At 11 am, 700 of us, including dozens of members of the clergy, walked in an euphoric but orderly procession in downtown Washington, DC, en route to the Department of Homeland Security / ICE offices.

The beginning of a new day was our motto and all of us were happy to be lending our voices to call on the Obama Administration to use their executive authority to stop the raids. In addition, we look towards the new DHS leadership to humanize the process by which our community is being separated.

As the crowd gathered in front of DHS, many shouted "Napolitano, listen to us, we are in the same struggle", while two young men waved a giant American flag, symbol of our commitment to this nation's progress.

Today marks a special occasion for CHIRLA and its members as we all celebrate Martin Luther King's Birthday and his dream for respect and equality of all.

All of our members (25 in all) have made it as far as Richmond, Virginia and are now on our way to D.C..

To download the following Press Release, click here.

Press Statement

For Immediate Release Contact: Anike Tourse, 213.353.1339,
January 8, 2008 310.622.3637 cell, anike@chirla.org

Antonovich’s Analysis is Inaccurate at Best

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich releases misleading information
regarding immigrant allowance for health and public services.
Los Angeles – The Los Angeles County released a statement indicating that undocumented immigrants received

StoryCorps began in 2003 as the largest oral history project in our nation’s history, capturing the heart-to-heart conversations and daily experience of ordinary Americans. Since then, more than 15,000 people have recorded their stories that are now archived in the Library of Congress in Washington DC. On December 6, 2007 CHIRLA member Shirley Aldana Schwarz interviewed CHIRLA Executive Angelica Salas for Story Corp. Both women spoke of their painful coming-of-age as immigrants and their gradual awakening to their life’s worth and mission.

Day Laborers Take Malibu Relief efforts by Storm!

Nearly One hundred twenty Jornaleros or immigrant Day Laborers joined in the relief effort of the fires in Malibu in mid November. The National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), a CHIRLA organizational member, took the initiative to organize volunteers from immigrant and labor groups like CHIRLA and the Malibu Community Labor Exchange (MCLE).

“We [the jornaleros] realized we did not have money to help these people but we did have our hands. Day Laborers want to give to this country, not take away from it,” said Antonio Bernabe, CHIRLA’S Day Laborer Organizer.

According to this article in the Houston Chronicle in Washington both sides of the immigration struggle are adjusting their strategies to the fact that CIR is off the table for this session of congress:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/mason/5189638.html

There is an online voice for skilled immigrants trying to find their way through the H-1b visa mess. Check it out:

• www.immigrationvoice.org

A win for our side: Riverside,
New Jersey Rethinks its Laws Against Illegal Immigrants according to this NY Times article:

• New York Times, Sept 26, 2007

Angered over a record number of recent deportations in Irving, Texas more than 1,000 protesters waved U.S. flags and chanted "We are America" as they rallied Wednesday night at City Hall.

• Dallas News, Sept 27, 2007

Immigration headlines from the last week...

Being an illegal immigrant "is not a crime" and shouldn't be, according to Republican presidential contender
Rudy Giuliani.  

• Read the article in the New York Daily News.

Congress is still working on immigration reform but in smaller bills.  This includes the Dream Act which could be attached to a defense bill this week.  Now is the time for vigilance according to this article in the LA Times.

• Read the article in the L.A. Times.

 According to this article in the Immigration Daily there’s a financial reason our government is dragging its feet for immigration reform, it’s called free money.

• ILW.com

Tom Tancredo and the radical right say we should deport undocumented residents.  Julie Myers, the Bush administration nominee to be the new head of ICE, told the Senate that this is impractical.

• Check out the commentary over at ThinkProgress.org.

We hope everyone had a good Labor Day! Check out some of the latest immigration news from the past week.

President Felipe Calderon blasted U.S. immigration policies on Sunday and promised to fight harder to protect the rights of Mexicans in the U.S.

• Read the article in the Washington Post.

New Orleans is getting rebuilt thanks to immigrant labor. Unemployment is at historic lows even with influx of Latino workers.

• Read the article in the Los Angeles Times.

Gustavo Arellano compares Elvira Arellano (no relation) to Jesus not to Rosa Parks.

• Read the article in the OC Weekly.

The CIS (an anti-immigration group) issued a report purporting to show how we will be "overwhelmed" by immigration in the next 50 years if we don’t cut immigration. Ben Wattenberg, a supporter of immigration from the right, disputed the CIS facts and conclusions on CNN.

• Read the article from Copely News Service.

From massive marches to May Day 2007, from H.R. 4437 to congressional inaction, the immigrant rights movement is changing, but the need for reform is greater than ever before.

• Read about the movement in Los Angeles in L.A. City Beat.