March 2007 National Immigrant Solidarity Network Monthly Digest

March 2007 National Immigrant Solidarity Network Monthly Digest National Immigrant Solidarity Network URL: http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org e-mail: Info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org No Immigrant Bashing! Support Immigrant Rights! Washington D.C.: (202)595-8990 New York: (212)330-8172 Los Angeles: (213)403-0131 Every Dollar Counts! Please Support Us! Friends: We are appeal you for fund raising to support National Immigrant Solidarity Network. This is the critical moments for the immigrant rights and peace & justice movements! Please support us!

February-March 2007 U.S. Immigrant Alert! Newsletter
Published by National Immigrant Solidarity Network

Please read the Newsletter, download URL: http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/Newsletter/Feb-March07.pdf
[Requires Adobe Acrobat, to download, go: http://www.adobe.com]

New Congress, How It’ll Affect (or Benefit) Our Immigrant Rights Movement?

In This Issue:

1) May Day 2007 Call to Action!
2) Forecast on 2007 Immigration Reform
3) Jan 29 NISN Congressional Meeting Report
4) Immigration News Briefs
5) Please Support NISN!

Analysis: The ILRC Forecast on 2007 Immigration Reform

Judith Golub, Executive Director, Immigrant Legal Resource Center

With the November mid-term elections behind us and the 110th Congress convened, what is the prognosis for immigration reform? While it would be an uphill fight, reform could be enacted this year, given both the public's demand that Congress fix our nation's problems (and our broken immigration system being one of the primary problems needing attention) and some momentum remaining from last year's Congressional debate. Both Democratic and Republican Senate leaders have prioritized immigration reform. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 9) on the very first day of the 110th Congress and has reserved floor time to consider the issue. This "placeholder" bill will be replaced most likely with a reform package negotiated by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ). Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has acknowledged that immigration is a pressing concern needing to be addressed. On the House side, Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), who is poised to become Chair of the House Immigration Subcommittee, wants to produce "a practical and bipartisan bill that gets broad support" and believes that "if everybody can lower their voice, just stop yelling and go through the issues one by one, that we can come to consensus." However, a determined opposition led by Senate and House Republicans are expected to put roadblocks in the way of reform. In contrast, President Bush in his State of the Union address underscored the fact that "convictions run deep in this Capitol when it comes to immigration. Let us have a serious, civil, and conclusive debate - so that you can pass, and I can sign, comprehensive immigration reform into law."

But what kind of reform remains the question, as does whether there will be reform at all - given the "convictions that run deep." While the following does not exhaust the possibilities, below are four scenarios:

o The "good enough" scenario in which a measure passes that includes both hard pills to swallow and significant positives and can be implemented. This will be a very uphill fight;

o The "get done what we can" scenario in which, due to time constraints and other roadblocks, a smaller scale package passes (that includes AgJobs and DREAM Act and other measures along with some enforcement provisions) that has sufficient Congressional support and will provide the foundation for future reform;

o The "not good enough" scenario in which a measure passes that does not depart significantly from last year's Senate-passed bill, S. 2611, should be opposed on its merits and cannot be implemented; and

o The "crash" scenario in which too many constraints, conflicts, and roadblocks stand in the way so that Congress fails to address reform this year.....

To read more, please download the newsletter: http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/Newsletter/Feb-March07.pdf

Immigrant Legislative Updates

2/25: Citizenship requests soar before changes

Citizenship applications are skyrocketing in Southern California and across the nation, as green card holders rush to avoid a proposed fee increase, a revised civics test and possible changes in immigration law >> Read More

2/23: Urge Congress to Support Hate Crimes Prevention Act

This legislation brings much needed uniformity to federal hate crime laws and reflects the growing support for stronger hate crime legislation on the state level. State and federal governments should not tolerate any form of bias-motivated violence >> Read More

2/22: ‘Immigrants Bring Crime’ Is a Myth

Government and academic studies prove decisively that the common belief that immigrants, especially undocumented ones, bring criminality is based on a big lie >> Read More

