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Isabel Garcia of Coalicion de Derechos Humanos responds |
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Submitted by Tony Cheek
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Sunday, 27 July 2008 |
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Good afternoon, and thank you for allowing me to respond in writing, as I am presently out of town. As you know, Derechos Humanos, along with 6-7 community groups, called for a protest of Joe Arpaio’s appearance at his book signing at the Barnes and Noble. Because of Maricopa Sheriff’s Arpaio’s outrageous police actions in the communities of Phoenix, as well as his political views surrounding the immigration issues in general, many of us in Tucson have made a promise that we will not allow him to come into our town without him hearing from those of us who stand in support of the thousands of workers and their families who have borne the brunt of his narrow-minded, ignorant policies. That he would come to Tucson to promote a book filled with lies, fear, and ignorant perspectives about immigrants, was especially appalling to us. We stand for the principles of peace and justice. We live in a very precarious moment in history, where, again, human beings are being demonized and scapegoated, exploiting on the ugly and fearful in all of us. Derechos Humanos protested Arpaio, handing out flyers, briefly explaining why,and what he has done in Phoenix. You can have one of our leaflets if you would like, but among other things we denounce his antics that have created great racial divisions in Phoenix, at a more than $41,000,000 cost to the taxpayers, and a few other actions he has engaged in. The leaflet states that we “continue to work for a community that is diverse, respectful, and appreciative of each other’s differences.” Others brought signs and megaphones, with someone bringing a large piñata with Arpaio’s face glued on the head. I am sure you are aware that these types of symbolic images are not only common, but generally are used in context of referring to the policies of individuals in power. I am now the target of a corporate-media-sponsored campaign to get me fired from my job as the Pima County Legal Defender. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 27 July 2008 )
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INTERPRETING AFTER THE LARGEST ICE RAID IN US HISTORY: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT |
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Submitted by Tony Cheek
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Thursday, 10 July 2008 |
Erik Camayd-Freixas, Ph.D.
Florida International University
June 13, 2008
On Monday, May 12, 2008, at 10:00 a.m., in an operation involving
some 900 agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) executed
a raid of Agriprocessors Inc, the nation's largest kosher
slaughterhouse and meat packing plant located in the town of
Postville, Iowa. The raid ..officials boasted.. was "the largest
single-site operation of its kind in American history." At that
same hour, 26 federally certified interpreters from all over the
country were en route to the small neighboring city of Waterloo,
Iowa, having no idea what their mission was about. The
investigation had started more than a year earlier. Raid
preparations had begun in December. The Clerk's Office of the U.S.
District Court had contracted the interpreters a month ahead, but
was not at liberty to tell us the whole truth, lest the impending
raid be compromised. The operation was led by ICE, which belongs to
the executive branch, whereas the U.S. District Court, belonging to
the judicial branch, had to formulate its own official reason for
participating. Accordingly, the Court had to move for two weeks to
a remote location as part of a "Continuity of Operation Exercise"
in case they were ever disrupted by an emergency, which in Iowa is
likely to be a tornado or flood. That is what we were told, but,
frankly, I was not prepared for a disaster of such a different
kind, one which was entirely man-made. |
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Nuestro Himno - Happy 4th of July |
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Submitted by Tony Cheek
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Friday, 04 July 2008 |
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Sidebar |
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National Latino Vote Expected to Top 9 Million in 2008 |
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from
contactomagazine.com:
The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute at the University of
Southern California projects that 9.3 million Latino voters will go
to the polls in the 2008 presidential elections. That is an
increase of over 1.7 million voters or an increase of approximately
23% compared to 2004.
"As the U.S. Latino population surges, we
are seeing increases in registration and voter turnout due to
increased naturalization numbers by Latino immigrants beginning in
the 1990s and Latino youth coming of voting age" said Harry Pachon,
Ph.D., President of TRPI.
The potential impact of a Latino voting
bloc is particularly high in states with large concentrations of
Latinos. For instance, in California, it takes a mere 3.1% of
Latino voters to cause a 1% shift in the state's presidential
election results. Similarly, in Florida only 4.5% of Latino voters
are needed to create a 1% statewide shift in the vote.
Even in non-traditional Latino states,
such as Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Washington, we will see thousands
of new Latino voters in 2008. Rudy de la Garza, TRPI Vice
President, notes however that, "even with such substantial
increases, Latinos must significantly increase their rates of
registration and voting in order to influence the election's
results".
Founded in 1985, the Tomás Rivera
Policy Institute (TRPI) advances informed policy on key issues
affecting Latino communities through objective and timely research
contributing to the betterment of the nation. TRPI is an affiliated
research unit of the University of Southern California School of
Policy, Planning, and Development and is associated with the
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia
University.
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