Groups To Finally Take On Dobbs

After years of peddling some of the most radical right-wing conspiracy theories, giving a platform to white nationalists and other extremists, and resorting to outright lies to further his cause as an "advocacy journalist," a coalition of human and civil-rights organizations today announced the launch of a coordinated effort to finally hold Dobbs accountable for his divisive rhetoric.

Dobbs' long history of fueling anti-immigrant and anti-Latino sentiments and using his daily news and talk-radio programs as a platform to spew hate and misinformation is well documented. From discredited claims about increased leprosy levels attributed to immigrants, to his recent embrace of the fringe "birther" movement, "Mr. Idependent," as Dobbs likes to refer to himself, has continually embraced the most preposterous claims of the some of the most extreme elements of the far right.

In response, a coalition of leading civil-rights and human-rights organizations has launched a campaign targeting Dobbs' sponsors to let them know that their companies or products are tainted by their association with his brand of racially tinged hate and fearmongering and requests that they stop enabling Dobbs' continued hate speech by withdrawing their support.

You can add your voice, and let Dobbs' sponsors know that you'll no longer tolerate his blatant racism and fearmongering by signing the petition requesting them to end their support of Dobbs.

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Words Do Matter Mr. Obama

During the last ten minutes of President Obama's address to Congress on health care reform Wednesday, we witnessed perhaps one of the most stirring defenses of liberalism we've heard in years from any politician. Evoking the words and memory of the late Senator Edward Kennedy, Obama demonstrated once again the substantial oratory skills that helped put him in office. As a rhetorical exercise, his closing remarks were about as pitch perfect as it gets.

I received one of those letters a few days ago. It was from our beloved friend and colleague, Ted Kennedy. He had written it back in May, shortly after he was told that his illness was terminal. He asked that it be delivered upon his death.

In it, he spoke about what a happy time his last months were, thanks to the love and support of family and friends, his wife, Vicki, his amazing children, who are all here tonight. And he expressed confidence that this would be the year that health care reform -- "that great unfinished business of our society," he called it -- would finally pass. He repeated the truth that health care is decisive for our future prosperity, but he also reminded me that "it concerns more than material things." "What we face," he wrote, "is above all a moral issue; at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country."

I've thought about that phrase quite a bit in recent days -- the character of our country. One of the unique and wonderful things about America has always been our self-reliance, our rugged individualism, our fierce defense of freedom and our healthy skepticism of government. And figuring out the appropriate size and role of government has always been a source of rigorous and, yes, sometimes angry debate. That's our history.

For some of Ted Kennedy's critics, his brand of liberalism represented an affront to American liberty. In their minds, his passion for universal health care was nothing more than a passion for big government.

But those of us who knew Teddy and worked with him here -- people of both parties -- know that what drove him was something more. His friend Orrin Hatch -- he knows that. They worked together to provide children with health insurance. His friend John McCain knows that. They worked together on a Patient's Bill of Rights. His friend Chuck Grassley knows that. They worked together to provide health care to children with disabilities.

On issues like these, Ted Kennedy's passion was born not of some rigid ideology, but of his own experience. It was the experience of having two children stricken with cancer. He never forgot the sheer terror and helplessness that any parent feels when a child is badly sick. And he was able to imagine what it must be like for those without insurance, what it would be like to have to say to a wife or a child or an aging parent, there is something that could make you better, but I just can't afford it.

That large-heartedness -- that concern and regard for the plight of others -- is not a partisan feeling. It's not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character -- our ability to stand in other people's shoes; a recognition that we are all in this together, and when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand; a belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgment that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise.

This has always been the history of our progress. In 1935, when over half of our seniors could not support themselves and millions had seen their savings wiped away, there were those who argued that Social Security would lead to socialism, but the men and women of Congress stood fast, and we are all the better for it. In 1965, when some argued that Medicare represented a government takeover of health care, members of Congress -- Democrats and Republicans -- did not back down. They joined together so that all of us could enter our golden years with some basic peace of mind.

You see, our predecessors understood that government could not, and should not, solve every problem. They understood that there are instances when the gains in security from government action are not worth the added constraints on our freedom. But they also understood that the danger of too much government is matched by the perils of too little; that without the leavening hand of wise policy, markets can crash, monopolies can stifle competition, the vulnerable can be exploited. And they knew that when any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil conversation with each other over the things that truly matter -- that at that point we don't merely lose our capacity to solve big challenges. We lose something essential about ourselves.

whitehouse.gov

On Thursday, Rachel Maddow replayed that section of the President's speech and asked a rhetorical question as to whether Obama's soaring rhetoric about Kennedy was merely an homage to another man's liberalism or the first revelation of his own

But Maddow needed only to rewind the tape back a few minutes, and listen carefully to the words the President chose, to get the answer to that question.

