Updates

Building America Together! 

Watch Juan’s story: http://www.movementvisionlab.org/blog/juan2019s-story-undocumented-but-not-un-american/#1206991018

Sign the pledge: www.buildingamericatogether.org 

Congressional News 

Representatives return from a two-week recess this week and will jump back into the politics of the SAVE Act discharge petition.  I’ve pasted in an article from the National Journal at the bottom of this e-mail reflecting some of the activities in Congress.  While Democratic leaders try to figure out how to head off the threat of a discharge petition, negotiations on a potential package of immigration proposals, including some relief for undocumented immigrants, appear to have stalled.  At the moment, it is unclear what, if anything, the Democrats may bring to the floor in order to create an alternative to the SAVE Act (also known as the Shuler-Tancredo bill, HR 4088).  For a list of those Representatives that have signed on to the discharge petition, please go to http://clerk.house.gov/110/lrc/pd/petitions/Dis5.htm.  181 Representatives have signed on to the petition, and 218 signatures are required to force the SAVE Act to the House floor for a vote.  Here is an Editorial that ran in the Chicago Sun Times on the SAVE Act: http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/856291,CST-EDT-edit23aa.article. 

On April 2, Secretary Chertoff will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing.  In that hearing, Senators anticipate raising concerns with respect to naturalization backlogs, implementation of the REAL ID Act, the Social Security No Match Rule, other recently announced regulations regarding passports and other issues.  For more information, go to http://judiciary.senate.gov/schedule.cfm. 

State & Local News 

News stories related to the involvement of local law enforcement agencies in immigration enforcement efforts have been on the rise as more states and localities adopt policies to cooperate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.  Please find an article that ran in the AP last week that highlights the trend and the consequences: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5heF80SqPHj0LbcvNXib8jm4eQFIAD8VN0MD80 

A growing number of reports are focused on the negative economic impacts of anti-immigrant laws at the state and local level.  Here is a study by economists of the impact of Oklahoma‘s new anti-immigrant legislation http://immcomp.blogspot.com/2008/03/economists-project-potentially-massive.html that estimates under some scenarios that the law could cost the state between $1.8 and $3 billion annually.  Coverage of the report: http://newsok.com/article/3220599/. 

And in Arizona, businesses have successfully gotten the state’s House of Representatives to modify various aspects of the law that Arizona passed last year.  To review an article on the revisions, go to http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0328sanctions0328.html. 

Immigration Agencies and Federal Regulations 

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security issued a supplemental rule providing further guidance with respect to implementation of Social Security No Match letters.  For detailed information about the supplemental rule and next steps, please go to www.nilc.org.  When draft comments are prepared, please be prepared to get the word out.  We’ll need to generate as many comments as possible in order to make the case publicly that the Department of Homeland Security should not be using No Match letters as a basis for immigration status enforcement.  For more information, please contact rstolz@communitychange.org or Tyler Moran at the National Immigration Law Center at moran@nilc.org. 

Last week the New York Times also weighed in against the proposal: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/opinion/27thu2.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin. Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a new program to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal histories that are currently in prisons across the nation.  A fact sheet on the new initiative is attached to this bulletin. Coverage on the new policy can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/28/washington/28immig.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. 

Farmworker organizations and allies are circulating comments to proposed changes in the H2A Visa program that they are asking organizations to sign-on to.  The proposed comments are a direct attack on worker rights, and an effort by the Administration to streamline the H2A visa program at the expense of farmworkers.  To sign on to the comments (see attached) please contact Adrieene DerVartanian at adervartanian@farmworkerjustice.org by April 8 at 3 pm Eastern Time.  Her telephone number is 202-293-5420 in case you have any questions. 

FIRM Member Activities 

In Los Angeles, CHIRLA and a coalition of allies succeeded in getting the Los Angeles City Council to pass a resolution, by a vote of 11 to 1, that denounces the SAVE Act.  For coverage: http://www.dailynews.com/ci_8709777.  A copy of the resolution is attached to this e-mail.  For more information, contact Cynthia Buiza at cbuiza@chirla.org.  In Chicago, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights launched a campaign to ensure that immigrants in federal detention have access to clergy.  For an article on the campaign, go to http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-immigrantdetentio,0,2077908.story.  For more information about the campaign, contact Ana Guajardo at aguajardo@icirr.org.  

Immigrant organizations and criminal justice reform advocates are working together to stop the expansion of an immigrant detention center in Aurora, Colorado.  For more information about the campaign go to the new Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition web site at http://www.coloradoimmigrant.org/article.php?id=63. 

