Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Re: Whatever Happened to Immigration as an Election Topic? "Immigrant Nation"? "Bracero Program" between 1942 and 1964 that the

10-21-2008 @9:26 AM PST ~
Gracias for sharing this Companera Dorinda and all your great sharing of news worthy events. We all need to practice the power of unity and centralize our present on the Internet and of course out in our local communities in conversions and discussions with others .

We should accept nothing less than a complete and unconditional amnesty for Mexicanos already living here in Aztlan, with criminal background checks the same as any U.S. citizen. Any so-called Mexican-Americans still walking around in a cloud need to embrace our Mestizo heritage and we should all offer sanctuary to those escaping fascist injustice.
We will not be ignored and we are here to stay and fight it all out if need by any and all means mandatory for our general situation in the nation.
This article by Che José Angel Hernández, PhD should be posted on the
Network Aztlan Website:

http://www.networkaztlan.com/

Educate to Liberate!

Peter S. Lopez

Email: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com

Sacramento, California, U.S.A.


----- Original Message ----
From: dorinda moreno <fuerzamundial@gmail.com>
To: Mexican Expulsions <mexican.expulsions@gmail.com>; Local/National/Global <Community4ImmigrantRights@yahoogroups.com>; Movimiento <movimiento_con-safos-y-que@yahoogroups.com>; Aztlannet News <NetworkAztlan_News@yahoogroups.com>; Tommie Camarillo <cpscchicanopark@sbcglobal.net>; Juntos <juntos_sf@yahoogroups.com>; "Yes We Can, Si Se Puede" <grassroots4obama@yahoogroups.com>; "progressivesforobama@yahoogroups.com" <progressivesforobama@yahoogroups.com>; DemocraticLeft@yahoogroups.com; ObamaBrigade@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 10:04:53 AM
Subject: [NetworkAztlan_News] Whatever Happened to Immigration as an Election Topic? "Immigrant Nation"? "Bracero Program" between 1942 and 1964 that the

On 10/21/08, Mexican Expulsions <mexican.expulsions@ gmail.com> wrote:

http://mexicanexpul sions.blogspot. com/2008/ 10/whatever- happened- to-immigration- as_20.html

Whatever Happened to Immigration as an Election Topic?
By Jose Angel Hernandez
History News Network
10/20/2008

Today is a watershed period in our history: the decline in
our economy unseen in generations, an ongoing war in Iraq,
and a historic election that may result in an African
American as President of the United States. To add to this
historical moment, we daily read about factories being
raided, about families being separated, about children
being torn from their loving mothers and fathers, and about
innocent workers being forcefully deported to Mexico and
Central America. Yet, in the debates between these
candidates, the issue of immigration has not been
discussed, nor have any questions been posed to the
candidates regarding the relationship between economies and
immigration. Indeed, the noted observer of immigration,
Marcel Suarez-Orozco of Harvard University has noted
that "the best predictor of anti-immigrant sentiment is
the economy," thus underscoring the direct relationship
between the national economy and the question of
immigration reform. Thus, the outcome of this current
election may decide how these problems and polemics get
resolved. In just a few short weeks the people of this
country will decide between John McCain and Barack Obama.

According to a 1993 piece in Foreign Affairs entitled "A
Brief History of Ethnic Cleansing," "ethnic cleansing can
be understood as the expulsion of an 'undesirable'
population from a given territory due to religious or ethnic
discrimination, political, strategic or ideological
considerations, or a combination of these.." The recent
workplace raids throughout our country and the thousands of
Mexicans and Latina/os that have borne the brunt of this
exclusion are evidence that the process of "ethnic
cleansing" via deportation raids is alive and well today
under a Republican administration. The numbers are
difficult to ascertain, but recent reports from Mexico
estimate that a million deportees have now returned to
Mexico and that 90,000 children have been abandoned at the
border as a result of these recent raids. An examination
of the historical record illustrates, following the words
of Marcelo-Suarez, that when the economic situation is
tough it is often the immigrant workers.both "legal"
and "illegal".that become the first victims of this
government response.

After the Great Depression of 1929, Republican President
Herbert Hoover implemented the forced repatriation of
Mexicans and Mexican Americans. This history is not well
known in our country, and certainly not taught in local
high schools. Some might argue that such expulsions happen
only to those who entered "illegally," yet in 1929
more "legal residents" were deported to Mexico than those
considered "illegal." It is a well documented that these
expulsions led to the well over one million people being
deported to Mexico, sixty percent of whom were actually US
citizens!

