PRESS STATEMENT: Latin American Migrants in the U.S. Condemn Massacre Against Their Brothers and Sisters in Mexico
Demand Immediate Investigation and Punishments of Those Responsible
Chicago, IL – On Wednesday August 24, 2010, news began to come out about one of the worst massacres ever occurred in Mexico, near the border with Brownsville, TX. According to news reports, the 72 bodies discovered were all Latin American migrants, mostly from El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador and Brazil. In response to this abhorrent and sad news, leaders of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC), the largest umbrella organization of Latin American and Caribbean immigrants in the U.S., issued the following statement
“The massacre committed against our brothers and sisters in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, demonstrate the level of savageness that criminal organizations are capable of exerting against fellow human beings, as well as their degree of confidence about the impunity they have come to enjoy in Mexico,” stated Angela Sanbrano, President of NALACC. “This very sad news, particularly for the children, the spouses, the parents of the migrants assassinated in Mexico; represents the greatest escalation to date of the violence spiral that has been affecting an increasing number of communities in Mexico, as well as migrants that transit throughout Mexico in search for an opportunity to reach what they hope would be a better life for themselves and their love ones in the United States of America,” added Ms. Sanbrano. “The punitive official policies, as well as the inability of the Mexican authorities to ensure the well being of all persons, including migrants in transit, have greatly contribute to the environment that leads to this horrendous crime, and many other similar abuses committed on a daily basis in Mexico, particularly against migrants,” concluded Ms. Sanbrano.
To read full press release, Click Here
NALACC's response to President Obama's speech on immigration
Inspiring Words by President Obama on Immigrants and Immigration Policy Must be Followed by Concrete Actions
While it may take years to achieve a truly fair and functional immigration policy, steps can be taken immediately to begin to pave the way
Chicago, IL. July 1, 2010
-- Following the first major speech by President Obama on immigrants and immigration, leaders of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC), the largest network of immigrant-led organizations in the country, had the following responses:
Angela Sanbrano, NALACC’s Board President stated: “We commend the President for taking a public position on immigration and immigrants, at a time of rising xenophobic and racist attacks against this very population in the U.S. and elsewhere. We could not agree more with President Obama when it comes to the invaluable role today’s immigrants play in the U.S., from the generation of wealth all around, to sacrificing their very lives while serving in the armed forces of the United States of America. At the core of our current immigration policy there is a view of today’s immigrants as a threat to the nation, which is what makes it so incredibly inhumane, broken, wasteful and dysfunctional. For a new U.S. immigration law architecture, one that is truly fair and visionary, our policy makers and the general public must recognize the value of immigrant communities, as well as the fact that we all are fellow human beings.
To read the full press release, Click Here
Attacks against immigrant communities intensify, while prospects of a worthwhile immigration reform become harder to imagine in 2010
April 19, 2010
Nearly a month after the well attended pro immigrant rights and pro immigration policy reform march and rally held in Washington D.C. on March 21, 2010, and after several simultaneous community mobilizations held in several cities throughout the U.S. on Saturday April 10, 2010, the life of immigrant communities is now under greater stress as a result of the recent anti-immigrant initiatives passed by the Arizona legislature. Unless stopped by the Governor, the proposed changes in Arizona will institutionalized racial profiling and overall prejudice against Latino immigrants, and anybody else who looks or sounds like them. If this initiative becomes law, the potential for it to become the blueprint for many other local and state governments to follow would grow exponentially. In addition, the fate of decisive action on U.S. immigration policy hangs still in the balance. We ask: Will President Obama use his remaining political capital to push for real immigration reform? Will he use his discretionary power to stop the enforcement madness of an immigration law known for its brokenness? Will the U.S. Congress find the courage to fix what is broken with U.S. immigration policy its next top priority? In light of recent events, we fear the answer to these questions may be NO.
There is a silver lining, however. And that is that immigrant communities are becoming better organize and politically savvier. We are waking up to the fact that what has come to be defined as Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) is not necessarily what in our view desperately needs fixing. The current definition of CIR is not either what immigrant communities want, or what would be best for the country. We have come to know that the way in which CIR is understood and framed by those who have the power to make it happen is very different from what immigrant communities deserve, particularly given our enormous contributions to wealth generation, tax revenues, and the cultural enrichment we provide to society. The calls for real change on immigration reform, of the sort we can really believe in, are becoming more commonplace.
We have Senators Schumer (D-NY) and Graham (R-SC) to thank for opening our eyes. In an Op-Ed piece published on March 19, 2010 in the Washington Post, they outlined a blueprint comprised of four pillars that would be the foundation of their CIR proposal: More border enforcement; a biometric social security card; a future temporary employment program for foreign workers and a “tough but fair” path to legalization that would require undocumented immigrants to admit they violated the law as an initial step on that path.
To read the full analysis, Click Here
March 19, 2010 - Joining the Call on March 21st, Latino Immigrant Leaders Urge President Obama and the U.S. Congress to Enact Changes in U.S. Immigration Law that Reflect their Value and Worth
Chicago, IL -- On Sunday, March 21, tens of thousands of immigrants and their supporters are expected to march on Washington, D.C. to remind President Obama of his promise to overhaul the U.S. immigration system and to urge the U.S. Congress to work expeditiously to enact just and humane immigration reform that reflects the value and contributions of immigrant communities. In response to this march, the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC) has issued the following press statement.
To read full press release, click here
March 19, 2010 - Report Shows IDB Projects Lead to Massive Displacement in Latin America
Failure to enforce its own policies, lack of consultation with affected parties and insistence on megaprojects have had devastating consequences on the very citizens the Bank claims to help.
Cancun, Mexico -- A new study to be released Friday, shows that megaprojects financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) have caused, or will cause, severe displacement of local populations in Latin America. Laura Carlsen, Director of the CIP Americas Program, stated, “Our findings indicate that these Bank-financed projects are displacing vulnerable populations and that in many cases, the projects don’t even comply the Bank´s own guidelines on displacement.”
To read full press relase, click here
March 2010, Remittances Found to Be of Great importance to Fiscal Health in El Salvador and Mexico
Besides their key role in alleviating poverty, remittances translate into sizable tax revenues in the two countries
Mexico City – The National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC) will be releasing today in Mexico City a study entitled “Paying Their Share: Migrant’s contributions to fiscal health in El Salvador and Mexico.” In a first of its kind, this study brings to light the way in which remittances are spent by recipients, and how in doing so, they translate into fiscal revenues in the form of Value Added Tax (VAT) in these two countries. This study is part of NALACC’s commitment to highlight who migrants are and what they represent for their countries of origin, as well as for their adopted homelands.
To read full press release, click here
To read full integrated report, click here
To read full Mexico report (Spanish only), click here
To read full El Salvador report (Spanish only), click here
“News and Media” Section and “NALACC Home Page” Are Now Being Syndicated in RSS Form
Now, from any place on the NALACC site, you can go directly to these syndications from your navigator and subscribe by clicking on the RSS symbol in the navigation bar to the right of the URL address. By subscribing to the RSS, you can now see a more compact and direct version of NALACC news at your convenience.
