Report Back on Protest Against 'Deporter in Chief's' S-COMM on VT!

Follow us                                             PLEASE DONATE to Migrant Justice
 

Dear Migrant Justice friends and allies,

5/25/2012---On Tuesday Migrant Justice and nearly 100 allies stood in front of Obama's Campaign Headquarters in Burlington, protesting the day when the federal deportation program Secure Communities was forced on Vermont without any consultation. Danilo played a recording of Obama's 2008 campaign promise to work for immigration reform, and followed by saying, "Instead of keeping his promises, Obama has deported 1.4 million immigrants, making him the Deporter-in-Chief." 

Below you will find:

1) Update on protest at Obama "Deporter In Chief" Campaign Headquarters against the imposition of Secure Communities in VT 

2) What is S-COMM? What can we do about it now that Obama imposed his immigration dragnet program on VT?

TAKE ACTION! Our Washington Reps need to keep hearing from us about the imposition of this broken deportation program on VT!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1) Update on protest at Obama "Deporter In Chief" Campaign Headquarters against the imposition of Secure Communities in VT

On Tuesday, Migrant Justice and nearly 100 allies stood in front of Obama's Campaign Headquarters and listened to a recording of Obama's 2008 campaign trail promises: "We're not going to deport 11 or 12 million people...It's hard to imagine that we want to live in a country where we would have police and immigration officials coming into people's homes and taking away the father of a family and sending him back to Mexico and leaving a mother and child behind."  Danilo followed shouting to the crowd, "Instead of keeping his promises, Obama has deported 1.4 million immigrants, making him the Deporter-in-Chief!"

David, who works on a dairy farm in Addison County, spoke openly to the crowd of supporters about S-COMM (Secure Communities): "This unjust program treats us like criminals when we just came here to work. We wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning so all of you can have milk."

From Obama campaign headquarters, Migrant Justice farmworkers led a march to the Federal Building and then marched down Church Street. Marching past people eating dinner outside, marchers chanted "Comida justa a mi me gusta!" and "Vermont will fight for immigrant rights!". Passing out flyers about Obama's broken promises and shameful title of deporter chief we were met with shock by many who expressed outrage.

After the march, David Santiago reflected, "When I looked into the eyes of allies  at the march and saw that our situation really mattered to them, I was left speechless. I no longer felt hungry, and even though I didn't want to, it made me cry."

This demonstration is not the end of our opposition to S-COMM. Read on to learn how, together, we can prevent S-COMM from standing in the way of our progress for human rights for all!

2) What is S-COMM? What can we do about it now that it was imposed on VT?

Last year, a delegation of Vermont farmworkers met with Governor Shumlin asking him to "Opt Out" of S-COMM. Then, President Obama made S-COMM a mandatory program for all states.

Now that S-COMM has been forced on Vermont--with no consultation of the public, the Governor or State Police--all fingerprints from any one arrested by the police will automatically be sent to ICE. ICE can then request the police or jail to HOLD that person for them,  even though arrestees are only charged with crimes and a conviction can only come through a court ruling it doesn't matter with S-COMM--ICE reaches into the criminal justice system and pulls innocent mothers, fathers, and families out and deports them!

So our friends and neighbors detained through S-COMM could now be funneled from a criminal justice system, which has basic checks and balances for due process,  into the immigration black hole, which has no accountability or transparency.

The fact is that across the country wherever S-COMM GOES deportation GROWS. Though ICE claims to target 'dangerous criminals' through S-COMM, their own data shows that over 50% of deportees were not dangerous criminals. In fact, victims of domestic violence have been deported via S-COMM.  

For more information on the S-COMM deportation scheme check out the resources tab here

Even with the State Police's Bias-Free Policing policy in place, which Migrant Justice helped pass last fall and directs police not to use state resources for immigration enforcement, there is continued need to ensure our community will not be profiled. 

NOW WHAT?

So what can we do about S-COMM now that Obama shoved it down our throats in VT? 

The linchpin and achilles heel of S-COMM are ICE HOLDS. While through SCOMM, ICE can request our Vermont police or jails to hold individuals for longer than they would normally be in custody, our local law enforcement CAN refuse ICE's request. 

We in Vermont have ultimate power to determine police policy in the state.  Migrant Justice will soon be announcing plans to work for a new detainer policy to prevent ICE HOLDS.

This has already been achieved in places such as Santa Clara County in California, which has an excellent policy and offers VT a model to follow.

See a FAQ on ICE HOLDS and DETAINERS.

Read Santa Clara's Detainer Policy

S-COMM will NOT stop us from our continued progress for access to licenses for all our community members. VT will lead the way on human rights!

TAKE ACTION! Our Washington Reps need to keep hearing from us about the imposition of this broken deportation program on VT!

SAMPLE LETTER/PHONE SCRIPT:

Dear Senator Leahy, Sanders, and Representative Welch,

We have worked hard in Vermont to build communities that value the human rights of all, and we need your help.  We are working successfully in Vermont to promote the human right to equal access to health care, transportation, and freedom from discrimination, regardless of immigration status.

I am deeply concerned and alarmed that the Secure Communities program is being imposed on Vermont on Tuesday by the Obama Administration.     We in Vermont, including our Governor and our law enforcement, have not even been consulted with nor have we had a chance to have a public dialogue about this broken deportation scheme that is tearing apart hard working families and communities across the country.

Four years  after Obama's broken promises for bold action for immigration reform where are we? Instead of reform he:

• Wasted billions of dollars to criminalize and deport hardworking families
• Totally failed to enact fair and just immigration reform and instead pursued aggressive deportation quotas of 400,000 per year
• Broken all previous deportation records including that of Bush w/ well over 1.4 million deportations
• Forced states to adopt the failed and flawed federal S-COMM at local expense without regard for transparency, public debate, or expenses incurred
• Pushed the 1% agenda with Wall Street driven free trade policies that cause migration by displacing entire communities forcing them to migrate only to be criminalized and deported

Obama did not fight for his promised comprehensive and fair immigration reform deepening a serious HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND IN VT that set the stage for what is happening in Arizona, Alabama, Georgia and elsewhere.  Here in Vermont our hard working neighbors feel like prisoners as they work behind the illusion and myth of Vermont's peaceful and open working landscapes. Some of our friends pass as many as 2-3 years without ever having stepped foot off the farm. I am ashamed that this is our Vermont. We can't go on like this and must do better and act with consistent urgency.

There is opportunity and need to act now. I am writing to ask that you work to:

1) End (don't mend) S-COMM at the federal level and;

2) Fight with the same passion and power you have for other issues in order to push the Obama administration to put comprehensive and just immigration reform at the top of your agenda.

Thank you,

Name, VT Address, phone number, email