrested, will likely be deported to a country where gays and lesbians are put to death.

That is why the DREAM Act – which was recently included in a Senate immigration outline for comprehensive immigration reform – is so important to so many immigrants, both gay and straight. It is, quite literally, the difference between building a future in the United States or spending the future in a place where they must fear for their lives.

“[Abdollahi's case] is certainly a strong argument for why the DREAM Act should be passed as part of comprehensive immigration reform,” Immigration Equality told Heywood.

It is also, the group noted, a clear example of the stake the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement has in ensuring that Congress tackles humane, comprehensive immigration reform soon.

“As LGBT people, our community certainly understands what it’s like to be singled out because of who we are, or what we look like,” the group said. “There’s a real danger as [anti-immigrant] fervor begins to spread.”

Abdollahi hopes his action will spur everyone – regardless of who or where they are – to join the fight for reform.

“He believes this could mobilize people to take action,” his friend Priscilla Martinez of One Michigan, said.

Taking that action, for Abdollahi and others, increasingly means the difference between life and death.

 

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Immigrants vs. Teens for Summer Jobs

14 May

The center-right Center for Immigration Studies released a report earlier this week foreshadowing a new line conservative talking point in the upcoming immigration debate: immigrants are driving teenagers out of the summer job market.

Some of their facts are important:

  • Even before the current recession, the summer labor force participation of US-born teenagers was deteriorating.  Between 1994 and 2007, labor force participation among teens declined 16%.
  • The severity of the decline is similar for black, Hispanic, and white teens.  (Although whites have a much higher rate of participation.)  As well as high- and low- income households.
  • Immigrants and teens do the same work.  In the summer of 2007, in the 10 occupations employing the most teens, 1 in 5 workers was an immigrant.
  • Between 1994 and 2007, in occupations where teenage employment declined the most, immigrant employment gained the most.
  • On average, 10% increase in immigrant share of the workforce reduces participation of teens 7.9%.

Teenage employment is undoubtedly important.  It develops work ethic, provides disposable income to relieve family budgets, and gives teens new sets of social skills.  However, establishing an US vs. THEM between teens and immigrants is not the solution.

Instead, we need to reform our immigration policies which begins with giving educated immigrants the opportunity to work in appropriate, good jobs (which usually are not the summer teen jobs).  Passing the DREAM Act would be a good first start down this path.  Additionally, we need more developed youth summer jobs programs, that will directly connect teenagers with summer jobs.  These programs are important to creating a sense of community and reducing crime.  Congress has stalled on this legislation as well, and with state and municipal budget deficits, these programs are being cut.  We need to jointly tackle these two problems and not use the jobs crisis as a reason to persecute immigrants.

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May Day: Remember the 16 Hour Day?

1 May

In mainstream media and politics, the May Day holiday has been tarnished as anti-American, Soviet, socialist, anarchist, communist, fascist or whatever other kind of -ist is fashionably un-American.  But it really is an American, pro-worker holiday that began as a commemoration of the struggle and sacrifice of our brothers and sisters in Chicago at the Haymarket Massacre in 1886.

With factory days in post-Civil War mill towns dangerous and long, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions declared a general strike for May 1, 1886, to push Congress to enact an 8-hour day.  Nationwide, more than 300,000 workers in 13,000 businesses walked off their jobs.  In Chicago, 40,000 went out.  By May 3, as the ranks of those out on strike swelled, violence broke out at the McCormick Reaper Works plant and two strikers were killed.  The following day in Haymarket Square, strikers and police clashed again.  Eventually, police crushed the labor movement in Chicago and convicted 8 anarchist strikers.

In the following years, May 1 became a day of international solidarity for the plight of workers.  Labor Day became the federally recognized pro-worker holiday, with the support of the business community, so as to not be associated with the violent struggle of workers to get decent working conditions.  It wasn’t until the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1932 as part of the New Deal that the 8-hour day became the legal day’s work.

As the anti-immigrant, anti-human law in Arizona hangs over our heads like a noose, on this May Day lets remember the importance of the holiday and how truly American it is for workers to fight for their rights.

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