In 1954, under another well known and very beloved
Republican President, Dwight David Eisenhower, Mexicans
were forcefully removed and repatriated under a
program known as "Operation Wetback." According to the
most comprehensive study of this event entitled "Operation
Wetback: The Mass Deportation of Mexican Undocumented
Workers in 1954," Juan Ramón García notes that according
to US government estimates, approximately 1.4 million
individuals were forced or coerced to leave for Mexico.
Paradoxically, it was between 1942 and 1964 that the
governments of the US and Mexico established the well known
and periodically lauded "Bracero Program" as a way to
augment the loss of labor due to WWII. So, not only did
Mexicans and Mexican Americans participate and die
during this war, but their families and relatives were
being deported as they fought to save the world from the
grasp of fascist dictators and the false notion of "racial
superiority."

In this contemporary era we are at war with Iraq and
Latina/os of all countries and ethnicities have taken the
frontline in this war against "Global Terrorism." Once
again, while Mexican Americans fight on the frontlines in
Iraq and Afghanistan, their families are being threatened
with deportation and their communities are being terrorized
by an agency that has as its mission this species
of "ethnic cleansing." Numerous stories have appeared about
soldiers fighting both terrorists and the deportation of
their loved ones at the same time. One such story was
published by the Associated Press on August 10, 2007 was
tellingly headlined "GIs worry illegal relatives will be
deported; GIs fear about family could lower morale as
immigrants swell military ranks." In that piece, the author
noted that Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Eduardo
Gonzalez is a citizen whose wife entered the country from
Guatemala and currently in "deportation proceedings."
Gonzalez's reaction to this case sums up the contradictory
stance of these policies when he noted "If I'm willing to
die for the United States, why can't I just be allowed to
be with my family?"

Some of the first casualties of this war, in fact, were
migrants (legal and illegal) from Mexico and Guatemala.
Marine Corporal Jose A. Garibay of Costa Mesa and Pfc.
Francisco A. Martinez Flores of Los Angeles were both 21
year old Mexican migrants who lost their lives in Iraq in
March 2003. Their deaths, however, represent only the
first casualties among a longer list of ongoing
sacrifices by both legal and "illegal" migrants. According
to a September 2007 piece by Domenico Maceri of New America
Media, "Figures from the National Center for Immigration
Law show that one in 10 U.S. soldiers who have died in
Iraq have been immigrants."

Today, we have a decision to make and we have an
observation to dissect when it comes to the political
stance of the two candidates. Just two weeks ago,
Senator McCain's attack on Senator Obama regarding
immigration generated a vicious exchange between the two
obligates us to examine the longer history of Mexican
migration and Comprehensive Immigration Reform. In fact,
although McCain had a long history of bipartisanship with
immigration reform, we know that he is now against his own
bill sponsored in 2006. Senator Obama, in this regard, has
condemned the recent deportation raids but voted for a bill
to extend the border wall.

Today we must ask ourselves, as Americans of all
backgrounds, whom should we vote for? Who will uphold our
greatest tradition of being an "Immigrant Nation"? This
election will determine the future of all Americans, but it
seems that McCain's continuing contradictions only
threatens to further the Latino struggle to become full
citizens in a country that today faces the question of what
it means to be a "Nation of Immigrants."

http://hnn.us/ articles/ 55760.html


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Thursday, October 09, 2008

Reports on Violence in Latin America

http://www.oas.org/OASpage/press_releases/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-382/08

IN MEXICO, OAS' INSULZA CALLS FOR REGULAR MEETING OF SECURITY MINISTERS AND JOINT ACTION TO TACKLE TRANSNATIONAL CRIME
October 7, 2008

