An urgent plea for help in Arizona: Stop Criminalization of Our Communities!

Dear Friends,

We write with an urgent plea for your assistance. This week, the Arizona legislature passed the most anti-immigrant legislation the United States has seen in a generation. We are calling on all who have fought for immigration reform to assist our brothers and sisters in Arizona to turn the tide on hatred, bigotry, and scapegoating that threatens our community. In 2006, we marched by the millions in cities across the country to block a hateful bill that would criminalize immigrants and their supporters. The bill currently before the Governor in Arizona would make the nightmare of Sensenbrenner a reality. Indeed, the bill’s stated intent is to terrorize immigrant families into leaving the state. We must do everything we can to prevent this from happening.

TAKE ACTION! Click here!

Arizona’s SB 1070 would force police officers to arrest and detain people based on a “reasonable suspicion” that they are undocumented. It’s not surprising that news of this bill has shocked the nation. There is no such thing as looking American or undocumented, and mandating police officers to racially profile sets this country back to a shameful time in its history where racial segregation was the law of the land. The state of Arizona has become home to experimental laws that use immigration as an excuse to criminalize communities of color. We have all seen the devastation caused by Joe Arpaio and others like him. The result of this struggle in Arizona will set the tone for the national debate. We must prevail. The bill is an assault on this nation’s values. Everyone, including the President himself, acknowledges that this is a nation of immigrants: Undocumented immigrants are Americans in Waiting.

TAKE ACTION! Click here!

We must wait no longer. Please take action by going to www.AltoArizona.com to sign a petition urging the bill’s veto. When you sign the list, you will send a message that the nation is unifying in its condemnation of Arizona’s dangerous legislation. You will continue to receive updates on where we will take things, should the bill be signed into law. Please forward this email to 5 people asking them to do the same. We have all fought hard to earn equality for our friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family who currently live and work in the U.S regardless of immigration status. The time is now for full legalization, not criminalization enacted by racist local demagogues. The time is now for the country to come together to urge the federal government to stop immigrant bashing.

Together We Will, Turn the Tide.

Sincerely,

Pablo Alvarado,
Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.

We are calling on arizona governor jan brewer to veto SB 1070.

Arizona is on the verge of enacting the most anti-immigrant legislation the country has seen in a generation. This is a bill which apparently mandates racial profiling. SB 1070 is quite literally intended to terrorize immigrant families.

We are hopeful Governor Brewer will consult with her legal counsel, issue a veto, and spare Arizona the expense of defending an unconstitutional, unwise, and odious bill in federal courts. But we will not rely solely on hope. We urge all opponents of this bill to TAKE ACTION and call, fax, and/or send an email to AZ Governor Brewer to let her know that we do not stand by a bill that threatens to terrorize, criminalize and profile non-white residents of Arizona.

Please forward the information on to your friends, family, co-workers and networks to speak up against SB 1070.

• Use your online networks, like email, IM, Blogs, Facebook and Twitter to spread the word online.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspapers about your opinion of Immigration Reform and SB 1070.
• Take action online and offline. Become an active participant in the movement!

Go to WWW.ALTOARIZONA.COM to tell Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to VETO SB 1070!

PHOENIX - Lawmakers Tuesday debated a bill that would make Arizona one of the toughest states for immigration enforcement. Outside, ranchers rallied for more border control but were drowned out by protesters voicing opposition to the tough new bill.

The Arizona House approved a bill that would draw local communities deeper into the fight against illegal immigration despite arguments from opponents that it would do nothing to keep people safer.

House Republicans advanced the measure on a 35-21 party-line vote. The Senate approved the bill in February but must concur to changes made in the House before sending it to Gov. Jan Brewer. Click to continue »

by E. J. Montini - Apr. 15, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Mom and dad (the federal government) left the kids (Arizona legislators) alone in the House (and Senate) and the children have run wild. And it’s beginning to look like the parents are NEVER coming back.

That’s how I described things to Chris Newman, legal director of the Los Angeles-based National Day Laborer Organizing Network, after the Arizona House approved an immigration bill that would ratchet up law enforcement, legal penalties and emotions to a level unseen anywhere in the United States.

Newman had released a statement saying: “Arizona is on the verge of enacting the most anti-immigrant legislation the country has seen in a generation. We are hopeful Governor Brewer will consult with her legal counsel, issue a veto, and spare Arizona the expense of defending an unconstitutional, unwise, and odious bill in federal courts. Arizona has long been a laboratory for anti-immigrant experimentation, and its demagogue leaders have become folk heroes for White supremacists throughout the United States, but this bill ushers in a new chapter of disgrace for the state that resisted celebrating the life of Martin Luther King.” Click to continue »

The most harsh rules in the US target workers without papers, which, opponents say, will lead to harassment

Ewen MacAskill, Washington, guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 14 April 2010 19.54 BST

A border patrol agent in the Arizona desert. The state has introduced tough new immigration laws to tackle illegal Latinos Photograph: George Steinmetz/Corbis

Pro-immigration groups across the US expressed despair today after Arizona passed the toughest bills in the country which they say are aimed at forcing out hundreds of thousands of Latinos living illegally in the state.

