A Slideshow of Our Stay in Tucson

Slideshow of Our Stay in Tucson

ICE Director against SB1070 http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/07/13/20100713ICE-director-says-states-should-not-copy-arizona-law.html

Do YOU want to be a farm worker?

There are constant complaints of how immigrants steal jobs from US citizens. But in reality, how many US citizens will willingly perform the same jobs under the same conditions as immigrants? How many US citizens will work in construction, cleaning, or farming for less than minimum wage? I’m sure there’s a small portion of citizens who would. Perhaps more would want the jobs if they were paid better. Even in the terrible state of our economy, how many unemployed US citizens would refuse to work these “inferior” jobs? In response to the outcry for immigration reform, The United Farm Workers Union is challenging US citizens to work the same jobs as immigrants. At TAKEOURJOBS.ORG, US citizens can sign up to work in the fields. Since June 24, at least 4,000 people have responded to the Farm Worker Union’s application. While some responses are serious, others are hate mail. Only a few dozen of the applicants have actually followed through (http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/07/news/economy/farm_worker_jobs/ ).

Before leaving North Carolina, we visited farm workers at a nearby farm. Although this farm was in better condition than most, I still don’t know anyone who would willingly live there. The twenty workers cooked their meals in a trailer with rows of old, dirty stoves and then ate at one of the two picnic tables inside. Until recently, farmers did not have to provide their farm workers with mattresses to sleep on. The bathrooms don’t provide nearly enough toilets or shower stalls. Often times, the stalls don’t have doors or curtains. Men and women immigrants work in the fields for longs hours in excruciating heat. Those who work in the tobacco fields aren’t always properly equipped to protect themselves from getting sick from the tobacco. When they do get sick, they have to occupy one of the few toilets without any privacy.

Most Americans are ignorant as to where their food comes from. Farm working is a very difficult job. We need to recognize the hard work that immigrants do for our country. Accordingly, we should treat the human beings who provide us with food with respect and decent living conditions.

Obama Administration's Lawsuit Against SB1070

At work, I have been documenting the various resolutions to SB1070. To date, there are 28 entities that have passed resolutions in favor of the bill and 107 entities that have passed resolutions against the bill and/or boycotted AZ. Moreover, there are five lawsuits that have been filed against the bill. BAN is a plaintiff of on of the lawsuits. Just last week, all of the lawsuits were moved under one judge so that there will be one overall decision.

Earlier this month, Hillary Clinton stated that the Department of Justice would be filing a lawsuit against SB1070 as well. There was much speculation as time passed and the federal government didn’t take action. Yesterday, the Obama administration finally filed a lawsuit against SB1070. The result of this lawsuit will determine whether or not other states will be able to pass laws similar to SB1070. Hopefully, this will end racist measures against immigration because copycat bills are already in the works in several states including Utah and Florida.

The lawsuit itself can be downloaded from here.

Mexican gang gunfight near US border leaves 21 dead

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/latin_america/10485228.stm

Obama Promotes Comprehensive Immigration reform

Today, Obama addressed immigration, encouraging comprehensive immigration reform.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/us/politics/02obama-text.html?pagewanted=1

SB 1070 & Drug Trafficking

Earlier this week, Governor Brewer said that the majority of immigrants who cross the border illegally are drug mules. The National Border Patrol Council clarified that this was not the case. However, both the Governor and Border Patrol claim that the drug cartels are a priority in dealing with illegal immigration. If this is the case, then why was the one part of SB1070 aimed at drugs omitted when the bill was revised by HB2162? Section 3 of the bill concerns “Willful failure to complete or carry an alien registration document; assessment; exception; authenticated records; classification.” Part H of this section was not omitted but the subsection to part H was omitted. Why wouldn’t we possession of drugs to be a class 3 felony? Wouldn’t this clause actually help combat the drug cartels that the Governor, Border Patrol, and a multitude of other anti-immigrant organizations complain about? If their goal is decrease drug trafficking, wouldn’t this clause actually help them? The text from part H of Section 3 follows. The highlighted text is the text that was omitted. These revisions can be found in the final version of SB1070 amended by HB2161.

