March 8- International Women's Day in LA

Francisco Goldman on Democracy now

Click the link above for audio or link below for democracy now site with links to video and transcripts.

Guatemala’s Indigenous Countryside Drives Election Victory Over Atrocity-Linked General

Anti-Immigrant Rage Dehumanizes the Undocumented

New America Media, Commentary, Roberto Lovato, Posted: Nov 30, 2007

Editor's Note: The CNN/You Tube Debate earlier this week showed what a hot-button topic that immigration was -- with Republican candidates vying over who has the harshest measures concerning undocumented immigrants. But a closer look at the rising numbers of hate crimes reported against immigrants shows the deadly effects of anti-immigrant rhetoric, writes NAM contributor Roberto Lovato.

The focus of this week’s Republican debate on immigration makes one thing clear: We have entered the age of selective humanity. In other words, some humans are more human than others. Nowhere in the debate talk of “illegal aliens” and “sanctuary mansions” or who or what is “American” was there any notion that the undocumented were humans.

As a result, much of the “debate” around immigration has been and continues to be defined by the rage of the anti-immigrant right, a right that champions and humanizes those that shoot and jail migrants instead of focusing on the migrants themselves – who are stripped of anything beyond the parasitic, criminal image that makes for “fiery” television head-butting. Such a climate does not look at the violence and abuse suffered by migrants. It does not ascribe humanity to them.

The media of just one week yields many examples of how undocumented immigrants suffer through things that no politician or pundit is talking about. For example, the Arizona Republic reported this week about a dramatic rise in the number of undocumented who are kidnapped at gunpoint, held for ransom, tortured and even killed; an analysis of the FBI hate crime statistics by the Southern Poverty Law Center found an estimated 35 percent increase in hate crimes against those perceived to be undocumented including cases like that of a Cuban man killed at an improvised roadblock and that of man sodomized with a patio umbrella pole; in Greensboro, Ga., last week, Police Officer Brent Gulley was caught stealing cash from Latinos pulled over for numerous alleged offenses while in Tucson another undocumented man was shot by authorities under questionable circumstances; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Broward county is investigating an immigration agent who was transporting a 39-year-old mother for deportation to Jamaica and allegedly raped her in his home in what authorities say is the second such incident in the past month.

And to no one’s surprise, Lou Dobbs and the anti-migrant echo chamber exercised their right to selective humanity and regularly and completely ignore these stories and, instead, focus on faux-hero stories like that of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. Ramos and Compean became a cause celebre of the anti-immigrant set after being convicted for firing 15 bullets at a suspected drug dealer and then trying to cover up the evidence. Those who watch Dobbs' show are saturated with weekly reports about the families of Ramos and Compean and other humanizing stories. These same viewers – and most Americans – haven't an inkling of the deepening abyss of violence and hate aimed at immigrants.

It's no coincidence that such incidents come in a climate of increasing racial and economic tension as seen, for example, in the current rise in hate crimes. Sadly, crimes against immigrants go largely unreported not only because of the fear in the immigrant community. As the former president of the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission, I learned that migration status is not included as a category in most hate crime data-gathering and statistics. So, while the FBI report is helpful, it likely captures little of the official and un-official crimes against those vilified daily on CNN news and debates and in state legislatures.

Some of us are old enough to remember when the politics of selective humanity around immigration started back in the 90s, when the contemporary politics of immigration were first shaped in California. At that time, many Democrats and their allies pointed to polls showing that “moral arguments around immigration don't work with the voters.” In other words, pollsters were telling them that humanity and humanizing the issue wouldn't win elections against the immigration wedge-deploying Republicans. Today, we've reached a point in which, not only are “moral” or “humane” immigration policies taboo, but one in which even Democrats like Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) are co-sponsoring punitive, enforcement only policies like the SAVE Act (Secure America through Verification Enforcement). Some of the same Democratic politicos, pollsters and strategists who told us that “moral arguments around immigration don't work with the voters” are economically richer and more politically powerful. Until both parties recognize the humanity of immigrants, the barrage of horrific stories about crimes directed at this population will continue.