On Monday, March 24th CASA of Maryland joined with the Latino Student Union at the flagship College Park Campus of the University of Maryland for a rally and student speak-out, bringing together student activists from accross the state of Maryland to advocate for access to higher education for immigrant students. Over 14 high schools, colleges and universities were represented at the event, as well as local youth and immigrat advocates.  Legislation which would enable qualified immigrant students to attend MD colleges and universities at the instate tuition rate, regardless of immigration status, is currently pending in the Maryland General Assembly, and the action was timed as a last push during the legislative session, which ends the first week in April.  Many of the students present were graduating seniors from area high schools who chose to spend their spring break advocating for themselves and their classmates who will be unable to afford college next year if the instate tuition benefit is not authorized in the remaining months before the fall semester.  For more information, please contact ealex@casamd.org.

If you have news that you’d like to share with other groups in FIRM, please send a note about your work to rstolz@communitychange.org, and we’ll do our best to include it in our weekly bulletins.

 Allies and Partner Activities

 A coalition of organizations recently launched a new campaign in support of the DREAM Act that demands that the Presidential candidates enact the DREAM Act in their first 100 days as President.  The centerpiece of the campaign is a video by Brave New Films that can be viewed at http://adreamdeferred.org/?utm_source=rgemail.   

News to Use 

In Iowa, a coalition of religious leaders called on state legislators and the general public to treat immigrants with dignity.  The DesMoines Register: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080327/NEWS10/803270393. 

Undocumented immigrants could be a boon for the nation’s social security system.  Coverage from CBS news: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/25/politics/animal/main3968207.shtml. 

Last week the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights issued a new report on the raids: Over Raided, Under Siege.  To view a summary of the report, go to http://www.nnirr.org/resources/docs/executivesummary3_.pdf. 

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the primary anti-immigrant organization in the United States, admitted to fudging numbers estimating the impact of undocumented immigration in South Carolina.  For the article go to http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/392640.html. 

In the meantime FAIR has been fighting its label as a hate group by attacking the Southern Poverty Law Center, which designated FAIR as a hate group last fall.  For information on FAIR‘s designation, please go to www.splcenter.org.

 Announcements If you’re in the mood to be alarmed, and if you happen to be in Washington, DC on April 19th (Hitler’s Birthday), check out this video on the National Socialist Movement’s anti-immigrant march on DC:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0DRtzrKb08&eurl=http://threewayfight.blogspot.com/  

From the National Journal:  IMMIGRATION
   At the request of the House Judiciary Committee, CBO is expected to provide informal cost estimates this week for an immigration enforcement bill sponsored by Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C. House Republicans are collecting signatures on a discharge petition to force a floor vote. The cost estimate could make it more difficult to bring the bill to the floor under pay/go rules.
   House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel and Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Michael McNulty, D-N.Y., sent a letter to House Democrats last week urging them to “get the facts” before signing onto the discharge petition. Among other things, Shuler’s bill would require all employers to use the Homeland Security Department’s “E-Verify” electronic verification system to check the authorization of all their workers.
   The Rangel/McNulty letter said DHS is not ready for a national roll-out of the program, which handled about 3.6 million inquiries last year. To meet the requirements in Shuler’s bill, that number would jump to 60 million annually and
DHS would have to enroll 4,000 employers per day for four years.
   Last year, when the Senate was debating a broader immigration bill, CBO declined to offer an estimate of how much a similar employment verification requirement would cost, saying much of the cost would depend on how regulations were drafted.
   GAO said last year that Homeland Security would need as much as $500 million annually to run the program while the Social Security Administration would need  up to $6 million a year.
   Earlier, private estimates of a mandatory employment verification system put the total cost — much of it borne by the private sector — at more than $11 billion per year.
   On Tuesday, House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller and Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., are hosting a staff briefing of the low-skill H-2B guestworker visa program. The panel will feature H-2B workers who were victims of employer abuses, such as being told falsely that they would be given green cards upon arrival in the United States.
   Lawmakers are hoping for a temporary increase in available H-2B visas as part of a limited immigration measure that might include provisions for high-skilled H-1B visas and new enforcement mechanisms. 

Building America Together! 

FIRM is partnering with the National Training and Information Center around a major event in Washington, DC April 12-14 called National People’s Action.  Please consider attending this event.  For more information, go to www.npa-us.org. 