Arizona has long been a flashpoint in the debate over immigration, with tensions heightened by the murder last month of a popular rancher, Robert Krentz, in a remote spot used by groups smuggling people from Mexico to the US.

“The Mexico-Arizona border is out of control,” said the Arizona Cattlemen’s Association in a statement accompanying a report yesterday that claimed the impact of illegal immigration was so great the state could qualify for disaster relief.

The new bill, passed by the Arizona house of representatives last night, greatly expands the powers of the police in dealing with illegal immigration, including for the first time giving them the right to stop anyone on “reasonable suspicion” they may be an illegal immigrant and arrest them if they are not carrying identity papers.

All 35 Republicans in the Arizona house voted for the bill, while 21 Democrats voted against. Click to continue »

For Immediate Release / Excuse Cross Postings / Please Distribute

Contact: Marco Loera, 602-373-3859 and newman@ndlon.org

Date:  April 13, 2010

The following is a statement by Chris Newman, Legal Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network:

“Arizona is on the verge of enacting the most anti-immigrant legislation the country has seen in a generation.   We are hopeful Governor Brewer will consult with her legal counsel, issue a veto, and spare Arizona the expense of defending an unconstitutional, unwise, and odious bill in federal courts.   Arizona has long been a laboratory for anti-immigrant experimentation, and its demagogue leaders have become folk heros for white supremacists throughout the United States, but this bill ushers in a new chapter of disgrace for the state that resisted celebrating the life of Martin Luther King.”

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By Nicholas Riccardi, 2:49 p.m. - April 13, 2010
Reporting from Denver

“It’s beyond the pale,” said Chris Newman, legal director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “It appears to mandate racial profiling.”

Arizona lawmakers on Tuesday approved what foes and supporters agree is the toughest measure in the country against undocumented immigrants, making it a crime to be an illegal immigrant in Arizona and allowing local police to determine whether people are in the country legally.

The measure, long sought by opponents of illegal immigration, passed in the state House of Representatives. The state Senate passed a similar measure earlier this year, and Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, who has not spoken publicly about the issue, is expected to sign the bill.

The bill’s author, State Sen. Russell Pearce, said the law simply “takes the handcuffs off of law enforcement and lets them do their job.”

But police were deeply divided on the matter, with police unions backing it but the state police chief’s association opposed the bill, contending it could erode trust with immigrants who could be potential witnesses. Click to continue »

by CARA on 4.6.2010

In Arizona, the legislature looks set to pass a truly terrifying anti-immigration bill that would, among other thing, allow police to arrest undocumented immigrants on the charge of trespassing simply for being in the state:

The Arizona Legislature gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a proposal that would allow the police to arrest illegal immigrants on trespassing charges simply for being in the state.

The provision, which opponents and proponents call a first in the nation, is part of a wide-ranging bill whose sponsors say they hope will make life tougher for illegal immigrants.

The House bill must be reconciled with a version passed by the Senate, something that may be done within the next week or two. Both include measures to outlaw the hiring of day laborers off the street; prohibit anyone from knowingly transporting an illegal immigrant, even a relative, anywhere in the state; and compel local police to check the status of people they reasonably suspect are in the country illegally.

Immigrant advocates call the bill some of the harshest legislation they have seen in a state where battles over immigration are particularly sharp edged.

Click to continue »

Source: Uprising Radio, Host: Sonali Kolhatkar (KPFK 90.7 FM)

Listen to this segment | the entire program

On Friday, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security released an extensive internal report on its 287 (g) immigration agreements. The agreement facilitates the deportation of undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes and grants federal immigration authority to state and local police enforcement officials. It gained national notoriety and spurred much controversy in Arizona when Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio began utilizing it to conduct immigration sweeps and roundups. Friday’s comprehensive review of all the 287 (g) agreements DHS has in place found that the federal-local partnerships lacked oversight and were inconsistent in their applications from agency to agency. In contrast with the policy’s officially stated aims, local police were found to have used their authorities in targeting undocumented immigrants arrested only for minor offenses. Inadequate safeguards on civil rights were also highlighted. Despite the internal report’s findings, Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE has said that it has been aware of such problems and has already taken measures to address them. Immigrant rights activists, on the other hand, have responded to the report by calling on the Obama administration to end, not mend the agreements.

GUEST: Chris Newman, Legal Director of National Day Laborer Organizing Network

Arizona state legislators are once again positioning themselves to be the most hate-based state in the union. Arizona State Senator Russell K. Pearce (R) is a perfect example of hate mongering and overt racism. I realize that terms like “hate monger” and “racist” are strong accusations but I can find no better terms to describe the current attempt to curb illegal immigration in the state of Arizona.

From Senator Pearce’s own website:

“Republicans and Democrats in DC are terrified to oppose illegal immigration out of fear that they will be labeled racist. This assertion is ridiculous. There is nothing racist about upholding the law.”

Click to continue »