Arizona's harsh anti-immigrant bill gives racial profiling the green light

by: Restore Fairness

Wed Apr 14, 2010 at 17:05:04 PM EST

From the Restore Fairness blog.

The passage of SB 1070 by the House of Representatives in Arizona  will have chilling repercussions if signed into law by Governor Brewer.  The bill dramatically expands police powers to stop, question and detain  individuals for not having proper identification, a move that will  instigate racial  tension and fear and driving a wedge between groups.

SB 1070 effectively makes it a crime to be undocumented in   Arizona,  and will be one of the harshest anti-immigrant legislations in the U.S. if  it becomes law. The bill passed in Arizona’s House of Representatives  and is to be combined with a similar bill that passed in the  Senate,  after which it is expected to be signed into law Governor Brewer. Senator  Russell K. Pearce (R-AZ) who introduced the bill has publicly  stated that if it passes, 10 other states will follow suit with similar  legislation.

So what’s in it? The bill requires the police to  investigate the immigration  status of every person that they come  across, whom they have “reasonable suspicion” to believe is in the  country unlawfully. This implies that everyone has to carry their papers  with  them at all times in order to avoid being stopped, arrested, and   detained, effectively fashioning Arizona into nothing short of a police  state. Currently,  police officers can only inquire about a person’s immigration status if   the person is a suspect in a crime. In addition, the bill allows anyone  to sue a local, country or state agency if they   believe that the agency is not enforcing immigration law, expressly  forbids cities from adopting “sanctuary”  policies that prevent  police from carrying out immigration  enforcement, and makes  it illegal to solicit work or hire day laborers.

While opponents of immigration have been rooting for this measure for   a long time, immigrant rights advocates have unanimously condemned the   bill as an affront on the civil liberties of the residents of Arizona.  From business groups and faith leaders to municipal governments and  police chiefs, the bill has seen increasing opposition. Even within the  police, while police  unions support the bill, the state  police chief’s association has opposed the bill,  saying that it  will hamper the trust that immigrant communities place  in the their  services. Outraged by its potential passage, groups like the ACLU,  NDLON, Bordern  Action Network and  national networks have gone into  overdrive to  protest the bill. According to Alessandra Meetze,  President of the ACLU of Arizona,

Instead of working on real solutions to  the  immigration crisis, our  legislators have devised a proposal that  is full  of  shortcuts…Contrary to what proponents of SB1070 say, the  bill does   not prohibit officers from relying on race or ethnicity in  deciding who   to investigate…A lot of U.S. citizens are going to be  swept up in the application of  this law for something as simple as  having an accent and leaving their  wallet at home.

While Senator Pearce believes the bill simply  “takes   the handcuffs off of law enforcement and lets them do their  job”, in reality, it promotes racial profiling and cements  anti-immigrant sentiment already prevalent in Arizona. The grounds of  “reasonable suspicion” on  which police officers will  investigate  people about their immigration  status will in many cases be based on  racial and ethnic grounds. One immigration group, Somos America,  likens it to the  system operating under apartheid or pre-civil rights  America  with Jim Crow laws, where people of color were disallowed from   entering “white” land, yet were exploited for their labor by  the white  population. Given Arizona’s infamous Sheriff Arpaio whose dictatorial methods  favor neighborhood sweeps, tent city detentions, and racial stops the  fear of the misuse of the bill is not far fetched.

Sign a petition to tell Governor Brewer to stand up  for Arizona and stop  signing a bill into law that will terrorize communities and create  painful divisions.

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Nationwide vigils tell immigration agencies that they are "completely out of control"

by: Restore Fairness

Fri Apr 09, 2010 at 15:18:43 PM EST

From the Restore Fairness blog.

Between the discovery of Haitian earthquake survivors in immigration detention (later released), an agency memo showing support for larger amounts of immigrant deportations, and the agency’s own admission of mismanagement, an embarrassed Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) needs to be held accountable for its actions.

While civil rights groups have continued to be critical of ICE over the past year, the first protests against their recent misadventures has been spearheaded by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Starting yesterday, the SEIU mobilized their members to participate in vigils outside ICE offices across the country to call on the agency to bring itself back to the enforcement goals it had set at the beginning of the Obama administration last year, goals that it seems to have lost sight of.

