Rally in Northampton to Protest SB 1070

A rally in Northampton was one of many rallies across the country this past weekend. Thousands of people joined rallies in Phoenix against Arizona's immigration crackdown. Up to 20,000 protesters in the city centre demanded that the federal government refuse to co-operate with Arizona authorities trying to enforce the new law. Other opponents protested at state capitals in Texas and Oregon, and at the US embassy in Mexico City.

Tam Tran - Immigration Activist Dies

... a powerful immigrant story I heard at AFSC meeting last night in Providence. Share with others in the discussion if you wish. jane johnson

"If we all hold hands we can't fight."  
Fabian, age 6 - Brooklyn, NY

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Here is a brief piece on the deaths of Tam and Cynthia, young and powerful organizers at Brown for the DREAM act that I spoke of last night.  There is a memorial service at Brown today at 5pm.

Martha Yager
AFSC- SENE

______________________________

De: Kohei Ishihara
Enviado el: mié 5/19/2010 8:55
Asunto: R.I.P.

We are mourning the loss of a fellow Southeast Asian, an immigrant rights activist, and a Providence resident.

Our fellow Vietnamese sister Tam Tran died on Saturday, May 15, 2010, in a car crash in Maine.  She was on her way to Providence to attend the S.E.A. The Future conference.  Tam was an avid PrYSM supporter, and even recruited a few folks who did make there way to the conference, as it was the last thing that Tam asked them to do.  One of Tam's best friends, Cynthia Felix , also died in the car crash.  Cynthia was also undocumented, and she was also an immigrant rights activist at Brown.

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A wise man makes a connection between immigration and racism

Check out this article written by Desmond Tutu on the Arizona law on immigration.

submitted by Greg Williams and Judy Goldberger

NEYM Minutes on Immigration Issues

1986 – Aug. 16-21 - Minute 61-62, p. 35-37  Topic: Sanctuary for Central American refugees

In Minute 61 YM adopted minute forwarded by Vassalboro QM, asking for endorsement of Hartford MM minute concerning sanctuary for Central American refugees from political persecution. [Both VQM and Hartford minutes printed in full. Worth looking at.]  VQM asked that a new committee be set up, “charged with keeping New England Friends apprised of the plight of those people wherever they may be, and to take such means as are available to bring them aid and comfort, or, in the alternative, to direct the Peace and Social Concerns Committee to attend to that concern.”

Minute 62 In the above Minute, VQM has requested that the YM set up a Committee for Suffering of Central American Peoples. The YM Peace and Social Concerns Committee has during this week created a working party whose charge is as follows:

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Letter to the Boston Herald

Dear Boston Herald,

The passage of the discriminatory Senate Bill 1070 in Arizona seems to have emboldened attacks on immigrants in other parts of the country, including Massachusetts.  I am dismayed to hear of Jeffrey D. Perry's proposed amendment to the MA state budget that would require departments offering assistance to check the immigration status of applicants.  ("Pols Rally to Block Handouts for Illegals", April 27).

As a Quaker, I believe that we should "love our neighbors as ourselves".  Who are our neighbors, if not the struggling immigrant workers who do the jobs that few citizens would take?  Immigrants face enough hardship in their lives, without additional threats of deportation and denial of basic human services.

We should also remember that anyone living in this country who is not full-blooded Native American is a descendant of immigrants.  This should give some fresh perspective on the racist attacks against the latest newcomers.  "You too were strangers in the land of Egypt".

In a country that was (and is!) built by immigrants' labor, we need to offer newcomers a welcome that acknowledges their full dignity as human beings.

Massachusetts could be a leader in welcoming immigrants by not passing Perry's discriminatory budget amendment, supporting the DREAM Act (allowing immigrant youth access to higher education), acting to prevent racial profiling (such as the New Bedford raids of 2007), and supporting the rights of all workers.

Sincerely,
Katherine Fisher
Somerville

Civil disobedience new tactic in immigration reform fight

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/04/protesters-stop-van-of-deportees-headed-for-ohare.html

April 27, 2010 9:03 PM | 308 Comments | UPDATED STORY

Demonstrators sit in the street outside the federal detention center in Broadview this morning and chant "Illinois is not Arizona" as they plant themselves in front of a van carrying undocumented immigrants headed out of the country. (Alex Garcia/Tribune)

Chanting "Illinois is not Arizona," local activists escalated their push for immigration reform today by trying to block the deportation of illegal immigrants from a federal detention center in suburban Broadview, the first of what they vowed would be a campaign of civil disobedience.

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Imagine if the Tea Party was Black

From Ephphatha Poetry. Blogspot.com

Thursday, April 22, 2010

"Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise

Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure - the ones who are driving the action - we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins.

So let’s begin.

Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose.

Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. Would the protesters be seen as merely patriotic Americans voicing their opinions, or as an angry, potentially violent, and even insurrectionary mob? After all, this is what white Tea Party protesters did recently in Washington.

Imagine that a rap artist were to say, in reference to a white president: “He’s a piece of shit and I told him to suck on my machine gun.” Because that’s what rocker Ted Nugent said recently about President Obama.

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Racism as state policy...

