ICE Cold Hearts...Melted!

Yesterday, February 13th, 2012 at the Aurora Immigrant Detention Center, 525 handmade Valentines were delivered to 450 people unjustly interned by the state. Today, Valentine's Day, an additional 75 cards were gifted to day laborers in Denver and Aurora... Thanks to you!

Yesterday, the waiting room was full of people waiting to visit thier loved ones and they each took a handmade valentine presented by Maureen and Sister Alicia. Today, each of the day laborers among sheepish grins and chuckles accepted a homemade Valentine of their own. Many people seperated from thier families accepted your loving valentines.

The Valentines you made touched hearts and shared strength. We are all made more whole knowing these stories of fierce love and unforgettable power.

Many people have told us that this Valentine project provided them with an opportunity to not only be creative, but also to be self reflective. To set aside feelings of frustration about political posturing and to put what LOVE they could into a simple beautiful card. To take just an hour or so to think about the experiences of immigrants in this country and to focus on the reasons we struggle for immigrant justice day in and day out.

A special thank you to all of the Valentine Artists, including but not limited to Coloradans For Immigrant Rights, Regis University Social Justice Students, Harriet Mullaney’s English classes at Bruce Randolph Community Learning Center, Wendy Kaas & Sarah Levin, Betty & Anne, Boulder Unitarian Universalists, Stephen Von Merz's DU Class, the Bridge Project, St. Mary's Academy, Fort Collins Holy Family Church Adult Reflection Group and Sister Mary Garcia, Julie Gonzales, Maureen, Rainbow Alley Youth Drop In Center, Wayne's friends, Malcolm & Mariah, Nadine Swahburg, Maggie Gomez, Shannon Masden, Aunnastasia Pacheco, Kenia Morales, Jenny Santos, Ire & Yvette Sauceda-Lindsey, Karla, EJ Becker, Judith Marquez, Greg Ferrari, Che Rise Tren, Nadya Waziri, Lisa Knoblach, Connor McFarland, Melissa Nix, Tom Kowal, Robert McGoey and many others!

On February 6th, 2012, over 200 people gathered at the Aurora Detention Center to make their voices heard. The February monthly vigil was planned by Coloradans For Immigrant Rights, a project of AFSC and Regis University Students.
We invited Stephanie Tanny, a spoken word artist, and Alejandro Jimenez to share their challenging and inspiring poems. We sang some love songs and chanted to the people interned inside. And we decorated the wall that separated us from the center with a huge streamer heart and balloons. We carried signs with our message including a large broken heart symbolizing how our broken immigration system keeps the United States apart from the rest of the world and the broken hearts of those families separated by borders and walls.

Some of the Valentine’s read like this:

Dear Valentine, You are not alone. I hold you in my heart, thoughts and prayers. Love knows no borders or walls and together we can share each other’s strength and courage. I am with you in spirit on this Valentine’s Day. No estas sol@. Est@s presente en mi corazón, mis pensamientos y mis oraciones. El amor no reconoce fronteras ni muros. Juntos podemos compartir nuestr@ fuerza y valor. Mi espíritu está contigo en este Día de San.

Immigrants and Immigrant Allies: Making Justice Visible

A contribution from Lucy Duncan, from her amazing blog: Acting in Faith, Connecting Friends to the work of AFSC
Note: The below blog post was written by Lucy Duncan, but with contributions and editorial support by Gabriela Flora, Jen Piper, and M'Annette Ruddell.

“That invisibility to which I refer occurs because of a peculiar disposition of the eyes of those with whom I come in contact. A matter of the construction of their inner eyes, those eyes with which they look through their physical eyes upon reality.” – Ralph Ellison

Refusing to be invisible when people are conditioned not to see is a revolutionary act. Seeing and recognizing those whom we are not supposed to acknowledge is also a powerful act of resistance. Both small and large acts of such courage are being taken by immigrants and immigrant allies every day. I had the privilege of seeing such powerful witness when I visited AFSC’s Denver office in November.

