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May-June 2008 National Immigrant Solidarity Network Monthly Digest National Immigrant Solidarity
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May-June 2008 U.S.
Immigrant Alert! Newsletter
Published
by National Immigrant Solidarity Network
Please read the Newsletter, download URL:
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/Newsletter/May-June08.pdf
[Requires Adobe Acrobat, to download, go: http://www.adobe.com]
May Day 2008! ICE Massive Immigrant Raids!
Immigrant Counter-Recruitment Campaign, NO to Killing!
In This Issue: 1) May Day 2008! |
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May Day 2008: Tens of Thousands March for Immigrant Rights; ICE Raids Continue
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Bay Area |
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Los Angeles |
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
“May Day 2008 International Workers Day and Mobilization to Support Immigrant Rights! Reports from Around the World"
Download the Report:: http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/Documents/MayDay08Reports.pdf
An In-depth Report By: Immigration News Briefs (INB)
May Day demonstrations for immigrant and worker rights took place in at least 220 cities in 32 states on May 1, 2008. The largest action appeared to be in Milwaukee, where some 30,000 marched, although crowd estimates at Chicago's march ranged from 15,000 to 50,000. In Los Angeles, the reported turnout was anywhere between 10,000 and 30,000.
The mainstream media ran fairly favorable coverage of the marches, noting their energetic spirit despite lower turnout. Compared to previous years, the media also paid more attention to the way in which the immigrant marches have become an annual tradition and are bringing the May Day labor holiday--International Workers' Day—back to the US, where the tradition started in the 1880s.
Many of this year's protests were focused on stopping the immigration raids, especially workplace raids, which have increased steadily since 2006. Yet the raids continued, both before and after May Day, with at least 170 workers arrested in workplace raids in Texas, Arkansas, California, Hawai'i and Virginia between Apr. 25 and May 5.
"[W]hen there is so much repression against immigrants and their families, the real story is how so many people overcame their fear and marched in 200 cities," noted Gladys Vega of the Chelsea Collaborative, which organized a May Day march in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
To read rest of the May Day 2008 reports, please go to the newsletter, download URL:
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/Newsletter/May-June08.pdf
Massive Racist ICE Immigrant Raids Across the Country at Post-May Day 2008 Mobilization!!
Immigrant Detention Watch: http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/detention.html Join our Immigrant Detention & Deportation Alert! E-Mail List |
5/12 URGENT! Up to 700 Arrested in Iowa Raid!!!!
By Citizens For Legitimate Government
Up to 700 arrests estimated in Postville raid 12 May 2008 (IA) Four Homeland Security buses with U.S. Immigration and Customs tags on them have entered the Agriprocessors Inc. complex. The buses, along with a trail of SUVs and vans with Minnesota license plates, arrived at about 11:45 a.m. Tim Counts, a Midwest ICE spokesman, declined to confirm where people who are arrested will be detained. Federal officials have leased the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo, but they declined to explain last week whether the property was being prepared for use as a detention center.
'Activists discussed today possible strategies to help after a raid, including locating children and identifying detainees.' Fearing raid, immigration-rights activists meet in Waterloo 11 May 2008 Several Iowa immigration-rights activists gathered today at a Waterloo church and the home of a local social worker to discuss what they consider to be an impending immigration raid. The discussions were prompted by federal officials' lease last week of the National Cattle Congress fairgrounds in Waterloo. Local immigration-rights activists fear the fairgrounds will be used as a detention center.
Questions Surround Homeland Security's Presence in Waterloo --Many people in Waterloo believe the site is being transformed into a detention center. 09 May 2008 People in Waterloo are trying to figure out what sort of operation federal officials are conducting in town. This week, the Department of Homeland Security took-over and sealed-off the grounds of the National Cattle Congress on the west side of Waterloo. Thursday night, our crew went to investigate, but security guards told them to stay across the street from the property. Our camera caught pictures of elaborate ventilation systems going into the buildings. There were dozens of cars coming in and out with license plates from surrounding states, and even as far away as Georgia and Texas. A guard at the gate told us they are preparing for training exercises, but a Homeland Security spokesman would not confirm that. Many people in Waterloo believe the site is being transformed into a detention center.
A once ailing private-prison sector is now a revenue maker 12 May 2008 "The private prison industry was on the verge of bankruptcy in the late 1990s, until the feds bailed them out with the immigration-detention contracts," said Michele Deitch, an expert on prison privatization with the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin. As increasingly tough immigration laws have called for the detention and deportation of ever more immigrants [and soon-to-be bird flu vaccine refuseniks], the demand for bed space by immigration authorities has helped turn what was once a dying business into a multibillion-dollar industry with record revenue and stock prices several times higher than they were eight years ago. In San Diego, CCA [Corrections Corporation of America] is in the permitting process to build a nearly 3,000-bed facility that the company hopes will be used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. It would hold more than four times the detainees held in San Diego now.
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Anti-ICE Immigrant Raid Video from Activist Video This march was to protest the I.C.E. raids in the Bay Area 1 day after 10,000 people marched for immigrant rights at May Day 2008. They seized 63 people from a local restaurant chain! |
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Calling to Create Immigrant Counter-Recruitment Campaign!
At our last July's National Grassroots Immigrant Strategy Conference (http://www.2007conference.net) we'd decided immigrant counter-recruitment campaign will be one of our core projects for the National Immigrant Solidarity Network.
Immigrant communities in general had been increasingly targeted by military recruiters, more and more immigrant rights groups and immigrant student organizations are rely on grants from U.S. military--in exchange for promoting military recruitment at their programs. Why? because the immoral U.S. wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan had drained military manpower, with sharp drop on military recruitments from White and African-American communities, immigrants-especially undocumented immigrant youths had become the last promising source of soldiers--With the vague promises of citizenship or college scholarship.
Therefore, National Immigrant Solidarity Network, is calling for establishing a immigrant counter-recruitment working group, to work with immigrant gold-star families, immigrant-based antiwar groups and United for Peace and Justice to formulate a national immigrant counter-recruitment strategies.
Please contact info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org if you want to be part of this movement.
Recent Immigrant Rights Videos from ActivistVideo.org
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Video: ICE Raids in San Rafael 2008 |
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Downlaod your video, please visit http://www.ActivistVideo.org
Useful Immigrant Resources on Detention and Deportation
Thanks for GREAT works from Detention Watch Network (DWN) to compiled the following information, please visit DWN website: http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org
Tracking
ICE's Enforcement Agenda
Real
Deal fact sheet on detention
Real
Deal fact sheet on border
- From
Raids to Deportation-A Community Resource Kit
- Know Your Rights in the Community (English,
Spanish)
- Know
Your Rights in Detention
- Pre-Raid
Community Safety Plan
- Raids
to Deportation Map
- Raids
to Deportation Policy Map
More on Immigration Resource Page
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/resource.htm
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