Press Release
Immigrants Speak Out against Radical Detention and Enforcement Measures in Senate Bill amidst Marches and Pending Legislation
On April 3, 2006, immigrants facing deportation under the current laws, legal experts, and community leaders will speak against radically expanded deportation and detention provisions buried in the Senate proposal that is being widely hailed as a pro-immigration “legalization” bill.
While there are some good provisions in the Senate bill, including the ability of immigrant workers to adjust their status, it is fatally packed with egregious and unjust enforcement provisions that undercut the spirit and goals of real legalization. The bill, which was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 27, contains many of the same provisions of the enforcement-tilted bill that passed the House (H.R. 4437). These extreme provisions would effectively bar millions of people from even the chance to earn legalization, take away the right to a fair hearing, legalize the indefinite detention of noncitizens, allow domestic military bases to be used for immigration detention, and turn local police into immigration agents.
Current law on immigration enforcement is already very harsh. By giving more detention authority to immigration agents, this bill would undermine checks-and-balances in our immigration system and hurt our communities and families. A real comprehensive immigration bill that offers a just solution must strip these egregious provisions.
Former detainees, their families, asylees, and representatives of legal and community organizations will speak on Monday about the impact of these policies on our clients, our communities, our youth, and their families. A press kit will be provided. See below for more information on the actions taking place in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Boston, and New York City.
ALL CITY PRESS CONFERENCES TO BE HELD APRIL 3, 2006
New York City
Contact: Sarah Sohn, 212-714-2904 x23
Location: New York City Hall, Lower Manhattan on Murray St., between Broadway & Park Row, in the City Hall Park.
Time: 10 am EST
Speakers: Families for Freedom; Immigrant Defense Project; Immigration Equality; Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF); American Friends Service Committee, NJ (invited); Raquel Batista; City Council Members (invited); ACLU-NJ; Westchester Hispanic Coalition
Los Angeles
Contact: Will Coley, 213-864-7664
Location: Federal Building, 300 North Los Angeles Street, Downtown Los Angeles
Time: 10 am PST
Speakers: Homies Unidos; South Asian Network; Khmer Girls in Action; Members of the Enforcement Coalition (invited); National Immigration Law Center
Washington, DC
Contact: Brittney Nystrom, 202-331-3320 x20
Location: U.S. District Court for District of Columbia, (near the entrance by the park),
When: 1 pm EST
Speakers: CAIR Coalition; Professor Phil Schag of Georgetown University School of Law; Paromita Shah, National Immigration Project; Jason Dzubow, Practitioner; Meg Hobbins and Amna Arshad, American University-Washington College of Law students; CARECEN (invited); Ayuda, Inc. (invited); Human Rights First (invited)
Boston
Contact: Malik Ndaula, 617-227-9727 x8
Location: JFK Federal Building, Downtown Boston
Time: 12 pm EST
Speakers: Cindy Mark, Greater Boston Legal Services; Dan Kesselbrenner, National Immigration Project; Malik Ndaula, Keeping Hope Alive; Urszula Masny-Latos, National Lawyers Guild Massachusetts Chapter; Diego Low, Brazilian Immigrants Center (Worker’s Rights); Mario Davila, American Friends Service Committee
San Francisco
Contact: Angela Junck, 415-255-9499 x586
Location: Immigrant Legal Resource Center, 1663 Mission Street, Suite 602, San Francisco, CA
Time: 12:30 pm PST
Speakers: Angie Junck, ILRC; Judy Golub, ILRC; Holly Cooper, UC Davis Law School; Cesar Ternieden, attorney at law; former detainees
Chicago
Contact: Sarah Rose-Weinman, 312-660-1363
Location: Contact Sarah Rose-Weinman for location details
Time: 9:30 am CST
Speakers: Mary Meg McCarthy, Midwest Immigrants Human Rights Center (MIHRC); Jim Morsch, MIHRC pro bono attorney; George Sakwa, Asylee and former detainee; Carlina Tapia-Ruano, MIHRC pro bono attorney; Sen. Richard Durbin (invited); Sen. Barack Obama (invited); Mehrdad Azemun, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (invited)
Seattle
Contact: Shankar Narayan, 206-723-2203 x208
Location: Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, 615 2nd Avenue, Suite 400, Seattle, Washington
Time: 12 noon PST