• In Defense of Civil Protest

    Yet, regardless of one's position on the broad issue of immigration, No Papers, No Fear should give us pause.

    Arizona is not a great place for people without papers right now, said Fernando, "...and those who stayed, stayed to resist and fight back." With no elected officials to represent them and the threat of possible deportation looming, these people decided to board a bus and ride hundreds of miles across the country so that others like them might be a little less afraid to drive to work, a few members of the press might give a brief nod to their daily hardships, and they can publically declare themselves fully part of the United States after living here for many years. They boarded the bus because they have no advocacy tools other than their voices, despite the very real risk that their actions would result in arrest, jail time, or deportation.

    If Miguel were to become an American citizen, he would want to own his own business, he said. If his deportation case moves forward, he will leave behind 14 years of his life, a wife, and three kids, two of whom were born in the United States. For him, coming to the DNC was less of a choice than a final gesture of hope that democracy can actually work, that defending a belief peacefully, publically, and at serious personal risk can change our policies.

    Read More »
  • Undocumented Latinos end protest tour of south at Democratic convention

    For the past 15 years Miguel Guerra has been living in the shadows as an undocumented Latino immigrant in the US. He kept out of view, avoided public places and never spoke his mind to anyone outside his immediate family.

    Not any more.

    Under a blazing North Carolina sun, Guerra joined almost 50 other undocumented Latino immigrants on a Sunday in a park on the outskirts of Charlotte, the North Carolinan venue of this week's Democratic national convention. It was in effect a mass coming out ceremony.

    For the past six weeks the group has been riding across the American south in a converted Greyhound bus bearing the slogan: "No Papers No Fear". They have stopped in about 20 cities in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia before arriving in North Carolina, holding rallies and confronting anti-Latino prejudice along the way.

    "We're no longer afraid to say we are undocumented," Guerra declared.

    Read More »
  • Undocumented Arizonans Announce Participation in National Bus Tour to Overcome Fear and Organize Migrant Community

    By voluntarily risking arrest and being placed in Sheriff Arpaio's jail, the undocumented Arizonans confronted what had previously been their greatest fear and demonstrated that everyone is safer as part of organized communities prepared to defend their rights and prevent their violation.

    The four will announce their participation in a national 'No Papers No Fear Ride for Justice' at a press conference this morning. Undocumented migrants will board a bus in Phoenix, Arizona and publicly travel to hot spots of Arizona copy-cats and anti-immigrant sentiment to come out as unafraid, support local organizing, and challenge proponents of hate. The journey will end in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Democratic National Convention.

    Read More »
  • Arestado por querer una vida mejor

    Queremos decir a la gente, principalmente, que no tenga miedo, que nosotros estamos haciendo por ellos también.  A particular, lo estoy haciendo por mi, por mi familia, por mi comunidad y por la demás gente que no sabe que no tiene que tener miedo.

    Aparte  vamos a ir a la Convencion Nacional de Democratas para  decirle a Obama que ya basta de abusos, que queremos que quite las Comunidades Seguras, nos quitaron el 287g pero Comunidades Seguras no nos la quitaron por eso siguen las deportaciones.  Y eso es lo que queremos, que ya basta de tantas injusticias, que queremos algo positivo, no algo negativo para el país.

    Read More »
  • Photos: Arrested at Arpaio's Trial

     

     

     

    Read More »
  • Coming Out at Arpaio's Trial

     

     

     

    Read More »
  • Bio: Miguel Guerra

    Miguel Guerra has lived in Phoenix, AZ, since 1998, with his wife and his three children. He works in construction, and has been a volunteer with the Puente Human Rights Movement since shortly after the passage of SB1070, when the organization helped him recover stolen wages from an employer. That same year, he was racially profiled and pulled over by Phoenix PD for an alleged traffic violation and had his car impounded, because as an undocumented immigrant he cannot get a driver’s license. He says that he is willing to take action and risk deportation for dignity. “We want to come out of the shadows.  We want President Obama to see that we are no longer afraid and that that we are demanding that he take action to solve our community’s problems.”

    Read More »
Page 1 of 1
Back to Top