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NEWS International Trade Union Confederation of the African Region (ITUC-Africa)Supports the Global Day of Action for Migrants, Refugees and Displace People for 2012 01/08/2012 - "I on behalf of the International Trade Union Confederation of the African Region (ITUC-Africa) with 87 affiliate’s national trade union centres of combined 17.5 million memberships in 51 African countries convey our warm appreciations for the laudable efforts and contributions toward the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers and their families. ITUC-Africa is a pan-African trade union organisation with international affinity and solidarity with global working class community. We are based in Lome, Togo. Please see www.ituc-africa.org"
The Cambridge City Council passed a resolution, presented by Councilor Marjorie Decker, on its session of December 5, declaring December 18, 2011 and annually thereafter, as International Migrants Day in Cambridge. It also urges the U.S. Government to sign and ratify the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families and to similarly recognize December 18, 2011, as International Migrants Day. The Resolution also resolved to recognize the many contributions of immigrants and refugees to society as a whole. Pictured from bottom l-r, Councilors Decker, Vice-Mayor Davis, Simmons, Toomey, Kelley, Cheung, Seidel, Reeves, Mayor Maher [ + ] Governor Fails Immigrants, Civil Liberties and Working People with "Secure Communities" Plan 22/12/2010 - Statement of the Boston May Day Committee
Public Letter to Governor Patrick in response to his administration's intent to sign onto the Secure Communities Program of ICE On behalf of the immigrant communities with which we work and the allied churches and organizations that stand in solidarity with them, we respectfully demand that you publicly rescind your administration's stated intention to sign on to the Department of Homeland Security's poorly named "Secure Communities" program. As we do not believe that the many documented flaws in the program are "wrinkles to be ironed out," we strongly insist that you should not only NOT sign into the program but should be placing Massachusetts at the forefront of those States that are questioning this program for its destructive effect on community policing efforts, for its fundamental violation of the idea of due process for all under the law, for its dangerous implications for personal privacy of all U.S. citizens and residents and the documented increase of racial profiling and pretextual arrests that occurs whenever programs of this like are implemented. 29/05/2010 - The great majority of Senators who are members of the Democratic Party voted in favor of anti-immigrant amendments that would deprive undocumented immigrant of medical and social services. The amendement also would allow for the creation of a free 800 number to report on suspected undocumented immigrants. The Massachusetts Senate is composed of 35 Democrats and 5 Republicans. Only five decent democrats had the guts to vote against the anti-immigrant amendment. To see the roll call check on the link below. A special section for May Day 2010 at noon on the Common This year, 2010, the Boston May Day Committee decided to dedicate an entire section of its webpage to news about the organizing process leading to May Day on the Boston Common. Please check this section to be up to date on the work being done to organize a strong showing of workers for May Day, native and immigrant alike.
May Day 2010 at the Boston Common: broad unity around radical demands 06/05/2010 - For more pictures of the event click here.
Open Letter of Protest to the Presidents of Target Corp., Gregg Steinhafel and of Amazon.com, Jeffrey P. Bezos 16/10/2009 - Dear Messieurs Bezos and Steinhafel:
Por el “Día de las Madres” manifestantes protestan en frente de la Cárcel del Condado de Suffolk de la Sheriff Andrea Cabral y reclaman poner fin a las redadas, detenciones y deportaciones de inmigrantes indocumentados En lugar de estar celebrando con sus seres queridos el día más sagrado del año como lo es el “Día de las Madres”, un considerable grupo de manifestantes, decidieron juntarse ese mismo día en los alrededores de la Cárcel del Condado de Suffolk que dirige la Sheriff Andrea Cabral (South Bay Corrections and De- tentions Center) para protestar por la detención de inmigrantes en esta institución y exigir el fin a las redadas, detenciones y deportaciones que hasta la fecha siguen ocurriendo en todos los Estados Unidos. Con carteles y banderolas que decían: “Alto a las Redadas y Deportaciones”, “Justicia para las Familias Inmigrantes”, “Provean un Camino para la Ciudadanía”, “No nos Moverán, Alto a las Redadas”, etc. y con cánticos como “ICE, ICE Get out of the Way. Happy Mothers Day!” (“ICE, ICE Fuera del Camino. ¡Feliz Día de las Madres!”), los manifestantes dejaron bien claro su mensaje a las autoridades de inmigración: un final a la represion de los trabajadores inmigrantes y de sus familias, legalización para todos los que ya se encuentran aquí en los Estados Unidos y reunificación familiar para los que han sido separados por las redadas y deportaciones. "ICE, ICE, Get out of the way, Happy Mothers Day!" -- Protesters Demanded an End to the Raids, Detentions & Deportations Boston, May 10, 2009.