H. A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION IS A CLASS 1 MISDEMEANOR, EXCEPT THAT THE MAXIMUM FINE IS ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS AND FOR A FIRST VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION THE COURT SHALL NOT SENTENCE THE PERSON TO MORE THAN TWENTY DAYS IN JAIL AND FOR A SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION THE COURT SHALL NOT SENTENCE THE PERSON TO MORE THAN THIRTY DAYS IN JAIL.

1. A CLASS 3 FELONY IF THE PERSON VIOLATES THIS SECTION WHILE IN POSSESSION OF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

(a) A DANGEROUS DRUG AS DEFINED IN SECTION 13-3401.

(b) PRECURSOR CHEMICALS THAT ARE USED IN THE MANUFACTURING OF METHAMPHETAMINE IN VIOLATION OF SECTION 13-3404.01.

(c) A DEADLY WEAPON OR A DANGEROUS INSTRUMENT, AS DEFINED IN SECTION 13-105.

(d) PROPERTY THAT IS USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF COMMITTING AN ACT OF TERRORISM AS PRESCRIBED IN SECTION 13-2308.01.

2. A CLASS 4 FELONY IF THE PERSON EITHER:

(a) IS CONVICTED OF A SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION.

(b) WITHIN SIXTY MONTHS BEFORE THE VIOLATION, HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM

THE UNITED STATES PURSUANT TO 8 UNITED STATES CODE SECTION 1229a OR HAS ACCEPTED A VOLUNTARY REMOVAL FROM THE UNITED STATES PURSUANT TO 8 UNITED STATES CODE SECTION 1229c.

Sheriff Arpaio's Crime Sweep Stops

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, “the toughest sheriff in the world,” promotes the idea that all undocumented immigrants are criminals. He brags about the his raids and the many criminals he catches on his raids and crime sweep stops. Sheriff Arpaio sends his troop to Latino neighborhoods and has his officers pull over Latinos for any chance they got. Are all of the undocumented Latinos that he catches criminals? The majority aren’t. This past week at work, I analyzed data of Sheriff Arpaio’s crime sweep stops that was published in a Phoenix newspaper. Out of 392 crime sweep stops, the most frequent way that people were caught were for being passengers in a car that was pulled over. When a cop pulls over the car, they only have the right to question the driver. Even then, they do not have the right to ask the driver, or any passenger, their immigration status. These 63 passengers that Arpaio’s troops caught were caught because the officers violated the law in asking them their status and the individuals did not know their rights and responded. The most frequent reason for being stopped was having a cracked windshield (46 of 392) and the next was speeding (43 of 392), not criminal speeding. The rest of the probable causes for being stopped were petty things such as having a headlight or a tail light out, expired registration, unreadable license plate, running a stop sign, etc. Contrastingly, there was one open container, one subject with a gun, two criminal littering, two domestic fighting, four criminal speeding and fourteen unspecified warrants. Certainly, the latter are crimes but they hardly make up the majority of the causes for being stopped. United States citizens commit crimes as well. As a matter of fact, due to Sheriff Arpaio’s obsession with tracking down undocumented immigrants, there are 38,000 warrants that haven’t been served in Maricopa County. With SB1070 allowing any Arizona resident to sue if he/she believes that an officer or agency isn’t making enough of an effort to impose or is impeding Federal Immigration Laws, it is quite possible that other police forces throughout the state will become focused on undocumented immigrants as Sheriff Arpaio’s troops. Is it really in our best interest or safety to have police troops tracking down cracked windshields or no headlights rather than go after actual criminals?

A Proactive Rally

This past Saturday, there was a pro-SB 1070 protest outside of Congressman Grijalva’s congressional office. In response, therewas an anti-1070 rally at his campaign office. That morning, Anna, Shaoli and I went to Congressman Grijalva’s campaign office, just a couple blocks away from Borderlinks. When we got there, we were very surprised at what we found. There was a speaker talking about Grijalva and all around, there were families and people of all ages and races. This gathering was completely different from the pro-SB 1070 rally, Phoenix Rising, which a few of us had attended in Phoenix on June 5th. Phoenix Rising had involved hateful speeches, yelling, and gun-carrying. At Congressman Grijalva’s campaign office, people were gathered eating breakfast, listening to speakers. Afterward, some people went into the surrounding neighborhoods to register people to vote. Meanwhile, others made phone calls to recruit volunteers and ask for contributions on behalf of Grijalva and Vince Rabago, the Attorney General candidate sponsored by Grijalva. Shaoli, Anna and I made phone calls for Vince Rabago for about an hour. Around lunch time, there was a BBQ for the participants.Not only was the atmosphere calm and pleasant, the gathering was productive. Instead of simply cheering on speakers, the attendees were proactive and took action to support their cause.

