production:
archives by date |
single feature archives |
weekly archives
Public Terror: Escalating the War on Migrants (LOS ANGELES) Immigration activist Roberto Lovato was there when the Los Angeles Police Department launched its brutal assault on a park full of migrant families with children last week in LA, and this is what he saw and understood. "I saw the LAPD," he wrote "dragging the immigrants and the entire country into dangerous terrain, a new threshold in the immigration war raging around the country."
What he saw was more than an Iraq-style surge; this was an all out escalation, a new strategic plateau in the U.S. government’s War on Migrants.
Javier Rodriguez, an immigration activist with L.A’s March 25th Coalition, called it a "political decision" to "dismantle this [immigrant rights] movement."
Last year, in 2006, millions of migrant and their allies – their familia – took the streets, giving birth to the most powerful mass movement in the U.S. since the Civil Rights and Black Power movements of the 1960s and 70s.
The new movement stunned the US ruling class, drove the deepest of wedges straight into the heart of a seemingly unstoppable neo–con drive toward fascism, exposed the essential brutality and racism at the core of the Republican, neo–con agenda, began the public unraveling of the Bush regime, and opened the door to the stunning exposure, repudiation and defeat of the neo-cons in the House and Senate, who had led the racist charge to make felons of all undocumented migrants – and of anyone who so much as gave a ride to someone undocumented.
And like their counterparts in the 60s era, the reactionaries of today saw the unmistakable outlines of the threat presented by brown resistance to their power and their drive toward a fascistic state. Like the reactionaries of that era, they moved to kill the movement with mass arrests and state intimidation. Only this time, it wasn’t the FBI, COINTELPRO, the murders or imprisonment of Black leaders, or the mass incarceration of Black and other peoples of color that the State relied on. This time, it was the department of Homeland Security, ICE, and a strategy of direct vengeance – the deliberate terrorization of the millions who had taken the streets and who had precipitated the collapse of the neo-fascist juggernaut.
More:
Public Terror: Escalating the War on Migrants by Juan Santos and Leslie Radford
From the newswire:
IMMIGRATION DEBATES UP IN THE US SENATE, NEW SANCTUARY MOVEMENT LAUNCHED IN THE U.S.
by AJLPP
| |
AJLPP / CDIR Rejects New Immigration Proposals as Anti-Immigrant, Anti- Family Reunificat
by Coalition In Defense of Immigrant Rights
.
Two weeks after the May 1st police attack on a peaceful event for immigrants rights in MacArthur Park the community is mobilizing for a return to the park. The planned procession and vigil this coming Thursday, May 17th has been called by the same coalition of immigrant rights organizations who organized the May 1st event. Organizers have stressed the need for people to get back in the streets and show that they will NOT be intimidated by police violence.
Unlike the May1 march, this event has been granted a street closure permit by the LAPD. However it remains to be seen if the police will honor the permit. The May 1st march was initially granted a street closure permit but it was revoked some days before May 1st leaving organizers little time to get the word out and develop new plans for a sidewalk march. Victims of police violence on May 1st have repeatedly stated that police harassment of the march began at the start of the march and escalated as the day progressed. The last minute revocation of the street closure permit is thought to be a contributing factor in the many things that went wrong that day.
There is growing suspicion that the police attack was not some procedural mistake by commanding officers but planned well in advance, perhaps even days in advance. Numerous eyewitness report seeing metro police deployment and practice drills in the area in the early morning hours of May 1st. There are also unconfirmed reports of known HLS agents observed with police. It is believed that police were under orders to provoke the demonstrators to create an excuse to disrupt the event. And it was only after these attempts failed to illicit a reaction from demonstrators that police opened fire and charged the crowd.
The original police cover story of “agitators” and youth throwing rocks and bottles at police officers has been discounted by most responsible media outlets. However there are still some large corporate media outlets that continue to repeat the police line.
The controversy caused by some of the May 1st organizers repeating the police cover story in interviews with the media appears to have been resolved. A delegation of groups accused by organizers of triggering the police violence has met with the coalition and reports are that the meeting was successful in preventing a rift within the local immigrant rights movement. No formal public apologies have been made but there does seem to be agreement on maintaining an alliance in the struggle for immigrant rights. All groups involved in the dispute plan to be marching together this coming Thursday, May 17th.
Details on the march: Our Voices Will Not Be Silenced! by schock
Other related links: NLG class action lawsuit | | YJC demands | | CSPG call for police brutality posters
COMMUNITY GROUPS CONFRONT LAPD AND CHIEF BRATTON ABOUT MAY DAY POLICE RIOT Groups and individuals from the community had an opportunity to confront Police Chief Bratton and the Police Commission at Parker Center today regarding May Day attacks by the LAPD on thousands of peaceful demonstrators in MacArthur Park.
Some of the groups represented included a recently formed group of community activists called The People’s Network in Defense of Human Rights, CopWatch, The Bus Rider’s Union, Chirla, Caracen, Miwon, Los Angeles Federation of Labor, the ACLU, the L.A. Community Action Network, the International Action Network, and others.
People were very united in their opinions and demands today even though there had been some initial discord among some of the groups. Seen as a huge problem by many is a statement made by some of the organizers that the youth and anarchists had been responsible for inciting the police at the event. Many feel that statements like this that demonize and hang the youth out to dry are extremely unfortunate; especially since many youth had been involved with the organizing and were some of the first to reach out to protect others, suffering hits by rubber bullets for their trouble. And even more important, pointing fingers at people from inside the movement takes the spotlight away from the real culprit, the LAPD. “We cannot be blamed for what the cops did”, said a member of CopWatch.
The LAPD are to blame, and they are the only ones to blame; was the overwhelming consensus at today’s hearing. According to the speakers, the police were aggressive from the start, and there were reports that they had been rehearsing maneuvers and drills hours before the marchers even arrived at the park.
Full report:
COMMUNITY GROUPS CONFRONT LAPD AND CHIEF BRATTON ABOUT MAY DAY POLICE RIOT
by Anna
Also from the newswire: Our Voices Will Not Be Silenced: May 17 March and vigil at MacArthur Park by schock |
MIWON still covering for LAPD mayday attack by jubilee shine | Class action lawsuit filed against LAPD by national lawyers guild
production:
archives by date |
single feature archives |
weekly archives
|