Today a march was held to call for the end to deportations and to demand political and economic quality. It was an unsanctioned march that started at Southside Presbyterian Church and ended at the Tucson Police Department on Stone. At the end point there were speeches and an act of civil disobedience.
I took a lot of photos and it was quite difficult to narrow it down, the best I could do was about 150. I KNOW it’s a lot but I assure you, every pic is worth it!
Full Set: http://chrissummitt.com/blog/marchforjustice/
As local police call Border Patrol, separating and deporting families, a national debate on Immigration Reform continues to grow. Over 1.5 million mothers, fathers, youth, day laborers, domestic workers, janitors, gardeners, cooks, and farmworkers, have been deported since 2009.
• Stop the Deportations!
• Collaboration between local police and Border Patrol separates families!
• We want united communities!
• No to the militarization of the border!
• We need an Immigration Reform that includes all 11 million people!
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…)
Today there was a protest calling for the release of both Raul Alcaraz Ochoa and Rene Meza Huertha without charges.
Raul Alcaraz Ochoa, a community organizer with the Southside Worker Center and Corazon de Tucson, was taken into Border Patrol (BP) custody at approximately 2:30pm this afternoon, after placing himself under a BP vehicle in a courageous act of civil disobedience, to prevent Rene Meza Huertha, a father of 6 from being taken into BP custody.
I got there late and missed the march but snapped a few pics afterwards. There were many more people there earlier but most had dispersed by the time I got there.
FULL SET HERE: http://chrissummitt.com/blog/freeraul/
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/
