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Law enforcement in Santa Cruz, CA this week, launched a 24-hour, spanish language hotline for day laborers to anonymously report abusive employers. FSRN reporter Vinny Lombardo has more. To leave an anonymous report about abusive employers in Santa Cruz, call (831) 420-5997.

La Policia de Santa Cruz, CA. esta semana, empienza a funcionar una linea telefonica, para denunciar los abusos laborales. Esta linea funciona las 24 horas, es en español, y la llamada es anonima. Tu puedes llamar al (831) 420-5597. FSRN reportero Vinny Lombardo tiene mas informacion.

imc_audio.gif Audio: Download the mp3
The March/Caravan for Migrants stopped at the south steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento on Monday, February 6th. A press conference was held at 12:00 noon and a rally took place at 4:00pm. imc_video.gif Video After its stop in Sacramento, the caravan headed to Arizona, and then eastward across the US. There will be rallies in Washingron, DC on February 18th through 20th, and then the caravan will head westward via Chicago, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, with its return to San Diego estimated for February 26th.

The march for migrants plans to lobby senators and legislators to vote no on issues such as HR 4437; demand justice for Guillermo Martinez Rodriguez, who was assassinated by the Border Patrol in San Diego on 12/30/05; pay homage to the 4000 migrants who have died since the inception of the failed operation gatekeeper in 1994 (4000 crosses will be planted in their honor during the march across America); and hear the voices of migrant and immigrant communities across the country.

Border Angels' March/Caravan for Migrants Page
H.R. 4437 was passed by the US House of Representatives on December 16th, 2005 and was sent on to the Senate, where it is currently in committee. This bill, which was introduced by Rep. Sensenbrenner, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen enforcement of the immigration laws, to enhance border security, and for "other purposes."

HR 4437 would make it a felony offense to be in the U.S. without proper documentation. This would push undocumented immigrants further underground, and increase the potential for exploitation by employers. This bill would also criminalize nurses, teachers, clergy, social workers, and anyone else who aids, assists, or otherwise has regular contact with undocumented immigrants. Read Carlos X's PNN report about how HR 4437 would affect his life.

A Rally for Immigrant Rights/ Manifestacion Pro-Inmigrante will be held on Saturday, February 25th, from 12pm to 3pm at the St. Elizabeth's Schoolyard on the 1500 block of 34th Ave. in Oakland's Fruitvale District. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution condemning the Minutemen vigilantes and the “Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act” –HR 4437—and committed to a non-compliance of its provisions. It is expected that HR 4437 will reach the US Senate for debate in late February or early March. There will be a Call-In Week to tell Senators to oppose this bill from Monday, February 6th to Friday, February 10th.

Some local immigrant rights organizations: East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy | National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights | La Raza Centro Legal | Poor Magazine
The Bay Area Coalition to Fight the Minutemen held its first local action, a rally for Justice for Migrants and Immigrants on Sunday, February 5th at 24th St./Mission BART Plaza. 100-150 people greeted the Caravan for Migrants as it arrived from Fresno. The Caravan was heading from San Diego to Washington, DC.

The rally was in Spanish and English, with representatives of the Caravan, BACFM, MEChA de USF, and Mujeres Unidas y Activas speaking. A spontaneous march walked through the heart of the Mission, with chants and signs denouncing the border, racism and the INS/ICE and affirming the rights of migrants and immigrants. Protest organizers felt that the large turnout of corporate media outlets meant that actions like this one could be important in influencing the debate around immigrants' rights. imc_article.gif Report

An event announcement said that messages of the protest would include "NO! to anti-migrant legislation like HR 4437, NO! to the 4,000+ deaths on the border, and NO! to the US Border Patrol murder of Guillermo Martinez Rodriguez on December 30th, 2005." People at the rally said, "YES! to human rights – No One Is Illegal!" Anuncio bilingüe
Day workers across the country plan a campaign of peacefully responding to coordinated vigilante actions organized by Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Control and local cells of the so-called “Minutemen.” Groups like the Minutemen and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) have been focusing their attention on day laborer centers. Day workers across the country plan to respond to the coordinated vigilante actions organized by Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Control and local cells of the so-called “Minutemen.” There is such a day of action scheduled for January 7th. List of January 7th actions on CTCIC website

The National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) reports that the recent wave of attacks is nothing new to the day worker community. Throughout 2005, similar attempts to incite violence and generate chaos against day laborers were experienced in Phoenix, AZ., Herndon, VA, and elsewhere. In Redondo Beach, CA, Joseph Turner, founder of Save Our State, encouraged members of his group to bring baseball bats, noting “if we're lucky, we're gonna need them.”

