Sires Cosponsors Immigrant Detention Reform

Great news! Congressman Albio Sires (NJ13) joined fellow NJ Representatives Holt, Payne and Rothman in supporting the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act, HR1215. This legislation addresses the most serious flaws identified in Amnesty’s Jailed Without Justice Report:
• Extreme over reliance on detention without considering effective and less expensive alternatives.
• Lack of due process allowing those imprisoned to challenge the grounds of their detention.
• Inhumane prison conditions for those who are detained.

If your Congressman is not on the list above, please call his office and urge him to cosponsor this important bill.

Amnesty is also supporting two of Senator Robert Menendez’s bills that address these issues, S 1549 and S 1550. Wherever you live in NJ, please call Senator Lautenberg’s office and urge him to support these bills!

Amnesty is currently organizing a lobbying week (the week of November 11th) across the country to support this legislation. We are also going to be focusing on closing Guantanamo and supporting the ratification of a women’s rights treaty (CEDAW). Please go to http://www.amnestyusa.org/delegation/list.php to find out more!

Immigrant Detention Vigil in Elizabeth

I will be briefly speaking about Amnesty's efforts on immigrant detention at this vigil tomorrow.



Larry



SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11



Come to the IRATE & First Friends 11th annual vigil

at the Elizabeth Detention Center



March and pray in solidarity with the thousands of immigrants being held in detention throughout the country.



2 pm at the corner of Dowd Street and Evans Street, Elizabeth, NJ



You are cordially invited

to a Spaghetti Supper & Teach In after the vigil on

Sunday evening, 10/11/09,

4 pm at the St Joseph Social Service Center

118 Division Street, Elizabeth, NJ



This supper will include presentations by invited speakers:



Marisol Conde-Hernandez, Rutgers undergraduate & activist

and

Msgr. William Reilly, member NJ Blue Ribbon Committee on Immigration Policy



Donations: Adults $25, Students $15, Children under 10 free

---------------------------

Space is limited so please make your reservation NOW by e-mailing your name and the number in your party to firstfriends2@juno.com.



Then please mail your check for the donation to:



IRATE & First Friends, 321 South Broad St., Elizabeth, NJ. O7202



When you check is received, we will confirm your reservation by e-mail.



Any question? Call 908-965-0455

November Lobby Week

During the week of November 11th, Amnesty activists across the country will be meeting with their local congressional offices to urge them to take action three of our top priorities:
• Fix the broken immigrant detention system to ensure due process and treat people humanely.
• End torture and take effective measures to ensure that it does not happen again.
• Ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Amnesty believes that it is now a key moment where grassroots pressure could help convince Congress to move forward on all three of these issues.

You can volunteer to organize a visit to your local congressional office at http://www.amnestyusa.org/delegation/leader.php?d=013&s=NJ &ICID=G0909A01.

Or, you can look for an existing delegation to take part in at http://www.amnestyusa.org/delegation/list.php?ICID=G0909A01.

Cyber Trolls & Such

An anonymous troll has been clogging the comments with posts totally unrelated to the topic he/she has been posting under. Sadly, this "anonymous" wants to simply call me names without having the deceny to take credit for his or her actions. Furthermore, the ire is directed against my comments on Tim's El Salvador. I have finally figured out that "anonymous" has decided to try to attack me here because Tim does not allow anonymous posts. (I guess he changed that because of similar troll problems.)

I have therefore changed the settings to not allow anonymous posts. Again, "Anonymous," I am willing to respond to serious challenges on issues--but calling me names (without having the decency to reveal yours) simply reveals your lack of maturity.

By the way, he/she finally did comment on an issue--only to reveal that he/she does not think that the forced disappearance and subsequent murder of an environmental activist; death threats against jornalists investigating the case; and attacks on a priest are things that Amnesty should be working on. The decision to put out this urgent action was made by senior AI staff members--not me. Having said that, right on AI! This action makes me proud of my affiliation with Amnesty.

And thank you, anonymous, for clearly displaying your true colors with your comment on the Marcelo Rivera case!