One of the country’s largest labor unions, the SEIU held prayer vigils outside USCIS offices in Oakland and Sacramento yesterday and outside ICE headquarters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Boston and Minneapolis today. Speaking on behalf of thousands of workers and human rights advocates across the country, Executive Vice-President of SEIU, Eliseo Medina said-

When DHS first announced its enforcement goals – including its increased focus on worksite I9 audits – SEIU was optimistic that the Obama Administration would clean up past wrongdoings…Instead, the agency has added flames to the fire by replacing worksite raids with electronic raids. Field officers are acting like cowboys, more interested in adding scalps to their belts than targeting criminals and abusive employers, which would actually help solve our immigration problems. As a result, communities lose, businesses lose, families lose, America loses.

President Obama has expressed his commitment to the need for immigration reform saying that tearing apart families, terrorizing communities through raids, and denying due process to those detained, were all indications of a broken immigration system that needed to be fixed. With the expansion of an unsuccessful 287(g) program and an increase in deportations in the past year, it is clear the the system is failing. SEIU activists are demanding-

Rather than wasting limited funds to chase hard-working, tax-paying cleaners, home-care providers and nannies, the activists will call on President Obama and Secretary Janet Napolitano to re-focus ICE enforcement on its original goals of targeting crooked employers and criminals.

The human repercussions of political decisions made behind closed doors cannot be under estimated. If the promises that the administration made are not upheld, retaliatory actions will continue to take place across the nation.

Watch the latest video from America’s Voice, telling us how the current state of immigration is “More Rouge Than Right.”

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"(Pre)Viewing the Right-Wing Playbook on Immigration"

by: Restore Fairness

Thu Apr 08, 2010 at 16:08:41 PM EST

From the Restore Fairness blog.

As we continue to fight for immigration reform, one  thing that we can  be sure about is a right-wing attack. A preview of  this came about in  the days building up to the successful immigration march in D.C. when fringe right-wing   groups like Numbers USA, The John Tanton Network and the Tea Party Movement started pulling out all the stops to counter the building   momentum for immigration reform. Predictably, their approach mirrored   the strategies they employed a few years ago, during the last big push   for reform that took place in 2007 under former President George Bush.

A report by liberal advocacy group People for the American Way called “(Pre)Viewing the Right-Wing Playbook on Immigration”  has pulled from years of expertise on the right to lay out a list of   the key strategies that are traditionally employed to defeat immigration   reform, followed by tools to retaliate against these irrational and unsound attacks.

One of the  most common strategies employed by the right is an appeal  to racial  fear. This is carried out in a number of ways, including the  positing  of the “Brown” threat to a “White America,” and the outrageous   portrayal of immigrants and their supporters as invaders and enemies of   the United States. Inciting prejudice against Latinos, Rep. Tom  Tancredo  commented in November 2006-

Look at what  has happened to Miami. It  has become a Third World country…. You would  never know you’re in the  United States of America. You would certainly  say you’re in a Third  World country.

Not to be  left behind, former Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan  continued in  the vein of this fear-mongering around the “immigrant  invasion”. He wrote in 2007-

What is  happening to us? An immigrant  invasion of the United States from the  Third World, as America’s white  majority is no longer even reproducing  itself. Since Roe v. Wade,  America has aborted 45 million of her  children. And Asia, Africa and  Latin America have sent 45 million of  their children to inherit the  estate that aborted American children  never saw.

It goes without saying that claims that  America has been built by and  for White people are historically  incorrect and intensely racist. More  importantly, this country  continues to be shaped by immigrants and draws  immense political and  economic strength from its diversity.

Continuing in the vein of  racial divisiveness is the idea that  immigration rights advocates are  themselves racist, a notion that has  emerged in the post Obama election  days. While television personality  Glenn Beck has referred to  President Obama as someone who was opposed to  white people, he has  generated the idea from numerous accusations of  racism thrown at  pro-immigration advocates during the 2007 push for  reform. At that  time, the radio host Michael Savage attacked the National Council of La Raza by calling it “the Ku Klux Klan of the Hispanic   people.” He went on to say that it was “the most stone racist group I’ve   ever seen in this country”.