Maya-Kaqchiquel Poet and Indigenous Right Advocate

please let pass information of this great event to
others!

A Celebration: Envisioning the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (part I)

Maya-Kaqchiquel
Poet and Indigenous Right Advocate

Calixta Gabriel Xiquin

Location:

Whitsett Room,
Sierra Hall, Room 451

Date:
Wednesday,
October 31

Time: Noon-2:00pm

Calixta Gabriel Xiquín was born in the state of
Chimaltenango and speaks Maya Kaqchikel. She fled to
the United States after three of her brothers were
kidnapped and murdered, and she stayed in the United
States from 1981 to 1988. She has an undergraduate
degree in Social Work from the University of Rafael
Landívar and has published her poetry in many
anthologies in Guatemala. Her first book of poems was
entitled Hueso de la tierra and was published in 1996.

The poetry included here is from her collection
Tejiendo los sucesos en el tiempo/Weaving Events in
Time, with English translation by Susan G. Rascón and
Suzanne M. Strugalla. It was published in 2002 by Yax
te' Foundation and its first printing sold out in
Guatemala.

Sponsored by: College of Humanities Academic
Programming, Central American Studies Program,
Chicana/o Studies Department, CASAS, CAUSA, Associated
Students, and Colectivo Contacto Ancestral.


Alicia Ivonne Estrada, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Central American Studies Program
California State University, Northridge

18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8246

Phone: (818) 677-2736
Fax: (818) 677-7578

Writing Central American Poets into History

Celebrando los antepasados y el futuro!


Desde el EPICENTRO
Spoken Word Poetry with EPICENTRO POETS
Thursday NOV 1, 2007
11am-1pm
Multicultural Center (near bookstore across from Psychology building)
@ CSU Long Beach

featuring:
Hugo Nelson Chavez, Maya Chinchilla, Mario Escobar, Jessica Grande,
GusTavo Guerra Vásquez, Karina Oliva-Alvarado
and special guests

* donations accepted for upcoming anthology*

For more information:
Karina (626) 340-6970 or
Jayne Howell (562) 985-5192 jhowell AT csulb DOT edu

*Park in Lot 17 in meters or buy a parking permit at the visitor parking booth*

Sponsored by the program in Latin American Studies,
Department of Chicano/Latino Studies and Department of Sociology

Quique Aviles

heard about this poet when I was in DC where salvadorans are the dominant Latino group...yup you heard what I said...



El Salvador at-a-glance
By Quique Aviles

El Salvador at-a-glance

Area: the size of Massachusetts

Population: Not much left

Language: War, blood, broken English, Spanish

Customs: Survival, dance, birthday parties, funerals

Major exports: Coffee, sugar, city builders, busboys, waiters, poets


El Salvador
little question mark
midget with a gun in his hand
belly button of the world

The only country in the world
know for eating its national flower

Little question mark that begins to itch

You were supposed to clean carpets
not ask for time out and dialogue

You were supposed to follow instructions
given in the English language
not go to the garden and write a song

It has been said that pain has the ability to travel

El Salvador’s major cities:
San Salvador
San Miguel
Santa Ana
Los Angeles
San Wachinton, DC

It has been said that pain does not know how to
pose for a green card picture

It has been said that truth has the ability to happen
in the strangest moments
in the strangest cities
under the strangest circumstances

El Salvador in Wachinton
little question mark
little east of the border
migrant earthquake
wet back volcano
banana eating
tortilla making
mustache holder
funny dressing

forever happy
forever sad
forever Wachintonian Salvadorean.

Cyber Chapina Travels

New blogs posted
http://chapinaone.blogspot.com/

Evo Morales on the Daily Show!

