I would like to invite you to a community event to support Somerville’s Immigrant Families!
WHEN: Thursday, May 8th from 6:30-8:30pm
WHERE: Capuano School Auditorium, 150 Glen St, Somerville, MA [map]
WHY:
The recent raids at the Pilgrim Pride poultry plants that garnered nationwide media attention only underscore the fact that future Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids are imminent. Throughout the Greater Boston area including in Somerville, these raids, although not normally large-scale one-day operations, happen regularly and often under the radar. As a City with a vibrant and active immigrant community, we need to be prepared to support families directly impacted when raids happen in Somerville. We also need to step up our efforts in strongly advocating for a more humane discussion of immigration policy in our State that recognizes the important contributions immigrants have made and continue to make in MA.
On Thursday, May 8th, the Somerville Human Rights Commission, Centro Presente and Voices Inmigrantes of Somerville - Somerville Community Corporation, are organizing a community-wide around these issues. During this event, we will screen a powerful and emotional film, “Detained”, produced by Jenny Alexander and Michelle Fuentes, which follows two young families that were devastated by last year’s federal ICE raids in New Bedford. Afterwards, we will hold a discussion on how Somerville should prepare for future raids and on the recently launched Welcoming Massachusetts campaign.
I hope that you can join us on May 8th, 6:30-8:30pm at the Capuano Early Childhood School at 150 Glen St, Somerville, MA. [map] If you can make it, please send an email to the Human Rights Commission at humanrights@somervillema.gov. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Ify Mora , Co-chair, Somerville Human Rights Commission
Barry Rafkind, Somerville Human Rights Commissioner
Posted in Immigration
May 7th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Weren’t these “immigrants” illegal? Why didn’t you ever use the word illegal in your article? They were illegal and that is why ICE raided the plant. Just sayin’.
Barry and Ifa, how do we find out how much the city budget is for your council? And what exactly is the charter for the “Somerville Human Rights Commission”? Are you supposed to be spending tax $$$ defending non-citizens?
May 8th, 2008 at 12:31 am
Hi Imux, our current immigration system in this country is broken and unjust, much in the way our laws once sanctioned racial segregation, slavery, and even restricted citizenship and voting rights to whites. Such laws violate inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as laid out in the US Constitution.
When our government is in the business of tearing apart families whose only “crime” is trying to make a better life for themselves, when the families are not even notified of their members’ whereabouts, when detainees are deprived of legal representation, and humiliated and subjected to inhuman conditions including denial of medical care in prisons, when babies and young children are separated from their parents, when US military contractors and other businesses get away with a slap on the wrist while their employees are detained and deported… this shows you how unjust and broken our immigration system really is.
We need to advocate for an end to the ICE raids and for a complete overhaul of our immigration system that gives immigrants simple, fair, and expedient access to visas and a path to citizenship.
We need to realize that our economic system is dependent upon the cheap labor supplied by exploiting the very undocumented workers our government scapegoats! The solution is to fix the laws and the system, not more deportations.
I hope you’ll join us at tomorrow’s event so you can learn more about the effect of the ICE raids and what our community can do about them. I would also recommend reading “WHAT IS REALLY BEHIND THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE?” By Elena Letona, Executive Director, Centro Presente
The FY2008 budget is available on the Mayor’s city webpage look for Fiscal Year 2008 City Budget on the left side.
The Human Rights Ordinance can be found on the commission’s city webpage look for 1993 Human Rights Ordinance in the right side on the page ” Filing complaints with the Commission”.
The commission is concerned with the protection of human rights and dignity of all people in Somerville without regard to citizenship or immigration status.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Barry, I agree with you that the immigration system needs fixing. Though I somehow doubt that your fix and my fix would be anywhere near close to each other, but we can agree to disagree on this issue. I do believe that a component of the fix should be to help people (who have skills we need/want) get here legally BEFORE they come. Call me silly, but I’m a firm believer in the rule of law.
