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Eleazar: Para abrir las puertas que le han sido cerradas
August 25, 2012
Eleazar Castellanos es padre jornalero de Arizona quien subió a la jornada de la justicia porque juntos podemos lograr algo mejor por nosotros y nuestros hijos. Después de ver que su hija no podría seguir estudiando en la universidad y después de perder su propio trabajo por las leyes de Arizona, decidió hacer algo mas para abrir las puertas que le han sido cerradas.
Eleazar is a father and day laborer who is on the No Papers No Fear Ride for Justice because together we can accomplish something larger. After seeing his daughter unable to continue her studies and after losing his own job because of the laws in Arizona, he decided to be part of the journey to open the doors that have become closed to him and his community. Film by Barny Qaasim Edited by Barny Qaasim
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Undocumented mom risks life in US to join immigration fight
August 25, 2012
Birmingham, Ala. -- Maria Cruz Ramirez thrust up a small banner reading “undocumented,” interrupting a hearing on strict state immigration laws to share the impact that the legislation has had on her life.
“I am here to lift up the voice of my community, of my children, all those families who have been separated. I am here and I want to present this so you can see it,” Ramirez, 46, cried out in Spanish as she held up the sign at the meeting in Birmingham. “I am a mother, a responsible mother … I am not a criminal and I am here to defend my rights.”
A mother of three and former owner of a hair salon in Mexico, Ramirez, who lives in Arizona, never thought she would end up here, as an immigration activist, possibly jeopardizing her life in the U.S. But after 11 years in this country, she decided to throw herself into the public spotlight as Arizona’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants threatened her family.
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Daylaborers for the Right to Work and Just Living Conditions
August 24, 2012
En Alabama visitamos a un grupo de jornaleros, quienes eran victimas de agreción de la policia y violaciones de sus derechos a vivienda justa por parte de la administración de un conjunto de apartamentos, hasta que tambien se comenzaro an organiar y responder. Platicamos con ellos sobre el poder de conocer nuestros derechos, y los apoyamos en hacer un comite, que trabajara para hacer un Centro de Trabajadores en Hoover, Alabama.
In Alabama we visited a group of day laborers, who were victims of police harassment and violation of their rights by housing administrators, until they also organized and fought back. We spoke to them about the power of knowing our rights, and supported them in creating a committee, that will work towards having a worker’s center in Hoover, Alabama.
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'When I See Injustice I Tend to Move Against It'
August 24, 2012
Mientras que estamos en Alabama, estábamos invitados por SOS (Save Ourselves) para visitar a Selma, AL un sitio histórico de la lucha por los derechos civiles de los Afro-Americanos en los EEUU. Cruzamos el puente Edmund Pettus donde no les dejaron cruzar en una marcha de Selma a Montgomery y visitamos un museo para aprender mas de su movimiento del pasado y de hoy tambien.
While the No Papers No Fear Ride for Justice was in Alabama, we were invited by Save Ourselve, SOS, to visit Selma, a historic site in the African-American civil rights movement in the US. We crossed the same Edmund Pettus bridge where police attacked marchers headed to Montgomery in the 60s and we visited a museum there to learn more of the historic struggles as well as their efforts today.
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Fighting back against ICE Holds
August 24, 2012
Mientras estabamos en Memphis, TN, compatimos con la comunidad un entrenamiento sobre como luchar en contra del uso de 'ICE holds' - cuando la policia detiene a la gente mientras espera si inmigración los detiene. Estas son algunas reflecciones de ese taller.
While we were in Memphis, TN, we shared with local community an training on how to fight against ICE holds, the practice of local police to detain undocumented immigrants while Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE) considers deportation. These are some reflections about the workshop.
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Arizona Awaits Next SB 1070 'Papers Please' Ruling, UndocuBus Rallies Undocumented Mothers Across Country
August 23, 2012
Three weeks into their historic "No Papers No Fear Ride for Justice," Phoenix resident Leticia Ramirez carries a message for other undocumented mothers across the United States.
