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The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Movement- Denver and anti-racist comrades held an anti-racist picnic, taunt racist Minutemen and disrupt their meeting. The Colorado Minutemen, a virulently racist anti-Mexican group, held a meeting at the Englewood Library on Saturday, February 21st . RAIM-Denver became aware of the meeting less than a week in advance and was eager to oppose it. With little time to coordinate and promote a large protest, we decided instead to hold a picnic. RAIM-Denver was serving up non-alcoholic wine, cheese, and the best part: crackers.
RAIM-Denver was joined by a couple Denver-area anti-racist comrades, making our picnic only a handful in size. That didn't stop us from getting our point across. As was done at Denver's last confrontation with the Minutemen, klan hoods were offered to the racists as they entered the building. We made some banners also. RAIM-Denver understands that the U.S. Southwest is land stolen from Mexican and Indigenous peoples. Thus RAIM comrades proudly displayed the Mexican flag. Other comrades held a banner that read,"If you don't like Mexico, get out!"  http://raimd.wordpress.com
On Wednesday, February 18th, members of the Columbia County Latino community and their allies will join together for a community walk, entitled Procession for Respect and Dignity. The walk is organized by the new group Latinos Unidos para un Futuro Mejor (LUFM, or Latinos United for a Better Future), and is a public demonstration of the faces of Columbia County's Latino Community that has been under attack for the last eighteen months by ballot measures 5-190 and 5-191. The Procession for Respect and Dignity will bring our neighbors and ourselves out of the shadows and show honest, responsible community members that work hard to support families and contribute to the local economy.
With measure 5-190 and its high-profile court challenge, the previously invisible Latino community has been thrust into the spotlight. In the Procession for Respect and Dignity, the community will speak with a united voice for the first time, and show that we are your neighbors: honest, working people who deserve respect and dignity. WHEN: Wednesday, February 18, 2009. 4pm - 6pm WHERE: In St. Helens, Oregon. Starting at the St. Frederic Catholic Church at 175 S 13th, and ending at the County Courthouse. WHO: New community organization Latinos Unidos para un Futuro Mejor (LUFM), in collaboration with Columbia County Citizens for Human Dignity (CCCHD), and with support from the Rural Organizing Project, and CAUSA: Oregon's Immigrants Rights Coalition.
just thought some of ya might be interested to know...this "recruiting event" is advertised in the Portland Tribune, featuring a large picture of a bunch of dudes in cowboy hats riding horses... thursday feb. 5, 9am-3pm, Embassy Suites Portland-Airport, 7900 NE 82nd St...for info call 360-332-1610
A self righteous resident of Columbia County had two anti-immigrant measures added to the ballot out here. One would have required signs proclaiming Columbia County to be an "illegal worker-free zone." That one failed, thank goodness. A second measure, however, mandates a fine of $10,000 for anyone who hires a so-called "illegal alien." Apparently, it could also mandate that the sheriff's office check people's papers. This one passed.
The Oregon Minuteman were out in force on Monday, September 22, 2008, protesting the Portland Day Laborer Worker Center located on MLK Jr. Blvd and NE Everett. One of those protesting the Labor Center site said they had been there since 6:00 in the morning.
There were several people seeking employment on the site, both near the trailer and on the street, so I suspected that the dual protests might have taken its toll on their efforts to gain employment. On inquiring about this possibility I was told that Monday's are usually slow and that the presence of the Minuteman may not be having much of an effect. I was hoping to get some interviews with both sides, the Minutemen as well as those showing up to counter protest their presence at the site, but the Protesters refused to comment on camera. Those who where there protesting the presence of the Minutemen were more forthcoming. One stated that he was there "to support the Day Laborers Center and the day laborers. I think that they are a real contribution to the Portland Community, and supporting day laborers is a way to support all American workers. It's not against American workers to have day laborer centers, it's for them; if we don't support the people at the very bottom of the work chain, then the top of the work chain isn't going to get any better either." A few minutes earlier I heard one of the Minutemen stating that if these folks were truly looking for work they should be looking through more conventional, acceptable channels, denigrating the existence of these Day Laborer Centers. I asked one of the counter protesters his response to that point and he stated that "having a center is just a way of protecting both the employers and the employees. If they don't have a central place then people are going to take advantage of them much more. They have to have a place where they can come out of the rain, have a place to get work in a decent way. Standing on a street corner asking for work is not a dignified way to get work. We need to support the dignity of American workers, and the Day Laborer Center is doing that."