Until the system does get fixed, I doubt that anyone can disagree that the Somerville Human Rights Commission (a tax PAID FOR entity) seems to be undoing the hard work of ICE (another tax PAID FOR entity). It looks to me that you have ICE spending our tax dollars enforcing the law of the land and deporting illegals/fining employers who hire ilegals, and then you have you folks (and other misguided organizations) SPENDING OUR SAME TAX DOLLARS working to put the illegals right back on our streets.
Wow… on the one hand as tax payers we’re paying for one group (ICE) to enforce the law and then with the other we’re paying for another group (you folks) to UN-enforce the law. Does that make any sense? It doesn’t seem like a good expenditure of our tax dollars. One or the other organization (ICE or you folks) needs to cease operations and the way our laws are currently written it won’t be ICE.
If I’m Joe Curtatone and the city I would be a bit worried that some sharp citizens would band together and file a class action lawsuit to recoup the tax dollars illegally spent to put people that came here illegally back on our streets. I know my crack attorneys (Wie, Cheetem & Howe) are biting at the bit to get rolling on this.
Lastly, if you folks want to break the law and assist people who come and stay here illegally then stick a bucket outside your offices (think Salvation Army at Christmas time). I’m ok with that as that then becomes a voluntary contribution. What eats me is my tax dollars being spent to circumvent the law and to undo what our tax dollars are (rightfully) being spent on (ICE enforcing laws against illegal immigration).
May 8th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Imux,
>> I do believe that a component of the fix should be to help people (who have skills we need/want) get here legally BEFORE they come.
I agree that ideally our immigration system would be able to process employment-based visas efficiently and expediently so we can eliminate the huge backlog and the resulting long waiting times. That should be paired with a sensible process to allow hard-working immigrants to become citizens.
>> Call me silly, but I’m a firm believer in the rule of law.
I believe our immigration laws need to be fixed and that enforcement of our laws should not violate human rights protected under the Constitution.
>> the Somerville Human Rights Commission (a tax PAID FOR entity) seems to be undoing the hard work of ICE (another tax PAID FOR entity)
First of all Human Rights Commissioners are volunteers, although we are allocated paid staff by the city (we currently are without any paid staff). So much more public money is spent on ICE than on commission staff, the comparison is ridiculous.
How is the HRC undoing the work of ICE? To the extent that ICE raids have violated the human rights of some people and created an atmosphere of fear and mistrust in the immigrant community, it creates more work for the HRC. Indeed, it is outrageous that our tax dollars have been spent on ICE raids that violate human rights. We should demand accountability for this!
>> and then you have you folks (and other misguided organizations) SPENDING OUR SAME TAX DOLLARS working to put the illegals right back on our streets
What do you mean by misguided? Undocumented immigrants pay taxes just like you and me. We need to advocate to reform the law so that undocumented workers can become legal and give them a path to citizenship, not to scapegoat them and treat them like criminals.
>> we’re paying for another group (you folks) to UN-enforce the law
Wrong again. Commissioners are volunteers, not paid. And we don’t oppose law enforcement in general as long as human and civil rights are protected.
From the MIRA Coalition’s The Truth About Immigrants in Massachusetts
* Immigrants today, just like our grandparents and great grandparents, are here to work hard and become citizens. But, the federal government provides few opportunities for legal immigration, and no opportunity for undocumented immigrants to become legal.
* All immigrants – regardless of status – pay sales, property and income taxes.
* All workers and families, immigrants and citizens alike, deserve fair wages and safe working conditions.
* Immigration reform that increases opportunities for legal immigration and allows undocumented immigrants the opportunity to get in line for citizenship is a realistic and responsible policy approach.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Imux, what you’re talking about is a normal part of our federal system of government. We not only have checks and balances among the President & bureaucracy, the Congress, and the courts–we also have a system where states and municipalities can do things the federal government doesn’t do, or want them to do.
For instance, on environemental legislation, states have room to regulate polluters more strictly than the feds do. That’s why some industrial practices that are legal in Alabama are illegal in California.
