June 30th, 2011 at 5:42 pm » Comments (0)

National:  Georgia, other states tackle immigration piecemeal http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-06-27-state-laws-illegal-immigration_n.htm — Five states this year followed Arizona’s lead by passing laws that expanded the powers of local police officers to enforce immigration laws. And although each of the states has tried different approaches, they are seeing the same results. Federal judges in Indiana, Utah and Georgia have blocked recently passed laws in those states.

SC: South Carolina governor signs immigration bill into law http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/27/us-immigration-southcarolina-idUSTRE75Q61I20110627 — South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley on Monday signed into law a bill that requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest for another reason and suspect may be in the country illegally.  The immigration crackdown, which goes into effect January 1, follows similar action by lawmakers in Georgia and Alabama.

SC: ACLU to contest SC immigration law http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/APNewsBreak-ACLU-to-contest-SC-immigration-law-1442011.php — The American Civil Liberties Union said it plans to lead a court challenge to a new anti-illegal immigration measure that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley plans to sign into law on Monday.  South Carolina is joining a handful of other states that have toughened or passed immigration laws similar to Arizona’s, which allows police to check immigration status.

GA: Parts of Georgia immigration law blocked http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57867.html — A federal judge in Atlanta blocked portions of Georgia’s new law that would have punished people who aid illegal immigrants and allowed local police to check the legal status of anyone not carrying identification, the Associated Press reported Monday.  U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash wrote that Georgia was seeking to enforce immigration law that is the jurisdiction of the federal government.

IN: Ruling: ‘Seriously flawed’ law violates Constitution http://www.indystar.com/article/20110625/LOCAL/106250328/Indiana-s-new-immigration-law-seriously-flawed-judge-says?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CIndyStar.com — U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker on Friday issued an injunction blocking Indiana’s new immigration law, saying the state overstepped its boundaries in the controversial statute that was to take effect July 1.  Calling the measure “seriously flawed,” Barker sided with the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana on the law’s two main provisions: one barring the use of consular identification cards and another allowing the arrests of people whose immigration status is questionable.

TX: ‘Sanctuary cities’ bill loses momentum http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7626255.html#ixzz1QVEfFPpP— As two of Texas’ most politically-involved business leaders emerged as opponents, a bill banning “sanctuary cities” lost crucial momentum Friday, raising the possibility the measure will be killed or substantially weakened before the special session of the Texas Legislature ends Wednesday.

AL: Birmingham Council condemns new immigration law http://www.necn.com/06/28/11/Birmingham-Council-condemns-new-immigrat/landing_politics.html?&blockID=3&apID=817c579227734832b3aebc7d39864f24 — The Birmingham City Council unanimously approved a resolution seeking the repeal of Alabama’s new law against illegal immigration on Tuesday, with members calling it a hateful reminder of the state’s not-too-distant past as a bastion of legalized racial segregation.

June 27th, 2011 at 9:28 am » Comments (0)

Guest Post from Farmworker Justice

As HIV/AIDS turns 30 and a cure or vaccine still eludes us, prevention remains vital in our quest to reduce the incidence of HIV.  June 27th marks the 17^th Annual National HIV Testing Day, a day to promote HIV testing in our communities and emphasize the importance of knowing our status.

There are more than 2 million hired agricultural workers in this country.  Out of that 2 million, how many know their HIV status?  How many know where they can get tested for HIV, or even have access to testing?  Most likely, not many, but unfortunately we don’t have the answers to these questions.  Research on HIV and farmworkers has been slow and far between with most studies having been done over ten years ago on small segments of the the farmworker community.  What we do know is that studies show that behavioral factors put farmworkers at a high risk of HIV.  These factors include low condom use, multiple sex partners, and sex with commercial sex workers.  The CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 be tested for HIV at least once in their lifetime and people at increased risk for HIV (gay and bisexual men, injection drug users or persons with multiple sex partners) should get tested at least once a year.  While we don’t know the exact testing rate for farmworkers, the majority of farmworkers are Latino and Latinos in the United States are less likely to test for HIV generally and are more likely to test later in the course of their infection compared to other racial/ethnic groups.  This means that they have likely had HIV for a long period of time before being diagnosed and develop AIDS much sooner (less than one year later).  It also means that they may have been infecting other people without knowing it.  The sooner a person gets tested the quicker they can receive medicine and the better the medication will work.

