On the Continued Spread of Raids Rumors

March 18, 2010 A statement made by Pedro Rios of the San Diego American Friends Service Committee San Diego, CA - Over the past two weeks our office has been responding to text messages, calls, and emails informing us of either impending immigration raids and/or raids in progress.  During initial calls we sent teams of human rights observers to several locations to verify the validity of those claims.  In each and every instance we could not confirm that an immigration operation was i...

Washington Post: The right way to mend immigration By Charles E. Schumer and Lindsey O. Graham

Friday, March 19, 2010 Our immigration system is badly broken. Although our borders have become far more secure in recent years, too many people seeking illegal entry get through. We have no way to track whether the millions who enter the United States on valid visas each year leave when they are supposed to. And employers are burdened by a complicated system for verifying workers' immigration status. Last week we met with President Obama to discuss our draft framework for action on ...

NY Times: At Rally, Call for Urgency on Immigration Reform

By JULIA PRESTON WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of immigrants and activists rallied here on Sunday, calling for legislation this year to give legal status to millions of illegal immigrants and seeking to pressure President Obama to keep working on the contentious issue once the health care debate is behind him. Demonstrators filled five lengthy blocks of the Washington Mall, down the hill from the Capitol where last-minute negotiations were under way on the health care bill. The immi...

NCTimes.com: Students rally for immigration reform

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com | Posted: Friday, March 19, 2010 7:34 pm Chanting and waving signs, more than 100 local students rallied at Escondido City Hall Friday afternoon calling for immigration reform that would legalize millions of illegal immigrants. Many of the students said they were among the millions waiting on Congress and President Barack Obama to act. They said that until the nation's immigration system is changed, their dreams of a college education and pr...

Why LGBT People Must Demand Immigration Reform

Why LGBT People Must Demand Immigration Reform There is a large battle looming in Washington over legislation to reform our nation’s immigration laws. This coming Sunday, March 21, many LGBT immigrants, their families, and allies will march in support of immigration reform. Now is the time for us, as LGBT individuals, families, and communities, to understand why immigration reform is so critical. Every day our immigration laws tear apart...

The Immigration Enforcement Rumor Mill

Posted: Thursday, March 18, 2010 3:32 pm Many of the reports about immigration enforcement emerging from local communities in recent weeks have remained unconfirmed. The difficulty of discerning which reports are true is frustrating for local leaders trying to assuage the fear that has paralyzed pockets of San Diego's Latino communities. That's because many of the warnings being spread among the Latino community by text messages and phone calls are being forwarded indiscriminately. Many ap...