Arab/Iranian/Muslim Contingent-MAY1

May 1st Immigrant Rights Mobilization
Arab/Iranian/Muslim Contingent

NO WORK - NO SCHOOL - NO BUYING - NO SELLING

from philadelphia to san francisco, millions of
immigrants & allies will leave school and work, and
take the streets of the united states demanding
dignity and an end to immigrant attacks in congress.

from buenos aires to mexico city, there will be a
boycott of US products.

from tehran to sao paulo, millions will celebrate
international workers day.

WHERE WILL YOU BE?

MARCH WITH US -
Arab/Iranian/Muslim Contingent
Meet at 10:30 AM - YERBA BUENA GARDERNS
(Mission between 3rd & 4th)
Contingent will march with other immigrant groups and
meet up with the Rally and March at 11 AM Justin
Herman Plaza, Embarcadero.

for more information call ADC-SF at 415-861-7444 or go
to www.adcsf.org

Where you stay

Check it...


http://www.filamarts.org/whereyoustay/

SPECIAL ISSUE: CENTRAL AMERICA

Millions of Central Americans live and work in North America. This
Special Issue looks at what caused the migration flows to El Norte and
the impacts of Central American migration on both home and host
societies.

Top story:
Central America: Crossroads of the Americas
Many migratory streams from Central America -- including refugees,
economic migrants, and transit flows headed north from South America
and
elsewhere -- have converged in North America since the 1980s. Sarah J.
Mahler and Dusan Ugrina of Florida International University outline the
region's main trends.

Spotlight:
Central American Foreign Born in the United States
Over
half of all Central American foreign born in the United States are from
El Salvador and Guatemala. MPI's Megan Davy examines the numbers as
well
as events and policies that have shaped Central American migration.

Country Profile:
Guatemala: Economic Migrants Replace Political Refugees

Guatemala's long civil war, which spurred large flows of refugees, has
given way to high levels of economic migration to the United States and
an economy more dependent on remittances. Also, Guatemala's geography
has made it a prime transit country for migrants headed north, as James
Smith of Inforpress Centroamericana reports.
Mexico: Caught Between the United States and Central America
Since the 1980s, Mexico has become home to Guatemalan refugees and served as
a transit country for Central Americans seeking to reach the United
States. Manuel Ángel Castillo of El Colegio de México analyzes Mexico's
policies toward its southern neighbors.
Canada: A Northern Refuge for Central Americans
Although most Central American refugees sought protection in the United
States, Canada admitted thousands of Central American refugees in the
1980s. María Cristina García of Cornell University takes a detailed
look at Central Americans in Canada.
Remittance Trends in Central America
In 2004, Central American countries received US$ 7.8 billion in
remittances through official channels. Are remittances hurting or
helping the region? MPI's Dovelyn Agunias investigates.
Migration and Development in El Salvador: Ideals Versus Reality

Salvadorans abroad have helped their families economically and, to some
extent, decreased poverty levels back home. Yet migration has economic
and social costs in El Salvador -- and has not yet proved to be the
answer to its development problems, according to Katharine
Andrade-Eekhoff.

CAFTA: What Could It Mean for Migration?
The Central America Free Trade Agreement may be the most important
economic event in the region in 20 years. However, it seems unlikely to
reverse established migration trends, reports Salomon Cohen.

Central Americans and Asylum Policy in the Reagan Era
Not long after the United States passed the 1980 Refugee Act, thousands
of people began fleeing civil war in Guatemala, El Salvador, and
Nicaragua. Their treatment in the United States, linked to US foreign
policy, spurred the Sanctuary Movement and efforts to grant them
refugee
status, as Susan Gzesh of the University of Chicago explains.
National Policies and the Rise of Transnational Gangs
The growth of violent gangs such as MS-13, which operates in the United
States and Central America, has caught the attention of the US media
and law enforcement. However, the role of migration policies in this growth
deserves closer attention, finds MPI's Mary Helen Johnson.
Policy Beat:
Senate Debates Temporary Worker Program and Path to Legal Status for
the Unauthorized
MPI's Julia Gelatt reports on the Judiciary Committee's proposals for
immigration reform, which set the stage for Senate debate on the topic,
plus other immigration news.
Archives

Special Issues:
Don't forget to visit our previous Special Issues on:
The Top 10 Migration Issues of 2005
The Unauthorized

Human Rights and Migration
Africa
and Migration
US-Mexico Migration
Women and Migration
Integration and Immigrants
Migration and Development
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Performance Art Immigration Festival

The Central American Studies Program
Performance Art Immigration Festival

Monday, April 17, 2006
6:00p.m.

