The Rising Time. Via the more and the less rad movements oppressed, invisible, man-kind becomes more and more visible, more and more vocal, more and more heard, more and more powerful. /R -----Original Message----- From: change-links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:change-links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Walter Lippmann Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 9:05 AM To: CubaNews Subject: [change-links] Miami: Thousands march for Haitian rights as ICE arrests 183 migrants What we're seeing is an uprising of the working class and the oppressed. It's important not to confuse the organized trade union movement with the working class, which is far broader. A political uprising, that is. These people are learning that they have to think socially and act politically, and that an injury to one is an injury to all. Here in Los Angeles, there will be not onoe but two marches on May 1. The Catholic Church and its allies are calling another one for the afternoon which they say is for those who cannot make it to the demo and rally at noon. Some see the Church's action as one aimed at splitting or undercutting the main mobilization. That may well part of the purpose, but many of the best people will be participating at the second event, for example: Dolores Huerta. A better way to see this, I think, is that the strike/boycott is for those who can go and who aren't afraid of some of the consequences. The later one is for another layer who may ask permission to take off and so on. I'm convinced that some employers will be not only allowing employees to take the day off, they will be paying them. It's obvious that this is a political and social movement bigger and broader than anything any of us have been part of. It's something we must first of all solidarize with and second of all endeavor to understand as best we can now. There seem to be a range of very different things going on at this moment. While Bush claims to be for compassionate laws which will someday, some-way, some-how perhaps allow some of the millions here to think that they may be able to have their status legalized, ICE raids across the country are trying also to terrorize immigrants at the same time. Imagine the fear in the heart of the Free World's ideologues if the May 1 strikes and marches are massively successful? Think of the messate it will send to people all over the planet? At the same time we are seeing other people learning lessons and mobilized in the spirit of solidarity. Blacks who see what Washington does for Cubans understand the racist differential in the way that the Haitians get the boot as Cubans get the red carpet treatment. ------------------------------------------------------------ AND NOTICE THIS: Standing atop a van, Jack Lieberman, of the American Jewish Congress, gave the crowd a more forthright answer: ``It's racism. . . . If they allow the Cubans to stay, why are the Haitians kicked out!'' Cubans are not eligible for TPS. Those Cubans who attempt to enter the United States illegally can receive legal residency if they make it to dry land. If they are stopped at sea, they usually are returned to Cuba. ------------------------------------------------------------- WALTER continuing: By the way, the Cuban American National Foundation has a note on their website declaring their opposition to any bills that would make undocumented immigrants felons. Monitoring their website, however, one doesn't see an protests against these immigration raids, and we certainly don't see any support for the May 1 mobilizations. Naturally, they'd just as soon see absolute silence regarding things like the Cuban Adjustment Act which enable all Cubans who reach U.S. shorts to be home free while Haitians, Dominicans, Mexicans and the rest instead get the boot. Walter Lippmann, CubaNews http://www.walterlippmann.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews ============================================================== MIAMI HERALD Posted on Sun, Apr. 23, 2006 MIAMI Thousands march for Haitian rights Protesters marched through North Miami to protest what they call an unjust policy toward Haitian immigrants. BY PETER BAILEY pbailey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Marching in sync to the sound of beating drums and Haitian folk songs, more than 4,000 protesters filled North Miami's streets Saturday afternoon to denounce U.S. immigration policy toward Haitians. In the shadow of the federal government's regional immigration offices at 79th Street and Biscayne, the crowd of mostly Haitians flooded the busy boulevard, swaying in political unison to the rhythm of black pride rooted in the world's first black republic -- now broken by poverty. `NO LONGER INVISIBLE' Centered at the front lines of their crusade is a long-standing demand: that all Haitians be granted temporary protected status, or TPS, which permits immigrants from a handful of countries in crisis to remain in the United States as lawful residents. Again and again Saturday, the chant -- ''We Want TPS!'' -- echoed throughout North Miami's streets. ''We're gonna fight to make sure there are no second-class citizens. . . . Haitians will no longer go invisible!'' bellowed Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, a national organization representing nearly two million workers. Medina was one of several civic leaders who organized the rally with other groups to protest what they call the unjust policies toward Haitian immigrants that began with the Clinton administration. ''We just want justice for the Haitian people. . . . We've waited for too long,'' local Haitian activist Ronald A. Brisé said. TPS REQUIREMENTS Currently, the Department of Homeland Security, which has authority over the TPS program, grants temporary legal status to immigrants from Burundi, El Salvador, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Somalia and Sudan. Immigrants from Haiti have never been granted such status under TPS, which Congress first approved in 1990. TPS is authorized for those immigrants who are forced to flee their