Aurora City Council considering criminalizing day laborers

City Council Hearing and Rally TONIGHT

WHAT: Rally and Testimonies at City Council Meeting to Oppose Anti-Day-Laborer Ordinance

WHERE: Steps of Aurora Municipal Building 15151 E. Alameda Parkway, Aurora, CO 80012

RALLY: 6:30pm
HEARING: 7:30pm

SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS
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UPDATE 7/15/2008

The City Council delayed their vote on this issue last night. Several City Council members were not present. The Council expressed a desire for "more community input". Several members of the council who are opposed to a change in the ordinance wanted to have the vote. Several members, including the sponsor, voted to postpone the vote. Stay posted for more details on the next hearing date. Thanks to all who gave up their Monday night for the rally and testimony!

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7/10/2008
The Aurora City council will consider a new ordinance which would place El Centro, and other non-profit employment centers, under the same code as for-profit temporary employment centers. If passed, El Centro will not be able to purchase property close to where day laborers and employers currently meet.

Come out on Monday to the Rally and stay to give testimony.

WHAT: Rally and Testimonies at City Council Meeting to Oppose Anti-Day-Laborer Ordinance

WHERE: Steps of Aurora Municipal Building 15151 E. Alameda Parkway, Aurora, CO 80012

WHEN: Monday, July 14, 2008 Rally at 6:30p.m. (7:30p.m. City Council Meeting)

BACKGROUND
For the last two years the City of Aurora has been escalating their constant harassment against the day laborers who congregate in the intersection of Dayton Street and Colfax Avenue.

Their actions include wrongfully ticketing of day laborers for trespassing; threatening to close down the business owned by a Hispanic woman who gave supported workers by allowing them to seek refuge on her property while waiting for work; and police calling building owners to intimidate them into not renting or selling their buildings to Centro Humanitario.

After the Peter Boyles Show, which hosted Mayor Ed Tauer and other city officials, the Colorado Minutemen Project has shown up to harass the day laborers at Dayton and Colfax.

Since our first call for help on June 16, 2008, the City of Aurora has amended their current laws regarding the control of temporary employment agencies to include non profits, specifically agencies that provide assistance to day laborers.

The City of Aurora is meticulously reviewing and amending their current laws to make sure the ordinance against day laborers is “perfectly enforceable.”

For more information, please call Centro Humanitario:

Photo Taken by Heather A. Longway-Burke

Reflections on the Greeley meeting

WORKING FOR UNITY
Down the street on this same night, a meeting of over two hundred people took place to do exactly that. Realizing Our Communities (ROC) met to discuss how all of Greeley can be safer for everyone, welcoming of all peoples, and one community. The ROC meting did not recieve coverage in either the Post or the News. It did draw diverse people from all over Greeley together and continued a conversation that will end in healing and a stronger community someday.

Why do I write this reflection? Becuase the truth is important. I write this because there is a real need for us to bring our community together and to engage in actions that unite us. In order to do that we need to speak the truth of the fear, the racism, and the hate that undergird much of the anti-immigrant movement. I have not yet been anywhere where this was so evident as at "the forum".

The "FORUM"
Last night we entered a room of over five hundred people for an event organized by public officials; The District Attorney Ken Buck, the Sheriff and the United States Assistant District Attorney. The event opened with a police color guard presenting the flags of Colorado and the Minutemen side by side and the pledge of allegiance. I am a really outgoing person however I felt no invitation or desire to sit down and join the attendees.

The racism was palpable as each white person at the door was greeted with a smile and a handshake while my friends of color received neither. While there were some people who were white that weren't clapping as the presentation went on, the vast majority were.

The event was advertised as a forum. The first thing the DA did was to tell us all that the meeting was informational and that they would not tae questions from the audience. Each official began by saying that the foreign born population does not make up much of the crime in Weld County. As the slides rolled by they sent a contradictory visual message which didn't match the words of the officials. So we watched 12 slides go by of men with Latino surnames who were foreign born and had been convicted of drunk driving over the last year. The officials never mentioned how many people born here were convicted of drunk driving or what percentage of convictions the foreign born population represents. They also used foreign born interchangeably with "ixxxxxl immigrants". This generalization was meant to communicate again the underlying message that you should be afraid of brown people in general. And so it went with progressively more serious crimes.

We listened to the testimony of victims of crimes committed by immigrants. All of the testimonies were either done in the hall or by video in the victim's home, except the last one. The organizers saved the testimony of an immigrant woman whose husband was killed by an immmigrant driving drunk as the last testimony. She was being interviewed by a staff member of the DA's in an official room with an American flag in the background. The translation wasn't simultaneous so that her testimony was robbed of its emotion as the DA's staff member translated in a flat voice. As she spoke of the loss of her husband, and her daughter cried for her father, more than 100 people got up and left. Apparently they were uninterested in any crime in which the victim is an immigrant.