Many involved in immigrants-rights and human-rights have fought for years to end the hateful and dehumanizing rhetoric that has dominated the debate over immigration reform. Rhetoric that demonizes immigrants and reinforces right-wing frames about inherent criminality, stealing jobs, abusing the social safety net, or not paying taxes.

Based far more on racism and a fear of cultural change than any factual evidence, the heated rhetoric of the extreme right has infiltrated the mainstream and become the norm. And with that mainstreaming of hate speech has come the inevitable violence that follows. It has been well documented that violence against immigrants (and those who look or sound like they might be immigrants) has grown exponentially in the past few years. From Suffolk County, NY, to Schuylkill County, PA the hate and violence unleashed upon immigrant communities is astounding.

Six boys were charged with severely beating a Guatemalan immigrant with bricks, bottles and rocks as he slept near railroad tracks, an attack that civil rights groups decried Tuesday as "hateful."

Police say six boys, ages 11 to 14, beat the 30-year-old Merida in July in Lynn, a city 10 miles northeast of Boston. Merida was hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital for a month with serious head injuries. Merida's brother said the attack caused brain damage.

In a statement, police said the Lynn boys targeted Merida because of his ethnicity. Police also said they were looking into the assault of another Guatemalan immigrant and "the possibility that the attack was not the first perpetrated by these youths.

AP

When children at such early age are filled with so much hate that they are compelled to beat a sleeping man nearly to death, leaving him with permanent brain damage, simply because if the color of his skin it seems we are light years way from the President's soaring rhetoric about a nation of character.

But then again, he too must share some blame for the culture of hate that has sprung up.

For all the flowery words and poignant remarks about race he's made throughout his campaign and presidency, when push comes to shove, he has been all too ready to embrace the rhetoric and policies of the right when it's politically expedient.

"There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms -- the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally".

And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up -- under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place.

whitehouse.gov

The President is a man who chooses his words carefully, and his choice of the words "illegal immigrant" was purposeful and intentional.

He certainly didn't use that term back in the fall as he was courting the Latino vote and always called those without proper authorization, "undocumented immigrants".

In fact, the change was a a conscious decision made months ago by the President, Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Chuck Schumer when they first began to lay the groundwork for moving forward on immigration reform legislation and felt the need to look and act tough on immigration in hopes of winning over Republicans.


Some might argue that it's only a matter of semantics …. But let me assure you, that for those on the receiving end of that de facto racial slur it makes a difference. As it does for those who listen for the dog whistles of hate to justify their own warped beliefs and actions.

The President plays a very dangerous game when he flirts with the rhetoric of the right or embraces their policies like 287(g), E-verify, or increased detention and deportation, as a means to mollify the right in hopes that they might work with him on immigration reform in the future.

From a political perspective it seems that the lessons that should have been learned over the last few months of the health care debate about the willingness of the right to compromise have been lost on Mr. Obama. He willingly conceded on single-payer, wavers on the public option, and throws millions of immigrants and women under the bus, denying them any opportunity to access the health care we continually hear should be a right for all ...and for what? Has it gotten him a single extra Republican vote?

But more importantly, it is a matter of what Senator Kennedy would call "a moral issue, a fundamental principle of social justice and the character of our country." It's matter of simple human dignity, and the rights of all to live without fear or violence. Obama's willingness to dance with the devil has real-life consequences for millions and allows those who wish to push the debate to the extreme the opportunity to move the bar just one step further to the right. One step closer to the dark nether regions of their twisted souls.

My good friend Marisa Treviño over at Latina Lista has a good take on this

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Demand Justice for Julio Maldonado.

This past Wednesday, police in Patchogue NY were once again called to investigate another hate crime. This time it was at a small church directly across the street from where Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero had been brutally stabbed to death by a roving gang of racist youths last November. A window of the Iglesia Evangelica Refugio de Salvacion had been broken and notes with messages like "Hispanics don't rule, whites do" were strewn across the alter.

Ironically, this happened on the same day that the Southern Poverty Law Center was in town to announce the release of a detailed report documenting the nativist hate and culture of violence that had been festering in Long Island's Suffolk County for years.

The culmination of months of investigation and interviews with Latino residents, both documented and undocumented, the report details how "Latino immigrants in Suffolk County are regularly harassed, taunted, and pelted with objects hurled from cars. …frequently run off the road while riding bicycles, and … beaten with baseball bats and other objects. Others have been shot with BB guns or pepper-sprayed. Most will not walk alone after dark; parents often refuse to let their children play outside. A few have been the targets of arson attacks and worse."