Portraying undocumented immigrants  as responsible for terrorism and   crime waves, as well as positing them  as “unclean” carriers of disease   and bio-terrorism is one of the  tactics that the far right has employed   on both local and national  levels during past debates around   immigration. Such as when  Lou Dobbs claimed immigrants were   causing an   epidemic of  leprosy in the country which was simply untrue. Or when   during the debates over immigration reform, Rep. Steve King, of the   House Republicans’ “Immigration Reform Caucus” extrapolated fictional   statistics claiming that 12 American citizens “die a violent   death at the hands of murderous illegal aliens each day”. If that’s so,   then why is it that the President’s  Council of Economic Advisers reports that immigrants have lower crime rates than   U.S. citizens and that immigrant men ages 18 to 40 are less likely  than  other U.S. residents to be incarcerated.

While we hope that  most of you would be taken by the impulse to laugh  off these  strategies as racist, rabble-rousing garbage, we must take  note that  such nativist fear-mongering has the power to garner  significant  support from many, especially within the current climate of  an unstable  economy. Work such as People For the American Way’s “Right Wing Watch: In Focus” series gives us the   best tool to fighting these attacks – truly understanding the reasoning   behind them, and countering them on their own territory.

Let’s  fight racism on our route to humane immigration reform!

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Racial profiling in Georgia a microcosm of what's happening all over the U.S.

by: Restore Fairness

Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 15:35:07 PM EST

From the Restore  Fairness blog.

As the dust settles around  the 200,000 March for America in D.C. this weekend, it is   important to remind ourselves why we need immigration reform. A new   report by the ACLU is one such reminder of racial profiling that is   alive and kicking in the United States. As one of the most   unconstitutional implications of our broken immigration system, racial profiling takes place when police stop,   interrogate, and detain people on the basis of their appearance, accent   or general perceived ethnicity, rather than on the basis of concrete   evidence of criminal activity.

Called “The Persistence of Racial Profiling in Gwinnett: Time   for Accountability, Transparency, and an End to 287(g),” the report   uses individual testimonies from the community to examine the   persistence of racial profiling in Gwinnett County, Georgia, before and   after the introduction of the 287(g) program that partners local law   enforcement with federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to   enforce immigration law. Dedicated to the brave undocumented students walking the Trail of Dreams who  marched into this “risky”  287(g) county, the report focuses on Sheriff  Conway known as the “Joe  Arpaio of the South”, who claimed that November 16th, 2009 or the day that   the 287(g) program officially took off in Gwinnett County “was a great   day for Gwinnett County citizens.”

Racial profiling has always  been prevalent in Gwinnett County. In a  case that took place before the  implementation of 287(g), a  woman named  Mary Babington witnessed two  police offers stop a white  Sedan and pull  out two Latino men at  gun-point, shouting at them the  entire time.  They were then cuffed and  made to lie on the ground,  shirtless. One of  the men was crying and  asked the officer for his  shirt, saying he felt  cold. The officer then  kicked him on his back and  yelled at him not to  move. Mary then heard  one ="padding-left: 30px">They  wouldn’t come out when I pulled my   gun, so I sprayed the whole can of  pepper spray. I emptied the whole   can on them…Dude, I emptied the can  in his face. I love my job.

According  to the witness, Mary, the officers did not tell the men why   they had  been stopped, and did not read the men their rights at any   point.  Finally the officers administered a breathalyzer test and gave   one of  them a ticket for driving under the influence.

The implementation  of the 287 (g) program has  only exacerbated  racial profiling. Many  people of color have been stopped, interrogated,  detained and even   abused based on minor traffic violations even though  287(g) is supposed  to be implemented to catch serious criminals. Some  were stopped  without any  probable cause and never given an explanation.

A  case in point is the testimony of Juan, a 48-year maintenance   technician who is a legal permanent resident, entitled to live and work   in the U.S. In the last year he has been stopped by local police on two   different occasions, both times without any legal basis. On the most   recent occasion, a Gwinnett police officer asked Juan to pull over as he   was driving home from work. Despite him asking the officer five times   why he was being stopped, he was given no answer. Instead the officer   continuously screamed at him for asking questions and asked him for his   driver’s license, which he handed over. Juan was eventually released   without a citation but never found out why he had been pulled over and   detained. He is now constantly worried about such an event recurring and   avoids driving in certain areas of Gwinnett County.

In a podcast interview, Azadeh   Shahshahani from the ACLU talks about the ways in which the 287(g)   program has been extremely harmful for the 70 jurisdictions in which it   operates. Local profiling has threatened public safety so that instead   of trusting the local police, people are increasingly afraid to  approach  them, creating a dangerous communication barrier between local  law  enforcement and the community. In addition to diverting resources,  the  287(g) program employs local police officers who are not trained  in  making immigration and status determinations, resulting in them   restoring to their perceived notions about people’s race, ethnicity and   accent.

