[BREAKING]: Press Conference to Denounce misinformation around Obama's Deferred Action Campaign
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José G. Herrera
Aug 13, 2012, 9:31:44 AM8/13/12
to moratoriumon...@gmail.com
For Immediate Release
Press Advisory for
Tuesday August 14, 2012@11:30am
Press Contacts:
Jose Herrera 773-632-9992 (Spanish)
Rozalinda Borcila 813-789-0123 (English)
moratoriumondeportations.org
Chicago IL. - Members and supporters of the Moratorium on Campaign (MDC) launch a campaign to combat misinformation around the Obama Administration's new Deferred Action campaign. We hold ICIRR, Congressman Gutierrez and Barack Obama responsible for the lives of youth who, following their misleading statements, will end up in ICE custody or deported.
WHAT: Press Conference
WHEN: Tuesday, August 14th at 11:30am
WHERE: Outside Obama's Campaign Headquarters (One Prudential Plaza)
WHY:
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and Congressman Luis Gutierrez have been misleading the public about the benefits and risks of Deferred Action for youth. Homeland Security documents clearly state that even people who meet all the criteria outlined by Janet Napolitano may be rejected and turned over to I.C.E. – and that deportation proceedings may be initiated against them at the discretion of the government.
However, in a press statement announcing the “Historical Dream Relief Day”, ICIRR Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Benito stated “We encourage every undocumented youth who fits the criteria to take advantage of this great opportunity to come out of the shadows by applying for deferred action.” We consider it irresponsible to encourage people to apply without appropriately warning them of the risks involved. The announcement also stated that undocumented youth would be “free from deportation”. This statement is false: deferred action offers no protection from deportation. ICIRR and Congressman Luis Gutierrez have been recruiting people into a dangerous and uncertain situation and using people as guinea pigs for their own political gains.
Although candidate Obama secured the previous elections by advertising his support for just immigration reform, President Obama has deported more people than any other president in US history. Now, because of the elections, he is once again trying to use immigrants for his political gains. We demand that Mr. Obama use his executive power to create real, accountable and safe solutions to this country's broken immigration system – beginning with a Moratorium on Deportations – and not false solutions that claim to offer relief for youth while making them subject to deportation. We consider this an expansion of enforcement, not a relief program.
Background
President Obama has advertised a new campaign supposedly granting relief to undocumented youth who meet certain criteria. But Homeland Security documents clearly state: even people who meet all the criteria may be rejected and turned over to I.C.E. There is no guarantee they will be granted any kind of relief, and the government will be able to initiate deportation proceedings against them, or their families, at any time. In addition, Deferred Action does not grant any legal status. It simply meas the government may temporarily suspend actions against you – referring to any action with the purposes of forced removal.
The document at the root of all the hype is a memo released by Janet Napolitano, addressed to three branches of the Department of Homeland Security. While there has been much propaganda around this new campaign, it is clear this memo is not about justice, it is about enforcement. Further, a Memo is not a law, it is not a pardon or an executive order. It is a set of instructions from the DHS boss to the people who work in agencies under her command. It outlines a set of criteria for how Prosecutorial Discretion should be applied.
Prosecutorial Discretion has been used in the immigration system for 30 years, and is fundamental to the criminal justice system as well. It allows the authorities to decide on a case-by-case basis how and if to enforce the laws against people. Discretion can be applied in your favor or against you; it is not based on laws, accountability or rights, but on administrative “priorities” set by different agencies at different times. In the US, this has lead to unchecked powers for prosecutors, police and ICE agents, who act with impunity against poor people, immigrants and people of color.
The new memo outlines a set of priorities in order to better enforce immigration laws through Prosecutorial Discretion. It suggests the task of Homeland Security has not changed, but the system is unable to meet its own quotas. Once Obama has fashioned himself as the “tough on immigration” president, the deportation and enforcement quotas put pressure or every agency, and every part of the system, to make as many people as possible subject to deportation. But the courts are backlogged, the system is clearly failing. Instead of using his executive powers to provide real solutions, Obama is finding “innovative” solutions to based in resource management and disinformation. DHS documents reveal that even those who meet all the criteria may be turned over to ICE, and deportation proceedings may be initiated against them at any time. Furthermore, Deferred Action offers no protection from deportation. Defer means to postpone, Action refers to any action initiated by the government with the purpose of deporting someone. So Deferred Action, even if granted, means simply this: the government will temporarily postpone efforts to deport you. It does not represent status; and DHS decisions are final with no possibility of appeal.
While falsely promising *maybe* relief for some, the new Obama campaign is expanding enforcement in several significant ways:
Press Advisory for
Tuesday August 14, 2012@11:30am
Press Contacts:
Jose Herrera 773-632-9992 (Spanish)
Rozalinda Borcila 813-789-0123 (English)
moratoriumondeportations.org
Immigrant Justice Organizers Denounce President Obama, Congressman Luis Gutierrez and I.C.I.R.R. for Misleading the Public About Deferred Action for Undocumented Youth
Chicago IL. - Members and supporters of the Moratorium on Campaign (MDC) launch a campaign to combat misinformation around the Obama Administration's new Deferred Action campaign. We hold ICIRR, Congressman Gutierrez and Barack Obama responsible for the lives of youth who, following their misleading statements, will end up in ICE custody or deported.