Central American Cacus @ Latino Congresso

THE NATIONAL LATINO CONGRESO 2007
"THE POLITICS AND POLICY CONVENTION OF THE LATINO COMMUNITY"

October 5th-9th, 2007
Los Angeles, California
Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown
www.latinocongreso.org
1-888-222-4413

Dear Colleagues,

Greetings- Many of you all participated in last years National Latino Congreso and were present at the “Central Americans in the US and Central America: A Status Report Workshop.” Last year, it was resolved that Central American community members would use the National Latino Congreso to further discuss issues relevant to our community at future Congreso meetings. We hope to build on last year’s gathering by engaging distinct sectors of the Central American community in developing plans related to our community for public policy, advocacy, legislative and electoral strategies for the next year. We invite you to participate in this important day of discussion. Please note: in order to submit resolutions, your organization must be a Convener, Co-Convener, or a registered organization. (Resolutions deadline this Friday September 28th).

The National Latino Congreso 2007 will have a Central American Caucus on Saturday October 6th, at 8am. at the Downtown Sheraton in Los Angeles, CA. We are still seeking Sponsors for the Caucus, so if your organization is interested please contact me at the info below.
Please take a moment to check out our website www.latinocongreso. org. I invite you to endorse and register! Please join us in downtown Los Angeles for this important event.

Sincerely,

Miguel Perla
Coordinator, National Latino Congreso 2007
2914 N. Main Street, 1st Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90031
Phone: (323) 222-2217
Fax: (323) 222-2011
Cell: 415-279-9759
mperla@wcvi. org
www.latinocongreso. org

Of organized truth, the Jena6, and immigrant rights

From Echolandia and Youth Media Council:

Published on: September 22, 2007
Published by: karlos schmieder

We've been kicking around a quote at the YMC office since the POWER 10th Anniversary, em(Power)ed. Minister Christopher Mohamed, the keynote, came real.

He said, "Truth is essential, but it is, of itself, insufficient. Because disorganized truth can be overcome by an organized lie.”

I mean, he said a bunch of other deep shit.

This quote really struck a cord at YMC.

I thought a lot about it as I watched the Jena 6 coverage on CNN.

I have to say, the demonstration was beautiful. I wish I had gotten it together to get there.

Yet I heard CNN anchors gush all day that it was "the biggest civil rights demonstration in a generation."

Just so we're clear. The Jena6 demos WERE NOT the biggest civil rights demonstrations in a generation. The biggest were, of course, the May 1st marches for the civil rights of immigrants the past couple of years.

Now, the question isn't which were bigger. The question is how we connect these movements.

Race and civil rights are once again becoming central to the political debate in the United States. Unequal justice is a familiar theme.

Whether it's the immigration debate, Katrina, Jena6, education, health care...whatever.

And we've seen these major diverse and different gatherings of marginalized peoples.

* The May 1st demonstrations
* The United States Social Forum, and all the regional forums leading into it
* Jena 6

Yet none have truly been connected. Yes, there's been an effort. It's not as if people aren't doing stuff. The US Social Forum was an attempt at that, no doubt. There are folks connecting as a result. The Jena6 could've been helped by the forum happening in the South. But to say these movements are truly connected, or even "organized" in the traditional sense, would be foolish. (There's this viral thing to the way these events have manifested that we haven't figured out yet either.)

Folks have pointed out that it would have been great to see the crowds in Jena be more diverse. Same could be said for the May 1st demos.

And this just ain't a black/brown thing. It's about the inequalities and lack of opportunities for all our communities. It's about poor and working white folks and Native Americans too. It's about our Filipino sisters and brothers. It's about all of us. Civil and human rights at the center of the debate in this country is an opportunity to connect our movements, struggles and, yes, victories.

At the em(Power)ed event, Minister Mohamed quoted Frederick Douglas and Louis Farrakhan. "Power concedes nothing without demand," was the quote from Douglas. Mohamed pointed out that Farrakhan said power doesn't concede demand with out more power to back up that demand.
So that's my question. How do we organize our truth and power into collective demands that benefit us all? How do we really become a movement? Ok two questions...and even more than that.

