May 29 Mass Mobilization Against Arizona SB1070

By , on May 27th, 2010

Tens of thousands are mobilizing to Phoenix on May 29 to show the world that people from all backgrounds across the country are unified in denouncing SB1070.  From Seattle to Miami, the demands are clear, that President Obama needs to end the criminalization of people of color in the state of Arizona and stop SB1070.

Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, stated, “The eyes of the world are watching and President Obama must act.  SB1070 is where we draw the line and say enough is enough.  Enough of a disastrous and dangerous ‘enforcement first’ strategy to immigration reform.  Enough to the criminalization of workers and families.  We will escalate our struggle if the President does not act concretely and immediately to stop the implementation of SB1070.”

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, Eliseo Medina, International Executive Vice President of SEIU, Luis Gutierrez (Illinois, D), Raul Grijalva (Arizona, D), and artists such as Alex Lora of El Tri and Jenni Rivera will all be present in this historic moment with the resistance.  In addition, the original

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May 27th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Immigrant Workers | Comments are closed

A Climate of Fear

By , on May 27th, 2010

Opinion

President Obama announced a decision to send 1,200 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border.  Mr. Obama is trying to appeal to enforcement-first and enforcement-only activists in and out of Congress with this escalation, but Republicans continue to distance themselves from any measures that include a path to citizenship for those in the US without documents.

The President has also continued to expand Bush-era policies that promote or force cooperation between Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement, like Secure Communities and 287(g).  Obama has offered mild criticism to Arizona’s S.B.1070, which forces police departments (often against their will) to demand papers from anyone who appears illegal, but his Administration’s own policies are moving the whole country in that direction. While DC Jobs with Justice was able to stop Secure Communities from coming to the nation’s capitol, efforts in other places, like San Francisco, have encountered roadblocks in fighting the program.

By expanding enforcement, the President opens the door to laws like Arizona’s and copy-cat bills across the country and promotes a climate of fear.  When anyone in this country is afraid

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May 27th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Campaigns, Immigrant Workers | Comments are closed