While 50% of U.S. states have enacted legislation  against racial  profiling, legislation is still pending for Georgia. According   to Azadeh -

In Georgia the problem is compounded   because not only is there not any meaningful federal oversight, but   there is also no oversight at the local or county level that we have   seen…One of our main recommendations would be for law enforcement to   revert to a policy of having federal immigration laws enforced only by   federal immigration officials, and leave police to the job of protecting   our communities.

So what’s the best outcome? Lacking training and   oversight, stop 287(g) program all over the country. Document all the   stops that are being made in the name of the program to check for   patterns of racial profiling. And pass anti-racial profiling legislation   so everyone is protected.

Photo courtesy of acluga.org

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200,000 marched for America this weekend. Now it's your turn...

by: Restore Fairness

Tue Mar 23, 2010 at 17:13:15 PM EST

From the Restore Fairness blog.

Do you know what it feels like to be a part of a  200,000  person-strong protest? In a word- amazing. But why scrimp on  words when  describing the largest demonstration for immigration reform since 2006!

On Sunday March 21st we joined tens of thousands  of people from every  corner of the country as they came together in  Washington D.C. to  demand humane immigration reform NOW. With thousands  of workers, faith based groups, young   people, LGBT  folks and African-Americans demonstrating, the atmosphere on   the National Mall was electric. Once we finished taking in the sheer   magnitude of the sea of people that stretched across five blocks of the   Mall, we held our signs up high and joined in the innovative and   energetic rallying. It was difficult to not be distracted by the variety   of colorful banners, signs, puppets and slogans that people creatively   designed, and we were inspired by chants of “Sí Se Puede”, “No Human   Being is Illegal,” and “Change Takes Courage.” The most prominent colors   of the day were red, white and blue as demonstrators proudly waved   American flags as they marched for justice.

Drawing on the  history of the civil rights movement, Reverend Jesse  Jackson was one of  the enigmatic speakers who spoke of immigration as a  civil rights  issue that impacted all Americans. Other speakers included  Rep. Luis  Gutierrez, the leader of the movement for immigration reform,  whose speech mirrored the spirit of urgency palpable in   the crowd.

We’ve been patient long enough. We’ve  listened quietly. We’ve  asked politely. We’ve turned the other cheek so  many times our heads  are spinning…It’s time to let immigrants come out  of the shadows into  the light and for America to embrace them and  protect them.

Cardinal  Roger Mahony from L.A. made a touching and inspirational speech reminding us of the pain visited upon immigrant families impacted by the broken   immigration system.

Consider what happened to little Gabby, a   U.S. citizen whose father  was taken from their home at 5 a.m. when  she  was nine.  Now 14, instead  of playing with her friends she takes  care  of her baby brothers while  her mother tries to make ends meet.  Gabby  prays that Congress and the President enact immigration reform,   so that  she can once again feel the warmth of her father’s embrace and   never  again have nightmares that she will be left alone.

The  surprise highlight of the “all star” line-up was President Obama’s video speech that was projected   on giant screens to the vast crowd.

If we work together, across ethnic,  state  and party lines, we can build a future worthy of our history as a   nation of immigrants and a nation of laws…I have always pledged to be   your partner as we work to fix our broken immigration system, and  that’s  a commitment that I reaffirm today.

As health  care reform passed by evening, the time for talk seemed  likely over.  Sunday showed us that the lack of forward movement on  reform and the  unending enforcement actions targeting innocent workers  and families  would be tolerated no further. The next day, we joined a national action organized by FIRM at the Republican   National Committee offices to call for stronger support and leadership   for immigration reform from Republican leaders. As we picketed  outside,  organizers marched into the RNC office and demanded a meeting  with RNC  Chair Michael Steele, who had rejected an earlier request. The  strategic  sit-in action met with success as a meeting was fixed for March 31st.

There will  be a lot of hard work in the upcoming weeks. For now, we  need you to  send a free fax and tell your Members of Congress that if   they “don’t choose courage over hate, we’ll elect people who will.” And   keep tuned for our video of this momentous event.

Here's a chance for us to renew our commitment to protect human rights

by: Restore Fairness

Thu Mar 18, 2010 at 16:40:56 PM EST

From the Restore Fairness blog.

