~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell the “Gang of Eight”: Stop the prison-to-​deportatio​n pipeline!


End the criminalization of our communities.boy holding immigrant rights sign

Tell the “Gang Of Eight”: We demand immigration reform that protects the rights of all immigrants.

Add Your Voice

 

In President Obama’s State of the Union address, he expressed his administration’s intention to make immigration a priority. Last month, a bipartisan group of senators known as the “Gang of Eight” rolled out a series of principles to overhaul the immigration system.1 Key among their proposed reforms is a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants as well as an increase in border security protocols.2

On April 10, immigrants’ rights groups from across the country will be joining together for a National Day of Action,3 calling on Congress to create immigration policy that recognizes the hardships and contributions of new Americans and aspiring citizens. With over 11 million undocumented immigrants4 in this country waiting for an answer, the “Gang of Eight” has an opportunity to write immigration reform that responds to the needs of everyone.

In anticipation of such a proposal, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has made immigration reform a key focus of this year’s policy agenda.5 The CBC has formed a task force to address what they’re calling the “prison-to-deportation pipeline” and its effects on the Black and brown community.6 They recognize what we already know — we’re stronger together.

Please join us in demanding the “Gang of Eight” write immigration reform that protects the rights of all immigrants. It only takes a moment.

For years, America’s broken immigration system has been focused on detention and deportation largely at the expense of our communities.7,8 While enforcement drives the political conversation around reform, inflammatory rhetoric attempts to pit Black and immigrant communities against each other as if the terms “immigrant” or even “Latino” can never have a Black face. Economic opportunities for Black folks have not grown increasingly scarce because of competition with undocumented immigrants.9 These tired rivalries are played up in divide-and-conquer power politics to distract us from the work of addressing the real causes of skyrocketing Black unemployment, which include a history of being economically exploited, marginalized and discriminated against.10

A focus on border security highlights a fundamental divide in the current immigration conversation. Often absent from immigration reform discussions are the more than three million Black immigrants who comprise nine percent of the U.S. foreign-born population, primarily coming from the Caribbean, North and sub-Saharan Africa.11 For Black immigrants, arrival often looks very different — many come into the country with some form of documentation, typically a visa. If these documents expire, those immigrants remain in the country undetected and without status. Although these crossings are less controversial, they remain fraught. For these immigrants, increased enforcement translates to an increase in racial profiling — a reality that is not lost on the already hyper-criminalized Black community.

Immigration reform that primarily focuses on enforcement through border patrol dragnets and the use of questionable government databases such as “Secure Communities” — a flawed, high-tech way of tracking immigration violators via fingerprint data procured from every interaction a person makes with Homeland Security in their lifetime — violates the basic promises of fairness in our legal system.12,13 Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) has overwhelmingly targeted Black and brown folks through suspect methods that use racial profiling — separating families and continuing a pattern of distrust between our communities and law enforcement.14

Demand the “Gang of Eight” propose immigration legislation that includes a roadmap to citizenship for America’s 11 million undocumented immigrants and seeks to reduce the over-reliance on prisons and detention facilities for enforcement.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 — one of the greatest pieces of civil rights legislation introduced in this country — ushered in sweeping reforms of U.S. immigration policy through the implementation and signing of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965.15 Prior to this, our laws actively favored immigrants from Northern and Central Europe only. The new law shifted the focus to family reunification, while opening the door to millions of new immigrants from around the world by turning away from race-based quotas and including a provision giving preference to professional skills that were in short supply in the United States. At the time, these reforms were monumental. However, due to the racially-punitive nature of previous immigration policy, a focus on family reunification has created a stratified system where immigration quotas from some countries are higher than others, keeping our communities permanently at the “back of the line.”16

Under President Obama’s tenure, we have seen record-breaking detention and deportations of undocumented immigrants and legal residents swept up under unrealistic deportation quotas for minor traffic offenses, misdemeanors and visa violations.17 Although Black immigrants constitute such a small percentage of the U.S. immigrant population, they are always in the top ten of most-deported foreign nationals and have the highest per capita deportation level of any other racial group.18 Truly just immigration reform must address the inefficiencies in the visa system as well as unrealistic quotas introduced in the family reunification sections of the law.19

Demand immigration reform that ends the criminalization of immigrant communities. And when you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same.

Thanks and Peace,

–Rashad, Arisha, Matt, Aimée, William and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team    March 29th, 2013

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.