Anuncio de I Congreso de Estudios Culturales Centroamericanos

Desde El Epicentro

"An Anthology of U.S. Central American Poetry and Art"
Introduction to forthcoming book:

This anthology is about creating a home for those who have lost their home, who were taken from their home, who had it stolen, who decided it was time to leave and for those who carry their home in their heart and need a place to rest. It is about recovering, documenting and making our own histories and demanding their rightful place among cultural, political and literary movements. We give our testimony to resurrect memory, inspire action, to laugh loudly and to heal old wounds.

We are often asked why we want to distinguish ourselves as Central Americans. Why not just join in or blend into other cultural and political movements that have more established visibility and community support? Many of us are a part of community spaces where we work as a part of or in solidarity with communities of color, queer folks, immigrants, and educators. But we feel the need to create a space for our own U.S. Central American voices, which are still rarely heard. Ours are the voices that many of us wish we had heard more of growing up so we didn't feel so alone and invisible in our multicultural/multi-lingual realities.

This book also comes from finding solidarity and a home in the group EpiCentroAmerica that has since found its home in cyberspace. Founded in 2000 by Raquel Gutierrez and Marlon Morales, the group Epicentro or EpiCentroAmerica doesn't exist as it once did; meeting to workshop writings, organize events and perform as a collective. But our vital passion for doing creative work, the need to hear each other's voices and the desire to inspire new voices remains.

This anthology, an often talked about dream in Epicentro, is my contribution to cultivation of new spaces for Central American voices, the kind of voices that we have always wanted to hear; the conscious and empowered voices of compañeras/os who are immigrants, workers, students, mothers, fathers, children of borderlands and solidarity movements.

I hope you are moved to support this book and later published versions. The book will fulfill its goal if you find what you are looking for in it or if it inspires you to create what you want to see in the world.

Maya Chinchilla
Co-editora

Central American-American Studies Reader

Central American-American Studies Reader. Comparative and interdisciplinary papers sought for forthcoming anthology, to be edited by Arturo Arias and Claudia Milian, on cultural productions and representations of Central American-Americans in U.S. popular culture and/or mappings of U.S. Latinidad. Areas of exploration include:The relationship between Chicano, Latino, and Central American-American identities; Central American-American contributions to Latinidad; literary and media depictions of Central American migrations, cultural adaptation, and inter-ethnic relations; revolution and civil war as markers of Central American-American subjectivities; alienation in the U.S. metropolis and marginalization in U.S. Latino communities; Central American-Americans and the Mexico-Guatemala and U.S.-Mexico borderlands; cultural treatments of the trafficking of Central American labor in sexual and domestic industries; Central American-American re-indigenization of the U.S. landscape. Se nd 20-page, double-spaced papers, including references, by December 2007 to: Claudia Milian, Duke University, 205 Language Center, Box 90257, Durham, NC 27708-0257 and/or Arturo Arias at arturo_arias AT mail.utexas. edu.
Claudia Milian
Duke University
205 Language Center
Box 90257
Durham, NC 27708-0257
Email: claudia.milian AT duke.edu

HIGHWAYS' 3RD ANNUAL:Latino Works Festival

From Jessica Grande:
Please come out and support this saturday....I will be dancing with Erika Elizondo and other marvelous people...
Highways Performance Space and Gallery
@ the 18th Street Arts Center
1651 18th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90404

Show Information
(310) 315-1459


Saturday, September 15 @ 8:30pm
A globe-trotting blend of dance and music featuring:

Erika Elizondo performing a collaborative piece with members of the dance companies L'Esprit D'Afrique, PAWS, and El Tambor. This work is an exploration into the energy of Ochun as a vessel of divine rhythm. Ochun is the Yoruban-derived, Afro-Cuban deity associated with sensuality, sweetness, fluidity and fertility. Elizando translates the deities sacred, ceremonial movement into its contemporary manifestations in the rhythms of Iyesa and rumba.

The Blankenship Ballet Company of Venice and Artistic Director Bertha Suarez Blankenship present two new works: "Liberdad!," featuring the world premiere of the new dance form "Capobale" (the blending of the Brazilian Martial Art for Capoeira with the Cuban Ballet Arts, resulting in a synergistic combustion of new work), featuring performance and music by Gustavo Calvas + choreography by Blankenship + Kimberly Mullen. Also feratured is "Metamorphosis," an abstract depiction of the evolution and metamorphosis of man and life, choreographed by Blankenship and Ramon Ramos Alayo after Narciso Medina.

