Congress: Listen to Women on Immigration Reform

For those of us who believe comprehensive immigration reform means something other than "build a bigger fence" (oh, and electrify it, if you can), an editorial published in the New York Times this week is enough to run a chill right down your spine.

On Monday, the paper of record used a little of its editorial space to speak out on what it perceives to be a disaster-in-waiting as the Republicans assert control of the immigration agenda in the House of Representatives. Led by Congressmen Lamar Smith of Texas and Steve King of Iowa -- both of whom are ardent supporters of overturning the 14th Amendment (the one that grants citizenship to those born on American soil), and one of whom has come out strongly in favor of racial profiling (which, as the Times editorial hastens to remind us, is illegal) -- the new powers that be on immigration reform appear to be dead set on pushing for draconian and downright inhumane measures to deal with undocumented immigrants.

As the Times notes:

If [Republican] legislation looks anything like their campaign ads, there will be no way for illegal immigrants to get right with the law and no real solution to the problem of illegal immigration. Just a national doubling-down on enforcement, with still more border fencing and immigration agents, workplaces locked down, and states and localities setting police dragnets on what always was — and still ought to be — federal turf.

That hard-line approach mocks American values. It is irresponsibly expensive. It is ineffective.

More fences? More questionable methods for deporting people? More federal spending on tactics that are inhumane and known not to work? It boggles the mind -- and the House is not alone in allowing reactionary sentiments to guide its policy making here. The Times also points out that every Republican on the Senate Judiciary committee, "signed a letter last month to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, accusing Immigration and Customs Enforcement of 'a lax approach' for focusing more on dangerous criminals than on those with minor or no criminal records."

While conservatives keep themselves busy chastising other public officials and finding ways to spend money we don't have, numbers of organizations working at the grassroots level doing the hard work of producing real, viable solutions to our immigration issues.

Take the women of La Mujer Obrera, who have staged a hunger strike outside the White House to convince our government to invest in long-term economic development, not electrified fences, in border areas. They know that jobs, along with vocational and educational opportunities, provide a much more effective type of border security than increased militarization ever could; they're working to combat poverty and crime by providing women -- who now make up more than half of the US immigrant population -- with the economic security they need to ensure real security on the border.

If the new leaders on immigration in the House are looking for real solutions rather than reactionary strategies, they would do well to take a cue from La Mujer Obrera and other women's organizations that are leading the fight at the grassroots level. These organizations know what their communities need -- and they'll need our support if they're going to be able to make a difference in the face of this new, conservative leadership in the House.

Read the Times editorial. Watch the video below. And then pledge to help us lift up the voices and visions of women who are organizing for change -- on the border and everywhere.

Women's Groups Take Fight Against Arizona's SB 1070 To Washington

On June 10th a delegation of women from Arizona traveled to Washington to show the Obama administration the true effects Arizona's SB1070 could have on women and children in immigrant and undocumented communities. The delegation met with representatives from the administration, including members of the White House Council on Women and Girls, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Homeland Security to share their experiences and express their desire for President Obama to address these issues head-on. The group also met with national women's organizations and advocates to plan further collaborations and organizing possibilities, and, as Ai-Jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance reports, "were energized to engage in a real strategy conversation and take action."

The delegation was organized by a coalition including the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Jobs with Justice and the National Day Laborers Organizing Network, in support of a women's response to the devastating effects of Arizona’s SB1070. In mid-May the Ms. Foundation provided a rapid response grant to this group. Together with other social justice and women's organizations they are creating a powerful alliance of female-led opposition to the bill, as Ai-Jen Poo, said, "the voices, leadership and power of women's organizing [are] a vital part of the campaign."

The Washington visit concluded with the women sharing testimony in a packed congressional hearing, which was attended by Democratic Representative Raul Grijalva (AZ), co-hosted by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL), Rep. Gwen Moore (WI), with Congress members Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX), Jared Polis (CO), Mike Quigley (IL), Hank Johnson (GA), Lynn Woolsey (CA), Luis Gutierrez (IL) and Judy Chu (CA) as honorary guests, numerous witnesses and media outlets. Ai-Jen Poo reported that the "hearing … packed, beyond standing room -- with people listening in from the halls, sitting on the floors. Eight TV cameras, six members of Congress who stayed for over an hour, and a room full of press and people who were moved to tears again and again. There was a feeling all around that something different was happening, something extraordinary. An extraordinary shift."

Building on this success (see the slide show above), the fight against this legislation will continue. The law's potential to disrupt the lives of women and children, tear apart families, and legalize racial profiling must be countered. Stay up to date on action alerts and breaking news updates by reading our blog, and to help create a national "Women's Campaign to Stop SB1070" visit AZWomenRise. Let's bring an end to this devastating bill.

