FAIR has been a labeled hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) since 2008 for its ties to White Supremacist groups and attacks on non-white immigrants (1). Now FAIR is scheming with Orange County cities to undermine California's Sanctuary Law, and the OC Board of Supervisors may be the next government to join in on the scheme by considering a proposal to sue the state. The Immigration Reform Law Institute, an organization affiliated to FAIR has been lobbying cities in Orange County to undermine California's Sanctuary law, including Yorba Linda, Los Alamitos, and others. “We’re lining up cities to join us with amicus briefs,” Christopher Hajec, the organization’s director of litigation, told the OC Register (2). The SPLC writes: 'FAIR founder John Tanton, a man with a lengthy record of friendly correspondence with Holocaust deniers, a former Klan lawyer, and leading white nationalist thinkers, has repeatedly suggested that racial conflict will be the outcome of immigration. In 1998, he told a reporter that whites would inevitably develop a racial consciousness because “most people don't want to disappear into the dustbin of history,” and added that once whites did become racially conscious, the result would be “the war of each against all”' (1). Don't let this racist, hate group dictate Orange County's policies and priorities. References: 1. How Do We Know FAIR is a Hate Group?: https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2012/08/10/how-do-we-know-fair-hate-group 2. Orange County supervisor suggests suing California over immigration sanctuary law: https://www.ocregister.com/2018/03/22/o-c-and-cities-launch-new-steps-against-sanctuary-law/

The forum “Perspectivas Para Colombia” will be hosting the presidential candidates for 2018 from Colombia with the intention of fomenting informed civic participation. As requested by the Colombian community residing in New York, the forum was confirmed with the attendance of the candidates running for president this May 27, 2018. However, a few days before the event, a statement was issued on the page of the event stating that "The event will be exclusive for members of the Columbia University community" (English translation).   The decision of closing the debate to the public is an attack on the democratic process and the number of people who supported the effort to organize the debate in the city of New York. The group @ColumbiaPorColombia informs that "due to insurmountable inconveniences on the part of the University"(English translation) they are not given access to the discussion to the larger public. As a Colombian community in New York we demand that this event is sponsored at another locality that is indeed open to those who we reside abroad (to the public). This request comes from communities that truly believe in civic and democratic participation in an honest, open and public manner. We want to highlight that the exclusion of our participation is elitist and classist and it privatizes our rights as citizens.

The Los Alamitos City Council is attempting to vote on an ordinance to exempt the City of Los Alamitos from the California Values Act (SB54) in order to continue collaborations between their city and ICE (1). The California Values Act has been instrumental in protecting immigrants in our state against deportation. It is not only moral, but legal and necessary. California's values are a reflection of it's people. Separating families is not one of them. Join me today in demanding that the Los Alamitos City Council reject this ordinance and cease all efforts to undermine California's Sanctuary Law. References: 1. https://www.ocregister.com/2018/03/16/los-alamitos-might-challenge-state-over-sanctuary-law/

Two Latinas are running for the 7th Cook County Commissioner seat in Chicago, which Chuy Garcia will be leaving at the end of the term. Alma Anaya, one of the candidates, has been open with her story of growing up undocumented and homeless and finding her way through with community support. As the March primaries approach, the campaign supporting Angie Sandoval began to air an advertisement that attacks Alma, with one of the points being that "she is not from here." As pointed out by a recent Chicago Tribune article on the story, "Sandoval’s campaign rhetoric could be reflected in future policy that will not have the interests of immigrant families in mind." The article points to Sandoval father who did not support Cicero's Sanctuary City Policy, the "Welcoming City Ordinance, in November 2017, which would have further prohibited Cicero Police from cooperating with immigration agents. Whoever takes the Cook County seat would hold an important position in maintaining our county as a Sanctuary, and keeping immigrants safe form ICE, despite pressure from DHS.

If Edin gets deported, his life is in risk due to past victimization of extortion and gang violence in his native country. “What is happening to my family is wrong,” says Thalia. “This was an arbitrary decision by ICE without just cause for denying his Stay. While Congress is debating trivial issues like members sleeping in their chambers on Capitol Hill, families like mine, who support our community and have strong ties to the US, are being ripped apart. We have been waiting for relief for a long time, but all I see is the cowardice of those in Washington, as they refuse to actually resolve this issue, and would rather use my family as their political football.” This case once again demonstrates ICE’s cruel practice of apprehending individuals at scheduled check ins. Edin’s case highlights the plight of individuals who could potentially adjust status through a spouse, yet still facing the devastating possibility of being denied and then having no option for reuniting with their family in the U.S. The Ramos family has been publicly supported by U.S. Congressman Jared Polis throughout this ordeal over the last few years. Congressman Polis has even spoken about the Ramos family on the House Floor: https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4587226/polis-dapadaca

