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Fall 2013 National Immigrant Solidarity
Network Monthly News Digest and News Alert!
National Immigrant Solidarity
Network
No Immigrant
Bashing! Support Immigrant Rights!
URL: http://www.ImmigrantSolidarity.org
e-mail: Info@ImmigrantSolidarity.org
Information about the Network: FLYER
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Support Us!
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Don't neglect immigration reform!
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In This Issue:
1) Don't neglect immigration reform
2) Rethink
Immigration: A Homeless, Undocumented & Detained LGBT Teen's Struggle for
Due Process
3) CA gives immigrants driver's licenses
4) ICE Public
Affairs: Rogue office in a rogue agency
5) How Domestic Workers Won Their
Rights: Five Big Lessons
6) More than 200 arrested at immigration rights
rally in D.C.
7) Updates, Please Support NISN! Subscribe the Newsletter! |
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Please download our
latest newsletter: http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/Newsletter/Fall13.pdf
10/3 OPINION: Don't neglect immigration
reform
ISELA CHÁVEZ-PORTUGAL -
News Day
With the federal government embroiled in shutdown politics, some people are
saying immigration reform is a long shot for 2013. But immigrants on Long Island
like me simply won't accept that pessimism. Saturday we will be marching in
Brentwood -- like others will in 130 or so demonstrations around the country --
to call for comprehensive immigration reform this year. And we will not be
deterred by a government shutdown, because our representatives need to hear that
they must get back to work and do what's right for immigrant families as soon as
possible.
I've lived in Suffolk County with my husband and two children for 10 years.
We came from Peru on a tourist visa and stayed to make a better life. We've
worked hard to support our family, including working nights cleaning the local
library. My son married an American and has become a legal resident, but my
husband, daughter and I would qualify for the path to citizenship that is
included in the comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed in the Senate
in late June.
Throughout these years, we've always had to worry about keeping our family
together, given the specter of deportation. A path to citizenship offers the
best chance for making sure we can be together and thrive on Long Island. But to
become reality and ensure that my family can stay together, we need the House of
Representatives to pass a similar bill.
My family and my immigrant community work hard every day to contribute to
Long Island with our love, our culture, our hard work and our taxes. We are
willing to take the steps laid out in an earned path to citizenship, but we need
the House to give us this chance. Now, we are saying, "Enough stalling
already!"
Immigrant Long Islanders like me have worked very hard with our allies for
comprehensive immigration reform. Thousands of Long Islanders have joined
marches, rallies and forums supporting reform. Thousands more have called and
written to their congressional representatives, all of whom have now publicly
supported a comprehensive bill including a path to citizenship. This reflects
what a poll conducted by Harstad Research this spring told us: As is true
throughout the country, the vast majority -- eight in 10 registered voters
surveyed on Long Island -- support an earned path to citizenship alongside
border enforcement measures and clearing the visa backlog.
But in September, reform efforts in Congress stalled, and now they seem
forgotten in the current partisan fighting. The Republican House leadership
doesn't want to bring the bill to a vote, even though the votes appear to be
there, with virtually all Democrats and at least 26 Republicans, including Rep.
Peter King (R-Seaford), expressing their support.
The will of the loud tea
party minority -- the same group behind this week's shutdown -- is putting at
stake the lives of 11 million people, including mine and my family's.
That's why immigrants around Long Island and across the country are joining
together to urge the House to act this month. Our coalition has declared
Saturday to be a National Day for Dignity and Respect for immigrants.
We are tired of false promises. We know that most Latinos and immigrants who
voted last year -- and whose votes decided the presidential election -- are
demanding this reform, like the 11 million of us who are here without the proper
documentation.
My family and I will be marching tomorrow. We know that
passing comprehensive reform this year will be difficult, but we will keep on
fighting and calling for action.
* Isela Chávez-Portugal is a member of Make the Road New York,
the state's largest participatory immigrant rights organization.
10/16 Rethink Immigration: A Homeless, Undocumented
& Detained LGBT Teen’s Struggle for Due Process
Mary Georgevich - LGBT project coordinator for Heartland Alliance’s
National Immigrant Justice Center
Earlier this year, Melissa* found herself locked up in immigration detention,
awaiting a deportation flight to Mexico. U.S. immigration law said she did not
have the right to see a judge, and most of her family and friends told her to
give up and just let the deportation happen. Luckily, with the help of her U.S.
citizen girlfriend Alicia*, Melissa decided to seek legal advice anyway.
As it turns out, Melissa had ample reason to continue fighting her case. But
as one of an estimated 900,000 LGBT teens in America who are homeless or near
homeless, she has had to overcome significant legal and financial hurdles to do
so.
Melissa’s immigration troubles began when she had a non-violent misdemeanor
arrest as a teenager and was turned over to immigration on a detainer. U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released Melissa, a minor at the time,
to her mother’s custody and sent all of her vital case documents—including
notice of her hearing date—to her mother’s home. Like many LGBT teens, Melissa
had a strained relationship with her family and mostly relied on friends for
housing. She never received the documents from her family, and as a teenager who
did not have a lawyer, Melissa did not understand their significance anyway.
When she did not appear for her hearing, the judge ordered her deported. A
few months ago, at age 20, a traffic stop landed Melissa back in immigration
custody and ICE tried to put that deportation order into effect. Because she had
already received a deportation order, the law disqualifies her from the right to
another hearing, but having a lawyer has given her a chance to challenge the
order.
