interfaithimmigration.org welcome to the iic webinar on may 5, 2014 what can the administration do...
TRANSCRIPT
interfaithimmigration.org
Welcome to the IIC Webinar on May 5, 2014
What Can the Administration Do for Immigrants?
Call and Webinar will begin at 4:00 p.m. EST
For audio, please dial 805-399-1000 and enter access code 104402
* The audio and visual portions are NOT linked. You must dial this number to hear the audio portion of the webinar.
4:00 Welcome & overview: Jen Smyers, CWS
4:05 Facts on Deportation Numbers and Policies that Have Driven the Deportation Surge: Neema Singh Guliani, ACLU
4:15 Detention reform: Rosalynd Erney, Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service
4:20 Dangerous Deportation Practices at the Border: Mary Small, JRS
4:30 Addressing Deportations with Case by Case Advocacy: Erika Andiola
4:35 Administrative Relief from Deportations: Jose Patino
4:40 Utilizing Film in Mobilizing Communities: Sahar Driver, Active Voice
4:50 Q &A
AGENDA
What’s Happening in the House?
“Give Us a Vote” Discharge Petition on HR 15• Needs 218 signatures to bring to a vote• Has 191 – all Democrats
As House leadership continues to refuse to bring immigration reform up for a vote, and as Republicans are predicting that they might win control of both the House and Senate in November, it is becoming less and less likely that the House will vote on immigration reform this year.
What can be accomplished this year?
Every day that the House delays, 1,100 individuals are deported from their families and communities by the Administration.
There are bold, concrete actions that President Obama can and must take to stop the pain that families and communities face due to deportations. The President has the authority to change deportation policies, and to provide our undocumented community members opportunities to stay in the United States without fear of deportation. Such action could look similar to the recent Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in which undocumented individuals who came to the U.S. as children can apply to temporarily be able to travel and work legally.
2 million: Historical Perspective
Trend 1: Increase in Immigration Detainers (“ICE Holds”)
What Happened Between 2007 and
2012?
• Nationwide Rollout of Secure Communities
• Expansion of Criminal Alien Program
• Continuation of 287(g)
Immigration Detainers: FY 07 vs FY12
Trend 1: Increase in Immigration Detainers (“ICE Holds”)
• Roughly 1/3 of Detainers Result in Deportation
• Efforts in CA, NY, LA, NM, FL, DC, and IL to limit detainers
• Case Study: CA Trust Act• 28 out of 38 detainers were
not honored after the Trust Act in Sonoma
Trend 2: Increase in Deportations without Hearings
Trend 3: Targeting of Individuals With No Criminal History or Only Immigration Offenses
“98 percent of all ICE FY 2013 removals, a total of 360,313, met one of more of ICE’s stated civil enforcement priorities.”
-ICE 2013 Annual Report
*30% of individuals with convictions had ONLY immigration offenses
Focus on the “Border”?“In the Obama years, all of the increase in deportations has involved people picked up within 100 miles of the border, most of whom have just recently crossed over.”
-Los Angeles Times, 4/1/14
Who are these so-called border crossers?