Absent from the forum was any mention of the crimes committed by citizens against immigrants. Unpaid wages, hate crimes, robberies, assaults, rapes, intimidation and threats.

The sheriff passed out Colorado Alliance for a Secure America (CASA) flyers as people left. The flyers attack the Mayor of Greeley, who went to DC to lobby for comprehensive immigration reform. This group of officials who insist that immigrant crime is a problem in Greeley apparently do not want a solution and are uninterested in immigration reform.

The group of us who were there spoke with the Sheriff and the District Attorney afterwards. The District Attorney literally walked away from two of my friends of color in midsentence. They were trying to make a point about the images and the presentation and the stereotypes his office is furthering. One of my friends was saying the whole event was a shame. as the DA walked away, I followed and watched him listening attentively to members of CASA. I approached him, and he listened to me, a white woman, who was saying the exact same thing that my friends had said.

Statement by the Anti-Defamation League
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20071003/READERS/110030117

Action:TONIGHT

Fuerza Latina in Fort Collins has organized an amazing vigil and rally tonight at 6:30pm to support human rights such as those of activist Elvira Arellano. If you are interested in carpooling we'll leave at 4:oo pm from the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition's offices. Please contact Gina Millan at 303-893-3500.

Below is a strong op ed in the Fort Collins paper, the Coloradoan, which discusses the need for reform and invites people out to the vigil.

Those facing deportation are people
Kimberly Baker Medina

"Just as they have beaten at my door, they are beating at the door of thousands, forcefully separating children and parents and causing terror and suffering .... I believe in my heart that the people of this nation do not have hate in their hearts, they don't want to destroy our lives, our families and our communities. I accept what God has sent me to accept. But I ask of my community ... to join together with me and ask that we walk together for our dignity. I ask everyone of conscience and good will to join with us... the 12th of September."

These words were written by Elvira Arrellano, from the Chicago church where she sought sanctuary for a year to avoid deportation and separation from her son, a U.S. citizen. When she left the church in August to promote Sept. 12 as a day to speak out against deportations, she was arrested and deported, leaving her son behind.

Elvira's arrest is significant not because it is unusual, but because it is common, even here, in Larimer County. Locally, authorities send about 30 people monthly to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation. Since the beginning of 2006, about 10,000 people in Colorado have been processed for deportation. Every person deported leaves someone behind.

David couldn't get his baby girl to eat after ICE took his wife. His three U.S. citizen children, a 6-month old breastfeeding baby, a 2- and a 5-year old, were crying and looking for their mother, who was deported two days after her arrest, without saying goodbye to her children.

Harriet, an 80-year-old widow, lost her granddaughter and two great-granddaughters when her grandson-in-law was deported and his family accompanied him. Before his deportation, Harriet looked forward to their daily visits. Now, she spends her days alone, missing her girls.

Lisa's husband was turned over to ICE for a broken taillight after living here for 13 years. As Lisa and her 7-year-old son, both U.S. citizens, packed up daddy's things, her son couldn't stop crying. "I don't want my daddy to go to Mexico," he sobbed.

A person is no less human because she or he lacks immigration papers. Deportations destroy children and families and communities. The people deported in our community are your neighbors, co-workers, members of your church and your children's playmates. The majority have committed no crime other than to have no immigration papers. They came here to escape persecution or hunger, or to unite with family. They become part of our communities, our families and our economy.

Current immigration laws do little more than cause suffering and injustice. They don't allow people to enter legally to work or be with family, or legalize their status. We must stop punishing families for dysfunctional laws and devise an immigration system that works for families and for America.

Fuerza Latina, together with families, faith and community organizations, will have a vigil at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Old Town Square in honor of Elvira and all families. Please join us.

Kimberly Baker Medina is an immigration attorney and a volunteer with Fuerza Latina. All of the people mentioned above are local residents of whom she has personal knowledge, whose names have been changed for privacy reasons. For more information about the vigil, contact Javier at 297-8951.

Action: Call to support worker's rights

**This message was sent to us by an organizer**

Thank you so much to everyone who attended the janitors’ picket at Park Meadows on Saturday!!

We had a very successful event and the workers who attended were overwhelmed and energized by all of the support they felt from the community. The janitors have reported experiencing threats and intimidation in response to their efforts to organize for better working conditions and yet they have continued to courageously stand up to their employer to ask for change. We thank you for coming out and recognizing that courage and supporting them in their ongoing effort to improve the quality of their lives.

After the action, two workers entered the mall with a union organizer all wearing their justice for janitors t-shirts. They were approached by Security who required them to change their shirts in order to be in the mall. They all complied and returned to the mall so that the workers could pick up their paychecks. While the workers were in the office getting their checks the union organizer was surrounded by 6-8 security guards who ultimately banned him from the mall for a year. He was told that union activity is not allowed on Park Meadows property. This was all done in view of workers and has obviously further frightened and intimidated workers. Both the janitors’ employer, The Millard Group and the owner of the mall, General Growth Properties are already being investigated for violations of federal labor law and now additional charges are being prepared.