Alicia and Melissa first contacted a private lawyer recommended by other
detainees. He filed a motion with the court to have the deportation order
rescinded and requested that Melissa be allowed a chance to see a judge.
However, with Melissa still detained and unable to work, the lawyer’s fees
quickly became too costly for the young couple to pay. That is when they
contacted Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC). The
LGBT Immigrant Rights Initiative took the case pro bono and discovered that
Melissa was potentially eligible for three different types of relief from
deportation: a visa for victims of crimes based on childhood sexual abuse,
asylum as an LGBT youth fearing persecution in her native country of Mexico, and
possibly President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
While NIJC worked to prove that Melissa should be given the opportunity to
fight her case in front of a judge, Alicia struggled to survive with her
girlfriend locked up. The two of them had lived together, and Melissa had been
their sole source of income while Alicia finished college. After Melissa was
detained, Alicia was forced to drop out—just one month short of graduation. She
began working two jobs, but between the lawyer fees and expensive phone calls to
Melissa in detention, she could not hold on to her apartment and moved into a
homeless shelter. Recently, Melissa and Alicia got their first good news: The
judge rescinded Melissa’s deportation order and gave her the lowest bond
possible—$1,500. Melissa’s mother agreed to help pay the bond, and Alicia and
Melissa are working to put their lives back together. But Melissa still has a
long road ahead as she works with NIJC to fight her case in immigration court.
Melissa and Alicia could have avoided a lot of heartache and trouble if
Melissa had been able to speak with a lawyer the first time she was detained.
Their problems could have been further prevented had Melissa been given access
to free or low-cost legal services as soon as she was detained the second time.
Of the people who currently are detained, 84 percent will be deported without
having access to legal representation. The immigration reform bill passed by the
Senate earlier this year would improve access to lawyers for unaccompanied
immigrant children, individuals with mental illness, and other vulnerable
immigrants in deportation proceedings. No person should be deported without the
opportunity to understand their rights and, at a minimum, speak with a judge. If
Melissa had taken her family’s original advice not to fight her deportation, or
had not found NIJC, that is exactly what would have happened. Melissa would be
living in a place she had not seen since she was seven years old, where she
would face a likelihood of persecution based on her sexual orientation, while
Alicia struggled to get by in the United States without the support of her
partner.
*Names have been changed to protect individuals’ privacy.
Also Read..
10/4: California gives immigrants driver's licenses
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Issues&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=1551
10/16: ICE Public Affairs: Rogue office in a rogue
agency
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Issues&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=1553
10/9: How Domestic Workers Won Their Rights: Five Big
Lessons
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Issues&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=1556
10/9: More than 200 arrested at immigration rights rally in
D.C.
http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=Issues&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=1552
Useful Immigrant Resources on
Detention and Deportation
Useful Handouts and Know Your Immigrant Rights
When Marches
Immigrant Marches / Marchas de los Inmigrantes
(By ACLU)
Immigrants and their supporters are participating in marches all over the
country to protest proposed national legislation and to seek justice for
immigrants. The materials available here provide important information about the
rights and risks involved for anyone who is planning to participate in the
ongoing marches.
If government agents question you, it is important to understand your rights.
You should be careful in the way you speak when approached by the police, FBI,
or INS. If you give answers, they can be used against you in a criminal,
immigration, or civil case.
The ACLU's publications below provide effective and useful guidance in
several languages for many situations. The brochures apprise you of your legal
rights, recommend how to preserve those rights, and provide guidance on how to
interact with officials.
IMMIGRATION Know
Your Rights When Encountering Law Enforcement | Conozca Sus Derechos Frente A Los Agentes Del Orden
Público ACLU of Massachusetts - Your Rights And
Responsibilities If You Are Contacted By The Authorities English | Spanish | Chinese
ACLU of Massachusetts - What to do if stopped and questioned about your immigration status
on the street, the subway, or the bus | Que hacer si Usted es interrogado en el tren o autobus acerca
de su estatus inmigratorio ACLU of South Carolina - How To Deal With A 287(g) | Como Lidiar Con Una 287(g) ACLU of Southern
California - What
to Do If Immigration Agents or Police Stop You While on Foot, in Your Car, or
Come to Your Home | Qué Hacer Si Agentes de Inmigración o la Policía lo Paran
Mientras Va Caminando, lo Detienen en su Auto o Vienen a su Hogar
ACLU of Washington - Brochure for Iraqis: What to Do If the FBI or
Police Contact You for Questioning English | Arabic
ACLU of Washington - Your Rights at Checkpoints at Ferry Terminals | Sus Derechos en Puestos de Control en las Terminales de
Transbordadores
LABOR / FREE SPEECH Immigrant Protests - What Every Worker Should Know: | Manifestaciones de los Inmigrantes - Lo Que Todo Trabajador
Debe Saber
PROTESTERS ACLU of Florida Brochure - The Rights of Protesters | Los Derechos de los Manifestantes
STUDENTS Washington State - Student Walkouts and Political Speech at School | Huelgas Estudiantiles y Expresión Política en las
Escuelas California Students: Public School Walk-outs and Free Speech
| Estudiantes de California: Marchas o Huelgas y La Libertad de
Expresión en las Escuelas Públicas
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91031-0751
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