home countries because of armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. Brisé says Haitians meet every condition. ''Look at Haiti, and ask why we're sent back home,'' he said. Standing atop a van, Jack Lieberman, of the American Jewish Congress, gave the crowd a more forthright answer: ``It's racism. . . . If they allow the Cubans to stay, why are the Haitians kicked out!'' Cubans are not eligible for TPS. Those Cubans who attempt to enter the United States illegally can receive legal residency if they make it to dry land. If they are stopped at sea, they usually are returned to Cuba. POWERFUL DRAW Hundreds of protesters hoisted Haitian flags as they approached 79th Street and Biscayne, and another chant of ''We Want TPS!'' rose from the crowd. A sense of urgency filled the air, prompting bystanders to follow the procession. One store employee jumped from behind his cash register to join ranks. Among the protesters was Mary Simeon, 42, who knows firsthand of the Haitian struggle for citizenship. She fled her homeland 11 years ago and now works in a seafood restaurant in Coral Springs. She said Miami will offer a better life for her U.S.-born daughters -- Gina, 7, and Gesula, 5 -- both of whom joined their mother in the march. ''Haiti was hard, but I came here and did well . . . and now I'm a citizen,'' said the elder Simeon. ``I want the same for my people.'' ''I'm proud to be Haitian!'' yelled her daughter, Gina. For countless others, the protest was more personal. The words ''I need my dad here with me, not back in Haiti,'' was emblazoned across one pink-colored poster raised high above the crowd. ================================================================== MIAMI HERALD Posted on Tue, Apr. 25, 2006 IMMIGRATION 183 migrants picked up in massive federal sweep Immigration authorities detained 183 undocumented migrants in Florida, including 43 fugitive felons. BY CARA BUCKLEY cbuckley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx In the largest sweep of undocumented immigrants in Florida in a decade, 183 -- including 43 felons -- were rounded up in the Miami area and three other cities, officials said Monday. Most of the migrants -- 130 -- had disobeyed federal deportation orders, but another 53 were picked up last week because they were nearby when immigration officials were looking for the others. `OPERATION PHOENIX' The action, dubbed ''Operation Phoenix'' by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was carried out by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and South Florida, where 95 of the arrests occurred. The 43 fugitive felons had earlier convictions for crimes including sexual molestation, child abuse, drug trafficking, weapons violations and driving under the influence. Michael Rozos, director of the federal agency's Miami field office, said the roundup was part of an intensified federal effort to tighten the country's borders, root out illegal migrants and ``restore integrity to the Immigration Act.'' ''Anybody who is a fugitive from justice is a danger to the community,'' he said. News of the weeklong sweep came two weeks after massive protests supporting illegal immigrants' rights were staged in cities across the country. Rozos insisted the roundup's timing was coincidental -- the culmination of months of careful planning by the agency's Fugitive Operations teams. One immigration advocate lamented the offensive, saying its primary targets were not felons but likely ''working victims'' with menial jobs, community ties and children born in the United States. Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Coalition, also said such sweeps are usually conducted rapidly and ruthlessly, giving people little time to prepare or say goodbye to family members. ''We recognize that federal immigration authorities have every right to detain and deport those with final removal orders, but we question the manner in which they do it,'' said Little. ``Immigrant roundups such as these further erode the fragile trust of law enforcement in immigration communities.'' BIGGER OPERATION Operation Phoenix dovetailed with the Department of Homeland Security's multipronged Secure Border Initiative, aimed at stiffening border and internal security and removing illegal migrants. All of the 183 were arrested at home or work, though the operation was not a work-site compliance initiative, which penalizes people who hire undocumented workers. The immigrants were originally from 26 countries, most in the Caribbean and Central and South America. The majority will be deported in the coming weeks and months, Rozos said. ================================================================== Prominent Cuban American urges backing of bill U.S. Cubans urged to back immigration bill MIAMI, Friday April 7 / 2006 (UPI) -- A prominent Cuban-American has urged U.S. Cubans to rally around a campaign to legalize undocumented immigrants. Jorge Mas Santos, chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation, called in a television advertisement for Cuban Americans to contact the U.S. Congress and President George Bush to protest proposals that would make felons of illegal immigrants. ''Today, more than ever, we Cubans should support our brothers of Latin America,'' he said in Spanish. The Miami Herald said the spots come as Hispanic communities across the country are staging rallies to protest a fence along the U.S. border and criminalizing illegal immigration. In Miami, however, the response has been muted. The Cuban Adjustment Act enables Cuban immigrants to apply for green cards after a year in the country. Santos says he believes most Cuban-Americans favor legalization for others, also. http://www.canf.org/2006/1in/noticias-CANF/2006-abr-07-prominent-cuban.htm Change Links Progressive Newspaper. Act. Act in Love and Spirit. New Pacifica Working Group http://www.egroups.com/group/NewPacifica 'Save Our Stations!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewPacifica/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: NewPacifica-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/