I have finally gotten the New Path document up on the new AFSC website.  You can find it at http://afsc.org/document/new-path  .  It is a good document about where we want to go.  But as Greg so rightly points out, we need to deal with where we are, which is in a place where racism is once again not only permissible it is state policy.  RI has been dealing with a lesser version of the AZ situation with a governor’s executive order that authorized the state police to act as ICE agents (doing a small version of the AZ law by fiat instead of legislation), which has led to a sharp increase of racial profiling by the police and serious increased fear in many communities in the state.  The bill prohibiting racial profiling faces a steep uphill fight.  And the governor’s Executive Order gave permission to a whole new level of hate speech. There is a lot of work to do, and it isn’t just in AZ.  Any efforts that Friends can lend to the struggle would be most welcome.  In Peace  Martha

Martha Yager

AFSC- SENE



Quakers Cruzando Fronteras (Quakers Crossing Borders)

FCNL also has some good educational resources, including an initiative called "Breaking Bread and Barriers Potlucks." As Mary mentioned, she and Diego Low have been found clear by Friends Meeting at Cambridge to present to Friends on the issue and are a resource for us. I'm also at the beginning stages of planning a program of education, encounter, and worship for Friends that I'm calling "Quakers Cruzando Fronteras" (Quakers Crossing Borders).

In my experience, Quakers like books. They like studying an issue. That way we can feel we've done something but stay safe. It's much more powerful, and can be life-changing, to come face to face with immigrants and hear their stories. Even though I have a lot of experience on the ground working with immigrants and have read a lot, the two occasions that I've had to be face to face with workers from the Michael Bianco factory that was raided in New Bedford stand out for me still. A Boston filmmaker named Jenny Alexander made a short film about that raid, Detained, which Wellesley Meeting has screened and I've heard is pretty powerful. Immigrants are also recording their testimonies and posting them on the internet. At one point, FCNL was suggesting a longer film called Made In LA, which I've seen and I liked very much for portraying immigrant empowerment in the face of injustice.

I don't want to lose the thread that Greg raised up for us. The goal is not for us to become educated. The goal is for us to follow Spirit, who seeks the hands and hearts to help God realize Her reign of justice, peace, and love here on earth with all of our brothers and sisters. The education we need moves hearts and minds to God and God's work for us.

Love,
Judy

Christians at the Border...

One more thought for folks.  While there is need for an immediate voice in response to what has happened in AZ, there also is time for folks to become more informed on the issue.  One of the best things I have read for people of faith is a book by M. Daniel Carroll R. , Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church and the Bible.   Sojourners offers a six week study guide of the book as well.  I would encourage folks to consider a discussion group based on the book as one of the ways to help move more deeply into immigration work. 

Martha Yager
AFSC- SENE



Arizona Immigration Law Immoral

Friends   I am glad to see a response arising.  Below is the AFSC press release in response to the signing of the AZ bill on Friday.  It includes a brief summary of the components of immigration reform that we feel are needed.  You can find more information in our New Path document.  Unfortunately today seems to be the day they are shifting to a new web system so our web resources are limping.  Hopefully the immigration pages will be top priority.   There are Friends in NH, Western Mass and South East New England who have been working on these issues for some time.  Please feel free to call on us.  Thanks  Martha Yager  AFSC-SENE 

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Background on the political end...

-- On Sun, 4/25/10, no-reply@zcommunications.org <no-reply@zcommunications.org> wrote:

Print

Immigration Fight at the AZ Corral

April 24, 2010 By Greg Guma

Greg Guma's ZSpace Page / ZSpace

Note: Arizona Gov. Jan. Brewer has signed the toughest state immigration law yet. Here's how it happened and the larger context. -- GG

Arizona is in the grip of an anti-immigrant fever. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose popularity has been built on his tough enforcement tactics and willingness to defy the federal government, is on the edge of a run for governor. But even if he doesn't, the state has a controversial new law that requires police to determine the status of anyone if there is a "reasonable suspicion" they are in the US illegally - and arrest them if documents can't be produced. Hiring day laborers off the street has also become a crime. 

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Compilation of Minutes Passed

This is Judy's compilation of immigration minutes; I'm not sure if she's sent them to you yet. Mary

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Judy Goldberger
Date: Apr 14, 2:04 pm
Subject: Friends and Immigration
To: FCwIJ

Another Friend and I were e-mailing about meetings that have passed minutes on immigration. This is what I've turned up. Do you know of any others? There of course may be more - we tend not to post our minutes on the internet. Would it be helpful to post these somewhere?
Judy

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Responding to an Act of War!

So.....

I hear a few voices raising this concern.  For me I see the movement of one State, presenting 49 other states with  a sense of  being covered.  If a vocal negative fringe (even if they are a voting majority) can make this action in AZ appear normal, it is not..  We are in the midst of fighting a race based agenda,  This agenda is highly negative and being pushed hard!  Some years ago some of us asked that the question of being considered illegal be raised up. We asked that Quakers rise up and say NO! 

 

Based on our  rich history and spiritual notions, it would appear a perfect fit for a Religious Society of Friends!  But, we and so many other " good spiritual folk have failed to note the danger have failed to act. We failed to  deal with the use of the word "illegal" which treat families as non people, it is part of a propaganda of of hate that has led us to a War!

 

 It is a war waged on different fronts but it is one conflict.  It began a few years back when ICE raided Red Hook in Brooklyn, New York and uprooted individuals and families, as they continue to do today. I read a tiny article and let it pass by.  I was at work a few weeks later after Christmas break and noticed a student who looked like he was in shock. "I'm from Red Hook" he told me, " And one day these people came in and took away half my neighborhood." He talked about people he had known as a kid who disappeared...and the world caught up in Christmas joy was silent.

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Another resource

Dear Friends, I have been out of this loop, very focused on our meeting's support for a young Naval officer C. O. and various other work. Coming in late on this discussion, I just want to be sure someone has been in touch with Martha Yager re. all the AFSC-SENE work on immigration in the Providence area and her contacts nationally in the AFSC community. I don't see her name on this email string, but she would be interested and helpful: myager@afsc.org
jane johnson