Truth About Immigrants: Mosaic of Stories and Voices

What an East Harlem evening. Esperanza del Barrio brought in vendors of tostales and flautas, an audience of more than one hundred people trickled in as violinist Sergio Reyes and guitarist Beau Bledsoe performed, children bumbled about in the Children's Aid basketball court, strollers and parents lined the back, more curious passersby pressed against the fence for a glimpse of the exuberant and fantastically-dressed Mexican dance group, and all quieted down as dusk settled.

The main course of the night was a series of four movie screenings on the lives of immigrant vendors and taxi drivers in NYC. The documentaries were projected on to the back wall of the basketball court, each telling a story behind all too familiar scenes in New York streets. The lives of immigrants perhaps make for the most underrepresented and misrepresented stories in cinema. These documentaries, presented by Art for Change and the New York Immigration Coalition, revealed the inner hearts and voices of New York immigrant communities.

-Rain

104 Letters!

The East Harlem Against Deportation campaign aims to collect 1,000 anti-deportation letters by July 4.

As of today, May 13, we have collected 104 letters. Stories told by some of our families:

"Please stop the raids - they are destroying families.
Every family has the right to make their dreams come true - our children are the future."

[Por favor pare las redadas - destruyen las familias.
Cada familia tiene el derecho de realizar sus suenos - nuestro hijos son el futuro.]

"Trabajo con ninos de padres indocumentados y es una pena ver como ellos sufren y viven en una constante inquietud - ellos no merecen eso, nadie lo merece."

[I work with children with undocumented parents, and it's a shame to see how they suffer and live in constant fear - they don't deserve this, no one deserves it.]

A link to copies of some of our letters to come. To sign a letter, download a copy of the English or Spanish version from the links on the right-hand side (Petition Letters - English; Cartas de Petición - Español), or contact the Children's Aid Society (130 East 101st Street between Lexington y Park; 212 348 2343).

***

La campaña El Barrio Contra La Deportación se propone colectar 1.000 cartas contra la deportación para el 4 de julio.

A partir de hoy, el 13 de mayo, hemos colectado 104 cartas. Unos relatos de nuestras familias:

"Please stop the raids - they are destroying families.
Every family has the right to make their dreams come true - our children are the future."

[Por favor pare las redadas - destruyen las familias.
Cada familia tiene el derecho de realizar sus suenos - nuestro hijos son el futuro.]

"Trabajo con ninos de padres indocumentados y es una pena ver como ellos sufren y viven en una constante inquietud - ellos no merecen eso, nadie lo merece."

[I work with children with undocumented parents, and it's a shame to see how they suffer and live in constant fear - they don't deserve this, no one deserves it.]

Mostraremos pronto un enlace a las copias de unas de nuestra cartas. Firmar cartas, descargue una copia de la versión inglés o español de los enlaces en la barra lateral (Petition Letters – English; Cartas de Petición – Español), o contacte el Children's Aid Society (130 East 101st Street entre las avenidas Lexington y Park; 212 348 2343).

Immigration News Updates

May 11, 2009
A Utah couple allegedly offered work visas for exposing an immigration scam instead are being deported to their native Uruguay, their lawyer said.

Critics call the case a classic example of illegal immigrants being exploited by criminals and the U.S. immigration system.

Read More

*In New York City, the Manhattan DA's Office offers assistance to fraud victims regardless of immigration status. Cases are processed by the Immigrant Affairs Program, set up in December 2007 to specifically address concerns of the immigrant population.

May 4, 2009
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a favorite tool of prosecutors in immigration cases, ruling unanimously that a federal identity-theft law may not be used against many illegal workers who used false Social Security numbers to get jobs.

Read More

Anti-Immigration Sentiments Triggered by Swine Flu, Comprehensive Immigration Reform Still an Uphill Battle

MSNBC discusses anti-immigration rhetoric employed by talk show host Michael Savage and talk radio host Jay Severin. The article, by Brian Alexander, outlines historical examples in which disease outbreak has led to fear mongering and ostracization of "the other". The piece notes that a counter-effort has been mobilized by Latino rights groups and ends by noting the necessity of"fighting racism with information":

Blame-the-victim reactions can be fought with clear, accurate information about the disease and about how it is spreading, said Dr. Larry Kline, a San Diego physician and member of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission. “People get snippets of information here and there, and unfortunately much of it is inaccurate. That makes things ripe for blame and blame and fear never helped anybody.”

Read More

Washington Independent published an article in the same spirit, and links the swine flu case to the uphill battle of comprehensive immigration reform. It highlights the Thursday, April 30 meeting on immigration immigration in the Senate Judiciary Committee:

The hearing was full of powerful arguments for why comprehensive immigration reform would boost the U.S. economy, enhance public safety and reinforce American values of hard work, family unity and entrepreneurship. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan testified to how legalizing undocumented immigrants would boost economic conditions for everyone, while Thomas Manger, Montgomery County, Md., Police Chief and Chairman of the legislative committee for the Major Cities Chiefs’ Association, testified that legalization would improve relationships between local communities and police officers and help law enforcement do its job.

Read More

Click here for a complete list of witnesses in the Senate hearing.