The report also found that "fueling the fire are many of the very people who are charged with protecting the residents of Suffolk County — local politicians and law enforcement officials….immigrants told the SPLC that the police were, at best, indifferent to their reports of harassment, and, at worst, contributors to it. Many said police did not take their reports of attacks seriously, often blaming the victim instead."

But the inability to receive protection from local authorities and justice from the courts is nothing new in immigrant communities across the country. The case of Luis Ramirez demonstrated with glaring clarity just how little justice there is for the victims of nativist hate.

For those lucky enough to survive vicious attacks, or more so, defend themselves against them, a Pandora's box of injustice, bigotry, and bureaucratic negligence is often opened wide to release the worst demons of the American (un)justice system.

Perhaps nowhere has this been demonstrated more clearly than in the case of Julio Maldonado and his cousin Denis Calderon.

Born in Peru in 1967, Julio and Denis were both long-time lawful permanent residents. Julio has lived in the U.S. since the age of three and has a longtime U.S. citizen fiancée. Denis has a U.S. citizen wife and U.S. citizen children. In 1996, Julio was visiting Denis at his home in Philadelphia when the two were victims of a racially-motivated attack by a group of white youths who insulted them with a racial slurs. When the cousins responded to the slur, the youths began throwing beer bottles at them. Within minutes, the streets were filled by a mob of angry white youths that neighbors later characterized as "like a riot." The two cousins tried to escape, and then attempted to defend themselves.

On Friday August 2, 1996, Julio Maldonado (resident of NYC) went to visit his family in Philadelphia for the weekend. On that Saturday evening, while Julio was visiting his cousin, Denis Calderon and family they decided to go to a pub around the corner from Denis’ home for a quick drink as a way to end their happy reunion.

… As they reached the corner, they noticed groups of people spread across both sides of Frontenac Street. They were drinking and being loud, so instead of walking on the sidewalk through these men’s paths, they continued their walk on the street, sort of diagonally towards Frontenac Bar. About half way through, a few of those young men jumped in front them and started yelling curse words and racial slurs (niggers, spics etc.). They demanded Denis and Julio leave their neighborhood NOW. Denis tried to explain he lived around the corner and that seemed to anger them more since one of them chanted “we should have never let you spics and niggers in our neighborhood”. It was evident they knew Denis and his family were the only Latino in their neighborhood and they just wanted him out. Julio tried telling them they didn’t want any problems and were just passing by, but the verbally racial attacks escalated to threats of violence against Denis and his family.

More youths quickly joined the attack and Julio noticed one of them pull out a knife or something shiny from underneath a nearby parked car.

… As Julio fended off his attackers he got closer to Denis’ home. That’s when he saw Denis helpless on the ground getting pounced and kicked by several of his attackers. At one point it even seemed that they were tugging his body apart and that’s when Julio saw one of the attackers was pulling Denis’ t-shirt over and covering his head (as if to remove it) with one hand while holding a knife with the other as he repeatedly stabbed Denis on the side, under his arm, by his chest. Julio saw the blood dripping from Denis’ body, his side, all over his legs and started screaming at the attackers to let him go, but no one stopped the attack and Julio feared the worst was yet to come. Somehow, in his desperation he was able to break from his own attack and leaped towards the car he had parked in front of Denis’ home. The windows were rolled down and he reached in to grab “the club” (a 2 piece auto steering wheel locking metal device).

… Julio then leaped back towards the men attacking Denis and again yelled at them and in particular to the man holding the knife, stabbing Denis to “Get the F*** off my cousin” several times but his pleads went ignored. No one tried to help and/or stop the attack. Julio then raised the club to take a swing towards the assailant as a way to startle him, maybe get him to release Denis or at the minimum get to knock the knife off his hands, but in midair of the swing, the device’s top half (which was loosely connected) split off; flew up in the air and landed on a nearby car. This made Julio loose his footing and as he tried to gain balance, the downward swing continued and barely brushed the attacker’s shoulder – sort of grazing him and ultimately causing him to release the knife. He then got up, took a few steps back and collapsed to the ground.

Families Against Injustice Towards Humanity

When police and paramedics finally arrived at the scene they quickly tended to 18 year old Christian Saladino, the assailant who had stabbed Denis, who had suffered what later was determined to be some sort of stroke or heart attack due to a pre-existing blood condition.

When the police arrived, they arrested Denis and Julio. They recovered two knives at the scene but did not test them for blood or fingerprints since no witness testified that Denis or Julio had used a knife. Denis and Julio were charged with aggravated assault. None of the white youths were ever charged with any crime.

