Skip to content
LPBN-Icon-v1
ImmigrationProf Blog
A Member of the Law Professor Blogs Network

Upcoming Community Education Events

By immigrationprof

From the Rights Working Group:

Thank you for your support of the Liberty & Justice   for All campaign. Many of you have signed onto our principles by   completing a pledge card or online through Capwiz. We thank you and   look forward to partnering with you. As you will recall, the goal of   the Liberty & Justice for All campaign is to build a powerful   movement to ensure that our government’s actions honor our principles.   To accomplish that, we have a three-prong strategy: (1) build a grassroots   movement, (2) shape the public debate; and (3) advocate for policy change.   We will keep you informed and engaged in our partners’ efforts   to protect the civil liberties and human rights of everyone in America.

      

      

      

I. BUILDING THE GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT

      

  1. Community Education

      

  • In response to Congress’ immigration field hearings, the Liberty & Justice   for All campaign coordinators will host three community forums about the   impact of current immigration proposals. Campaign leaders Hate Free Zone   Washington (Seattle, WA), the National Network for Immigrant and   Refugee Rights (Oakland, CA), and the Arab Community Center for   Economic and Social Services (Dearborn, MI) will hold the forums in mid-   August. The forums will occur in Bellingham, Washington, Detroit,   Michigan and Arizona.
     

      

  1. Pledge Drive. We’ve set a goal of adding 15,000 individuals   and 500 organizations to our list of supporters.

      

  • Arab Community Center for Education and Social Services continues   to register new pledge supporters, bringing our total to 322. To join the Liberty &Justice for All campaign, visit our website   and click on the “JOIN” button.

 

  1. The Conversation Project. The first round was completed at theend   of June and the project is continuing. FMI: Email Stephanie Anderson   or call (202) 296-2300 x 130. Download the Tool Kit.

      

  • Reactions from hosts and participants: “Powerful,” “Reallypositive   experience,” “Energy from our first conversation led to a second one,”and   “We’ve got 2 more potential hosts.”
  • What worked: Keeping the conversation natural, not sticking too closelyto the script; Posting the principles on the wall and referring to them during theconversation; Host setting the tone by focusing on personal experiences; Tying theconversation to current affairs, keeping it concrete.
  • What toavoid: Reading the principles – too many concepts to digest at once; Moving away fromthe personal and concrete towards the policy realm – makes the problems too overwhelming;Focusing on hopeless problems and partisan blaming instead of concrete nextsteps.
  • Outcomes: More conversations, more volunteers for localaction, and deeper connections between people and between local action and a nationalmovement.

    • You canlearn directly from the organizers the “how” and “why” of hosting your own conversations.Join us for the next call as we learn from each other on July 25th at 4:00 pm EDT.FMI:Stephanie Anderson at (202) 296-2300 x 130.

      

      

II. SHAPING THE PUBLICDEBATE

      

  1. July 9, 2006 –   A check against fear
      Swift read me stirring words from Rutledge’s opinion: “The immutable rightsof   the individual, including those secured by the due process clause of the Fifth   Amendment, belong not alone to the members of those nations that excel on the   Battlefield or that subscribe to the democratic ideology.  They belong to every   person in the world, victor or vanquished, whatever may be his race, color or   beliefs. They rise above any status of belligerency or outlawry.
     
  2. July 2, 2006 – What makes me an American
      I’m an American because I believe the U.S. government can’t run roughshod   over civil liberties and simply lock up people and throw away the key.  And   because I think that due process, including the right to counsel and to a   speedy trial, should not be a casualty of the war on terror.
     
  3. June 29, 2006 – Scope of charges against Coopertown mayor shocks even foes
      That alleged practice didn’t sit well with Rick Casares, public awareness   Coordinator for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, who is   Hispanic and a veteran.
     
      “My first reaction is that profiling of Hispanics, soldiers or virtually anything   seems to run contrary to the principles of the country.
     
  4. June 28, 2006 – Librarians   may be new defenders of liberty
      Librarians were never the bespectacled, bun-haired shush cops they were so often   portrayed to be in the movies. But still, you hardly expect a librarian to be a   fearless defender of some of our most basic rights.”
     

            

      

III. ADVOCATING FOR POLICYCHANGE

      

  1. Immigration Update – President Bush and Congressional leaders have recently stated that they are considering putting new enforcement programs in place before creating a path to citizenship for people living in the United States illegally.  Paul M. Igasaki, Executive Director of the Rights Working Group recently issued the following statement: “Members of Congress advocating for “enforcement only”are pushing for overly punitive provisions that willensnare millions of hard-working would-be Americans without providing any path to legalization. Many of the proposals have nothing to do with border security but instead punish working families because of minor infractions or simply for seeking a better life. This will result in the separation of parents from their children with no legal recourse to reunite the family. Current proposals and administration efforts seek to deport people and to jail them without any of the basic due process rights guaranteed everyone by the Constitution, such as an opportunity for court review. Congress should create a fair immigration system that will respect human rights and civil liberties.”
     
  2. Immigration Hearings on the Road – On July 5, 2006, House leaders held their first public hearing in San Diego on their proposed immigration bill with an emphasis on border security. Across the country in Philadelphia, the Senate also held its own public hearing focusing on immigrants and their impact on the economy. The next hearings are scheduled for July 12. In response to Congress’ immigration field hearings, the Liberty & Justice for All campaign coordinators will host three community forums about the impact of current immigration proposals. Campaign leaders including Hate Free Zone Washington (Seattle, Washington), the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (Oakland, California), and the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (Dearborn, Michigan) will hold the forums in mid-August (August 15 – 17, 2006). The forums will occur in Bellingham, Washington, Detroit, Michigan, and Arizona. Visit the Rights Working Group website for the latest information on immigration.
  3. Hamdan v. Rumsfeld – On June 29, 2006, the Supreme Court decided 5-3in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that President George W. Bush did not have authority to set up thetribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and found the commissions illegal under both militaryjustice law and the Geneva Conventions. Among one of our strongest principles is toensure due process and the right to a fair trial for all people jailed by the government.The American public needs to know about the impact of the Administration’s practices onpeople’s civil liberties and human rights in this and similar cases. The importance ofreal life stories of those held in violation of their basic rights is critical tochallenging the practices of the government that violate the Rights Working Groupprinciples.Please use this information to further publicize the violations that have taken place.For more information on our partner, Human Rights Watch’s work on this issue, pleaseclick here.

      

      

IV. UPCOMING EVENTS (Please send announcements to Tong Lee)

      

  1. Arab Community Center for Education and Social Services hosts 2006 Summer Job Fair in Michigan.  FMI: Email Mustapha Mounajed or call (313) 945-8159. Date: July 12, 2006.
     
     
  2. South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow hosts SAALT Exchange in Houston, TX. FMI: Email Arefa Vohra .   Date: July 15, 2006.
     
     
  3. Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. and Refugee and Immigration Services of Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc. presents, “The Law of Citizenship: Naturalization, Acquisition and Derivation” in Nashville, TN. FMI: Jill Sheldon at (305) 789-9907 x 3. Date: July 21; 2006.
     
     
  4. Immigrant Legal Resource Center hosts 16th Annual Phillip Burton Immigration   and Civil Rights Awards in San Francisco, CA. FMI: http://www.ilrc.org/BurtonEvent.php   or contact Claire Van Zevern at Claire@ilrc.org   or (414) 255-9499 x 826. Date: July 21, 2006.

See the full calendar here.

bh