Now, I don’t think the Somerville HRC actually is undoing anything that ICE is doing. I think you’re misinformed about their work. But even if that were so, it’s normal for one level of government, representing its own constituency, to have a different policy than another level, representing a different group of residents. That’s why we have state and local governments. If they were all going to enforce the same laws in the same way, might as well just make Somerville city government a branch office of Washington, DC. They do it that way in France, but never in America!
May 8th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Barry, I notice that you still have not used the word “illegal” when referring to immigrants who have come and stayed in the US illegally. You do realize that there are legal processes and procedures for someone wanting to immigrate? Your refusal to acknowledge that simple fact is a slap in the face to those who have worked hard and spent the time to come here legally. You know… LEGAL immigrants.
It would seem that the majority of the SHRC time (and our tax $$$) now is spent advocating for illegal immigrants and not Somerville legal citizens. Just as an FYI – one cent of our tax dollars advocating for illegal immigrants is one cent too many.
Has the SHRC now become the official channel for illegal immigrants to pressure the city for more funds and our tax dollars? If so, shame on you. That was not the intention when the charter was written.
Has the SHRC become so elitist now that you get to pick and choose which laws you will obey? You may not agree with the immigration laws as they are written, but that does not allow you to circumvent the law. Especially as you represent a city commission and your actions (illegal and misguided as they are) may have an impact on the city finances (refer to Wie, Cheetem & Howe and class action lawsuit).
Oh… and please stop with the silly comments about illegal immigrants paying taxes and contributing. I can post a million stats and links showing how much of a drain illegal immigrants are. I don’t think we need to bother debating that issue.
Dennis, huh? Are you saying that it is normal for one agency to circumvent the actions of another? We’re not talking about checks and balances here — this is not the judicial branch making sure the executive branch does not get out of hand. We’re talking about a small group of elitists – who are in a position of some authority – picking and choosing which laws they will obey and which they will not. These same misguided folks have decided to waste city funds (tax $$s) by representing groups of people who are here illegally. This isn’t about checks and balances – this is about a dreadful waste of city resources.
As I said earlier, if you want to go off the deep end and have an agenda that supports illegal immigrants (read: criminals) then that is your right. Good luck to you. Just please make sure that you’re not using your psuedo official position representing the city (SHRC) to do it.
Again, you really need to just stick to panhandling for them (refer to the Salvation Army for tips) and please try not to violate the law by circumventing the efforts of ICE. Most of us support the efforts by ICE and are doing everything we can to support them — by using the ICE hotline to report illegal immigrants and those who employ them.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:39 am
Imux, I don’t dispute that it is illegal for undocumented immigrants to live and work in the US. Obviously, it is very difficult and very dangerous for anyone to take the risk of immigrating here under the radar. Therefore, while I acknowledge the inherent unfairness of the situation with regard to the many people who wait to immigrate legally, I also recognize that undocumented immigrants are pushed out of their home countries and pulled into ours by a ruthless and exploitive economic system that our country encourages. We shouldn’t blame immigrants for the systemic factors that lead them here.
It takes a long time for an immigrant to get a visa to the US if they have a spouse who is a US citizen. But it takes much longer if they have a different type of blood relative and practically forever if they have no relatives, employer sponsorship, or legal representation here.
Some can afford to wait the years it takes for their immigration applications to be processed. But poor families do not have the luxury of time or money to let the painfully slow application process resolve itself, especially not when the outcome is likely to be unfavorable for them. Some people can’t wait to get a job and start feeding their children and coming here as an undocumented worker might be the best option available to them.
As I said before, the HRC is concerned with defending the human rights and dignity of all people in Somerville, regardless of immigration status. As a group of people on the fringe of society with limited access to legal representation and so many other barriers before them, new immigrants both legal and undocumented deserve extra attention from the HRC to make sure their rights are protected.