The ABC Project combines the sacred and secular dance practices of Afro-Brazilian/Cuban performing arts in the new collaborative work "Yla � Divine Mortals," which explores the mortal conflict in achieving immortality through divine intervention. The work climaxes with a celebration of life in the experimental form of Samba Reggae, a Brazilian Carnavale dance. Choreographed by Kimberly Mullen, Dani Lunn, and Gustavo Caldas.

The Saturday night after-party is a Tribute to Celia Cruz, with her music played deep into the night. Featured will be music by Eddie Resto's Grupo Mundillo and Super DJ Ralph Montero ; vintage videos of "The Queen of Salsa"; and Celia Cruz impersonator Nahomy and her Divas. Come dip into our azucar-drenched mojitos (Cuba's National Drink), relax, and dance off the week. This event is hosted by Salsa*Arte* Sabor, an events producer whose mission is to host inclusive gay and lesbian Latin dance, art, and cultural events.

Globalization and the Fight for Central America

Globalization and the Fight for Central America:
Costa Rica Inc. and Beyond
(un evento bilingüe)

Saturday, September 15 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Guest speaker from Costa Rica:
Fabián Pacheco Rodriguez
The President of FECON & the son of former Costa Rican
President Abel Pacheco

Event Location:
The Women's Building
3543 18th St. (between Valencia and Guerrero)
San Francisco

Cost:
Requested donation of $5.00
(everyone is welcome--no one turned away for lack of funds)

Globalize This! in conjunction with the Costa Rican Federation for the
Conservation of the Environment (FECON), will be hosting a special
event, co-sponsored by CISPES, which will look at the consequences of
free trade agreements on the Americas with a focus on Central America,
specifically Costa Rica. We will review contemporary struggles of
peoples
across the American continents against the ratification of the Central
America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

Fabián will be discussing FECON's involvement in Bloque Verde and the
Costa Rican movement to defeat CAFTA in the upcoming referendum on
October 7, 2007. Fabián will be coming to us direct from Costa Rica
and
fresh off the front lines of this historic vote, which is the first
time
that any population has had the opportunity to vote on a free trade
agreement.

The event will include a screening of segments of two documentaries,
"Fourth World War" and "Costa Rica Inc," and will include a
discussion of strategies for people in the U.S. to work in solidarity
with our comadres and compadres in Central America.

For more information, contact us at: info@globalizethissf.org.


www.globalizethissf.org

***************************

Globalización y la lucha por Centroamérica:
Costa Rica S.A. y los Demás

Sábado, 15 de septiembre de 2pm a 4pm

Orador especial de Costa Rica:
Fabián Pacheco Rodriguez
Actual presidente de FECON e hijo del ex-presidente de Costa
Rica, Dr. Abel Pacheco de la Espriella

Sitio del Evento:
El Edificio de las Mujeres (The Women's Building)
3543 18th St. (entre Valencia y Guerrero)
San Franscisco

Donaciones:
Se solicita una donación de $5 a la entrada pero no es obligatoria
para
participar

Globalize This!, en conjunto con la Federación Costarricense para la
Conservación del Ambiente (FECON), serán los anfitriones de este
evento
especial, con el fin de ver las consecuencias de los Tratados de libre
Comercio en las Américas, con un enfoque en Centroamérica, y Costa
Rica
en específico. Vamos a exponer las luchas contemporáneas de los
pueblos
del continente americano, en contra de la ratificación del Tratado de
Libre Comercio EE.UU., Centroamérica y República Dominicana.

Tendremos la presencia del Sr. Fabián Pacheco Rodriguez, orador
invitado,
actual presidente de FECON, e hijo del expresidente de Costa Rica, Dr.
Abel Pacheco de la Espriella.

