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Archive for August, 2009

Another DREAMer to be Deported: Save Herta

6:54 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Detriot|Immigration|Justice · 5 Comments

18 Aug 2009

Call these two numbers:

1: Call LaSal Austin, director of the local DHS in Michigan, at 313-259-8562. Demand that he take legislators’ leads and take immediate action to defer the deportation of Herta Llusho.

2: Call Janet Napolitano, Secretary of DHS, at the comment line 202-732-3000 . Demand that she contact Mr. Austin in the local DHS office and take immediate action to defer Herta’s deportation.

SEIU also has a page where you can send a fax/letter in support of this young woman.

Edited to add more specific info:

Actions:
In order of priority:

1. Call Janet Napolitano, Director of Department of Homeland Security, and leave comments of support for Herta and also ask that DHS stop her deportation: 202-282-8495 **note this is an answering machine, once it is full it is out of commission for day. Fill it up now with Herta calls.
2. Call Assistant Secretary to ICE, John Morton and leave a message urging him to take action and defer Herta’s deportation: 202.732.3000 **Note this is a live comment line, i.e. a human being will pick up and take your message.** Be very polite “I am calling to leave a message of support for Herta Llusho who is being deported tomorrow, . I ask that Director Morton contact Field Director Vincent Clausen and defer Herta’s deportation, she is an asset to this country.”
3. Call LaSal Austin, director of the local DHS in Michigan, at 313-259-8562. Urge him to take legislators’ (Senator Carl Levin and congresswoman Kilpatrick) leads and take immediate action to defer the deportation of Herta Llusho.
4. Join the facebook group for immediate updates: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=111108019510
5. Sign petition which will be hand-delivered to targets: http://www.change.org/actions/view/stop_deportation_of_dream_student_herta_llusho
6. Use SEIU Click to Call Action Tool to call DHS: http://call.seiu.org/9/hertadhs
7. Send a FAX to DHS, copy and paste talking points and send: http://action.seiu.org/writeice4herta

For the next calls you need to be very specific about your ask, these members have already voiced their support however now we need them to directly call assistant secretary to ICE John Morton and ask that he defer deportation. If the members call it will make an impact, much more than if their staff or if they call.

So the ASK: “Hi, I know that the member is in support of Herta Llusho’s struggle to stop her deportation, I am now calling to ask that the member DIRECTLY call the assistant secretary to ICE, John Morton, to ask that he stop Herta’s deportation. I know that his staff may have called someone at ICE but I am asking that the member themeselves call John Morton’s office directly. Thanks.”

1. Call Senator Carl Levin at both his DC office – (202) 224-6221 – and his Detroit office – (313) 226-6020.
2. Call Senator Stabenow at both her DC office – (202) 224-4822 – and her Detroit office – (313) 961-4330. **Stabenow herself will be in detroit office today, hit em up!
3. Call Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick at both her DC office – (202) 225-2261 – and her Detroit office – (313) 965-9004.

Call in Script:

I am calling on behalf of Herta Llusho (A#96-139-441), an undocumented student who is facing deportation back to Albania on August 19th. Herta has lived in Detroit since she was 11, she went to Pierce Middle School and Grosse Pointe South High School. Herta excelled in everything during high school, graduating with a 4.05 gpa and she has continued to excel after high school. She has been very active in our community volunteering at homeless shelters, summer day camps, and tutoring programs, in addition to a lot of other things with her church.

Talking points to use (don’t need to use all, pick and choose):

• I’m writing to ask Michigan ICE Field Officer, Vincent Clausen to defer action on Herta Llusho’s deportation and review her case.

• Herta’s case number is A-96-139-441.

• Herta is scheduled to be deported to Albania on August 19th.

• Herta submitted a deferred action in February 2009 and it has yet to be adjudicated.

The Problem With Comprehensive Immigration Reform Messaging: Almost Marcelo Lucero

9:11 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Immigration|New York|Violence · 1 Comment

17 Aug 2009

43427060 While many from D.C. and the internetosphere were at Netroots Nation discussing messaging and Comprehensive Immigration Refrom, another Latino was attacked and in the same ‘hood where Marcelo Lucero was murdered.

From AP:

NEW YORK — A Hispanic man told investigators he was beaten and robbed in a racially charged attack in a Long Island community where another Hispanic was killed in an alleged hate crime last fall, police said.

The latest incident happened around 11:30 p.m. Friday in Patchogue, where the earlier attack prompted a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into allegations of hate crimes on eastern Long Island.

The victim in the latest episode told investigators that three young white men called him over and engaged him in conversation as he walked along Division Avenue in Patchogue, about 50 miles east of Manhattan.