Jen Piper, AFSC’s Colorado Interfaith Organizing Director, invited me to go with her to a deportation hearing. Piper organizes an interfaith clergy witness network, the members of which serve as immigrant allies, and one service they offer is being prayerful presences at deportation hearings, offering spiritual support to the immigrants in the courtroom and afterwards.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) courtroom in Denver is in the Bank of the West building, which seemed both strange and fitting to me. We waited in the marble lobby for Alma,* the young woman whom we were there to support, along with Kelly, a Unitarian minister. Alma, a slight woman with round brown eyes, arrived with her cousins. She had left her daughter, who is sixteen-months-old and a citizen, at home with family. Not to be able to converse without interpretation with Alma felt uncomfortable to me, I felt my being monolingual as a disability that day.

An elevator took us to the courtroom level where we cleared the metal detectors before meeting with Alma’s lawyer in a small room off to the side. He didn’t know Spanish, so Liz and Piper translated. The lawyer said that, despite the fact that she had no criminal record, Alma’s legal options had been exhausted, and he recommended that she agree to voluntary departure. Alma asked questions about what this would mean and learned that she would have until March to report to the US embassy in Mexico. If she did not prove that she had left the United States, she would be subject to detention and immediate removal.

With exasperation, the lawyer said, “In August, President Obama announced that he would be prioritizing those with criminal records in deportation proceedings, but that hasn’t happened. There has been no executive order, and the deportation of those with no record have continued or speeded up.” It was hard not to feel that there must be something more we could do. But really, there is no legal pathway to permanent resident status for the vast majority of people who are undocumented.

Alma looked scared and shaken as we went into the courtroom which was smaller than I expected. Hearings were scheduled for a number of people, not just Alma, and we watched as one man got a year extension to his visa. When Alma was called to the front, she put on headphones so that she could hear the court translator.

There wasn’t much ceremony. The lawyer said that Alma was willing to accept voluntary departure, the ICE prosecutor agreed, and the judge affirmed the decision. The Department of Justice insignia behind the judge struck me as ironic. Piper told me later that one judge presiding over deportation hearings of men in shackles acknowledged that what he was doing wasn’t justice; he was merely applying the law.

The whole process took just a few minutes. I wanted someone to yell, “No,” to reflect on what happened. How many families does that judge rend apart each day? How many does the prosecutor? It all seemed so perfunctory, so banal, while hearts were breaking.

We left the courtroom while Alma quietly wept. She’s young, maybe twenty. She’s been in the country for eight years, hasn’t been back to Mexico. Her partner is a citizen of Ecuador. If she leaves, will they ever be reunited? The choices all seemed untenable – to stay here and risk detention, then forced deportation, to go to a place without her partner that is no longer her home, to leave her child here with family and go to Mexico on her own.

Back in the lobby, we gathered in a little circle as Kelly offered a prayer about hardship and trusting in Jesus. Liz and Piper translated. We each hugged Alma, encircling her with our concern and compassion. What else could we do?

After Alma left, we drank tea together and talked about what we had witnessed, how helpless it made us feel, how senseless it seemed. Who would it hurt for Alma to be allowed to stay? Who is being protected? We talked about collusion and how each time we buy raspberries or strawberries or tomatoes we are participating in the exploitation of migrant labor.

That night, I joined AFSC staff and about sixty others for the monthly vigil held at the Aurora Detention Center, a for-profit detention center owned by the Geo Corporation (“one of the world’s largest corrections and detention organizations,” which is traded on the NYSE). It was early November and really cold. The detention center detains undocumented people indefinitely, without due process.

We gathered on the wide road nearby with candles, signs, noisemakers, and then proceeded to the detention center entrance for a ceremony. The group was mixed – immigrant allies and people without documents. The people without papers were brave to be there, to come out of the shadows and insist on being visible. To commemorate the day of the dead, culturally important to many of those gathered, they had brought pictures of their loved ones who had died, but whose graves they could not travel to visit. Jordan Garcia, AFSC’s Immigrant Ally Organizing Director, set out scarves and candles on the ground, and one by one those who had photos placed them on the improvised shrine. A thin man talked about being without papers for fifteen years and how he felt invisible as part of an underground and vulnerable work force. His assertion was that labeling him as “illegal” was intentional so that his wages would never be fair.

