Weekly Activist Alert: Criminalizing Immigration

In This Week's Action Alert
Action: Stop DC's Secure Communities Program!
Resource:  DC Permit Process
Featured Article:New Immigration Law is an Act of Vengeance
Cause: Volunteer for the Washington Peace Center

Get Your Tickets Now: DC Labor Chorus and Grammy Award Nominee, Christylez Bacon on May 22nd, for more info click here

Events [scroll down for full details]:

We 4/28-U.S.-Relations with the Muslim World: One Year After Cairo
Th 4/29-Trail of DREAMs DC Lobby Day
Th 4/29-Teach In On Capitol Hill: What Must the US Do to End Mideast Wars?
Th 4/29-An evening with Acclaimed Author, Poet: Ibtisam Barakat
Th 4/29-Solving Converging Global Crises: The Role of the United Nations and Civil Society
Fr 4/30-"Solving Converging Global Crises" Film Festival
Sa 5/1-March for Immigrant Rights with the Trail of DREAMs
Tu 5/4-The Big Disconnect: Spending Policies, School Priorities and Student Achievement
Sa 5/8-We Want Peace for Mothers Day
 

Hey D.C.,


The state of Arizona, co-sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has set a new standard for addressing immigration.  On Friday April 23rd, history was made by Governor Jan Brewer, who signed into law the S.B.1070 - which requires officials and agencies of the state and political subdivision to comply with and assist law enforcement immigration laws and gives county attorneys subpoena power in certain investigations of employers.

As outrageous as this law is, it is but a symptom of a very sick military machine that "criminalizing" everything in its path.  Right now in Washington, DC, Chief of Police Cathy Lanier has enforced the Secure Communities program initiated DHS and organizations like the DC Jobs with Justice are working hard to make sure it doesn't become law.

If there ever was a time to take action, it is in this climate of Tea Party racism and state legislated bigotry. It is clear that we are entering a new period of social tensions spilling into the political arena. What is yet to be seen how we, the people, respond.  The Washington Peace Center has a few suggestions: 1) send the an email to the Public Safety and Judiciary Committee of the DC city council to oppose the Safe Securities program and 2) volunteer with us to engage in the change-making process from many angles.


Featured WPC Resource this week...
DC Permit Process

Do you know the process to getting a permit to hold public demonstrations and protests? Are you not sure if you need a permit or not to hold your event?  Is it unclear who to contact to get a permit for a specific public space you are targeting?  Whether you are seasoned organizer or just getting started, it is important to review this process, so check out our DC Permit Process page and please let us know if you have anything to add!

Appreciate this service? Please DONATE to support the movement for a more just and peaceful world.


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U.S.-Relations with the Muslim World: One Year After Cairo
Wednesday, April 28
8am - 6:30pm
Ronald Reagan Building Amphitheater
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004

Join Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy for the 11th Annual Conference on April 28, 2010, at the Ronald Reagan Building Amphitheater, in Washington DC, bringing together some of the best scholars, experts, practitioners, and policy makers from the US and the Muslim World. Early Registration ends on April 1st.

For more details on the event, click here


Trail of DREAMs DC Lobby Day
Thursday, April 29
8:00am - 12:00pm
Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, Fellowship Hall
201 4th St. SE
Washington, DC 20003

Young people from around the country will come together in Washington, DC to urge Congress to pass the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act). This bill would create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented youth pursuing higher education or military service. Participants will come together for training, issue briefing, and breakfast a couple blocks from the capitol before spending the day advocating for the ability of all young people to pursue their dreams.
 

For more information, click here


Teach In On Capitol Hill: What Must the US Do to End Mideast Wars?
Thursday, April 29
1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Gold Room (2168), Rayburn House Office Building,
Independence Ave and C Street SW, Washington, D.C

DESCRIPTION:  Educational briefing on the U. S. agenda in the Middle East, its consequences and development of a strategy/plan to withdraw.  Emphasis will be on constructive, interactive dialogue among panelists and attendees.
MODERATOR:  Representative Dennis J. Kucinich (D - Ohio)
PANELISTS: Chris Hedges, Jeremy Scahill, David Swanson, Ann Wright.
ADMISSION:  Free and open to the public, the media, members of Congress, and staff

For more information, click here

An evening with Acclaimed Author, Poet, and Proud UNRWA graduate: Ibtisam Barakat
Thursday, April 29
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Zenobia Lounge, Georgetown
1025 31st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007

Ibtisam Barakat is a Palestinian-American writer, poet, and educator. A bilingual speaker of Arabic and English, Ibtisam grew up in Ramallah, West Bank, and now lives in the United States. Her work focuses on healing social injustices and the hurts of wars, especially those involving young people. She is the founder of Write Your Life seminars to empower people from various backgrounds to contribute to writing history by sharing their voices and stories.