Many organizations in FIRM are planning events on May 1st.  If your organization is planning to hold an event on or around May 1, please send a brief description of the event to rstolz@communitychange.org by April 4, 2008. 

In response to a request for videos on immigration and community values, the Movement Vision Lab received some great examples of videos that are now available for you to view.  Vote on the one that you like the best!  http://www.movementvisionlab.org/blog/your-votes-community-values-immigration-video-contest/view 

Immigration Politics & Elections in 2008 

Quotations from the three major presidential candidates as reported on in US News and World Report: http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/03/17/where-clinton-obama-and-mccain-stand-on-immigration.html An interesting quote from Senator McCain cautioning Republicans on use of anti-immigrant rhetoric in the 2008 elections: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/17/politics/politico/thecrypt/main3944618.shtml 

Congressional News 

Congress will be on recess for one more week before returning to Washington, DC April 1.  Now is the time to keep the pressure on US Representatives to make sure they do not sign the discharge petition on the SAVE Act.  For more information about the SAVE Act please contact rstolz@communitychange.org.  T

here are 181 signatures on the discharge petition; Republicans need only 218 to force the bill to the floor.  Keep the calls coming! The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights launched a full campaign against the SAVE Act last week.  To see a video a blog coverage of their campaign, go to http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2008/03/illinois-immigrants-communities-urging.html.  Here is a letter to the editor that Fred Tsao of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights published last week: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-080320saveact_briefs,0,4905317,print.story. 

In the Senate, a coalition of United States Senators have formed the US Senate Border Security and Enforcement Caucus.  To see the members, go to http://vitter.senate.gov/bordersecuritycaucus.html Pressure is also mounting to support an H1B visa renewal.  http://blogs.computerworld.com/five_reasons_why_the_h_1b_visa_cap_will_increase (Note that this will continue to grow in significance in coming months as the business community maneuvers to get the Democratic Leadership to renew these visas without hitching it to broader immigration reform proposals.) 

State & Local News 

Before wrapping up their legislative session, Utah enacted an anti-immigrant bill that will allow local law enforcement agencies to coordinate with federal immigration officials, require public employees and contractors to verify the legal status of workers, and forbid localities from adopting so-called sanctuary policies.  The provisions of the bill will not be implemented until 2009 in hopes that a federal law may be enacted, and the bill did not include efforts to repeal in-state tuition.  To view the legislation go to http://le.utah.gov/~2008/htmdoc/sbillhtm/SB0081S01.htm.

 In Tennessee recent polls suggest a shift in opinion regarding immigration, as reported on in the Nashville Tennesseean: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080314/NEWS01/803140426 I

mmigration Agencies and Federal Regulations 

After a lot of waiting, the Department of Homeland Security is poised to release its new regulations on Social Security No Match letters next Tuesday.  Please find attached a copy of the rule prior to publication.  A number of national organizations have already begun to analyze the document; assuming that the regulation is released next week, anticipate a flurry of information, including action alerts in the coming days. 

An article in the NY Times higlights the abuse of power that some immigration agents have used against naturalization applicants.  This story focuses on an example of alleged sexual coersion: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/nyregion/21immigrant.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Other articles have raised serious concerns regarding management of the immigration agencies and criminal behavior on the part of some agents, particularly those that deal with issues of immigration enforcement: http://www.star-telegram.com/national_news/story/512023.html 

Raids, Detentions and Deportations 

Please find attached an interesting article framing the growth of the “national security state, one raid at a time” by Robert Lovato for Public Eye. org: http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v23n1/immigrant_crackdowns.html 

FIRM Member Activities

 The Ayuda Business Coalition recently celebrated victories in the Virginia State Legislature, won in part by a wide range of community-based immigrant groups across the state.  For a summary of ABC‘s role, please go to: http://ayuda.com/pages/page.cfm?id=41&pid=&eid=37;  For a review of state bills in Virginia, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/14/AR2008031403912.html. 

Allies and Partner Activities 

Last week the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) launched a new website: http://www.truthinimmigration.org/.  The purpose of the web site is to bring attention to the myths and hate speech being aired against immigrants and immigrant communities. 

On May 8, the Rights Working Group Liberty and Justice for All Campaign will be holding The Night of 1000 Conversations in support of immigrant rights and civil liberties.  For more information about the event, please go to http://www.rightsworkinggroup.org/?q=NOTC_May08. 