- Nearly 60 people demonstrated around the Suffolk County Jail in Boston (known as South Bay House of Corrections) in protest for the detention of immigrants in that facility. The signs and the chants indicated what the protesters wanted: an end to the represion of immigrant workers and their families, legalization, family reunification. All this in the context of the commercial celebration of Mother's Day. The prisoners were fully aware of the presence of the demonstrators and banged their cell windows furiously. May Day 2009 Commemorated in the Boston Area with March and Rally 02/05/2009 -
Towards a united demonstration for migrant workers rights on May 1st in Everett The Boston May Day Committee decided to forego its traditional May Day demonstration and march in the Boston Common this year. For the last three years at least two such demonstrations took place in the area, one in the Chelsea-East Boston-Everett area and one in the Boston Common. While we are certain that presence in the Boston area for migrant workers rights is important, we hope that by not holding it here this year we will achieve higher attendance in a combined rally. Migrant Groups and Supporters Celebrate International Migrants' Day, 18 December 2008 Over 150 events in 57 countries planned
PRELIMINARY REPORT OF GLOBAL FORUM ON MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT (GFMD) MANILA AND PEOPLES GLOBAL ACTION (PGA) 2008 Approximately 240 participants from civil society organizations, academia and business participated in the official "Civil Society Days" of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, which were held Monday, October 27 and Tuesday, October 28. The full day of October 27 and most of October 28 were workshops, which were structured on the roundtable topics to be discussed in the Global Forum on Migration and Development. On October 28, from 3 – 5:30 pm was "interface" between civil society and governments.
Last Day of Work at the Social Forum of the Americas
Foro Social Americas: Evo doesn't show up and our work continues
Social Forum of the Americas: The work for the delegates has begun 09/10/2008 -
The Third Social Forum of the Americas Has Begun in Guatemala Guatemala City -- October 7, 2008.- The Social Forum of the Americas has begun, with most of the nearly 2000 participants arriving today. The registration process begun normally while switching from an automated system to a manual one. All the packets and a beautiful bag where distributed to each registered delegate. There was not doubt here that Spanish is the official language of the forum. The other undisputed presence is that of the Mayan people. In fact, their presence has been felt not only in numbers, but also in spiritual influence. Mayan religious ceremonies have gone on at dawn and sundown.
Taller de la Coalición Primero de Mayo en el Foro Social de las Américas en Guatemala ESTRATEGIAS PARA FRENAR LA REPRESION DE LOS TRABAJADORES MIGRANTES Y LOGRAR SUS DERECHOS
Boston May Day Coalition delegate will participate in the Social Forum of the Americas in Guatemala Sergio Reyes will participate in the Social Forum of the Americas (October 7-12) on behalf of the Boston May Day Coalition. The expected attendance in this forum is of about 2000 delegates from South, Central, North America and the Caribbean.
Second Declaration of Rivas Assembly of Social Movements Held during the III World Social Forum of Migrations Madrid, Sept. 13, 2008.- Today as we commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, the twenty years since the deaths along the Gilbralter began, 35 years of the military strike against the democratic president, Salvador Allende, while this same legitimacy is gravely threatened in Bolivia and requests our consciousness and solidarity, and as we celebrate the 60th year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we, men and women, who form a part of more than two thousand social movements and organizations from 90 countries around the planet, united in Rivas Vaciamadrid (Spain), from September 11th to the 14th, are joined by the slogan
[PAST] "Stop the Raids and Deportations!" Booming Demand at May Day Rally 2008 on the Common
March 6: Boston in Solidarity with the Victims of State Repression in Colombia Boston, March 10, 2008.- Last Thursday, on March 6, the Boston May Day Coalition, MLK Bolivarian Circle, Permanent Committee for Peace in Colombia, and Chelsea United Against the War, joined in location at Park Street a vigil called by Colombia Vive. With respect for the activity called by Colombia Vive, these groups expressed their own position about the tragic and dramatic situation in Colombia. This coalition, however, demonstrated in solidarity with the initial call made in Colombia to denounce the crimes of the State and the paramilitary and demand that repression be stopped now.