This week marks the thirtieth anniversary of the  monumental Refugee Protection Act of 1980 marking a historic   moment which created a legal status for asylum and a formal process for   the resettling of refugees from around the world, affirming that the   protection of all victims of persecution is an integral part of U.S.   policy. Senator Edward Kennedy, who worked tirelessly for over a decade   to secure the passage of this Act ensured an impartial and consistent   system of asylum and resettlement for anyone

who is unable or unwilling to  return to  his country of nationality because of persecution or a  well-founded fear  of persecution based on race, religion, nationality,  political opinion,  or membership in a particular social group.

In  the thirty years since the passage of the Refugee Protection Act,  the  U.S. has granted asylum to over half a million people and has been responsible for   the resettlement of nearly two and a half million refugees. But these   successes have been undermined by national security measures post 9/11   which have practically shut the resettlement system down, leading to   President Obama having to sign a Presidential Determination authorizing the   admission of 80,000 refugees in 2010 because of failures in the system.

In November 2009, a Human Rights First report reported that since 2001,   over 18,000 refugees have faced delays or been denied asylum because  of  the USA  Patriot Act of 2001 and the Real  ID  Act of  2005 that labeled them “terrorists”. Following 9/11,  these  acts expanded the scope of laws defining material support to  terrorist  activity so that thousands of men, women and children who had  faced  rebel armies and fought for democracy in their countries were  denied  asylum even while they had fought for causes supported by the  U.S.

But this isn’t the only way the system has faltered.  Increasing  numbers of asylum seekers are locked into detention for  months,  sometimes years, while pursuing their asylum case. Like Jean Pierre Kamwa, who fought for democracy in   Cameroon and facing severe mental and physical abuse came to seek   protection in the United States, only to be locked up for four months in   a windowless detention center in New Jersey, until he was granted   asylum. But Jean Pierre was lucky because he got pro-bono help from a   lawyer. Many are deported because they do not have enough access to   information in substandard detention centers and are unable to explain   their cases to an immigration judge adequately.

That’s what makes  Senator Patrick Leahy’s introduction of the Refugee Protection Act 2010 so momentous. If   passed, the legislation would strengthen legal protections for those   seeking asylum in the United States and ensure that more people who   deserve protection can benefit from it. Co-sponsored by Senators Carl Levin, Richard Durbin and  Daniel Akaka, the  bill addresses flaws in the current system including   ensuring a nation-wide alternatives to detention program, access to   counsel, medical care and family visits while in detention. The bill   also eliminates the requirement that asylum applicants file a claim   within one-year of arrival in the U.S. giving more leeway to those   needing protection, protects particularly vulnerable asylum seekers like   the LGBT community by ensuring they can pursue a claim even where  their  persecution is not socially visible, and modifies the material  support  and terrorism bars in the law.

While the bill rallies up  support to pass the Senate, the National  Immigrant Justice Center and  30 nongovernmental organizations, think  tanks, and academics are filing petitions with the Department of Homeland   Security and the Department of Justice requesting similar regulations   allowing the release of detained asylum seekers  who  pose no danger to   the community so that these can be implemented on an administrative   level as well while the bill is being debated.

The act would go a  long way to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the U.N. Refugee convention and provide a safe haven   for the persecuted so call on your senators to support it.

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Coming up to March 21st, raids undermine White House talk of immigration reform

by: Restore Fairness

Mon Mar 15, 2010 at 16:23:16 PM EST

From the Restore Fairness blog.

With less than a week to go, advocates across the  country are gearing  up to “March for America,” the massive mobilization for   immigration reform where 100,000 supporters are expected to descend on   the nation’s capital on March 21st. In anticipation of the march,   members of the National  Day Labor  Organizing Network (NDLON) have set off from  different  parts of the country to Washington D.C., with the aim of  building  support amongst local communities on the way and calling  attention to  the desperate need for reform of immigration laws that  tear families  apart and repress the immigrant community.

The Puente   Movement, and their “Human  Rights Caravan” of day laborers, advocates  and community members  left Phoenix on March 6th for a three-week,  awareness-raising journey  through Arizona that will culminate in  Washington D.C. on March 21st.  As part of their efforts, they have been  organizing events in small  towns and big cities to highlight the civil  and human rights crisis in  Arizona and other places where large  communities are impacted by  increased enforcement policies. On March  13th, the caravan was joined  by Rep. Luis   Gutierrez in Houston for a large rally that  called for immigration reform. On  the East Coast, several day laborers  from New York and New Jersey began a  300-mile “Walk for Human  Dignity” on Saturday, March 13th.  Inspired by the courageous “Trail of Dreams” walkers, they will be stopping at   various day labor corners, churches and worker centers on their way to   Washington D.C.

