Immigrants and Workers march nation-wide for real immigration…

Immigrant Communities in Action                                                                                                                                                         contact.immigrantcommunities@gmail.com

 

Press Advisory      April 30, 2010

 

Contact:

Rafael Samanez (VAMOS Unidos) (646) 330-1951

Monami Maulik (DRUM) (347) 385-9113

Leah Obias (DAMAYAN) (212) 564-6057

 

 

For Immediate Release

 

 

Immigrants March for

Real Legalization

Justice in Arizona,

& Against the Schumer Proposal

 

On May Day, celebrated by millions around the globe as International Workers Day, immigrant street vendors, domestic & restaurant workers from diverse nationalities will join thousands in Union Square to march for real and just immigration reform, against Arizona’s SB1070, and critical of the anti-immigrant framework of the Schumer proposal for immigration reform unveiled yesterday:

 

Location:             Union Square South, Manhattan, NY

Date:                May 1st, 2010

Time:                2:00 pm

What:               Children, Workers from Latin America, Asia, Muslim

countries carrying signs

 

As SB1070 has made Arizona become the focal point of the immigrant rights struggle, here in New York City, thousands of immigrants will show their outrage at this grave violation of human rights and call for real immigration reform.  At the same time, thousands of immigrant communities will express that Senators Schumer proposal for Comprehensive Immigration Reform is not the solution to Arizona- in fact it’s very framework is one that is also extremely punitive to immigrants.

 

The Schumer proposal seeks to strengthen controversial programs such as 287(g) and Secure Communities. It calls for further militarization of the border, which would not solve the human crisis at the border but worsen it. Already 50,000 children women, and men have died in the desert and this blueprint as law would lead to more deaths of poor workers.  Schumer-Graham also outlines creation of a biometric national identity card that everyone, including US citizens and residents, must carry. It outlines expansion of guest worker programs, which will lead to greater exploitation and union-busting for all U.S. workers.  Communities demand just immigration legislation that addresses the economic and social issues that fuel migration across the border such as unfair free trade agreements and to de-link national security framework from immigration which criminalizes families and workers.

 

Immigrant Communities in Action (ICA) was founded in 2005 by organizations in New York city to organize for real and just immigration reform.

 

Immigrant Communities in Action is composed of:

VAMOS Unidos – Street Vendors Mobilizing and Organizing in Solidarity

http://vamosunidos.org

DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association; www.damayanmigrants.org;

DRUM – Desis Rising Up and Movingwww.drumnyc.org;

Centro Hispano ‘Cuzcatlan’; and

ADHIKAAR www.adhikaar.org;