“By the people” day at the georgia capitol

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 @ 9am

Room 306 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building (CLOB).

Please join the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia this Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 9 a.m. to kick off the 2009 Legislative Session. We will meet with our co-sponsor, Planned Parenthood of Georgia (Women in the Halls), to discuss legislation of interest this session. Afterwards we will visit the Capitol to begin meeting with our elected officials.

Building on three successful years of lobby days, the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia (ACLU of GA) is again teaming up with other progressive organizations to help you meet and talk with your legislators. These groups include Planned Parenthood of Georgia, Georgia Rural Urban Summit (GRUS), and Georgia Equality. Each week these groups will team up to provide you with the tools you need to hold lawmakers accountable on issues, ranging from reproductive rights, separation of church and state to immigration, and equal rights issues.

A face to face meeting is the most effective way to communicate with your legislators.  Plus, it can be a lot of fun! Whether you are an experienced advocate or brand new to the legislative process, this program can help make your visits easy and effective. Come down to the Capitol and meet your legislators.

If you cannot join us tomorrow, we will host By The People every Wednesday morning at 9:00am in Room 306 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building (CLOB).

At each Wednesday session, we will teach you how to talk to legislators, tell you about the issues that are hot, explain why we care about the issues, and guide you on how you can best help to pass or stop legislation. We will even walk you over to the Capitol, give you a tour, and assist you as you meet with your senators and representatives.

If you have never talked to your legislator, come by at 9:00am for a quick legislative training.
If you have been to the Capitol before, come by at 9:15am for an update on what issues are moving that week.

Georgia State Capitol
Cloverdell Legislative Office Building (CLOB)
Located on Mitchell Street, Room 306
Atlanta, GA 30334

For more information, please contact:
Ms. Rebecca Roy
Organizer/Lobbyist
American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia
75 Piedmont Avenue, Suite 514
Atlanta Georgia 30303
Tele: 404-805-9413
Fax: 404-577-0181
Email: rebeccaeroy@gmail.com
URL: www.acluga.org

GEORGIA DETENTION WATCH CONDEMNS GWINNETT FAST-TRACK EXPULSIONS OF IMMIGRANTS

For immediate release
January 12, 2008

Atlanta – Today, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office will begin a 26-day program that will fast-track deportations of immigrants. Georgia Detention Watch condemns in the strongest terms this effort at expulsion of immigrants, many of whom are hard working members of our communities.

We call for an immediate cessation of this intensified deportation program, as it is prone to serious human rights violations such as insufficient legal representation and racial profiling. Once in ICE’s custody, individuals are also often lost to their families as a result of being transferred from one detention center to another without notification. Gwinnett County’s purge of immigrants will thus cause even greater disruption of families and communities than has already resulted from our country’s broken immigration system.

This fast-tracking program was apparently intended to expedite Gwinnett County’s entrance into a 287(g) Agreement with ICE. Georgia Detention Watch also opposes 287(g) Agreements in Gwinnett County and all other Georgia counties. We believe local enforcement of federal immigration laws leads to racial profiling as well as erosion of trust between immigrant communities and the police, making our communities less safe. Instead of these inhumane, short-term, and insufficient responses to a broken national system, we call for comprehensive immigration reform in order to restore dignity and fundamental human rights to all immigrants and make our communities safer.

Georgia Detention Watch is a coalition of organizations and individuals that advocates alongside immigrants to end the inhumane and unjust detention and law enforcement policies and practices directed against immigrant communities in our state. Our coalition includes activists, community organizers, persons of faith, lawyers, and many more.

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For further information, please contact:

Azadeh N. Shahshahani
Georgia Detention Watch
National Security/Immigrants’ Rights Project Director
ACLU Foundation of Georgia
75 Piedmont Ave., Suite 514
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone (404) 523-6201
ashahshahani@acluga.org

Rev. Tracy L. Blagec
Georgia Detention Watch
ABLE- Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment
542 Moreland Avenue, SE
Atlanta, GA 30316
Phone (404) 218-7913
Fax (404) 377-4884
tblagec@aol.com