So is all this buzz around the “march” reaching  Washington D.C.? When  President Obama announced three meetings on the issue of   immigration reform last Thursday (March 11th), it seemed like the message that immigrant rights advocates across the   country were sending out was finally hitting home. After the President   had a “feisty” meeting with representatives from   immigrant rights groups on Thursday morning, Sen. Schumer and Sen. Graham  presented their legislative plans for the bill on comprehensive   immigration reform in the Oval office. The Senators requested the   President for his support in ensuring  bipartisan support for the bill,   and while the President committed his “unwavering support” to reforming   immigration laws, he gave no concrete plan of action or time-line for   moving forward. However, as summed up in a New York Times editorial about the meetings that President Obama had with immigrant    rights advocates, with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and with Sen.    Charles Schumer and Sen. Lindsey Graham, “What we’d rather know is  when   the bill is coming, what it will look like and what he is going  to do  to  get it passed. Enough with the talk.”

In a statement released by the White House after the   meetings-

Today I met with Senators Schumer and  Graham and was pleased to  learn of their progress in forging a proposal  to fix our broken  immigration system. I look forward to reviewing their  promising  framework, and every American should applaud their efforts to  reach  across party lines…I also heard from a diverse group of grassroots   leaders from around the country about the growing coalition that is   working to build momentum for this critical issue. I am optimistic that   their efforts will contribute to a favorable climate for moving  forward.  I told both the Senators and the community leaders that my  commitment  to comprehensive immigration reform is unwavering, and that I  will  continue to be their partner in this important effort.

As indicated  by White House press secretary Robert   Gibbs, it seems that while  immigration remains an important issue for   President Obama, it is not a  priority in this election year, thereby   making the concrete action that  the Obama administration had promised   within the first year of office,  seem like a distant dream. It is clear   that the meetings were a result of the mounting pressure for action on   immigration reform from the grassroots and community level. In spite  of  the build-up towards the nation-wide mobilization on March 21st, the   outcome of the meetings, beyond a reiteration of the promise of  support,  remains unclear.

As if to highlight just how pressing  the need for reform of the  broken immigration system is, while Obama  was meeting with advocates who were frustrated with increased enforcement and   deportations under the Obama administration and anxious to enlist his   support for moving reform forward, a series of raids in Maryland led to the arrest and   detention of 29 workers. Not far from D.C. on Thursday morning,   Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted simultaneous raids in Anne Arundel and   Baltimore counties at two restaurants, several residences and an office.   On Friday, advocates from the immigrant rights organization Casa de Maryland were back outside the White House,   but rather than meeting with the President, they had gathered to protest the raids and splitting of families as a   result of enforcement policies. Gustavo Torres, Executive Director of   Casa de Maryland denounced the raids-

Everyday,  tens of thousands of  hardworking immigrants in Maryland leave their  families to go to work,  and tonight twenty-nine of our brothers are  detained as their families  are left to grieve…This is not an acceptable  way to treat members of our  community who work hard every day to make  Maryland strong for us all.

In the face of the push for the  nation-wide push for reform, the  efforts of mobilization towards the  March for America, and the  Presidential meetings, it is not difficult  to wonder about the timing of  the ICE raids in Maryland. Either way,  the continuation of such unjust  and inhumane enforcement policies is  unacceptable. We can only hope that  the final push for support over the  next week bears fruit and the  impact of the march in Washington D.C.  is felt by everyone.

A New York Times op-ed states that the “March for America” could be the “game changer” in   the equation, so come to Washington D.C. and make it count! Like we said before, this is your march, so see   you at the National Mall in Washington D.C.!

Photo courtesy of  flickr.com/photos/americasvoice

Does your race and income matter if you face the death penalty?

by: Restore Fairness

Thu Mar 04, 2010 at 17:00:35 PM EST

From the Restore Fairness blog.