Fabián discutirá la participación de FECON en el Bloque Verde, y el
movimiento costarricense para rechazar el TLC- EE.UU. en el referendo
del 7 de octubre de 2007. Fabián llegará directo desde Costa Rica,
donde
ha estado en el frente de lucha de esta votación histórica, la cual,
representa la primera vez en que un país, tenga la oportunidad de
votar
y decidir sobre un tratado de libre comercio.

El evento incluirá la proyección de algunos segmentos de dos
documentales: "Fourth World War" y "Costa Rica S.A." . Seguidamente,
se realizará la charla y discusión de estrategias para que la gente
de
los Estados Unidos, pueda trabajar en solidaridad con nuestros hermanos
en Centroamérica.

Para más información, contáctenos por email:
info@globalizethissf.org.

www.globalizethissf.org

Guatemala electing new president

Article from BBC News:

The presidential vote is expected to go to second round
Guatemalans are voting in presidential and parliamentary elections after one of the bloodiest campaigns in the country's history.

More than 50 candidates, activists and their relatives have been murdered in the run-up to the elections.

The two main presidential contenders are Alvaro Colom, a centre-left businessman, and a former general, Otto Perez Molina.

They have vowed to fight crime and reduce poverty.

Mr Colom, who is running for the presidency for the third time in a row, has promised to overhaul the security forces and the judicial system, which many criticise for being slow, corrupt and inefficient.

Otto Perez Molina of the Patriotic Party addresses supporters
Otto Perez Molina says he will bring back the death penalty
Mr Perez Molina has pledged to increase the size of the police force by 50% and revive the death penalty.

Of the 14 presidential candidates, Nobel laureate Rigoberta Menchu is the best-known internationally, but she trails far behind the front-runners.

Alejandro Giammattei, from President Oscar Berger's party, is also trailing in the polls.

None of the candidates is expected to win the 50% support needed to win outright, and a second round run-off is expected on 4 November.

(click link for more)

Mestiza Academic

Check out this educated salvi powerhouse and her blog:

Mestiza Academic

Epicentro Anthology

Special K and I are working hard on editing the first copy of our anthology of Central American Poets of the diaspora. It will feature poetic works from Jessica Grande, Leyda Garcia, Leisy Abrego, Marlon Morales, Gustavo Guerra Vasquez, Karina Oliva Alvarado, Maya Chinchilla, Johnny Chavarria, Janssen Chavaria, Anayvette Martinez, Ana Miranda, Mario Escobar. The final book project will take time to raise money but in the meantime a chap book version will be availible and events will follow. Its been a long time coming and it is beautiful to finally see this project come together after so many years. I hope it will be an inspiration to all the folks both young and old who need to see themselves represented on the page with the powerful stories it will contain and also lead to other projects. SALU!

Deportation Devastating Families

Source: The Associated Press
Author: SUZANNE GAMBOA
Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 7/18/2007 8:55 am - WASHINGTON -- An estimated 1.6 million children and spouses have been separated from family members forced to leave the country under toughened 1996 immigration laws, a human rights group said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON -- An estimated 1.6 million children and spouses have been separated from family members forced to leave the country under toughened 1996 immigration laws, a human rights group said Wednesday.


The separations have taken a toll on families who have sold homes, lost jobs, lost businesses or been thrown into financial turmoil, Human Rights Watch said in a new report.


The widespread impact on American families has been truly devastating, said Alison Parker, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch.


In 1996, Congress toughened immigration laws making immigrants, legal and illegal, deportable according to an expanded list of "aggravated felonies."


Congress made the law retroactive even to those who had served their sentences, and also eliminated hearings in which judges could consider an immigrant's family, community roots, military service or possible persecution in his or her native country.


Since this law was passed, 672,593 immigrants have been deported for crimes, according to statistics cited in the report from Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Homeland Security Department. Human Rights Watch used those numbers and Census data on foreign-born households to estimate how many family members were left behind in the U.S.


