NDLON

What: Press Conference Announcing City Council Action in Response to Federal Announcement to Activate the S-Comm            Deportation Program When: MONDAY June 4th, 2012 at  11:00 am Where: Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC  Who: Councilmember Mendelson (invited), Councilmember Graham, Councilmember Barry, Mayor Vincent Gray (invited), Roxana Olivas, Director of Mayor's Office of Latino Affairs, and concerned community members. In what has become a pattern of total disregard for local decision-making, the federal government plans to activate the controversial "Secure Communities" deportation program in the District Tuesday, June 5th.  In 2010 Washington, DC became the first local jurisdiction in the country to officially opt-out of S-Comm when the program was still voluntary. In response to growing criticism, the federal government cancelled local contracts governing the program and made it mandatory. The District along with the Governors of Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and numerous other cities opposed the program because it damages trust between local police and the community, deters witnesses and crime victims from reporting crimes for fear of deportation.  Last fall Mayor Vincent Gray issued an Executive Order to strengthen protections for the immigrant community and on Tuesday the DC Council will vote on the Immigration Detainer Compliance Act which aims to mitigate some of the harm of the "Secure Communities" deportation program. Similar legislation has already been enacted in Cook County, Illinois; Santa Clara and San Francisco, California; the state of Connecticut and others.  For Background on the Secure Communities Program, read the national report "Restoring Community" http://altopolimigra.com/s-comm-shadow-report/

  NDLON Calls on Sec. Napolitano to Stop Fearmongering  and Start Addressing Civil Rights Crisis in DHS Immigration Policy   Chicago, IL. 05.16.2012. Yesterday, WBEZ released a report on recidivism of individuals released under Cook County's progressive immigration detainer policy, passed in response to dragnet federal immigration programs. The study "finds no evidence that inmates freed from jail against the wishes of immigration authorities reoffend or jump bail more than other freed inmates do."  In response, Pablo Alvarado of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network issued the following statement:

70,000 CA deportations under "Secure" Communities program spark anger; Bill puts state at forefront of movement to curb burdensome immigration detentions in local jails Sacramento, CA – As the imposition of the scandal-plagued "Secure" Communities or S-Comm deportation program in Massachusetts and New York today spurs fresh controversy, California Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-SF) formally introduced a revamped version of AB 1081, the TRUST Act, to reform California's participation in the program.  The new incarnation of AB 1081, which captured national attention last year, formally appeared "in print"  late yesterday and will pick up where the previous version left off, in the state Senate. The bill is expected to be heard in the Senate Public Safety committee next month. (Background information below.)

The Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights calls to end roadblocks associated with racial profiling in immigrant communities.  What: Press Conference Before Meeting with Fairburn Police Department When: Monday, May 14th 1:00 pm Where: 191 South West Broad St. Fairburn, Ga. 30213 Who: CPG, Fayetteville Community and the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR)  Recent activation of 287(g) agreements, Secure Communities, and HB87, that merge local police with complex federal immigration authorities has led to an increase in racial profiling and discrimination in law enforcement practices.  In Fayetteville, community members will be meeting with Fairburn Police Chief James McCarthy on Monday the 14th to call for an end to roadblocks they describe as focal points of discrimination. 

Powerhouse Hip-Hop Star Headlines Mothers' Day Concert for Human Rights What: Women in Resistance AltoArizona Hip-Hop Concert with Ana Tijoux, Cihuatl Ce, and all Female Mariachi Where: Puente Movement Office. 1306 E Van Buren. Phoenix, AZ.  When: 6:00pm - 10:00pm, May 13, 2012. Cost: $5 Donation May 04, 2012. Phoenix, AZ - South American Hip-Hop star and Grammy-nominated artist, Ana Tijoux, will perform a Women in Resistance AltoArizona concert with Puente and NDLON to protest anti-immigrant policies in Arizona and to honor mothers who are part of the powerful human rights movement in the state.  The rising star will offer the donation-based concert as part of her fourth US tour. She will be joined by local act Cihuatl Ce.  The daughter of Chilean exiles who fled Pinochet's dictatorship, Tijoux relates personally to the situation in Maricopa County. The concert is the next in the AltoArizona series hosted by Puente Arizona and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network after September's Manu Chao performance.

05.10.2012 Washington, DC. In response to the Department of Justice announcement that it will be suing Sheriff Arpaio of Maricopa County in its civil rights case against him, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network released the following statements, Chris Newman, legal director states, "It is very clear a dispute has broken out between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, and it's forcing a dilemma for the White House. The DOJ is arriving late to a civil rights crime scene caused in large part by the Department of Homeland Security.  Janet Napolitano got Arpaio his immigration badge when she was Governor, and rather than correct her mistake as Secretary of DHS, she chose to create more Arpaio's by expanding the dangerous "Secure Communities" (SCOMM) program throughout the country.  

