Green Party Candidate for Congress AZ-06 Richard Grayson Poll: SHOULD ARIZONA BE KICKED OUT OF THE UNITED STATES?

Many supporters have suggested that, in the highly unlikely situation that I do get elected to Congress, the first piece of legislation I introduce should be one to eliminate my job -- and those of John McCain, John Kyl, and the other Arizona members of the U.S. House of Representatives. In other words, they want me to sponsor a bill that would kick Arizona out of the union. This would eliminate the state that's dead last in job creation and education and which comes in second in the percentage of its residents living in poverty.

They say Arizona's anti-American attitudes -- its racism, xenophobia, crazy right-wing nativist tea-party wacko majority's weirdo beliefs -- make it so sucky that the Cactus State needs to be given the boot. The residents seem to hate the federal government anyway.

Miss Wit, aka Deborah Goldstein, designed this t-shirt that shows a map of the proposed improved Arizona-less United States ("Piece Out, Arizona"). We'd like to ask those who stop by our website here to vote in the poll at right over the next week and tell us what you think: Do you think Arizona should be thrown out of the Union?

A Sane Voice on Immigration from Pinal County

For Pinal County's sensible voters and residents, it was heartening to see this letter in today's New York Times:

To the Editor:

Re “Judge Blocks Arizona’s Law on Immigrants” (front page, July 29):

Americans should applaud Judge Susan Bolton’s rejection of the more inflammatory parts of Arizona’s immigration enforcement law and the racist undertones it represents.

Gov. Jan Brewer’s groundless generalizations about the undocumented population foment fear of the unknown among her constituents, making for good politics but bad policy. The sudden surge in scapegoating of undocumented immigrants diverts attention from the real, well-documented problems currently facing the nation.

Rather than using money and sound bites to take aim at a demographic that boosts economic development and has no correlation with criminal activity, Ms. Brewer and other governors should be rallying support to address issues that actually pose a threat to the stability of American democracy: an eroding public education system, unprecedented global climate change and, perhaps most important, a broken political system that prizes sensationalism over sensible reasoning.

Jeffrey D. Stein
Florence, Ariz., July 29, 2010

Congratulations to Mr. Stein on his articulate, intelligent letter.

National Day of Action Against SB 1070: in Brooklyn, New York

As someone who's taught Constitutional history on the college level, we're not surprised that a federal judge issued a temporary injunction of the enforcement of SB 1070 on preemption grounds. But the law is now in effect, and those of us who hate this racist, xenophobic, un-American creation of the hateful extremists who control Arizona government - including our campaign, which is still boycotting Arizona - participated all over the state and country in a National Day of Action against SB 1070. We were in our native Brooklyn early to gather for a march over the Brooklyn Bridge and rally at Foley Square in lower Manhattan. Here are pics we took at the rally.




















Our event today in New York was organized by the New Sanctuary Movement, Families for Freedom, Immigrant Defense Project,

Churches United to Save & Heal, Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights,

DRUM-Desis Rising Up & Moving, Black Institute, VAMOS Unidos,

American Friends Service Committee, and Wind of the Spirit (New Jersey).

It was sponsored by, among others, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition,

Damayan, Sistas and Brothas United, NY Immigration Coalition, World Can’t Wait, Sikh Coalition,

Urban Youth Collaborative, Immigrant Communities in Action, Center for Immigrant Families,

United for Peace and Justice, South Asian Americans Leading Together,

Boycott Arizona Coalition, Muslim Consultative Network, New Immigrant Community Empowerment,

CAAAV, Center for Constitutional Rights, Peekskill Area Pastors Association, La Union,

National Economic & Social Rights Initiative, Coney Island Avenue Project, Youth on the Move,

South Asian Bar Association of NY, Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund, Adhikaar, NYS Youth Leadership Council

- and that list isn't comprehensive, as you can tell by glancing at some of the banners here.



If elected to Congress, we will support comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship.

President Ronald Reagan: "I Believe in Amnesty" for Undocumented Aliens

We congratulate our opponent, Rep. Jeff Flake, for being the only Republican member of Congress to attend President Obama's speech on immigration last week at American University. Rep. Flake has taken an unpopular stand in his reactionary party, and he should be commended for it. Of course, he's in the tradition of Ronald Reagan, who did more to give amnesty to the undocumented among us than any American leader in our history. In a 1984 debate, President Reagan forthrightly states, "I believe in amnesty."