Local coalition succesfully protests Felipe Calderon at Harvard University A coalition of local progressive organizations and individuals protested the policies of the Mexican government represented by its President, Felipe Calderón as he addresses Harvard's JFK Forum on February 11, 2008. The chants of the demostrators filled the air as they remembered the struggle of the mexican people with "Zapata vive, Chiapas vive, Oaxaca vive! ... la lucha sigue y sigue!" (Zapata, Chiapas, Oaxaca are alive! ... and the struggle moves forward!). The coalition included the Boston Anti-Authoritarian Movement, Mass. Global Action, Boston May Day Coalition, Sacco and Vanzetti Commemoration Society, Socialist Party U.S.A., IWW, Socialist Alternative, Anti-fascist/Anti-capitalist Network, Northeast Anti-Authoritarian Network, Students for a Democratic Society and others.
Protest Against ICE Raids, An Act of Love in the Freezing Cold of Boston Boston, January 28, 2008. The Boston May Day Coalition called for a "speak-out against ICE raids on undocumented migrant workers", in the context of a week of transnational action ending January 26. The International Council of the World Social Forum decided that instead of convening its eighth World Forum this year (2008), it would conduct a global week of action. Considering the USA’s war against immigrant workers and particularly “undocumented” workers, The Boston May Day Coalition chose to respond to the vicious character of recent raids in the state of Massachusetts. The first massive raid was conducted almost a year ago (in March 2007) by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New Bedford. More desolation and raids in the cities of Nantucket, Chelsea, East Boston, Revere, Somerville and most recently Milford followed this initial raid. The Boston May Day Coalition denounces what appears to be a media strategy to justify ICE raids as a search for “criminals”. The Boston May Day Coalition denounces and condemns all ICE raids against immigrants and calls upon people not to be deceived by this strategy. [ + ] El problema migratorio es un asunto internacional - Boston conmemora el Día Internacional de los Emigrantes 19/12/2007 - Boston, 18 de diciembre de 2007. Por primera vez se conmemoró en Boston el Día Internacional de los Emigrantes. Este año marca el octavo año desde que las Naciones Unidas establecieran dicha efeméride. El evento organizado por la Coalición Primero de Mayo de Boston (CPMB) se realizó en Encuentro5, un centro comunitario ubicado en Chinatown. Una diversa audiencia escucho presentaciones hechas por Roy Wagner de CPMB, Gabriel Camacho, Proyecto Voz de American Friends Service Committee, Nelson Brill, National Lawyers Guild, Lisa Fuller, Comité en Solidaridad con el Pueblo del Salvador, Lucy Pineda, Latinos Unidos de Massachussets, Patricia Montes, Centro Presente, y Dorotea Manuela, CPMB.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, "migrants are assets to society". 18/12/2007 - December 18, 2007.- Today marks the eighth International Migrants Day, an occasion that grows more meaningful with each passing year.
2008 U.N. Migration Forum to Focus on Rights Protection 27/11/2007 - U.N. News Service- 11/27/07 -- Protecting the rights of the world’s 200 million migrants – a vital issue for countries of origin, transit and destination – will take centre stage at a United Nations-backed meeting to be held next year in the Philippines, officials associated with the event said today.
38th National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, Massachusetts. No Thanksgiving. Migrant Repression Acknowledged. Again this year like 37 times before a group of hundreds of native people and supporters gathered in Plymouth to hear truths most people ignore or don't want to hear. This is not the history of fake harmony commemorating the so-called first thanksgiving, but a history of destruction, appropriation and genocide by European invaders in the Americas.
