Obama Promises Reform, NCLR Sees Deportations Illegally Detained by Valeria Fernández New America Media
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35 YEARS of Publication 1976-2011 1976 2010 Vol. XXXI XXXVII No. 30 La Prensa Muñoz, Inc., Publications JULY 29, 2011 Arrested in Mexico: Obama Promises Reform, NCLR Sees Deportations Illegally Detained By Valeria Fernández New America Media While Gangsters Go WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Barack Obama’s renewed commit- Free ment to immigration reform during a keynote address at the National By Jose Luis Sierra Council of La Raza Convention NEW AMERICA MEDIA (NCLR) rang hollow for Latino vot- ers, who say they want him to put an CIUDAD JUAREZ, CHIHUAHUA, end to the record number of deporta- MEXICO – This week, four men were tions that have taken place under his convicted for their role in the “Villa administration. Salvarcar Massacre,” the now infa- “We are enforcing flawed laws in mous case in which young people – the most humane and best possible mostly teenagers – gathered at a way,” said Obama during his speech birthday party on the outskirts of to the largest Hispanic civil rights Juarez on January 30, 2010, were group in the nation on Monday. “I gunned down by gangsters, leaving know some people want me to by- 15 dead and at least 10 seriously in- pass Congress and change the laws jured. on my own. Believe me…” The popular and police presump- According to data from Immigra- tion, however, is that another 16 gang- tion and Customs Enforcement (ICE), sters involved in the mayhem remain the Obama administration has de- at large. The administration of President Barack Obama has deported over 1 million immigrants since the ported over 1 million immigrants since beginning of its term in 2009. In Mexico these days, many gang- the beginning of its term in 2009. sters remain at large while tens of Obama’s speech was interrupted mented student from Presente.org, he is distressed and concerned about Promise Arizona, a group involved in thousands of others while away in by chants of “Yes, you can. Yes, you which initiated the chanting. “He is the pain that’s being caused and the civic engagement and human rights, prison. The official estimate is that can,” in mock imitation of his 2008 the president that has deported more families that are separated, while on offers a more optimistic assessment 96,000 such individuals are currently presidential campaign slogan, the im- people than any other before him,” the other hand, we know that it is his of Obama’s commitment to immigra- in detention – legally classified as plication being that the president could Matos added. administration that is the key source tion. “under preventive arrest,” – await- put a stop to the deportations through The group, which advocates for of that pain,” said Murguia during a “He can be stronger, he can be ing charge and trial and said to be an executive action. Latino rights, has shadowed Obama press conference after the speech. more aggressive, and that’s what we under investigation. The majority of Obama defended himself by put- during numerous public appearances Clarissa Martinez, director of Im- are looking for,” said Terán. “We have them have been in detention for ting the onus on the Republicans for in Texas, Florida and even Puerto migration and National Campaigns at to come out and vote. At this point, longer than the 90-day limit estab- failing to pass a meaningful immigra- Rico. Organizers have vowed to con- NCLR, said the Obama administra- what matters is that we get our voices lished by Mexican law during which tion reform package, including their tinue doing so until the president uses tion is not living up to the priorities it out.” suspects can be detained without rejection of the Dream Act, which the executive powers available to him set forth for the Department of Others in the audience applauded charge. would have created a pathway to citi- to stop the deportations of non-crimi- Homeland Security of going after the Obama’s speech for focusing on is- zenship for millions of undocumented nal immigrants, especially youth. most dangerous criminals. Through sues beyond immigration, including I Did It students. California Governor Jerry Janet Murguia, the executive di- programs like Secure Communities, education and healthcare. Guadalupe Melendez, a woman in Brown approved a version of the bill rector of NCLR, said Latinos are be- it hasn’t applied much discretion “I like the fact that he didn’t make her late forties, knows all too well on Monday, granting undocumented coming increasingly disappointed with when it comes to the removal of it just an immigration policy speech, about this kind of detention. In Feb- students in the state access to pri- Obama over his failure to keep his people in the country that don’t have but he talked about all the issues that ruary 2010, she spent days looking for vately funded scholarships. campaign promises on immigration