So do we.

Que Lástima, Arizona: State Leaders Favor Bland Homogeneity Over Diversity

At WorldHum, Adam Karlin has an articulate and perceptive take on Arizona and immigration from the traveler's point of view. An excerpt:

Twenty-four million Mexicans legally cross into Arizona every year to spend money. Many are now thinking twice about doing so, which is going to be a hell of a blow to Arizona’s tourism revenue—1 in 10 travelers here is Mexican. One of the most touristed states in the nation now faces one of the biggest tourism boycotts of any individual state.

And the law may discourage more than the simple act of movement. All those boycotts speak to something else: a blow to the blended identity that makes Arizona so interesting. Besides her considerable natural beauty, Arizona’s attraction lies in the way she merges Sonora, Mexico and the American Southwest like she blends purple and red and orange and pink and indigo into impossibly beautiful sunsets. If SB 1070 widens divisions between Arizona’s Anglos and Latinos, it will be harming a big source of the state’s appeal.

La Frontera encompasses two overlapping universes and the creative tension of a human Venn diagram. Take Ajo, Arizona, 40 miles from Sonyata, Mexico. Amid its low-slung homes with air-con boxes busting out the side and the bulb-y round cupolas of the smooth white Catholic mission is a Moorish-Mediterranean-Mexican thread you could tug on and follow to the red dirt towns of nearby Sonora. Those polished white-tile presidios come from across the ocean to the scrubbed out sunshine and low-slung, red roofs of Andalucia, themselves just a hop north of the olive groves (which resemble palo verde copses) and breezy riads of Morocco. Which is speckled with its bulb-y white cupola-ed mosques and trilling ouds which, hey, sound quite-near-almost-proximate to the flamenco guitar that just came out of the local radio station back in Ajo.

The mix is heady and fascinating, and the tragic thing is people of all political stripes here recognize that. I talked with ranchers who supported the law who were hardly bigots. They had fed and given water to immigrants crossing on foot. Many had raised their children to be bilingual. But they feared for their safety. Like a lot of potentially bad legislation, SB 1070 was founded in fear, a panic that followed the murder of rancher Robert Krentz near the border. “Really, it’s not the workers we’re worried about,” one rancher said. “It’s the drug guys.” I had the sense he really meant it, and that if it weren’t for the violence that recently accompanied the Mexican drug trade, the law wouldn’t have popped on his radar.

Or would it have? With bans on ethnic studies classes and teachers with strong accents (are Mississippi teachers included?), however genuine and nice those ranchers were, it’s hard not to feel as though the legislators of Arizona are giving the finger to anyone who doesn’t fit into the muzak sprawl that is the not-seamy-but-boring underbelly of Arizona. The tract housing that spills over Paradise Valley; the obscene golf courses fuzzed green by an increasingly scarce water table; the architects behind the faux-dobe shopping malls that, but for their pseudo-Southwest façade, could be from Houston or Seattle or Dayton or anywhere.

I can’t analyze the legislation as an immigration or security expert, but I can see it from the vantage point of the traveler. And speaking as a traveler, I’m worried that the general mindset of Arizona’s leaders, as exemplified by the above laws, favors bland homogeneity over diversity.

Everywhere I go in Arizona, I see the beauty that occurs when the best of two cultures happily interbreed. If this law increases community tensions between brown and white, it will ultimately work against the gourmet food stalls where Anglo artists paint clever variants on Day of the Dead demigods while serving jazzed up versions of green chile; the radio stations that juke between norteño music and Cowpunk sets; burlesque shows that balance Victorian corsets with chola-inspired graffiti; the sense of opportunity that draws the best and brightest and hardest-working from other countries (thanks, Mexico) and weaves them into our national tapestry.

Que lástima. Beware this law, Arizona. I don’t support a tourism boycott—it’s too simple a punishment for people with complex motivations—but will whatever safety is gained by the law (if any safety is gained) be worth losing all of the above? Because there’s a lot more at risk than tourism dollars and tacos.