We shouted and banged on things, hoping those inside could hear us. Jordan told me the old detention center had windows and during vigils, those inside could hold signs against the glass to thank the protesters for being there. In addition to the monthly vigil, those detained are remembered by a huge pile of handmade cards Jordan delivers on Valentine's Day. These signs of support from outside may seem slight, but they matter. Any indication that we see and haven’t forgotten them makes some difference.

Earlier the day of the vigil, a reporter had called Gabriela Flora, AFSC Regional Project Voice Organizer, and asked about the status of comprehensive federal immigration reform. She replied that, with the current Congress, there isn’t much likelihood of reform any time soon. With the help of “Secure Communities,”** the administration will have deported more people in Obama’s first term than Bush did in the eight years of his presidency. Accompanying Alma and others to deportation hearings and holding these monthly vigils are acts of faith, the impacts of which are felt deep within the communities most affected. People without papers feel less alone, less invisible. Piper and AFSC’s work with citizen allies is critical to help people understand the depth of the trauma current immigration policies cause. What does it mean to live in the shadows of the US economy, cleaning houses, harvesting food, making do? Or working professionally with a secret fear? Now every time I even think of buying raspberries or tomatoes, I think of Alma.

I think of Alma and take heart that immigrants are organizing in Colorado and across the country. People are refusing to be invisible, coming forward with courage and determination, like those at the vigil. They bravely share their stories and how the for-profit system of detention dehumanizes them and tears their families apart. Allies are listening to their stories and using their privilege to work for change, side by side with immigrants.

For true change to happen, it must be defined by those directly affected. The policy changes necessary to undo the damage done over the last 25 years (really the last 500) will not happen quickly. Real change takes time and takes commitment by everyday people like you and me. In bearing witness to the reality that people like Alma face, by standing with them and understanding how we are a part of the system that renders them invisible, we are working to create a just society where illegal will no longer be a noun, and law is based on respecting the humanity of all those in our society.

By accompanying immigrants in this resistance, we have the opportunity to see with our hearts. Immigrants refusing to be invisible, as well as allies willing to really see and accompany those affected by these policies, can help us to make manifest the invisible, the unseen but palpable, world which recognizes the innate worth and brilliance of every person.

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*Alma is not this woman’s real name, I changed it to protect her.

** Secure Communities involves local and state authorities in immigration and customs enforcement. The program has encouraged racial profiling, divided families, and eroded basic community trust in law enforcement where implemented.

In a Broken Immigration System, DOMA Adds Another Layer of Injustice Bi-national lesbian couple waits for answer; DOMA holds their future hostage (Seg

For Immediate Release: August 15th, 2011
Contact: Julie Gonzales, CIRC, Julie@coloradoimmigrant.org, 720-891-2712 | Jessica Cook Woodrum, One Colorado, 720-412-3772, jessicaw@one-colorado.org

Denver, CO - Abandoned as a child, abused, and mistreated, a young lesbian woman made her way from Mexico to the United States and built a life alongside the woman she loves. However, Mrs. Hernandez's future (who asks that her full name not be used) now hinges on a decision from an immigration judge. But new prosecutorial discretion guidelines for bi-national same-sex couples from John Morton, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, could prove to be crucial for her future, as they address the way immigration judges should apply and interpret the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

"It is absurd that someone like Mrs. Hernandez is facing deportation from her partner and the life they have built together, due to a traffic stop. This happens to thousands of families across the country as a result of increased local law enforcement collaboration with ICE. Unfortunately, DOMA makes our already broken immigration system even worse," said Julien Ross, Executive Director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, "DOMA denies committed same-sex couples any rights in sponsoring their spouse, and often leaves their families with few options for changing their situation."

Ross continued: "The real solution would be to recognize Mrs. Hernandez's marriage, and allow them the same rights as any other married couple under immigration law. But at the very least, ICE should follow their own guidelines on discretion and stop her deportation immediately."

