Today, the End Streamline Coalition held a press conference in front of the federal courthouse to call for an end to the federal district court program known as Operation Streamline. There was a pretty good showing of people with signs and excellent speakers ( Marcelo Ruiz, Isabel Garcia (Derechos Humanos), Caroline Isaacs (AFSC), Andy Silverman, and community faith leaders) speaking out against the program. There was also a street theater performance mocking the streamline process.
Pictures: http://chrissummitt.com/blog/endstreamline/
From the facebook event page:
Every day as part of Operation Streamline, at least 70 migrant men and women are collectively processed and given criminal sentences prior to their deportation. Most, if not all of these migrants are sent to private prisons where companies profit handsomely from their incarceration. In 2011, contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) accounted for 20 and 14 percent of revenue for CCA and GEO Group, respectively.
As discussion of Comprehensive Immigration Reform mounts in Congress, Senator McCain and the “gang of eight” have proposed an expansion of Operation Streamline and other federal felony prosecutions of people crossing the Mexican border looking for work or to reunite with family.
For many who have witnessed a Streamline hearing, the mere image of men and women shackled at the wrist, belly, and ankles being collectively herded through the legal process is enough to shock the conscience. Streamline raises serious and troubling questions about constitutionally protected due process, the growth of private prisons, the deepening criminalization of migrants and the exploding costs of contemporary immigration enforcement.
Full Set of PIctures here: http://chrissummitt.com/blog/endstreamline/
(I know it’s kind of large but I couldn’t let them go, it was hard enough to narrow it down this much…)
A benefit arts festival was held at Skrappys to support migrant justice.
There were performances by:
Jasiri X, Invincible, 2Mex, Dj Dirty Verbs, Top Nax, Dj Sloepoke, Progreso with DJ Alias, Shining Soul
Visual Art Exhibit featuring:
Favianna Rodriguez, Julio Salgado, Oree Originol, Dignidad Rebelde, El Mac, Ernesto Yerena, Justseeds
Naturally, I took pictures. Here is the FULL SET:
http://chrissummitt.com/blog/tucsonstandup/
Here are the pictures from this year’s May 1st march. I’ve photographed three of these now. We’ll keep marching as long as we have to.
Full Set: http://chrissummitt.com/blog/protestaz/mayday2012/
Today, the Supreme Court began hearing arguments for the United States Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Arizona’s SB 1070. There was a call for statewide action and resistance against this racist law. Here is what happened in Tucson at the Arizona State Building.
Full set of pictures here: http://chrissummitt.com/blog/protestaz/protestsb1070_2012/
The craziest one yet. Everything that happened at this meeting was simply ridiculous. Because of what happened when UNIDOS took over, the board decided to really take things to unnecessary levels. They hired over 100 cops to hang out at the meeting. This included riot cops, a k9 unit and even a dam helicopter. A helicopter! Just to keep an involved community under control. There was a huge turnout in support of the students fighting to keep their classes. The board thought it best to only let media and a very small amount of people into the actual meeting and keep everyone else outside to listen on speakers that only worked half of the time.
This meeting went on for hours. About half way through the community outside decided to form a circle in solidarity and that’s when the trouble happened. The police did not like this for whatever reason and began to do their best to break it apart. In the process injuring many people. It was a hectic night. The circle went all the way around the building. I went from side to side taking pictures, trying to capture as much as I could, trying to make sure the police did not take advantage of the people (which they ended up doing anyway). I took many pictures after the sun had set and did not bring my flash so I had to be creative with long exposures. It was really hard but I was determined to document everything I saw.
Again, the pictures really tell it better from here. It’s a large set but every image is important.
FULL SET HERE:
http://chrissummitt.com/blog/protestaz/boardmeeting
