Immigration Myths vs Facts -- Inmigracion Mitos y Realidades

Immigration Myths vs Facts: New pamphlet published for 2016 election Inmigración: Mitos y Realidades. Se publica un panfleto nuevo para las elecciones de 2106

Download in English: "Immigration Myth vs. Fact"

Descargar al español: "La Inmigración Mitos y Realidades"

The issue of immigration has become central to the 2016 presidential election. Republican candidate Donald Trump has chosen to focus on the supposed threat of immigrants to the American way of life as a major campaign theme. From his first campaign speech, he took aim at immigrants Mexico is supposedly "sending" to the United States, whom he characterized as killers, drug dealers, and rapists. He also has singled out Muslims as posing a terrorist threat. When called on these claims, Trump has not backed down, but has instead repeated them again and again.

Trump also proposes "solutions" to the supposed immigrant and Muslim threat to the United States. He has called for the mass deportation of the approximately 10 to 11 million undocumented immigrants now living in the United States. He proposes to build a wall along the 1,900 mile U.S.-Mexican border, and says he will "make Mexico pay for it." How? He proposes to seize the money that undocumented immigrants earn working in the United States and send back to their impoverished families and communities in Mexico. He will also, so he says, end birthright citizenship, even though it is written into the 14^th Amendment of the Constitution and thus cannot be changed by a presidential decree or even a vote in Congress.  He has said he would bar Muslims from visiting this country.

Various Republican politicians running for office down ticket also have adopted these bigoted and extremist positions, many of which have found their way into the Republican Party Platform for 2016.   Efforts to pass legislation in favor of a more rational and humane immigration policy have been blocked by Congress, mostly by Republican representatives and senators. With the help of Republican appointees to the Supreme Court, twenty-six GOP attorneys-general have blocked President Obama's efforts to provide relief for undocumented immigrants via executive orders.
These political misleaders legitimize bigoted speech and actions among the public, with the danger that this will lead to a rise in hate crimes against immigrants, Latinos, and Muslims. This has happened many times before in the history of this country.

Trump has flooded the country with a veritable tsunami of misinformation about the relationship of immigration to crime, terrorism, poverty, and unemployment. Most of his false information seems to come from a network of far-right nativist organizations founded by John Tanton and funded by right-wing businesses and foundations.

These include: Numbers USA, which likes to claim that the environment is threatened by immigration; the Center for Immigration Studies, which puts out massive amounts of dubious "research," all with an anti-immigrant slant; and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which calls for a reduction of both undocumented and documented immigration. Credence is lent to these dubious organizations by the corporate-controlled press, which often quotes them uncritically without mentioning that many people knowledgeable about the immigration situation regard some of them as hate groups.   This misinformation in the media programs voters to be receptive to Trump's anti-immigrant message.

In 2008, the pamphlet "Immigration: Myths and Facts" was issued to counter these lies. A second edition was published in 2013. Given the level of anti-immigrant propaganda that is coming out of the Trump campaign, we have updated this important information source.

You can download it here and distribute it to all your workmates, friends, relatives, and neighbors.  You can also contact politicalaction@cpusa.org if you are interested in obtaining printed copies to distribute.

Download in English: "Immigration Myth vs. Fact"

Descargar al español: "La Inmigración Mitos y Realidades"

La nueva edición de nuestro panfleto:  “La Inmigración:  Mitos y Realidades” está lista para repartirse y utilizarse en la lucha.

El tema de la inmigración se ha convertido en un punto céntrico en las elecciones presidenciales de 2016. El candidato del Partido Republicano, Donald Trump, enfoca su campaña en la amenaza que los inmigrantes supuestamente representan para la vida diaria de los habitantes de los Estados Unidos. Desde su primer discurso en la campaña, utilizó como su blanco los inmigrantes que, según él, México “envía” a  los Estados Unidos, a quienes tacha como asesinos, narcotraficantes y violadores. También ha lanzado un ataque general a los musulmanes que, según él, representan una amenaza terrorista.  Cuando otros desmientan estas calumnias, las repita en lugar de retirarlas.

Trump también propone “soluciones” a la supuesta amenaza que los inmigrantes y musulmanes, según él, representan para los Estados Unidos.   Propone construir una muralla a lo largo de la frontera entre los Estados Unidos y México (una distancia de 3,058 kilometras), y dice que obligará a México pagar el costo de este proyecto.  ¿Y cómo piensa lograrlo?  Pues, según dice, se apoderará a las remesas que los inmigrantes indocumentados aquí ganan trabajando con salarios bajísimos y envían a sus familias aún más pobres en México.  También dice que va a acabar con la práctica de considerar a quienquiera nazca en suelo estadounidense como ciudadano de este país, a pesar de que ese derecho está inscrito en la decimocuarta enmienda de la constitución, y por lo tanto no puede modificarse por decreto presidencial ni por una ley aprobada en el Congreso.  Amenaza con prevenir que los musulmanes visiten a este país.

