I was joined this morning by other human rights advocates in delivering a human rights resolution to the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners on the occasion of International Migrants’ Day. The resolution emphasizes the human dignity of all persons, regardless of immigration status, and urges the cessation of local enforcement of immigration laws. We will seek endorsement of the resolution at an upcoming meeting of the Commissioners.

December 18^th was declared International Migrants Day in year 2000 by members of the General Assembly of the United Nations in support of the rights of migrant workers and their families, an issue championed by the ACLU. The General Assembly passed resolution 55/93 to reflect the UN’s adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, resolution 45/158, on December 18, 1990. The Migrants Worker Convention guarantees migrant workers and their families’ fundamental rights including: freedom from discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, sex, religion or any other status, in all aspects of work; equality before the law regardless of a migrant’s legal status; and freedom from arbitrary expulsion of migrants from their country of employment.

The United States has not yet signed or ratified the Migrant Worker Convention. However, the government is not even respecting its obligations under the treaties the U.S. has already ratified, .

Earlier this week, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and Law under the guidance of Senators Durbin and Coburn held the first oversight hearing on the domestic implementation of human rights treaty obligations. The hearing focused on how the U.S. government is abiding by its obligations specified in human rights treaties which it has ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Submissions by human rights organizations including the ACLU and the Rights Working Group served to remind the Subcommittee that the U.S. has yet to implement many of the Concluding Observations of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), including specific reforms under the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to combat racial profiling in the U.S.

to read more, go to: http://www.aclu.org/blog/human-rights-immigrants-rights/standing-migrants-rights-georgia

Press conference will be Friday, December 18, 2009, 10 a.m., Justice and Administration Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, December 18, 2009

Atlanta – A collective of human Rights groups will deliver a human rights resolution to Gwinnett County Commissioners Friday, December 18, 2009, on the occasion of International Migrants Day.  The groups will seek endorsement of the resolution which emphasizes the human dignity of all persons, regardless of immigration status, and urges the cessation of local enforcement of immigration laws.  The groups plan to ask the Commissioners to consider the resolution for endorsement at an upcoming meeting. 

December 18^th was declared International Migrants Day in year 2000 by members of the General Assembly of the United Nations in support of the rights of migrant workers and their families. 

“The United States international human rights obligations mandate recognition and respect for the fundamental human rights of all people, irrespective of immigration status,” said Azadeh Shahshahani, the ACLU of Georgia National Security/Immigrants’ Rights Project Director.  “We hope that the Gwinnett County Commissioners will take a step towards fulfilling their obligations under international human rights treaties by endorsing the human rights resolution.” 

Gwinnett County recently became the fifth agency in Georgia to implement a 287(g) Agreement, delegating certain immigration enforcement powers to local law enforcement.  287(g) had led to fear and mistrust of law enforcement among immigrant communities, as shown by an ACLU of Georgia report released in October 2009, focused on the implementation of the program in Cobb County.  

“Local enforcement of immigration laws has a devastating impact on law-abiding and hard working community members as it leads to racial profiling and the tearing apart of families,” said Adelina Nicholls, Executive Director of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights. “Immigrants in Gwinnett deserve the rights afforded them by the virtue of their humanity and as reaffirmed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international human rights treaties ratified by the United States.” 

The press conference announcing the resolution will be Friday, December 18, 2009, at 10 a.m., in front of the Justice and Administration Center, Lawrenceville, 75 Langley Dr. SW Lawrenceville, 30046.  Speakers at the press conference will include: Ajamu Baraka, Executive Director of the U.S. Human Rights Network; Anton Flores, Co-Founder of Alterna and Georgia Detention Watch Steering Committee member; Nicholls; and Shahshahani. 

The organizations endorsing this action include: the ACLU of Georgia, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, Georgia Detention Watch, the U.S. Human Rights Network, and Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment. 