We're now witness to the largest wave of human migration the planet has ever seen. Driven by a new, truly international form of capitalism, human populations are alternately violently displaced, economically pressured, invited, coerced into relocation across the globe by civil wars, low intensity wars, high intensity wars, famines, droughts, hurricanes, floods, trade policies, austerity, other countless other economic and environmental catastrophies. This is globalized capitalism. We live in a time of threatened ecological collapse and the beginnings of capitalism's greatest tragedy-the possibility of a human created mass die-off of mamallian and other forms of life.
Jonah has been in Northwest Detention Center for about a week and a half now. During this time, he has been buying overpriced ramen noodles and trading meat for small cups full of green beans at meals. He has sent in requests for vegan food several times and they have all been denied. Today he's starting hunger strike. He's already feeling weak from lack of nutrition, so please help by calling GEO at 253 396 1611 and telling them to feed him good food!! You'll need his A# - 88737285 and his full name - Jose Alberto Larrama Portillo.
Also, he needs supporters from all over to write letters - On a computer or typewriter, not hand written - to the judge. In these letters you should include who you are, what your citizenship status is, your contact info, how long you have known Jonah and how much he rules.. Include things about how he feeds the hungry and teaches you new tricks and is ridiculously helpful and selfless with everyone. You need to write them to "Honorary Immigration Judge." Sounds silly, I know. "Dear Honorary Immigration Judge," And send them to him. Three copies. And please keep sending letters of support. Jose Alberto Larrama Portillo A#88737285 1623 East J St, Suite 5 Tacoma, Wa 98421
In support of workers' and immigrants' right, Portland Immigrants Rights Coalition has organized a demonstration at the South Park Blocks. There will be a puppet handling workshop at three, rally at four, and march at five.
Police Attack March
The march today in Tacoma has just ended. There have been two confirmed arrests. There are still people unaccounted for. The massive police presence attacked the march at its end. There will be another update when we have confirmed everything. ~ Tacoma Smash ICE
Rally @ 12 PM---March @ 1 PM
This coming Saturday there will be a rally starting in People's Park at 12 PM in the Hilltop district of Tacoma. At 1 PM we will leave the park and head down the hill. As it stands right now, no one even knows about the existence of the Northwest Detention Center. The families affected by the raids and those who support them are aware of its existence. But the general population does not know. This blackout and secrecy has gone on for too long. Those of us with the privilege and ability to do something have done nothing. Those of us least affected by the raids have sat by for too long while the process of detention, removal and terror continues unabated.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) - an organization of low-wage workers based in Immokalee, Florida - has launched a national petition campaign to demand that Burger King and other food industry leaders work with the CIW to improve the wages & working conditions of the workers who pick their tomatoes, and join with the CIW in an industry-wide effort to eliminate modern-day slavery & human rights abuses from Florida's fields.