WE NEED YOUR HELP AGAIN!

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF JANITORS!

CALL Pamela Schenck the General Manager of Park Meadows Mall at 303-792-2999 or Pamela.schenck@generalgrowth.com.

TELL HER to STOP Abusing the Civil Rights of Workers!!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT =)

Support Elvira Arellano and Continue

Prayer Vigil to Denounce Elvira Arellano’s Deportation and Celebrate Her Courage
She Inspires Us to Continue!

WHEN: Tonight Wednesday, August 22
TIME: 6:00pm
WHERE: Iliff School of Theology
Parking in the Iliff lot on Iliff just West of University Blvd.
(use the intercom to say you’re there for this event to be let in)

We invite you to come to show your solidarity with Elvira Arellano and all of the other families in risk of separation because of our inhumane immigration system!

We will come together to offer prayers and gather strength for the road ahead.

Co-sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, Coloradans for Immigrant Rights, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, HS Power and Light, and Iliff School of Theology among others.

DHS: Dismantling Human rights and Security

The Department of Homeland Security released new "rules" today. Included within are:

• Expanded ("Delegated") search and seizure
  
• 31,500 new detention beds
• Biometrics at airports
  
• Sharing of all Motor Vehicle records with the federal government, especially photos (Wave to them on your next driver's license)
• The expansion of electronic verification of identification and access to more databases of personal information (REAL ID resuscitated)
• Narrowing of documentation which can be used for employment
  
• Further "cooperation" with local and state police forces
• 75 fifteen person teams to conduct raids
• Expansion of criminal penalties for employers
  
• Expansion of guest worker programs- both temporary and professional, but nothing for family VISAS
• Decreased rights for asylees/refugees (Forced repatriation to countries unwilling to accept returning immigrants)
• Elimination of due process in Voluntary Deportation proceedings
• Data sharing between Social Security and Department of Homeland Security
• Propaganda reports on a regular basis "State of the Border" addresses
  

And for integration they will be putting up a new web tool so immigrants can learn English online.

What do you think of these new rules?

Immigration and Health Care

Many of my friends are afraid to go to the doctor. They spend months afterwards paying the bills to the emergency room because they are denied access to preventative care. One almost died from bronchitis which turned into a nasty pneumonia. I also have uninsured family. My brother went to a friend who is a nurse when he accidentally cut himself. He used superglue to close the cut. He couldn't afford to wait for worker's comp to kick in and wouldn't have been able to pay the bills.

Immigrants do have a small impact on rising health care costs; alongside the 46 million Americans who have no insurance(like my brother), many of whom are working and don't meet the eligibility requirements for Medicare.

This article from the New England Journal of Medicine briefly captures the complexities of both the immigration and health care systems. The article cites several other excellent studies.

"Whether or not they have health insurance, immigrants overall have much lower per capita health care expenditures than native-born Americans,¹ and recent analyses indicate that they contribute more to the economy in taxes than they receive in public benefits. In a study from the RAND Corporation, researchers estimated that undocumented adult immigrants, who make up about 3.2% of the population, account for only about 1.5% of U.S. medical costs.² Many immigrants do not seek medical treatment unless they are injured or acutely ill; at our clinic, patients with type 2 diabetes often have florid symptoms and even incipient renal damage by the time their disease is diagnosed."

Health care is a basic right and ensuring equal access is the best way to keep our community healthy. For more info on health justice in Colorado click here and check out CPC.

Iris' Story

Tito Meza, my friend & comrade, is the Executive Director of Proyecto Hondureno, and housing & tenants’ rights activist for the Somerville CDC. He wants me to share this letter with you.

-Gabriel Camacho

Open Letter, 8-1-2007

Dear sisters, brothers, and friends of the immigrant community, I place this letter before you with the purpose of informing you regarding the arrest of my niece Iris Yaneth Meza and the resulting separation from her 3 year old daughter Arlette Meza.

As I had already written some of you, Iris was detained while walking on the street in the town of Burke- New York on Saturday July 28th 2007. Iris was looking for allergy medicine at the pharmacy when she was detained. I imagine that in a town of very few immigrants- her indigenous features gave her away.

After being taken into custody, she was asked where she lived, and taken to her apartment. Her apartment was searched and she was arrested along with her three year old daughter. Her daughter was immediately handed over to a DSS social worker and was quickly transferred to a foster mother- unknown to the child or the mother. The social worker notified our family and we were able to quickly mobilize to go to New York.

I am happy to say that Arlette is no longer in DSS custody- as of yesterday, July 31st, she is in our family’s home. Her mother however, continues in detention- awaiting a court date and presumably deportation.