WHAT: Press Conference
WHEN: Tuesday, August 14th at 11:30am
WHERE: Outside Obama's Campaign Headquarters (One Prudential Plaza)
WHY:
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and Congressman Luis Gutierrez have been misleading the public about the benefits and risks of Deferred Action for youth. Homeland Security documents clearly state that even people who meet all the criteria outlined by Janet Napolitano may be rejected and turned over to I.C.E. – and that deportation proceedings may be initiated against them at the discretion of the government.
However, in a press statement announcing the “Historical Dream Relief Day”, ICIRR Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Benito stated “We encourage every undocumented youth who fits the criteria to take advantage of this great opportunity to come out of the shadows by applying for deferred action.” We consider it irresponsible to encourage people to apply without appropriately warning them of the risks involved. The announcement also stated that undocumented youth would be “free from deportation”. This statement is false: deferred action offers no protection from deportation. ICIRR and Congressman Luis Gutierrez have been recruiting people into a dangerous and uncertain situation and using people as guinea pigs for their own political gains.
Although candidate Obama secured the previous elections by advertising his support for just immigration reform, President Obama has deported more people than any other president in US history. Now, because of the elections, he is once again trying to use immigrants for his political gains. We demand that Mr. Obama use his executive power to create real, accountable and safe solutions to this country's broken immigration system – beginning with a Moratorium on Deportations – and not false solutions that claim to offer relief for youth while making them subject to deportation. We consider this an expansion of enforcement, not a relief program.
Background
President Obama has advertised a new campaign supposedly granting relief to undocumented youth who meet certain criteria. But Homeland Security documents clearly state: even people who meet all the criteria may be rejected and turned over to I.C.E. There is no guarantee they will be granted any kind of relief, and the government will be able to initiate deportation proceedings against them, or their families, at any time. In addition, Deferred Action does not grant any legal status. It simply meas the government may temporarily suspend actions against you – referring to any action with the purposes of forced removal.
###
MDC Response to Obama's Deferred Action CampaignThe document at the root of all the hype is a memo released by Janet Napolitano, addressed to three branches of the Department of Homeland Security. While there has been much propaganda around this new campaign, it is clear this memo is not about justice, it is about enforcement. Further, a Memo is not a law, it is not a pardon or an executive order. It is a set of instructions from the DHS boss to the people who work in agencies under her command. It outlines a set of criteria for how Prosecutorial Discretion should be applied.
Prosecutorial Discretion has been used in the immigration system for 30 years, and is fundamental to the criminal justice system as well. It allows the authorities to decide on a case-by-case basis how and if to enforce the laws against people. Discretion can be applied in your favor or against you; it is not based on laws, accountability or rights, but on administrative “priorities” set by different agencies at different times. In the US, this has lead to unchecked powers for prosecutors, police and ICE agents, who act with impunity against poor people, immigrants and people of color.
The new memo outlines a set of priorities in order to better enforce immigration laws through Prosecutorial Discretion. It suggests the task of Homeland Security has not changed, but the system is unable to meet its own quotas. Once Obama has fashioned himself as the “tough on immigration” president, the deportation and enforcement quotas put pressure or every agency, and every part of the system, to make as many people as possible subject to deportation. But the courts are backlogged, the system is clearly failing. Instead of using his executive powers to provide real solutions, Obama is finding “innovative” solutions to based in resource management and disinformation. DHS documents reveal that even those who meet all the criteria may be turned over to ICE, and deportation proceedings may be initiated against them at any time. Furthermore, Deferred Action offers no protection from deportation. Defer means to postpone, Action refers to any action initiated by the government with the purpose of deporting someone. So Deferred Action, even if granted, means simply this: the government will temporarily postpone efforts to deport you. It does not represent status; and DHS decisions are final with no possibility of appeal.
While falsely promising *maybe* relief for some, the new Obama campaign is expanding enforcement in several significant ways:
- Making more and more people deportable. Baiting youth to turn themselves over to Homeland Security makes more people subject to deportation. This is not only about the risks faced by these youth, who may be deported as a result of applying. We understand that criminalizing immigrants is not really about deporting 12 million people, but about making entire populations deportable, and therefore exploitable.
- Reinforcing the good immigrant vs bad immigrant divide. This campaign promises "maybe" rewards for those deemed by the administration to be like “good Americans” while pushing for more enforcement against all others, who are by default more likely to be categorized as “bad immigrants”.
- Expanding criminalization. The new campaign introduces the notion of “significant misdemeanor”, which is a new and very fuzzy category of crime. We have seen the tendency to expand and make more flexible what constitutes a "criminal alien” for deportation purposes. Every time new language is introduced to “invent” new crime categories, this represents an expansion of criminalization that affects all immigrants
- Social justice movements are buying into the hype and are turning their focus away from demanding real solutions. We are supposed to believe this is a victory and to become facilitators of Obama's campaign. Just as undocumented youth are "put to work" as unwaged ICE agents in apprehending themselves, social justice advocates and organizers are put to work as recruiters for Homeland Security.
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