Farmworkers are among the poorest workers in the United States, and have very few labor protections. Most workers earn sub-poverty wages and do not have the legal rights to overtime pay, to organize, or to bargain collectively. in the most extreme conditions, workers are forced to work under conditions of modern-day slavery, receiving little or no pay through violence & threats of violence. The petition not only calls on Burger King & other food industry leaders to join McDonald's & Yum Brands (parent company of Taco Bell) in addressing human rights abuses in the fields where their tomatoes are picked, but will serve as notice that the petitioners are "prepared to stop patronizing Burger King now, and other food industry leaders in the future, should they fail to do so." To read & sign the petition, visit fairfoodnation.org/petition Coalition of Immokalee Workers www.ciw-online.org
Monday 4/21: public teach-in
Tuesday 4/22: High-School teach-in @ Mad Hatter Tea Co. (1130 Commerce St, Tacoma) 4pm show @ Pitchpipe Infoshop (621 MLK Jr. Way, Tacoma) in the evening, details TBA Wednesday 4/23: bake sale & crafts workshop @ Pitchpipe Infoshop there may also be a speaker coming to UWT added to our itinerary for this day Thursday 4/24: Media meeting @ Kings Books, 4pm (218 St Helens Ave, Tacoma) all are welcome to sit in. Know Your Rights! Workshop & Vegan Potluck @ Pitchpipe Infoshop, 6:30pm Saturday 4/26: rally 12pm @ People's Park (9th and MLK, Tacoma) & march downtown 1pm
Join local groups this Wednesday, March 19, at 5:30 PM, to protest the former head of Latin American Coca Cola and ex-president of Mexico Vicente Fox's lecture at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Fox is known for his hand in creating the exploitative Plan Puebla Panama, his support of FTAA and NAFTA, and his readiness to answer grassroots resistance with violent repression in Texacoco, Atenco, Chiapas, and Oaxaca. Fox will be speaking on "Border Crossings: Immigration, Free Trade, and Security". Let's show him the door, in solidarity with those he has oppressed.
We want to invite everyone to come to Liberty Hall to welcome the volunteers that have traveled in fifty cars to Portland with the Migrant March III. They are traveling from San Diego to Canada and back, with border actions on the US/Canadian border.
The event will bring together organizers and concerned community members from the Northwest and the US/Mexico border region to share experiences and strategies for engaging immigrant and allied communities in movement building. For the third consecutive year a group called "Gente Unida", lead by Enrique Morones, a well known activist in San Diego who works on behalf of immigrants, has organized an immigrant march to travel throughout the Western United States. This Sunday, February 8th the marchers will arrive in Portland, Oregon, where they will be greeted at Liberty hall, where a community forum will be held -- bringing together activists from the South with activists of the North. On the 12th of February they will arrive at the Canadian border where they will hold a special action, known as a "US Border Action".
The Northwest Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, Detention Center is a private immigration prison facility located on the tide flats of Tacoma, Washington. The detention center opened in 2004 under a contract with The US Department of Homeland Security, Though owners have changed over time, the facility is now owned by the GEO Group Which operates prison facilities in Australia, The UK, South Africa, the US and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
ICE does not need warrants to make arrests or to conduct raids. Since July 2007, raids have increased the number of detained migrants from 18,000 to 26,000 nationwide. Homeland Security relocates 700 detainees a week in the United States. A contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, the largest and primary investigative branch of Homeland Security, expanded the Northwest Detention Center and and expanded its housing capacity, making it the largest detention center owned by GEO Group on the West Coast of the United States. The Migrants in the facility are mostly from the Northwest regions of Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Washington. Due to the increase in raids they've recently come from places like New York, Puerto Rico and Guam. ICE agents move the detainees to the facility under the cover of night. Watch Video at: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bTrR1s7du6s
On Wednesday, January 16, Portland City Council voted to accept all four Immigrant and Refugee Task Force recommendations, including:
1. Create an office of immigrant and refugee affairs, with a multi-ethnic staff, that would serve as a bridge and facilitator between the immigrant and refugee community and City government. 2. Establish a multicultural community center that can house a variety of immigrant and refugee organizations, has space for large meetings and community gatherings,and offers opportunities for people of different ethnicities to mingle. 3. Provide additional resources for immigrant and refugee organizations to train or support their constituents in civic engagement. 4. Conduct a professional evaluation to assess the City's current Human Resources (HR) policies and practices and recommend changes that would result in the recruitment, hiring, and retention of multilingual and multicultural staff to serve Portland's fast-growing immigrant and refugee communities.