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The ACLU of Georgia’s mission is to advance the cause of civil liberties in Georgia, with emphasis on rights of free speech, free assembly, freedom of religion, due process of law and to take all legitimate action in the furtherance of such purposes without political partisanship.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2009

ATLANTA – Atlanta Independent School System (AISS) officials have agreed to implement a broad array of improvements at its alternative school as part of a settlement of a federal lawsuit filed last year by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Georgia. The lawsuit charged AISS, which has now resumed administration of Forrest Hill Academy from Community Education Partners (CEP), with violating students’ constitutional rights to an adequate public education.

Additional information about the ACLU of Georgia is available online at: www.acluga.org

Bill Addresses Longstanding Problems In Immigration Enforcement Practices But Fails To Protect Workers And Same-Sex Couples

December 16, 2009

WASHINGTON – Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL), along with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, introduced late Tuesday HR 4321, The Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP), legislation that takes major strides toward repairing America’s broken immigration system. The American Civil Liberties Union strongly supports responsible reforms to U.S. immigration policy and calls on Congress to ensure that any legislation protects the civil rights, civil liberties and human rights of everyone in the United States, regardless of his or her immigration status.

“The ACLU applauds Rep. Gutierrez for introducing an historic bill that sets forth critical reforms to the immigration detention, deportation and enforcement system that comport with due process, the Constitution and international human rights norms,” said Joanne Lin, ACLU Legislative Counsel. “This is the first comprehensive immigration reform bill that aims to rectify some of the egregious immigration practices set in place since 1996, including mandatory detention of immigrants for minor crimes; delegation of immigration enforcement and verification to states and localities, and denial of judicial review to immigrants facing deportation and permanent separation from U.S. citizen family members.”

 CIR ASAP contains numerous provisions aimed at restoring due process in immigration enforcement actions. Such reforms would: 

• Suspend Operation Streamline pending review of the program’s goals, impacts and cost-benefit analyses;
• Require DHS to meet detention condition requirements to ensure adequate medical care and to avoid unnecessary detainee transfers;
• Establish a strong presumption against detention of families with children and prohibit expedited removal of families;
• Provide access to immigration counsel during enforcement actions and for disabled individuals unable to fully participate in deportation hearings;
• Require timely notice and service of immigration charges, as well as timely bond hearings for people detained more than 48 hours;
• Limit the use of immigration detainers to confirmed removable aliens;
• Improve secure alternative to detention programs by establishing criteria to guide detention and release decisions, and ensuring immigration judge review of all detention decisions;
• Pre-empt any state or local law that discriminates against people based on immigration status;
• Repeal the fundamentally flawed 287(g) program and clarify that immigration enforcement authority belongs exclusively to the federal government;
• Restore federal jurisdiction of immigration decisions and practices, thereby restoring the historic role that federal courts have long played in checking federal agency conduct.

 However, despite the many positive reforms included in CIR ASAP, the bill falls short of being “comprehensive,” as it fails to include immigration parity provisions that would allow gay U.S. citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their permanent partners for permanent residency, an immigration right that heterosexual spouses have long enjoyed. Without these immigration parity protections, immigrant families in the U.S., including many with U.S. citizen children, will continue to be torn asunder.

 CIR ASAP also includes invasive electronic employment verification which, if implemented, would require employers to use error filled government databases to confirm work authorization for every American. The system would also require the storage of more personal information about workers and increase the risk of data breaches and identity theft.  

 “While we are encouraged by the willingness of congressional leaders to tackle immigration reform, we are disappointed in the inclusion of electronic employment verification and we urge lawmakers to remove any language that creates such a system,” said Christopher Calabrese, ACLU Policy Legislative Counsel. “Errors in electronic employment verification are significant barriers to employment and violate the rights of innocent workers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also estimates they will cost employers and society billions. In this current economic climate, the last thing we need is higher business costs or another hurdle standing between a worker and a job. While we support the efforts of leaders in the House and Senate to bring real reforms to the immigration system, Americans should not be expected to trade away their privacy rights as payment for these reforms.”