National HIV Testing Day reminds us that getting tested can help save lives.  Increasing access to testing and treatment for farmworkers is important and this day reminds us how far we still have to go.  By working together at the community, state, and federal level we can expand HIV testing and encourage more farmworkers to get tested.

Learn your HIV status.  Take the Test, Take Control.

Find a place to get tested in your community at www.hivtest.org or text your zip code to KNOW IT, that’s 5-6-6-9-4-8.

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Se cumplen 30 años el VIH / SIDA y aun no se ha encontrado una vacuna o una cura, la prevención sigue siendo fundamental para reducir la incidencia del VIH. El Decimoséptimo Congreso Anual Día Nacional de Pruebas del VIH, se celebra el 27 de Junio, un día para promover las pruebas del VIH en nuestras comunidades y hacer hincapié en la importancia de conocer nuestra condición.

Hay más de 2 millones de trabajadores agrícolas contratados en este país. De estos 2 millones, ¿cuántos sabrán de su condición VIH? ¿Cuántos sabrán dónde pueden practicarse la prueba del VIH, o incluso cuantos  tener acceso a ellas?  Lo más probable es que no muchos, pero desafortunadamente no tenemos las respuestas a estas preguntas.  Las investigaciones sobre la incidencia del VIH en los trabajadores agrícolas han sido lentas y  la mayoría de los estudios que se ha realizado se han hecho en el trascurso de diez años dentro de pequeños segmentos en la comunidad agrícola.  Lo que sí sabemos es que los estudios demuestran que los patrones de compartimiento ponen a los trabajadores agrícolas en un alto riesgo de VIH.  Estos factores incluyen el poco uso del condón, múltiples parejas sexuales y relaciones sexuales con trabajadoras del sexo. CDC recomienda que todas las personas entre las edades de 13 y 64 se practiquen la  prueba del VIH por lo menos una vez en su vida y las personas en alto riesgo de contraer el VIH (homosexuales, bisexuales, usuarios de drogas inyectables o personas con múltiples parejas sexuales) deben hacerse la prueba por lo menos dos veces al año.  Aun no sabemos exactamente cuántos trabajadores agrícolas se hacen la prueba, la gran mayoría de los trabajadores agrícolas son latinos y en general es poco probable que  los latinos que viven en los Estados Unidos se practiquen la prueba VIH y en comparación con otros grupos raciales o étnicos, es más probable que se hagan la prueba cuando el virus se empiece a desarrollar. Esto significa que probablemente han sido portadores del VIH, durante un periodo más largo antes de saber el diagnóstico y desarrollen el SIDA mucho antes (menos de un año después). También significa que pueden estar contagiando a otras personas sin saberlo. Mientras más pronto la persona se practica la prueba tendrá más posibilidades de recibir medicamentos y que estos funcionen mejore.

El Día Nacional de la Prueba del VIH, nos recuerda que hacerse la prueba puede ayudar a salvar vidas. Aumentar el acceso a pruebas y tratamiento para los trabajadores agrícolas es importante y en ese día nos recuerda lo mucho que nos queda por recorrer. Al trabajar juntos con la comunidad, estatal y al nivel federal, podemos aumentar las pruebas del VIH y motivar a más agricultores a hacerse la prueba. Aprende más de tu condición del VIH. Hazte el examen, toma el control.

Encuentra en tu comunidad un lugar para hacerte la prueba visita a www.hivtest.org, y  manda un mensaje de texto con tu código postal a KNOW IT, es 5-6-6-9-4-8.

