Immigrant and Worker Rights Coalition (IWRC)

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32780853281811854022025-09-05T19:58:05.361-04:00Immigrant and Worker Rights Coalition (IWRC)The Western Massachusetts Immigrant and Worker Rights Coalition is a group of organizations and community members who advocate, educate, organize, and mobilize to protect the Human, Civil, and Constitutional Rights of all workers and residents in our communities.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-75910828251343929632011-04-29T14:31:00.003-04:002011-04-29T14:36:41.634-04:00"Civil Writes" for the Preserving Our Civil Rights Campaign

Last Saturday, April 23rd, ten volunteers from the American Friends Service Committee and the Bill of Rights Defense Committee invited Northampton residents to participate in “Civil Writes.” “Civil Writes” is a project of the Preserving Our Civil Rights Campaign. Participants were able to artistically express what civil rights means to each of them, as well as signing postcards to their city

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-21816298098211699192011-04-13T14:30:00.004-04:002011-04-13T14:37:40.561-04:00Community Forum: Preserving Our Civil RIghts Campaign

On Wednesday, May 23rd, 80 people gathered for a Community Forum for the Preserving Our Civil Rights Campaign.Speakers included Falguni Sheth, professor at Hampshire College; Jasmin Torrejon from the Committee for Justice for Jason; Hazel Dardano, community activist with ADP; Rich Hernandez from the Northampton Human Rights Commission, and Bill Newman from the ACLU of Massachusetts.Panelist and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-8275596715982758772009-08-06T11:29:00.001-04:002009-08-06T11:32:43.414-04:00Prayer Vigil in Support of Immigration Reform

Reform Immigration for America NowPrayer Vigil in Support of Immigration Reformand the Dignity of ImmigrantsThursday August 27, 20096:00 pmNew Federal Building300 State StreetSpringfield, MA For more information contact info@a-dp.org

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-24536467654379320522009-07-30T11:02:00.001-04:002009-07-30T11:13:21.798-04:00Obama Accused of Continuing Bush's Racial Profiling of Immigrants

By Roberto Lovato, AlterNet. Posted July 29, 2009.http://www.alternet.org/story/141624/?page=entireCan a president who is, by any measure, far more forthright and lyrical than his predecessors about the pernicious effects of racism simultaneously promote and expand the racist policies of past administrations?This is the question vexing many in immigrants rights, Latino, civil rights and other

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-22973412473837815762009-07-28T14:22:00.001-04:002009-07-28T14:24:00.125-04:00Immigrant Detainee Rights are Routinely, Systematically Violated, New Report Finds

"A Broken System" is based on 18,000 Pages of Previously Confidential ICE, ABA, and UNHCR Reviews of Detention Centers LOS ANGELES - Denied access to loved ones, lawyers and basic necessities, the fundamental rights of the men and women within the nation's immigration detention system are routinely and systematically violated, according to a new report released today by the National

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-2139044108924403812009-07-28T11:47:00.002-04:002009-07-28T11:51:02.042-04:00O'Malley decries immigrant health care cut - Articles of Faith - Boston.com

O'Malley decries immigrant health care cut - Articles of Faith - Boston.comPosted using ShareThisCardinal Sean P. O'Malley, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Boston, is expressing opposition to a possible cut to state-subsidized health insurance coverage for some legal immigrants.Here's the relevant portion of his most recent blog entry: "As I do upon occasion, before I get to the events of my

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-27472555897213189892009-07-27T12:01:00.001-04:002009-07-27T12:02:59.928-04:00MA Treasurer Statement Justifies Treatment of Immigrants

Treasurer Devalues ImmigrantsBOSTON-- On Friday, State Treasurer Tim Cahill raised the ugly rhetorical justification for the state legislature's termination of healthcare coverage to 30,000 legal, tax-paying residents. Commenting on the legislature's decision to cut recent permanent residents and other immigrants from Commonwealth Care coverage, Cahill told the State House News Service that

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-5025113688573687642009-07-15T09:57:00.002-04:002009-07-15T10:04:29.549-04:00Immigrant fighting cancer and the fear of losing care - The Boston Globe

Immigrant fighting cancer and the fear of losing care - The Boston GlobePosted using ShareThisBy Kay Lazar and Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff | July 15, 2009Eugenio Hernandez believes that coming to America saved his life.Almost two years ago, the immigrant from El Salvador was diagnosed with cancer, and his doctors in Boston fought it with surgery, radiation, and multiple checkups. It still

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-32716855107123518082009-06-11T14:02:00.002-04:002009-06-11T14:13:27.968-04:00The Least of These

Click below to watch The Least of These.The Least of These explores one of the most controversial aspects of American immigration policy: family detention.As part of the Bush administration policy to end what they termed the “catch and release’” of undocumented immigrants, the U.S. government opened the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in May 2006 as a prototype family detention facility. The

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-68498433534723794992009-06-09T14:20:00.000-04:002009-06-09T14:22:29.563-04:00Berkshire Immigrant Center Presents Meeting on Comprehensive Immigration Reform

The Berkshire Immigrant Center will sponsor a community meeting on the current status of immigration legislation and Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The event will take place on June 18th from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm at the First Baptist Church, 88 South Street, Pittsfield, MA. The event is free, and immigrants’, advocates, and the general public are invited to attend. President Obama has made

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-63281151133400879892008-08-20T22:32:00.004-04:002008-08-20T22:48:47.635-04:00

PostvilleThree months ago, the little town of Postville, Iowa, got hit by the largest immigration raid in US history. Nearly 400 workers were arrested in the raid—more than a quarter of the town’s population.For those left behind, namely the wives and children of the men taken away, the town has been turned into what some have described as an open-air prison. Dozens of immigrant women remain in