Alejandra Pablos, a reproductive rights and immigrant rights organizer, wast taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 7th, 2018 and is being held at the Eloy Detention Center in Southern Arizona, without access to a bond. Alejandra's case is complicated. As a young person she was arrested and convicted of several charges, including Driving Under the Influence and possession of drug paraphernalia, some of which were felonies under Arizona state law. In 2011, after she complied with the orders from the court, she spent 2 years at the Eloy Detention Center in Southern Arizona, lost her residency, and was placed in deportation proceedings. But since Alejandra was released from detention she has worked to advocate for human and civil rights, dedicating her life to organizing against the attacks on immigrant rights and fighting for reproductive rights. As part of her local organizing, in early January of this year, as Pablos was leading chants at a peaceful protest in Virginia outside of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), she was singled out and detained by DHS agents. Although she was released, this flagged her case. When Pablos showed up to her check-in with ICE in Tucson, she was taken into custody and not allowed to pay a bond. Pablos is a nationally recognized immigrant rights and reproductive rights, activist. She works as a Field Coordinator for the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, where she organizes to raise the voices of Latinas in Virginia for policy change at all levels of government on issues that impact their lives, women’s health care, and other social justice issues. Alejandra has been a staunch advocate for immigration reform and mass incarceration. She is a member of Mijente, a national political Latinx organization, and has worked with many immigrant rights and prison abolition organizers throughout the country.

Guillermo has been an active member of his community in Chicago for over two years. As a member of the Autonomous Tenants Union, he has helped many of his neighbors facing evictions or other housing problems. He has played a major role in protecting & empowering immigrant and working class people in the Albany Park neighborhood and city of Chicago as a whole. Guillermo’s social justice work has been all-volunteer, and is motivated by his passion for community. He is a trusted and loyal neighbor, colleague, and friend. In addition to his volunteer community work, Guillermo worked hard to support his family, who depend on him for income. He had temporarily moved to Jacksonville to pursue a work opportunity, and since his detainment his primary concern has been the well being of his family. Please sign this petition to demand his release on bond so he can leave detention as soon as possible.

The Trump administration is using ICE to target people in cities that they consider Sanctuary. Although according to our communities, Chicago has a long way to go, we are on the Federal Government's target list. We want to make sure that if the Mayor of Chicago and City Council have information about imminent raids, that they make that information public, and allow our communities to protect themselves.

[ESPAÑOL ABAJO] BACKGROUND As a result of years of organizing against the harmful cooperation between ICE and law enforcement, in 2013, Connecticut made progress by passing the TRUST ACT, which prohibits local and state law enforcement from holding individuals so that Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) could arrest them. In 2015, the Department of Correction amended Administrative Directive 9.3. to further limited the cooperation between DOC staff and ICE. However, both the Trust Act and the Administrative Directive contain many loopholes which still allow law enforcement to hold people at the request of ICE without due process. Courts all over the country have held that holding an individual solely on the basis of an immigration detainer (which is a request not a warrant) is unconstitutional. Furthermore, the state of Connecticut is continuing to misuse resources and undermine trust between local communities and law enforcement. Connecticut officers are still heavily communicating with ICE about release dates, immigration status and other personal information. This discretion has proven extremely problematic especially because it ultimately leads to the individual’s arrest. We have proven cases of people all over the state who have been violently removed from our communities because they had some interaction with the justice system and staff (either DOC, Judicial Marshals, State Police, Probation Officers, etc.) were complicit in their arrest by ICE. Most recently, the staff at York Correctional delayed a bond out process while they communicated with ICE in order to transfer custody of two immigrant women. Finally, we must stop the ICE from entering DOC facilities and Judicial Marshal holding cells. ICE agents are using deceptive practices to elicit information to arrest individuals and place them in removal proceedings. Individuals in custody have reported that ICE agents questioned them without identifying themselves as such, or, worse still, completely misrepresenting their identity. This type of enforcement creates mistrust, stress, and anxiety in people under our state custody and should have no place in our state. WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH: For that reason, we support reforming the Connecticut Trust Act in the 2018 Connecticut Legislative Session. Among some of the changes to the Trust Act include: 1) stop honoring immigration detainers unless they are accompanied by a judicial warrant; 2) communication between ICE and our state law enforcement should be limited; 3)ICE interrogations and interviews should not take place inside our DOC facilities. The Trump administration is doubling down its efforts to persecute our friends and neighbors. As a state, we can do more to protect all of our residents. We urge members of the Connecticut General Assembly to support and protect the immigrant community in Connecticut by supporting the 2018 Trust Act. ------------------------- Como resultado de años de lucha donde la comunidad se organizó en contra de la cooperación dañina entre la migra y la policía local, en el 2013 Connecticut dio un paso adelante pasando la Ley de Confianza. Esta ley prohíbe que la policía y otros oficiales detuvieran a las personas para que la migra los arrestara. En el 2015, el Departamento de Corrección enmendó su Directriz Administrativa 9.3 para limitar aún más la cooperación entre los empleados del departamento e Inmigración. Sin embargo, tanto la Ley de Confianza como la Directriz Administrativa contienen varios tecnicismos que permiten que la policía aguante a algunas personas para que Inmigración los arreste sin el debido proceso de ley. Varias cortes en todo el país han confirmado que detener a personas solo en respuesta a lo que se conoce como un “immigration hold/detainer” es inconstitucional. Además, el estado de Connecticut continua mal utilizando recursos del estado y como consecuencia socavando la confianza entre las comunidades locales y la policía. La policía en Connecticut se está comunicando con inmigración frecuentemente. Particularmente les dejan saber las fechas de liberación, el estatus migratorio y otra información personal. Esta discreción ha sido extremadamente problemática ya que ha llevado eventualmente a que se le arreste a la persona. Conocemos de casos por todo el estado donde a las personas se les ha removida de nuestra comunidad ya que han tenido algún tipo de interacción con el Sistema Judicial y sus empleados (ya sea por medio del Departamento de Corrección, los Marshals Judiciales, la Policía Estatal y Oficiales de Probatoria). Recientemente, los empleados de la prisión de York retrasaron el pago de una fianza de dos mujeres inmigrantes con el simple propósito de que la migra se las llevara. Finalmente, debemos exigir que la migra deje de entrar en las prisiones del Departamento de Corrección y las cárceles de los Marshals Judiciales. Los agentes de inmigración utilizan prácticas engañosas para obtener información de las personas y arrestarlas. Individuos que han estado en las cárceles de Connecticut han reportado que los agentes de Inmigración los interrogaron sin identificarse, o, peor aún, se hicieron pasar por otra persona. Este tipo de práctica crear desconfianza, estrés, y ansiedad en las personas que están bajo la custodia del estado y no deben llevarse a cabo en nuestro estado. Por esta razón, apoyamos reformar el Acta de Confianza en la Sesión Legislativa 2018 de Connecticut. Algunos de los cambios que se proponen son: 1) dejar de honrar los “immigration detainers” a menos que vengan acompañados de una orden de arresto firmada por un juez ;) la comunicación entre la migra y la policía debe ser limitada; 2) Las interrogaciones de la Migra no deben llevarse a cabo en las prisiones del Departamento de Corrección.