One man then hit him in the face and knocked him to the ground, and the three stole cash and other items from him while making disparaging remarks about his ancestry, he told police. Police didn’t release his name and age, and they said Sunday that they didn’t immediately know whether he had been taken to a hospital.

U.S. to the Rescue in Latin America: The Drug War as Extended War of Terror

17 Aug 2009

I am working on an in depth post on how the issue of immigration was flowing through the Netroots Nation conference, pero it’s important to recognize that the way the United States chooses to “deal”/interact with Latin American countries is related to how the U.S. chooses to “deal”/interact with those who come from Latin America and their descendents.

This past weekend, the Colombian government announced that it had reached an agreement with the U.S. that allows the US military to move inside the country to tackle drug-trafficking and terrorism. Seven Colombian military bases will now become de facto U.S. military bases. Understandably, other countries in Latin America are none too pleased to have the grand gringo army within close shooting distance, and I’m not just talking about countries who are painted as far-left like Venezuela. I’m talking Argentina and Brazil as well.

We have already seen in Colombia and closer in Mexico, that U.S. intervention and support and presence in countries whose armed forces are already abusing their populations, creates (surprise!) more abuse. Then when gente trying to survive, attempt to escape that abuse, they are denied asylum/protection. For those that do make it through outside the “accepted” model, they have to live in fear either as shadows in first world countries like the U.S. and Canada, or inside detention centers.

The U.S. government, as usual, wants to have it both ways. They want to name something a war and bring war’s violence on populations, pero they are unwilling to deal with the casualties of war. The U.S. is pumping billions of dollars into Mexico on down through Central and South America. Perhaps a better way to look at this war in drugs is as an extension of the Bush war on (of) terror. You know, that whole fighting them there so we don’t have to fight them here, except it seems that the targets, are potential brown migrants.

Netroots Nation : Invisibility and Identity in Progressive Spaces Part 1

15 Aug 2009

I have been hesitant in many ways to write about Netroots Nation 09. As always, I am grateful to have the opportunity to come to these spaces, even if it ends up being an isolating experience. Trust me, NN09 is not like the Allied Media Conference, where while yes I faced challenges, as an activist rwoc blogger I didn’t feel so completely alone, so compelled to render myself invisible and confront that invisibility all at the same time. That has been my experience here at NN09.

I won’t get into the more personal ways I have been marginalized and forced to make myself invisible. I will write about that over at Mamita Mala, pero I want to write about how in these so called progressive spaces, women of color, specifically radical women of color who dare to question the way feminism is framed and the way struggles done in our name are framed, are forced to make a statement by their absence.

When sex workers aren’t white and beautiful

14 Aug 2009

NC Women Slain Remember the Craig’s List Killer? The one who was hiring women to perform sex acts, and then killing them? Remember what big news that was?

Today I read the news of a small town in North Carolina where at least 9 women who were sex workers have been murdered and/or are missing.

Since 2005, nine women who lived at the edges of the poor community in this small North Carolina city have disappeared. Six bodies were found along rural roads just a few miles outside town, most so decomposed that investigators could not tell how they died. At least one of the women was strangled, and all the deaths have been classified as homicides. Three women are still missing.

Police will not say whether they suspect a serial killer, but people in the community about 60 miles northeast of Raleigh do, and they’re impatient with law enforcement efforts to investigate the slayings.

This is a small town, so nine women gone is something that is noticed by a lot of people. As one of the women who used to work with the missing women said:

“I used to walk these streets and jump in and out of cars. But then when that first girl Melody got killed I stopped that because I knew he would kill another,” said Johnson, 41. “I hate for that to happen to her, but it probably saved my life. I have five babies.”

Counting the names on one hand, she added, “There’s probably five or six girls left around here that will jump in and out of cars. He really did kill the whole neighborhood.“

I knew without being told several aspects of the story: namely, the police didn’t really investigate what was going on until more women wound up dead. And even then, the families are frustrated because police don’t seem to really care. And the media isn’t really covering it all that much. And national pressure is non-existent, and money for body recovery is hard to come by.

And from what I can see, every single one of the women who are missing are black.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that sex work is any safer for white women then it is for women of color–but I DO think that people *care more* when the women who are killed or missing is beautiful, young and white rather than old or older, a mother of multiple kids and black. How the media has covered these separate crimes is evidence of that. When the Craig’s List murder happened, the media was stalking the court rooms, running police images of the suspect, talking to the murder victim’s families, contemplating over and over again–what would make such a beautiful woman *do this* (i.e. sex work)? She had her whole life ahead of her! She could’ve done anything! Oh, the tragedy of women being forced to sell sexual acts so they can survive!

