Hunger Strike For Immigrant Human Dignity: But Do San Franciscans Care?

Midday yesterday, over a hundred and fifty immigrant rights activists, families, workers, teachers, students and others convened at the steps of the Federal Building. They came to protest sweeping immigration proposals that would have dire consequences for immigrants in the U.S. Over fifty activists plan to camp in front of the building and hold a hunger strike for a week despite being denied permits by the City of San Francisco There are similar protests and strikes across the country, including 100,000 marchers who took to the streets of Chicago last week.

H.R. 4437, introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner [R-WI], seems so absurd that it could be fiction. However the bill has already passed the House of Representatives, currently being reviewed in the Senate, and President Bush has clearly stated his intent to enact a version of this into law. The bill calls for the criminalization of all undocumented persons in the U.S., making “unlawful presence” an aggravated felony. It would also instruct law enforcement to seek out undocumented immigrants and cities, such as San Francisco, that have sanctuary laws, could face the lose of federal funding. The implication for schools, churches, and nonprofit organizations are also sweeping. Anyone assisting an immigrant, for example proving domestic violence advice to a mother or a priest consoling an individual, would be a felon and could have a five year prison sentence. Other provisions include the creation of a border fence, the elimination of the diversity visa lottery system, indefinite detention of some immigrants and expedite removal of others including those seeking asylum, and huge fines for businesses employing undocumented immigrants.

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