Freedom’s on the march. From the Winston-Salem Journal, NC, Jan. 26: An inmate claiming widespread harassment of Muslims in U.S. prisons cannot sue prison guards who he says took his Qurans and prayer rug, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday…. Read moreHigh court approves Koran confiscation
200 counter-protesters from around the country outnumbered some 30 members of the “pro-majority” Nationalist Movement who marched in Jena, LA, Jan. 21 to protest the holiday honoring Martin Luther King and the national campaign for the “Jena Six,” black teenagers… Read moreWhite supremacists threaten “second amendment” mobilization in Jena
On Jan. 11 lawyers for three Puerto Ricans with subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury in New York that morning announced that the date had been postponed until sometime in February. Social worker Christopher Torres and filmmakers Tania… Read moreGrand jury testimony in Macheteros probe postponed
From Witness Against Torture, Jan. 11: Over 80 Arrested in Guantánamo Protests at Supreme Court WASHINGTON, DC – Early this afternoon, over 80 activists organized by Witness Against Torture delivered a message to the U.S. Supreme Court demanding the shut-down… Read moreProtests mark sixth anniversary of Gitmo prison camp
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued an internal memo on Jan. 9 setting a new policy, effective immediately, on the sedation of detainees. The agency “may only involuntarily sedate an alien to facilitate removal where the Government has obtained a… Read moreICE says it won’t sedate deportees
On Dec. 31, Latino groups in Oregon turned in over 5,000 petition signatures to the state’s Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division in Salem, asking for a one-year delay in implementation of new rules that will require driver’s license applicants… Read moreOregon: immigrants protest license plan
In a Dec. 17 press release, Colorado’s Park County announced it would pay $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought in February 2005 by Moises Carranza-Reyes, who was held in federal immigration custody at the county’s Fairplay jail for seven… Read moreColorado: ex-ICE detainee wins settlement
The excessive delay in processing naturalization applications has forced thousands to file lawsuits against the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) [Homeland Security Department]. These cases are either still pending or have been settled by the parties without addressing… Read moreHomeland Security sued over naturalization delays
On Dec. 19, the Senate confirmed Julie L. Myers as director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), two years after President George W. Bush used a recess appointment to assign her to the position. Myers was among more than 30… Read moreNew ICE chief confirmed —despite racism charges
On Dec. 19, about 100 immigrant rights activists marched six miles from Pruitt’s Home Furnishings in Phoenix, Arizona, to City Hall to protest Mayor Phil Gordon’s decision to end a policy that restricts Phoenix police officers from asking people about… Read morePhoenix: pro-immigrant activsts march
On Dec. 16, some 100 activists marched from downtown Taylor, Texas, to the T. Don Hutto immigrant prison at the outskirts of town, which holds families with children facing deportation. At sundown, the activists lit candles and held a vigil,… Read moreVigil at Texas immigrant detention center
On Dec. 13, over 100 people (50 according to the Village Voice) braved the freezing rain to take part in an interfaith candlelight vigil outside the Varick Street service processing center in downtown Manhattan, New York City, where ICE processes… Read moreVigil at NYC immigrant detention center