It is no secret that the country’s criminal justice system has consistently proven to be biased against minority communities of color. Statistics published by the NAACP show that even amongst those found guilty of crimes, African-Americans continue to be disproportionately sentenced to life in prison, face higher drug sentences, and are executed at higher rates when compared to people of other races. Michelle Alexander speaks of a “color-coded caste  system” in The New Jim Crow that marginalized communities who encounter the criminal justice system.

Seasoned Texas attorney David R. Dow’s new book The Autobiography of an Execution provides an exploration of the death penalty, written through the eyes of a man who has spent 20 years defending over a hundred death-row inmates, most of whom died, and most of whom were guilty. As the head litigator for the Texas Defender  Service, a non profit legal aid organization in the state that boasts the highest number of executions since 1976, Dow presents a powerful argument against the death penalty system. Candidly exploring how he balances such a trying job with being a good father and husband, Dow’s extremely personal book only works to strengthen the argument that the broken criminal justice system operates on a vicious cycle based on racial and economic disparity.

In his book, Dow opposes the unequal basis on which  some criminals are sentenced to be executed while others aren’t, and deems the criminal justice system “racist, classist  (and) unprincipled.” He opposes the death penalty as a flawed and unjust facet of the criminal justice system. Based on his experience, he notes that while he believes that a majority of the clients he represented were, in fact, guilty, there was very little separating those criminals from others who were guilty of the same crime, other than “the operation of what I consider to be insidious types of prejudice.” Most unsettling is his severe mistrust of members of the justice system – police officers, prosecutors and judges – whom he believes would “violate their oaths of office” and put men and women on death row who they think “deserve to be there”.

In Dow’s exploration of the politics behind the death penalty, perhaps the most tenacious argument against it is the blatant way that the intersections of race and class influence the outcome of a criminal case. Dow says,

…if you’re going to commit murder, you want to be white, and you want to be wealthy — so that you can hire a first-class lawyer — and you want to kill a black person. And if [you are], the odds of your being sentenced to death are basically zero…It’s one thing to say that rich people should be able to drive Ferraris and poor people should have to take the bus. It’s very different to say that rich people should get treated one way by the state’s criminal-justice system and poor people should get treated another way. But that is the system that we have.

This is your march so don't miss out! Come to D.C. to March for America

by: Restore Fairness

Mon Mar 01, 2010 at 14:33:24 PM EST

From the Restore Fairness blog.

Two months into 2010, the urgency for action on comprehensive immigration reform has grown, requiring us to take our efforts up a notch or two. We hope that the escalation of events for immigration reform over the past two months has got you fired up for the biggest mobilization of them all-  the nationwide ‘March for America: Change Takes Courage‘ taking place in Washington DC on Sunday, March 21st when tens of thousands of workers, immigrants, families and allies from all over the country will be marching at the Lincoln Memorial to tell Congress and the White House that the time is NOW.

During his campaign, President Obama promised comprehensive immigration reform in year one. We have crossed the one-year mark and are still waiting for a common-sense solution to our broken immigration system. We are hoping that this is the last big push before we see the change we want- an immigration system that is just and fair, as well as good jobs and full citizenship for all America’s families. At the march we will be:

Demanding that the President and Congress keep their promise to enact comprehensive immigration reform for new American families.
Insisting that the President and Congress act boldly to make the economy work for all American families.

Where: National Mall, Washington DC
When: March 21st, 2010 – Interfaith Service at 1:00 pm, March at 2:00 pm

We’re looking forward to seeing you in Washington D.C. The main organizers of the march, Reform Immigration for America, and their collaborators are organizing buses from various parts of the country to D.C. to make it easier for you to get on board and be part of the action. To find the transportation options near you, click here. If you haven’t done so already and are ready to get on board and effect change, sign up here. And if we’ve inspired you enough to do something now, click here to see where your Member of Congress stands on immigration reform. Get behind them before you get to D.C.!

Don’t be left behind! We look forward to seeing you in D.C.!

Photo courtesy of reformimmigrationforamerica.org

Be inspired and be inspiring. Human rights can start with YOU.

by: Restore Fairness

Tue Feb 23, 2010 at 15:56:14 PM EST

From the Restore Fairness blog.

 There’s nothing better than a real-life inspirational story. Last week we brought you the amazing story of New York’s favorite District Attorney, 90 year old Robert Morganthau, and his commitment to equal justice for all. Today, we are happy to bring you another story confirming that New York stalwarts of justice are on a roll.

