AFSC/Immigration - period ended 1.15.2006

AFSC/Politics and Economics/Immigration/Illegal immigration debate boils over in 2005/North County Times/Ventura/CA/USA/1-Jan-2006//…For San Diego human rights advocate Christian Ramirez, "it's really been a tough year."

Ramirez, who is the San Diego office director for the Quaker human-rights organization American Friends Service Committee, said that to gauge just how serious things have gotten, one need look no further than the record 460 immigrant deaths along the U.S. Mexican border between Oct. 1, 2004 and Sept. 30, 2005.

"2005 has been by far the most violent, disastrous year in the history of this border," he said.

Concerned over what he sees as an alarming increase in human rights violations of immigrants and Latinos in North County, Ramirez and his group were instrumental in 2004 and 2005 in forming human rights organizations in Escondido and Vista.

But for long-time proponent of stiffer enforcement of immigration laws and Republican state Sen. Bill Morrow, R-Oceanside, "it was a huge year," he said last week.

Year of the Minuteman

Morrow called it "The year of the Minuteman," referring to the Minuteman Project, a civilian group that staged a border watch along Arizona's portion of the U.S. Mexican border in April. He said that he is celebrating the fact that North County residents and Americans in general finally are beginning to wake up to the drain on the state's finances and the risks posed by the federal government's failure to stop illegal immigration.
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AFSC/Politics and Economics/Immigration/Anti-immigrant push an affront to King's memory/Concord Monitor/Concord/NH/USA/15-Jan-2006//... Hampshire. (Arnie Alpert and Hannah El-Silimy are on the staff of the New Hampshire Office of the American Friends Service Committee. ...

AFSC/Politics and Economics/Immigration/Protest/Rally protests proposal to tighten immigration/Rocky Mountain News/Boulder/CO /USA/13-Jan-2006//... Organized by the American Friends Service Committee and Rights for All People, marchers held signs promoting immigrant rights and made speeches on the sidewalk ...

AFSC/Politics and Economics/Immigration/Racial Profiling/Immigration battle may call on cops/Colorado Springs Gazett/Colorado Springs/CO/USA/3-Jan-2006//… Groups such as the American Friends Service Committee say the proposal has problems.

“This kind of local enforcement of federal immigration policy is just a bad idea,” said Danielle Short, program director for the committee’s Colorado chapter.

Short contends such laws ostracize illegal immigrants and make them less likely to report other crimes, whether it is drug dealing or domestic violence, for fear they’ll be deported.

Additionally, Short said giving local police such training would be expensive and lead to racial profiling. ...

AFSC/Immigration//Coalition to teach 'human rights' observation of deputies/North County Times/Ventura/CA/USA/7-Jan-2006//... Two other citizen watchdog organizations, the Committee of Human Rights of Escondido and American Friends Service Committee, are also helping with the training ...

AFSC/Immigration/Protest//Nationwide protests will target illegal immigration/NorthJersey.com/Hackensack/NJ/USA/5-Jan-2006//... created instability that force these people to leave their countries," said Esther Chavez, a community activist for American Friends Service Committee in Newark ...

AFSC////Se unen más organizaciones en defensa de inmigrantes/Prensa Hispana/Tucson/AZ/USA/10-Jan-2006//…Incluso, recientemente se formó la Alianza de las Comunidades Fronterizas por los Derechos Humanos, una alianza que está reuniendo las voces de las comunidades de la frontera y de inmigrantes al debate nacional de políticas de inmigración. La alianza está conformada por la Red de Acción Fronteriza, que opera en Arizona; la Red de la Frontera por los Derechos Humanos, en Texas y Nuevo México; el Comité de Servicio de Amigos Americanos, y la Coalicion de Derechos de la Raza, con base en San Diego, California, y el Grupo de Trabajo de América Latina, basado en Washington, D.C; Inmigrantes sin Fronteras, Tonatierra, entre otras.
Particularmente en Arizona y Tucson han surgido organizaciones locales como No Más Muertes, Abuelitas Coléricas, Escuela de los Observadores de las Américas, Comité de Servicio de Amigos Americanos y organizaciones laborales.
En otras ciudades de Estados Unidos poco a poco han surgido organizaciones de defensa de los inmigrantes como en San Diego y San José, California; Las Cruces, Nuevo México; Newark, Nueva Jersey; Detroit, Michigan; El Paso y Houston, Texas.
Estas agrupaciones advierten que durante todo el 2006 realizarán una intensa campaña a fin de educar y organizar a la comunidad inmigrante en defensa de sus propios derechos y garantías constitucionales y para empujar cambios significativos en las políticas de inmigración. ….....Even, recently the Alliance of the Border Communities by the Human rights formed, an alliance that is reuniting the voices of the communities of the border and immigrants to the national debate of immigration policies. The alliance is conformed by the Network of Border Action, that operates in Arizona; the Network of the Border by the Human rights, in Texas and New Mexico; the Committee on watch of American Friends, and the Coalition of Rights of the Race, with base in San Diego, California, and the Work group of Latin America, based on Washington, D.C; Immigrants without Borders, Tonatierra, among others. Particularly in Arizona and Tucson local organizations like Not More Deaths have arisen, Coléricas Grandmas, School of the Observers of the Américas, labor Committee on watch of American Friends and organizations. In other cities of the United States little by little organizations from defense of the immigrants like in San Diego and San jOse have arisen, California; Cruces, New Mexico; Newark, New Jersey; Detroit, Michigan; Paso and Houston, Texas. These groupings notice that throughout the 2006 will make an intense campaign in order to educate and to organize to the community constitutional immigrant in defense of their own rights and guarantees and to push significant changes in the immigration policies..