A new pro-immigrant organization, America’s Voice, announced its creation last week in Washington, DC.  The organization, which was created by the Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and partner groups, received coverage on CNN: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/19/pro-immigration-group-opens-dc-war-room/ 

The Southern Poverty Law Center will hold a live webcast on March 26 at 2 PM Eastern Time to brief interested parties on their Year in Hate report, including the exponential rise in hate crimes and hate speech against immigrants and immigrant communities.  To register for the webcast go to: http://www.webcastgroup.com/client/start.asp?wid=0890326083995 

News to Use 

In the debate on health care, immigration has become a wedge issue being used by opponents of needed reforms to try to defeat such proposals.  At risk in this debate are immigrants themselves, regardless of their status.  This column ran in the Washington Post last weekend: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/15/AR2008031500172.html?referrer=emailarticle; it demonstrates why everyone should be covered.

 Please find the link to report from the National Employment Law Project highlighting economic risks states face by enacting harsh anti-immigrant legislation: http://www.nelp.org/docUploads/Costly%20in%20every%20way%20022108.pdf 

And here is a column that ran in the San Diego Union-Tribune linking strategies around reforming NAFTA to the immigration debate: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080229/news_lz1e29lewis.html 

Announcements 

The National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) is seeking an Immigrant Rights Project Manager.  Job announcement attached. The National Immigration Forum announced this week that Ali Noorani, currently head of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, would take the Forum’s executive director position.

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FIRM is coordinating a range of activities in support of the organizing that we’ll need to do to strengthen our base and build our organizational membership going forward.  One of our main priorities is the Democracy Schools program, which was inspired in part by the Freedom and Citizenship Schools of the Civil Rights movement.  Organizations can get information on this multi-faceted curriculum at http://www.fairimmigration.org/learn/civic-engagement/democracy-schools.html.  For more information about the Democracy Schools curriculum (an open source curriculum that is adaptable to organizational needs), please contact Mayron Payes at the Center for Community Change at mpayes@communitychange.org.  

 Immigration Politics & Elections in 2008 

As reported in the US News and World Report, Sen. McCain is attempting to thread the needle between Hispanic and conservative voters on the immigration issue: http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/03/14/mccain-must-appease-both-hispanics-and-conservatives-on-immigration.html 

A recent internal Republican poll in Colorado found that a majority of Republicans and Independents polled in Colorado CD 6 do not agree with the stances taken by the anti-immigrant wing of the Republican party: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_8552360 

The National Republican Congressional Committee has published a hit-list of Democrats wrong on Immigration: Baird (WA), Bishop (GA), Boucher(VA), Boyd (FL), Braley (IA), Carney (PA), Edwards (TX), Hodes (NH), Kanjorski (PA), Larsen (WA), Loebsack (IA), McNerney (CA), Michaud (ME), Mollohan (WV), Shea-Porter (NH), and Welch (VT). 

Congressional News 

Last week, Republicans in the House of Representatives began circulating a discharge petition that could force the SAVE Act to the House floor for a vote if it receives 218 signatures, a simple majority of Representatives.  The move signaled a renewed anti-immigrant attack geared at vulnerable Democrats.  There are now 181 signatures on the petition (to see the list go to http://clerk.house.gov/110/lrc/pd/petitions/Dis5.htm).  For more information about discharge petitions and how they work, go to http://www.rules.house.gov/archives/97-552.pdf. 

The ACLU of Southern California has issued an alert that does a good job of framing the issue from a civil liberties lens: http://ga1.org/campaign/OpposeSAVEAct. 

The New York Times published an editorial on the SAVE Act and related measures last week: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/opinion/13thu1.html 

While the House is lurching toward a possible floor vote on the SAVE Act, there are negotiations also underway around a possible negotiated package of immigration-related measures.  Initial news reports suggest that this package will include some provision to renew the H2B Visa program, a modest renewal of the H1B Visa program, an employment verification provision and some elements of the SAVE Act related to border security, and provisions advocated by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus providing relief to undocumented immigrant families that could include a waiver of the 3 and 10-year bars on return for immigrants that have committed immigration violations, a five-year non-renewable temporary visa, and relief for familiy members of individuals in the military. These negotiations are driven by pressure on the SAVE Act, pressure on H1B Visas, pressure on H2B Visas and the CHC‘s effort to use their leverage to prevent these other measures from moving forward without some relief for undocumented immigrants.  This article in the New York Times reflects pressure being directed toward the CHC by the business community to back off of their efforts: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/us/14visa.html?_r=2&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1205593313-HdoUcsgbhg48c3ivhhCYkA&pagewanted=print.