Migrant Walk Ceremony

On Sunday, June 6th, our group went to the Migrant Walk Ceremony. The Migrant Walk was organized by Kat from Coalición de Derechos Humanos. Volunteers walk 75 miles in the desert from Sásabe, Sonora to Tucson, AZ. They walk in the intense heat for a week to pay tribute to the migrants. On Sunday, we joined in the ceremony to welcome them back from their journey. Fresh off the desert, they came exhausted. The majority of the walker were crying, having been moved so deeply by their experience. The ceremony was very moving- there bands and various speakers explaining the importance of the walk and the need for immigration reform. To view some of the highlights from the ceremony, check out the clips below.

Clip of Pablo Peregrina's music

Clip from Kat's Speech

Tom, a walker and member of Coloradans for Immigrant Rights

Durham Passes Ban Against SB1070

As various councils, cities, and states take a stance for or against SB1070, Durham has resolved to oppose the controversial bill.

http://blog.altoarizona.com/blog/2010/06/durham-passes-ban-over-arizona-immigration-law-sb1070.html

Forbes Magazine Promoted Open Borders on its front cover. To read the article, click here.

More details on Mexico joining a lawsuit against SB1070

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/06/23/2010-06-23_mexico_asks_federal_court_to_reject_gov_jan_brewers_arizona_immigration_law_ctie.html

NY Times Timeline of Major Immigration Issues Since 2004

SB1070: What you don’t hear people discussing

This week I began my internship with Border Action Network. My first task is to translate SB1070 into Spanish. A translation can’t be found online; not even the Mexican Consulate has a translation. The fact that it hasn’t been translated for the people it targets blows my mind. After sitting through a talk on SB1070 with older white Tucson residents and then an educational conference with Latino residents of a wide age span from various regions in Arizona, I have learned that a lot of people are ignorant about the law. Here are some important points that many people do not talk about:

1. The law specifies that there are 4 types of identification that you can present to prove your legal status:

a. A government issued ID.

b. A driver’s license.

c. A tribal ID

d. A passport

However, not all states require proof of residency when obtaining a license and therefore driver’s license from Utah, New Mexico or Washington are not suffice to prove legal status. What about minors who do not have any of these forms of ID? Failure of anyone to provide one of the four IDs listed above will lead to an arrest. The individual will not be released until his/her immigration status is determined. Arizona will have a huge problem if legal citizens are arrested and then sue the state; the state can’t afford it.

2. It is unlawful for a motor vehicle to block or impede traffic in an attempt to hire or hire and pick up passengers, regardless of the driver’s immigrant status.

3. A legal citizen who is driving an undocumented passenger if the driver is ALSO violating a criminal offense.

4.Any legal resident of Arizona may file a complaint against an agency or official for not implementing Federal Immigration Law to the fullest extent. In order to avoid law suits, agencies and officials will have to devote a large amount of their time to implementing Federal Immigration Law, time which will take away from their time to crack down on crime and other responsibilities.

5. SB1070 is based on a statute that the US Government has gone on record to say that it is not enforced and needs to be revised.

I did not know these specifics until I read the law. Several people have strongly made up their minds, one way or another, about SB1070 but many people do not understand everything it entails. It’s crucial for everyone to be well informed about the policies affecting them. At the BAN educational conference I attended this past weekend, I was inspired by the BAN committee leaders. The leaders were all Latino men and women, low-income homes. Every single one of them had the passion to learn about the issues affecting their communities and passing on that education to the people around them.

Phoenix Newspaper Report on Border Enforcement

Today, two men wearing camouflage shot border crossers near Nogales.