At three years of age, Arlette does not understand what has happened with her mother. She repeats a phrase probably taught to her by her temporary guardians, “Mi mami is gone.” She repeats it frequently. Even though she is very healthy and in the loving care of our family, nobody can substitute the love and care given her by her mother day and night from the moment she was born in to this world. We are unsure of the effect this separation will have on Arlette.

The truth of the matter is that there is a continuation to this flagrant violation of children’s human rights. I can not help but ask myself: How may Arlettes are living trauma of forced separation from their parents? What do we do in the face of this generalized repression against our families? What do we do in the face of this state of terror that our families are being exposed to?

In the process of gaining custody of Arlette we went to visit the jail where her mother was detained. I spoke with my niece in the few minutes they allowed me and she said, “Uncle, please don’t let them take my daughter from me. If they deport me, I want to take her with me- if they let me, I want her to be with me. She has always been with me. She eats everything. She likes tortillas and frijoles. She only has one problem- she is allergic to mosquito bites.”

As the jail rules do not allow for physical contact I was not even able to give her a consoling hug as she cried saying, “Uncle, take care of my baby.”

Despite the fact that we were taking Arlette out of state and that her mother will face deportation, we were denied the request for mother and child to visit. There was an angry exchange between the guards and social workers- who advocated the need for Arelette to see her mother before leaving the state – to no avail. Arlette realized that something was going on and loudly stated, “Mi mami is gone!”

After as if she realized that this is where ICE had her mother detained and that she was near- she threw a huge tantrum- unable to express in words her protest to all the trauma she was being subjected to at her young age of 3 years.

She was taken from her normal world and placed in a world where everything was unfamiliar. She did not know the social workers, she did not know the foster parents who were caring for her, and she did not know us- her uncle and aunt who would assume her custody.

As we started our 5 hour journey from New York to Massachusetts, the pain of leaving my niece Iris Yaneth behind, in a prison, when she had not comitted any crime other than to have indigenous features and the abscence of a green card, was unbearable. We as adults forced back tears and anguish- and can only imagine- how Arlette felt- watching the distance grow as she sat in the car with people she did not know- knowing she was leaving her mother behind in a building with guards.

Brothers and Sisters, my reasons for sharing this letter with you goes beyond the situation affecting my niece. The reality is that like Arlette and Yaneth, there are thousands of our bothers and sisters subjected to this state of terror in the name of a law that is affecting the present, and future of our children and our families.

The United States is part of international treaties for children and human rights. The Unites Nations has passed many resolutions to protect children and human rights. Despite this, the former are the primary violators of children and human rights and the latter have become spectators of the abuses that are committed daily by immigration officials in this country.

It is time to do more! We must make our voices heard. If we continue to be quiet today, tomorrow we will be before the gas chambers, as happened in Germany.

-Tito Meza

Come out to the Vigil Tonight

The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition is calling us to come out for a vigil tonight. The papers are saying 48 people were arrested in State Patrol round ups today, including a baby. Let's show support for the families who were driving today and those who've been left behind. It's time to decry the erosion of our civil liberties and the boundaries between federal and local police forces.

This is an opportunity to lift our ally voices and use them to speak in solidarity with those detained.

Come out and participate!

When: TONIGHT, August 1, 2007, 8PM

Where: Denver Inner City Parish

1212 Mariposa St.; Denver, CO

CIRC Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Contacts: Chandra Russo, 720-273-2022 Jordan Garcia 303-919-8798

ICE-Deputized State Patrol Terrorizes Immigrant Families
Colorado Advocates Demand Real Solutions,
Not Police-State Tactics

Prayer Vigil in Denver Tonight to Support Affected Families

(Denver, CO) On Tuesday, Colorado State Patrol officers arrested 48 immigrants on I-70 near the Eisenhower Tunnel in a concentrated round-up of immigrant families. The 48 included an infant identified as a U.S. citizen. The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC), a statewide alliance of over 80 organizations working to defend and advance the rights of immigrants, demands an end to law enforcement tactics which terrorize communities and violate civil liberties.

"It just seems as if we have become a police state," says Sister Nancy Crafton of Centro de los Pobres in Avondale, CO. "Our families are terrified. . .terrified. . .to go anywhere, even down the street. We are seeing a complete erosion of due process in this country."

"This round-up by State Patrol raises serious questions about who is being targeted for immigration questioning," adds Danielle Short of the American Friends Service Committee. "Regardless of who has traffic violations, certain races and ethnicities are clearly more vulnerable here."

"It is a sad day to see the state of Colorado using the very limited resources it has to enforce federal immigration laws,"says Eddie Soto of Compañeros in Durango. "Our law-makers in Washington do not have the guts to tackle this issue and use our precious tax-dollars which should be spent on education and health care."