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer Drops Effort to Grant Driver's Licenses to Undocumented Immigrants November 15, 2007 -- New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer announced Wednesday that he is dropping his plan to grant driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants. The plan had drawn praise from immigrant rights activists, but fierce opposition from Republicans and many Democrats. Spitzer spoke to the press on Wednesday.
PROTEST ICE RAIDS IN CHELSEA, A SANCTUARY CITY Twice in one month ICE police and other forces have raided immigrants in the City of Chelsea, Massachusetts after its city council proclaimed it sanctuary city on June 4. The first raid took place on August 8 at the parking lot of the Market Basket. Then ICE explained they were going after criminal elements trafficking in falsified documents. They detained about 30 brazilian people, and released seven names to the press.
STOP THE WAR ON IMMIGRANTS! STOP THE RAIDS! Statement by the Boston May Day Coalition about the ICE raid at the Market Basket in Chelsea, Massachusetts
USSF SECOND DAY OF WORK ON MIGRANT WORKERS RIGHTS Atlanta, GA - 6/30/07. Everywhere you turn you will see familiar signs and symbols. As a great contradiction of the work progressives do in the U.S., places like the largest phalic-like tower of the Westin Hotel in downtown Atlanta, are full of radical and progressive activity. Other transnational corporations like the Marriott also enjoy the business of U.S. Social Forum visitors. In other less bourgeois hotels like the Super 8 Motel downtown where we are staying, we know that we are sharing the place with another large gathering, the Full Gospel Convention. Meanwhile, the taxi driver asked us what was going on at the Civic Center, because he saw people dressed in the most strange attires and didn't know what kind of religion they were representing. IMMIGRANT RIGHTS AT THE U.S. SOCIAL FORUM Atlanta, GA - Friday, 6/29/97.- The U.S. Social Forum is in progress with workshops, presentations and plennaries that cover almost all areas of struggle in this attempt to build "another world." The small Boston May Day Coalition has been present in as many migrant workers workshops as humanly possible. The concept of "migrant worker" is not popular in the forum. Most of the events are labeled "immigrant rights". TWO PETITIONS TO PRESIDENT BUSH AND THE U.S. GOVERNMENT WERE LAUNCHED ON MAY 1, 2007 The Boston May Day Coalition has launched a national campaign demanding that the U.S. government sign the United Nations Convention on Rights for Migrant Workers and Their Families, and that President Bush issue a moratorium on immigration raids and deportations. What it is needed now is to stop repression of migrant workers and pass a fair, just and humane legislation to find a solution to the exploitation and victimization of nearly 12 million undocumented migrant workers and their families. President Bush can issue a simple executive order on humanitarian terms over Homeland Security to halt the raids carried out by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Boston Delegation to the World Social Forum 2007 in Nairobi Kenya Proposed Transnational Unity in the Struggle for Migrant Workers Rights in the World An important number of different organizations from around the world working for migrant workers rights converged in Nairobi, Kenya during the World Social Forum, from January 20 to the 25. The Boston Delegation introduced a proposal that stressed the need to join forces in the world to confront the injustices of a condition created by contemporary capitalism: large masses of migrant workers desperately seeking work to survive. In that process workers and their families are abused, victimized, exploited and discriminated.
Brazilian Women's Group Condemns Immigration Enforcement in the Holiday Season Governor Romney's decision, in the final weeks of his government, to allow state troopers to question and arrest immigrants they suspect of being undocumented, is a cowardly and mean-spirited act. Rather than worry about the safety of all residents of Massachusetts in this time of rising crime rates, the governor has chosen to increase distrust, raise fear and deteriorate relationships with law enforcement officials of all levels as his "Christmas present" to immigrant communities and the state as a whole.
Human Rights Organization Denounces Egregious Workplace Immigration Raids in Six Meatpacking Plants CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The New England Regional office of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) expresses deep concern that the immigration sweeps which recently took place in six Swift & Company meatpacking plants in six states represent an egregious attack on the right to work, and whose sole effect serves to stir up unfounded negative sentiments towards migrants and divide working-class families and migrant communities. Furthermore, some press reports indicate that less than 5% of those detained were charged with identity theft raising serious questions about the use of identity theft as a principle motive behind the raids.
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