Mrs. Hernandez met her partner, a US citizen born and raised in Denver, and fell in love in 2006. They were married in Iowa in 2010. However, as a result of DOMA, their marriage is not recognized for immigration purposes and her partner is barred from sponsoring Mrs. Hernandez for legal status.

When Mrs. Hernandez was pulled over for a minor traffic violation in 2008, she was detained and spent nearly 3 months at an immigration detention center. Since that time, the couple has spent more than $20,000 on the legal battle to fight her deportation case and to have their marriage recognized and respected by immigration courts.

"No loving, committed couple should be torn apart by the laws of our country," said Brad Clark, Executive Director of One Colorado. " Mrs. Hernandez and her partner have made a lifelong promise to take care of each other, and their marriage should provide them with security to build a life together. But because of these unjust, discriminatory laws, their family hangs in the balance. That's just plain wrong."

A decision on Mrs. Hernandez's case is expected on August 19th at the Denver Immigration Court. In the coming days, community organizations will be working to mobilize support. Please contact Julie Gonzales, Director of Organizing for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition at Julie@coloradoimmigrant.org, or Shannon Masden, Field Manager for One Colorado at Shannonm@one-colorado.org to get involved.

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The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) is a statewide, membership-based coalition of immigrant, faith, labor, youth, community, business and ally organizations founded in 2002 to improve the lives of immigrants and refugees by making Colorado a more welcoming, immigrant-friendly state. CIRC achieves this mission through non-partisan civic engagement, public education, and advocating for workable, fair and humane immigration policies.

One Colorado is a statewide advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring equality and opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Coloradans and their families. With offices in Denver, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Grand Junction, One Colorado effectively improves the lives of LGBT Coloradans by lobbying the General Assembly, executive branch, and local governments on issues like safe schools, relationship recognition, and LGBT health and human services. Learn more about www.one-colorado.org.

Para Distribuicón Inmediata: Lunes, 15 de agosto del 2011

Contactos: Julie Gonzales, CIRC, Julie@coloradoimmigrant.org, 720-891-2712 (bilingüe) | Jessica Cook Woodrum, One Colorado, 720-412-3772, jessicaw@one-colorado.org (inglés)

Bajo un sistema roto de inmigración, DOMA agrega otra capa de injusticia

Pareja bi-nacional lesbiana espera una respuesta; DOMA tiene su futuro rehenes

Denver, CO - Abandonada como niña, abusada y maltratada, una jóven lesbiana salió de México, llegó a los Estados Unidos, y construyó una vida al lado de la mujer que ama. Sin embargo, su futuro ahora depende de una decisión departe de un juez de inmigración. Pero John Morton, el Director del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE, por sus siglas en inglés) acaba de mandar nuevas directrices de discreción prosecutorial para parejas bi-nacionales del mismo sexo, y pueden ser decisivos para el futuro de Sra. Hernandez (quien pide que su nombre completo no sea usado) porque tratan de la manera que los jueces de inmigración deben interpretar y aplicar la Ley de Defensa del Matrimonio (DOMA, por sus siglas en inglés).

"Es absurdo que alguien como la Sra. Hernandez está enfrentando una deportación de su pareja y la vida que han construida juntas, por causa de una parada rutinario de tráfico. Esto pasa a miles de familias al nivel nacional por la mayor colaboración entre la policía local y ICE. Desafortunadamente, DOMA empeora el sistema de inmigración ya roto," dijo Julien Ross, Director Ejecutivo de la Coalición para los Derechos de Inmigrantes de Colorado (CIRC, por sus siglas en inglés), "DOMA niega las parejas comprometidas del mismo sexo cualquier derecho a patrocinar a su esposo o esposa, y por la mayoría de los casos, deja las familias sin la oportunidad de cambiar su situación."

Ross continuó: "La solución verdadera sería reconocer el matrimonio entre la Sra. Hernandez y su pareja, y darles los mismos derechos que reciben todas las otras parejas casadas bajo la ley de inmigración. Por lo menos, ICE debe seguir sus propios directrices de discreción y cancelar su deportación inmediatamente."