On Tuesday, January 22nd:
Stand by residents of Oregon who are in danger of losing their driving privileges due to executive order 7-22. Immigrant Rights organizations are calling on all of their allies to come to Salem on Tuesday to participate in a rally from noon until 1pm, and to testify at a legislative hearing which will take place from 1pm until 4pm. Last Friday, a historic protest rally was held, with over 3000 Oregon residents in front of the state capital. Hundreds gathered on the steps of the Capitol, while three rooms were filled to capacity with people watching the hearing on closed circuit TV. The new license restrictions come from an executive order signed by Governor Kulongoski in November, allowing the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles to limit documents accepted from immigrants. Currently under Oregon law, all residents of Oregon, regardless of legal status, can obtain a driver's license. Contact CAUSA for more information: 503-984-6816 Need a ride? PCASC and Oregon Oaxaca Solidarity are working on putting a carpool together.
Immigrant & Refugee Task Force Community Forum
Wednesday, January 9, 2008 7:00 PM to 9:00 PSU Multicultural Center Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 228 1825 SW Broadway, Portland On January 9th, the Center for Intercultural Organizing is inviting members of Mayor Tom Potter's Immigrant & Refugee Task force to present their recommendations to the community. The task force built upon the work of hundreds of individuals and dozens of community organizations who, in various ways, participated in a two year-long effort to make the City of Portland aware of immigrant and refugee community issues, needs, strengths and contributions. Yet again, City Council needs to hear your voices. Please come to the Immigrant and Refugee Task Force Community Forum and find out how you can ensure that the recommendations are implemented. Together, we can create an environment in which immigrants and refugees are recognized and supported as valued residents of our city. Immigrant & Refugee Task Force Presentation to City Council Read the Immigrant and Refugee Task Force recommendations and come to the presentation to City Council on January 16, 2008! Click here to read the Task Force report
THIS FRIDAY Governor Kulongoski is planning to issue an executive order that would bar Oregon's undocumented immigrants from accessing a driver's license. ALL Oregon residents, regardless of immigration status, should have access driver's licenses for the sake of public safety.
TAKE ACTION NOW and tell Governor Kulongoski that all Oregon residents, regardless of immigration status, should have access driver's licenses for the sake of public safety. Call Governor Kulongoski at 503-378-4582,, fax him at and/or send him a message online at:
On Friday, the 9th of November, a group of 100 converged on the park at the corner of 17th and Pacific in Tacoma. While waiting there, surrounded by the mainstream media and the police, black clad anarchist "terrorists" passed out literature to an extremely receptive public. Contrary to what the Tacoma News Tribune reported, massive numbers of people were eager to take the pamphlets explaining what was going on around them giving information about the ICE concentration camp in the Tideflats. Footage which will soon be released will show this.
Report Back From Smash Tacoma ICE ProtestWe met in the "green zone". There were tons of media and tons of people taking video and pictures. There were also TONS of cops, shamelessly following people around, taking pictures and video. We started marching around noon, heading down Pacific Avenue toward the giant edifice that is the Wells Fargo building. Wells Fargo is one of the largest shareholders in GEO GROUP, the corporation that runs the Homeland Security Detention Center in the tide flats of Tacoma. Cops followed on bikes and in vehicles, effectively shutting down the traffic for us. Cops stood in a line in front of the building, doing their jobs (protect and serve Wells Fargo). After a while we were told that we must leave or be arrested for trespassing...so we continued our march through Tacoma, passing out information about ICE and the Detention Center and the protest in general. Many people joined us as we marched down Pac. Ave. Many students on their lunch breaks helped to hold banners and information. After going up several blocks to Commerce. We marched from corner to corner at the 11th and Commerce intersection, careful to use crosswalks and sidewalks at all times. It was at this point, we REALLY pissed the cops off. They wanted us to stop crossing the street in a perfectly legal fashion and started to push us back with their bikes reared up.Community Meeting Saturday Nov 17th in Portland to discuss 2008 Anti-Immigrant Ballot MeasuresOn Saturday, November 17th The Center for Intercultural Organizing will host an informational session and facilitated discussion on the impact of the upcoming ballot measures; In the 2008 election cycle, two initiatives (IP#19 and IP#112) will specifically target immigrant and refugee communities by cutting ESL funding, limiting access to civic participation, and requiring local government officials to corporate with federal ICE agents. If passed, these measures will heighten the atmosphere of fear and division for many Portland communities. Erecting barriers to education, mobility, leadership and voting, these measures will effectively silence the voice of individuals from already underrepresented populations and make Oregon a less equitable society.Community Information and Strategy Session: Saturday, November 17th from 12:00 to 4:00 PM, PCC Cascade Campus - 705 N. Killingsworth St., Room MAHB 104 - Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building - Auditorium "La Redada" / "The Raid" Documentary Film Screening @ PSU Thursday 11/15