Into the Streets of Tucson

While half of the group was in Mexico, Ann, Anna and I went to various locations in Tucson to ask people about immigration and SB1070. In total, we interviewed thirteen people. We began our interviews on 4th Avenue, an eclectic part of town. There we were able to interview five white women, two of which were older. One of the four women supported the bill. Downtown, we spoke with one older white man who stated that he didn’t know enough to have an opinion. Finally, we went to the Tucson Mall in an attempt to get a more conservative opinion. An elderly white man and one younger Asian woman claimed that they didn’t know enough about the issue; five Latinos strongly opposed the bill. In total, one individual supported SB1070; three individuals stated that they didn’t know enough about the bill to have an informed opinion; ten individuals opposed the bill. No one had read the entire bill, but several people were able to summarize the main points. No one knew what Operation Streamline was but one person hadheard the term before. I was very surprised that we didn’t find more support for SB1070. I was also surprised that people did not know what Operation Streamline is, given the fact that it occurs right in their city. I wish that we could have interviewed more people and spoken to a more diverse sample of people.

Immigration
There were general concerns about crime and drug trafficking. Several people pointed out that US is supposed to be a free land made up of immigrants. However, immigration is not solely a US problem. As Julie (interviewed at 4th Avenue) pointed out, Mexico encourages immigration to the USmeanwhile prohibiting Central Americans and others from migrating to its own land. Robert noted that immigration is a natural process of individuals from poor countries migrating torich countries. He mentioned Africans migrating to Europe, Central Americans migrating to the US, among other migration patterns.

"People forget that they're dealing with humans, not objects."- Julie, 4th Avenue

Support for SB1070

Terry was the only person that we interviewed who supported the bill. She has a son who works as a Border Patrol Agent and is concerned about the drug trafficking and crime. Terry was very adamant about how SB1070 should be followed on the simple principle that it is the law, end of story.

Racial Profiling

There were several concerns of SB1070 leading to racial profiling. People disliked the fact that the bill seemed to be aimed at a specific population. Julie (interviewed at 4th Avenue) compared the law to George Orwell’s 1984. Valerie, Missy and Eddy believed that police officers would target their race. Missy stated, “It needs to be mandatory to ask everyone.” Valerie noted that perhaps there would have been a different reaction to the bill if Governor Brewer had presented it differently, more positively.

The Economy

The boycotting of Arizona in responseto SB1070 was deemed unfair because it hurts everyone. Eddy, Valerie, and Missy noted that several celebrities have cancelled concerts in Arizona. Moreover, Rafael noted that the majority of the people crossing the border come here to work- for their families, food, and better lives. He believes, “There are so many jobs in the US, no one can do them all. We need people to come and work…look at the mall, we work in every store!” Julie (interviewed at the mall) doesn’t see the problem with people here to work, but perhaps Arizona is tired of the influx of people. Finally, Rafael brought up a common argument about immigration law unfairly separating families: “Where do the kids go? They can’t work!” He emphasized the fact that taking care of these orphaned children hurts our economy. Keeping families together could eliminate this huge expense.

Border Patrol

Missy, Valerie and Eddy are from the US border town of Nogales. They grew up around Border Patrol agents and therefore view their presence as an everyday norm. They did not seem to have an issue with Border Patrol checkpoints, which have existed for years. Their main concerns were with racial profiling due to SB1070.

Possible Solutions?

1. It was unanimous that the wall is not effective and a huge waste of money. Rafael noted that the wall does not stop terrorism because terrorists enter the country legally.

Bethany, who opposed the bill, mentioned, “The wall is a bandage for something that needs massive surgery.”

2. More attention needs to be spent on serious crimes.

3. Eddy believes that while SB1070might be the first step to resolving immigration, it won’t solve everything.

4. Rafael believes that the people crossing the border can’t be stopped because “it’s human instinct to find a better life.”

5. Missy proposed making the legal immigration progress more accessible. She understands from her mother’s experience that the legal process is tedious and expensive.

US Immigration History: 2000-Present

- 2000: 1.8 million illegal immigrants apprehended

o INS estimated 7 million illegal immigrants living in the US

o Maquiladoras were decline due to the cheaper labor in other countries such as Asia

- 2000-2003: 48,000 Chinese immigrants arrived each year.

