Palo Alto: Raided: The National Wave of Immigration Raids and the Renewed Immigration Debate in Washi

On Tuesday, May 1, at 7:00 p.m., Peninsula Peace and Justice Center will be holding a free forum discussing the reasons behind the resurgence of immigrant raids nationwide, and what it means for millions of immigrants here in the U.S. at the Community Media Center in Palo Alto.

Wave upon wave of Homeland Security raids continue to assail immigrant workers across the United States as the Senate prepares to introduce its "overhaul" of federal immigration policy.

The federal government has unleashed a counter-insurgency-type campaign against immigrant workers to prevent a repeat of the May Day 2006 upsurge. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE, part of Homeland Security) claims to have arrested more than eighteen thousand immigrants in "Operation Return to Sender," its nationwide crackdown that began in June 2006.

The Senate had to rescue its earlier reform plan from the flames of May Day 2006, when millions of immigrant workers stepped into the streets – and into the political debate – in a national work stoppage that was the largest day of protest in U.S. history. Why the raids now? And what does the future hold for millions of hard-working immigrants? Please join us in exploring these very important questions.

The program will be broadcast and webcast live on Mid-Peninsula Community Media Cable Channel 27 and rebroadcast throughout May as part of the ongoing "Other Voices" television series produced by Peninsula Peace and Justice Center.