June 23rd, 2011 at 1:00 pm » Comments (0)

The following is a summary from the National Council of La Raza’s (NCLR) State and Local Immigrant Updates

National: U.S. Pledges to Raise Deportation Threshold : http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/18/us/18immig.html?scp=3&sq=immigration&st=cse – Moving to repair an immigration enforcement program that has drawn rising opposition from governors and police chiefs, senior immigration officials on Friday announced steps they said would focus the program more closely on deporting immigrants convicted of serious crimes.

2. SC: SC Lawmakers Pass Illegal Immigration Bill : http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304070104576400250286205920.html?mod=googlenews_wsj — A bill that requires police in South Carolina to check suspects’ immigration status and mandates that all businesses check their hires through a federal online system received final legislative approval Tuesday. The House voted 69-43 to agree with the Senate’s changes and send the bill to Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, whose spokesman confirmed she will sign it.

3. AL: Alabama Immigration Law Could Hurt Area Economy : http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story/14427343/article-Alabama-immigration-law-could-hurt-area-economy?instance=home_news — Some economic observers and employers suspect Alabama’s strict new immigration law could end up hurting business in the state. The new law, signed by Gov. Robert Bentley earlier this month, is supposedly designed to free up jobs for Alabama citizens and cut down on costs to taxpayers by denying illegal immigrants access to any state or local benefits or to public colleges.

4. GA: Civil Liberties Groups Ask Federal Judge to Block Ga. Law Targeting Illegal Immigrants : http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/federal-judge-to-hear-arguments-on-attempt-to-block-new-ga-law-targeting-illegal-immigrants/2011/06/20/AGJr0XcH_story.html — Civil liberties groups argued Monday that Georgia’s law cracking down on illegal immigration should not take effect until a lawsuit challenging it as unconstitutional is resolved, and a judge said he likely would rule on that request before the law takes effect. The lawsuit asks a judge to find the law unconstitutional and to prevent its enforcement.

5. GA: Georgia Puts Probationers to Work in Fields After Farmers Complain About Immigration Crackdown : http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/georgia-puts-probationers-to-work-in-fields-after-farmers-complain-about-immigration-crackdown/2011/06/22/AGasXWfH_story.html — It’s 3:25 p.m. in a dusty cucumber field in south Georgia. A knot of criminal offenders who spent seven hours in the sun harvesting buckets of vegetables by hand have decided they’re calling it quits — exactly as crew leader Benito Mendez predicted in the morning.Unless the cucumbers come off the vine soon, they will become engorged with seeds, making them unsellable.

ININ : Federal Judge Criticizes State’s New Immigration Law : http://www.indystar.com/article/20110621/NEWS05/106210330/Federal-judge-criticizes-state-s-new-immigration-law?odyssey=nav|head — The controversial state immigration law that faced widespread criticism during the legislative session took another beating in federal court Monday. U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker grilled a deputy attorney general for roughly an hour about how exactly the state could enforce the legislation without running afoul of federal law and international treaties.

MD: DREAM Act Opponents Pass First Test : http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/7/dream-act-opponents-pass-first-test/ — Organizers of a petition to repeal Maryland’s Dream Act notched an important victory Tuesday, as they received an official go-ahead to continue their signature drive through the end of June. The state Board of Elections confirmed Tuesday morning it has validated more than 21,000 signatures on the petition to block the law allowing in-state tuition for some illegal immigrants.

CA: Contra Costa Times: Illegal immigration dragnet change moves through state senate : http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18271710?nclick_check=1 — A movement to permit California cities and counties to drop out of a federal immigration enforcement dragnet moved one step closer to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday. The state Senate Public Safety Committee voted 5-2 to send the Trust Act on to the Appropriations Committee and eventually a full Senate vote this summer. The Assembly has passed the bill, which would permit the state to modify an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security that allows federal agents to find immigrants held at local jails.