With an update on High School Student Movement
coordinated by the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA)

Key Note Speaker:

Prof. Ana Patricia Rodríguez,
University of Maryland, College Park
"¿Dónde estás vos/z?: Performing Salvadoreñidades in Translocal Sites"

Performance and Visual Artists:

Jessica Grande
Lizette Hernandez
Víctor Espinosa
Carlos Somoza
Luis A. Vega
María Adela Díaz


Followed by a reception hosted by the Central American United Student Association (CAUSA)

Whitsett Room
Monday, April 17, 2006 6:00p.m.
California State University
Central American Studies Program
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8246

Tel. (818) 677-3585
Fax (818) 677-7578

website for rights for students

This website has some useful information including a student free speech rights section and some contact info for the national lawyers guild for students that need legal help because of their walkout actions.

Please distribute widely.
-----FOR THE STUDENTS WEBSITE - Posted 4.6.06
A new committee has been formed in response to the recent student activities. This group is composed of teachers, students, parents and professionals who feel that "education is a right, not a privilege", and that students inherently have the right to voice their opinions. In this committee are people who were active in the 1968 Walkouts, such as Bobby Verdugo, Paula Cristosomo and Mita Cuaron. We invite the community to help us in the students of our youth. Please check out the new web page !!
http://forthestudents06.tripod.com

A tragedy because of the lack of support/understanding

Very sad news. This should not happen.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEWS CONFERENCE
Sunday, April 9, 2006
12:00 p.m.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
710 S. Sultana Ave., Ontario, CA 91761


Louise Corales, whose 14 year-old son, Anthony Soltero, died on April 1 after committing suicide, will speak to the community and ask for a prayer for her son this Sunday, following the 11:00 a.m. mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Ontario, California.

Eighth grader Anthony Soltero shot himself through the head on Thursday, March 30, after the assistant principal at De Anza Middle School told him that he was going to prison for three years because of his involvement as an organizer of the April 28 school walk-outs to protest the anti-immigrant legislation in Washington. The vice principal also forbade Anthony from attending graduation activities and threatened to fine his mother for Anthonys truancy and participation in the student protests.

Anthony was learning about the importance of civic duties and rights in his eighth grade class. Ironically, he died because the vice principal at his school threatened him for speaking out and exercising those rights, Ms. Corales said today. I want to speak out to other parents, whose children are attending the continuing protests this week. We have to let the schools know that they cant punish our children for exercising their rights.

Anthonys death is likely the first fatality arising from the protests against the immigration legislation being considered in Washington, D.C. Anthony, who was a very good student at De Anza Middle School in the Ontario-Montclair School District, believed in justice and was passionate about the immigration issue. He is survived by his mother, Louise Corales, his father, a younger sister, and a baby brother.

Ms. Corales will speak to the community after mass on Sunday, April 9, 2006 at 12:00 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. She will ask for a prayer for Anthony, whose funeral and burial are scheduled for Monday, April 10 in Long Beach, where he was born.
CONTACT: R. SAMUEL PAZ
(310) 410-2981
(310) 989-6815
R. Samuel Paz
Civil Rights Lawyer
LAW OFFICES OF R. SAMUEL PAZ
Buckingham Heights
5701 W. Slauson Avenue
Suite 202
Culver City CA 90230
Telephone (310) 410-2981
Facsimile (310) 410-2957

Legal info on walkouts for students

http://www.schoolwalkouts.info/

Immigration Performance Art Festival

Monday April 16, 6 pm

Justice not IGNORANCE NOW

Subject: commonly used attacks against immigrants
Body: Myths vs. Facts


IMMIGRANTS DONT PAY TAXES

Immigrants pay taxes, in the form of income, property, sales, and taxes at the federal and state level. As far as income tax payments go, sources vary in their accounts, but a range of studies find that immigrants pay between $90 and $140 billion a year in federal, state, and local taxes. Undocumented immigrants pay income taxes as well, as evidenced by the Social Security Administration's "suspense file" (taxes that cannot be matched to workers' names and social security numbers), which grew by $20 billion between 1990 and 1998

