03/31/2012 by Colectivo Todo Poder al Pueblo - 0 comments

LA OPINION – Ven posibilidad para licencias de conducir

Ven posibilidad para licencias de conducir

Consideran que indocumentados pueden tener una oportunidad real

POR: Lucero Amador-Miranda / lucero.amador@laopinion.com | 03/31/2012 | La Opinión

Los esfuerzos para lograr que los indocumentados obtengan una licencia de conducir se fortalecen. Algunos líderes aseguran que hay posibilidad de ganar esa batalla.

“Estamos cerca de lograrlo, creemos que en estos momentos tenemos las condiciones”, explicó Ron Goches, uno de los dirigentes de la Coalición de Inmigrantes del Sur de California (SCIC). “Aunque el gobernador [Jerry Brown] ha dicho que no firmará, tenemos que movilizarnos para convencerlo”.

Dirigentes que integran la SCIC se reunieron ayer para diseñar una campaña estatal convincente, dicen, no sólo enfocada a los políticos sino también a todos los habitantes de California.

Este plan podría dar inicio en dos meses.

Otra de las buenas condiciones que menciona el activista es el reciente apoyo de varios jefes policiacos de las ciudades más importantes, como Los Ángeles, para que se otorgue licencias de conducir a los indocumentados.

El senador Gil Cedillo, creador de la propuesta de ley -desde 2001- para que se otorgue licencias a los indocumentados, asistió a esta reunión para dar un pronóstico de las posibilidad políticas de volver a impulsar esta iniciativa.

“Hoy tenemos un nuevo liderazgo político, nuevos líderes en la comunidad”, expresó Cedillo. “El gobernador [Brown] ha firmado las actas del Dream Act para los estudiantes indocumentados, y la AB 353 sobre el decomiso de autos a indocumentados en los retenes, creo que existe la oportunidad de que firme la ley de las licencias”.

Cedillo habló a los asistentes sobre las condiciones económicas del estado, por lo que el ingreso de miles de dólares con el trámite de las licencias, sería un beneficio nada despreciable.

Pero destacó que independientemente de los beneficios que esto pueda resultar para las arcas estatales, es la realización de un movimiento comunitario.

“Sé que es difícil para ustedes hacer movilizaciones a Sacramento, pero lo tienen qué hacer”, expresó el senador.

Durante más de una década el tema de las licencias para indocumentados ha tenido sus altas y bajas. Y muchas veces, de estar a un paso de su aprobación, la propuesta de ley no ve la luz.

Andres Contreras y su esposa hablan con La Opinión acerca del día en el que les decomisaron su auto por no tener licencia de conducir.
Foto: Aurelia Ventura / La Opinión

CONTEXTO

Sin embargo, Cedillo dijo que ahora el panorama político y social es otro.

“Estamos cerca de una nueva oportunidad real, que no existía con [el gobernador Arnold] Schwarzenegger”, explicó. “Fue una persona que no tuvo palabra, que no fue sincero, fue mentiroso, es la verdad”.

Francisco Romero, dirigente del Colectivo Todo Poder al Pueblo, basado en Oxnard, explicó que otra de las estrategias a considerar es la información.

“Necesitamos bombardear con información, porque es muy importante que la gente sepa de los beneficios de que todos los conductores tengan una licencia”, expresó.

Goches añadió que la comunidad californiana debe comprender la importancia de la ley, por seguridad de todos.

“De aprobarse la ley, los solicitantes tendrán que hacer un examen, deberán tener seguro de auto y eso nos dará mayor seguridad”, expuso el activista. “Aquí la lucha es con un grupo [de políticos] que por razones raciales se niegan a esta posibilidad”.

Durante una jornada de más de cinco horas, los dirigentes también hablaron de los resultado que ha tenido la campaña en contra de los decomisos de autos.

“Ha sido de mucho beneficio y con el uso de las redes sociales se han facilitado las alertas de los puntos de revisión de la policía”, explicó Romero.

Estos son los sitios que usted puede consultar para las alertas sobre los puntos de revisión de la policía:

Tel. (805) 3-AVISO-3

poder805@riseup.net

facebook.com/todopoder805

todopoderalpueblo.org

01/26/2012 by Colectivo Todo Poder al Pueblo - 0 comments

Another police/militarized Driver License/Citizenship Status checkpoint this Saturday night 1.28.2012 in Oxnard

• CHECKPOINT CONFIRMED!
Oxnard Police will hold a Driver License/Citizenship checkpoint(s) this Saturday, Jan 28, 2012 between the hours of 7pm and 3am at an undisclosed location(s) in Oxnard. There is a possibility that there will be multiple checkpoints. See link: http://www.oxnardpd.org/pressreleases/1590

• HOTLINE:
Join the resistance against the targeting of undocumented people of color and report checkpoint locations in Oxnard by calling our tip hotline at (805) 3-AVISO-3
Please leave pertinent information such as the time you saw the checkpoint, major cross streets, nearby landmarks/businesses, and the direction of traffic that is going toward the checkpoint(s).

