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Calls for Respect, Resignation & Censure Against Anti-Immigrant/Latino Hate Not Enough

9:01 am By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|Kansas · 14 Comments

16 Mar 2011

Last Sunday, I spent a few hours recounting the history of my neighborhood and a 20 year old racial violence crime that stole the life of a 19 year old son of Dominican immigrants. I didn’t expect to begin crying in the middle of the filmed conversation but I did, especially when thinking how last year I had to explain to my four year old daughter why a mother, like her own, was crying in front of a place her son was killed for being Latino, for being the son of an immigrant.

Yesterday, Kansas State Rep. Virgil Peck made comments that he labeled as a joke, comments that stated that the way to deal with undocumented immigrants was to shoot them from the air, the way one shoots wild animals.

“It might be a good idea to control illegal immigration the way the feral hog population has been controlled—with hunters shooting from helicopters.”

Latinos, Immigrant Advocates Nationwide Send Unambiguous Message in Light of Brisenia’s Murder: Stop the Hate, We are Watching

12:55 pm By Maegan La Mala · arizona|Immigration|Justice · 1 Comment

21 Feb 2011

VivirLatino is a proud endorser of the statement below.

The guilty verdict in the case against Shawna Forde is not justice, as it doesn’t bring little Brisenia Flores or her father, Raul, back from the dead. The verdict will not stop hate crimes, it will not stop the waves of anti-Latino and anti-immigrant laws being presented across the country. But yes we are watching, we are taking note and taking action(s).

From Presente.org

Thursday, February 17th, 2011, Tucson, Arizona – As Latinos and immigrant rights advocates from all over the United States applaud the guilty verdict in the trial of Shawna Forde – a leader of the hate-group Minuteman American Defense (MAD) convicted of murdering 9 year-old Brisenia Flores and her father Raul Flores – a strong message resonates throughout the nation: We Are Watching. We are watching those who provide a platform to promote hate-crimes and call on the media to be socially responsible by reporting the linkages between Forde’s proven extremism and that of extremist groups she represents.

On May 2009, Forde and two accomplices – MAD Operations Director Jason Bush and local MAD member Albert Gaxiola – broke into the Flores’ home in the border town of Arivaca, Arizona. Without compunction, they shot Raul Flores, his wife Gina Gonzalez and their daughter Brisenia who screamed, “Please don’t shoot me!” before being shot twice in the head; Gonzalez survived the incident.

Brisenia’s murder has galvanized the entire Latino community. This gruesome act reflects in the starkest terms the anti-immigrant, anti-Latino hatred promoted by extremist groups. Latinos – the fastest-growing and largest ethnic minority group in the U.S. – understand and experience the hatred gripping the United States. In response, Latinos and immigrant advocates are closely watching media outlets that provide a platform for hatred promoted by extremist groups like MAD and the Federation for American Immigration Reform – a group Forde represented on a PBS show, for instance.

The details revealed in the murder trial have touched us all in a deep and unique way; indeed, no one will forget Brisenia. These important details-the organized hatred, the dehumanization of Latinos, the utter disregard of a child’s innocence- reflect the deepening and mainstreaming of the most noxious and dangerous strands of hatred in the United States. The growth and expansion of this hatred moves us to continue efforts to make sure there are no more hate-crimes and to take action condemning those media outlets that help disseminate hatred.

We call on the all media to be socially responsible by, for example, reporting the intimate link between Forde’s proven extremism and that of extremist groups she represents, so that the intellectual authors of the anti-Latino, anti-immigrant industry that has been growing in the nation -and the violence they perpetrate- may be known, discussed and confronted with greater urgency.

Endorsed by:

America Para Todos, Houston, TX
America’s Voice Educational Fund, Washington, DC
American Association of Jews from the Former USSR, National
Brazilian Total Assistance, Inc., Massachusetts
CARECEN, Los Angeles, CA
CASA de Maryland, Maryland
Center for Media Justice, Nationwide
Central American Resource Center (CRECEN), Houston, TX
Chicano Consortium de Sacramento, Sacramento, CA
Coalición de Derechos Humanos, Tucson AZ
Cuentame, Nationwide
El Centro del Inmigrante, New York
FIEL Houston, Inc, Houston, TX
Florida Immigration Coalition, Miami, FL
Fresno Unit of the Brown Beret National Organization (FresnoBBNO), Fresno, CA
Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, Atlanta, GA
Latino Leadership, Inc, Orlando, FL
LatinoPolitico.net, Nationwide
MinKwon Center for Community Action, New York
New Immigrant Community Empowerment, New York
New Mexico Media Literacy Project, Albuquerque, NM
New York Immigration Coalition, New York
OurNewAnahuac.net, Houston, TX
Ohio Action Circle, Ohio
Presente.org, Nationwide
Rockland County Immigration Coalition, New York
Salvadoran American National Network SANN, Nationwide
The Hispanic Community Dialogue of Virginia, Virginia
Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations, Virginia
Vivir Latino, Nationwide
Voces de la Frontera, Milwaukee, WI
Westchester Hispanic Coalition, New York
William C. Velasquez Institute, Nationwide