References

1. “Who Are the Gang Of 8 in Senate Immigration Debate?” ABC News, 01-30-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2270?t=10&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

2. “Fixing the Immigration System for America’s 21st Century Economy,” The White House, 01-29-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2225?t=12&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

3. “Wanna Get Involved in the Coming Immigration Reform Fight? Here’s How,” Colorlines, 02-01-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2444?t=14&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

4. “11 Million Undocumented Immigrants: What’s Behind This Number,” Huffington Post, 02-13-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2315?t=16&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

5. “113th Congress Outlook: CBC Policy Agenda” (.pdf), Congressional Black Caucus, 02-05-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2452?t=18&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

6. “Black Lawmakers Demand an End to Prison-to-Deportation Pipeline,” Colorlines, 03-13-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2424?t=20&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

7. “Documenting the Undocumented,” Slate, 01-13-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2226?t=22&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

8. “Immigration tactics aimed at boosting deportations,” USA Today, 02-17-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2265?t=24&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

9. “Blacks and the Immigration Crisis, Pt. 2: ‘Taking All Our Jobs,'” Ebony, 02-25-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2450?t=26&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

10. “Organize to Improve the Quality of Jobs in the Black Community,” UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education (.pdf), 05-01-04 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2273?t=28&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

11. “5 Fast Facts About Black Immigrants in the United States,” Center For American Progress, 12-20-12 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2228?t=30&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

12. “Immigration Crackdown Also Snares Americans,” New York Times, 12-13-11 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2317?t=32&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

13. “New Secure Communities Study Reveals Troubling Data,” PBS, 10-19-11 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2319?t=34&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

14. “Racial Profiling, False Arrests, Deportation — The True Face of Federally Mandated ‘Secure Communities,’” Alternet, 07-24-12 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2291?t=36&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

15. “1965 Immigration Law Changed Face of America,” NPR, 05-09-06 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2264?t=38&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

16. “Getting in line for immigration,” Twin Cities Daily Planet, 02-21-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2316?t=40&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

17. “Blacks and the Immigration Crisis, Part 1,” Ebony, 02-13-13 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2327?t=42&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

18. See reference 17.

19. “DHS Tells States: We Don’t Need Your Approval for Secure Communities,” Colorlines, 08-09-11 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2276?t=44&akid=2871.1174326.bvkukF

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

the weekly share


~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tar Sands Pipeline : the facts


ThinkProgress War Room

The Facts About the Tar Sands Pipeline

The official State Department process to determine whether the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is in the “national interest” is grinding along and should wrap up later this year, but that didn’t stop the senators from trying to force the issue last week.

Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) put forward an amendment to the Senate Democratic budget resolution, which is non-binding, calling for approval of the pipeline. Unfortunately, this amendment was supported by 62 senators, including 17 Democrats (though 3 Democrats have since distanced themselves from their votes).

Since there has been a vivid debate on this issue, often based on misinformation, here are the key facts on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

  • THREE DOZEN JOBS: Proponents of the pipeline often claim it will create tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of jobs. This is simply not true. The most recent State Department assessment, written by contractors hired by the pipeline developer, found that constructing the pipeline would create 3,900 temporary jobs, but just 35 permanent jobs. Yes, you read that right, just 35 jobs. That’s about the same number of people who work in Hoeven’s Senate office.
  • NO BOOST TO ENERGY SECURITY: One of the other main claims is that the tar sands oil from Canada will be a big boost to U.S. energy security. There is, however, absolutely no guarantee that any — let alone all — of the oil will stay in the U.S. once it’s refined into gasoline, diesel and other products at Gulf Coast refineries. The State Department report makes this clear:

“There is existing demand for crude oil, particularly heavy crude oil at refiners in the Gulf Coast area, but the ultimate disposition of crude oil transported by the proposed Project, and any refined products produced from that crude oil, would be determined by future market forces.”

The State Department’s report also made clear that at least some of the Keystone oil will be refined and then exported, in response “to lower domestic gasoline demand and continued higher demand and prices in overseas markets.” Presently, 60 percent of the gasoline produced at these Gulf Coast refineries is exported. The New York Times concluded that the Canadian tar sands oil would travel via pipeline “to refineries on the Gulf Coast. From there, most of the fuel would be sent abroad.”

If there’s no real benefit to our economy and no benefit to energy security, why should we risk our clean air and water and our climate?

We would be remiss if we didn’t note that the 10 senators who co-sponsored the amendment took more than $8 MILLION from the fossil fuel industry. That works out to 2.5 times more in fossil fuel money for the average senator who co-sponsored it compared to the average senator who did not.

BOTTOM LINE: The Keystone tar sands pipeline will create just a handful of jobs, won’t improve our energy security, and just isn’t worth the potential cost to our health and our climate.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

Top Democratic donors threaten Democrats: do the right thing on guns or no more money.

How the Koch Brothers use Florida Gulf Coast University to promote their agenda.

How states are attacking Roe v. Wade.

The indefensible marriage act.

How this week’s Supreme Court cases humiliated the anti-gay movement.

RNC member doubles down on comments about the “filthy homosexual lifestyle.”

Today was a national day of action for gun violence prevention.