Seth Williams, the current Democratic nominee for District Attorney of Philadelphia, was then the young prosecutor on the case. He fought hard on the case and Denis and Julio’s attorneys made some crucial errors, including failing to insist on a jury trial. Judge Gregory Smith found the two cousins guilty of aggravated assault and other ancillary charges in a bench trial. Each defendant served 2-3 years in prison for that conviction.

Hate Crime Victim Julio Maldonado wrongfully convicted now deported

Unfortunately, Saladino never recovered and remained in a coma until his death in 1998. The District Attorney then brought murder charges against Julio and Denis. After medical evidence showed that Saladino did not sustain any external physical injuries that could have led to his death and that he had a preexisting medical condition that most likely accounted for his reaction, the cousins were acquitted in a jury trial….but the original assault charges stuck due to a technicality about the way the attorneys had originally filled their paperwork. They appealed the original conviction all the way to the Supreme Court, but lost their case on that technicality.

Now, Julio is about to be released. But what should be a happy time for him and his family, has turned into a bureaucratic nightmare.

Due to the changes in immigration law that came with Clinton's "Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act of 1996", Julio is now considered a"criminal alien" subject to immediate deportation back to a country he hasn't seen since he was three years old. The cousins refused to cooperate with authorities, and would not voluntarily sign paperwork that would result in their own deportations. They have now served four additional years for their failing to cooperative with DHS requests.

Several years ago, DHS got involved and put the cousins into removal proceedings on the basis of the conviction which was then being appealed. Julio and Denis appealed their immigration case up to the Third Circuit and lost.
In 2005, Julio and Denis were charged and convicted with failing to cooperate in their own removal because they would not sign the papers necessary to request travel documents from Peru so they could be deported. They have been in federal prison on those charges since 2005. Julio's release date was moved up a year due to good behavior. DHS has expressed its intent to deport him once he is released on September 12, 2009.

In a little more than a week, Julio Maldonado will be released from prison after serving years for defending himself against a hate crime.

He's been a victim far too many times. First at the hands of racist bullies on that hot August night in 1996. Then again at the hands of the police and prosecutors who refused to punish the true criminals, instead choosing to persecute the victim for political gain. Then again when incompetent and ineffectual legal council prevented the cousins release. And now as an unbending immigration system plans to deal one final blow.

Julio recently filed for a pardon from Pennsylvania Governor Rendell. His immigration attorney is exploring the possibility of a stay of removal based on the pending pardon.

You can help by letting Governor Rendell know that Julio has suffered enough…. It's time to finally grant justice for Julio Moldanado.

or, Create a Petition

Change.org

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Over 500 Groups Demand End To Local Immigration Checks

Since taking office, the Obama Administration has been doing a carefully choreographed dance with both sides of the immigration debate in an attempt to place itself in a "sweet spot" where it believes it will be able to appease all concerned parties when the thorny issue of immigration reform finally moves up the legislative agenda.

Taking a cue from past administrations who tackled immigration legislation, like Reagan in 86, and Clinton in 95, Obama has chosen to pave the way for negotiations by launching a pre-emptive strike against opposition from the right by engaging in increased crackdowns and heavy-handed enforcement to prove that he's "serious about enforcing the law". Both Reagan and Clinton engaged in increased workplace raids and ramped up deportations before coming to the table to negotiate. Bush, did the same after the failure of reform legislation in 06.

But Obama, being much more attuned than his predecessors to the potential negative PR ramifications of pictures of crying children, or parents being paraded around in shackles, plastered across the pages of the New York Times or the Nightly News, has chosen to send his dog-whistle messages to the right in far more subtle ways.

Since taking office he's increased the number of deportations and detentions through the use of roundups of "criminal aliens" (and anyone within proximity to them), and increased use of local law enforcement to single out undocumented immigrants at traffic stops and routine misdemeanor calls. Additionally he's ramped up the use of the provisions of Clinton's 1996 legislation that allows the deportation of legal residents who've run afoul of the law (even years ago on minor charges.)

While both he, and his Homeland Defense Secretary, have promised to review it's agreements with local enforcement agencies and revise their detention policies to make them more "humane", neither has been willing to totally abandon the enforcement policies that fill those detention centers.

Finally last week, 521 immigrant-rights and human-rights organizations threw down the gauntlet and demanded that the Administration immediately terminate the Department of Homeland Security's 287(g) program that allows over 66 different local law enforcement agencies to run roughshod over the constitution

August 25, 2009

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We, the undersigned civil rights, community, and immigrant rights organizations, urge you to immediately terminate the 287(g) program operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The program has come under severe criticism this year because local law enforcement agencies that have been granted 287(g) powers are using the program to target communities of color, including disproportionate numbers of Latinos in particular places, for arrest. Racial profiling and other civil rights abuses by the local law enforcement agencies that have sought out 287(g) powers have compromised public safety, while doing nothing to solve the immigration crisis.