(Source: http://www.immigrationforum.org/about/articles/tax_study.htm)

IMMIGRANTS COME HERE TO TAKE WELFARE

Immigrants come to work and reunite with family members. Immigrant labor force participation is consistently higher than native-born, and immigrant workers make up a larger share of the U.S. labor force (12.4%) than they do the U.S. population (11.5%). Moreover, the ratio between immigrant use of public benefits and the amount of taxes they pay is consistently favorable to the U.S. In one estimate, immigrants earn about $240 billion a year, pay about $90 billion a year in taxes, and use about $5 billion in public benefits. In another cut of the data, immigrant tax payments total $20 to $30 billion more than the amount of government services they use.

(Source: "Questioning Immigration Policy – Can We Afford to Open Our Arms?", Friends Committee on National Legislation Document ..G-606-DOM, January 25, 1996. http:www.fas.org/pub/gen/fcnl/immigra.html)

IMMIGRANTS SEND ALL THEIR MONEY BACK HOME

In addition to the consumer spending of immigrant households, immigrants and their businesses contribute $162 billion in tax revenue to U.S. federal, state, and local governments. While it is true that immigrants remit billions of dollars a year to their home countries, this is one of the most targeted and effective forms of direct foreign investment.

(Source: http://www.cato.org/research/articles/griswold-020218.html.)

IMMIGRANTS TAKE JOBS AWAY FROM AMERICANS...

THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE...CARLOS MENCIA SAID IT BEST...
" IF AN IMMIGRANT THAT CAN'T EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH IS TAKING YOUR JOB..YOU ARE ONE STUPID MOTHERFUCKER...." Does anyone have the right to claim a job 'belongs' to them?

The largest wave of immigration to the U.S. since the early 1900s coincided with our lowest national unemployment rate and fastest economic growth. Immigrant entrepreneurs create jobs for U.S. and foreign workers, and foreign-born students allow many U.S. graduate programs to keep their doors open. While there has been no comprehensive study done of immigrant-owned businesses, we have countless examples: in Silicon Valley, companies begun by Chinese and Indian immigrants generated more than $19.5 billion in sales and nearly 73,000 jobs in 2000.

(Source: Richard Vedder, Lowell Gallaway, and Stephen Moore, Immigration and Unemployment: New Evidence, Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, Arlington, VA (Mar. 1994), p. 13.

IMMIGRANTS ARE A DRAIN ON THE ECONOMY

During the 1990s, half of all new workers were foreign-born, filling gaps left by native-born workers in both the high- and low-skill ends of the spectrum. Immigrants fill jobs in key sectors, start their own businesses, and contribute to a thriving economy. The net benefit of immigration to the U.S. is nearly $10 billion annually. As Alan Greenspan points out, 70% of immigrants arrive in prime working age. That means we haven't spent a penny on their education, yet they are transplanted into our workforce and will contribute $500 billion toward our social security system over the next 20 years

(Source: Andrew Sum, Mykhaylo Trubskyy, Ishwar Khatiwada, et al., Immigrant Workers in the New England Labor Market: Implications for Workforce Development Policy, Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University, Boston, Prepared for the New England Regional Office, the Employment and Training Administration, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Boston, Massachusetts, October 2002.

http://www.nupr.neu.edu/1102/immigration.PDF..search='center%20for%20labor%20market%20studies%20at%20Northeastern%20University%20studies')


IMMIGRANTS DONT WANT TO LEARN ENGLISH OR BECOME AMERICANS

Within ten years of arrival, more than 75% of immigrants speak English well; moreover, demand for English classes at the adult level far exceeds supply. Greater than 33% of immigrants are naturalized citizens; given increased immigration in the 1990s, this figure will rise as more legal permanent residents become eligible for naturalization in the coming years. The number of immigrants naturalizing spiked sharply after two events: enactment of immigration and welfare reform laws in 1996, and the terrorist attacks in 2001.