Wisconsin & Immigrant Communities

1:57 pm By Maegan La Mala · Health|Immigration|Wisconsin · 1 Comment

19 Feb 2011

Over the last few days there has been much focus on Wisconsin and the people’s movement(s) against Republican Governor Scott Walker’s attempt to take away collective bargaining rights from public employees. This anti-union move, anti-worker moved on behalf of the government of the state is gathering support across the countries with numerous solidarity actions in other parts of the country. But what isn’t being reported is how Walker’s actions and other bills are a direct attack on immigrant workers.

According to a release from the immigrants’ rights organization Voces de la Frontera part of the proposed budget cuts in Wisconsin includes eliminating access for pregnant undocumented women and to the children of undocumented to BadgerCare, the state program that provides health insurance for uninsured working families. This opens the door to administrative changes that could impact access to immigrants who are in the country with legal status but are not citizens.

Everyone is out protesting in Wisconsin at the moment (and I have to work) but this is something I will be following up on and I hope others will as well. We cannot and should not separate attacks on workers from attacks on immigrant communities and their families. Think about who are the hands that drive so much of the economy and think about how many laws across the country are scapegoating those very same hands in the name of “American jobs”. Think about all the “anchor baby” laws that are popping up and the bills to defund women’s health services. All of these things are connected.

Update on Arizona Young Man Facing Deportation

2:51 pm By Maegan La Mala · arizona|DREAM Act|Immigration · 1 Comment

18 Jan 2011

Two days ago I wrote about Pedro, the 22 year old living in Arizona who was brought here as a young child from Mexico and was facing deportation today.

Today there is a little bit of good news. Pedro was granted a 30 day window by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ‘s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency office in Phoenix, AZ to remain in the country while his case is being further reviewed.

“I now realize that the only way for me to be able to stay in Arizona, my home, is for President Obama to allow for me to stay. It is his choice whether I am deported to a country I do not know or if I am allowed to stay in Arizona and give back to my community. I ask President Obama to please let me serve this nation,” says Pedro.

In the absence of the DREAM Act, which would have allowed Pedro an opportunity to stay in the U.S., Pedro’s attorney is seeking for Pedro to be allowed to stay in the U.S. via deferred action based on the fact that he wants to enlist in the U.S. Marines.

Young Arizona Man Faces Deportation

10:05 am By Maegan La Mala · arizona|DREAM Act|Immigration · 3 Comments

16 Jan 2011

22 year old Pedro was brought to the United States from Mexico when he was 7 years old by his grandmother, who raised him. The young man, who lives in Arizona and has no living relatives on either side of the border, has been told that he has until Tuesday to report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who could deport him.

You can send an electronic fax to DHS/ICE

You can add your name to the petition and make calls.

The Other Arizona Shooting

10:09 am By Maegan La Mala · arizona|Immigration|mexico|U.S.-Mexico Border|Violence · 6 Comments

11 Jan 2011

Before Congresswoman Gifford and others were shot in Tuscon, Arizona , 17 year old Ramses Barron Torres was shot and killed by a bullet originating in Nogales, Arizona. There have been no national moments of silence for the apparently unarmed teenager. No memes speculating on the sanity of the shooter(s) or if violent rhetoric played a role. That’s probably because Ramses Barron Torres is Mexican and was shot by U.S. Border Patrol.

The story on what actually happened to Torres depends on what source you believe. From Immigration Clearinghouse:

It took the players all day to get their stories to a point where it was agreed that the agents fired their weapons into the air, and they put Torres as either “in the US, throwing rocks at agents, when he fell and hit his head on a rock and died”, or, he fell from the fence which he was trying to scale while chunking rocks at BP agents, a truly awesome display of athletic ability were it to be true.