La Sra. Hernandez y su pareja, una ciudadana nacida en Denver, se conocieron y se enamoraron en el 2006. Se casaron en Iowa en el 2010. Sin embargo, bajo DOMA, su matrimonio no es reconocido bajo la ley de inmigración y la pareja no puede patrocinar a Sra. Hernandez por un estatus legal.

Cuando Sra. Hernandez fue parada por una infracción de transito en el 2008, fue detenida y pasó casi 3 meses en la cárcel de inmigración. Desde entonces, la pareja ha pagado más de $20.000 para batallar legalmente en contra del caso de deportación y para que las cortes de inmigración reconozcan y respetan a su matrimonio.

"Ninguna pareja comprometida y cariñosa debe ser separada por las leyes de nuestro país," dijo Brad Clark, Director Ejecutivo de One Colorado. "Sra. Hernandez y su pareja han hecho una promesa de por vida de cuidar la una a la otra, y su matrimonio debería de proveerlas con la seguridad de construir una vida juntas. Pero por estas leyes injustas y discriminatorias, su familia está en duda. Es una gran equivocación."

Esperan una decisión en el caso de Sra. Hernandez el 19 de agosto en la Corte de Inmigración de Denver. En los siguientes días, movilizarán varias organizaciones de base en apoyo. Favor de contactar a Julie Gonzales, Directora de Organizar con CIRC, julie@coloradoimmigrant.org, o a Shannon Masden, Manager de Campo con One Colorado, shannonm@one-colorado.org para involucrarse.

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La Coalición para los Derechos de Inmigrantes de Colorado (CIRC, por sus siglas en inglés) es una coalición estatal de organizaciones de inmigrantes, fé, sindicatos, comunitarias, negociantes, y aliadas fundada en el 2002 para mejorar las vidas de inmigrantes y refugiados a través de asegurar que Colorado esté más acogedor y pro-inmigrante. CIRC alcanza nuestra misión por involucramiento cívico no-partidista, educación pública, y abogacía para una reforma migratoria justa.

One Colorado es una organización estatal de abogacía dedicada a asegurar la igualdad y oportunidad por Coloradenses lesbianas, gay, bisexuales, y transgéneros (LGBT) y sus familias. Con oficinas en Denver, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, y Grand Junction, One Colorado mejora las vidas de Coloradenses LGBT a través de abogacía en la Asamblea General, el poder ejecutivo, y en gobiernos locales en temas como escuelas seguras, reconocimiento de relaciones, y salud y servicios humanos para la comunidad LGBT. Aprende más en one-colorado.org.

http://www.coloradoimmigrant.org/article.php?id=1135

ICE Cold Hearts...Melted!

by Jordan T Garcia

On Monday, February 14th, 2011 at the Aurora Immigrant Detention Center, 475 handmade Valentines were delivered to 450 people unjustly interned by the state. An additional 50 cards were handed out to day laborers in Aurora. Thanks to you!

I spoke with a woman named Patricia in the detention center waiting area, as she waited to be allowed to see her husband and the father of her 3 year old before he signed his voluntary departure for his deportation. Her fierce strength gripped me in the moments she shared her struggle to explain to her daughter Alicia that she didn’t do anything wrong to keep her father away on Valentine’s day.

Later yesterday morning, Pedro, a carpenter and Day Laborer from Aurora, tucked a Valentine made by a 7 year old Bella inside his pocket. Among sheepish grins and somewhat deriding chuckles from fellow day laborers, though none were too shy to take a homemade Valentine of thier own, he explained. His son, in Oaxaca, was about the same age when Pedro left to come to the US four years ago to send money home to his parents, now raising his kids.

The Valentines you made touched hearts and shared strength. We are all made more whole knowing these stories of fierce love and unforgettable power.

At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. We must strive every day so that this love of living humanity will be transformed into actual deeds, into acts that serve as examples, as a moving force.