For Mother's Day, 10 Reasons to Oppose Arizona SB 1070

At Change.org, Prerna Lal has a great post today, "For Mother's Day,10 Reasons to Oppose Arizona SB 1070," written after a fact-finding mission to hear testimonies of the experiences of women in Arizona in the wake of SB 1070. Here's our excerpt of her 10 reasons:

10. These acts rip families apart.

“I never knew this could happen,” said Catherine, age 9 and a U.S. citizen. Both of her parents were arrested in a workplace raid. Over 100,000 parents of United States citizens like Catherine were deported in the past 10 years. Few think about the implication of that staggering statistic on children who are forced to live without their families, on parents who are separated from their children.

9. These acts rob women of the right to support their loved ones.

“We come here to work and all the time we were just trying to survive,” said Sandra, Catherine’s mother. “But we have to live closed in fear.” Even those who have been on the job for a long time face increased incidents of workplace harassment. Benita, a public worker for 23 years, told us, “They give me more things to do because of my color; they’re always telling me to do something about my accent.”

8. These acts force women to live with physical and sexual violence.

Sylvia told us the undocumented parents she works with would not report a sexual assault for fear of being deported. One woman put it this way: “If the law goes through, I don’t think any woman will ever call the police again. It will be chaos. It will be terrible.” This is in direct contradiction with federal immigration benefits such as the U visa, which allows undocumented victims of violence in the United States to come forward and get legalization based on their cooperation with law enforcement.

7. These acts subject women to humiliation and violence from enforcement agents.

Alejandra suffered a broken jaw when she was detained and then was denied medical care, despite her repeated cries for medical attention, and suffers ongoing problems as a result. We learned that Laura and many others were refused the most basic sanitary supplies.

6. These acts scar children and force some to parent their younger siblings.

We heard from children who watched in horror as a parent was arrested, or came home to an empty house to get a call from immigration. We learned of children who draw pictures of living in a house in a cage. “It’s not like a wound that just heals,” Esperanza told us. “They’re damaging our soul. The scars will be there forever.”

5. These acts rob students of access to education.

We met a brilliant DREAM Act eligible student accepted to a graduate program at Harvard and promised financial aid by a group of supporters here, who are now afraid that due to SB 1070, they could be jailed for providing this help. Other teenagers have dropped out of school in order to earn income lost with a parent’s detention while some do not see the point of high school if they cannot see a pathway to higher education.

4. These acts instill terror of those who should be protectors.

Mary Rose Garrido Wilcox from the Board of Supervisors told us she had to ask Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office not to send representatives to the annual baseball outing for students. “The kids are so afraid of those brown shirts,” she said, “they won’t come if the sheriffs are there.” Besides law enforcement, some have expressed that the legislation might even deter people from seeking the help of clergy.

3. These acts create fear of doing the most basic activities simply because of the color of one’s skin.

Carrie said she often gives people rides to the doctor or the store. “Since SB 1070 was signed,” she told us, “a lot of people haven’t been coming out, even to get free food. They’re afraid to leave their homes.”

2. These acts increase crime and wrong-doing.

One of the most insidious side effects of SB 1070 is that it breeds a culture of impunity for those who exploit and abuse immigrants by discouraging immigrants from reporting crimes to local law enforcement. SB 1070 gives a free pass to actual criminals to attack undocumented immigrants and those who could be perceived as undocumented, thus increasing crime.

1. These acts are unconstitutional and provide no solution to broken immigration system.

The system is undoubtedly broken when it takes more than 20 years for families to unite, when adult children are not considered immediate relatives of their own parents and siblings, when most people in detention and removal proceedings have no criminal records. SB 1070 is a misguided and unconstitutional step in the wrong direction of framing immigrants as criminals. Additionally, it does nothing to "secure the borders" of Arizona and impedes on federal powers to enforce immigration laws.

We must oppose SB 1070 from not just the immigrant rights and feminist perspective, but because it is essentially about human rights and what kind of country we want to reside in — one based on hatred of those who seem different from us or one based in a celebration of diversity. The answer is crystal-clear.

Litigation may not resolve this issue in due time, but an Executive Order from Obama to nullify laws like SB 1070 and rescind 287 (g) programs, which allow local police to act like immigration officials, is something that can be done immediately.

This is a great companion piece to the Arizona Green Party's Mother's Day press release. Thanks to Prerna Nal for fighting for American values every day and Mother's Day.

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