For more information, click here

Solving Converging Global Crises: The Role of the United Nations and Civil Society in Advancing Effective Global Governance
April 29-30
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Stamp Student Union
University of Maryland, College Park, MD

The purpose of this conference on "Solving Converging Global Crises" is to explore how the United Nations and civil society organizations can work together to help inform and advance this critical research agenda and implement effective solutions to these converging global crises.

For more information, click here

"Solving Converging Global Crises" Film Festival
Friday, April 30, 2010
1:30-3:45 pm
Stamp Student Union
University of Maryland, MD

"The End of Poverty?" (2010, 104 minutes) - Benjamin Banneker Room
"A Sea Change: Imagine A World Without Fish" (2009, 83 minutes) - Juan Ramon Jimenez Room
"Crude Impact" (2009, 97 minutes) - Margaret Brent Room

For more information, click here

March for Immigrant Rights with the Trail of DREAMs
Saturday, May 1
9:00am - 2:00pm
Starting from: Tenants and Workers United offices
3801 Mt. Vernon Ave. Alexandria VA
 
Join the Trail of DREAMs as they conclude their 1,500 mile journey from Miami to DC to support immigrant rights. They've walked from the tip of Florida through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia - 1,500 miles - calling for solutions to our failed immigration system and facing intense anti-immigrant sentiment, including the KKK, along the way. Now, as they prepare for their final walk of an incredible journey that has made a national impact, please join us as we accompany Gaby, Luis, Felipe, and Carlos on their final six mile walk into the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. for a 2 p.m. Rally for Immigrant Rights at Lafayette Park in front of the White House.
 
For more information, click here


The Big Disconnect: Spending Policies, School Priorities and Student Achievement
Tuesday, May 4
12:00pm - 2:00pmAt the Urban Institute
2100 M Street N.W., 5th Floor, Washington, D.C.

What happens to students and public trust when districts don't track or report detailed spending for every school? Who wins and loses when school officials use outmoded resource allocation policies? And how can a district's internal policies be updated and aligned with the public's priorities? Join the discussion and debate as a panel of experts follows the twisted trail of school-level funding. 

For more information, click here


Featured Article:

Arizona's New Immigration Law is an Act of Vengeance
Written by Eugene Robinson
April 27, 2010 on www.washingtonpost.com

Arizona's draconian new immigration law is an abomination -- racist, arbitrary, oppressive, mean-spirited, unjust. About the only hopeful thing that can be said is that the legislation, which Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed Friday, goes so outrageously far that it may well be unconstitutional.

Brewer, who caved to xenophobic pressures that previous governors had the backbone to resist, should be ashamed of herself. The law requires police to question anyone they "reasonably suspect" of being an undocumented immigrant -- a mandate for racial profiling on a massive scale. Legal immigrants will be required to carry papers proving that they have a right to be in the United States. Those without documentation can be charged with the crime of trespassing and jailed for up to six months.

Activists for Latino and immigrant rights -- and supporters of sane governance -- held weekend rallies denouncing the new law and vowing to do everything they can to overturn it. But where was the Tea Party crowd? Isn't the whole premise of the Tea Party movement that overreaching government poses a grave threat to individual freedom? It seems to me that a law allowing individuals to be detained and interrogated on a whim -- and requiring legal residents to carry identification documents, as in a police state -- would send the Tea Partyers into apoplexy. Or is there some kind of exception if the people whose freedoms are being taken away happen to have brown skin and might speak Spanish?

Read more




See you in the streets!

Chioma, Hazal, Jon & Sonia
Washington Peace Center