Take Action on Behalf of Arizona's Immigrant Families

Still outraged about what’s going on in Arizona around immigration? You should be -- but one thing we've learned over decades of organizing is that anger on its own can never bring about the change we seek. What we need, now more than ever, is to channel that anger into action.

Thanks to a group of women and organizations who are pooling their resources and organizing under the name "The Mother's Day Delegation" (and supported by the Ms. Foundation through a rapid response grant to the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Jobs with Justice and the National Day Laborers Organizing Network) there are now a number of excellent ways for you to do just that.

Harness the power of your outrage to challenge the bigotry masquerading as law out West; step up and step out on behalf of immigrant families!

For those who are in the Washington, DC area, or can travel there to take part:

• There will be an Ad Hoc Hearing on the Impact of Arizona's SB 1070 on Women and Children on Thursday, June 10, 3:00 - 4:00 pm, 1334 Longworth House Office Building. The Honorary Co-Chairs are Reps. Raúl Grijalva, Jan Schakowsky, Gwendolynne Moore and Sheila Jackson-Lee. A delegation of five women, and possibly one child, will be coming from Arizona to speak about the impact of SB 1070 on their families and communities. Michelle Obama is also being asked to meet with the delegation while they are in DC.
  
  
• Prior to the hearing, the supporting organizations will be hosting an Exchange with the women who are traveling from Arizona to testify. This event will also take place on Thursday, June 10, from 12:00 - 2:00 pm in 402 Cannon HOB, and will include an in-depth discussion of women and immigration enforcement.
  

Please RSVP to gretchen at gmv2108@barnard.edu if you are able to join us for either event.

For those who can’t be in DC but want to lend their support:

• Sign the Letter to Michelle Obama asking her to meet with the delegation of women from Arizona while they are in DC.
  
  
• Encourage your Congressional reps to attend the hearing. Sign this petition via Change.org to urge your reps to show up and listen to the women of Arizona.
  
  
• Watch the short documentary film made during the Mother's Day March to protest SB 1070 -- and make sure to pass it on to friends.
  
  
• Educate Yourself and Others by checking out MomsRising’s recent “blog carnival” on the human and civil rights impacts of current immigration law enforcement practices on moms and families.

Don't just get angry -- get active. Stand up for the women and families of Arizona NOW.


Photo: by Elizabeth Rappaport. (detail) Arrest of Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL), at immigration reform march in front of the White House, 1 May 2010, Washington, DC.

Supporting Arizona's Mothers: A March to Stop SB 1070

Mother’s Day may be officially behind us, but protecting the rights of immigrant mothers and their families remains a hot topic in Arizona – and around the nation.

Today in Phoenix, women representing social movements from across the country are scheduled to participate in a “Mother’s Day March” on the state capitol to protest the passage of SB 1070, which gives law enforcement unprecedented latitude to racially profile and criminalize undocumented immigrants.

Show your support for this emergency effort, and tell the women of Arizona they are not alone. Sign a petition calling on women in Congress to take action against SB 1070.

Led by the National Domestic Workers Alliance (headed by Ai-jen Poo, former executive director of Ms. Foundation grantee, Domestic Workers United), the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and Jobs with Justice (also a Ms. Foundation grantee), participants plan to shed particular light on how SB 1070 will negatively impact immigrant women and families. In a letter to supporters, NDWA declared:

With the passage of this new law, women in Arizona will be the target of racial profiling, searches and seizures, and police harassment. Law enforcement will have free reign to detain and disappear mothers, and separate families for their mere presence in the state. Every time they walk their children to school, buy food, go to work, visit a local health clinic or attend church on a Sunday, they will risk permanent separation from their children and families.

This assault on immigrant communities is also an assault on the legacy of the women's movement to break the code of silence surrounding violence against women, because they will be afraid of reporting all crimes, including hate crimes and violent acts against women and their children. Women in unsafe situations, such as sexual assault and domestic violence, will not report out of fear of deportation… Arizona has declared open season on women of color.

This past weekend, organizers collected testimony from immigrant women and children about the traumatic experiences they've faced in recent weeks and months and their fears for what this new legislation portends. The results from these interviews, along with today’s activities will be announced at a press conference today; a full report will be sent to the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Again, show your support for immigrant women and families in Arizona. Sign a petition calling on women in Congress to take action against SB 1070.

In Honor of Mother's Day, Speak Out for Immigrant Women's Rights

Ms. Foundation for Women grantee National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) is speaking out about the injustices visited upon immigrant women in communities nationwide.

