NATIONAL PROTESTS APRIL 10 AGAINST IMMIGRANT-BASHING BILLS

In December the House of Representatives approved the immigrant bashing CLEAR Act as part of the Sensenbrenner-King immigration restriction bill, HR 4437. The Senate version is sponsored by Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter (lower ight), chairman of the Judiciary Committee.Some time in the next few weeks,  the Senate is now entering its second week of debate on the bill. Today's San Francisco Chronicle has a good summary of what the bill's impact would be on immigrant families. The ACLU says:

"The CLEAR Act is unnecessary. Its supporters suggest that under current laws immigrants are not held accountable for crimes they commit. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Police officers have the right and duty to enforce criminal laws against anyone who violates them, regardless of immigration status. In reality, non-citizens who commit crimes pay dearly for their crimes, receiving both prison sentences and deportation. Furthermore, mechanisms already exist within current law to foster cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agents, when necessary. The federal government can enter into Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with states and localities, conferring civil immigration law enforcement powers on the local officials.

"Second, measures such as those included in the CLEAR Act will likely undermine terrorism and other criminal investigations by striking a direct blow at the efforts of police to win the trust and confidence of the communities they serve. National security experts and state and local law enforcement officials agree that good intelligence and strong relationships are the keys to keeping our nation and streets safe."

On April 10, there will be a national day of protest against immigrant-bashing to oppose oppressively restrictive federal legislation and "demand real immigration reform that is comprehensive, respects civil rights, reunites families, protects workers, and offers a path to citizenship for the current undocumented and future immigrants to the US," says the Immigrant Solidarity Network. For a state-by-state list of demonstrations and to find the one nearest you, click here.