June 22nd, 2011 at 1:28 pm » Comments (0)

FREE HIV TESTING

In the lead-up to National HIV Testing Day (June 27), select Walgreens locations in major markets will offer free testing as part of the partnership with Greater Than AIDS and in coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), OraSure Technologies, the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA), state and local health departments, and AIDS service organizations.

Testing events will take place Wednesday, June 22 to Friday, June 24 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time inside select Walgreens retail locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, New Orleans, Oakland and San Francisco. For a complete list of participating stores, visit: www.greaterthan.org/walgreens.

No Walgreeens testing site in your area? Look here for more options!

In English: http://www.hivtest.org/

En Español: http://www.hivtest.org/Espanol/Default.aspx

June 20th, 2011 at 9:15 am » Comments (0)

Our comment on the New York Times editorial, “Resistance Grows” :

Counteracting these laws in the South, there is movement in the north of the U.S. to opt out of Secure Communities. Secure Communities is a Homeland Security program, supposedly designed to catch hardened criminals, which many state leaders are saying deters the reporting of crimes by immigrants and a is a blow to community safety. The pressure is rising as New York state joins Illinois in speaking out against this federal program.

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June 8, 2011

NEW YORK TIMES (Editorial): Resistance Grows

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/opinion/08wed1.html

Add Massachusetts to the groundswell of states and localities opposing President Obama’s misconceived and failing immigration dragnet.

Gov. Deval Patrick announced on Monday that his state would not participate in Secure Communities, the fingerprint-sharing program that the Obama administration wants to impose nationwide by 2013. Gov. Andrew Cuomo halted New York’s involvement last week. Gov. Pat Quinn of Illinois rejected it last month. They join a long list of elected officials, Congress members and law-enforcement professionals who want nothing to do with the program for the simple reason that it does more harm than good.

The program sends the fingerprints of every person booked by state or local police to federal databases to be checked for immigration violations. It was supposed to focus on dangerous felons. But it catches mostly noncriminals and minor offenders, as New York said, “compromising public safety by deterring witnesses to crime and others from working with law enforcement.”

For years Mr. Obama, like George W. Bush before him, has relentlessly pushed forward with immigration enforcement schemes while failing to give any relief to millions desperate to shed their illegal status.

Real reform requires a comprehensive strategy: stricter enforcement plus legalization for the millions whom it would be foolish to uproot from our society and economy. As Mr. Obama has driven deportations to record levels, he has gotten no closer to fixing a failed system. But he has made Republican hard-liners happy by bolstering the noxious argument that all undocumented immigrants are mere criminals, deportees-in-waiting.

This is a failure of decency and good sense. It merely punishes and does nothing to actually come to grips with the problem of illegal immigration. Resistance has mostly been heard at the ground level, from immigrants and advocates who say families are being split apart, workers frightened and exploited, the American dream dishonored. So it’s good to hear powerful Democrats — Mr. Obama’s friends and allies from large states — telling him that with Secure Communities he has gone way overboard.

What these states’ actions mean, practically speaking, is unclear. States like New York signed contracts with the Department of Homeland Security to enter Secure Communities, and now the administration insists that they must participate. If they send suspects’ fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for criminal checks — as states must and will continue to do routinely — then the F.B.I. will share that data with the Department of Homeland Security. There is no way to opt out.

We’ll see about that. The idea that the federal government can commandeer states’ resources for its enforcement schemes seems ripe for legal challenge. And it’s wrong to make state and local police departments the gatekeepers of immigration enforcement. It should not be up to local cops to drive federal policy by deciding which neighborhoods and people are the focus of their crackdowns.

We welcome the votes of no-confidence in Secure Communities. The message is clear and growing louder: Mr. Obama and the homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, need to try something else. That something else is real immigration reform that combines a path to legality with necessary measures to secure our borders and deport real criminals who are here illegally.