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We’ve recently gotten word of a scam in Charlotte, NC stating that the deadline to apply for Deferred Action is February 28, 2022 and to go visit their office for help. We want to make it perfectly clear that this is FALSE. USCIS has NOT released any deadline to apply. Applications carry deadlines because an updated one is released by USCIS every few weeks. If you need assistance on your Deferred action application, go talk to a licensed attorney, NOT a notary. If you have trouble finding an immigration attorney you feel comfortable with, email us at dreamteamnc@gmail.com. We may be able to point you in the right direction.
Recientemente nos enteramos de un fraude en Charlotte, NC diciendo que la fecha final para aplicar para la Accion Diferida es el 28 de Febrero del 2013. Incluso dice que si uno es elegible, vayan a su oficina o les llamen para asistencia. Queremos aclarar que este anuncio es completamente FALSO. USCIS no ha dado ninguna fecha en la que se acabe accion diferida. Las aplicaciones individuales tienen una fecha porque cada par de semanas sale una version nueva. Si usted necesita asistencia en su aplicacion para accion diferida, hable con un abogado, NO con un notario. Si quiere ayuda para buscar un abogado confiable, mandenos un correo electronico al dreamteamnc@gmail.com.
Maudia Melendez, Director of Jesus Ministry Inc, telling youths to call or visit her office to apply before the “deadline”
By Justin Valas
One thing that we have [sadly] gotten used to as organizers is that sometimes, the voices of the undocumented are overlooked, ignored or misrepresented. That’s part of why we, as the NC Dream Team exist. Take, for example, September 6th, 2011.
Seven undocumented youth from across the state came out of the shadows, dropped the fear and disclosed their immigration status in a very public way. Listening to their stories and their reasons for taking this brave action painted a complex picture of the harsh reality that faces undocumented immigrants in North Carolina and around the country. They came out decrying a community college system that throws undocumented youth to the back of the bus- if not under it. Charging them four times the tuition rate [regardless of their ability to show high school diplomas or tax records that would provide in-state tuition for their documented and citizen peers] while demanding that they scavenge through the post-registration leftovers. They also called out policies and programs that blur the line between local police officers and federal immigration agents- 287g and “Secure” Communities.
It’s a shame that the complexity of the reality that they tried to expose proved too complex. Many in the media referred to the act of civil disobedience as a “DREAM Act Rally”. Potential allies looked at what happened and saw it as a chance to express their solidarity with the passage of the DREAM Act.
Don’t get me wrong- we’re not opposing the DREAM Act. Believe me, we’re not. But the reason I bring this up is because listening – really listening – to the voices of these brave youth is important. They are trying to expose their reality, the reality that we all live in- consciously or not. It is a reality that our government pursues most intensely when no one is watching.
I bring this up now because the same day that these youth undertook this action, they met another undocumented person who was caught up by the same policies they were fighting against. Javier Santos was not surrounded by hundreds of supporters at the time of his arrest. He was unceremoniously picked up by the police dragnet and received very different treatment from the youth arrested that day. While they are free today, Javier continues to sit in a detention center awaiting deportation. ICE kept him separate from his wife and children while his wife brought their third daughter into the world. He has been unable to provide for his family for the past month because of these community destroying policies. All this while President Obama claims that “low priority” cases [like Javier's] would not face deportation.
It is this reality that the undocumented youth were calling your attention to. It is Javier who needs your support and attention as much as they needed it on September 6th. Please, take action today to help bring Javier home to his family. Signing this petition is important. Making the phone calls is important. Combined, they will take less than 5 minutes of your day. You can help this father see his newborn daughter for the first time- will you?
Photos by J. Valas
Words alone cannot fully describe the scene as 7 undocumented youth -surrounded by nearly 200 supporters- took to the streets of Charlotte. If you haven’t already heard their stories, please listen to them in their own words.