• ENSURING AB353 COMPLIANCE:
Stand up to police abuses and bullying! Call the Oxnard police station and demand that they observe AB353, the new California law that curbs many police checkpoint abuses. Unlicensed drivers now have the right to call a licensed driver to pick up their car, eliminating the mandatory 30-day impoundment and compounded fines. Demand to speak to the Chief of Police Jeri Williams ( She policed 22 years in Arizona-a state notorious for targeting undocumented workers of color): 805.385.7624.

Colectivo Todo Poder Al Pueblo will be on hand at the checkpoint(s) this weekend to warn drivers that the checkpoints violate our human rights and to document whether Oxnard police will comply and observe AB353. Ultimately, we demand to see drivers licenses become reinstated and accessible for everyone regardless of citizenship status. Equal rights for all drivers!

See you in the streets!-Todo Poder Al Pueblo

01/15/2012 by Colectivo Todo Poder al Pueblo - 0 comments

The Modern Immigrant Rights Movement

Originally published by the Americas Program of the Center for International Policy

Posted on: 14/01/2012 by David Bacon

By David Bacon

Editor’s Note: This is the third and final installment of a three-part series on migrant rights by journalist and immigration activist David Bacon. This article is taken from the report “Displaced, Unequal and Criminalized – Fighting for the Rights of Migrants in the United States” that examines the origins of the current migratory labor phenomenon, the mechanisms that maintain it, and proposals for a more equitable system. The Americas Program is proud to publish this series in collaboration with the author.

Development of the Immigrant Rights Movement to 1986

Before the cold war, the defense of the rights of immigrants in the U.S., especially those from Mexico, Central America and Asia was mounted mostly by immigrant working class communities, and the alliances they built with the left wing of the U.S. labor movement. At the time when the left came under attack and was partly destroyed in the cold war, immigrant rights leaders were also targeted for deportation. Meanwhile, U.S. immigration policy became more overtly a labor supply scheme than at any other time in its history.

In the 1950s, at the height of the cold war, the combination of enforcement and contract labor reached a peak. In 1954 1,075,168 Mexicans were deported from the U.S. And from 1956 to 1959, between 432,491 and 445,197 Mexicans were brought into the U.S. each year on temporary work visas, in what was known as the “bracero” program. The program, begun during World War Two, in 1942, was finally abolished in 1964.

The civil rights movement ended the bracero program, and created an alternative to the deportation regime. Chicano activists of the 1960s – Ernesto Galarza, Cesar Chávez, Bert Corona, Dolores Huerta and others – convinced Congress in 1964 to repeal Public Law 78, the law authorizing the bracero program. Farm workers went on strike the year after in Delano, California, and the United Farm Workers was born. They also helped to convince Congress in 1965 to pass immigration legislation that established new pathways for legal immigration – the family preference system. People could reunite their families in the U.S. Migrants received permanent residency visas, allowing them to live normal lives, and enjoy basic human and labor rights. Essentially, a family- and community-oriented system replaced the old labor supply/deportation program.

Then, under pressure from employers in the late 1970s, Congress began to debate the bills that eventually resulted in the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. That debate set in place the basic dividing line in the modern immigrant rights movement. IRCA contained three elements. It reinstituted a bracero-like guest worker program, by setting up the H2-A visa category. It penalized employers who hired undocumented workers (“employer sanctions”), and required them to check the immigration status of every worker. And it set up an amnesty process for undocumented workers in the country before 1982.

Continue reading →

12/26/2011 by Colectivo Todo Poder al Pueblo - 0 comments

VC STAR: “Curbs on road checkpoints lift illegal immigrants’ fears”

Originally published by the Ventura County Star

From staff and wire reports

Posted December 26, 2011 at 1:28 a.m.

Article Excerpts:

… He does not have a driver’s license because he is in the United States illegally, and it would cost about $1,400 to get his Nissan Frontier pickup back from the towing company. He has breathed a little easier since he began getting blast text messages two years ago from activists who scour streets to find checkpoints as they are being set up.
The cat-and-mouse game ends Sunday when a new law takes effect in California to prohibit police from impounding cars at sobriety checkpoints if a motorist’s only offense is being an unlicensed driver. Thousands of cars are towed each year in the state under those circumstances, hitting pocketbooks of illegal immigrants especially hard.
“A car is a necessity. It’s not a luxury,” said Aldama, 32, who lives in Escondido with his wife, who is a legal resident, and their 5-year-old son, a U.S. citizen.
Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, a Los Angeles Democrat who tried unsuccessfully to restore driver licenses to illegal immigrants after California revoked the privilege in 1993, said he introduced the bill to ban towing after learning the notoriously corrupt city of Bell raked in big fees from unlicensed drivers at checkpoints.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration paid for 2,553 checkpoints last year, which authorities say helps explain why deaths caused by drunken drivers hit an all-time low in the state.
Police also ask for drivers’ licenses at the sobriety checkpoints. Supporters of the vehicle impounds say unlicensed drivers are also a roadside hazard and that the new law is misguided.
A sharp increase in federally funded sobriety checkpoints in California has fueled controversy.In July, protesters opposing the impounding of cars turned out at a police checkpoint in Oxnard.At the time, Francisco Romero, a member of Todo Poder al Pueblo Collective, said, “These are low-income workers who need a vehicle to get back and forth to work.”In a news release at the time, the group stated:“Since 2009, we have seen a sharp increase in DUI checkpoints that have become less about checking for drunken drivers and more about the impounding of vehicles of unlicensed drivers.” [read more here]The protesters gathered with the intention of warning drivers about the checkpoint so they could take a side street and avoid officers. Police at the time said the checkpoints were designed primarily to target drunken drivers.

