Demand Justice for Julio Maldonado.

by: Duke Reed

Fri Sep 04, 2009 at 00:24:54 AM EST

Ironically, this happened on the same day that the Southern Poverty Law Center was in town to announce the release of a detailed report documenting the nativist hate and culture of violence that had been festering in Long Island's Suffolk County for years.

The culmination of months of investigation and interviews with Latino residents, both documented and undocumented, the report details how "Latino immigrants in Suffolk County are regularly harassed, taunted, and pelted with objects hurled from cars. ...frequently run off the road while riding bicycles, and ... beaten with baseball bats and other objects. Others have been shot with BB guns or pepper-sprayed. Most will not walk alone after dark; parents often refuse to let their children play outside. A few have been the targets of arson attacks and worse."

The report also found that "fueling the fire are many of the very people who are charged with protecting the residents of Suffolk County - local politicians and law enforcement officials....immigrants told the SPLC that the police were, at best, indifferent to their reports of harassment, and, at worst, contributors to it. Many said police did not take their reports of attacks seriously, often blaming the victim instead."

But the inability to receive protection from local authorities and justice from the courts is nothing new in immigrant communities across the country. The case of Luis Ramirez demonstrated with glaring clarity just how little justice there is for the victims of nativist hate.

For those lucky enough to survive vicious attacks, or more so, defend themselves against them, a Pandora's box of injustice, bigotry, and bureaucratic negligence is often opened wide to release the worst demons of the American (un)justice system.

Perhaps nowhere has this been demonstrated more clearly than in the case of Julio Maldonado and his cousin Denis Calderon.  

Bush's Midnight Attack on Farmworkers

by: Farmworker Justice

Wed Dec 10, 2008 at 08:53:19 AM EST

The changes, proposed by the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were revealed on the DOL website late Monday evening but have not been officially published in the Federal Register yet.

The H-2A program is a temporary agricultural guestworker program that permits employers to apply for permission to hire foreign labor for jobs lasting ten months or less.  To bring in H-2A guestworkers, employers must show that they cannot find U.S. workers who want the jobs.

These will be the most far-reaching changes in the laws regulating agricultural guestworker programs since 1942.  They will return us to an era of agricultural labor exploitation that many thought ended decades ago.

The changes cut wage rates and wage protections for both domestic and foreign workers, minimize recruitment obligations inside the U.S. and curtail or eliminate much of the government oversight that is supposed to deter and remedy illegal employer conduct.
 

ACTION: AZ Superintendent to Abolish Ethnic Studies Program

by: rachelfirm

Thu Jun 12, 2008 at 10:43:35 AM EST

Horne, who claims to have a long history of "opposing ethnic studies and gender studies" says that the decision is "not based on a question of academics or education, but 'values.'"

The classes he's proposing for elimination have been proven to help Latino students at the high school perform at higher levels.

Countless studies of such classes have shown that such programs don't just enrich the curriculum but broadens the knowledge base of the students and fosters a sense of pride.

Valedictorian Faces Deportation

by: Manuel

Tue Jun 03, 2008 at 13:03:45 PM EST

Action Alert - North Carolina Banning Undocumented Students

by: DreamActivist

Thu May 22, 2008 at 13:22:25 PM EST

North Carolina alone is moving ahead with an interpretation of a federal law that the state says bars illegal immigrants from attending community colleges, even if the students pay more than the cost of their education.

The new policy, (PDF) approved May 13 by the North Carolina Community College System, comes after six months of political and legal controversy on the topic, but it is unlikely to be the last word in an area where federal courts and immigration officials have offered little guidance to states.

Practically speaking, the decision’s effect will be limited. It doesn’t apply to students attending English as a Second Language classes or vocational training, for instance. Only 112 North Carolina community college students who pursued academic credit last year - out of a total of 296,520 - likely were illegal immigrants, according to the community college system.

But symbolically, the policy is “insulting” to Latinos, said Tony Asion, executive director of El Pueblo, a Raleigh-based non-profit group focused on developing the Latino community. He pointed out that, before the change, undocumented students were allowed to enroll but had to pay out-of-state tuition, which is set at 40 percent above cost that the colleges spend to educate them. Other North Carolina residents get a discount.

Admitting undocumented students “isn’t taking any money from anyone. It isn’t taking any (class) space from anyone. The reason (for the change) is: ‘We just don’t want these people in our schools,’” Asion said.

Read more here

1. What to DO - CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES

To find your elected
official, go to: http://www.ncleg.net/ and click on Representation.

Contact NC Speaker of the House & President Pro Tem

Contact Speaker of the House Rep. Joe Hackney (919-733-3451) Joeh@ncleg.net and
President Pro Tem Sen. Marc Basnight (919-733-6854, Marcb@ncleg.net) to let them know that you do not want the NC Legislature to ban undocumented students from our community colleges and universities.

Contact Governor Easley (1-800-662-7952-NC only, 919-733-4240, or 919-733-5811) to thank him or supporting undocumented students through his public statements. Ask him to continue his leadership in support of access to higher education for immigrant students.

Sample letter to send to your representatives:

This is in regards to the proposal to ban undocumented students from higher education institutions in North Carolina. We firmly oppose this move as it is a wrong interpretation of federal immigration law, a waste of public resources and serves no compelling state interest.

The Attorney General of North Carolina has wrongly interpreted the 1996 federal law, spinning it to mean that undocumented students should be denied postsecondary education benefits when the law only states that undocumented students shall not qualify for any post-secondary benefit that are not already available to U.S. citizens and nationals. Post-secondary education, in and of itself, is already available to all U.S. citizens and nationals.

Additionally, an ICE memo recently clarified that United States federal law did not prohibit undocumented students from attending colleges in America—the matter is up to the sole discretion of the postsecondary educational institution.

Here is a look at undocumented students in North Carolina by the numbers that shows how admitting undocumented students is a net-benefit, a profit-making opportunity for higher education in North Carolina:

• 27 - UNC system students who are illegal immigrants, out of 200,000

• 340 - Community college students who are illegal immigrants, out of 271,000

• $5,300 - Annual cost of educating a full-time student at a community college

• $7,465 - Out-of-state tuition illegal immigrants pay at community college

Since undocumented students make up less than one-tenth of one percent of students in the North Carolina system and do not burden taxpayers because they are not eligible for financial aid or grants, it would be ludicrous not to educate them. Moreover, since they have to pay ‘out of state’ tuition, it more than covers the cost of their enrollment. There can be no justification for denying higher education to students–regardless of immigration status–if they merit those spots under status quo federal and state law.