~ Che Guevara

Many people have told us that this Valentine project provided them with an opportunity to not only be creative, but also to be self reflective. To set aside feelings of frustration about political posturing and to put what LOVE they could into a simple beautiful card. To take just an hour or so to think about the experiences of immigrants in this country and to focus on the reasons we struggle for immigrant justice day in and day out.
A special thank you to all of the Valentine Artists, including but not limited to Coloradans For Immigrant Rights, Metro Organization for People, Melissa Nix, Nicki Gonzales & Tania Valenzulea and the Regis University Social Justice Students, Maria and the students at the Iliff School of Theology, Sister Alicia and St. Mary's Academy and Escuela de Guadelupe students, Harriet Mullaney’s English classes at Bruce Randolph School, and the attendants of Yolotzin (1st!) & Yvonne Sandoval’s birthday party. And another special thank you to Seth Donovan for making the arrangements with the Detention Center Staff.

On February 7th, 2011, over 150 hundred people gathered at the Aurora Detention Center to make their voices heard. The February monthly vigil was planned by Coloradans For Immigrant Rights, a project of AFSC and the Denver Justice and Peace Committee.
We invited Suzi Q Smith, a spoken word artist and slam poet whose poem is copied below, along with other poets such as Homero Ocon who shared their beautiful pieces. DJPC shared broken hearts concerning the roots of migration and participants shared the ways they will mend hearts in their own lives. We sang some love songs and chanted to the people interned inside.

We carried signs with our message including a large broken heart symbolizing how our broken immigration system keeps the United States apart from the rest of the world and the broken hearts of those families separated by borders and walls.

Some of the Valentine’s read like this: Dear Valentine, You are not alone. I hold you in my heart, thoughts and prayers. Love knows no borders or walls and together we can share each other’s strength and courage. I am with you in spirit on this Valentine’s Day. No estas sol@. Est@s presente en mi corazón, mis pensamientos y mis oraciones. El amor no reconoce fronteras ni muros. Juntos podemos compartir nuestr@ fuerza y valor. Mi espíritu está contigo en este Día de San.

Thank you all for Sharing the LOVE last night!

Over 100 hundred people gathered at the Aurora Detention Center last night to make our voices heard…
Love Knows NO Borders, NO Walls!
We sang Volver, Volver and the women & men unjustly detained inside sang back.
You can continue to share the love by making Valentines..

This February CFIR will send each of the 400 immigrant detainees:
One special hand made by YOU Valentine AND a stamped postcard that can be sent to a loved one on Valentine’s day!

Thanks to the beautiful people who made the first 100! We need 300 MORE thoughtfully crafted Valentines!
A great activity for youth groups, book clubs, etc. Let us know if you need crafting supplies, we can share ours!

Please make 5-10 Valentines & send them to the AFSC:
Valentine c/o Jordan T Garcia
901 W. 14th Ave, Suite #7 Denver, CO 80204
Questions? call 303-623-3464
Also, if you are able to contribute funds to help us buy stamps for detainees, that would be great!

You could write:
Dear Valentine, You are not alone. I hold you in my heart, thoughts and prayers. Love knows no borders or walls and together we can share each other’s strength and
courage. I am with you in spirit on this Valentine’s Day.
No estas sol@. Est@s presente en mi corazón, mis pensamientos y mis oraciones. El amor no reconoce fronteras ni muros. Juntos podemos compartir nuestr@ fuerza y valor. Mi espíritu está contigo en este Día de San Valentín.