(Source: American Immigration Lawyers Association, "Myths & Facts in the Immigration Debate", 8/14/03. http://www.aila.org/contentViewer.aspx?bc=17,142..section4)

(Source: Simon Romero and Janet Elder, "Hispanics in the US Report Optimism" New York Times, (Aug. 6, 2003).


TODAY'S IMMIGRANTS ARE DIFFERENT THAN THOSE 100 YEARS AGO

The percentage of the U.S. population that is foreign-born now stands at 11.5%; in the early 20th century it was approximately 15%. Similar to accusations about today's immigrants, those of 100 years ago initially often settled in mono-ethnic neighborhoods, spoke their native languages, and built up newspapers and businesses that catered to their fellow émigrés. They also experienced the same types of discrimination that today's immigrants face, and integrated within American culture at a similar rate. If we view history objectively, we remember that every new wave of immigrants has been met with suspicion and doubt and yet, ultimately, every past wave of immigrants has been vindicated and saluted.

(Source: Census Data: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/c2kprof00-us.pdf,http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/censr-4.pdf )


MOST IMMIGRANTS CROSS THE BORDER ILLEGALLY

Around 75% of today's immigrants have legal permanent (immigrant) visas; of the 25% that are undocumented, 40% overstayed temporary (non-immigrant) visas.

(Source: Department of Homeland Security (http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/index.htm)


WEAK US BORDER ENFORCEMENT HAS LEAD TO HIGH UNDOCUMENTAED IMMIGRATION

From 1986 to 1998, the Border Patrol's budget increased six-fold and the number of agents stationed on our southwest border doubled to 8,500. The Border Patrol also toughened its enforcement strategy, heavily fortifying typical urban entry points and pushing migrants into dangerous desert areas, in hopes of deterring crossings. Instead, the undocumented immigrant population doubled in that timeframe, to 8 million—despite the legalization of nearly 3 million immigrants after the enactment of the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986. Insufficient legal avenues for immigrants to enter the U.S., compared with the number of jobs in need of workers, has significantly contributed to this current conundrum.

(Source: Immigration and Naturalization website: http://www.ncjrs.org/ondcppubs/publications/enforce/border/ins_3.html)

THE WAR ON TERRORISM CAN BE WON WITH IMMIGRANT RESTRICTIONS

No security expert since September 11th, 2001 has said that restrictive immigration measures would have prevented the terrorist attacks—instead, the key is effective use of good intelligence. Most of the 9/11 hijackers were here on legal visas. Since 9/11, the myriad of measures targeting immigrants in the name of national security have netted no terrorism prosecutions. In fact, several of these measures could have the opposite effect and actually make us less safe, as targeted communities of immigrants are afraid to come forward with information.

(Source: Associated Press/Dow Jones Newswires, "US Senate Subcommittee Hears Immigration Testimony", Oct. 17, 2001.)

(Source: Cato Institute: "Don't Blame Immigrants for Terrorism", Daniel Griswold, Assoc. Director of Cato Institute's Center for Trade Policy Studies (see: http://www.cato.org/dailys/10-23-01.html)


information provided by: http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org

Mario Escobar has had his deportation hearing delayed twice.

Student’s fate depends on overburdened court

EUNICE KWON/daily bruin
Mario Escobar has had his deportation hearing delayed twice.

By Adam Foxman
DAILY BRUIN STAFF
afoxman@media.ucla.edu

As thousands across the nation took to the streets last Tuesday to protest legislation that would increase penalties against undocumented immigrants, Mario Escobar paced nervously in front of the Los Angeles Immigration Court on Olive Street.

He was waiting for a judge to either deport him to El Salvador, from which he fled following the country's civil war, or grant him political asylum.

Neither happened, as it turned out.

More than a year after Escobar's court date was delayed the first time, the fourth-year English and Spanish student's deportation hearing was pushed back for an additional six months.

Judge William Martin Jr. was prepared to hear the case Tuesday, and Escobar – with his wife, his psychologist and a friend in tow – had come to the courtroom expecting resolution in his bid for political asylum.

But the case was delayed because the counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not have his file.

Kristin Piepmeier, the U.S. government's counsel, told Martin she did not have Escobar's file because, though she had ordered it on March 17, it was accidently sent to the National Records Center in Missouri.

"I made a mistake," Piepmeier said, explaining that she expected the file to arrive "any day now."

