CALL FOR MAY DAY MEDIA SUBMISSIONS

Deep Dish TV is seeking media submissions (videos, audio recordings, photos, writings) from MAY DAY! We want to hear from you – what current issue do you feel strongly about? Why? What is your hope for change? Email us at deepdish@igc.org to share your art + activism with us!

Join us tomorrow!!

IMMIGRANT, LABOR AND PROGRESSIVE GROUPS SAY: “WE WILL MARCH ON MAY DAY FOR LEGALIZATION, JOBS, & EDUCATION, NOT MONEY FOR BORDER MILITARIZATION”

70,000 people urge New York Times to stop using the dehumanizing and inaccurate term, “illegal”, from news coverage

On Tuesday, April 23, 2013 The Applied Research Center (APC) and The Drop the I-Word Campaign joined with activists, including Fernando Chavez, attorney and eldest son of Cesar Chavez, and Jose Antonio Vargas, award-winning journalist and founder of Define American, to deliver petitions signed by 70,000 people to the New York Times urging them to stop using the term, “illegal” from their news stories when referring to individuals.   Mr. Chavez, Jose Antonio Vargas, the ARC and a coalition of supporters and activists delivered the petitions to Jill Abramson’s office, the executive editor of the NY Times.  The petition was started by Helen Chavez, Fernando Chavez’ mother and widow of Cesar Chavez.

The petitions were delivered only a few weeks after the Associated Press announced their decision to drop the dehumanizing and inaccurate term from describing individuals and would instead only use the word “to refer to an action.”

We feel the term is provocative, dehumanizing, and racially charged.  It is also imprecise and inaccurate.  The term does not take into account the variety of reasons a person is undocumented; many came here legally and have overstayed visas, were brought here as children, or overstayed fleeing persecution.  It creates the stereotyping of a group of individuals, mostly people of color, and centers the immigration debate around border control, when borders are not the issue.  In an interview with Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Rinku Sen, the ARC’s Executive Director and President, said it best.  It is an “imprecise term that is applied in a blanket way,” and we feel it needs to change.

A few hours after the petitions were delivered, Philip B. Corbett, the associate managing editor for standards, who oversees The Times’ style manual, made an announcement that the Times updated its policies.  Unfortunately, it would continue to use the word “illegal” to describe “someone who enters, lives in or works in the United States without proper legal authorization.” It encourages reporters and editors to “consider alternatives when appropriate to explain the specific circumstances of the person in question, or to focus on actions.”

The AP announcement earlier this month was a victory, and we can only hope that more major news sources, like the New York Times and the LA Times “get with the times” and drop the i-word.

For more information, please visit colorlines.com/droptheiword

Get With The Times, New York Times. Drop The I-Word.

Published on Apr 3, 2013
by http://colorlines.com/droptheiword

“The Associated Press just dropped the term “illegal immigrant” from its stylebook, becoming the newest news outlet to drop dehumanizing language and embrace good journalism. Will the New York Times follow suit?”

Produced by Qualified Laughter: http://qualifiedlaughter.com/

A Conversation on Immigration

A Conversation on Immigration with Jose Antonio Vargas, Cristina Jimenez, Karen Kaminsky, Rinku Sen, & a performance by Iyaba Ibo Mandingo.

This is “an exciting conversation on immigration policy, activism and art in the context of the upcoming election with Define American founder Jose Antonio Vargas, recently featured on the cover of TIME (along with the story of nearly 12 million undocumented Americans), Karen Kaminsky (New York Immigration Coalition Deputy Executive Director), Iyaba Ibo Mandingo (poet/painter/performer), Cristina Jimenez (United We Dream Managing Director), and Rinku Sen (President and Executive Director of the Applied Research Center).” – cultureproject.org/impact-we-people/

Obama Admin to Curtail Deportations of Some Undocumented Immigrants

Photo Credit: Julio Salgado; http://juliosalgado83.tumblr.com/

In a victory for undocumented immigrants and their allies, on Friday, June 15, after facing years of pressure, President Obama announced a new plan to stop deportations of certain undocumented immigrants. The adjustments mirror those in the proposed DREAM Act, which would have offered amnesty to undocumented students who came here as children, provided they were in school, had a high school diploma or completed their general education development (GED), or had committed to military service. Similarly, the change disclosed this morning would offer a two-year reprieve from deportation for undocumented residents who came here as children, are under 30, have no felonies or repeat misdemeanors, and satisfy the education and/or military requirements. During this two-year relief period, immigrants can apply for work permits. However, as the administration has made clear, the shift does not offer amnesty or a path to citizenship. The Associated Press reports that as many as 800,000 young immigrants will be positively affected by the new rule.

This may be the boldest move the Obama administration has made to stem the record-breaking tide of deportations. It will offer much-needed relief to hundreds of thousands of immigrants, but some remain skeptical, for a few reasons. First, previous efforts to help undocumented families, such as last year’s decision to use “prosecutorial discretion” to halt some deportations, have achieved mixed results.  Second, the rhetoric on “helping immigrants” still narrows itself to aiding the “good,” “productive” ones who don’t “pose a threat to national security.” This reasoning erases the contributions of millions of immigrants, whose collective labor in agriculture, construction, food service and other industries has helped improve the lives of U.S. residents. Third, activists have pressured the President for years to help reform the immigration system, only to be met with assurances that Obama himself could do little to change anything. DREAMers rallied in Washington, staged sit-ins, and audaciously refused to be silenced. The timing of this announcement, because it so boldly reverses course on previous statements from the President, makes some wonder about his commitment to meaningful reform in the face of Congressional opposition. Fourth, the new order essentially allows undocumented immigrants to continue contributing their labor while waiting to see if they can become citizens. Since this is an executive order, and not a law, future presidents could easily reverse it. It remains to be seen when elected officials will learn to accept that all immigrants are valuable, not just certain ones.

Broken Asylum: A film about immigration and deportation

Over a decade ago, a community of Indonesian Christians came to the United States to escape religious persecution. Now, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are threatening to deport them, separating parents from their young U.S. citizen children. Their New Jersey community has rallied to support their fight to stay together as families in the place they now call home. – Filmmaker Kelly Bates