Jan 29, 2007 Washigton D.C. Congressional Lobby
and National Call-In Day for Immigrant Rights

Organized by: National Immigrant Solidarity Network

On Monday, January 29, a group of us, representatives from San Francisco La Raza Legal Centro, National Organization of Women, veterans and I met with Speaker Nancy Pelosi's staff on immigration and present our open letter and exchanges ideas on the immigration issues. In addition, thank you for everyone who had visited and call your representatives at the Call-In day, at dozen states. >> Read the Congressional Lobby Day Report

More Details | More Information About the Open Letter | Endorse the Letter

For more latest Immigration Legislation Updates, Please visit: Immigration Legislation Watch

2/25: Al Jazeera TV cameraman among detainees at Guantanamo

A TV cameraman is getting an inside view of life at Guantanamo Bay prison, only he is unable to get out and tell the story >> Read More

2/23: Military Commissions Act Headed For Supreme Court

Following an appeals court's divided decision upholding the constitutionality of the Military Commissions Act, opponents of the measure are racing the clock to file an appeal to the US Supreme Court and have it heard during the court's current term >> Read More

2/23: LIRS Report Reveals Mistreatment of Detained Immigrant Families

A report released Feb. 22 details "disturbing" conditions at the two U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) facilities which house families undergoing immigration proceedings >> Read More

2/22 Alert! Immigration raids sweep through SoCal eateries!

In a nationwide sweep across 17 states and the District of Columbia, immigration officials descended on popular eateries like Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood, arrested almost 200 undocumented immigrants working for a janitorial company and filed criminal charges against its top three officials. >> Read More

2/20: DOJ audit found anti-terror case data flawed

Federal prosecutors counted immigration violations, marriage fraud and drug trafficking among anti-terror cases in the four years after 9/11 even though no evidence linked them to terror activity, a Justice Department audit said >> Read More

1/23 Santa Ana, CA: 761 immigrants reported arrested in Southern California sweep

Federal officials said Tuesday they arrested more than 750 undocumented immigrants over the past week in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in what they described as one of the biggest such sweeps in U.S. history >> Read More

More News From The Detention News

Minutemen Watch

2/22 New York, NY: Report from NYU Counter College Republicans’ “Find the Illegal Immigrant” event

Hundreds of other New York University (NYU) students, their allies, and NYU IMC contributors to protest the College Republicans’ “Find the Illegal Immigrant” event >> Read More

Feb 6: Klan growing, fed by anti-immigrant feelings, report says

Ku Klux Klan rebounding by exploiting hot-button issues, report says; Klan uses, stirs up anti-immigrant sentiments, says Anti-Defamation League; Hate group watchdog says Klan chapters grew 63% between 2000 and 2005; ADL says Klan cooperating with other extremist groups more than before >> Read More

2/16 Redwood City, CA: Last Minute annoucement of Minutemen rally in Saturday in Redwood City

A Bay Area chapter of the Minutemen, lead the rally in support of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, which has netted several immigrants in the area. >> Read More

2/11 Los Angeles, CA: Minutemen Stumble, ANSWER Steps Up

[LA IMC] ANSWER-LA led a small crew of fifteen, with banners, signs, and a blaring loudspeaker packed in a shopping cart, south down Argyle and across Hollywood Boulevard into a sea of forty minutemen. Half an hour later, the minutemen, amassed from across southern California, retreated to join their fellows on the southeast corner, pushed back by the growing crowd of protesters.

Full reports with photos: Minutemen Stumble, ANSWER Steps Up by Leslie Radford | |
Minutemen in Tinseltown by Cliff Olin | | Anti-Immigrant Minutemen Defeated in Hollywood by ANSWER Coalition-LA
Photos: minutemen | | more minutemen All by go vegan | | Minutemen in Hollywood by Marcus

For More News About the Minutemen, please visit Minutemen Watch

Please read the Newsletter, download URL: http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/Newsletter/Feb-March07.pdf

Immigration Resource Page
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/resource.htm

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