Mexico City—Mexican President Felipe Calderón and Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General José Miguel Insulza today inaugurated the First Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Public Security in the Americas, an OAS forum convened to consider joint strategies to tackle the scourge of crime and violence worldwide, and particularly in this hemisphere. Addressing top security officials from the 34 Member States, the Mexican leader praised the OAS' initiative to bring the security ministers together to share experiences and devise a joint approach to transnational crime. He called on countries to collaborate to fight transnational crime on the basis of a collaborative approach, shared responsibility and respect for sovereignty. Secretary General Insulza, for his part, suggested that amidst the differences among the countries of the Americas, "all, without exception, are suffering or are beginning to suffer the consequences of this scourge"—a reference to violence stemming from organized crime. "This plague," he said, "kills more people than AIDS or any other known epidemic; destroys more homes than any economic crisis; and threatens state institutions. It is as dangerous as any other subversion element we have seen." He added: "Ridding ourselves of it, or at least substantially reducing it, is an absolute priority." He described crime and violence as "a problem that threatens the security, health, physical safety and lives of hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens," saying it furthermore directly affects the very foundations of our region's economic and political development. He stressed that "the very integrity of the state and democratic institutions in our region are seriously at risk given the scope, power and impact of crime." Insulza added that most violence against individuals is related to drug consumption and trafficking. Insulza said that acknowledging the problem is the first step towards a solution, the second being admitting that despite all efforts, a solution remains elusive. "Serious challenges remain and we still have a long way to go before we can begin to feel satisfied," he argued, identifying as a great challenge the lack of technical capacity to manage the problem. He also cited the significant constraints and lack of capacity at the institutional level. Secretary General Insulza warned that although there are public security instruments in the inter-American system to deal with transnational threats and several hemispheric mechanisms for coordination, "they are not mechanisms for comprehensive policy discussion on public security which we have an obligation to develop and coordinate today. According to Insulza, "our pressing needs call for a standing mechanism for hemispheric discussion and agreement to help us get to the root of the problem and find consensus around coordinated action to confront it." He said that this first OAS meeting of senior security officials from around the Americas "challenges us to deal with a common threat through solidarity and cooperation. "That, ultimately, is the deepest significance of the First Meeting of Ministers of Public Security of the Americas," he stated. The OAS Secretary General said this meeting should be held regularly and become the technical and policy forum for the hemisphere on all matters related to public security, and should involve coordination of effort in information, communication, technology and other areas necessary for the for the collective fight against crime in the region to succeed. +++
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/09/mexico.humanrights

Rampant violence is Latin America's 'worst epidemic' * Rory Carroll in Caracas, The Guardian, * Thursday October 9 2008 Violent crime in Latin America kills more people and wreaks more economic havoc than Aids, the head of the Organisation of American States warned this week. Drug trafficking, gang warfare, kidnapping and other crimes pose one of the gravest threats to the region's stability, said José Miguel Insulza. "It is an epidemic, a plague on our continent that kills more people than Aids or any other known epidemic. It destroys more homes than any economic crisis." The warning came amid a backdrop of horrific violence in Mexico, where drug cartels are waging war against the state, and evidence that cities from Caracas to Buenos Aires are becoming more dangerous. The number of people killed by gun crime in central and south America is four times the world average, according to UN estimates, with a homicide rate of more than 25 per 100,000 people. In parts of El Salvador, Guatemala and Venezuela the rate is more than 100 per 100,000. The violence has been blamed on factors including poverty, inequality, cocaine trafficking, the legacy of civil wars, a bountiful supply of guns and corrupt, ineffective state institutions, notably the police, prisons and courts. Anger at crime and distrust of the police often leads to lynchings, with several suspects recently beaten and hacked to death in Bolivia, Guatemala and Peru. There are even grimmer stories from jails which are controlled by inmates. Rigoberta Menchu, Guatemala's human rights activist and Nobel laureate, has referred to crime as a cancer. Crime stories, often accompanied by grisly images, dominate media coverage and rank at or near the top of public concerns. Most victims are impoverished slum-dwellers but the perception of danger still hinders tourism and investment, with several Caribbean countries feeling the sting of recent high-profile murders. Some studies suggest Latin America"s income could be 25% higher if its crime rate, which began soaring in the 1980s, was similar to the rest of the world. Aids, in contrast, has stayed largely in check, with HIV prevalence remaining at under 1% in most countries. Insulza made his dramatic warning at a two-day security meeting of the OAS in Mexico City. He praised the host government's controversial decision to deploy 20,000 soldiers against powerful drug cartels, a move which provoked a vicious backlash. Thousands have died, the state has lost control of several areas and headless bodies are discovered with numbing regularity. Mexico's president, Felipe Calderón, called for a pan-regional database on criminals and a "continental front" which would include the US. "We must attack simultaneously not only drug smuggling, but the world's main market," he said. Some countries, such as Costa Rica, are relatively untouched by the violence and in Colombia, once-notorious cities such as Bogotá and Medellín have enjoyed a renaissance as leftwing insurgency has ebbed before a US-supported military offensive. Brazil's favelas, however, remain killing zones for gangs and police and a perceived crime wave in Argentina has driven anxious middle-class families into South Africa-style gated communities. +++
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/235819,violence-against-journalists-increasing-in-latin-america-sip-warns.html

Violence against journalists increasing in Latin America, SIP warns
Posted : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:21:46 GMT

Madrid - The Inter-American Press Society (SIP) warned Tuesday of increasing violence and pressure against journalists in Latin America. The association concluded its five-day 64th general assembly that brought more than 500 American and European media owners, directors and other representatives to the Spanish capital Madrid.

