• Tania Unzueta and Sheriff Arpaio on NPR

    A group of undocumented workers sets out this week on a bus ride from Arizona to the Democratic Convention in North Carolina with the logo “No Papers, No Fear”.   We’ll hear what they have to say. In 1961 black and white students got on a bus together to ride through the South in a daring and courageous protest of Jim Crow. Yesterday in Phoenix, a new group of Freedom Riders, undocumented Latinos boarded a bus to advocate for immigration reform.

    They’re protesting what they claim is harassment at the hands of Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Up next, On Point: Is this the Freedom Bus or the UndocuBus? The issue that could profoundly affect the election for president.

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  • NY Times: Bus Ride to Live in Shadows No More

    They hope to expand on the activist role carved out by immigrants who were brought to the country as children, many of whom would be shielded from deportation under a policy enacted last month by the Obama administration. (Many of the riders on the bus are the parents of young people whose protests eventually spurred the administration’s action.)

    “I’m running this risk because I want us to be respected, I want us to be recognized as the human beings that we are,” Maria Cruz Ramirez said at the party, where she sat before a makeshift stage, surrounded by other bus riders.

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  • Democracy Now: 4 Undocumented Arizonans Reveal Status at Arpaio's Trial

    Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio took the stand for six hours this week in a civil-rights trial accusing him of using racial profiling to target undocumented immigrants in Arizona. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund filed the lawsuit on behalf of residents targeted at traffic stops for detention, despite having a valid visa and identification. As Arpaio testified, four undocumented immigrants were arrested outside the courthouse for blocking an intersection and had immigration detainers placed on them in jail. At least one now faces deportation.

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  • Protestors Arrested chanting "No Papers No Fear, Dignity is Finally Here"


    Even as Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was on the stand answering questions about allegations of racial profiling, a group of undocumented immigrants gathered to share their stories with the media.

    In addition to talking about living in Arizona, the group planned to "call for other undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows."

    The protest, which involved some 60 people, spilled out into the street in front of the Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse, 401 W. Washington Street in Phoenix. Dozens of police officers were called to the scene to try and clear the street.

    Video from the scene showed officers taking several people into custody and escorting them away in handcuffs. It's not yet clear exactly how many people were detained.

    The protest started with four individuals carrying a banner that said “No Papers, No Fear: Sin Papeles y Sin Miedo.”

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  • 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.

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  • Undocumented Arizonans Risk Arrest, Come Out at Arapio Trial

    Four Undocumented Arizonans Risk Arrest in Coming Out of the Shadows Civil Disobedience. ‘We Have No Papers and We Are Not Afraid Any Longer,” protestors say.

    While Arpaio testifies inside the U.S. courthouse, four undocumented individuals are in the street at the Federal Courthouse (401 W. Washington Street) with a banner that says “No Papers, No Fear: Sin Papeles y Sin Miedo.”

    The group released the following statement:

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  • We'll Make Arpaio's Job Easy Because We're Not Afraid Anymore

    I've decided I can't be afraid any more, to fight for my community and my family and against all the laws and against what Arpaio is doing to our community. That's why I've decided to be arrested in our struggle for our community and my family.

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  • Get on the Undocubus

    Get on the Undocubus

    While many undocumented immigrants are forced to live as virtual prisoners in their own homes, fearing any encounter with the government authorities, some pro-migrant activists are not only taking to the streets, they’re taking the show on the road.

    The “No Papers, No Fear” campaign will mobilize activists across the country as it blazes a trail from Phoenix, Arizona–where the SB1070 law jumpstarted the campaign for immigrant rights–through New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee–states where politicians have considered similarly draconian anti-immigrant measures. The final destination will be the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina.

    The “Undocubus,” set to take off on July 29, will mirror the example of the freedom rides of the Civil Rights movement, and like the original freedom riders, these folks know what it means to cross into hostile territory, and to challenge racist, anti-immigrant attacks through strength in numbers.

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  • Joe Arpaio Racial-Profiling Trial Draws Protestors' Calls for Justice on Opening Day

    Joe Arpaio Racial-Profiling Trial Draws Protestors' Calls for Justice on Opening Day

    Dozens of protestors converged on the Sandra Day O'Connor federal courthouse today to monitor the opening proceedings of the ACLU's racial-profiling lawsuit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his office.

    Melendres v. Arpaio, filed about four years ago, is a class-action lawsuit that includes plaintiffs alleging civil-rights violations committed by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

    "We do want to see that this justice system finds [Arpaio] guilty of abusing his powers as sheriff of Maricopa County," Promise Arizona executive director Petra Falcon says.

    Falcon doesn't believe that Arpaio is untouchable.

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  • Arpaio Opponents Protest Outside Courthouse

    Arpaio Opponents Protest Outside Courthouse

    Two small groups of opponents of Sheriff Joe Arpaio protested outside the federal courthouse in downtown Phoenix as Arpaio's department was on trial inside.
     
    Members of the Puente Movement said "The community has already found Joe Arpaio guilty – guilty of crimes against humanity, guilty of racial profiling and human rights violations."  They chanted "Arrest Arpaio, not the people."

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