Archive for the ‘States’ Category
California Prison Hunger Strike Set to Start Today
6:41 am By Maegan La Mala · California · 2 Comments
1 Jul 2011Today, prisoners at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, CA have started an indefinite hunger strike to protest inhumane and torturous conditions inside the Security Housing Unit (SHU). SHU prisoners are kept in windowless, 6 by 10 foot cells, 23½ hours a day, for years at a time. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) operates four Security Housing Units in its system.
Among the prisoners’ demands are an end to long-term solitary confinement, collective punishment, and forced interrogation on gang affiliation.
Mala Goes to Netroots Nation Next Week
9:38 am By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|Minnesota|Netroots Nation|VivirLatino · 6 Comments
9 Jun 2011
Thanks to some of your votes, Democracy for America, and America’s Voice, I will be in Minneapolis, Minnesota next week – from June 16th to the 19th – attending the Netroots Nation conference.
This will be my third year attending and those who have followed my participation before know that my coverage is complicated and controversial but also interesting and informative (and fun!).
I will be blogging here, tweeting on both the VivirLatino twitter and my own personal twitter account, as well as posting pictures, probably on our Facebook page. The hashtag is #NN11 and I will also be personally using #MalaDoesNN.
I haven’t had a chance to really plan my time there – I do know I will live-tweet/comment on the Taking Back Your State: Responding to Restrictive Immigration Legislation scheduled for Saturday, June 18th 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM (Minneapolis time).
While the DFA and America’s Voice Scholarship cover airfare, hotel, and registration, I am requesting support for , childcare, ground transport and food costs. So if you appreciate the work that VivirLatino does, consider making a small donation or if you are gonna be at the conference – I accept drinks and food 
.
Gracias!
Legal Actions As a Way to Fight Anti-Immigrant Laws
6:53 am By Maegan La Mala · Alabama|Georgia|Immigration · 2 Comments
6 Jun 2011As more states legalize the already de facto anti-immigrant and anti-Latino practices that exemplify racial/ethnic profiling and a federal immigration policy focused on enforcement only, organizations are attempting to use the court system to push back.
Last week the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) filed a lawsuit against HB 87, the Georgia anti-immigrant law that authorizes police to demand “papers” demonstrating citizenship or immigration status during traffic stops, criminalizes Georgians who interact daily with undocumented individuals and makes it unjustifiably difficult for individuals without specific identification documents to access state facilities and services.
From the ACLU Press Release announcing the lawsuit:
The lawsuit charges that Georgia’s law, HB 87, is unconstitutional because it unlawfully interferes with federal power and authority over immigration matters in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution; authorizes and requires unreasonable seizures and arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment; restricts the constitutional right to travel freely throughout the United States; and violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution by unlawfully discriminating against people who hold certain kinds of identity documents.
The orgs behind the lawsuit hope that, like in Arizona, where portions of the the anti-immigrant SB 1070 law were blocked, courtroom attention combined with activism will push back and prevent other states from passing such laws.
Read more…
LA Film Festival June 16th -26th Features Latino Films
11:53 am By BiancaLaureano · Arts|California|Culture · Comments Off
1 Jun 2011For our LA readers, mark your calenders for the LA Film Festival coming up in two weeks! Tickets are on sale now and we have highlights of films focusing on Latinos and by Latino directors. We hope to be able to bring you some reviews of these films soon!
Part of the press release we received shared:
Additionally, this year the festival is proud to showcase the best of the newest and best Cuban Cinema with a spotlight as part of Sí Cuba! SoCal. http://www.sicubasocal.org/en There will be A Celebration of Cuban Film at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on June 22nd with an onstage panel discussion with visiting directors hosted by the festival’s artistic director David Ansen and followed by a screening of Cuba’s Oscar-nominated “Strawberry and Chocolate.” www.oscars.org/sicubasocal
Below is a list of the films that may be of interest. The film guide is available now and is in English and Spanish.
Evidence Shows No Confusion on Secure Communities, Only Deception
8:52 am By Maegan La Mala · Illinois|Immigration|New York|Politics|Secure Communities · 18 Comments
20 May 2011Coming on the heels of Wednesday’s rally in front of NY Governor Andrew Cuomo’s NYC office demanding that he pull the state out of the Secure Communities deportation program are letters which show that the so-called confusion regarding the ability to opt-out was more like a cover-up.
In letters, that I will admit to finding somewhat confusing (PDF of letters here), a fired contractor, Dan Cadman says that he told DHS/ICE, in documents that have to come to light as a result of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, that they had the right to tell states that Secure Communities was a mandatory program. Cadman asserts that he was then told to say that Secure Communities was voluntary, especially when pushing areas with many immigrants, like New York and Cook County – Illinois, to sign agreements. The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, John Morton, points to Cadman as the source of confusion regarding the opt-out option. Cadman asserts that it seems to be part of the design, especially in order to get places like New York to sign on.