You could join these groups TONIGHT!
Resist the War on Immigrants - Letter Writing Night for ICE Detainees and Immigrant Rights Political Prisoners
Wednesday February 3rd, 6:30pm-8:00pm
6th Ave. United Church of Christ (6th and Adams) Co-sponsored by El Comite en Defensor del Pueblo and the Denver Anarchist Black Cross
Denver ABC is excited to host its first themed monthly letter writing night side by side with El Comite en Defensor del Pueblo. We are living in a moment of an increasing militarized border, an expanding deportation apparatus of immigrant detention centers and police forces, and a large public segment of fomenting xenophobes. Yet immigrant people, indigenous people who have had the “immigrant” label imposed on them, and their allies are becoming better organized and more militant every day. We are excited to host a night of letter writing to those imprisoned by either being caught within the US’s war on immigration and those fighting back.
Envelopes, prisoner addresses and information, postage, childcare, educational information, and a FREE SPAGHETTI DINNER will all be provided!
Contact: denverabc@rocketmail.com
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Resiste La Guerra Contra Inmigrantes Presos Políticos - Noche de Escribir Correos Para el ICE Detenidos y Los Inmigrantes Presos Políticos
Miércoles 3 de febrero, 6:30 pm-8: 00pm
6 ª avenida. Iglesia Unida de Cristo (6 ª y Adams) Co-patrocinado por El Comite en Defensor del Pueblo y la Cruz Negra Anarquista de Denver
ABC de Denver está muy emocionado de ser anfitrión de su primer grupo temático de escritura de la carta mensual de “side by side” con El Comite en Defensor del Pueblo. Estamos viviendo, en un momento de una frontera militarizada en aumento, la expansión de la deportación aparatos de los centros de detención de inmigrantes y las fuerzas de policía, y un gran segmento de público de fomentar xenófobos. Sin embargo, las personas inmigrantes, indígenas, personas que han tenido los “inmigrantes” etiqueta que se les impone, y sus aliados son cada vez mejor organizada y más militante de todos los días. Estamos poder ser los anfitriones de una noche de la escritura de cartas a las personas encarceladas por cualquier causa que fueron capturados en la guerra de los Estados Unidos sobre la inmigración y los que luchan de nuevo.
Sobres, direcciones de prisioneros y de información, correos, guarderías, de información educativa, y una cena de espagueti GRATIS para todos!
Contacto: denverabc@rocketmail.com

Raids in Loveland

On July , 2008 ICE raided a concrete plant in Loveland Colorado and arrested 18 people. Those detained are being held in various different detention centers from Park County to Teller to Aurora.

It remains to be seen whether Immigration, Control and Enforcement will be pursuing criminal charges for "identity theft" or simply trying to bully people into signing their own deportation forms.

Some workers are being allowed to bond out. The families of those who could bond out have now spent all they have to bond the workers out. The workers cannot work while out on bond. Many of the families are without money to pay rent for August.

If you want to help, please send checks to:
Fuerza Latina Relief Fund
c/o First National BankP.O. Box 578
Fort Collins, CO 80522

These types of "enforcement" actions are meant to terrorize workers and their families. Why else would they have called in "air support" from the Border Patrol to arrest 18 people?

The raids do not change our broken system. Raids do not make people leave the United States.

Raids make it easier to exploit us all by making immigrant workers more vulnerable to exploitation and unsafe working conditions, lowering the bar of what is acceptable. Raids make people afraid to demand their labor rights, afraid to be a part of the community, afraid to speak with people they don't know. Raids divide us.

The question is Who do these raids benefit? Who gains from weakened worker's rights? Some of the answer is: consumers who want to buy more stuff for less money. Some of the answer is: those employers who are unscrupulous. A big part of the answer is: multi-national corporations who pit workers from all over the world against one another in a race to the bottom.

More info
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition
News articles

Detention Centers Violate Human Rights

Undocumented immigrants have not broken a criminal law, but rahter a civil one. Civil law encompasses such offenses as parking tickets, speeding and jaywalking. Most immigrants come here, build their family and work. They become integral parts of their communities. It is our immigration laws and procedures which make them vulnerable to abuses.

Ask if the "crime" of working and building fits the punishments being inflicted?

A report released today details the human rights violations that occur once immigrants are in detention.

The Tacoma Center was built over neighborhood objections that a toxic-waste site was not an appropriate place for detention. Now the center has been found to violate many human rights.

"Conditions at the detention center violate obligations under international law, including customary international law and the refugee convention. The center’s holding of asylees in detention violates U.S.’s obligations under the Refugee condition and constitute Cruel, Inhuman and degrading treatment.”