Here are some photos of the brave, undocumented youth who took part in Tuesday’s action, you can find more pics of the rally, march and action over on flickr. Clips from the action can also be seen here.
In addition to the NC7, three other undocumented youth were arrested and detained: Isabel, Mohammad and Viridiana.
Photo via Charlotte Observer
UNDOCUMENTED YOUTH DROP THE FEAR IN NORTH CAROLINA
PRESS CONFERENCE ALERT
For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Domenic Powell (704) 281 - 9911
Jose Torres-Don (512) 659-1829
The NC DREAM Team will hold a press conference today in Charlotte
When: Thurs., Sept. 8, 2011 at 12:30pm
Where: Mecklenburg County Courthouse
832 East 4th Street, Charlotte, NC
We invite the immigrant community and the community of North Carolina to join us today. Three of the #NC7 undocumented youth arrested at the immigrant rights rally Tuesday have been released. They will speak directly about their experiences. Please spread the word and join us.
And please help us take action in stopping “Secure Communities” throughout our country. Sign our petition here and spread the word.
**UPDATE** See full release below.
Contact:
Domenic Powell (704) 281 - 9911
Jose Torres-Don (512) 659-1829
domenic@theniya.org
Three of ten undocumented youth released, will hold press conference today
ICE begins deportation proceedings, futures remain unclear
CHARLOTTE—Three of the ten undocumented youth arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina this Tuesday for protesting against both the discriminatory practices at public colleges in North Carolina and the devastating effects of 287g and Secure Communities have been released.
Santiago Garcia, Martin Rodriguez and Manuel Vazquez were released late last night. The other four participants, Cynthia Martinez, Marco Saavedra, Alicia Torres-Don and Angelica Velazquillo will appear in court at 1PM today. The other three undocumented activists who were arrested, Mohammad Abdollahi, Isabel Castillo and Viridiana Martinez also remain in jail.
By releasing three of the ten undocumented arrested at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, undocumented youth have proven that they can stand up to an administration eager to deport them.
“We stood up for what we believe in,” said Manuel Vazquez. “But more importantly, we stood up for ourselves and our communities.”
The action marked exactly one year before the Democratic National Convention. Until this point, Democrats have been the assumed allies of immigrants, in the face of Republican governors supporting anti-immigrant laws like Arizona’s SB1070. However, anti-immigrant policies such as 287(g) and Secure Communities have flourished under this Democratic president. Undocumented youth should not be expected to support a president who has deported more people than President Eisenhower during Operation Wetback.
Garcia was issued an Alien Number and issued paperwork stating that he was going to be transferred to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. Several other participants were issued Alien Numbers or placed in immigration holds. The future of their deportation cases is unclear. However, this action shows that the Obama Administration either still actively deports undocumented youth or has absolutely no control of its local offices.
“I thought I was on my way to Georgia,” said Garcia. “I sat in jail for hours not knowing when and if I would see my family soon.
The seven participants are now calling upon undocumented youth across the country to harness the power of being public about their status and challenge this administration’s 287(g) and Secure Communities programs. A press conference will be held today at 12:30PM in front of the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, where the three released participants will discuss the protest, their time in jail and their plans for the immediate future.
###
WHO: Manuel Vasquez, 21, of Raleigh
Martin Rodriguez, 20, of Hamptonville
Santiago Garcia, 20, of Asheville
WHAT: Participants in the civil disobedience action at Central Piedmont Community College, three of whom have been released, call on undocumented youth to shed their fears and commit t holding Democratic party leaders accountable for the injustices they perpetuate against immigrant communities.
WHERE: Mecklenburg County Courthouse; 832 East 4th Street, Charlotte, NC
WHEN: Thurs. September 8, 2021 at 1:00 pm.
By Alicia Torres-Don
In April it was in Georgia. This month, in California. The fear of being undocumented is being dropped across the nation. We as undocumented youth are coming out of the shadows as UNDOCUMENTED, UNAFRAID, UNASHAMED. We are doing this not because we enjoy the thrill of putting our lives on the line every time we come out, but because we, as the directly affected, are living the urgency of the situation on a daily basis.
