NEWSNATIVISM

Today marks a great victory on the side of civil rights. Since Arizona passed its infamous anti-immigrant law SB 1070, states such as Georgia, South Carolina, Indiana, and Utah have passed their own copycat versions.

By far, the worst law to be passed was Alabama’s HB 56. It turned everyone from teachers to landlords into immigration agents, made it a crime to give a ride or provide shelter to an undocumented immigrant, required elementary school teachers to inquire about the immigration status of students, and barred undocumented immigrants from public colleges. As with SB1070, it demanded police ask the immigration status of people stopped for traffic violations who might be “suspected” of being undocumented immigrants, a mandate that would affect Latinos, Asians, and others perceived as “foreign,” more than any other group. The law has been seen as a clear smorgasbord of civil rights violations.

Finally, just hours ago, the Department of Justice indicated that it will not let the law go unchallenged. The federal government will instead sue Alabama over its anti-immigrant law, just as it did when Arizona passed SB1070, many parts of which were blocked due to unconstitutionality. As of today, Reform Immigration for America and national and local groups had mobilized more than 13,000 people to sign a petition on Change.org asking the DOJ to step in. They listened. Victory!

Immigrant-rights advocates can celebrate a victory this week, as word now comes that Steve Levy has been thwarted in his most recent attack on Suffolk County immigrants.

Levy, now at the tail end of a corruption-tainted career as Suffolk County Executive, recently decided to take one last shot at the immigrant community in his district by introducing two anti-immigrant bills, one of which is clearly redundant and meant only as a political ploy. But Levy's irrational bills have now been put on the shelf, as the Suffolk County Legislature has decided to set aside the bills until November, making it unlikely Levy's proposals will become law.

Long Island Wins has been working hard against Levy in recent months, and their coverage of the ongoing fight against Levy highlights the great work local activists have done to combat Levy's ongoing efforts against the local immigrant community. Here at Change.org, they activated nearly two hundred supporters to tell the Suffolk County Legislature to vote down anti-immigrant bills from Steve Levy.

Steve Levy just won't quit. Mr. Levy's term is about to end, but the exiting Suffolk County Executive is launching one more anti-immigrant crusade. By introducing two new bills at the next meeting of the county legislature, Levy will cement an anti-immigrant reputation that once featured an angry (and categorically false) rant against so-called "anchor babies."

Levy's proposed legislation will require those seeking occupational licenses from the city to cross-check their identities under the federal E-Verify program. Levy also plans to introduce a measure requiring businesses working for the county to certify their employees under the same federal system.

These two proposals come on the heels of Mr. Levy's disgraceful exit from a campaign to extend his position as County Executive. In a classic political scandal, Mr. Levy bailed on his reelection bid after the district attorney started to investigate the source of his $4 million war chest. Levy received $200,000 from law firms who are contracted by the county, a revelation that wouldn't have been so shocking if you didn't consider that Mr. Levy has been known to steer pet projects to his friends and contributors.

The Sheriff's office in McHenry County, Illinois, is under fire these days not just for pulling over a disproportionate number of Hispanics, but for trying to cover it up.

A shocking report by the Chicago Tribune reveals that McHenry County Sheriff's deputies stopped or pulled over an inordinate amount of supposedly white people with names like Miguel Perez Reyes, Pablo Toxqui-Zavala, and Pedro Lopez. A few of those "whites" interviewed by the Tribune had dark skin and spoke broken English. At least one of those interviewed admitted he was an immigrant from Mexico.

So, disregarding a possible epidemic of Spanish-speaking Caucasians with dark skin immigrating from Mexico to McHenry County, sheriff's deputies have been trying to hide the arrest totals of Hispanics in their jurisdiction.

Chipotle's commitment to their slogan, "Food with Integrity," is in serious jeopardy with the recent news that Chipotle refuses to meet with its fired DC workers. As we have previously written, Chipotle Mexican Grill has come under fire for the way it has laid off major portions of its largely immigrant/Latino workforce. Beginning with the firings of numerous workers in the Minneapolis region late last year, Chipotle has since gone on a quiet rampage, terminating workers throughout the country with little or no warning, including a particularly appalling incident in a Washington D.C. chain where workers say they were replaced during a thirty minute break.

Fired workers have fought back, but Chipotle isn't ready to give in just yet, although they seem to have initiated a feigned negotiation effort. According to those advocating for the workers, Chipotle abruptly canceled a recent meeting set up with Washington D.C. city council members. The meeting was meant to discuss the massive firings in the district, specifically the inappropriate and borderline cruel way long-time employees were terminated. The prospect of sitting down and talking is apparently too much for Chipotle, as they are now formally refusing to meet with the numerous workers the company has fired.