We applaud your recent remarks acknowledging, that “there is a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately.” However, DHS’s continued use of the 287(g) program exacerbates exactly this type of racial profiling. In light of well-documented evidence that local law enforcement agencies are using 287(g) powers to justify and intensify racial profiling, Secretary Napolitano’s July 10, 2009 announcement that DHS has expanded the 287(g) program to include 11 new jurisdictions is deeply alarming.

Since its inception, the 287(g) program has drawn sharp criticism from federal officials, law enforcement, and local community groups. The program, largely recognized as a failed Bush experiment, relinquishes the power to enforce immigration law to local law enforcement and corrections agencies and has resulted in the widespread use of pretextual traffic stops, racially motivated questioning, and unconstitutional searches and seizures primarily in communities of color. In a country where racial profiling by law enforcement agents has led to massive arrests of people of color, these efforts to push immigrants into the criminal justice system is not surprising, but absolutely counterproductive to increasing public safety.

A March 2009 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report criticized DHS for program mismanagement and insufficient oversight of the controversial program. The DHS Inspector General is currently conducting an audit of the 287(g) program, and the Department of Justice launched a civil rights investigation into the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, whose 287(g) program has been widely criticized for engaging in racial and ethnic profiling. The Police Foundation, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Major Cities Chiefs Association have expressed concerns that deputizing local law enforcement officers to enforce civil federal immigration law undermines their core public safety mission, diverts scarce resources, increases their exposure to liability and litigation, and exacerbates fear in communities.

Reports of abuse in local communities have been widespread. In Davidson County, Tennessee, the Sheriff’s Office used its 287(g) power to apprehend undocumented immigrants driving to work, standing at day labor sites, or while fishing off piers. One pregnant woman---charged with driving without a license---was shackled to her bed during labor. In Gwinnett County, Georgia, even without formal 287(g) powers, over 350 individuals were detained and deported from the jail this February after being arrested for driving without a license, a county ordinance violation, or on traffic or misdemeanor charges. The Gwinnett jail is triple-bunked, with one person in each cell sleeping on the floor, and the jail’s internal SWAT team is known for appearing in ski masks to subdue detainees it deems uncooperative. Yet, Gwinnett County is among the 11 jurisdictions granted new 287(g) approval by Secretary Napolitano earlier this month.

In a recent research report, Justice Strategies, a nonpartisan research firm, found evidence that links the expansion of the program to racial animus against communities of color. According to FBI and census data, sixty-one percent of ICE-deputized localities had violent and property crime indices lower than the national average, while eighty-seven percent of these localities had a rate of Latino population growth higher than the national average.

The abusive misuse of the 287(g) program by its current slate of agencies has rendered it not only ineffective, but dangerous to community safety. The program has worked counter to community policing goals by eroding the trust and cooperation of immigrant communities and diverted already reduced law enforcement resources from their core mission. DHS’s proposed changes to the program not only fail to correct its serious flaws,
but also create new ones.

We know that you are committed to tackling our nation’s most complex issues, for these reasons we ask that you examine the damaging impact the 287(g) program is having on immigrant communities across the country and terminate the program. We would be pleased to provide additional information or recommendations regarding current programs and operations of DHS.

Thank you for your consideration. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Marielena Hincapié, executive director, National Immigration Law Center

Sincerely,
Marielena Hincapie
National Immigration Law Center
Executive Director

Kudos to those organizations standing up for human and civil rights for all:

National Organizations:

