Democracy Now! - Thousands Turn Out For Immigrant Rights Protest Against Social Security "No Match" Letters

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in this email:

1. Thousands Turn Out For Immigrant Rights Protest Against Social Security "No Match" Letters

2. Immigrant Groups Launch Boycott of Western Union Over Money Transfer Fees

3. Separated by Deportation, Mother, Son Lead Joint Rallies for Immigrant Rights

4. Meatpacking Workers File Suit Over Immigration Raids


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http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/13/1445232


Thursday, September 13th, 2007
Thousands Turn Out For Immigrant Rights Protest Against Social Security "No Match" Letters

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Immigration rights activists declared Wednesday a national day of action against new immigration measures announced by the Department of Homeland Security last month. One of the rules converts Social Security "no match" letters into a tool of immigration enforcement. The letters are sent to employers when a worker's stated social security number does not match records in government databases.


Immigration rights activists declared Wednesday a national day of action against new immigration measures announced by the Department of Homeland Security last month. One of the rules converts Social Security "no match" letters into a tool of immigration enforcement. "No match" letters are sent to employers when a worker's stated social security number does not match records in government databases. Until now they were used to notify employees of the benefits they could lose as a result of the discrepancy. Under the new rule, employers are required to fire workers or face fines and criminal charges unless the discrepancy is remedied within 90 days.

Last month, a San Francisco judge ordered a temporary stay on sending out new versions of the letters. A hearing is scheduled for October 1st, but activists warn that some employers are not waiting for the case to be resolved in court before taking action.

On Wednesday, thousands took to the streets in cities across the country against this pending crackdown that threatens the jobs of 8 million documented and undocumented workers. Milwaukee, Wisconsin had the largest turnout with an estimated 10,000 people observing a day of "No work, no school, no purchases."

* Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, a low-wage and immigrant workers center in Milwaukee and Racine, Wisconsin. Voces de la Frontera organized Wednesday's rally in Milwaukee.

To read, watch, or listen: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/13/1445232


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Thursday, September 13th, 2007
Immigrant Groups Launch Boycott of Western Union Over Money Transfer Fees

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A network of over 150 immigrant organizations across the country have launched a boycott of money transfer giant Western Union. The organizations accuse Western Union of charging immigrants exorbitant fees and non-standard exchange rates when they try to send money home. We speak with a coordinator for the Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action, the umbrella organization coordinating the Western Union boycott.

Immigration reform might have died in the Senate earlier this summer, but the movement for immigrant rights is very much alive. Although Democratic hopefuls at the first Spanish-language Presidential debate broadcast Sunday focused on the importance of border security, immigrant rights advocates aim to steer the debate in another direction. They are emphasizing the economic security of migrant workers.

A network of over 150 immigrant organizations across the country have launched a boycott of money transfer giant Western Union. The organizations accuse Western Union of charging immigrants exorbitant fees and non-standard exchange rates when they try to send money home. The boycott organizers say that Western Union's annual profit of over one billion dollars comes from the fees paid on remittances sent by migrant workers to their home countries. Yet, Western Union, they say, reinvests only 41 cents for every $100 of profit back into these immigrant communities.

* Kayhan Irani, New York - New Jersey regional coordinator for TIGRA, the Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action. TIGRA is the umbrella organization coordinating the Western Union boycott.


to read, watch, or listen: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/13/1445227

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Thursday, September 13th, 2007
Headlines for September 13, 2007 [edited]

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- Meatpacking Workers File Suit Over Immigration Raids


Separated by Deportation, Mother, Son Lead Joint Rallies for Immigrant Rights

A deported immigrant rights activist and her eight-year old son led parallel rallies for immigrant rights Wednesday in Washington and Tijuana. Elvira Arellano was deported to Mexico last month following a year of refuge inside a Chicago church. On Wednesday, Arellano led dozens through Tijuana’s streets calling for an end to the US government crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

Elvira Arellano: "The call that I made to be in Washington D.C. on September 12, was important. I was deported and this was where I was deported. Hundreds of families are separated here everyday."

Meanwhile in Washington, Arellano’s son Saul led a chanting crowd of more than one hundred fifty people through the Capitol building. Saul Arellano joined with a group of other children to carry a banner reading: “Born in the USA. Don’t take our moms and dads away.”

Meatpacking Workers File Suit Over Immigration Raids

A union representing workers at six meatpacking plants has filed suit against immigration officials over raids that led to more than one thousand arrests last year. The suit accuses the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of roughly handling more than twelve thousand workers of the meatpacking company Swift. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union says workers not accused of any crime were handcuffed for hours and denied access to phones, legal counsel, bathrooms and their families. The suit seeks financial damages and an end to the raids.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/13/1444255

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