05.10.2012 Phoenix, AZ. In response to the DOJ announcement that it will be suing Sheriff Arpaio after negotiations in its civil rights case failed and the Sheriff's subsequent promise to appeal in what will be lengthy court proceedings, Carlos Garcia of Puente Arizona released the following statement: "While suing and investigating the Sheriff's office, the federal government should end its own role in his historic violations of civil rights. We need immediate relief in Arizona not lengthy courtroom theater. As the Sheriff continues in office and SB1070's supreme court decision looms ahead, the Administration has to decide whether it will continue to be an accomplice to racial profiling and family separation in Arizona or whether it will shut off programs like Secure Communities that are at the center of Arpaio's crimes." Puente Arizona is a Phoenix-based human rights organization leading the effort to bring Sheriff Arpaio to justice and restore rights in Maricopa County by ending police/ICE collaboration. ###

Court Must Strike Down Unconstitutional SB1070, Administration Must Cut Ties with Racial Profiling State 04.25.2012 Phoenix, AZ. In response to reports from within Supreme Court that Justices expressed approval toward several parts of SB 1070 , Carlos Garcia of Puente Arizona released the following statement: "SB 1070 is unconstitutional, and we expect it to be struck down by the Supreme Court.  But SB 1070 is a symptom of a much larger problem, and it's one that has been made worse by President Obama's own immigration policies that use people like Sheriff Arpaio as 'force multipliers.'   The spin around today's Supreme Court spectacle masks the fact that the Department of Homeland Security continues to advance programs that criminalize immigrants, and the Department of Justice has still failed in its duty to remedy civil rights violations it has merely described for three years.  

Local Community Asserts: DC is not Arizona Two Days After SB1070 SCOTUS Hearing, DC Community Denounces Immigration Customs Enforcement Roundtable   Washington, DC – Two days after the SB1070 SCOTUS hearing that mobilized nearly a thousand pro-civil rights protestors, DC community leaders will hold a press conference outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) roundtable on the controversial "Secure Communities" deportation program. Like Arizona's SB1070 law, the federal "Secure Communities" program turns local police officers into defacto immigration agents, funnels people into ICE’s deportation system, and undermines public safety and civil rights. The District of Columbia last year officially withdrew from the program but last August the federal government announced a sudden reversal in policy, making the program mandatory.  Said Sarahi Uribe, local resident and campaign coordinator for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, "As the first locality to reject this program nearly two years ago, we are very disappointed that ICE is holding a roundtable to promote this failed program. It shows a lack of respect for local decision-making. DC government and residents spoke very clearly, now the Feds need to listen: End the In-secure Communities program."  The federal government plans to activate the "Secure Communities" program in DC by 2013. Community leaders will demand that Feds respect local decision making and honor the original agreement allowing DC to withdraw.  WHAT:         Press Conference  WHEN:         FRIDAY April 27 at Noon  WHERE:       Outside Immigration and Customs Enforcement Building  131 M Street N.E. Washington DC, 20002 (Near New York Ave. Metro)  WHO:         Faith, Labor, Student, and community leaders including DC Jobs with Justice, LIUNA, AYUDA, the DC Coalition Against  Domestic Violence, South Asian Americans Leading Together, Rights Working Group.  ####

Events in Phoenix, Elsewhere Protest SB1070 and Similar Federal Deportation Programs April 23, 2012. Phoenix, AZ. Groups across the country are preparing for the Supreme Court hearing of the Department of Justice's suit against SB1070 on Wednesday.  The Arizona bill passed in 2010 made the state synonymous with racial profiling and marred its reputation as a 'capitol of prejudice.' While the majority of the bill has been enjoined and has yet to go into effect, Arizona communities and local groups in other states claim to be experiencing the bills intent, "attrition through enforcement," as a result of similar federal immigration policies.   On Wednesday the 25th, events will be held in cities across the country to call on the Supreme Court to strike down SB1070 and call on the federal government to terminate similar federal deportation programs, such as the failed "Secure Communities" program, that enlist local law enforcement as "force multipliers" in immigration law.  In multiple cities, groups are pushing for local solutions that restore trust in law enforcement that has been eroded by immigration policies. "Neither state laws nor the federal government can enlist our local law enforcement in the dirty work of deportation," explains Sarahí Uribe of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. "As the Supreme Court hears the Department of Justice's suit against SB1070, all of our cities are faced with the responsibility to show that we will not be another Arizona. Most cities understand our families belong together, it's police and ICE that should be separated." Carlos Garcia of Puente Arizona added, "In Arizona we're facing a human rights crisis. The government's persistent collaboration with Sheriff Arpaio despite his notorious profiling is reinforcing the climate of hate that SB1070 sought to create and is recreating it across the country through its own deportation policies. We're protesting for a new day in Arizona. As the Supreme Court deliberates, the jury for us is already in. SB1070 and similar federal policies need to be struck down."   Visit http://altopolimigra.com/april-25-supreme-court-hearing-on-sb1070/ for information and contacts for actions in Boston, Hartford, Washington, DC, Phoenix, Dallas, Homestead, FL, and Knoxville, TN among others.