We have no option to “opt out,” we are undocumented and we live our lives as undocumented. We have to face secure communities, the 287(g) program, and checkpoints on a daily basis. We have to leave our homes every morning with the image of our parents praying with all their might that we may return. We have to face and endure the constant injustices that are being committed against us, our families and our communities. It is because we see, we live, but more importantly, because we recognize that this is not right and that we have the obligation to challenge such injustices that we dare come out as UNDOCUMENTED, UNAFRAID, UNASHAMED.
We live in a time where an epidemic of anti-immigrant sentiment and injustices sweep our nation and it is our obligation to expose such injustices and to challenge these wrongs. We the undocumented have to own our status, our stories, our voice, our power. We are a collective to be reckoned with. To all the undocumented youth in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and all those states where the light seems very dim, I tell you that the power to change and challenge starts with you. Own your status, reach out, organize and challenge.
Like many of us, Erick Velazquillo was at one point living in the shadows, knowing that he was not the only one but feeling like he was-until he was put in circumstances that shook him, made him own his status, and forced him to organize. He is now fighting his deportation through his own means and the collective of undocumented youth that stand behind him. Let’s DROP the FEAR and own our status, our stories, our voice, our power. We are UNDOCUMENTED, UNAFRAID, UNASHAMED, organized and determined to challenge the many injustices that we, our families, and our communities are living. I invite you to DROP the FEAR and take a stand. Here’s how: make a simple video with your story and post it up on your Facebook and send it to us to post on our blog. The time is now.
What would you do if your brother or sister were facing deportation? Would you stand with them? Would you encourage them to fight it? The following essay was written by Angelica Velazquillo, the sister of Erick Velazquillo, who is currently in deportation proceedings. His next court date is July 19, and we need you to sign this petition to keep him home.
By Angelica Velazquillo
I have kept a low profile for years. I have felt ashamed, frustrated, and limited by a secret I have only shared with a few close friends and faculty- I am undocumented. This has caused me and my family fear of being judged, criminalized, and deported.
The weight of this secret has become unbearable, as anti-immigrant legislation has increased throughout the country. This fear became a reality when on October 11, 2021 my brother was pulled over for having his high beams on. I remember the fear on my mother’s face because we both knew what this could mean for my brother and my family.
It was a nightmare coming from the police department to my brother’s empty room, knowing he was spending the night in a jail cell. This was the first of three sleepless nights I spent wondering when I would see my brother again, and praying he would not be transferred to a detention center in Georgia.
While I have lived with fear most of my life it was not until the evening of June 9th that I realized how debilitating it was to succumb to fear. I was at the Bank of America Stadium where Costa Rica was playing soccer against El Salvador, and soon after Mexico would be playing against Cuba. I approached a lady and asked her if she would sign my brother’s petition to stop his deportation. For a fleeting moment there was panic and fear on her face.
This was the moment I realized that if I gave in to fear nothing would change. If I did not speak out against what was happening to my brother, my family, and other fellow immigrants, our struggle would be ignored. Silence would be an agreement, an approval of the injustices being committed against youth, like my brother, who would qualify for and benefit from the Dream Act passing. These young adults are being treated as criminals for a decision they did not make.
The fear that I allowed to rule me began to dissipate. I would no longer remain silent. I would no longer encourage my brother to take a voluntary departure. It was time to share our story; it was time to speak out, to break the shackles of fear we allowed to enslave us. Only with courage will we have an opportunity to help our community, to ask for accountability, and to point out the discrepancy between politicians’ words and the actions of local governments against undocumented youth.
This is why I am coming out- to share my brother’s story, to share my story, and to be a voice who encourages others to come out of the shadows.
Are you in Charlotte, NC and want to get involved? Are you undocumented and tired of being afraid? Contact dreamteamnc@gmail.com and we’ll help you get started.