Compared to nine women black women now missing or dead–and ONE article about in the national news.

Whose lives does the media find important? Whose PUSSIES does the media find important? Whose neighborhood’s does the media find important?

While I’m not a fan of the netroots nation conference–the one thing I am really glad of is that la Mala is repping. We must ALL feel the emptiness of a table with women not there because of violence and erasure. And for some reason, I don’t see many people at the “nation” caring much about these women, unless somebody is there to “remind” the nation about who isn’t there.

NOI Summit Part II : The Art of Talking Past and Walking Over Immigration

14 Aug 2009

noi_logo
A disturbing trend that I saw layed out at the NOI Summit and throughout various spaces here at Netroots Nation, is how blogging/pushing for Comprehensive Immigration Reform is being framed.

For us Latino bloggers who write about immigration as a part of our lives, not as a public policy issue, we do not have the luxury of waiting for there to be a CIR bill to pick apart pedazo por pedazo. At the NOI Summit it was asked of the “immigration bloggers”, how can white mainstream progressive bloggers write about CIR in a way that engages their readership and pushes for action. The way the question is presented puts immigration not as an issue of people’s daily lives, and in some cases deaths, pero rather as a way to define who are acceptable political targets on Capital Hill. Cuz for real, my vecinos in Corona, Queens, aren’t thinking about Congressman Schumer with his talk of illegals as their champion. They don’t want to be Luis Ramirez.
Read more…

NOI Summit Part I : The Art of Coming to the Table

9:37 am By Maegan La Mala · Blogs|Internet|media justice|Netroots Nation|Pittsburgh · 3 Comments

13 Aug 2009

noi_logo
Gracias a America’s Voice I am in Pittsburgh for the Netroots Nation conference. After a almost full day here I have many thoughts on Netroots Nation and the role of independent activist bloggers within the wider blogosphere or netroots, if you will. Pero even before that, I was invited to be part of a summit hosted by the New Organizing Institute . The summit specifically joined LGBT and immigrant bloggers to sit at the mesa. The conversation included some people whom I consider not just co-luchadrores pero amigos as well.

The conversation was centered on how we can cross support each others’ efforts especially in the context of marriage equity and comprehensive immigration reform. Unfortunately, especially in the mainstream progressive blogosphere, these issues are still viewd as mutually exclusive, as if there are no gay undocumented families. DreamActivist talks on this intersectionality specifically.

What was more interesting for me personally, given my 16 year history of activism on various levels and in various mediums, was an issue of language if you will. Semantics. Word choice. It’s a theme that has reared its head here in Pittsburgh a few times. For example, is calling a legislator pushing for a specific legislation to be passed the moves of an organizer? Is that the activist thing to do? Is a desire to work with the Hill activist? What about this huge move towards list building as a strategy? Can activist bloggers also be wed to mainstream orgs and maintain legitimacy? Can you be both outsider and insider?

Justice for Aizze! Defend an Immigrant Worker Unfairly Victimized by Starbucks

8:15 pm By la Macha · Immigration|society · 3 Comments

12 Aug 2009

Found via Twin Cities Star Bucks Union

Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that Aizze was the best barista at the Snelling & Selby Starbucks in St. Paul, MN. She knew every regular’s drink and could make a latte in 28 seconds. She has 20 MUG awards for her job performance, and was never written up in her two years of service, nor was her till ever ‘over’ or ‘short.’ Her coworkers and customers loved her; they called her ‘Aizze’ (pronounced ‘Ozzie’), short for Azmera. This description is in the past tense because Starbucks wrongfully fired Aizze on July 8, 2009. Starbucks management accused her of theft, although they themselves ADMIT that they have no video or other evidence to support their accusation.

Adding insult to injury, Saint Paul District Manager Claire Gallagher took advantage of Aizze’s limited English abilities and bullied and manipulated her into signing a promissory note saying she would pay Starbucks the arbitrarily- determined amount of $1200. Acting through the notoriously anti-worker law firm Olonoff, Asen & Serebro,. LLP, Starbucks has since sent Aizze a letter threatening to send their baseless claim to a collections agency.

Azmera is not a thief. An immigrant from Ethiopia, Azmera has been a citizen of the U.S. for the past ten years. She has worked at Starbucks for the past two years. Together with her husband, a Taxi driver, Azmera is the proud mother of three young children. Aizze is an honest, deeply religious woman who loves her job and works hard to care for her family.

