“We are here because you were there.” Immigration is the theme for this issue. Historically humans have often behaved like a migratory species, abandoning familiar geographies and moving onto new territories when we needed to improve our living conditions....
Posts published in “Issue: October 2018”
I met Cipriano Rios Alegria back in 2014. He was detained and on hunger strike at Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington (NWDC). It’s one of the largest detention centers for immigrants on the West Coast. NWDC has been on my radar since it opened in 2004, but I didn’t set a foot there until February 2014 when I helped organize and participated in a civil disobedience action to stop deportations at the facility. Less than a month later...
Conocí a Cipriano Ríos Alegría en el 2014. Él estaba en detención y participando en una huelga de hambre en el Centro de Detención del Noroeste en Tacoma, Washington – el NWDC por sus siglas en inglés. Es unos de los centros de detención más grandes de la costa oeste…
As reported in the August 2018 WIP, Olympia’s City Council took a number of actions over the summer designed to foster more positive policies toward the homeless. Then, on August 21, the Council went into Executive session …. and two days later, City staff closed the Artesian Well that served…
Immediately after President Trump’s inauguration in 2017, his administration announced a harsh immigration agenda that included building a border wall, massively expanding interior immigration enforcement, and passing laws to limit lawful immigration. President Trump’s policy agenda was quickly put into action with the issuance of restrictive executive orders during his first months in office. States and immigrant rights advocacy...
Inmediatamente después de la inauguración del Presidente Trump en 2017, su administración anunció una agenda dura para la inmigración que incluía construir una muralla en la frontera, expandiendo masivamente la ejecución de políticas de inmigración en el interior, y aprobando leyes para limitar la inmigración legal. La agenda política del Presidente Trump se puso en acción rápidamente con la expedición de órdenes ejecutivas...
On August 29 Temple Beth Hatfiloh, downtown Olympia’s Jewish place of worship, announced its decision to become a sanctuary congregation. Speaking to congregants and community members, Rabbi Seth Goldstein said, “From travel bans to…family separation policies, we as Jews…demand a different reality… we commit to offer up physical sanctuary in the name of immigrant support and advocacy, to support all...
El 29 de Agosto de este año, el Templo Judio Beth Hatfiloh en el centro de Olympia anunció su decisión de convertirse en un sitio de santuario. Hablando a la congregación y miembros de la comunidad, el Rabino Seth Goldstein dijo, “desde barreras para inmigración a ordenanzas para separar a familias, nosotros como judios….demandamos una realidad diferente..nos comprometemos a ofrecer un sitio de santuario en el nombre de apoyo e intercesión, para apoyar a todos...
Following the shock of the November 2016 presidential election, immigrant rights activists quickly moved into resistance and movement-building. Out of the expanse of already active groups and legal supports for immigrants emerged WAISN – the Washington Immigrant Rights Solidarity Network. Anyone on the WAISN listserve or who checks its webpage quickly learns that this is a vital zone ...
Tras el impacto de las elecciones presidenciales de noviembre de 2016, los activistas por los derechos de los inmigrantes rápidamente se movilizaron hacia la resistencia y por la construcción de movimientos. WAISN - la Red de Solidaridad por los Derechos de Inmigrantes de Washington, surge como extensión y resultado de grupos ya activos y otras formas de apoyo legal para los inmigrantes. Cualquier persona en la lista...
In August 2018, 200 farm workers and supporters began walking at sunrise, north from Lynden, Washington, toward Canada. Chanting and holding banners, the procession passed 14 miles of blueberry fields, finally reaching the border crossing at Sumas. Pausing for protests at the immigrant detention center, it continued on to its objective—the 1500-acre spread of Sarbanand Farms. There, participants staged a tribunal....
Strengthening Sanctuary: Strengthening Sanctuary was formed after our City Council declared Olympia a sanctuary city. We support immigrant rights and strive to create a safe, welcoming community for everyone. We declare our solidarity with all community members, regardless of immigration or documentation status. We make decisions by consensus and practice…
Reforzando Santuario: Reforzando Sanctuario se formó después de que el consejo político de la ciudad declaraba a Olympia como una ciudad santuario. Nuestro grupo apoya los derechos de los inmigrantes y se esfuerza por crear una comunidad sana y acogedora para todos, sin importar su estatus migratorio. Tomamos decisiones por…
Be it resolved that: The City of Olympia declares itself to be a Sanctuary City and; As a Sanctuary City, City employees will serve all residents, and City services will be accessible to all residents regardless of immigration status; and The City of Olympia will not inquire upon a resident’s…
On June 26, the US Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s Muslim Ban—one of many anti-immigrant policies reflecting the racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia of the administration. Trump’s hateful campaign rhetoric promising a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the US” is now national policy, condoned, in whitewashed form, by the highest court of the land....
El 26 de junio, la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos confirmó la llamada Prohibición Musulmana del presidente Trump, una de las muchas políticas antiinmigrantes que reflejan el racismo, la xenofobia y la islamofobia de la administración. La aborrecible retórica de la campaña de Trump que promete un “cierre total y completo de los musulmanes que ingresan a los EE. UU.” Es ahora una política nacional, ...
This month’s interview on “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” will help us understand and appreciate Islam as a legitimate faith in the world, in the US, and in our local communities. Islam is the world’s second most popular religious faith, but almost all Americans who are not Muslim do not understand the…
Que le pare un vehículo de patrulla, ni hablar de que lo arresten, es una experiencia desconcertante, especialmente si usted es un ciudadano de otro país y no posee documentos que demuestran su derecho legal a estar en los EEUU. ¿Qué pasa si esta parada de tránsito o el arresto lleva a que sea entregado al Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas, o a ICE? ¿Qué significará mi encuentro para mi y mi familia?...
Getting pulled over by a patrol car, let alone getting arrested, is an unnerving experience—especially if you are a citizen of another country and don’t possess documents that demonstrate your legal right to be in the United States. What if this traffic stop or arrest leads to my being turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE? What will my encounter with local police mean for me and my family?...
On Sept. 22-23 members of local immigrant rights groups held a workshop on Combating White Supremacy and Working for Immigrant Justice. We based the workshop on the Catalyst Project’s Immigrant Justice curriculum, which provides anti-racist resources for activists and organizers. We had two goals: (1) to deepen our understanding of white supremacy and privilege, especially in relationship to anti-immigrant policies and immigrant struggles...
“We have to look in the mirror and ask, who are we as a country? Are we the kind of country that intentionally targets families, and separates children from their parents?”—Senator Kamala Harris
Alex Rivera’s 2008 film, The Sleep Dealer tells the story of Memo, a young man who is forced to leave his home in Mexico to support his family. Unable to cross the US-Mexico border, Memo finds work in a Tijuana factory. There, electrodes are attached...
Immigrants have rights too You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer questions about where you were born, whether you’re a US citizen, or how you entered the country. If stopped on the street, you can assert these rights. (Different rules apply at international borders and airports. Different…
Inmigrantes tienen derechos también Usted tiene el derecho a permanecer en silencio. No tiene que responder a preguntas acerca de donde nació, si es ciudadano(a) estadounidense, ni cómo entró a los Estados Unidos. Si lo detiene en la calle, puede ejercer estos derechos. (Se aplican reglas distintas en las fronteras…
Environmental organizations, the Tribes, and the Washington State Labor Council, spent nearly $2 million to organize 2500 volunteers and paid signature gatherers to collect 370,000 signatures for Initiative 1631.
The initiative will be on the ballot in November. The oil companies have spent $16 million to fight it.
Why do they oppose us? Because Initiative 1631 will accelerate the transition to zero-emission cars and buses....