But something wierd happened. Torres body showed up at a hospital in Nogales Sonora with a gunshot wound, throwing all to hell the claims that he was in the US throwing rocks at BP agents.

…

The Sonora State Investigative Police, or PEI, said 17-year-old Ramses Barron Torres, who died shortly after 3 a.m. at a Nogales, Sonora hospital, was shot in the back of the right arm, with the bullet continuing into his chest cavity, puncturing a lung, and lodging in the left side of his ribcage.

In “the back of the right arm” meaning Torres would have had his back to the BP agents who murdered him.

The Road that Paved the Way for the Arizona Shooting

8:57 am By Maegan La Mala · arizona|Violence · 15 Comments

10 Jan 2011

I was searching for items for my younger daughter’s birthday party when I learned via my smartphone about the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona) and others in Tuscon by (as far we we know) Jared Lee Loughner, who has been charged with murder, attempted murder, and attempted assassination. The shooting left the Congress woman, who voted for the DREAM Act, in critical condition and took the lives of six people, including a 9 year old born on 9-11-01 and U.S. District Judge John Roll, who had faced threats on his own.

The speculation as to why the shooting went down in a Tuscon supermarket parking lot during an event meant to draw bridges between Congress and the communities it represents is all over the place. The FBI found evidence in Loughner’s home indicating premeditation. Some media have taken the “he must be mentally ill” stance. Others point to possible connections between Loughner and hate organizations and then there is the influence (or not) coming from the Tea Party and their Grand Dame, Sarah Palin, especially considering that Gifford was featured on a poster, that came from the Palin camp, of “targets” with her face in what appears to be the cross-hairs of a rifle.
Read more…

Legal Battles Begin Around Arizona’s HB2281

1:19 pm By Maegan La Mala · arizona|Education · 6 Comments

4 Jan 2011

Just like part of the push back against Arizona’s SB1070 includes legal wrangling, so does the fight against HB2281, which bans Ethnic Studies in the state.

Arizona State Attorney General, Tom Horne, started the year by claiming that the Tucson Unified School District is out of compliance with HB2281 because of a Mexican-American study course, If found out of compliance and do not cut the course within a 60 day period, TUSD could lose 10 percent in state funding, an estimated $15 million.

TUSD has some options. The first is a hearing to prove that they are in compliance with HB2281. Additionally 11 teachers are filing a lawsuit claiming HB2281 violates the first and fourteenth amendments.

Via / KGUN9 and UPI

New Year in Arizona Brings More Anti-Latino Laws

7:31 am By Maegan La Mala · arizona|Culture|Education · 14 Comments

2 Jan 2011

In the Show Me Your Papers state of Arizona, ringing in the new year means that bells won’t be ringing to start Ethnic Studies classes in the state since effective yesterday HB2281 bans them.

The official reasoning behind the ban is to prevent courses that “promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity “instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.” But really what the ban does in precisely the opposite. It codifies the normalization of whiteness with furthers the “othering” of everything else. It socializes young people into consent and acceptance of “American” culture as dominant and superior, meaning everything else is inferior. HB2281 is like the changes made to textbooks in Texas but applied to the art and liberty of teaching.
Read more…

Latinos Not Welcome in East Haven, Connecticut?

7:00 am By Maegan La Mala · Connecticut · 2 Comments

27 Dec 2010

While many people on the Northeast coast are digging themselves out of a blizzard this morning, media reports and an FBI investigation indicate that some Latinos in East Haven, Connecticut are digging themselves right on out of the town.

Earlier this month the FBI launched an investigation against the East Haven Police Department because of complaints of racial profiling and criminal activity against Latinos including physical assault.

But Justice Department Civil Rights investigation or not, AP reported yesterday that Latinos are closing up shops that they have invested time and money in because the harassment has gotten so out of control.

Hispanic business owners say police made a practice of parking outside their shops and stopping any Latinos. Some who complained say they faced retaliation.

Luis Rodriguez, an immigrant from Ecuador who owns the Los Amigos Grocery, said he was arrested two months ago and jailed for five days after a woman pointed out to police that his 3-year-old son was unsupervised on the sidewalk outside the store. He said police were out for revenge because his wife had been videotaping them. He was charged with child neglect; the case is still pending.

Meanwhile, his store is up for sale. Ecuadoreans used to travel from as far as Massachusetts for jalapenos, Ecuadorean sodas and other specialty products. But Rodriguez said police have scared customers away by threatening to alert immigration authorities if they ever saw them in town again.

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