According to statistics from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (or ICE), 64.6 percent of immigrants deported in 2005 had been convicted of nonviolent offenses. An additional 20.9 percent were deported for crimes involving violence against people, and 14.7 percent were deported for "other" crimes.

ICE has not released similar statistics for previous years.

"How do you explain to a child that her father has been sent thousands of miles away and can never come home simply because he forged a check?" Parker said.

The statistics don't show the full picture, said Kelly Nantel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman. "A non-violent offense like drugs can contribute to violence of society."

Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement immigrants who violate the law forfeit their right to be in the U.S.

Steve Camorata, Center for Immigration Studies research director, said family members can leave with the deported immigrants. "Children constantly bear the consequences of their parents' poor decisions," he added.

Chiara, who did not want her last name used, said she and her two children tried to live where her husband was deported on a six-year-old misdemeanor domestic violence conviction. He served three days.

"We became homeless for quite a while. I was out of work when they deported him because I needed back surgery," said Chiara, who is a waitress.

Two immigrants ordered deported, Wayne Smith and Hugo Armendariz, have filed a complaint against the U.S. government with the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights. A hearing is scheduled Friday.

The commission enforces human rights treaties that apply in the Americas.


___


On the Net: Human Rights Watch report: http://hrw.org/reports/2007/us0707/

Immigration law trumps love

Aug. 19, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Immigration law trumps love

When U.S. citizens marry illegal immigrants, someone gets left out

By LYNNETTE CURTIS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Isaias Sosa, a U.S. citizen, holds his daughter, 4-year-old Aliyah, and a photo that includes his wife Nancy at his Las Vegas home. Nancy is living in Mexico after being barred from re-entering the United States for a decade because she had lived in the country illegally.
Photo by John Locher.

When Isaias Sosa first met the woman who would become his wife, he didn't think to ask about her immigration status.

Instead, he thought about how pretty her eyes were.

"They're tiny, like our daughter's are now," he said recently while looking at a photo of Nancy Sosa at his east Las Vegas home. "When she laughs, they kind of disappear."

When Sosa found out, months later, that Nancy was living illegally in the United States, he was already head over heels. It wouldn't have mattered, anyway. "For me, love doesn't matter what situation you're in," he said.

But the Sosas soon realized that love doesn't trump U.S. immigration laws.

The couple, who married five years ago, are now living nearly 2,000 miles apart because of those laws. Their 4-year-old daughter, Aliyah, is sometimes handed off between parents just south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

And, like many other families of mixed-immigration status who are in similar situations, the Sosas' future together is uncertain.

"It's been really, really hard. We don't want to be apart," Sosa, 24, said not long before his latest trip with Aliyah to Tijuana, where they were scheduled to meet Nancy, also 24.

But Sosa doesn't see much choice.

In 2006, Nancy was officially barred from re-entering the United States for a decade. If she does come back and is caught, she could be deported and never be able to legally re-enter the country.

She and Sosa, a U.S. citizen, had decided she should get legal status for the sake of their daughter, also a U.S. citizen.

"A lawyer told us she had to leave or could be deported," Sosa said. "We decided she should leave on her own. It would be better to do it now than later."

The couple believed since they were married and had a daughter together, Nancy would be able to come back to Las Vegas soon enough.

So in 2005, Nancy, who had been brought by her parents to the United States as a teenager, moved back to her central Mexican hometown of Toluca.

Sosa sometimes regrets they tried to make things right. "We didn't think this would happen," he said. "We were trying to do something good, but it's just been a whole lot of bad."

Current immigration law requires a person to make a lawful entry into the United States in order to adjust to legal permanent resident status.

Someone who entered the United States illegally would have to leave the country and then come back.

The problem Nancy and others encounter is they are barred from re-entering the United States for certain lengths of time because they lived illegally in the country.

It doesn't matter whether the person is married to a U.S. citizen, has American children, or has lived in the United States for years.

Those who stayed in the United States illegally for less than a year can be barred from re-entering for three years. Those who stayed more than a year can be barred for 10.

