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Who’s Your Mama : Event at Food for Thought in Amherst on November 13th

11:41 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Books| Events| Family| Women| boston · 1 Comment

4 Nov 2009

223 I met the organizer of this event, TK, at the Allied Media Conference this past summer. Another amazing mami media maker puts together an amazing event. Those in the Amherst area represent and support.

NOVEMBER 13, 2009 * 7PM
Food for Thought Books

Please join us for a very special evening of women’s voices and responses to benefit To Tell you the Truth. Featuring Who’s Your Mama: Unsung Voices of Women and Mothers (Edt. by Yvonne Byone) Contributors: JLove Calderon (We Got Issues!/ That White Girl), Marcella Runell Hall Hall (Hip Hop Education Guidebook) and Marla Teyolia (Empowered Mama!). On site childcare provided.

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Update on Nashville Family that Lost Children to State after Surviving Violent Attack

2:51 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Family| Immigration| Nashville| Women| children · 1 Comment

7 Oct 2009

It reads like a bad novela if it weren’t the real nightmare that so many families are living in the United States. First, Maria Gurrola is violently attacked and her newborn, Yair Anthony Carillo, is abducted by a woman claiming to be an ICE agent. Then, once reunited with her baby, Maria lost Yair and her other three children, this time to State authorities who cited vague “safety issues”.

Yesterday, the petition to remove the children from the home was withdrawn and Gurrola has been reunited with all of her children.

Tuesday’s hearing was planned at Juvenile Court to discuss allegations that the family may have known of a plot to sell the baby for $25,000. Court documents did not detail who made the allegations.

Metro police spokesman Don Aaron released a press release saying that Metro police agree that the children should be returned to the parents after extensive interviews by Metro, TBI and the FBI over the last day. All the agencies are in agreement, he said.

“At this time, (authorities) do not believe the parents, Maria Gurrola and Jose Carrillo, are involved,” Aaron said. “Significant unanswered questions remain, however, including why Gurrola and her newborn son were chosen by alleged kidnapper, Tammy Renee Silas. Statements made to law enforcement by Silas are part of the continuing investigation.”

Now if only all the babies can be reunited with their mothers, like Cirila and Angeline.

Via / USA Today

Fake ICE Agent Kidnaps Infant, “Misrepresenting how the Government Works or Behaves in this Country”

3 Oct 2009

ALeqM5jmKc6IsGwelpJZpUA6AiJRxvKq2g Four day old Yair Anthony Carrillo and his mother, Maria Gurrolla of Nashville, Tennessee were doubly victimized by the fear that is the current immigration system in the United States on Tuesday, when the infant was kidnapped by a woman claiming to be an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

The fake official slashed Gurrolla after she initially refused to hand over the child though in the end Carillo was taken away from her.

As if having your newborn child violently taken from your arms weren’t traumatic enough, enter Yuri Cunza, president of Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and publisher of La Noticia, a Spanish language newspaper in Nashville who instead of connecting the long history of how immigration enforcement separates parents from their children, from Elvira Arellano to Cirila Baltazar Cruz, asks Latino immigrants communities to trust law enforcement and other state agencies who act as de facto ICE agents.

“I am really concerned about the possibility of newborn babies and Hispanic women can be targeted because of a level of vulnerability,” Cunza said…

Cunza said that the suspect posing as an immigration officer will create a chilling effect for Hispanics who regularly interact with immigration authorities. “It is misrepresenting how the government works or behaves in this country,” he said.

From Postville to Patchogue, the cries of immigrant mothers and children tell what is just another day on the job for those who continue to terrorize Latino immigrant communities and the carriers of hate who spread their racist gospel via the mainstream media. It is why children at a young age learn to stay close to their mothers in immigrant communities and maintain a low gaze in the presence of law enforcement. It doesn’t even matter if the ICE badge is real or not, just ask el espiritu de Brisenia Flores and her father. Yair Anthony Carrillo, with four days on this earth, is learning how to live in fear when he should be in his mother’s loving care and Latina motherhood is criminalized and victimized.

Updated: Late last night, after I wrote this post, Yair was found safe.

Via/ The Latin Americanist, Standing Firm, The Unapologetic Mexican

Quick Links on Edward Kennedy

4:02 pm By la Macha · Massachusetts| boston · 1 Comment

26 Aug 2009

Remember how I said that I didn’t think that Edward Kennedy has as deep of a connection to migrant workers as his brother? Turns out I was wrong. Via the UFW blog:

Since Sen. Edward M. Kennedy championed the cause of Cesar Chavez and the Farm Worker Movement after picking up the mantle from Sen. Robert F. Kennedy following his assassination in 1968, no national political leader has more effectively and selflessly embraced the farm workers’ cause.

Year after year, Sen. Kennedy stood shoulder to shoulder with the farm workers in good times and bad during marches and rallies, political campaigns and legislative battles from the halls of the United States Senate to the dusty farm fields of California.

As United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta once said, Robert and Ted Kennedy “didn’t come to us and tell us what was good for us. All they said was, ‘What do you want? And how can I help?’ That’s why we love them.”

And from Huffington Post comes this somewhat sappy by ultimately informative essay about Kennedy’s history with immigration:

With his impressive record on healthcare reform, it’s easy to forget that Kennedy cut his teeth first on immigration. He began his first race for the Senate with a call for immigration reform in 1962 and has been fighting for a more inclusive America ever since. Senator Kennedy fashioned our modern-day legal system of immigration. He created humane refugee and asylum policies. And he set the stage for a 21st century solution to the problem of illegal immigration. These are no small feats.

With his 1965 immigration legislation, Senator Kennedy made sure families were reunited without regard to race, religion, or national origin. With his 1980 Refugee Act, he made sure refugees were protected– whether stranded in overseas camps, or seeking asylum on our shores. In recent years, Sen. Kennedy has fought tirelessly for the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that would extend rights and responsibilities to the 12 million immigrant workers and family members living in our nation without legal protection.

Joe Biden on Edward Kennedy

11:06 am By la Macha · Massachusetts| Politics| boston · 2 Comments

26 Aug 2009

Joe Biden has a reputation of being a bit of bumbling jackass when it comes to talking (remember the panic button he hit with his commentary on airplanes and swine flu?), but with his remarks on Edward Kennedy passing away, he even had me teary eyed.

Mas on the Young Lords Party

6:28 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · New York City| Puerto Rico| chicago| history · Comments Off

25 Aug 2009

I would have liked to see more of the mujeres of the Young Lords Party represented here, pero a good video none the less that I think especially points to the power of grassroots organizing by the people.

Netroots Nation : Invisibility and Identity in Progressive Spaces Part 2 (Immigration)

23 Aug 2009

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It’s been a week since I left Pittsburgh, pero drama from NN09, a mounting stack of bills, and la vida have prevented me from writing out this second part in a more timely manner.

The Movement is in the Messenging?
As I mentioned before, I was able to attend Netroots Nation gracias to a scholarship from America’s Voice because of my history of writing on immigration. Understandably, this was a decision that wasn’t popular with everyone since I am constantly pushing back on the beltway and their “progressive” supporters. Pero that is what I consider my job to be. I am not beholden to anyone except myself and my community which is why I think it’s really important to look at how the issue of immigration and the parties that claim to represent the issue in the real world and blogosphere are represented, specifically in the Netroots Nation ‘09 context.

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.

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.

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…

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