a criminal record or are potential can- are impacting Latinos and indeed all her son, Israel Arzate Melendez, 26, “He can’t pass the Dream Act by reform. didates for the Dream Act, she ex- of America,” said Carlos Galindo a father of two. She searched the himself, but he can stop the deporta- “It’s difficult for us to hear the plained. city’s hospitals and police stations tions,” said Felipe Matos, an undocu- president saying, on the one hand, that Raquel Terán, deputy director of (see Obama, page 5) after he disappeared. It turned out that her son, who used to make a living selling counterfeit CD’s, had been ar- The Nation Mourns the Passing of Silvio Samuel Visitará Baja Previo al IFBB rested four days after the Salvarcar Massacre. Guadalupe Melendez says Richard Chavez that army officers apprehended her Tijuana International Pro Body Building son—without notifying the family— and tortured him in an army garrison. She describes in detail the marks her son had on his body after being tor- tured. “We presented witnesses [to the army] to prove that [my son] had no relation with the victims and that, on the day of the massacre, he was away from the scene. Still, he has been in jail for 17 months without a trial,’’ declares Melendez. Under international law, honored at least in principle by Mexican law, any admission of guilt extracted un- der torture is invalid in a court of law. It is common knowledge, nonetheless, that most Mexican judges routinely ignore claims of torture. Hundreds of claims of prisoner abuse are filed every day at state and “Richard Chavez, brother of Cesar Chavez, and a founder of the local Human Rights Commission of- farmworkers movement, passed away yesterday July 27) from complications fices across the country. following surgery in Bakersfield, CA. Richard never stopped his lifelong cam- “Anybody could become a vic- paign to bring respect and justice for those who pick the crops that feed this tim… either from criminals or at the nation, and the world. A great man.” - Enrique Morones, Border Angels hands of the authorities. But your chances are higher of being made “Michelle and I were saddened to learn of the passing of Richard Estrada victim if you are poor. There are no Chavez yesterday. Richard spent his life in the service of others alongside rich people in Mexican jails,” says his brother Cesar and his wife, Dolores Huerta, co-founders of the United Imelda Marrufo, a lawyer who heads Farm Workers. It was Richard who designed the UFW’s iconic eagle, a La Red de Defensoras Comunitarias symbol of hope that has helped carry the struggle for the rights of farm (Community Legal Defense Net- workers forward for almost five decades. work), a nonprofit agency that assists ... low-income families in Ciudad Our thoughts and prayers are with Richard’s family and loved ones.” - Juarez. President Barack Obama. Beyond Reasonable Doubts “Richard Estrada Chávez was a true and profound inspiration to a gen- But even middle class citizens who eration of labor and civil rights activists, including me. His role in the farm lack political connections can become worker struggle in the fields taught thousands of us, motivated and hungry Silvio Samuel, físicoconstructivista internacional. victims of a legal system that more for justice, how to organize and work for a better community. The original often than not frees the guilty for a ‘Yes, We Can!’ – ‘Sí Se Puede!’ – was born from this struggle, and Richard TIJUANA — La Asociación Estatal de 1975, pero se mudó a una temprana “fair amount of money,” and preys was at the forefront. I was fortunate to call him a mentor and a friend. We Físicoconstructivismo y Fitness de edad junto con su familia a Nigeria upon poor people. The entire premise marched together in Yuma, San Luis, and in Tucson, and he was always Baja California dio a conocer que en el continente africano, donde of the high numbers of these deten- motivating, helping and encouraging the rest of us. Richard Chávez was a el físicoconstructivista internacio- también jugaba fútbol, aunque fue el tions is to have scapegoats to trum- tremendous advocate for working Americans and a real icon to many of us. nal Silvio Samuel estará presente en ruso Ivan Ganev quien lo detectó y pet the government’s alleged triumphs He was true salt of the earth. I will miss him.” - Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva el estado con motivo de la rea- canalizó dentro de la halterofilia. over organized crime. lización del Mister Mexicali. Fue en el levantamiento de pesas Some of the detainees, like Miss “There are people who touch the lives of others inreal and unique ways Lo anterior fue dado a conocer por donde tuvo su primer contacto con el Ana—an El Paso, Texas teacher ac- and no one knows it.These ‘angels on earth’ do big and small things every- Luis Ramírez, presidente de la AEFF gimnasio, donde se preparó para cused a month ago by Mexican au- day on behalf of their fellow man in quiet, unassuming ways.