Tag Archives: refugees

‘Fence Sitter’ Martha McSally has got to stand for somethin’

Posted on February 3, 2017 by | 8 Comments

Rep. Martha McSally’s short political career has been most notable for her gravity-defying fence sitting, trying to maintain her perch on the fence having it both ways without ever taking a principled stand on anything. She literally stands for nothing.

It’s long past time for you to get off the fence, Martha: “You’ve Got To Stand For Somethin’, or you’re going to fall for anything” (John Mellencamp).

Fence-sitter

The Arizona Daily Star’s Tim Steller writes today, McSally’s tentative Trump support galvanizes Dems:

Whichever way U.S. Rep. Martha McSally turns, there’s a trap.

If she supports President Trump’s initiatives, that galvanizes the already-energized Democrats and potentially puts her seat at risk in 2018. If she rejects Trump, she turns off the 44 percent of the Congressional District 2 electorate who voted for Trump, the base of McSally’s GOP.

It’s a trap she’s long tried to avoid in the southeast Arizona district that has gone to both Democratic and Republican candidates. On Aug. 31, the day candidate Trump visited the Mexican president and gave a dark anti-immigration speech in Phoenix, she declined to say whom she would vote for in the presidential election, saying “My vote is between me and God and the ballot box.”

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Posted in Arizona Congressional Delegation, Arizona Congressional Races, AZBlueMeanie, Campaigns, Civil Rights, Congress, Constitution, Elections, Ethics, Immigration, International, Media, Mexico Border, Party Politics, President, Primaries

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Grassroots Community Rally Supporting Refugee Resettlement

Posted on February 3, 2017 by | 10 Comments

“Is this the new “Great America”? It infringes on Tucson’s “Immigrant Friendly” status. It stops/reduces refugee resettlement in America. It blocks refugees from Syria. It bans visitors from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen. It it is a penstroke away from becoming an executive order. Come help organize a greater voice against unAmerican injustices being instituted without representation. Join in raising voices against human injustice.”

RSVP via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1636194800020256/

Councilman Steve Kozachik represents Ward 6 and is seeking re-election for his 3rd term in Nov. 2017.  He announced at an event this week that Syrian and Iraqi refugees will be speaking at this rally.

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Posted in Carolyn Classen, Civil Rights, Community, Tucson

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GOP candidates appeal to Islamophobia; President Obama: Americans ‘don’t have religious tests to our compassion’

Posted on November 16, 2015 by | 15 Comments

GOP presidential candidates pandering to the GOP’s Christian Right base for votes by engaging in Islamophobia hysteria have crossed over a line.

J.E.B.! Bush said over the weekend that relief efforts for refugees fleeing war and terrorism in the Middle East should be limited to Christians. Jeb Bush: U.S. assistance for refugees should focus on Christians:

gop-elephant-w-flag-crossRepublican presidential candidate Jeb Bush says that any U.S. assistance to Middle Eastern refugees should focus primarily on Christians fleeing persecution.

“We should focus our efforts as it relates to refugees on the Christians that are being slaughtered,” he told CNN’s “State of the Union” in an interview on Sunday morning.

J.E.B.! is definitely not his brother George W. Bush who was deliberately careful not to turn terrorist attacks by extremists into an apocalyptic clash of civilizations between the Western world and Islam:

Just six days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Bush went to the Islamic Center in Washington, D.C., and gave a speech cautioning against bigotry and religious discrimination against Muslims.

“The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam,” he said. “That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don’t represent peace. They represent evil and war.”

More quotes by Bush distinguishing between the fight against extremists and the Islamic faith.