read more…

10/18/2011 by Colectivo Todo Poder al Pueblo - 0 comments

COLECTIVO TODO PODER AL PUEBLO -Public Announcement at the Oxnard City Council of the passage of AB 353

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Public Announcement at the Oxnard City Council of the passage of AB 353

WHO: Todo Poder al Pueblo Collective
WHAT: Public announcement of the passage of AB 353, legislation that limits impound and towing policy at the statewide level for unlicensed drivers in California.
WHEN: Tuesday, October 18th, 7pm
WHERE: Oxnard City Council Chambers, 305 West Third Street
CONTACT: poder805@riseup.net, (805) 328-4763 [805-3-AVISO-3]

On Sunday, October 9th, after mounting community pressure, mobilizations and state-wide organizing against the abuse of the towing and impound policy for unlicensed drivers at police checkpoints, the governor signed into law AB 353. This legislation requires law enforcement, if an unlicensed driver is stopped at a checkpoint, to make a reasonable attempt to release the vehicle to the registered owner of the vehicle if he or she is licensed or a licensed driver authorized by the registered owner. If the registered owner could not be contacted on site, the bill also allows if the vehicle for the registered owner, or a licensed driver authorized by the registered owner, to pick up the vehicle immediately, without having to wait 30 days.

This legislation will go into effect in January 2012, so the Todo Poder al Pueblo Collective will announce that we will continue to have direct action protests at the police checkpoints in Oxnard until that date. We plan to monitor the police checkpoints to ensure that the new legislation is being implemented correctly in the next phase of our campaign. We will also begin our local work to have this policy also include stops at general traffic stops, as well as our statewide push for access to drivers’ licenses for all residents. Our community ‘Know Your Rights’ campaign will also continue alongside our work to expose the (In)Secure Communities Program and police-immigration collaboration as part of a campaign that creates a state of fear within our community.

JOIN US! LA LUCHA SIGUE!

07/16/2011 by Colectivo Todo Poder al Pueblo - 0 comments

Nuestra Comunidad Puede Combatir y Resistir el Abuso Policíaco en los Retenes

Nuestra Comunidad Puede Combatir y Resistir el Abuso Policíaco en los Retenes

Desde el 2009, hemos visto un aumento en el número de retenes, que en vez de tratar de arrestar a conductores de vehículos manejando bajo la influencia, tratan de confiscar vehículos perteneciendo a conductores sin licencia. Reportes indican que se ha incrementado la incautación de vehículos un 52% en los últimos años resultando en un aumento de siete a diez veces más, en el índice de acorralamiento a comparación a los que son arrestados por conducir bajo la influencia.

El Colectivo Todo Poder al Pueblo no aprueba que se maneje imprudentemente, ni mucho menos el conducir bajo la influencia, pero es obvio que los retenes una y otra vez, generan ganancias que se realizan con la confiscación de autos de los trabajadores-pobres y comunidades migrantes en el Condado de Ventura y alrededor de todo el estado de California.

Las pólizas existentes perjudican a nuestra comunidad mientras enriquecen a otros: datos a nivel estatal indican que casi $40 millones en ganancias se han generado en lo que se cobra por la grúa y en el acorralamiento. En Oxnard, también se cobra un cargo adicional de $241 para que los policías den permiso de soltar el vehículo.

Debido a que muchos residentes son forzados a pagar más de $1,500 en cargos (rescate) por el decomiso de vehículos por 30 días, se ven obligados a dejar y perder su vehículo; los cuales son vendidos en subastas. Además, órdenes judiciales o arrestos relacionados a multas no pagadas frecuentemente resultan en detención y encarcelamiento. Para los trabajadores indocumentados, este proceso puede resultar en deportación bajo las colaboraciones “Poli-Migra”, entre el Departamento de Jefe de Policía del Condado de Ventura y el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional-Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (DHS-ICE).

Lucharemos por:

Alto al abuso policíaco y robo legalizado de vehículos
Alto al decomiso forzado por 30 días
Alto a toda la colaboración entre Migra y Policía
Alto a la militarización de nuestra comunidad
Derecho a Licencias de Conducir para todos los residentes y migrantes

Nuestra comunidad puede tomar liderazgo en resistir el abuso que se está llevando acabo en los retenes. Las familias trabajadoras no tienen ninguna razón porqué dejarse ser hostigadas en sus propias comunidades para el beneficio de otros; tenemos que exigir que se hagan cambios para terminar este proceso injusto.

Involucrarte! Comuníquese con nosotros.

– Colectivo Todo Poder al Pueblo

Consideran que indocumentados pueden tener una oportunidad real

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lucharemos por:

Utiliza tus derechos para organizarte y defender tu comunidad!