Please attend Jumping Mountains: What Would You Do To Feed Your Family?, a play about immigration. Two- to three-minute monologues have been written from interviews with immigrants, some of which were members of the NC DREAM Team. The plays highlight the struggles, both internal and external, of immigrants in our community.
The students will be performing an informal staged reading of the play on Friday, April 29 at 8:30 p.m. in the Black Box theatre in Robinson Hall on the campus of UNC Charlotte. Parking and admission is free.
On Friday, a Cobb County Sheriff’s deputy in Georgia was found guilty on a total of seven counts, including sodomy, rape, false imprisonment and kidnapping of a 23-year-old undocumented woman. This bastard, Jason Bill, forced a young woman to commit sexual acts at gunpoint and under the threat of deportation. What gave him the power to make good on that threat? Oh, just an agreement called 287(g).
A little over a year ago in Charlotte, NC, another police officer named Marcus Jackson sexually assaulted six women, including a seventeen-year-old girl, before the boyfriend of one of the victims went to the police. How did the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department thank him for pointing out a disgrace to the uniform? They handed him over to ICE under 287(g).
And last year, Bedri Kulla, a former US Citizen and Immigration Services official, threatened to deport a 23-year-old woman from El Salvador who wouldn’t give him what he wanted: a sexual relationship. Kulla also attempted to contact three young female hunger strikers last summer in downtown Raleigh who chose to speak out for the DREAM Act.
Does this sound like the power you want the police in your community to have?
By Domenic Powell
Just days before the American Renaissance has its national conference in North Carolina, ALIPAC has released a statement defending the race-science publication. The American Renaissance recently made national headlines when Fox News released a memo stating that the Department of Homeland Security was directing “strong suspicion” at the publication. It was later reported that DHS had nothing to do with the statement, and Fox didn’t provide where its source came from.
That hasn’t stopped ALIPAC—which is based in North Carolina—from calling for a Congressional investigation of DHS in a statement released January 21:
“ALIPAC is calling on members of Congress to investigate why the Department of Homeland Security sent a memo to the media containing false information implying that the Tucson shooter Jared Loughner, was motivated by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ religion and stance in favor of Amnesty [sic] for illegal immigrants.”
As Politico reported ten days before ALIPAC released its statement, the erroneous memo came from the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center, not the DHS. The memo was improperly sourced by Fox News, but even that was determined over a week ago.
The Christian Science Monitor referred to the American Renaissance as an anti-immigrant group, but the primary focus of the publication is race science rather than immigration policy. The February 2011 issue discusses migration to Europe more than the United States, and does so in the context of racial preservation. It also assumes an all-white audience:
“In Life After the Collapse, Thomas Jackson reviews Archeofuturism by French author Guillaume Faye (written in 1998 and only recently translated into English). This remarkable book peers into the near and distant future, and sees “multiculturalism” running its course, leading to the fracturing and disintegration of Western nations, and speculates on what will emerge from the rubble. Dr. Faye fully recognizes the significance of race and, while strongly connected to the European peoples and their cultures, he prescribes a complete revolution of the current order as soon as possible to maximize the chances for the long-term survival of our descendants.”
The American Renaissance will hold its major conference February 4-6 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The conference will focus on “Defending the West.” The announcement of the conference states that “Ours is an era of fear and self-censorship. Virtually no whites are willing to break taboos about racial differences in IQ, the costs of “diversity,” or the challenges of non-white immigration. We are different. We believe these are vital questions.”
ALIPAC has made a serious error by perpetuating misinformation long after it was determined to be faulty. They are calling for unwarranted investigations into DHS, stirring opposition and fear of the federal government. They have done so in the defense of an organization that promotes policy that favors whites over other groups—more blatantly speaking, in defense of an organization that supports white supremacy. Any public official that is contacted by ALIPAC supporters about this issue should rebuke the organization immediately.
