- As the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is boasting more than 30,000 immigrant arrests this fiscal year, double that of last year, many Americans are coming to the aid of their undocumented neighbors.
- The ImmigrationProf Blog has written about a new coalition of lawyers from big firms who will work to defend the constitutional rights -- or human rights -- of all people:
According to NBC11.com,
dozens of attorneys from powerful law firms have united to create a
task force that will come to the aid of undocumented immigrants. 60
attorneys from 14 law firms have said they will face the government
head-on -- challenging the legality of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) raids. The list of law firms includes Dechert LLP, Wilson Sonsini, Skadden-Arps and Orrick, Herrington & Suttcliffe.
The legal plan called for the lawyers to vigorously defend the
constitutional rights of all people, including undocumented immigrants.
Andrew Thomases said Dechert LLP, which represents Yahoo, and the other
law firms would represent undocumented immigrants for free.Mark Silverman is with the Immigrant Legal
Resource Center in San Francisco, which is working with the attorneys
involved in the task force. "We are not trying to make ICE's job
difficult," Silverman said. "We just want ICE to do their job by
conforming to the U.S. Constitution."
- Similarly, the 'Just News' blog has shared a New York Times article about a new plan by the Manhattan District Attorney's office to create an 'Immigrant Affairs' program to "encourage immigrants who are crime victims or are aware of illegal
activity to come forward without fear of arrest and deportation."
- Latina Lista has blogged about a toy drive underway to provide some holiday cheer for the children living in the ICE detention center in Hutto, Texas. Students from the University of Texas Immigration Law clinic have organized the drive and will be delivering the toys this coming Saturday.
- Last but not least, the Immigration Equality blog has been talking about the impact of the Department of Homeland Security's new travel restrictions on people who are HIV-positive. At a press conference held two days ago, Immigration Equality discussed tangible ways in which these government policies will work to needlessly discriminate against people with HIV:
"We are hearing from three people affected by the ban:
- Augustin Dussault, a Canadian barred from entering the country even to visit his husband in the hospital;
- Lillian Mworeko, a Ugandan AIDS professional who cannot visit the US for training or conferences; and
- Bernard Cazaban, a Frenchman who was kicked out of the US 15 years ago on the eve of getting his green card.
We will also be joined by Susannah Sirkin from Physicians for Human Rights, as well as our own Victoria Neilson.
- The first thing that strikes you about the
press conference is that we had to hold it by telephone, since the
people most affected by the ban can’t be here, by definition.
Susannah points out what a waste it is for the US to lead in global
AIDS funding while continuing to perpetuate AIDS stigma. 'There is
absolutely no public health interest served by imposing travel
restrictions on people with HIV/AIDS . . . It cannot be transmitted by
casual contact.' What year is it that we have to continue to point that
out? These policies fuel the stigma that discourages people from
seeking treatment . . .'- David and Augustin, the American/Canadian couple who now live in
Canada because they cannot live together in the U.S., make the point
that people from countries with national health insurance cannot by
definition prove they have 'private health insurance,' which the new
regs require."
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