The ACLU commends Rep. Gutierrez for introducing this historic CIR bill and urges the Senate to adopt many of the bill’s immigration enforcement reform provisions when the Senate takes up CIR early next year. The ACLU further urges that any Senate CIR bill be truly “comprehensive” by ensuring immigration parity for all American families, whether they involve heterosexual or same-sex permanent partners.

 To see the ACLU’s statement on the necessary elements of meaningful immigration reform, see:

www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights/aclu-statement-immigration-reform

 To see a summary of CIR ASAP, see:

www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights/cir-asap-summary

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Reporter: Josh Green
Email Address: josh.green@gwinnettdailypost.com

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/home/headlines/78616232.html

LAWRENCEVILLE — Azadeh Shahshahani roused a crowd to chanting anti-racist slogans in the gymnasium of Saint Lawrence Catholic Church on Saturday, an interpreter at her side.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia leader blasted racial profiling against all races. She called the 287(g) program, initiated three weeks ago in Gwinnett, a means for police to seize and unjustly boot illegal immigrants from the United States.

Hers is a sentiment frequently echoed by 287(g) detractors — and hotly contested by its supporters.

“We are here to stand up for social justice because we don’t want this to continue,” said Shahshahani, one of several headliners at an anti-racial profiling forum put on by Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment, or ABLE. “Families have been torn apart … people have been deported needlessly.”

The forum, attended by more than 100 warm-clothed ABLE proponents, illuminated a key point of disagreement between immigrant rights activists and law enforcement leaders working to eradicate Gwinnett of law-breaking, illegal aliens: that enacting deportation proceedings on a local level promotes arrests based on appearance.

The forum was the first of its kind since 18 Sheriff’s Department deputies returned from training last month to officially begin 287(g) processing at the Gwinnett County Jail. The program allows local deputies to screen the immigration status of arrestees and turn them over to federal deportation authorities.

Gwinnett joins Whitfield, Hall and Cobb counties in enforcing federal immigration laws through 287(g). ABLE leaders count the Georgia State Patrol as a fifth agency.

“We see that racial profiling is on the increase given the powers that (police) have with 287(g),” said the Rev. Tracy Blagec of ABLE.

That viewpoint is argued by Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway, who vehemently denies any correlation between 287(g) and racial-profiling.

“That argument is just an attempt to distract people from the truth,” Conway said in a statement to the Post this week. “No law enforcement agency in Gwinnett County is out targeting any particular group of people … People who are violating the law are targeted because they are breaking the law. The easiest way to avoid that is to stop violating the law.”

The centerpiece of Saturday’s forum was testimonials given by people of various ethnic backgrounds who consider themselves racial-profiling victims. Several Spanish-speaking men shared their frustrations over local police who’ve issued them traffic tickets, while a black man said an unjustified arrest in California by racist police 38 years ago continues to haunt him today. ABLE officials asked that none be identified.

ACLU of Georgia plans to compile the stories into a human rights report, with the ultimate goal of passing legislation meant to thwart racial profiling in the next two sessions.

Blagec said the legislation — most recently introduced as Senate Bill 41 — will call for greater accountability on the part of law enforcement.

“They will have to document their (traffic) stops, the demographic information of anyone stopped, the reason for the stop … and the alleged violation,” Blagec said.

Conway estimates there are between 60,000 and 70,000 illegal immigrants in Gwinnett and that the county spends millions each year incarcerating some of them. He believes 287(g) will help alleviate the longstanding issue of jail overcrowding.

Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Stacey Bourbonnais said a year-to-year comparison shows the frequency of immigrant arrests has slowed in light of 287(g).

Since the program’s Nov. 16 activation, 517 foreign-born suspects have been booked at the Gwinnett County Jail — a roughly 18 percent dip over the same period a year ago.

“It does appear that word has gotten out,” Bourbonnais said. “There appears to be some correlation with 287(g) starting.”

The arrest figures could not be divided between legal and illegal immigrants this week, she said.

And it was unclear how many of those recently arrested have been deported, as deputies in charge of verifying immigration status are still getting acclimated to the system, Bourbonnais said.