9 to 5, National Association of Working Women
Action Committee for Women in Prison (ACWIP)
Adrian Dominican Sisters
African American Ministers in Action (AAMIA)
All of Us or None
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
American Arab Forum (AAF)
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
American G.I. Forum (AGIF)
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
Asian American Justice Center (AAJC)
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)
ASISTA Immigration Assistance
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC)
Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR)
BRAC
Breakthrough: Building Human Rights Culture
Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)
Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law
Center for Media Justice
Center for New Community
Center for Third World Organizing (CTWO)
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ)
Church World Service, Immigration and Refugee Program
Citizen Orange
Coalition of African, Arab, Asian, European and Latino Immigrant (CAAAELII)
Colombian American Cultural Society
Consejo de Federaciones Mexicanas en Norteamerica (COFEM)
Council on Crime and Justice
Defending Dissent Foundation
Deported Diaspora
Detention Watch Network (DWN)
Drug Policy Alliance Network (DPA Network)
Drum Major Institute (DMI)
Equal Justice Society
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM)
Fellowship of Reconciliation USA (FOR USA)
Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC)
Foundation for Change
Foundations for Our New Alkebulan/Afrikan Millennium (FONAMI)
Gamaliel Foundation
Guatemalan Immigrant Movement (MIGUA)
Global Action Project (GAP)
Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW)
Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
Grassroots Leadership
Gray Panthers
Hermandad Mexicana Transnacional
Hispanic American Association
Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC)
INCITE! Women of Color Against Domestic Violence
International CURE
Irish Apostolate USA
Jobs with Justice (JWJ)
Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Network (JPIC)
Justice Strategies
La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE)
Latino Justice PRLDEF
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR)
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR)
Legion of Mary
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)
Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM)
March 25 Coalition
Medical Mission Sisters' Alliance for Justice
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
Ms. Foundation for Women
Mundo Maya Foundation, Inc.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund
National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean Communities (NALACC)
National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV)
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF)
National Black Police Association (NBPA)
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON)
National Employment Law Project (NELP)
National Immigrant Bond Fund
National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, Inc.
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR)
National Training and Information Center (NTIC)
National People's Action (NPA)
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA)
Pax Christi USA
People For the American Way (PFAW)
Progressive States Network
Real Cost of Prisons Project (RCPP)
Respect Respeto
Rights Working Group (RWG)
Ruckus Society
Safe Streets Art Foundation
Salvadoran American National Network (SANN)
Sentencing Project
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas--Institute Justice Team
Sisters of the Holy Cross – Congregation Justice Committee
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
SpeakOut - Institute for Democratic Education & Culture
SpiritHouse
Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice
The Caribbean Voice
The Episcopal Church
The Praxis Project
The Tahirih Justice Center
Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action (TIGRA)
United Network for Immigrants and Refugee Rights (UNIRR)
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United African Organization
United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)
United for a Fair Economy (UFE)
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
United Methodist Women (UMW)
United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS)
United We DREAM (UWD)
Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC)
VIVE, Inc.
VivirLatino.com
War Times/Tiempo de Guerras
William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI)
Women of Color United
Women's Refugee Commission
World Organization for Human Rights


Regional, State and Local Organizations:

32BJ SEIU
9 to5 Atlanta
9to5 Bay Area
9to5 Colorado
9to5 Milwaukee
9to5 Los Angeles
A New Way of Life Reentry Project
American Postal Workers Union AFL-CIO Local 591
Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment (ABLE)
ACORN California
African American Ministers in Action
AFSC - San Diego
AFSC-Austin office
AFT/ Nicaragua Center for Community Action
AIDS Care Ocean State
Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras
Alianza Latinoamericana por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes (ALIADI)
Alliance of White Anti-Racists Everywhere - Los Angeles (AWARE-LA)
Amigos Multicultural Services Center
Annunciation House, Inc.
Anti-Racist Action-Los Angeles/People Against Racist Terror (ARA-LA)
Arab Resource and Organizing Center
Arise Chicago
Arizona Advocacy Network
Arizona Dream Act Coalition
Asian / Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project
Asian Law Alliance
Asian Law Caucus
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition
Bay Area Immigration Taskforce/JFON
Bend-Condega Friendship Project
Benedictine Mission House
Berkshire Immigrant Center
Blessing Xchange
Books Not Bars
Border Action
Border Ambassadors
Boulder Community United
Brass Liberation Orchestra
Brazilian Total Assistance, Inc.
Building Locally to Organize for Community Safety (BLOCS)
CADENA
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
California Prison Moratorium Project
Canal Alliance
Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition
CASA de Maryland
Casa de Proyecto Libertad
Casa Esperanza
Casa Freehold
Casa Latina
Catholic Caucus Southeast Michigan
The Catholic Center
Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking LA (CAST LA)
Catholic Community of St. Michael/St. Patrick
Catholic Legal Services, Archdiocese of Miami, Inc.
Center for Artistic Revolution (CAR)
Center for Independent Living of South Florida, Inc.
Center for Participatory Change (CPC)
Central American Resource Center (CRECEN)
Centro Campesino Farmworker Center, Inc.
Centro de Orientacion del Inmigrante CODI
Centro de Servicios Hispanos, WI
Centro Hispano
Centro Hispano Comunitario De Nebraska
Challenging White Supremacy (CWS)
Chelsea Collaborative
Chiapas Support Committee
Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM)
Chicago Media Watch (CMA)
Chicago New Sanctuary Coalition
Children and Family Justice Center
Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA)
Christian Alliance of Arkansas
Citizens Against Recidivism, Inc.
Citizens Alert
Citizens for Border Solutions
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)
Comisión Latinoamericana por los Derechos y Libertades de los Trabajadores y Pueblos
(CLADEHLT)
Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM)
Claire Heureuse Community Center, Inc
Club Migrante Cheran-Sur de Ilinois
Coalition for Economic Justice
Coalition for Justice, Peace and Dignity
Coalition for Prisoners' Rights
Coalition of Latino Leaders (CLILA)
Coastal Community Action Inc
CODEPINK Arizona
Coalicion de Organizaciones Latino-Americanas (COLA)
Collaborative Center for Justice, Inc.
Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA)
Community Coalition for Healthcare Access
Community Development Project, Urban Justice Center
Community to Community Development
Community United Against Violence (CUAV)
Community Works West
Companeros
Cristo Rey Catholic Church
Critical Resistance - Los Angeles
Darfur Community Organization
Direct Action for Rights and Equality
Discrimination & National Security Initiative
Dominican Development Center-DDC
East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy
East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
East Williamson County Democratic Club
EastSide Arts Alliance
Economic Justice Coalition
El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos
El Centro de la Raza
El Centro Latino, Inc.
El Grupo of North San Diego County
El Pueblo - Immigration Legal Services
El Pueblo, Inc.
El Vinculo Hispano
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
English for Action
Equal Justice Center
FaithAction International House
Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC)
Families for Freedom
Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes (FACTS)
Farmworker Association of Florida
Filipinos for Affirmative Action
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Freedom House
Freeport Community Worklink Center
Fuerza Laboral
Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights
Georgia Rural Urban Summit
Georgia STAND UP
Glenmary Commission on Justice
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
Gloria Dei Step Up Center
Good Shepher of the Hills Episcopal Church Cave Creek
Greater Boston United for Justice with Peace Coalition
Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition
Grupo Shalom
Guatemala Solidarity Committee Boston
Green Valley Samaritans/The Good Shepherd United Church Of Christ
Hand in Hand/ Mano en Mano
Harris County Green Party
Health Education Solutions
Heartland Alliance National Immigrant Justice Center
Highlander Research and Education Center
Hispanic Coalition, Inc.
Hispanic Resource Center of Larchmont and Mamaroneck
Homies Unidos
Houston DREAM Act Coalition
Houston Interfaith Worker Justice Center
Hudson Valley Community Coalition, Inc.
Human Concerns Committee St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Palo Alto CA
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas
Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA)
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Immigrant Defense Project (IDP)
Immigrant Family Advocates of Bend, Oregon
Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP)
Immigrant Rights Clinic, NYU School of Law
Immigration Clinic, University of MD School of Law
Immigration Law Clinic, UC Davis
Immigrant Solidarity Dupage
Immigration Research Team, A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy (AMOS)
INCITE! LA
Indo-American Center
Institute for Urban Policy Research
Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center - Cincinnati
Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center-- Congregation of St. Joseph
Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice of South Central Wisconsin
International Institute of Rhode Island
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault
IRATE & First Friends
Irish Immigration Center
Jobs With Justice of East Tennessee
Jewish Community Action
JUNTOS/Casa de los Soles
Justice and Peace Commission
Justice Now
Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana
Kentucky Interfaith Taskforce for Latin America and the Caribbean
Kino Border Initiative
Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC)
Korean Resource Center (KRCLA)
La Capilla de Santa Maria, Episcopal Church
La Causa, Inc.
La Fuente
La Raza Centro Legal
Labor/Community Strategy Center
Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center
Latin American Coalition
Latino Advocacy Coalition of Henderson County
Latino American Initiative of Nebraska (LAI)
Latino American employee network of Creighton University (LAEN-CU)
Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey
Latino Union of Chicago
Latino Youth Collective of Indiana
League of Rural Voters
League of United Latin American Citizens #754