Press freedom has suffered this year in Latin America, where eight journalists were killed in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela, SIP said.

Relations between governments and the media have deteriorated, with authorities using "constant and systematic verbal aggressions" against journalists, the association said.

Public funds were also used to pressure the media, and laws were circumvented to hamper public access to information, SIP complained.

In Mexico, drug traffickers wanted to impose "a law of silence" in many parts of the country, the association said.

SIP also expressed concern over attempts to restrict press freedom in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

On closing the assembly, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said his government would propose a law to guarantee the largest possible access of citizens to public information.

Come Together and Create!
Peter S. Lopez aka: Peta
Email: sacranative@yahoo.com

Sacramento, California, Aztlan

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Ron> [NetworkAztlan_News] STOP the ICE RAIDS!! Organizing meeting Oct. 1st in LA!! 6:00PM!

9-30-08 @9:00 AM PST ~
Gracias Hermano Ron ~ The whole immigration issue is too hot to handle for the current Presidential candidates and none of them have a comprehensive immigration reform plan that would be fair, just and humane to all parties concerned. We should support the idea of at least a temporary amnesty, a suspension of ICE raids and re-build the Sanctuary Movement. We need to give refuge to the refugees, create and expand our own underground railroads and protect our own people by any means mandatory!
The natural laws of nature, the laws of Creator God and the humane rights upheld by the basis principles of international law support the humane doctrine of immigrant rights in harmony with basic humane rights. These natural divine laws supercede national laws. We can, must and should be able to explain to the people the legitimacy of a general amnesty for undocumented workers. We need to build solid bridges, not porous walls. Our vile repressors respect no borders or boundaries why should we?

We need to utilize our local churches and other safe places of refuge for those who refuse to bend to the dictaters of an unjust social order because they need and want to support the survival of their families!

The U.S.A. government is a rogue failed state! We need to utilize all available resources available to us: local community education; one-on-one conversations with others; the Power of the Internet via websites, blogs, groups and videos; unite with others based upon a common humane rights agenda and not let the demons who reign in these troubled times divide us based upon top surface labels of race, tribe or political party affiliation.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Come Together and Create! Peter S. Lopez aka: Peta
Humane-Liberation-Party Email: sacranative@yahoo.com Sacramento, California, Aztlan


--- On Tue, 9/30/08, Ron Gochez <mexicanoatucla@aol.com> wrote:
From: Ron Gochez <mexicanoatucla@aol.com>
Subject: [NetworkAztlan_News] STOP the ICE RAIDS!! Organizing meeting Oct. 1st in LA!! 6:00PM!
To:
Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 8:23 AM

The MIGRA (ICE) is incrementing their Raids in our communities! !! We have to build up the resistance so that we can eventually kick them out of our streets! The countries economy is supposedly going down the tubes but they seem to have plenty of $$$ for more ICE Raids!!!

If you are SERIOUS about organizing against the Migra (ICE), join the Frente Contra las Redadas! We are currently organizing another Community Forum to invite lawyers to come out and educate our community about their rights! Come help out!! We are ALL busy people...enough with our excuses! Let's get to work!
We have to organize in our communities!


Meetings are open to everyone! See you at the meeting!

What: General Meeting: Frente Contra las Redadas- South Central
When: Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 6:00PM
Where: Santee Education Complex (1921 Maple Ave. LA, CA 90011) Washington/Maple in the Library
Who: Everyone who wants to organize against the Migra Raids is welcomed
Why: Because the ICE/Migra continues to terrorize our communities and we need to be organized to be able to defend our communities from deportations/ family separations.

Ron Gochez
Social Justice Educator/Community Organizer
Frente Contra las Redadas- South Central
Union Del Barrio- Los Angeles


State wide immig ratio n raids resul t in 1, 157 arres ts
http: / / www. latim es. com/ news/ local / la- me- raids 30- 2008s ep30, 0, 63982 66. story

Feder al agent s targe t those who ignor ed depor tatio n order s or retur ned to the U.S. illeg ally. More than 400 are arres ted in the Los Angel es area.

By Franc isco Vara- Orta, Los Angel es Times Staff Write r
Septe mber 29, 2008
Feder al immig ratio n agent s arres ted more than 1, 150 peopl e in the large st colle ctive sweep by speci alize d enfor cemen t teams in Calif ornia , autho ritie s said today .


The sweep targe ted those who ignor ed depor tatio n order s or retur ned to the Unite d State s illeg ally after being depor ted, said U.S. Immig ratio n and Custo ms Enfor cemen t spoke swoma n Virgi nia Kice.