Illinois House Tries to Get Smart with It’s Immigration Policy
8:41 am By Maegan La Mala · Illinois|Immigration|Secure Communities · Comments Off
9 May 2011Following Illinois Gov. Quinn’s letter opting out of Secure Communities because of the way the enforcement program targets all undocumented immigrants, not just the so-called criminal ones, Immigration and Customs Enforcement head John Morton went to Springfield. Morton’s intentions were not to respect the will of the state government but rather to reinforce the idea that S-Comm is not something one can just opt-out from. On Friday, the Illinois House of Representatives responded by passing the Smart Enforcement Act (HB 929).
The bill, which passed by a vote of 66-43, with 17 Republican votes in favor, states that if Illinois is forced to participate in S-Comm it will do so we will do so based on terms that match Illinois values: accountability, local autonomy, effective law enforcement, due process, and respect for families.
Specifically, the Smart Enforcement Act will
· give counties the choice whether to participate in “Secure Communities”;
· offer a full accounting of the program’s impact and costs to local law enforcement; and
· require that this program be used only to identify and deport convicted criminals.
The bill is expected to move to the Illinois State Senate yet, but I have to wonder what the impact will be beyond rhetoric. I wonder of the possibility of local governments to sue the Feds for forcing an unconstitutional law that no matter how it is painted separates families and allows for more racial profiling within our communities. I suppose that within the confines of U.S. policy, bills like Smart make sense, but within the confines of humanity, outright resistance makes more sense.
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Asks for S-Comm Moratorium
3:34 pm By Maegan La Mala · Illinois|Immigration|Politics|Secure Communities · 5 Comments
6 May 2011Let’s face it, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus isn’t known for it’s bravery when it comes to facing the reality of comprehensive immigration reform. When it was clear that CIR was pretty much a dead issue, the CHC refused to rally behind the DREAM Act until the zero hour. Perhaps though, recognizing the error of their ways, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is calling for a moratorium on the “Secure Communities” deportation program due to problems similar to its predecessor, 287(g). The call was made via a letter sent to the White House
From the CHC Letter :
“Evidence reveals not only a striking dissonance between the program’s stated purpose of removing dangerous criminals and it’s actual effect; it also suggests that S-Comm may endager the public, particularly among communities of color…”
Illinois is on a Roll : Drops Secure Communities
8:31 am By Maegan La Mala · Illinois|Immigration|Politics|Secure Communities · 4 Comments
5 May 2011Not only did Illinois pass it’s own version of the DREAM Act yesterday, Governor Pat Quinn sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) saying the state was canceling it’s participation in Secure Communities.
The letter states “that the implementation of the Secure Communities program in Illinois is contrary to the stated purpose of the MOA… By ICE’s own measure, less than 20% of those who have been deported from Illinois under the program have ever been convicted of a serious crime.” The Governor’s letter concludes, “With this termination, no new counties in Illinois can be activated and those counties that were previously activated… must be deactivated and removed from the Secure Communities program.”
This move to opt-out of Secure Communities should serve as an example for other states, including my own New York, which has an S-Comm agreement in place. It will be interesting to see how ICE handles this as they have said that opting out is not an option and the goal is to have S-Comm implemented nationwide as a matter of policy.
Illinois Gets It’s DREAM
8:07 am By Maegan La Mala · DREAM Act|Education|Illinois|Immigration|Politics · Comments Off
5 May 2011While some states move towards legalizing discrimination through anti-immigrant laws, others are attempting to push forward and away from that model. Yesterday the Illinois DREAM Act (SB 2185) passed. According to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) the bill will:
Encourage high school counselors and college admissions officers to receive regular training regarding educational opportunities for immigrant youth.
Establish a privately-funded Illinois DREAM Fund, administered by a volunteer state commission, to make scholarships available to undocumented students at no cost to taxpayers. The bill would also open up college savings programs and prepaid tuition programs to all Illinois residents, so that the families of DREAM students will be better able to pay for tuition. The commission would also monitor implementation of other parts of this law and research the needs of DREAM youths as they make their way through college.
While far from perfect as it actually compels the local government to do very little and falls far short of one of the goals of the national DREAM Act in terms of offering options for legalization, this can be seen at the very least as a nominal victory in reframing how state legislatures tackle issues impacting various parts of our immigrant communities.
Florida Senate Moves State One Step Closer to Becoming the Next Arizona
1:24 pm By Maegan La Mala · Florida|Immigration · 1 Comment
4 May 2011In a move called quiet by some, sneaky by others, The Florida Senate passed Senate Bill 2040 today 23-16 without debate. The bill, the state’s own version of the “show me your papers” anti-immigrant legislation passed in Arizona and other states, requires police to verify a person’s immigration status if they suspect the person is undocumented. The bill also requires employers to use the flawed employment verification system, E-Verify.
In anticipation of the vote, some Latino advocacy organizations vowed to use economic pressure in protest of the bill including, but not limited to a boycott. Given the lawsuits against SB1070 in Arizona and the recently announced lawsuit in Utah, the financial cost to the Sunshine State if the bill become law could be huge. That is to say nothing of the costs to the various and diverse Latino communities across Florida.
Hola!
VivirLatino is a daily publication published by Mamita Mala Media, dedicated to featuring all the latest politics, culture, entertainment of interest to the diverse Latin@ diaspora.
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