• Individuals living within 100 miles of the border
• Individuals with US citizen, LPR, DACA family
• Individuals who have lived in the US for decades
• Individuals fleeing violence
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Potential Areas to Focus Reform
• Limiting State and Local Enforcement through Detainer Reform
• Ensuring all individuals get a hearing and are screened
• Reforming border practices• Limiting the categories of individuals who are
“priorities”
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Immigration Detention• Detained populations include asylum seekers,
survivors of torture & trafficking, and persons with mental disabilities
• Fiscal year 2012: 478,000 persons detained by ICE, the largest number in history
• Over $2 billion spent on immigration detention; $5 million per day
• 34,000 persons detained each day; 84% lack attorneys
- LIRS 2011 report Unlocking Liberty- LIRS’ guide to detention visitation
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Recommendations on Detention Practices• Increase community-based alternatives to
detention• End arbitrary detention with individualized
assessments• Bond hearings and meaningful custody review• Operate under most recent detention
standards to improve conditions• Improve oversight and accountability
- www.detentionwatchnetwork.org- http://cambio-us.org
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Dangerous Deportation PracticesEnd all night-time deportations: When deportations happen at night, when shelters are closed, migrants are especially vulnerable to attack, extortion or exploitation. End family separation during the deportation process: Deportation practices should not needlessly separate family members. Do not deport individuals to particularly dangerous locations: Male migrants are increasingly deported to border towns that are very dangerous. Return all belongings prior to deportation: All belongings should be returned to migrants, especially money, identity documents, medications, and cell phones. Provide prior notification to Mexican authorities of people with special needs: The U.S. should provide information to Mexican officials in-advance of deportations of unaccompanied children, pregnant women, people with disabilities, people with serious medical conditions and elderly individuals. Provide opportunities for border NGO input: A clear, transparent process for NGOs to provide input to U.S. officials in advance of renegotiations of repartiation policies.
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Not1MoreThe Not1More Campaign is rooted in the community members demand for administrative relief to stop deportations and dismantle the mass deportation infrastructure
• Not One More Deportation• Not One More Family Separation• Not One More County honoring ICE Detainer Holds with Secure
Communities• Not One More 287 (g) program where local police are trained by ICE
to enforce immigration
Primarily led by the National Day Labor Organizing Network and their partner organizations, the Not1More efforts continues to gain more support from ally groups
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Case by Case Advocacy To Stop Deportations
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Case by Case Advocacy To Stop Deportations
• Everyday 1,100 people are deported, together we have to work to stop deportations and one way to do that is case by case
• Stopping individual deportations keeps families together
• Lifts up the individual stories and raises public consciousness around why our community and family should not be separated
• Shows our power as a movement as we collect smaller individual victories of keeping families together
• Strengthens the movement to stop deportations
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Case by Case Advocacy to Stop Deportations
Maria Del Rosario Rodriguez Varela • Lived in the United States for over 18 years, since she was 14 years
old. • She and her daughter, Cynthia, a U.S. citizen, were at home in their
pajamas when ICE raided their house in Phoenix, Arizona. • Maria was deported within two hours of her arrest. • ICE has categorized Ms. Rosario as priority for deportation due to
an immigration-related conviction at the border from 15 years ago, when she attempted to cross the border using false documents.
• In March 2014, Maria joined 150 deportees crossing the border to return home asking for humanitarian parole. Maria was detained at the entry point and is now in immigrant detention in San Luis, Arizona.
Cynthia continues to fight for her mother’s release and is now one of the participants of the hungers strike in front of the White House.
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Case by Case Advocacy against Deportations
Elder Gomez-Lopez • Father of two young children and a community leader • He fled Guatemala after he was shot in the stomach by gang members,
leaving him with a colostomy bag. • He has now been in Eloy Detention Center for nearly 3 years, where he
has suffered severe and ongoing health issues• Elder and his mother, Anselma, are desperate and afraid that that Elder
will be killed when he reaches Guatemala or die first in detention. • The negative factors according to ICE in Elder’s case include a prior re-
entry and a misdemeanor conviction for transporting stolen property from when he was young, at least 10 years ago.