"I am mother and I am undocumented and I am not afraid," Ramirez, a mother of three young children, told me in a phone interview today, as the 30-plus modern-day freedom riders entered Georgia, on the heels of the 11th Circuit Court's strike down of that state's Arizona copycat immigration.
"I have heard so many stories from other mothers," Ramirez said, an 18-year resident of Arizona, who was brought to the United States from Mexico as a child. "They are inspired by our journey, and tell me that they have been inspired to come out of the shadows, and this encourages me to keep going."
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Selma: Crossing Bridges, Building Puentes
August 23, 2012
Today we had the privilege to visit Selma, Alabama, a historic site from the Civil Rights movement. On a Sunday in March of 1965, around 600 marchers left Selma to march east to the capital. When they reached Edmund Pettus Bridge, only six blocks away, they were driven back to Selma by state troopers and local sheriffs who used tear gas and billy clubs to stop them in their tracks. This event became known as Bloody Sunday. Alabama State Senator and civil rights activists Hank Sanders invited us to come meet with him and other long time activists from the area. This is how we, Isela Meraz, a 29 year old undocumented and queer organizer from Arizona, and Maria Huerta, a 65 year old domestic worker and organizer from California, both remember that visit:
Maria: Today was a really exceptional day for me. The bridge in Selma is a really important part of history. It was very intense walking over the bridge. They had no idea they were going to run in to problems there. The women told us that there was a lot of blood and that lots of people had died. As we walked over the bridge, I thought of all of the kids that had died. There fight was and is really the same as ours – lots of racism, hate, and segregation.
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Witnessing the Birth of a Day Laborer Worker’s Center
August 22, 2012
Members of the No Paper No Fear ride visited a group of day laborers in Hoover, Alabama, who had requested support in organizing. Eleazar is himself a day laborer in Tucson, Arizona, and he was part of the team that helped these workers organize themselves.
It was a great experience in my life, to witness how a group of day laborers organized for dignity in their living conditions and the right to look for work. They were being harassed by the police, ignored and criminalized by their housing administrator, and fearful of being deported. On Friday, we took a small group of No Papers No fear riders, to learn from them about the conditions they lived and worked in, and support their organizing; on Sunday, we held a meeting with the tenants and the day laborers, and on Tuesday we brought the entire group to support a demonstration led by the day laborers for their right to work and good living conditions.
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Traveling to Georgia as U.S. Court Affirms Rights of Police to Verify People’s Immigration Status
August 22, 2012
The federal appeals court ruled that Georgia law enforcement may check the immigration status of those who fail to produce ‘proper’ identification, as the No Papers No Fear Ride for Justice, a group of undocumented immigrants publicly speaking about their status, arrives to work with local communities.
Tifton, GA – Yesterday the United States federal appeals court ruled in favor the section in Georgia’s HB 87, affirming the right of local law enforcement to question people about their immigration status if they are suspected of a crime or fail to produce proper identification. The ruling also blocked several provisions considered violation of constitutional rights and undermining of the powers of the federal government, including the making it a crime to transport, “induce or entice” undocumented immigrants to travel to the state.
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Homestead Sin Papeles y Sin Miedo
August 21, 2012
"No vamos a pedirle disculpas a nadie por querer un futuro mejor y no vamos a quedarnos callad@s mientras vemos que nuestras familias están siendo separadas y nuestras comunidades atacadas y criminalizadas!Y tal como lo dijo nuestro querido miembro de WeCount! Jose Delgado, " No le debemos nada a este país...este país nos debe a nosotros!" Es hora que salgamos de las sombras y que luchemos por una vida justa y digna!
Ven a escuchar nuestras historias en la primera demostración pública para Salir de Las Sombras en Homestead! ¿Por qué “salir de las sombras”? Porque estamos cansad@s de vivir con miedo. Porque en esta sociedad se nos define por el hecho de no tener “papeles” en vez de vernos como seres humanos.
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