Sheriff’s Department officials plan to release monthly tabulations to the media that detail 287(g) activity in Gwinnett, she said.

Once the kinks are worked out, officials expect that Immigration and Customs Enforcement will take custody of aliens within 48 hours. An exception stands for those accused of more serious crimes such as murder or rape. They will be prosecuted in Gwinnett courts.

Blagec, of ABLE, said attendance at Saturday’s forum — as well as two previous forums in Gwinnett and Cobb counties — testified to a feeling of helplessness among some Georgia citizens.

“People don’t know what to do. They feel like they’re at the mercy of law enforcement and unchecked power,” she said. “That all these people have shown up is a testimony to the fact that they need help, and our state needs help.”

Conway drew a clear distinction between criminal accusations against aliens and their initial infraction — illegally crossing the border.

“Just for the record, no one is deported by ICE for driving without a license or any other crime,” he said. “They are deported because they entered the country illegally. The charge against them is totally separate.”

You have a critical role to play in the fight for women’s reproductive freedom in this country. We need everyone to let their senators know that we want health reforms that will protect reproductive freedom not put it in peril as the House did with its Stupak-Pitts amendment.

The current Senate bill does not include the Stupak-Pitts language, but we are still a long way from victory. If we want to make sure the Senate stands up for women’s reproductive freedom and against the extremist forces that reared their ugly head in the House, we all need to come together and take action right now.  

Tell Georgia’s senators to protect women’s ability to make private health care decisions without government interference.  

Click here to send your letter: http://action.aclu.org/StopStupak

The Stupak-Pitts Amendment is a direct attack on a woman’s ability to make personal, private medical decisions and puts politics before a woman’s health.

• Abortion is part of basic health care for women. Although we may not all feel the same way about abortion, we should respect and support a woman’s decision.
• Everyone’s circumstances and health care needs are different; a woman facing an unintended or medically catastrophic pregnancy should be able to decide what is best for herself and her family.
• Under Stupak-Pitts, a woman who receives no federal assistance and chooses to participate in the public plan option, in order to lower her insurance cost, will not be able to get abortion coverage.
• Women who receive any federal subsidy under the Act cannot purchase a private plan that offers coverage for any abortion except those necessary to save a woman’s life or where the pregnancy results from rape or incest. This is true even if the premium is paid for partly or largely though private dollars.  If she wants abortion coverage, she will be required to purchase an abortion rider which may not in fact be available. In many instances, the federal government will in effect both require a woman to purchase insurance in the exchange and prohibit her from buying full coverage in the exchange.
• As a result of the Stupak-Pitts abortion coverage ban, the federal government has turned its back on women who may need abortions even while it claims to improve women’s access to health care.

 If you would like to join other ACLU of Georgia members for in-district visits to members of Georgia’s Congressional Delegation, please contact us at info@acluga.org or 770-303-8111.

Join the ACLU of Georgia and ABLE (Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment) this Saturday, Dec. 5^th,  1-3 pm, for our third Tell Your Story/Know Your Rights forum.  The forum will be held at the St. Lawrence Catholic Church, located at 319 Grayson Hwy, Lawrenceville 30046. 

This forum is a valuable opportunity for community members of all backgrounds to tell their story of racial profiling in Gwinnett and to have the stories documented, as well as to gain a greater understanding about their rights in encountering law enforcement. 

This shall be our last forum before the kick-off of the legislative session at which we shall all join forces to fight for the passage of the anti-racial profiling legislation.

This forum is co-sponsored by:  Center for Pan-Asian Community Services, CLILA, Coalition for the People’s Agenda, Cobb Immigrant Alliance, Council on American-Islamic Relations – Georgia, Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, Georgia Detention Watch, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, Georgia Rural Urban Summit, Georgia State Conference NAACP, Metro Fair Housing Services, Inc., New Order Human Rights Organization, Raksha, Refugee Women’s Network, Southern Christian Leadership Conference.