Elder’s mother, Anselma, just completed a 90 mile walk from the Phoenix ICE office to the Eloy detention center, and has come to Washington D.C. from Phoenix, Arizona in a bus to support the hunger strike participants and help highlight her son’s case
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Administrative Relief from Deportations
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Religious Leaders and Civil Disobedience to Stop Deportations
• February 17th two United Methodist Bishops, General Secretary of the United Methodist Women, the United Church of Christ Washington Office Director, Director of the Franciscan Action Network, Director of Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach and twenty other Ecumenical Faith Leaders
• March 27th United Methodist Bishop Sally Dyck was arrested at a rally to stop deportations in Chicago along with other faith leaders and immigrant leaders
• April 4th San Francisco Civil Disobedience clergy members who were arrested include Rev. Richard Smith of St. John Evangelist Episcopal Church, and Rabbi Mike Rothbaum, of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice
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February 17- DC and March 27- Chicago Civil Disobediences
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Not1More Actions at the White House
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May 1st Action at the White House
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Next Steps• Continued Case by Case Advocacy to keep families
together and build the movement for stopping deportations
• Continue to tell the stories, have community members who have been impacted by deportations come speak at your congregation and tell their story
• Escalate advocacy efforts and pressure on the White House and Department of Homeland Security with more letters, calls and actions
• Spread the Word: Call In Day to the White House for Mother’s Day May 8th
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Utilizing Film in Mobilizing Communities
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WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL?What you can do to prevent migrant deaths on the border
Get your network to host a screening of Who is Dayani Cristal?
Go to www.whoisdayanicristal.com or Contact Sahar Driver, Active Voice, [email protected].
You can also reserve a night in your local theatre for using the Gathr platform (http://gathr.us/films/who-is-dayani-cristal). Gathr is an on-demand theatrical service that allows you to reserve tickets in advance; if you get enough reservations, they’ll bring the film to you!
IIC Contacts by organization• African American Ministers in Action:
Leslie Malachi, [email protected]• American Baptist Home Mission
Societies of the American Baptist Churches, USA:
Aundreia Alexander,
[email protected]• American Friends Service
Committee: Lia Lindsey, [email protected]
• American Jewish Committee: Chelsea Hanson, [email protected]
• Bread for the World Institute: Andrew Wainer, [email protected]
• Church World Service: Jen Smyers, [email protected]
• Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach: Chloe Schwabe,
[email protected] • Conference of Major Superiors of
Men: Eli McCarthy [email protected]
• Daughters of Charity: Mary Ellen Lacey, [email protected]
• Disciples of Christ: Sharon Stanley-Rea, [email protected]
• Episcopal Church: Katie Conway, [email protected]
• Franciscan Action Network: Marie Lucey, [email protected]
• Friends Committee on National Legislation: Ruth Flower, [email protected]
• HIAS: Liza Lieberman, [email protected]
• Interfaith Worker Justice: Michael Livingston, [email protected]
• Irish Apostolate USA: Geri Garvey, [email protected]
• Islamic Information Center: Hajar Hosseini, [email protected]
• Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, Mary Small, [email protected]
• Jewish Council for Public Affairs: Elyssa Koidin, [email protected]
• Leadership Conference of Women Religious: Ann Scholz, SSND [email protected]
• Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service: Nora Skelly, [email protected]
• Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns: Judy Coode, [email protected]
• Mennonite Central Committee: Tammy Alexander, [email protected]
• Muslim Public Affairs Council: Hoda Elshishtawy, [email protected]
• Sisters of the Good Shepherd: Larry Couch, [email protected]
• NETWORK: Ashley Wilson, [email protected]
• Pax Christi: Scott Wright,
[email protected]• PICO: Dan Gordon,
[email protected] • Presbyterian Church, USA: Melissa
Gee, [email protected]• Sisters of Mercy of the Americas:
Ryan Murphy, [email protected]
• Sojourners: Ivone Guillen, [email protected]
• 3P Human Security: Tom Brenneman, [email protected]
• T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster
[email protected] • Union for Reform Judaism: Sarah
Krinsky, [email protected]• Unitarian Universalist Association:
Jen Toth, [email protected]• United Church of Christ: Rev. Mari
Castellanos, [email protected]• United Methodist Church: Bill Mefford,
[email protected]• UNITED SIHKS: Harpreet Singh,
[email protected]• U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Kevin Appleby, [email protected]• U.S. Jesuit Conference, Shaina Aber,
[email protected]• World Relief: Jenny Yang,