It wasn't always that way. At one time, those who had entered the country illegally but could come up with a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident "sponsor" -- a spouse, family member or employer -- could pay a fine and get legal status. But that option only applied to those who filed for legal status before April 2001.

There are a few exceptions to the "really complicated" immigration laws that bar certain people from re-entering the United States, said Marie Sebrechts, a spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services.

If someone can prove their absence from the United States will result in "extreme hardship" for a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, such as a spouse, parent or child, they could be granted a waiver though a U.S. consulate in Mexico.

The waivers are given on a case-by-case basis, Sebrechts said. She wouldn't give an example of who might qualify for a waiver.

Immigration attorneys say the waivers have become harder and harder to get in recent years. They're not sure why, but some attribute the difficulty to growing anti-illegal immigrant sentiment in the United States.

Some say applying for such waivers is akin to playing "Mexican roulette."

"But it really could be any country," said attorney Vicenta Montoya. "They (the waivers) are not being granted or are being granted arbitrarily."

Immigration attorneys say the odds of being granted a hardship waiver are best if applicants can prove they need to be in the United States to care for a seriously ill American citizen spouse or relative. But even that isn't guaranteed.

"It depends on who (which immigration official) you see on that particular day," Montoya said. "It depends on whether you get a harsh person or an easy person."

Since 2001, "thousands upon tens of thousands of people have no mechanism" to get legal status, said Jerry Stuchiner, an immigration attorney.

Stuchiner has gone so far as to recommend that his clients remain in the United States, even illegally, rather than risk being barred from returning.

"Most choose to go, against my better judgment, because they don't want to be illegal," he said.

Montoya said the arbitrariness with which waivers are granted leaves her with no clear way to tell whether clients might be granted a waiver or might instead be exiled outside the United States for up to 10 years.

"You are talking about families who are being separated," Montoya said. "We're talking about U.S. citizens who are directly impacted. Citizens who can't understand why they have to be separated" from their loved ones.

Montoya is trying to help those who are in similar situations by lobbying for a change in the law. She's hoping to persuade lawmakers to amend a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act to renew the previous option of allowing those who are illegally in the country and who have a sponsor to pay a fine to adjust their status.

Montoya has contacted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and other legislators about the issue.

Reid is supportive of Montoya's idea, said his spokesman, Jon Summers.

"He's supportive of any legislation that fixes our broken immigration system and brings 12 million people out of the shadows," Summers said.

Despite ongoing, tense national immigration reform debates, Montoya thinks she has a good chance of eventually getting the law changed.

"They just need to move it to the present time," she said. "This could have an effect on a million people who are relatives of citizens and who are really afraid of going to their home countries."

It's a hope Isaias Sosa shares. His wife applied for a waiver at the U.S. consulate in Juarez, Mexico, in late 2005, with the idea that being separated from her and their daughter equated to an "extreme hardship" for Sosa. Nine months later, she was told her waiver had been denied, and that she was not allowed to re-enter the United States for 10 years.

Through an attorney, the couple is appealing that decision.

In the meantime, whenever he has enough money and time off from his job as a bellman in a local casino, Sosa is able to spend a week or two with his wife and daughter in Mexico.

He has managed to see his wife about every six months and send $600 a month to support her and Aliyah. Meanwhile, he worries.

"Mexico's not safe," he said. "Every day I'm wondering whether they are OK. It scares me."

Sosa also worries that immigration reform might make things even harder for his family.

"As I watch that stuff on the news, it scares me. It could ruin everything for us."

He says Aliyah also is having a difficult time with the separation.

"She's always crying for her mom when she's here and for me when she's there," he said. "I don't think it's good for her."

When asked whether he and Nancy ever thought about her returning to the United States illegally, he nods.

"It drives a lot of people to do things illegally, because it's separating families."

Sosa hasn't accepted the idea that Nancy may be stuck in Mexico for years.

If that does happen, he'll consider moving there. But, he said, it would be difficult to support his family in Mexico.

The possibility is something he never imagined he'd face.

"My wife is a good person, and we're trying to be a family. I never thought dealing with immigration laws would be part of my life."