A certificate from the NRA was found among the Newtown shooter’s possessions.

Republican senator says French people are illegally crossing the Mexican border into South Texas.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

14-y-o Morgan needs this treatment to live


                          BlueCross BlueShield NC should cover the life-saving treatment for Amy’s daughter they promised to pay for                                               
                      
      Sign the Petition

BlueCross BlueShield North Carolina: Keep your end of the deal and pay the claims

Started by: Amy, Wesley Chapel, Florida

My daughter needs IV treatment each month to fight a debilitating and life threatening auto-immune disease called Dermatomyositis. BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina is denying claims for vital treatment. When you pay your insurance premiums and do what you are supposed to do, the insurance company should do their part and pay for the appropriate treatment. Instead, when we called the BlueCross BlueShield to get approval for her life-saving treatment, BlueCross told me and the hospital that that we didn’t need pre-authorization. Then, they changed their mind and now want my family to pay a bill of $240,000.

Since the CEO just got a $1.6 MILLION bonus for 2012 from revenues of $5.7 Billion, it doesn’t appear that costs are a concern. Patrick Getson, a VP, got a $232,788 BONUS for 2012. Please sign my petition to tell BlueCross that they need to do their part and live up to their responsibilities to us as subscribers to their policy. We did what we were supposed to do, and they need to do what they are supposed to do and pay for these claims.

Here is what happened…

My daughter Morgan has been fighting a rare autoimmune disease for almost 3 years. She was diagnosed at age 11, and she went from being a tremendous athlete to being unable to ride her bike, walk up the stairs, or play sports. After over a year of trying to find an answer to the problems, we finally got a diagnosis of Juvenile Dermatomyositis, a rare auto-immune disease that affects the skin, muscles, and the vascular system which causes problems all over the body like joint pain, severe headaches, GI issues, and sometimes heart and lung issues as well. Since she was diagnosed, we have known several children who have died from this disease, and we have done everything we can to make sure that she is getting the correct treatment.

The very first thing we did is to make sure we had adequate insurance coverage. We already had great insurance, and we backed that up by increasing the amount we put into HSA accounts. We found the right health care experts as this is a rare disease and not many peopole know much about it or how to treat it. We followed treatment recommendations to the letter and we learned as much as we could about the disease. We modified our entire life behavior to help reduce the chances of her disease getting worse by doing things like staying out of the sun and skipping pool and beach trips because the sun makes her disease worse.  As she was treated, the first line treatments weren’t helping and she was getting worse. The doctors said that she needed to be admitted to get the second line treatment. Once again, we did what we were supposed to do, and we made sure the hospital called the insurance for authorization. Each and every month, the hospital called and spoke to BlueCross of North Carolina on the phone. Each month, they told the hospital that authorization was not required.

The second line treatment is an infusion called Introvenous Immunoglobin (IVIG). This medication has been like a gift from God and it has made a HUGE impact on her disease. She gets it every four weeks, and we can always tell when it is close to the time to go back as she starts getting worse again. As soon as she gets the treatment, we see improvement again. It is not a fun treatment for her to get. She has to be in the hospital, has to get an IV inserted, is woken up ever hour during the night to be sure her vitals are stable, and she suffers extreme headaches after it. But, she gladly goes without complaining because she knows it helps her.

BlueCross paid some of the claims for her treatment and denied others. The hopsital was confused as they had followed the same authorization process and billed them exactly the same way. They tried appealing them first without even telling me what was going on. By the time I knew they were appealing these odd ones, BC had then denied many, many more items. I called them thinking it was just some weird mistake since it was approved one month, denied the next, approved the following. They said that a person had reviewed the ones that were denied and a machine had approved the ones that had been approved.

I have formally appealed their decision based on the fact that the hospital called for authorization each time and was told it wasn’t required. They have denied the appeal saying that it has been their policy since 2010 that it requires authorization and that the fact that we didn’t know that isn’t their fault as it was buried in their policies. This makes absolutely NO sense since we DID try to get authorization. How do you get authorization if you are told you don’t need it when you ask for it?

I have already spent countless hours on this appeals process and many sleepless nights worrying about being bankrupted by this $240,000 bill. Additionally, I worry about how she is going to get the treatment in the future as I am still having some issues with approvals even now that we DID finally get them to write an authorization for a year. Just getting that letter required talking to many people and demanding it as they kept telling us it wasn’t required.

Thanks for your support, and I wish you and your family good health. All of the sudden, we were thrown into this health care mess the day she was diagnosied. We need to hold insurance companies accountable. Unfortunately, from talking to others, this type of experience is far too common.

Click here to sign Amy’s petition, “BlueCross BlueShield North Carolina: Keep your end of the deal and pay the claims”.

You can also check out other popular petitions on Change.org by clicking here.

politics,pollution,petitions,pop culture & purses