The raids , which ended Satur day, produ ced 436 arres ts in the San Franc isco area, 420 in the Los Angel es area and 301 in the San Diego area.


Of the 1, 157 illeg al immig rants arres ted state wide, 595 had outst andin g depor tatio n order s and 346 had prior crimi nal convi ction s, Kice said. Those arres ted come from 34 count ries.


The squad s respo nsibl e for the arres ts, known as fugit ive opera tions teams , were devel oped in 2003 to focus on appre hendi ng forei gn natio nals who have ignor ed final order s of depor tatio n or have retur ned to the U.S. illeg ally after being depor ted, Kice said.



The cases at the top of their list invol ve those wante d or convi cted in viole nt or drug- relat ed crime s, agenc y offic ials said.


" Indiv idual s who defy immig ratio n court order s to leave the count ry need to under stand there are conse quenc es for willf ully disre gardi ng the law, " said Depar tment of Homel and Secur ity Assis tant Secre tary Julie L. Myers , who overs ees the feder al immig ratio n agenc y.


Kice relea sed detai ls of two arres ts in the L.A. area.


Jose Avila , a Mexic an natio nal whose crimi nal histo ry inclu des prior convi ction s for lewd acts invol ving a child and batte ry, was arres ted Sept. 15 in Santa Fe Sprin gs.


The 41- year- old was turne d over to the Los Angel es Count y Sheri ff's Depar tment on an outst andin g warra nt for makin g a terro rist threa t, Kice said. After he is relea sed by local autho ritie s, Avila will be retur ned to feder al custo dy for prose cutio n on felon y charg es of reent ering the count ry after his depor tatio n last year.


In North Holly wood, Ramon Cedan o, 47, a previ ously depor ted Mexic an natio nal with a prior convi ction for selli ng heroi n, was arres ted Sept. 11 at his home.


Cedan o was turne d over to the Los Angel es Polic e Depar tment on an outst andin g drug warra nt. Once he's turne d back over to the immig ratio n depar tment , he will be prose cuted for reent ering the count ry after depor tatio n, a felon y charg e that carri es a maxim um sente nce of 20 years in priso n.


In recen t years , the immig ratio n agenc y has heigh tened enfor cemen t at facto ries, offic es and homes . In the Los Angel es regio n and surro undin g areas , there are seven activ e fugit ive opera tions teams that have condu cted raids : four based in Los Angel es Count y, two in the Inlan d Empir e and one in Orang e Count y. Immig ratio n offic ials have said they are going to add a eight h team, which would be based in Ventu ra Count y.


franc isco. varao rta@ latim es. com

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Statewide immigration raids result in 1,157 arrests: LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-raids30-2008sep30,0,5627062.story

Statewide immigration raids result in 1,157 arrests


Federal agents target those who ignored deportation orders or returned to the U.S. illegally. More than 400 are arrested in the Los Angeles area.

By Francisco Vara-Orta, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Email: francisco.varaorta@latimes.com

September 30, 2008

Federal immigration agents arrested more than 1,150 people in the largest collective sweep by specialized enforcement teams in California, authorities said today.

The sweep targeted those who ignored deportation orders or returned to the United States illegally after being deported, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice.

The raids, which ended Saturday, produced 436 arrests in the San Francisco area, 420 in the Los Angeles area and 301 in the San Diego area.

Of the 1,157 illegal immigrants arrested statewide, 595 had outstanding deportation orders and 346 had prior criminal convictions, Kice said. Those arrested come from 34 countries.

The squads responsible for the arrests, known as fugitive operations teams, were developed in 2003 to focus on apprehending foreign nationals who have ignored final orders of deportation or have returned to the U.S. illegally, Kice said.

The most prominent cases involve those wanted or convicted in violent or drug crimes, agency officials said.

"Individuals who defy immigration court orders to leave the country need to understand there are consequences for willfully disregarding the law," said Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers, who oversees the federal immigration agency.

One L.A.-area case involved Jose Avila, 41, a Mexican national whose criminal history includes convictions for lewd acts involving a child and for battery. He was arrested Sept. 15 in Santa Fe Springs. After he is released by local authorities, Avila will be returned to federal custody for prosecution on felony charges of reentering the country after his deportation last year.

++++

Comment: Clearly we need to revitalize a new Sanctuary Movement for innocent people who are targets of ICE. After a background check for criminal offenders to ascertain who has committed real crimes against the humane rights of others, including murder, rape or other violent acts, those who are surviving and working inside the United States should be given a temporary amnesty until this whole 'immigration issue' is resolved.


c/s