The judge, visibly frustrated, expressed dismay at having to delay the case after setting aside plenty of time to hear the counsel's position as well as Escobar's defense and testimony from his psychologist.

He urged Escobar's lawyer to work toward an agreement with the counsel in order to more quickly settle the case, and he rescheduled the hearing for Sept. 13.

Escobar, who was in tears hours before the scheduled hearing, said the postponement made him want to scream.

"I'm still in the same predicament," he said. "All I want is for this nightmare to be over."

Escobar, who is an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, fled from his home country to the United States more than a decade ago. He is applying for political sanctuary based on the trauma he suffered during El Salvador's civil war.

His father and grandmother were killed in that conflict, which lasted from about 1979 to 1992. And as an 11-year-old near the end of the war, Escobar was kidnapped and held for almost a year by former members of the Salvadorian military.

Escobar's hearing was not the only one postponed Tuesday. An asylum hearing scheduled immediately before his was also pushed back for six months.

Delays are common in Los Angeles' immigration court, and with a steady increase in immigration cases nationwide in recent years, the situation appears unlikely to improve.

For Escobar, a delayed hearing means more months of anxiety, he said, explaining that his unresolved case is also impeding upon his efforts to become a professor.

During his time at UCLA, the 28-year-old student took early steps down that path. He gave a lecture at UC Santa Barbara on the difficulties Central Americans face in the United States, and spoke about Roque Dalton, a Salvadorian poet, at California State University, Northridge.

He is also scheduled to speak on April 7 at the Salvadorian Embassy in Washington, D.C., about a literary magazine he established as a forum for Central American issues.

But because of his status as an undocumented immigrant, he has had to turn down offers to speak in El Salvador and Canada, and he has had difficulty securing fellowships, he said.

Escobar is one of an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States at whom the Senate and the House are aiming controversial immigration-reform proposals.

The differences in the two proposals illustrate the deep ideological divide – in both Congress and the country at large – over issues of illegal immigration.

The Senate Judiciary Committee recently released a proposal that would give many current undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship and establish a guest-worker program.

In contrast, the House's bill, passed late last year, would increase penalties for illegal immigration and erect a 700-mile-long wall between the United States and Mexico.

Opponents of the Senate Judiciary Committee's proposal call it an amnesty for illegal immigrants. Critics of the more stringent bill passed by the House have said it is unnecessarily harsh, unenforceable and would split up many families who have undocumented members. Neither proposal is final, and as many of their provisions are in direct opposition, they are likely to see fierce debate in Congress before they can become law.

But either bill, if it goes into law as written, would likely have dramatic effects on the nation's immigration courts, which are already dealing with a growing number of cases.

Between 2004 and 2005, the country's immigration courts saw a 23 percent increase in the number of cases received nationwide, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice. The number of cases increased 31 percent from 2001 to 2005, from 282,396 to 368,848.

Los Angeles' court has 23 judges and received 17,182 cases in 2005.

The number in 2004 was 15,281.

And in these busy courts, delays caused by administrative mistakes – like the one Escobar experienced – are not uncommon, according to several immigration lawyers.

Armineh Ebrahimian, Escobar's lawyer, said delays of all types are common in Los Angeles' court.

And Joren Lyons, an attorney with the San Francisco-based Asian Law Caucus, said that though San Francisco's immigration court generally runs smoothly, cases are sometimes postponed because of missing or misplaced files.

If the House's bill becomes law, immigration courts could see an additional influx of cases.

The House bill, HR4437, includes a provision that would make it a felony to be an illegal resident of the United States, and would make providing assistance to illegal immigrants a felony as well.

Since the House bill seeks to crack down on illegal immigration it would, if passed, ramp up deportations and have a "severe impact on the dockets of the courts," Lyons said.

Lyons also said the path toward legalization opened by the Senate Judiciary Committee's proposal could lessen strain on immigration courts. But some facets of the proposal could increase pressure on the courts.

The Senate Judiciary Committee's proposal, for example, would allow for re-evaluations of undocumented immigrants' criminal records, which could lead to deportations based on past offenses, according to analysis of the proposal by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

This provision could increase deportations and lessen the discretion immigration judges can exercise, thereby increasing strain on the courts, Lyons said.