By Guest Column -- Michael Volpe——Bio and Archives--February 2, 2017
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Organizing to defend immigrant and refugee rights coursed across the nation on January 14, when ICIRR organized an immigration rally in Chicago attended by 1,200 residents in conjunction with nearly 60 other immigration rallies nationwide. The rally introduced a coalition platform supported by immigrant and refugee groups as well as unions and faith groups.ICIRR touted its Platform for Unity, Resistance and Respect which it said “includes clear demands from the community supporting welcoming policies.” It’s a “toolkit for local municipalities to advance welcoming ordinances locally,” according to Fred Tsao, ICIRR’s senior policy counsel. In a shrewd if insensitive move, ICIRR invited McCann to a panel discussion at El Cid’s restaurant shortly after Chavez was released in 2011. McCann was the only person in attendance who favored repeal of the sanctuary policy, facing off with nearly 30 people each with a sob story about a family member who had or was about to be deported. McCann said ICIRR is now reaching out to business leaders in preparation for a fight with Trump. Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), counsels that Trump could cut two grant funds immediately: State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) and Justice Assistance Grants (JAG). Both grants amount to only $3.7 million in Chicago, representing a mere sliver of Chicago’s 2017 budget that exceeded $8 billion. But Vaughan said there are other grants — specifically from the Department of Justice — which Trump could eliminate, and if he wanted to go big, he could have members of the Cook County Board and the Cook County Sheriff arrested for harboring a fugitive if a released illegal alien commits a crime. Vaughan has proposed a law named after Denny McCann called Denny’s law in which “ICE should be directed to publish a weekly list of details about the criminal aliens who are freed by the sanctuaries, including criminal histories. In addition, where possible, the victims should also be notified.” On Jan. 27 President Trump moved in the direction recommended by Vaughan when he signed Executive Order 13769, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.” As previously reported:
The order requires the Homeland Security Secretary to report to the public every 180 days how many foreign nationals in the U.S. have been charged with, convicted of, or removed from the country for terrorism-related offenses while in the U.S. or for “terrorism-related activity, affiliation, or material support to a terrorism-related organization, or any other national security reasons.” The government must also report “gender-based violence against women, including honor killings, in the United States by foreign nationals,” along with how many foreign nationals in the U.S. “have been radicalized after entry into the United States and engaged in terrorism-related acts, or who have provided material support to terrorism-related organizations in countries that pose a threat to the United States[.]” The feds also have to report on the “immigration status of foreign nationals charged with major offenses.Rahm seemed unimpressed by Executive Order 13769. “We’re gonna stay a sanctuary city,” Emanuel said. “There is no stranger among us. We welcome people, whether you’re from Poland or Pakistan, whether you’re from Ireland or India or Israel and whether you’re from Mexico or Moldova, where my grandfather came from, you are welcome in Chicago as you pursue the American Dream.” Whatever the outcome of this fight between Chicago and Trump, McCann believes it will be a tough slog: “This is a long, slow and arduous process.”
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Items of notes and interest from the web.