A New York Times article tells the story of Ex-Judge Michael A. Corriero and his commitment to supporting Qing Hong Wu, a man who he sentenced as a juvenile 15 years ago, for misdemeanors on the “mean streets” of New York. Motivated by Wu’s reputation as a stellar student, and intent on creating a juvenile criminal system that promised a chance for reform, Corriero promised Wu that if he got educated, worked hard, and reformed his life, he would stand behind him if ever he needed it. Today Wu desperately needs Corriero’s help and Corriero, long-retired, is doing everything he can to ensure justice.

Qing Hong Wu moved to the U.S. with his parents when he was 5 years old. With his parents working long hours to make ends meet, he got mixed-up in some bad company at the age of 15. At his trial, the teenager pleaded guilty, saying, “I’m sorry and I really hope that you will forgive me for all the pain and trouble I made them go through.” Court transcripts show that Judge Corriero called the case a tragedy and gave Wu the following advice,

This is not the end, this is really the beginning of a new period for you. I want you to educate yourself. Continue to read, follow the rules. You will want to get a job and become a meaningful, constructive member of society to help your family. I will be there to make sure that you can.

A model inmate, Wu took Judge Corriero’s advice very seriously. He was released from his nine year reformatory sentence in three years and worked towards turning his life around; he studied hard and supported his mother by working his way up to the position of Vice-President of IT at a management company, and is now engaged to be married. Inspired by the example of his mother, sister and fiance becoming U.S. citizens, he applied for citizenship last November, 15 years after having served his time. Immediately, Wu became subject to 1996 laws that make no allowance for those who have rehabilitated their lives and earned a place in society. He was locked up by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in a detention center in New Jersey and is facing deportation to China, a country that he has not lived in for 25 years.

At the time that Mr. Wu pleaded guilty, he was not made aware of the consequences to his immigration future that could be a direct result of his sentence. Currently, the only way that Mr. Wu’s deportation can be stayed is if he is granted a pardon that erases his criminal record. While in detention, Wu wrote a letter to Judge Corriero, reminding him about the promises that they had made to each other 15 years ago. Amongst the many appeals for his release from employers, friends and family is the strong appeal that Judge Corriero, now 67 and retired, has made to Governor David Paterson, saying that Mr. Wu has earned his second chance and should be allowed to remain in the country.

Judge Corriero is of the strong opinion that while on the one hand the justice system aims to rehabilitate those accused of crimes, especially juveniles, so as to prevent against the trap of them repeatedly re-entering the criminal system, a parallel law enforcement system is working directly against this by ignoring the details of individual cases and blindly enforcing old laws. In his book, “Judging Children as Children: A Proposal for a Juvenile Justice System”, Judge Corriero envisages a more flexible justice system that supports and nurtures those who have committed mistakes and learnt from them, allowing them to change their lives rather than perpetuating a vicious cycle.

Now the Executive Director of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of New York City, the judge is going to great lengths to do something for Mr. Wu. We always believe that human rights begins with an individual. Judge Corriero has made a personal effort, and we really hope that this, combined with all the support that Mr. Wu has received, will make a difference.

In the mean time, if you want to be an inspiration, join SAALT’s new video project, “Say it Loud: Share Your Story for Immigration Reform”, As Congress and the Administration debate immigration reform this Spring, SAALT is collecting video testimonials from individuals who have a personal story to tell about how they might have been affected by the broken immigration system and what immigration reform would mean to them. These stories of personal experience will serve as powerful and inspiring tools in the mobilization towards immigration reform, so if you have something to say, then create a video with your personal take on this question, “Why do you believe the U.S. immigration system needs to change”. Send it to SAALT and join the likes of Morgenthau and Judge Corriero by taking a step for human rights!

Learn. Share. Act. Go to restorefairness.org

Allegations of Sexual Harassment at Postville; 270 Workers Convicted For Having False Papers

by: SylviaM

Sat May 24, 2008 at 17:57:16 PM EST

Sister Mary McCauley, a Roman Catholic nun at St. Bridget's Catholic Church, said workers have said that "there was sexual abuse, that there's propositioning."

If a worker wanted, say, a promotion or a shift change, "they'd be brought into a room with three or four men and it was like, 'Which one do you want? Which one are you going to serve?'" said McCauley in an interview today with Des Moines Register editors and reporters.

"Unfortunately, they are grateful for some of their ESL classes, and they knew what some of those words meant," McCauley said. "If they had the courage, they could refuse it."