The struggle against racist anti-immigrant laws continues

On July 28, Federal Judge Susan Bolton placed an injunction on most of Arizona’s SB1070 until a Federal Court of Appeals rules on whether the state law is legal under the U.S. Constitution. The Court of Appeals case is now set to begin in November.

Over the summer of 2010, undocumented students organized a series of militant sit-ins and hunger strikes in support of the DREAM act, raising the level of struggle to legalize undocumented youth who attend college or serve in the military. In March, four undocumented student marched 1500 miles from Miami, Florida, to Washington D.C. to highlight the need for Congress to pass the Dream Act. In May, another four undocumented students were arrested at the offices of Arizona Republican Senator John McCain. In June, students held a hunger strike in North Carolina to pressure Democratic Senator Kay Hagen to support the DREAM act. Then in July, 20 undocumented students from across the country were arrested in Washington, D.C. as they protested to pressure more senators to support the DREAM act.

Nearly all the recent immigration proposals from within the U.S. political establishment have called for an increase in the use of soldiers to guard the U.S. Mexico border. People concerned with immigration reform should understand clearly the reasons that a further militarization of the U.S. border is unacceptable.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera. We urge all of our readers to join this effort.

The struggle to support Colombian revolutionary Ricardo Palmera and to oppose Facebook censorship continues, with a new campaign launched July 18. Facebook banned the “Free Ricardo Palmera!” group and is refusing to reinstate Tom Burke’s personal account, despite an appeal. The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera was stunned by a June 30 notification that Facebook was removing the “Free Ricardo Palmera!” group, claiming it was “hateful, threatening or obscene.”

_Anti-imperialist and anti-racist activist released after decades in prison _

Marilyn Buck, a political prisoner in the U.S., was released on July 15, 2010 from the federal prison medical center in Carswell, Texas, according to her support group, Friends of Marilyn Buck. She is paroled to New York. As of the writing of this article, no further details about her release have been made available.

_The struggle continues _

A partial victory was won today, July 12, in the struggle against facebook’s attempted censorship of the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera (NCFRP), with the reinstatement of the account of National Committee activist Josh Sykes, followed a few hours later by the reactivation of the account of Angela Denio. After the “Free Ricardo Palmera” facebook group, with more than 700 members from around the world, was shut down by facebook on June 30, the National Committee began a fight to recover this valuable resource. In response, on July 7, facebook disabled the accounts of the three administrators of the group, National Committee activists Josh Sykes, Angela Denio and Tom Burke.

Fight Back! interviewed Josh Sykes of the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera about facebook shutting down the “Free Ricardo Palmera” group on June 30. Then, on July 7, facebook disabled Josh Sykes’ personal account, along with the accounts of Angela Denio and Tom Burke.

The World Cup has caught on here in the USA. The soccer matches are on flat screen televisions in sports taverns across the country. The right wing xenophobes that denounced soccer find themselves in a pickle. Americans, like everyone else in the world, actually enjoy the game.

_Whistleblower fears for his life _

In April 2010, a video leaked from top secret military files revealed a 2007 U.S. Army helicopter assault on Baghdad where eighteen civilians were murdered, including two journalists from the news agency Reuters. The video created international uproar over the brutality of U.S. war on Iraq and infuriated the Pentagon.

Joy. Not just for communists, but anyone. You could see it when New Zealand’s Winston Reid surprised everyone with his first international goal as time ran out on the match against Slovakia. It was a good goal, but his joy, that of his teammates and ‘Kiwis’ everywhere was unsurpassed. Celebration at its best! This is repeated over and over at each World Cup.

On Friday, April 23rd, Republican Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona signed SB1070. This law makes it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant and requires police to stop and arrest people who they suspect of being undocumented. While the law will not go into effect for more than three months, some police and sheriffs in Arizona are already stopping and arresting Latinos, including native-born citizens.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Network for Economic Justice.

Analysis of health care reform

Passage of President Obama’s health care reform in late March made for great political theater. Here was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, skillfully maneuvering the bill through Congress after many had given it up for lost. Here was House minority leader and Republican point man John Boehner, reduced to ranting about ‘Armageddon’ and predicting the end of civilization as we know it if the bill passed. Here were Republican legislators egging on the mob of teabaggers who massed outside the Capitol, hurling racist and homophobic slurs at Representatives John Lewis and Barney Frank as they went inside.

The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera is launching a petition campaign targeting U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. The National Committee is demanding the U.S. government immediately release the Colombian revolutionary and stop violating Palmera’s human rights. Angela Denio said, “The U.S. government is acting like a tyrant in Colombia and abusing Ricardo Palmera in a Colorado prison by chaining him from head to toe with the constant threat of electric shock. It is outrageous. Where is Obama on all of this? He promised to stop torture.”

On to D.C. on March 21! Thousands of immigrants, supporters and activists will rally in Washington D.C. It’s time to demand legalization now for the 12 million undocumented in the U.S. The rally is important because it draws attention to the increased suffering of the millions of immigrants, especially those from Mexico and Central America. It comes at an important time where immigration reform legislation is being discussed in the U.S. congress. The rally will put pressure on President Obama and the U.S. congress to take action now – this spring – we cannot wait another year.

Fight Back! interviewed Jess Sundin, an important organizer of the anti-war movement, about the upcoming March 20 protests against the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Sundin was a key leader of the massive march on the 2008 Republican National Convention. She is also a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The March 4 national day of action for education was a huge success! Over 100,000 people marched, rallied and took action at over 100 schools and colleges. The biggest protests were in California, both on college campuses and in city streets. College students and union members joined parents with their children, as well as high school students, to demand education funding from the state government. Across the country, students, union workers and faculty marched across campuses and rallied outside administration buildings, while administrators hid or snuck out the back door. In some cases university chancellors and presidents locked themselves inside their offices surrounded by police while students tried to deliver petitions.