In Tuesday's Roll Call, NLIRH's executive director, Silvia Henriquez -- 2010 Ms. Foundation Woman of Vision awardee -- published a stirring opinion piece underscoring the price immigrant women and their families are paying as a result of misguided immigration policies like the one recently signed into law in Arizona. Take the case of Juana Villegas, a Latina living in Tennessee, who, two years ago,

...was arrested for a routine traffic violation in Nashville after leaving a clinic for a pre-natal visit and detained when she was unable to produce a license. Despite the fact that driving without a license is a misdemeanor in Tennessee that generally leads to a citation, Ms. Villegas was taken into custody due to suspicions about her immigration status.

Ms. Villegas was jailed for six days, during which time she gave birth to a little boy while shackled to a bed under the watchful eye of the sheriff's officer. Barred from speaking to her husband, her baby was taken from her upon birth... local police also confiscated Villegas' breast pump.

Stories like Villegas' highlight how desperately our immigration policies require reform -- and how painfully our broken system can impact women's lives. In honor of Mother's Day, take the time to read the entirety of Henriquez's piece, and encourage your friends to do the same. It's time to shed light on how immigration policies deny women, and their families, the humanity they deserve.

Historic Health Care Vote: Celebrate and Recommit to Rights of Women, Low-Income People and People of Color

There is absolutely no doubt that last night's House vote for health care reform was historic. True, it fell short in many ways -- by further restricting women's -- particularly low-income women's -- access to abortion, prohibiting immigrants from buying insurance from the exchange, and omitting a public option. But it is a monumental step nonetheless, and we applaud Democratic members of Congress who persevered amidst scare tactics and misguided rhetoric to lay the foundation for significant social change.

Early last fall, as the health-care debate was in full swing, the Ms. Foundation issued rapid-response grants to Raising Women's Voices and Women of Color United for Health Reform to mobilize greater support for and awareness about the urgent health-care priorities of low-income women and women of color, including immigrant women. Yesterday, Raising Women's Voices and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, a founding member of Women of Color United, each welcomed the House vote and recognized elements of their platforms in the final bill:

Raising Women's Voices:

The House of Representatives’ vote tonight for health care reform is a courageous and historic accomplishment. ...In the same way that Social Security and Medicare improved the health and wellbeing of so many Americans, the health reform plan approved by the House tonight will make a real and significant difference in the lives of millions of our families...and communities.

Because of this vote, women will gain health security because insurers will no longer be able to deny insurance coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, like breast cancer; and we will no longer suffer from “gender rating” that insurers use to charge women more than men for the same policies. We will also gain from the availability of affordable health insurance for millions more families and from the guarantee that maternity care will be covered. Screening and preventive services will be available without any cost-sharing barriers.

We owe a debt of thanks to the women who raised their voices -- over many, many years and especially over the last 18 months -- to bring about these important reforms. ...These women insisted that public policy respond to the needs of the people.

With great disappointment, we acknowledge that this victory came at a cost.... The legislation imposes unfair and unnecessary burdens on women who choose to purchase abortion coverage and will expand significantly the pool of women who are not able to purchase coverage for this basic reproductive health care. ... We recommit ourselves to working to eliminate this unjust and punitive policy which prevents low-income women from receiving the comprehensive reproductive health care they need.

...On balance we look back at the woman's vision for quality, affordable health care developed and issued by Raising Women’s Voices and see that the bill takes very substantial steps toward those goals. Read RWV's full response here.

National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH):

NLIRH commends Congress and the Administration for continuing to push for much-needed health reform and we are pleased to see that some critical pieces affecting our community have been addressed in the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act.

...[T]he reconciliation package will cover an estimated 9 million uninsured Latinos and increase funding for community health centers, which is a lifeline for many in our neighborhoods. In addition, 4.4 million Americans in Puerto Rico and territories will receive $6.3 billion in new Medicaid funding, increased flexibility in how to use federal funding, access to the Exchange and $1 billion in subsides for low-income residents.

We understand that this legislation is not perfect. NLIRH has deep concerns about Latino immigrants and their families who will be left on the sidelines even as 31 million currently uninsured Americans celebrate the end to their long wait for reform.

...If Heath Care Reform passes, efforts to address the following priorities must commence immediately:

* Fix Nelson: the two-check provision is unworkable and will enact some of the most egregious and detrimental setbacks to abortion rights since the seventies.

* Include immigrant women: over half of all immigrants are women, and 53% of all immigrants are from Latin America.

* Parity for Puerto Rico: though the reconciliation provisions are better than what the Senate proposed, residents of Puerto Rico are still a long ways away from receiving Medicaid and other federal health care support at the same level as other states of the Union.

If health reform passes, NLIRH will celebrate.... But we will also renew our commitment to fight for the human right of all people - regardless of legal status or zip code - to health, dignity and justice. Read NLIRH's full response here.