Varios candidatos republicanos que se han postulado para elección a puestos más allá de la presidencia han adoptado estas actitudes extremistas e intolerantes también.   Todos los intentos de aprobar políticas migratorias más razonables y humanistas en los  últimos años han fracasado en el Congreso, en gran medida por la actitud obstruccionista de los congresistas republicanos.  Una demanda sometida por 26 fiscales estatales, todos republicanos, a las cortes federales ha bloqueado un intento de parte del presidente Obama de aliviar la situación de los indocumentados mediante una orden ejecutiva; al nivel de la Corte Suprema, fueron los jueces nombradas por presidentes republicanos quienes más daño causaron.

Estos falsos líderes políticos prestan legitimidad a las declaraciones y acciones racistas entre el público en general, lo que conlleva el peligro de aumentar el nivel de “crímenes de odio” en contra de los inmigrantes, latinoamericanos y musulmanes.  Semejantes cosas han sucedido muchas veces en la historia de este país.  

 http://peoplesworld.org/immigration-myths-vs-facts-new-pamphlet-published-for-2016-election/

Immigrants, Muslims and Youth Unite against Hate

Immediately after election day, young people have stepped forward against the hate and bigotry that was the foundation of Trump's election campaign, and are standing in solidarity with immigrants, Muslims and all those who have been targeted.

Unidad Latina en Accion courageously rallied immigrant families and community supporters outside New Haven Federal Courthouse to say"We Refuse to be Afraid." The City-Wide Youth Coalition organized high school and Yale students to rally on the New Haven Green and march down Chapel St. chanting "Love Trumps Hate," and "We Reject the President-Elect."

Mass deportations and incarceration of immigrants, threatened by Donald Trump, will not be tolerated in cities like New Haven which has always been welcoming of all people to the community. Mayor Toni Harp declared the City will not change these policies despite threats of retaliation.

On the campus of Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) in the food court at Adanti Sudent Center, the Muslim Student Association held another kind of action. Bahar Musa, sitting behind a table with multi-colored hijabs was inviting women of all faiths to wear one for a few hours and then reflect about how they felt.

"This is National Hijab Day, we do this in solidarity with other women from all backgrounds so they can see what it's like in a Western country to be accepted as a Muslim, and to understand our religion, and not the negative myths that are tied to our religion," she said.

Carla Monzella, a Catholic and a junior at SCSU, proudly put on her pink hijab, helped by Bahar, explaining "I'm wearing one today because of the Trump nomination for president, and his evil message against women, and to stand in solidarity with my Muslim students and community on campus."

Student Alicia Jackson stated "People focus on the negative aspect of Islam, and we're here to show togetherness during this time of divide, and to show our Muslim sisterhood that we too stand side by side with you."

African-American, white, Chinese young and old women can be seen wearing hijabs of all colors all around the campus on this Monday morning. After several hours participants are invited to discuss their experience and hear why Muslim women wear the hijab.

People's World Amistad Awards 2016: If there is no struggle, there can be no progress"

After this long election year, a wonderful opportunity to come together and be inspired is the People's World Amistad Awards honoring Ald. Jeanette Morrison, Dan Livingston and Juan Brito.
 

The event will take place Sunday, December 4, 2016 at 4:00 pm at Wexler Grant Community School, 55 Foote Street, New Haven on the theme "If there is no struggle, there can be no progress -- We march united for Racial Justice, Jobs & Peace."

This year's Awards are dedicated to carrying on the legacy of Arthur L. Perry who received the Amistad Award in 2009. He was a member of 1199 at Southbury Training Center, became a union organizer, and served in the Connecticut Department of Labor.

Performances will include the Premiere Jazz Ensemble. 

Ald. Jeanette Morrison was elected to represent Ward 22 in New Haven as part of a labor-community coalition. She led the successful movement to re-build the Dixwell Q House, a youth center in the heart of the African American community next to Wexler-Grant school. As a social worker she fights to bring families together and for opportunities for children. She is a member of AFSCME.

Dan Livingston is a groundbreaking labor attorney and lifelong union and progressive activist. As a member of a firm of “troublemaking lawyers” (Livingston, Adler, Pulda, Meiklejohn and Kelly), he represents many public and private sector unions. He represents, works with, and serves on the boards of many coalitions, community and progressive organizations fighting for social justice in our state.