How did this happen?
On July 8, 2009, Aizze was told to sit in the back room at the end of her shift, alone with St. Paul District Manager Claire Gallagher. For almost two hours, she was not allowed to leave, and no other workers were allowed to enter. The DM made a conference call with “Partner & Asset Protection” Manager Chris Vanderhoof and together they began to interrogate Aizze. When Aizze informed her interrogators that she did not understand what they were saying, they just repeated the same words over and over. Aizze was not offered an interpreter. She was told that if she didn’t sign the promissory note, they would call the police and have her arrested. Thinking of her children, she signed the paper. Her interrogators told her flatly that they had no proof or video of her stealing money, yet they accused her of theft. Aizze never stole. If there was change someone didn’t want from a transaction, Aizze put it in the tip jar, but she never, ever stole.

Why Aizze?
We can only speculate on why Aizze was targeted, but one thing is clear: Starbucks thinks they can get away with victimizing her because she is an immigrant and a non-native English speaker.

What You Can Do To Help
We all have a responsibility to stand up for the most vulnerable amongst us. We will not sit idly by while Starbucks management victimizes one who has come to this country seeking a better life. We demand immediate reinstatement, the immediate nullification of the promissory note, and an apology to Aizze. Justice must be done for Aizze and all workers.

DEMAND JUSTICE, Call:
Regional Vice President SUMI GOSH at 312-342-8701
Regional Director DIMITRI HATZIGEORGIOU at 312-731-8909
St. Paul District Manager CLAIRE GALLAGHER at 651-260-5079

Death Panels

7:55 pm By la Macha · society · 1 Comment

12 Aug 2009

My response to the following Jon Stewart video?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

Healther Skelter – Obama Death Panel Debate

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Spinal Tap Performance

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha………….especially at the part about Obama and death panel and white folks. I’m sure a whole bunch of white folks just passed out from pure fear.

Nuns focus on immigrant detainees in their work

8:39 pm By la Macha · Immigration · 1 Comment

11 Aug 2009

48483343 I have a special place in my heart for nuns. Yes, I realize that nuns have a long history of committing really horrendous crimes against native peoples in particular and young kids in general (looking the other way while sexual violence goes on does not absolve a person from responsibility in the violence happening in the first place).

But at the same time, nuns also brave violence that priest are too cowardly to even imagine standing up to, work amongst the people in a way that priests are often too “godly” to, and have been killed more than once because they were creating community support for something that the church and the people in power wouldn’t be able to hold off if it became fully actualized. This work doesn’t dismiss or make less important the fact the way nuns have hurt and violated people–it just shows why I have a soft place in my heart for nuns when many may justifiably feel they don’t deserve it.

And then there’s these women:

Royal Berg, an Immigration attorney who is Catholic, contacted the sisters with the idea of praying outside the Broadview facility on Friday mornings.

…

Berg and the sisters started the ritual in January 2007. For Murphy, the sight of the detainees in handcuffs and ankle shackles recalled memories of victims she met at Su Casa.

“It’s demonic,” she said, her voice rising to a shout. “What is torture other than to reduce people to nothingness? That’s what torture is, and that’s going on here.”

Soon the sisters asked for permission to enter jails where detainees are held before reaching Broadview. After they encountered difficulty gaining access to the McHenry County Jail, where the majority of detainees are held, they joined forces with other clergy as well as immigrant advocates from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant Refugee Rights and the Chicago New Sanctuary Alliance. Together they drafted the Access to Religious Ministry Act of 2008 and fought for its passage.

The sisters’ most memorable moment came in November 2008 during a trip to Springfield with a group to lobby for the bill. After being shuttled from secretary to secretary, they were finally led to the Senate floor and came face to face with Senate President Emil Jones Jr. (D-Chicago).

Murphy grabbed Jones by the arm and said forcefully, “You have the power to do this! You have the power to change things!”

Jones laughed uncomfortably, and Murphy said, “It’s not funny. You have the power to change people’s lives.”

On Nov. 30, the bill passed unanimously in both houses.

I read this article, and I admit, I teared up. Coming from a very harshly conservative area where churches are praying for the strength to “turn away” the masses that seek to destroy our good nation, I just felt grateful that somewhere out there, there are at least a few people who believe that no matter what sin detainees have committed, they are still human beings entitled to love and compassion and human connection. On many levels, I am physically incapable of giving certain people that kind of blessed love (see: previous post), but that doesn’t mean that I don’t think somebody somewhere who CAN give that kind of love shouldn’t. In fact, I thank whatever god there is out there that even the worst of the most heinous people out there will be the recipients of such love.

Nuns are the reason why every once in a great while I still sort of identify as a Catholic. What these women are doing is the reason why I still occasionally believe in life.

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