Be the first on your block to sport one of our stylish new Sanctuary badges, designed by XOLAGRAFIK.
With two different slogans available, in three tasty color schemes, even the most discerning blogger should find a Sanctuary badge just right for their little patch of Blogtopia™
Here's just a little taste of what we're talking about:
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I'M VERY SORRY TO SAY that Brisenia Flores and her father Raul are dead. That's her on the left. The Flores familia was sleeping when anti-immigrant crusaders busted down their door and invaded their home, ICE-style, before shooting the father and daughter to death.
In Sheriff Joe Arpaio's world, justice is trampled every day. Now, if you are an immigrant detainee, you could find yourself marching in chains to segregated "Tent Cities" in the Arizona desert, surrounded by electric fencing.
Well, together with the House Judiciary Committee and a wide range of organizations, we're shouting, "Not so fast!" People from all across the country are speaking out against Arpaio's blatant civil and human rights violations.
Here's the great news: along with our friends at United Farm Workers, the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, NDLON, and more, we have already collected 8,000 petition signatures for Attorney General Eric Holder, demanding an investigation into Joe's horrific tactics. Only 2,000 signatures are left to reach the goal of 10,000 by the first week of March.
Watch a brand-new video about Sheriff Joe, sign the petition, and forward to your friends and family now:
Thought I'd take a crack at articulating what draws me, an incredibly overeducated, cynical (lately), pro-union, anti-globalization, chronically-ill (R.A.), hitched to the enemy (old white guy) Tejana academic into the fray of immigration and politics.
Well, I do have a blog (see profile) which I am just getting back to after the hysteria of the Messiah being elected (can ANYONE live up to the expectations people have of the president elect, bless him?). The whole sick mania of how the election campaigning went down jaded me intensely, and no, I wasn't really excited about either candidate. I admit to the fact I would have rather chopped off a hand than vote Red, but I did not vote Blue. I voted for something I could honestly believe in (so of course, I did Nader/ Gonzales!). I was in IL when BO was running for senator, and Jack Ryan's wife accused Ryan of abusing her, then he dropped out, they brought in Alan Keyes... BO wasn't going to be elected, but you know Chicago politics. So I'm not a True Believer (tm). I wish him the best, but I do not have illusions that the world will change overnight.
More importantly, I don't believe that by ignoring the past due to a biracial man being elected is going to be helpful. We have such a pained racist history, and it's multicolored. When I was small, probably about 7 or 8, I distinclty rememebring seeing in a Dairy Queen in TX a "No Dogs, No Mexicans" sign as our six member family ate in our Sunday best.
I get furious when people try to pooh-pooh this history, as the blood of some of my ancestors was spilt by their for something as cavalier as land. That lynching was a spectator sport should be acknowledged,and we should be forced to have a national dicussion and not lie to ourselves about whose backs we stand on, "documented" and
"undocumented", slave, servant, peasant, farmworker, laborers of all kinds.
This is why building bridges IS important, but we build them knowing others are trying to blow them up because the status quo is too tempting to remain. And I also want my people, La Raza, to get up, organized, and moving! If we can do it-- then let's do it! Time to stop holding hat in hand and hope for the best. We have always been survivors-- not victims. Andale Raza!
Having passed some of the harshest anti-immigrant legislation in the nation, Arizona legislators, faced with a mass exodus of essential workers and pressure from business interests, are talking about reversing their previous stance and now want to actively recruit immigrant workers to the state. But of course with some conditions ...
They want a guest worker program, limited to agricultural workers that "doesn't lead to citizenship, doesn't lead to permanent status, can't bring family with you, can't come here and have your babies, can't come here and be a burden on the taxpayer, come here, work, earn your wages, pay your taxes and go home when it's done" ... Essentially, a return to a bracero style program of the past.
This, despite overwhelming evidence that current guest worker programs are a dismal failure, supplying nothing but misery for their participants while assuring profits for what become in essence government sanctioned plantations.
Starting on Monday, May 26th, human rights activists will gather for the 5th Annual Migrant Trail under the banner "We Walk for Life". Starting in Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico, participants will travel 75 miles through the desert to Tucson, Arizona, USA, to raise awareness of the unconscionable numbers of deaths of border crossers that seems to rise each year.
Registration can be done via the Coalición de Derechos Humanos website at www.derechoshumanosaz.net.
Here is the vision, as outlined by organizers of this powerful event:
The precarious reality of our borderlands calls us to walk. We walk together on a journey of peace to remember people, friends and family who have died, others who have crossed, and people who continue to come. We walk to bear witness to the tragedy of death and of the inhumanity in our midst. Lastly, we walk as a community, in defiance of the borders that attempt to divide us, committed to working together for the human dignity of all peoples.
Information such as Participant Agreements, Liability forms, Medical Information forms, and other related topics can be found at this link.
Here are some grassroot organizations that are doing admirable work in the southern part of the Grand Canyon State that relates to the human rights facet of immigration and border policies in the U.S.:
Receive information on the latest action items, media campaigns, and legislative initiatives from ProMigrant
No spam or press release dumps from DC advocacy groups, lobbyists, or politicos. No requests for donations, or re-directs to astroturf groups looking to harvest your e-mail information.
Just real action for real change from real grassroots activists.
Starting on Monday, May 26th, human rights activists will gather for the 5th Annual Migrant Trail under the banner "We Walk for Life". Starting in Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico, participants will travel 75 miles through the desert to Tucson, Arizona, USA, to raise awareness of the unconscionable numbers of deaths of border crossers that seems to rise each year.
Receive information on the latest action items, media campaigns, and legislative initiatives from ProMigrant
No spam or press release dumps from DC advocacy groups, lobbyists, or politicos. No requests for donations, or re-directs to astroturf groups looking to harvest your e-mail information.
Just real action for real change from real grassroots activists.
