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The past week has been one of partial victories and incredible disappointment for the immigrant rights community. I share this with you all because young people have been in the center of the movement. To start with, the bad:
Arizona is about to have one of the most outrageous immigration laws in the country. If SB 1070 is signed by the governor (it was passed last week by the state legislature), police will be able to ask someone’s immigration status based on the ‘reasonable suspicion’ that they are undocumented. I’m not lying. Unfortunately, Janet Napolitano is no longer the governor and it looks like Gov. Jan Brewer may actually make this a reality. The Governor has until Sunday to do so (tell the Governor to veto the bill by clicking here!).
In reaction to all the media attention around this bill, we’ve seen some of the most ignorant statements coming not just from anonymous comments sections below articles, but our lovely representatives in Congress. Whether it’s Senator John McCain saying illegal immigrants are "intentionally causing accidents" or Rep. Bilbray (CA) defending the ability law enforcement to judge someone’s status by how they look, “They will look at the kind of dress you wear, there is different type of attire, there is different type of -- right down to the shoes, right down to the clothes,” this debate has shown an incredibly ugly side of people and politics in this country.
In reaction to all the media attention around this bill, we’ve seen some of the most ignorant statements coming not just from anonymous comments sections below articles, but our lovely representatives in Congress. Whether it’s Senator John McCain saying illegal immigrants are "intentionally causing accidents" or Rep. Bilbray (CA) defending the ability law enforcement to judge someone’s status by how they look, “They will look at the kind of dress you wear, there is different type of attire, there is different type of -- right down to the shoes, right down to the clothes,” this debate has shown an incredibly ugly side of people and politics in this country.
Luckily, young people are standing up and fighting back. In Arizona, a group of nine students turned to non-violent civil disobedience by chaining themselves to the state capitol in Arizona in protest of SB 1070. They were subsequently arrested. Check out the video here:
In addition, there has been some good news in the immigration debate. As you may or may not know, on January 1, a group of DREAMers, or students fighting for the DREAM Act, began their 1500 mile “Trail of Dreams” from Miami, FL to Washington, DC. They’ve been sharing their stories and explaining why passage of the DREAM Act is so important to people they’ve met along the way.
Yesterday, we all got the great news that Senators Durbin and Lugar submitted a letter to Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano requesting the Obama Administration defer the deportation of young people who would qualify for legalization under the DREAM Act. Whether or not DHS fulfills this request, we’ll see. But it’s a great step forward into making this legislation a reality. To help win this fight, you can sign the Trail of Dreams petition asking the Obama administration to comply with the Senators’ request. You can also thank Senators Durbin and Lugar and encourage them to make sure that the DREAM Act is passed this year.
Yesterday, we all got the great news that Senators Durbin and Lugar submitted a letter to Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano requesting the Obama Administration defer the deportation of young people who would qualify for legalization under the DREAM Act. Whether or not DHS fulfills this request, we’ll see. But it’s a great step forward into making this legislation a reality. To help win this fight, you can sign the Trail of Dreams petition asking the Obama administration to comply with the Senators’ request. You can also thank Senators Durbin and Lugar and encourage them to make sure that the DREAM Act is passed this year.
And for those of you who are in DC, the DREAMers will be at Georgetown University on Tuesday, April 27th. Stop by to say hi. Then march with us on May 1st!
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by Alpha_Technocrat
by GarrettMize
To be in this country illegally is a felony, so what does this mean for the fight for illegal immigration?
If you have NO clue what your rights are, or if you live in AZ and are unclear about what the signing of this triflin law does I suggest folks check out these videos about how to survive police encounters.