The NDLON says that the actions of vigilantes are motivated by, and an inspiration to, hate groups and white supremacists concerned about the changing demographics in our communities. At a recent event in Herndon, VA, a man “patrolled” a day labor corner with a t-shirt that said White Pride. “Under no circumstances can vigilante action be accepted in a civil society,” said Salvador Reza, Executive Director of Tonatierra in Phoenix, AZ. “It is our obligation to shine light on their dark motives” he added.

The NDLON says that wherever militia and paramilitary actions target day laborers, the workers and their supporters will counter them with peaceful, non-violent resistance. The network of day laborers and their supporters says that it will monitor, photograph and film the Minutemen and similar groups in order to document and prevent violence and hate crimes; defend the areas where day laborers congregate to solicit employment in order to feed themselves and their loved ones; and work to spread a message that honors the migrants and denounces the vigilantes' hatred and xenophobia. Read more

National Day Laborer Organizing Network
Kim Singh, the Executive Director of the Asian American Public Policy Institute, says, "I bring this to you after being in INS detention for 2 months. I was detained by INS for no specific reason and was slated for deportation to India. While in INS custody I met with other detainees who have been in INS detention for period ranging from a few years to one Sikh detainee who has been in INS limbo for 9 years being shunted form one INS facility to another.... I managed to get released, because I am reasonably articulate and know my rights. I was raising hell when in illegal detention!" More of Singh's story

"I do realize that this is holiday season and while we go shopping and quaffing eggnog, we need to remember what is being done by our Government and the DOJ (Department of Justice) on our behalf. The NY Times sat on the story for over a year before divulging the information about the illegal wiretapping and e-mail snooping our Government has been engaged in , "to keep all of us safe". The story that is not yet out is how legal immigrants are being arbitrary detained by INS (now re-christened ICE - Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and abused while in custody."

Some abuses that the inmates face:
  • "Most of the inmates I met with did not speak a word of English. The immigration courts do have translation capabilities, but the jails where the detainees are being housed, lack interpreters or even access to translation services."
  • "Most of the INS detainees are not aware of their rights, or the reasons why they were being deported. I saw legal residents with green cards, signing deportation orders agreeing to be deported to their "home" countries. Countries they had often left over 20 or 30 years ago."
  • "Immigration court does not make public defenders available to detainees...most of these detainees who tend to be people of little or no means, show up in immigration court with no legal counsel and are so dazed and confused, that I saw detainees agree to be deported and sign the deportation order, just because they were tired of the abuse they experienced while in custody."
  • "Medical facilities are denied to the inmates...there are nurses who sell you medicine!! Prescription drugs are denied repeatedly."
  • "Gay inmates get repeatedly raped by other inmates and by officers. I shared a cell with an inmate who told me of (her) harrowing experiences, as (she) was a transgender person. (She) would have been in detention for 10 years this Christmas."
  • "These are detainees who have no money. No money to call anyone, not their families, not their attorneys (if they have them)."
Singh has been trying to support these detainees by collecting orders for Christmas and holiday cards made by them. Read more

Articles based on Kim Singh's work to expose the exploitation of immigrants by hi-tech companies in Silicon Valley have appeared in LaborNotes and the Washington Free Press
December 22nd: Last Thursday at 7 in the morning, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents with guns busted into the San Francisco apartment of two Young Workers United (YWU) members. The couple was excitedly preparing for the birth of its first child. It appears to be the case that the woman’s former employers called the ICE on this young family. Due to legal considerations, YWU is not releasing the name the couple or the restaurant. Her employer had been paying far below the legal minimum wage, and also yelled at workers, threatened them with deportation, called them racial slurs and ultimately fired the young woman for speaking out and organizing against these abuses and being pregnant.

The young man was taken away and flown that night to a detention center in Eloy, Arizona. It is virtually impossible to get into the detention center and 90% of the detainees have no access to a lawyer. YWU is working tirelessly to coordinate with lawyers and Arizona immigrant rights group to get the all the resources he needs. A recent doctor's appointment indicates that the young woman will likely give birth this week. YWU has helped win a minimum wage charge through the City and has claims for pregnancy discrimination and retaliation. This young mother-to-be has no income since the ICE is detaining her partner. Young Workers United is asking for donations to be sent to help with her expenses. Read more Young Workers United website | Young Workers United's MySpace Blog
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