- 2001:

o Due to 9/11, security at the border intensified with an emphasis on preventing terrorists from entering the country

- 2003:

o Department of Homeland Security founded

§ INS, Customs and Department of Agriculture were reorganized into Customs and Border Protection; Immigration & Custom Enforcement (ICE); and Citizenship and Immigration Services

o President Bush proposed a guest-worker program

§ Congress strongly opposed the plan, concerned that the plan would lead to another amnesty

o Operation Endgame

§ ICE adopted this plan to prevent immigrants from evading deportation

§ Focused on detention and removal of aliens

§ Detained immigrants as soon as judges denied their cases and ordered the immigrants removed from the US

§ Released many of the immigrants and tracked them with an intensive supervision program that could include ankle bracelet monitors

- 2004:

o Congress passed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act

§ authorized addition of 10,000 new border patrol agents, thus increasing from 11,000 to 21,000 by 2010

o Operation Frontline

§ An ICE initiative; little information is known to the general public.

§ Last from the months leading up to the 2004 presidential election to the 2005 presidential inauguration

§ ICE spokesperson, “focused on immigration violators that may have imposed an enhanced public safety or national security threat”

- 2005:

o Secure Border Initiative (SBI)

§ Department of Homeland Security’s comprehensive multi-year plan to secure America’s borders and decrease illegal migration

§ Additional personnel and technology to gain operational control of the border

§ Re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure the quick removal of aliens

- 2006:

o Mexican President Felipe Calderon sent thousands of troops to the US-Mexico border to combat drug traffickers

o On October 26, President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act, authorizing the construction of about 700 miles of border fencing

o Operation Return to Sender

§ May 26, 2006-June 13, 2006

§ An ICE operation aimed at increasing worksite enforcement, intending to catch and deport criminal aliens and crack down on the criminal infrastructure that perpetuated illegal immigrants

§ Part of the Secure Border Initiative

§ Apprehended 2,179 illegal aliens

· About half had criminal records

§ Those facing crime charges were processed in Federal Criminal Courts

- 2008:

o Mexico’s Congress voted to decriminalize illegal immigration in its country

o Operation Streamline began in the US as an effort to prosecutor more illegal border crossings

o US Justice Department announced it would spend $7 million to send more than 60 more prosecutors to border districts to prosecute border crimes, such as human smuggling

- 2009:

o The number of illegal immigrants apprehended decreased to 556, 041

o Estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the US

o On December 15, Congressman Gutierrez of Illinois introduced Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act (CIR ASAP)

§ The first comprehensive reform bill with goals to rectify previous immigration policies.

§ Provisions include:

· The creation of a Southern Border Security Task Force within the Department of Homeland Security. The task force would be composed of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers.

· A repeal of the controversial 287(g) program, in which local law enforcement agencies take on the additional responsibility to enforce federal immigration law.

· The clarification that the authority to enforce the federal immigration law lies solely with the federal government.

· The restoration of judicial review of immigration proceedings (this authorization was removed in 1996.) The federal courts would then be authorized to review practices and decisions of the Department of Homeland Security.

· The creation of a program that provides conditional nonimmigrant status for undocumented immigrants, including their spouses and children, in the U.S. To obtain the visa, illegal immigrants would have to establish their presence, pay a fine, learn English, and learn US civics. This status would be valid for six years, after which the immigrants would then be eligible for a green card.

· The recapturing of unused employment-based visas and family sponsored visas. Future unused visa numbers would then be allowed to roll over to the next fiscal year.

· An increase in the number of employment-based green cards from 140,000 to 290,000 per year.

· The reclassification of the spouse and children of Legal Permanent Residents, thus treating them the same as the spouses and children of citizens. Accordingly, they are exempt from the annual immigration cap in an effort to keep families together.

· The authorization of immigration to reunite families upon a demonstration of hardship for applicant's U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family members.

- 2010:

o On April 23, Arizona Governor Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070

§ Written by Senator Russell Pearce

o In May, President Obama deployed 1,200 National Guard troops to the border

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/mexico704/history/timeline.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Front_Line

http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0926.shtm

http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/press_release_0926.shtm

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/us/26border.html?nl=us&emc=politicsemailema1

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/14/immigration-bill-promoted-for-2010/

http://www.examiner.com/x-30431-Philadelphia-Immigration-Examiner~y2010m1d4-Comprehensive-Immigration-Reform-in-2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/us/politics/09immig.html

Immigration in U.S. History Edited by Carl Bankston & Danielle Hidalgo