 From the first international solidarity action to take place on both sides of a border, the No Borders Camp marched west on a street that was once un-divided. Two marches, one on each side of what has become a 15ft wall dividing Mexicali and Calexico, converged on US Customs and Inspection Port of Entry to protest the militarized border. No Borders Camp participants as well as friends and allies from the Mexican side demonstrated peacefully until US Border Patrol, without warning, brutally dispersed participants on the US side with point-bla2nk rounds of pepper-spray pellets, batons, and swarm tactics leaving several badly injured. This event was the closing ceremony of the No Borders Camp, and came after one week of peaceful confrontation and resistance to the border system. The unnecessary violence and detentions today were a sad ending to an otherwise thoughtful expression of concern for human dignity. Day 1 Reportback Video & Photos from AZ-IMC & Indybay | Interview with a Cop | A-Infos No One Is Illegal Radio Severely Beaten Prisoners Denied Medical Attention
No Borders Camp went into full swing today with the successful set up of the border action camp. It started off as two seperate rallies one on the American side in the city of Calexico California and another on the Mexican side in the city of Mexicali the state capital of Baja California at the border crossing. Both rallies marched down the border wall with the intent of meeting up ,where the wall finally ends, but were met with a wall of law enforcement. Both rallies stopped and set up camp with out meeting up but with no movement on the part of law enforcement to remove them. With a circle of Border Patrol, California State Troopers, and Homeland Security the camp quickly setup bathrooms, medical facilities, a media lab, and a tent city complete with drinking water, music, and food. At the end of the day everyone was exhilirate and in high spirits. All members of the camp were working together and a ladder was set up against the border wall to communicate with the action camp on the Mexicali side. It was sumed up best by someone I over heard talking about today's events as saying "I love it when a plan comes together" Link to More Pics | Link to More Pics 2
On the 18th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall organizers and activists will gather in Calexico/Mexicali to draw attention to the human rights atrocities that occur in regards to the hyper-militarized U.S./Mexico border, the people and corporations who benefit from these terrors and the rising tide of white supremacists who use immigration as a way to promote their twisted politics.
In the Northwest, there will be solidarity actions occuring simultanously to show support and to draw attention to the border issues that affect people in our own communities. The border is everywhere. We must confront it in our community while supporting others struggling against it in communities across the Americas.
Shut Down Downtown Tacoma! We want to show the powers that be, that a homeland security detention center will not be tolerated in our communities and in our region. This will be in solidarity with the No Borders camp that will be happening the same week down south. We plan on sending a very visible, clear message by not allowing business as usual to happen on these days.
Tacoma W.A has the biggest Homeland Security Detention Center in the North West! They have been tearing apart families, separating children born here from their parents and loved ones that were not. Sixty-four people have died in these detention centers since 2004, and just recently about three hundred people were made ill from the food given in the Tacoma Detention Center. We want to show solidarity with those at the No Borders camp down south who will be resisting the wall, detentions, capitalism and the institutions as well as trade agreements that are responsible for displacing millions of people around the world. We have had enough of this in our communities! Enough of these secret raids! We want this facility OUT of Tacoma! There will be a designated green zone at S. 17th and Pacific on the corner and in the grassy park across from the art museum. In this area only 100% LEGAL forms of protest will be taking place! Bring puppets, musical instruments, signs, banners, creativity and passion. The rest of down town will be open to diverse and creative tactics!
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