Skinner also says the conditions at the center violate the 5th Amendment of the Constitution in that they amount to punishment... Other rights being violated include the right to counsel, the right to family unity, due process violations due to the forced signing of papers, right to medical treatment, especially emergency medical treatment and mental health treatment."

Many centers, including the GEO center in Aurora, have similar problems. There have been allegations of racism and harassment at the Aurora GEO Center. The waiting room at the facility is very small and visiting family members are forced to wait outside in the heat and cold if they want to visit their family. The facility also only allows two visitors at a time so families have to bring someone with them to watch their other children or not visit at all. Even prisons do not have such restrictions.

To read the executive summary click here
To read the full report click here

ICE Intimidates Student Activist: Donate Here

I have faith…

I have faith that God will help us through this test…

I have faith in people.

This is my story…

On July 26, 2006, Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) came to my home and detained my parents and sisters. My family came to the United States 15 years ago. Over the course of those 15 years we have become integrated in this community, we have paid our taxes, and have tried several times to legalize our status.

When I graduated from high school, one of my goals was to go to college. I knew that an education would give me the freedom I so long for. I knew that an education was a human right. However, because I was an undocumented student this meant I was not eligible for this right. Did this mean that because I was undocumented I was not worthy enough to be considered a human being?

I fought for my right to a college education and successfully was admitted to Miami Dade College in the fall of 2003. But that was not the outcome for many others, and I knew that I had to fight for this injustice. I knew that MLK was right when he said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

I began to fight for educational rights. I fought for immigrant students rights. I stood up and spoke out. I marched along thousands of people. I humbly testified and shared my story with many people in hopes that I would be able to kindle their hearts and change their minds. I prayed to the Almighty God on my knees, and I asked for a change.

I have endured the burden of this responsibility for almost two years. ICE officers told my family to thank me for what was happening to them. ICE officers told my parents to reprimand me for what I was doing. ICE officers threatened me and asked me to stay quiet. And yesterday the herald wrote U.S. Immigration Judge Carey Holliday had refused to hear their arguments.

Pacheco "freely chose to draw unwanted attention to herself and her family," he wrote in a March 18 response. "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."That runs through my head every single day, and like a dagger those words cut through my chest and stab my heart.

My family has been extremely supportive of my cause. My father has told me several times he is proud of me. He brings me up when I am down. He has been the wind beneath my wings. My mom says that I inherited from her the fighter in me. I love my family, and I also love this country! I know that justice and love will prevail in the end. I know this because one of the ICE officers said to my mom, “Why are you crying? Don’t you believe in God?” He comforted her, he was humane, and he showed her love.

I believe in the power of change. I believe in the power we have to make a difference and do good. One day I had to give a speech around September 11. I remember hearing someone talk about the tragedy that took place that day. And I remember thinking if 16 people were able to cause such a horrific thing, imagine what 16 people can do for something good. It really takes one person to make a difference.

Time for a change is of essence in this case. My family will appear in front of an immigration court judge this Monday, April 14, 2008. I don’t know what the outcome of this appearance will be. We’ve been put in a very uncomfortable situation because we are uncertain of the future. My family has to be ready to ask for voluntary departure in order to avoid being detained in a detention center. We need to present passports, airline tickets, bonds, and other fees, and we are reaching out to our friends and family for help. Unfortunately, we are really short on the money, and today I ask for your help. I have set aside my pride and feelings of shame because I really need your help.

I am dying inside because I feel my family is being snatched away from me. Even though I am 23 years old, I still need my mom. I have been terribly sick these past few weeks, and she has been the one that has spoon-fed me the medicine, has made special food to make me feel better, and has sat down by my side to caress me and soothe my pain away. I cannot begin to imagine what it feels like losing a parent forever. My peace rests in that, even though they are deporting my family, I am still going to be able to hear my mom’s voice and my dad’s encouragements through a telephone.

Thank you for reading this letter, and thank you for your support! If you feel it in your heart that you are able to help my family, please let me know. We need to have everything turned in to the lawyers by this Friday, April 11th.

Thank you once again, and God bless you,
Gaby Pacheco
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Maria Pacheco
13380 SW 2nd Terrace
Miami, FL 33184