You are clearly misinformed if you think the HRC is violating immigration law or helping anyone else to do the same. We are trying to make sure that all immigrants understand their rights and have access to legal representation if it is necessary. I do not appreciate the comment about commissioners as elitists because I think that is very disrespectful.
It is a fact, not a silly comment, that undocumented immigrants pay taxes, money that helps pay for schools and roads and other government functions that we all rely on.
Dennis is correct, different agencies and levels of government often compete with and interfere with each other. Recently, there was a case where the state of CA tried to pass stricter environmental standards than what the federal government approved, so the courts struck down the state law.
When ICE raids separate children from their parents, it creates a nightmare scenario for DSS, the schools, and the hospitals that are left to deal with the aftermath. That unnecessary crisis costs money which comes out of our tax dollars.
Reporting and deporting undocumented immigrants is cruel, inhuman, and the wrong response to our broken immigration system. Instead, contact your elected officials and let them know that you won’t accept this situation and that immigration reform is needed urgently!
May 9th, 2008 at 10:43 am
My thoughts and feelings on this topic are expressed quite eloquently by members of Centro Presente, an immigrant organization in Cambridge and Somerville. I recommend:
“What’s Behind the Immigration Debate” by Elena Letona
“Our Collective Accountability” by Elena Letona
“Building A Just Society” by Patricia Montes
From http://www.cpresente.org :
Established in 1981, Centro Presente is a member-driven, state-wide Latin American immigrant organization dedicated to the self-determination and self-sufficiency of the Latin American immigrant community of Massachusetts. Operated and led primarily by Central American immigrants, Centro Presente struggles for immigrant rights and for economic and social justice. Through the integration of community organizing, leadership development and basic services, Centro Presente strives to give our members voice and build community power.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:31 am
All this wrangling over whether illegal immigrants pay taxes is beside the point. Illegal immigrants come to the USA to get paid a less-than-living wage (less than the already less-than-living minimum wage) because employers who don’t want to pay a fair wage or benefits import them.
By preying on the desperation of people from other countries, these illegal EMPLOYERS undercut labor law and impoverish American families, while the government turns a blind eye and instead stages high-profile border operations to whip up xenophobia for political reasons.
Yes, people are welcome to immigrate, work for a fair wage and benefits under safe and equitable working conditions, and pay taxes - legally.
No, employers are NOT welcome to exploit illegal immigrants to turn the USA labor market into a dangerous, exploitative sweatshop, except perhaps by those to whom they are paying kickbacks.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Barry and fellow illegal alien protectors, sorry for the late reply, but I had to do my monthly Vegas jaunt of debauchery and gambling. Hey, better I piss my own money away rather than wait for you welfare and illegal immigrant enablers to take it away via taxes.
Centro Presente is an exclusionary organization. You liberals don’t quite get that your misguided efforts do more to rip us apart than any KKK rally ever could. My point which I will stress again is that I don’t want my city government to be the “free lawyer for illegal immigrants”. Your commision is doing just that.
Columbine, I agree. We need to lock up any employer or organization (SHRC) that in any way further undercuts the working LEGAL citizens of the US.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Imux, I’d be interested to hear whether you think it was fair for Europeans to colonize the Americas by forcibly taking away Native American lands and exiling them to reservations where they represent one of the poorest sub-populations in our society?
Personally, I’d rather spend my money in the local economy and help pay taxes that fund public education, public transportation, public sanitation, and commissions such as the SHRC that aim to protect the human and civil rights of all people in our city.
To be clear, the SHRC does not provide legal counsel for anybody, but it does try to make sure that everyone understands their rights. It is not “the free lawyer for illegal immigrants” as you say. The SHRC does not undercut working legal immigrants.
Centro Presente is not an exclusionary organization. Why do you say that? Have you or anyone you know ever participated in their events or meetings? Anyone is welcome to participate and support their activities.
What makes you believe all of these falsehoods?
Imux, I’d be interested to hear where your family is from? What country did they immigrate from and how did they come here? What was their journey like? What struggles did they face?