Immigrant Rights Topics

Immigration

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Immigrant Rights

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  • Fanny_martinez_button

    Undocumented Student Fanny Martinez Arrested Protesting Controversial Secure Communities Program

    Last night in Chicago, the controversy over the immigration enforcement program called Secure Communities reached a dramatic standoff when six undocumented students were arrested protesting a meeting to discuss the program. Wearing T-shirts that said "Undocumented and Unafraid," the students joined about 300 people in walking out of the meeting. Once outside, they blocked an expressway on-ramp in an act of civil disobedience. Protests...
    Aug 18, 2011 | Story
  • Ice_securecomm_button

    Should U.S. End Secure Communities? Sheriff Adrian Garcia Debates Immigrant Advocate Chris Newman

    Many are criticizing the Obama administration for unilaterally pushing ahead with a controversial federal immigration enforcement policy called Secure Communities that requires local police to forward fingerprints of every person they arrest to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In recent months, the governors of Illinois, Massachusetts and New York announced they are pulling out of the program, but now officials from U.S. Immigration and...
    Aug 18, 2011 | Story
  • Book_button

    "News for All the People": Juan González & Joseph Torres on the Epic Story of Race & the U.S. Media

    After seven years of research, the groundbreaking new book, "News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media," examines how the media has played a pivotal role in perpetuating racist views in the United States. It recalls lives of the unsung pioneering black, Latino, Native American and Asian-American journalists who challenged the worst racial aspects of the white-owned media. It also tells the untold story of...
    Oct 13, 2011 | Story
  • Alabama_immigration_kid_web

    Harsh Immigration Laws Threaten "Humanitarian Crisis" in Alabama, Prompting Latinos to Fight Back

    The state of Alabama became the latest hotspot in the national immigration debate when it enacted a new law, HB 56, that requires police to arrest anyone they suspect of being in the country without legal status. It also prevents courts from enforcing contracts involving undocumented immigrants and allows public schools to determine the immigration status of enrolled students. Last week, a federal appeals court blocked enforcement of parts of...
    Oct 20, 2011 | Story
  • Detention_web

    "Lost in Detention": As Obama Admin Deports Record 400,000, Film Explores What Immigrants Face Behind Bars

    The Obama administration has released new figures showing U.S. deportations of immigrants reached a record high. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it deported nearly 400,000 people in fiscal year 2011, the highest total in the agency’s eight years. The data was released the same day a coalition of Latino and immigrant rights groups held a National Day of Action to protest Obama’s immigration policies. The protesters called...
    Oct 20, 2011 | Story
  • Pearce_arpaio_web

    Latino Voters Help Dethrone Anti-Immigrant Champion in Historic Arizona State Senate Recall Election

    The architect of Arizona’s controversial anti-immigration law, Russell Pearce, lost a major recall election Tuesday night, becoming the first Arizona state senator ever to do so. He is required to step down immediately and will be replaced by newly elected Republican Jerry Lewis. Pearce wrote Senate Bill 1070, which requires police to investigate the immigration status of people they have lawfully detained. He was also behind an effort to...
    Nov 10, 2011 | Story
  • Pancho-ramos-yoga-arrest-ows

    Occupy Oakland Protester Pancho Ramos Stierle Faces Deportation After Arrest While Meditating

    The arrest of a high-profile undocumented protester has brought immigration issues to the forefront of the movement. In California on Monday, Francisco "Pancho" Ramos Stierle was seized while meditating at Oscar Grant Plaza during an early morning raid on the Occupy Oakland encampment. Rather than being released on bail, Pancho was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody under the Secure Communities program, which...
    Nov 18, 2011 | Story
  • Arpairo

    Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Mounting Storm of Anti-Latino Bias, Prisoner Abuse, Sex-Crimes Negligence

    The controversy around Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is growing by the day. In a scathing report, the Justice Department has accused Arpaio of "wide-ranging discrimination against Latinos," leading federal authorities to suspend Arpaio’s access to programs under which undocumented immigrants are handed over from his jail for deportation. "The federal government was using Arpaio as sort of a showcase, a model for its 287(g) program,...
    Dec 22, 2011 | Story
  • Jakadrien_turner

    Deportation of U.S. Teen to Colombia Latest Failure of Immigration System

    The family of a Dallas teenager Jakadrien Turner is demanding answers after she was deported to Colombia, despite the fact that she is a U.S. citizen and speaks no Spanish. Turner, a 15-year-old African-American runaway, was living in Houston when she was arrested for shoplifting and gave police a fake name that belonged to a 22-year-old undocumented immigrant from Colombia with warrants for her arrest. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
    Jan 06, 2012 | Story
  • Mitt_romney_showbutton

    Exploring Mitt Romney's Shifting Stances from "Moderate" Governor to GOP Front-Runner

    As Mitt Romney surges in his bid for the Republican nomination, we take an in-depth look at his career and political record with reporter David Bernstein of the Boston Phoenix, who has covered Romney for many years. Bernstein details Romney’s shifting stances over the years on a number of key political issues to appease Republican voters in his bid for the party’s nomination. "The basic [Obamacare] system is entirely taken from...
    Feb 01, 2012 | Story