Sergio has invoices, photos, emails and text messages with Curt from Magnum Fine Homes that show he and his co-workers painted at least three homes for them in 2016, and he says he still hasn't been paid. We won't let employers in our community treat immigrant workers this way. // Sergio tiene facturas, fotos, correos electrónicos y mensajes de texto con Curt de Magnum Fine Homes que muestran que él y sus compañeros de trabajo les pintaron al menos tres casas en 2016, y él dice que todavía no le han pagado. No permitiremos que los empleadores de nuestra comunidad traten a los trabajadores inmigrantes de esta manera.

Through organizing to defend Washington-based organizer and undocumented mother, Maru Mora-Villalpando, we found documents that show that the WA Department of Licensing (DOL) shared her personal information, including a copy of her driver's license, with ICE. Last month, the WA state DOL admitted to giving ICE information on undocumented immigrants "20 or 30 times per month” without requiring a criminal warrant. WA-DOL information sharing has exposed a tremendous weakness in the state’s laws and policies, including last year's executive order by the governor's office. WA-DOL information sharing has affected many lives. The State of Washington has a responsibility to the people who were affected.

On January 31, Jose “Ivan” Nuñez was attending his marriage interview at USCIS with his husband Paul fully expecting to be in and out of the office. Paul and Ivan are in love and have been married since April 9th, 2016. What should have been a dream come true ended in a nightmare. In the middle of his interview ICE agents stormed into the interview and handcuffed him without warning. Now, instead of spending this Valentine's Day with his husband, Ivan is spending it at the York County Detention Center and at risk of being deported. If he was to be deported back to Mexico, Ivan’s life would be in jeopardy due to his sexuality. His sister, who is also queer, is currently in hiding with her partner back home and close friends of the family have been severely assaulted for their sexual orientation. As of January 13th, USCIS has deemed Ivan and Paul’s marriage petition valid and Ivan has passed his Reasonable Fear interview, meaning there is no reason why he should still be in detention. On this Valentine’s Day we ask you to sign this petition in support of Ivan, in support of Paul, and in support of their love Love, GALAEI & Juntos Dear Judge___________ I am writing this letter in support of Jose “Ivan” Nunez. As you are aware, Ivan is a Mexican immigrant who fled his hometown to seek asylum from the potential homophobic violence he would receive because of his sexual orientation. Ivan has found happiness and tranquility with his husband Paul here in Pennsylvania. Ivan was detained by ICE while attending his marriage interview at the USCIS building on January 31, 2018 and has been detained at the York County Detention Center since. By detaining Ivan and potetionally deporting him, Ivan’s wellbeing and safety will be jeopardized. Ivan fled his hometown in Mexico due to fear of being harmed. Ivan’s sister, who is also gay, is currently in hiding due to the same fears and he has close friends who have been assaulted for being gay. I ask that you release Ivan on bond and allow him to be reunited with his husband Paul. Thank you for your time and consideration In Solidarity,