League of United Latin American Citizens #761
League of United Latin American Citizens Florida
Legal Aid Justice Center -- Immigrant Advocacy Program
Legal Aid Service of Broward County
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC)
Legal Voice
Liberian Community Association of Central New Jersey & the Metro
Living Waters Lutheran Church
Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition
Long Island Immigrant Solidarity
Long Island Jobs with Justice
Los Angles Community Legal Center and Educational
MA Resist the Raids Network
Make the Road New York
March 10th Movement
Marin Interfaith Task Force on the Americas (MITF)
Massachusetts Global Action
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Massachusetts Jobs with Justice
Matahari: Eye of the Day
McHenry County Latino Coalition
Meadowlark Center
Middlesex County Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Migration and Refugee Services Diocese of Trenton
Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition (MIRAc)
Mission Houston
Missouri Immigrant & Refugee Advocates
Monmouth County Pax Christi
Monsoon United Asian Women of Iowa
Mount Kisco Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Council
Movimiento Migrante Mesoamericano
Mujeres Unidas y Activas
Multicultural Center of Hope
NC Justice Center
Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest
Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Immigration Services Project
New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Committee
New Jersey Immigration Policy Network
New Jersey Tenants Organization
New Labor
New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice (NOWCRJ)
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI)
New York State Youth Leadership Council (NYSYLC)
NH Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees
NJ Coalition for Battered Women
No More Deaths-Phoenix
North Carolina Council of Churches
North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCCASA)
Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Northwest Federation of Community Organizations (NWFCO)
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)
Project Rebound
Ohio Justice and Policy Center
Olneyville Neighborhood Association
ONE/Northwest
OneAmerica
Oregon New Sanctuary Movement
Organization of Chinese Americans - Westchester & Hudson Valley
Organization of Chinese Americans- New Jersey Chapter
Palm Beach County Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Partnership for Safety & Justice (PSJ)
Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project
Pastores en Accion
Pax Christi Austin
Pax Christi Metro New York
Pax Christi Metrowest
Pax Christi NJ
Pax Christi Texas
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape
Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition
People of Faith Peacemakers
People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources (PODER)
Portland Green Cultural Projects Ltd
Prax(us)
Presentation Sisters
Priority Africa Network
Prison Policy Initiative
Project South
Providence Students for a Democratic Society
Proyecto Azteca
Proyecto Digna, Inc
Proyecto Voz, American Friends Service Committee - New England
Public Justice Center
Quad Cities Interfaith (Gamaliel Network)
Reform Immigration FOR Arkansas Coalition
Resource Center of the Americas
RI Jobs with Justice
RI Mobilization Committee to Stop War and Occupation
Rights for All People
Rochester Committee on Latin America
Rockland Immigration Coalition
Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
Rural Organizing Project
Safe Streets/Strong Communities
School of the Americas Watch L. A. chapter
School Sisters of Notre Dame - Global Justice & Peace Commission
Service Center for Latinos Inc.
Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN)
Shalom Community Church
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Central Leadership
Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill
Sisters of Mercy in Guam
Sisters of Mercy Sisters of Mercy Community of New York, Pennsylvania
Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Justice Team
Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Leadership Team
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
Sisters of Providence Mother Joseph Province
Sisters of St. Francis
Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester
Sisters of the Divine Compassion
Social Justice Guild of the First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta
Somervile/Medford United with Justice and Peace
Somos America
SOS Inc.
South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault
South Texas Civil Rights Project
Southern California Library
Southern Center for Human Rights
Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services
Southern Poverty Law Center
Southwest Creations Collaborative
Southwest Organizing Project
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW!
St. Francis Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee
St. Joseph Valley Project - Jobs with Justice
St. Peter's Housing Committee
St. Pious Immigration Reform Group
Sunflower Community Action - Comunidad Latina en Accion
Texas Civil Rights Project
Texas Criminal Justice Coalition
Texas Indigenous Council
Texas Jail Project
Texas/Oklahoma/New Mexico Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers
Association
The Advocates for Human Rights
The Ashe County Health Council, A Healthy Carolinians Task Force
The Austin Center for Peace and Justice
The Harriet Tubman Freedom House Project
The Hispanic/Latino Center, Inc.
The Jubilee Center at Saint Matthew/San Mateo Episcopal Church
The Network/La Red
The New York Immigration Coalition
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition
The Trauma Healing Project, Inc
Time for Change Foundation
TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition
Tonatierra
Town of East Hampton Anti-Bias Task Force
Trinity Episcopal Church
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of RI
Unite for Dignity, Inc.
UNited Dubuque Immigrant Alliance (UN DIA)
Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights
Ursuline Sisters
Ursulines of Brown County
Utah Immigrant And Refugee Integration Coalition
Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
Vermont Workers' Center
Violence Intervention Program (VIP)
Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations
Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
Virginia Organizing Project
Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance
Voces de la Frontera
Voice of the Ex-offender
Watts/Century Latino Organization
WeCount!
West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project
Westchester Hispanic Coalition
Western NC Community Health Services
Westside Community Action Network Center, Inc.
Wind of the Spirit, Immigrant Resource Center
WISDOM, The Gamaliel Foundation in Wisconsin
Women's Employment Rights Clinic
Women for CrossCultural Action
Women Helping Women
Workers Defense Project (PDL)
Workers Interfaith Network (WIN)
Workers' Rights Center
Workers' Rights Law Center of New York, Inc. (WRLC)
Young Democratic Socialists (YDS)
Youth Justice Coalition
Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice

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