Juan Brito is a School Social Worker at Burns Latino Academy in Hartford, and a member of the Hartford Federation of Teachers. He is a writer for La Voz Hispana de Connecticut and a musician who has been performing with his wife Rebecca Delgado since 1977.  He has published two books of poetry about his country and experiences before, during and after the coup d'etat that affected Chile in 1973.   

The awards are presented to allies by the People's World on the occasion of the 97th anniversary of the Communist Party USA.

Tickets are $10. Adbook deadline is November 18, 2016. Information: ct-pww@pobox.com

Vote and organize to "fix America's heart problem"

By Joelle Fishman  People's World  October 31, 2016

 “Do we have the courage to build a democracy that has a heart and cares for everyone?” asks Rev. Dr. William Barber, founder of the national Moral Monday movement.  His question is a profound challenge to every voter.

 

As part of his 22-state tour across the country, Rev. Barber came to Connecticut where he delivered a passionate call to action to a thousand union and community leaders from across the state.
Quoting Martin Luther King’s 1967 Riverside Church speech, “Time to Break the Silence,” Barber called for a “radical revolution of values,” saying “I am worried about a country that puts more money to weapons of war than to the war against poverty.”

Repeating the refrain “America has a heart problem,” Barber decried tax cuts and bailouts for the rich, police killings of black youth, and championed the need for universal healthcare, gender equality and much more.

In a scathing indictment of Donald Trump, Barber called out the Republican presidential candidate for using “dog whistle politics,” fanning the flames of racism. Barber declared, “working poor black and white people ought to be on the same side.”

White supremacists and corporate interests are pouring millions into this election to create divisions and disrupt the process. Their goal is to capture control by discouraging people who would vote Democrat from casting their ballots.

At the same time courageous anti-racist, pro-worker and women’s rights movements are emerging in our country. They are deep in the trenches to elect Hillary Clinton and progressive candidates to Congress and down ballot.  Their goal is to create a political climate where it is possible to carry on the fight and win a transformation of priorities for economic, racial, social and environmental justice.
This election is about pulling out a record vote to repudiate the Trump-Republican agenda and raise up these new democratic movements for social change.

The Moral Monday movement is laying the foundations in North Carolina and all across the South challenging unjust election laws and undemocratic policies.

The Fight for $15 has expanded far beyond fast food workers and has joined with Black Lives Matter, gender equality and youth organizations to win a living wage and the right to a union that will benefit all workers.

The AFL CIO and Working America are going door to door to speak with their sisters and brothers about how Donald Trump says the minimum wage is too high, opposes unions, and is against their interests.

Women’s organizations are working hard to make sure the Supreme Court will not be stacked by the next president to overturn Roe v. Wade, and to move forward for such basic issues as equal pay for equal work and paid family and medical leave.

Latino youth are registering to vote in record numbers and changing the political climate from Arizona to Iowa and across the country demanding comprehensive immigration reform.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is putting their lives on the line to protect their sacred ground and the water in the face of militarized police.

Our Revolution, formed by supporters of Bernie Sanders, is continuing the fight for an economy that benefits everyone, not just the 1%.  They are door knocking and raising funds to elect progressives to Congress like Pramila Jayapal and Zephyr Teachout

Young people flocked to Bernie Sanders in the primary because they want to be able to start their lives unencumbered by huge student debt, racial profiling, an endangered planet and lack of living wage jobs. They know that it will take a progressive political transformation in our country to change priorities and fix America’s heart problem.

“We need a movement with power,” Rev. Barber concluded  to cheers and a standing ovation in Connecticut.  “We need a movement with courage. We need a movement with understanding of love and justice that cares for the soul and heart of this democracy….Clear away the racism and hatred. Bring our heart back to life.”

Rev. Barber’s seven month national tour will conclude on Sunday, November 6 at Riverside Church in New York.  Themed  “The Moral Revival: Time for a Revolution of Values” the events featured testimonies of people impacted by racism, xenophobia, homophobia, the lack of health care, the suppression of voting rights, poverty, low wages, immigrant discrimination, detention and deportation, predatory lending, and police brutality and mass incarceration.

Tens of thousands of people have signed on to the “Higher Ground Moral Declaration,”  The final revival, “a national call to prayer, healing, action and to vote!” will be live-streamed at http://www.moralrevival.org/therevivals/nyc. 

This election is about being in position to continue building that transformation from the grass roots up. A resounding defeat for Trump and the Republicans and the hate, division and bigotry they personify will create that climate.

This election is about the right to organize, the right to vote, the right to build a democracy that has a heart and cares for everyone. This election must be the start, not the end, of involvement in the struggle. Don’t miss out!