DRUM organizes march over the Brooklyn Bridge…
DRUM organizes march over the Brooklyn Bridge in National Day of Action against SB 1070 law in Arizona
Press Advisory
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Monami Maulik, DRUM: (347) 385-9113
Manisha Vaze, Families for Freedom: (917) 748-0938 (English and Spanish)
Rafael Samanez, VAMOS Unidos: (646) 330-1951
Immigrants and Allies Hold
“We Are All Arizona” March and Rally,
Demand End to Mass Detention and Deportation Programs
New York, NY (July 29, 2010) – Immigrants and their allies from New York and New Jersey will march across the Brooklyn Bridge and rally in Foley Square to call for a full repeal of SB 1070 in Arizona and similar laws nationally. Says Rafael Samanez of VAMOS Unidos, “The partial and temporary blocking of a law that should have never existed is welcome, but in no way a victory. The conditions that created SB 1070 remain and are only worsened by the half-hearted decision today.” Marchers will decry the climate of racism fueling SB 1070 and 20 copycat laws in other states, will call for an end to mass deportation programs, and assert that current versions of “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” – including Senator Chuck Schumer’s – work against, not for, immigrant communities.
“We welcome the court’s decision and commend the national movement that has temporarily stopped the implementation of some sections of SB 1070,” said Minister Patricia Malcolm of Churches United to Save and Heal. “At the same time, we fear that racial profiling and targeting of immigrants will nevertheless continue in the racist climate that this law has encouraged.”
“More than ever, we are in solidarity with immigrants in Arizona and all other states contemplating copycat legislation to condemn these laws,” said Ayesha Mahmooda of DRUM-Desis Rising Up and Moving. “As South Asians and Muslims, we stand in unity with Latinos and all other immigrants because these laws target all of us.”
Immigrants and their allies also warn that the preliminary injunction will likely do little to curb the numbers of immigrants getting funneled into the deportation system as the federal government continues to dramatically ramp up mass deportation initiatives like Secure Communities, Criminal Alien Program, and 287(g) across the country. Even New York has recently signed onto the federal government’s much maligned “Secure Communities” and has colluded for decades with the federal government to carry out mass detentions and deportations.
As a result, “We remain vigilant as immigrant communities and allies across the country to ensure that SB 1070 is fully repealed and that all copycat proposals fail,” stated Monami Maulik of DRUM. While the federal government has promoted recent versions of “comprehensive immigration reform” as a solution to laws like SB 1070, these advocates firmly content that such proposals will in fact do more harm than good.
“What we need is a humane legalization bill that is not undermined by harsh deportation and border militarization provisions,” said Manisha Vaze from Families for Freedom. “We need genuine reform, one that truly promises to keep families together.”