"They can pay us to die, but they can't pay us to live" is a phrase often used to describe the plight of the forgotten Filipino veterans who fought in World War II yet were denied benefits due to their immigration status. Only now is their sacrifice for the United States starting to be remembered. The California State Assembly has taken up the fight for Filipino veterans equity with a proposed bill, AB 199, that would encourage the inclusion of the contributions of WWII Filipino veterans in the 7-12 social studies curriculum.

The Rescission Act of 1946 stripped Filipino vets of benefits, with the excuse that the official declaration of Philippine independence changed their immigration status from U.S. citizens to U.S. nationals. They were the only ethnic group to face this denial, and were forgotten by the U.S. government and in the pages of history books. AB 199, authored by Assemblymember Fiona Ma, while not a state mandate, is a step forward in keeping the memory of Filipino WWII veterans alive.

Since Arizona’s SB 1070 “show me your papers” law has been locked up in limbo in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Florida senators and representatives have filed eight copycat bills.

One of the most prominent is state senator Anitere Flores’s SB 2040, which would urge every police force in the state to sign a 287 (g) agreement. 287 (g) agreements, you may recall, call on law enforcement to engage in federal immigration enforcement, something that is costly, ineffective, and dangerous for communities because immigrants fear police and are reluctant to report crimes or serve as witnesses. These agreements are what allow sheriffs like Arizona’s Arpaio to almost exclusively focus on targeting undocumented immigrants.

If SB 2040 passed in Florida, police would be able to question the status of anyone arrested before they are even convicted of any crime. It doesn’t matter if they are “falsely accused, or victims, or witnesses of a crime,” states Kathy Bird of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

Flores's proposed bill flies in the face of her previous statements against Arizona's bill motivated by "racism," undocumented immigrants "offering so much to our state," and the danger of giving the perception that Florida is unwelcome to immigrants. It is clear her proposal is politically motivated and not in line with her original sentiments regarding immigration and flawed legislation.

After igniting a firestorm of controversy earlier this week with his suggestion that immigrants should be shot like wild hogs, Kansas State Rep. Virgil Peck has been pressured into standing up on camera to offer a public apology for his deeply offensive remarks:

CNN reports his statement to their cameras: "I'm Virgil Peck, and on Monday, I made an inappropriate comment. For that, I'm sorry, and I apologize to anyone that I offended with my inappropriate comment. I'll be more careful with my words in the future."

When Peck's comment first stirred up outrage, he brushed it off as no big deal. Questioned about by a reporter, Peck dubbed it "humor" and branded the controversy "over." But since he deemed it "over," more than 3,000 Change.org members have sent emails demanded a real public apology for his actions, joined in their call by bloggers and advocates concerned with immigrant human rights.

Kansas State Rep. Virgil Peck couldn't have been more wrong when he stated that the controversy over his suggestion that we shoot immigrants from helicopters like wild pigs was "over." Since that statement, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and House Republican leadership squeezed a grudging pseudo-apology out of Peck (R-Tyro), but immigrant rights advocates (and decent human beings across the country) want him to say it like he means it -- in public.

The entire text of Peck's reluctant "apology": "My statements yesterday were regrettable. Please accept my apology." As Lawrence O'Donnell puts it in the clip below, "Apology not accepted." O'Donnell continues, "Some apologies require more than a piece of paper. Getting most apologies accepted usually requires that you somewhere use the words 'I'm sorry' or 'I apologize.'" Though Kansas Republican House Leadership would like to dub this apology "sincere," it's clear to anybody paying attention that Peck doesn't even care enough to pretend he feels bad.

Victory: Over 4000 Change.org members signed the petition demanding a public apolgy from Rep. Peck -- and you won!

File this under "atrocious statement of the month": Kansas State Rep. Virgil Peck (R-Tyro) piped up during a debate about feral swine control funding with a suggestion as unrelated as it was offensive to murder undocumented immigrants. "It looks like to me if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works maybe we have found a [solution] to our illegal immigration problem," Peck declared to gasps from the audience and fellow lawmakers.

Rep. Peck is not sorry. He was just making a funny, after all. Because nothing spells humor quite like advocating the murder of hardworking mothers, fathers, and children. Especially when you get to compare them to wild pigs at the same time! Ho ho ho, ha ha ha ... eh.