As I stated on Friday’s Thoughts on Viernes, the Obama Administration has expanded the controversial and flawed immigrant round-up program called Secure Communities. A national effort headed by Presente.org has gathered petitions and protests are being held on Tuesday (today) around the country in Chicago, Boston, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, NC, and here in Houston.
As the petitions and protests target President Barack Obama, the local protest will deliver thousands of petitions to Obama’s local de facto headquarters, Harris County Democratic Party at 1445 North Loop West (77018) at approximately 11:00 AM.
The official press release is below the fold, but DosCentavos.net will be at the protest/petition delivery to get some photos.
Washington, DC – Latinos, immigrants and their allies are set to rally this Tuesday August 16 in cities across the nation and deliver thousands of petitions to President Obama’s national campaign headquarters in Chicago and other locales as part of a National Day of Action. They will be expressing their outrage for Obama’s recent and controversial decision to aggressively expand the use of local police officers as immigration agents through the highly controversial federal program known as Secure Communities or SCOMM.
Following his record-breaking deportation of more than 1 million immigrants since taking office in 2009, President Obama is taking steps that will wreak even greater havoc and devastation on immigrant communities, The numerous organizations leading Tuesday’s actions are demanding that President Obama bring an immediate end to SCOMM.
“There have been more deportations on President Obama’s watch than at any time in American history— If the President continues to alienate Latino voters he will lose the election, plain and simple,” said Carlos Roa from Presente.org, a national online advocacy group that seeks to empower Latinos nationwide. ” He cannot expect Latino voters and an entire community simply stand by and watch as he expands the extremely controversial SCOMM program that tears families apart. Latinos throughout the United States are fed up with the Obama Administration’s continuation and aggressive expansion of a Bush deportation program that Police chiefs, lawyers and community leaders across the country have denounced as ineffective and wasteful with urgently-needed local law enforcement resources,” said Roa.
Latinos taking action against the Obama campaign and SCOMM join the already strong opposition to the program from law enforcement officials, communities and elected officials, including governors like Pat Quinn of Illinois, Andrew Cuomo of New York and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. The concerns surrounding the dangers of this partnership are being completely disregarded by the Obama Administration. Studies like that conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum conclude that police chiefs across the country are reluctant to expand the role of local police departments into immigration control issues because it diverts needed policing resources needlessly. “Active involvement in immigration enforcement can complicate local law enforcement agencies’ efforts to fulfill their primary missions of investigating and preventing crime,” reads the report.
Thousands of petitions to end S-COMM were collected by Presente.org. These petitions will be delivered on Tuesday at 12noon to national headquarters of the Obama campaign in Chicago. Obama campaign and Democratic Party offices in cities throughout the country will also be the site of rallies and petition deliveries.
“We have a President who promised in 2008 to pass immigration reform during his first year in office; he promised to be a friend for the Latino community. As President, he has delivered the total opposite of his promises. His decision to mandate S-COMM is a direct and devastating attack to Latinos and immigrants. He must do the right thing and end S-COMM now,” said Roa.
doscentavos.net 