NDLON Calls On Sheriff to Follow Chicago Example, Stop Responding to ICE's Request for Extra Incarceration of Peaceful Immigrants 04.10.2012 Los Angeles, CAIn response to the Independent report released yesterday that exposes that more people in LA County jail are transferred to Immigration than to state prison, Pablo Alvarado of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network issued the following statement calling on the Sheriff to immediately suspend voluntarily holding peaceful immigrants in extended incarceration at ICE's request:

OIG Report on Secure Communities Deportation Program Heightens Controversy over Failed Program. Advocates Decry report as “window dressing,” and renew calls: “End SCOMM. Don’t Mend it.”   04.06.2012. Washington, DC.  Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General issued two reports on the much-maligned “Secure Communities” deportation program. The reports, which come after two years of mounting opposition to Secure Communities from state and local officials, congressional representatives, advocates, and faith groups, were quickly dismissed by advocates as inadequate to address the program’s failings.   Instead, the groups conclude that the reports are proof that ICE cannot reform itself and that there is no suitable solution for the program other than its termination.   “In an attempt to justify the program, the reports inadvertently admit that ICE has mutated S-Comm into an overreaching dragnet. Secure Communities was sold as a public safety program but has since proven the opposite. The OIG reports confirm that when it became clear that over 50% of deportations fell outside the program’s original scope, ICE changed its categories and is now trumping minor offenses as its new priority,” explains Sarahí Uribe of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “These reports only strengthen calls for the program's complete termination.  DHS refuses to take responsibility for the program’s failues. DHS cannot continue to stick it's head in the sand while spreading the program’s dangerous consequences."     Sunita Patel of the Center for Constitutional Rights says “The Inspector General reports are wholly insufficient. The reports ignore the enormous body of evidence that Secure Communities is a failure. Instead, the IG offers window dressing for a program that can’t be dressed up. The only suitable solution is to terminate Secure Communities and shift priorities to repair the harm it has caused.”   Sonia Lin of the Cardozo Immigration Justice Clinic adds, “The fact that DHS expects the public to accept this report as reform is an outrage. It does little to address the real-life impact of Secure Communities on immigrant communities. Not only does Secure Communities undermine community policing efforts in jurisdictions seeking to work with immigrant communities, it also facilitates racial profiling in jurisdictions such as Maricopa County to violate the rights of non-citizens and drive immigrants out.  After so much pain has been caused by Secure Communities, its victims deserve to see the program terminated.”   More than two years ago, CCR, NDLON, and the Cardozo Immigration Justice Clinic began still-on-going FOIA litigation to uncover the…

  Supreme Court Should Strike Down Arizona Bill, Local March to Call for End to Similar Federal Programs.       Who: A Wide Coalition of Organizations  When: April 25th. March to begin at 3pm Arizona Time. Where: Opening Rally at Civic Space Park   March: Highlighting Phoenix PD, Federal Courthouse, 4th Ave Jail, Wells Fargo Tower, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and returning to Civic Space Park.   On April 25th, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Department of Justice lawsuit against the state of Arizona's SB1070. At the same time, communities in Arizona will come together to participate in a march to protest against the state bill and call for an end to both state and federal policies that erode civil rights, promote racial profiling, and enable local law enforcement such as Sheriff Arpaio to use immigration policy to enforce their prejudice.   Carlos Garcia of Puente states, “With SB1070 Arizona declared a war of attrition on immigrants. What was started in Arizona quickly lead to the Arizonificaiton of this country, one that treats undocumented immigrants as criminals and treats all Latinos as undocumented.”       Opal Tometi of Black Alliance For Just Immigration explains, "April 25th doesn't just mark a decision for the Supreme Court. The human rights violations now plain as day in Arizona create a moral dilemma for all of us. We will be marching because we refuse to live another day in Attrition. We ask that all those who believe you should not be judged by the color of your skin to join us in turning the tide from hate to a new day for human rights."   Diana Perez of Puente relates, "Maricopa County has been in a human rights crisis created by both state and federal policies that we've only seen spread in the past two years. On April 25th we'll be marching to say that we will not comply with the hate contained in SB1070. The Supreme Court should strike down 1070 and the federal government should re-evaluate its embrace of Arizona-style policies." Facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/events/370620936316540/ ###  

Groups Demand FBI Address Concerns from Governors and Other High Level State and Local Officials that Program Undermines Public Safety           Today, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and over 80 other civil and immigrant rights organizations sent a letter to the FBI demanding that it end its facilitation of ICE’s Secure Communities deportation program (S-Comm).               The letter charges that S-Comm threatens public safety, encourages racial profiling and undermines community policing by turning local police departments into gateways to deportation. Under S-Comm, the FBI takes all fingerprints submitted by local police for criminal background checks and automatically forwards the prints to federal immigration officials, regardless of whether individual has been convicted of a crime or of the severity of the charge. 

Groups Demand FBI Address Concerns from Governors and Other High Level State and Local Officials that Program Undermines Public Safety           Today, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and over 80 other civil and immigrant rights organizations sent a letter to the FBI demanding that it end its facilitation of ICE’s Secure Communities deportation program (S-Comm).               The letter charges that S-Comm threatens public safety, encourages racial profiling and undermines community policing by turning local police departments into gateways to deportation. Under S-Comm, the FBI takes all fingerprints submitted by local police for criminal background checks and automatically forwards the prints to federal immigration officials, regardless of whether individual has been convicted of a crime or of the severity of the charge.