 In the mean time, in the Senate, a series of immigration related amendments were debated and voted on as part of the fight over the Senate’s budget resolution.  Note that the budget resolution is not binding, but provides parameters for future debates on binding legislation.  These amendments are a signal for where Senators are on a range of issues related to immigration heading into the elections and 2009.

 –Kennedy amendment to increase funding for the Department of Education’s English Literacy-Civics Education State Grant program, with an offset (#4350) was agreed to by a roll-call vote of 95-2.

–Alexander amendment to take $670,000 used by the EEOC in bringing actions against employers that require their employees to speak English, and instead use the money to teach English to adults through the Department of Education’s English Literacy/Civics Education State Grant program (#4222) was agreed to by a roll-call vote of 54-44.

–Menendez amendment to establish a reserve fund for immigration reform and enforcement (#4259) was agreed to by a roll-call vote of 53-45.

–Sessions amendment to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund for border security, immigration enforcement, and criminal alien removal programs (#4231) was agreed to by a roll-call vote of 61-37. 

–Vitter amendment to create a reserve fund to ensure that Federal assistance does not go to sanctuary cities that ignore the immigration laws of the United States and create safe havens for illegal aliens and potential terrorists (#4309) was tabled to by a roll-call of 58-40. 

–Dole amendment to increase amounts budgeted for States and local governments for expenses related to immigration enforcement training and support under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, with an offset (#4208) was accepted by voice vote. 

–Reid amendment to establish a reserve fund for studying the effect of cooperation with local law enforcement (#4373) was accepted by voice vote.

–Biden amendment to increase FY 2009 funding for Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) by $100 million, with an offset (#4166) was accepted by unanimous consent.

–Feinstein amendment to provide for a total of $950,000,000 in outlays for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program in fiscal year 2009. (#4225) was accepted by unaminous consent.

–Leahy amendment to add a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation that improves the participation of naturalized citizens in the US political process, strengthens national security by improving and expediting FBI security name checks, and reduces the backlog of naturalization applications for individuals seeking to become naturalized citizens (#4270, as modified) was accepted by unanimous consent. 

State & Local News 

Tired of waiting for the federal government, Arizona and Colorado are now considering legislation to create their own guest worker programs: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jZoEanK6LDPjZgsMKkyMLLAGgLRAD8VDCAIO1 

A widely publicized employer crackdown bill in Indiana died in conference committee this week: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080313/LOCAL19/80313072 

A compelling article about a principle taking a stand for immigrant students in Arizona: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/education/12education.html 

FIRM Member Activities 

Organizations in Colorado, including the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition denounced a racially motivated assault in Boulder, CO last week.  “It is time to stand up to the politicians and commentators who are fanning the flames of insecurity and prejudice around the immigration debate. They continue to contribute to racial and ethnic hostility,” Julien Ross of CIRC (julien@coloradoimmigrant.org).  

Following on worksite raids on Microsolutions in Van Nuys, California, CHIRLA has been organizing a major response with a wide range of allies in the region.  Please take a moment to review this video describing the impact of the raids at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG7cCxS5RH0&feature=email. 

A settlement associated with a law suit against ICE for conduct in these raids was announced last week. Hate Free Zone and a coalition of allies worked with the Governor to issue a new executive order on how Washington State will treat its newest Americans.   

Allies and Partner Activities 

The Progressive States Network recently launched a new coalition: State Legislators for Progressive Immigration Policy.  For more information on the effort, please go to http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1665/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=951. 

Federal Regulations, Naturalization Backlogs & Social Security No Match 

Emilio Gonzalez, the head of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service, announced that he will be leaving the agency last week.  He leaves in the midst of enormous naturalization backlogs that threaten to disenfranchise tens of thousands of immigrants that have filed to naturalize since the agency increased fees for naturalization applications. 

News to Use 

In Arizona, the Colores Actors-Writers Workshop is running a production called “The DREAM Act” by James E. Garcia.  For more information, go to http://www.americanlatino.net/caww/. 

The Immigration Policy Center recently released a new report on problems with the SSA No Match database and other employment verification proposals.  To view the report go to http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/index.php?content=fc080313b. 

The National Immigration Law Center recently released a paper providing additional information about problems with Employment Verification proposals.  http://www.nilc.org/immsemplymnt/ircaempverif/e-verify_infobrief_2008-03-13.pdf.  Additional information is available at http://www.nilc.org/immsemplymnt/ircaempverif/index.htm. 

An article in the Arizona Daily Star addressing the question: Why Don’t People Come Here Legally? http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/228697