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-9693113688823463082008-08-20T20:10:00.002-04:002008-08-20T20:40:14.253-04:00

'Virtual fence' work is halted"Work on 'virtual fences' planned for Arizona's stretch of the US-Mexican border has been brought to a halt. The Interior Department has not granted the Homeland Security Department permission to use the land for constructing the surveillance towers that form the backbone of the virtual fences," said Barry Morrissey, spokesman for US Customs and Border Protection in

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-62603727187474075182008-08-20T11:51:00.004-04:002008-08-20T12:11:25.673-04:00

Cancer-Stricken 34-Year-Old Chinese Computer Engineer Dies After Being Denied Care in Private US Immigration PrisonCoverage by Democracy Now! of the case of Mr. Hiu Lui Ng, the thirty-four-year-old Chinese computer engineer who died earlier this month in a Rhode Island immigration detention center. For this story, which aired yesterday, Democracy Now! interviewed Joshua Bardavid, an immigration

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-42315003778540313272008-08-19T15:49:00.002-04:002008-08-19T15:52:49.179-04:00

Immigrant son lives American dream "Henry Cejudo, the son of illegal immigrants from Mexico, completed his American dream by crushing Japan's hopes of their first Olympic men's wrestling gold medal in two decades." (found on Bender’s Immigration Bulletin)

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-34403647045154405812008-08-19T15:38:00.006-04:002008-08-19T15:53:24.233-04:00

Advocacy office says small firms deserve break on E-Verify "The Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy is urging federal acquisition councils to consider exempting small firms from a regulation that would force contractors to verify workers' employment eligibility using a Homeland Security database." (found on Bender's Immigration Bulletin)

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-32221505739107327182008-08-15T10:26:00.002-04:002008-08-15T10:53:21.571-04:00

ICE Raids at Dulles Airport Yesterday, ICE arrested 42 workers at Dulles Airport under the auspices of guarding our nation’s airports. “There’s no indication that any of the aliens were involved in any terrorist activity at all,” said Mark McGraw, deputy special agent in charge with the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. So, thanks guys, sounds like

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-3796127339888296422008-08-15T09:23:00.001-04:002008-08-15T09:26:36.762-04:00

Are Cities Warming Up to 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' Immigration Policies? Hartford, CT is joining cities across the country who are taking steps to integrate their undocumented immigrants. (more)

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-45508403020144660722008-08-15T09:09:00.003-04:002008-08-15T09:20:38.078-04:00

Ill and in Pain, Detainee Dies in U.S. Hands Mr. Ng’s death follows a succession of cases that have drawn Congressional scrutiny to complaints of inadequate medical care, human rights violations and a lack of oversight in immigration detention, a rapidly growing network of publicly and privately run jails where the government held more than 300,000 people in the last year while deciding whether

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-47930791167434420742008-08-13T15:56:00.003-04:002008-08-13T16:44:20.792-04:00

Visual Resistance A series of posters created by artists of Justseeds/Visual Resistance Artists’ Cooperative for use by international immigrant rights organizations. These 5 posters illustrate very beautifully and powerfully how immigrant rights are really nothing more than just human rights.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-46492239998693032042008-08-13T09:54:00.004-04:002008-08-13T11:14:42.296-04:00

Lowell rally rails against raidsby Jack Minch in The Lowell Sun online 8/09/08As thunder and lightning crackled overhead last night, Linda Pream broke down into tears as she spoke about her boyfriend, Sokon Cheurem, who is being detained on a federal warrant and facing possible deportation. Pream spoke at a rally sponsored by Deported Diaspora and other community groups at Clemente Park on

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-47444665316882143052008-08-12T10:17:00.004-04:002008-08-13T13:03:44.590-04:00

Dream for immigrant teensThe Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network (MIFN) is a nonprofit advocacy group with the mission of improving educational opportunities for immigrant youths, changing the language used in the news media to describe immigrants, and lobbying for reform at the state Legislature. (story by Bill ward in the Star Tribune) (more)

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-34872551974375206942008-08-12T10:07:00.007-04:002008-08-12T10:13:43.707-04:00

Ensuring Due Process: The National Immigrant Bond FundToday, in Silver Spring, Maryland, the National Immigrant Bond Fund kicked off its fundraising campaign. The fund assists immigrants swept up in ICE raids to post bond quickly in order to secure a fair hearing in America’s courts.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-32248103560315961062008-08-11T15:05:00.003-04:002008-08-11T15:11:21.633-04:00

No More I.C.E.!Massachusetts Jobs with Justice announces a standout in Boston.Wednesday August 13, 2008We reject the presence of ICE in our communities.Urgent Action in solidarity with the immigrantcommunity and respect the humanity and dignity of immigrants.Join us Outside the JFK Building, at Government Center Plazastarting at 10:30 a.m. Sponsored by: La Colaborativa de Chelsea,Centro Presente

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-78478700066602054792008-08-11T10:19:00.001-04:002008-08-11T10:21:38.938-04:00

Hometown Associations: An Untapped Resource for Immigrant Integration? WASHINGTON – With global migration rates at historic highs, the informal associations that immigrants create for social, economic development and political empowerment purposes are becoming more numerous and better networked. Though much of the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3278085328181185402.post-61652190602212078402008-08-11T10:11:00.004-04:002008-08-11T14:11:42.760-04:00

As Valley border fence work begins, questions resurface "You may find that there could be an individual on the job site that is not legal even though you went through various processes to check," Vaughan said. Vaughan also said that E-Verify, the government's electronic system for checking Social Security numbers, can't be trusted to weed out illegal workers." Austin American-Statesman, Aug. 11,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0