  • “Americans understand we fight not a religion; ours is not a campaign against the Muslim faith. Ours is a campaign against evil.” [9/27/01]
  • “We’re taking action against evil people. Because this great nation of many religions understands, our war is not against Islam, or against faith practiced by the Muslim people. Our war is a war against evil. This is clearly a case of good versus evil, and make no mistake about it — good will prevail.” [1/5/02]
  • “Islam is a vibrant faith. Millions of our fellow citizens are Muslim. We respect the faith. We honor its traditions. Our enemy does not. Our enemy doesn’t follow the great traditions of Islam. They’ve hijacked a great religion.” [10/11/02]

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Posted in AZBlueMeanie, Campaigns, Constitution, Corruption, Ethics, Immigration, International, Media, Party Politics, President, Primaries, Racism, Religion, Scandals, Terrorism, War

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World Refugee Day in Tucson

Posted on June 16, 2015 by | Comments Off on World Refugee Day in Tucson

refugee focus

From their FB page:

World Refugee Day:

We want you to be part of the influential event to celebrate the contributions of new Americans in our communities. Donations will help to honor the courage, strength and determination of the women, men and children that been forced to flee their homes.
Will have culturally food, games and activities, photo booth, and immigration booth, games and prizes.

The entrance is from Alameda Street behind Wells Fargo Bank (though the address is on Stone Ave.). Stop by & welcome these refugees to Tucson, and find our more about their needs/wants.

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Posted in Carolyn Classen, Community

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UPDATE: Guatemalan Children Get Six-Month Reprieve on Deportation

Posted on August 20, 2014 by | 1 Comment
NDLON poster

NDLON poster

Yesterday, I juxtaposed three immigration stories in my post— the sad news about the murder of 5-10 Honduran refugee children that the US deported recently, the plight of a young Guatemalan mother and her three children who crossed the border alone and are facing deportation, and the callous reaction to the child refugee crisis by some Arizona Congressional delegates.

Today, I’m heartened to report that Modesta Escalante’s three children were granted another six months in the US— time to make their case regarding asylum.

Modesta is not alone. Thousands of immigrant families face the possibility of being separated from their children everyday– thanks to US policies, including the War on Drugs, Operation Streamline, support for private prison quotas, NAFTA, CAFTA, and lax gun control regulations that allow arms to flow south to the drug cartels.

Why are we doing this? Why are we breaking up families? Why are we arming drug dealers? Why are we closing the doors on these children? Why are right-wing lawmakers working so hard to gut the 2008 child sex trafficking bill which would enable them to toss thousands of children back across the border? Do we want to make life-long enemies out of the deportees and their families? Wouldn’t it be better to make life-long friends by showing the refugee children and all immigrants some kindness and charity?

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Posted in Arizona Congressional Delegation, Baja Arizona, Civil Rights, Congress, Courts, Drug Policy, Economics, Ethics, GOP War On..., Immigration, IOKIYAR, Justice, Labor, McCain, Mexico Border, Pamela Powers Hannley, Racism

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‘Uncovering the Truth’: Day Laborer Network Leaders Travel to El Salvador

Posted on July 22, 2014 by | Comments Off on ‘Uncovering the Truth’: Day Laborer Network Leaders Travel to El Salvador
NDLON poster

NDLON poster

Leaders from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), faith leaders, and academics are in El Salvador to assess the situation and determine why thousands of Central American children are traveling to the US, seeking asylum and relatives.

From NDLON:
Between Over-Complication and the Overly Simple:
Day Laborer Network Leading US “Deported Dreams” Delegation 
in El Salvador
Migrant RIghts Organizers, Faith Leaders, Academics to Convene Forums, Initiate Community Development, Release Study Profiling Deportees
 
On the last day of college, the director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Pablo Alvarado, left his home country atop a train headed toward the US with his little brother who had become the target of threats by death squads. Decades after their journey North, Alvarado is leading a delegation in the opposite direction to expand the conversation on migration, investigate root causes, and release a study of those Salvadorans who were returned by deportation instead of by choice.
 
Beginning Sunday, July 19th to the 27th, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network will bring organizers from the front-lines of the domestic immigrant rights movement accompanied by faith leaders and academics, hosting public forums on the dynamics of migration and releasing a new study “Deported Dreams” by the University of Central America in San Salvador.
 
“We are going to uncover the truth of what’s happening in Central America without the political spin,” explains Alvarado.  “To advocate effectively, we have to be grounded in reality and that is what we are going to witness in El Salvador.”

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Posted in Activism, Civil Rights, Drug Policy, Economics, Ethics, GOP War On..., Immigration, International, Justice, Labor, Mexico Border, Pamela Powers Hannley, Racism, Tucson

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