Many immigrant workers work under scarce labor conditions. Photo: Alvaro Ortiz / WH

Report proposes to grant a special visa for abuses victims
labor.

Mitzi Mace
Washington Hispanic

Josué Díaz is a day labourer of New Orleans, who came to Washington DC in representation of
his partners for

to denounce the existing desbalance between the migratory laws and the respect to the labor law. This group of workpeople lived in proper meat through the nightmare of ending up in a jail demanding simply better labor conditions. As result of the absence of a migratory reform thousands of undocumented immigrants must support excessive employers before the fear of being deported.

This is the terrible reality that revealed a recent investigation realized by organizations that defend the labor law and that extracted to the light the impunity which there enjoy many employers and companies since the previous government of George W. Bush implemented severe measurements to control the illegal immigration, like the massive raids and the application of the controversial program 287 (g).

Díaz, with the support of the Center of Workpeople of New Orleans for the Racial Justice, has denounced the abuses and has initiated a campaign so that abuses do not recur any more against the workpeople. The report visa recommends the creation of one so that the victims of labor abuse are not deported and this way to assure that they should continue the employers' investigations that violate the labor laws.

“If you complain very much or demand too much, we call you to it migrates”, it is the phrase adopted as excessive employers during the last years to violate with entire impunity the labor law of the tradajadores that it hire knowingly that are undocumented.

This reality does that thousands of immigrants prefer to be quiet instead of extracting to the light the outrage and abuses that they suffer in his centers of work for fear of being deported.

In answer a group of organizations that defend the labor law of the workpeople presented a new study that it reveals how the current laws of immigration, reinforced during the administration Bush, interfere in the fulfillment of the labor laws.

Also it presents evidences that this situation takes place for the absence of a migratory reform and for the application of punitive norms against the immigrants who lack of presencial legally in the United States like the raids and the starting of the program 287 (g).
The investigation details with solid sustenance the real scopes of the labor laws and the migratory laws, and of what way they have been distorcionado in the last years to the detriment of all the workers of the country, independently of the legal status.

At the same time the titled report “ICED Out: How has the application of the migratory laws been interfered by them with the rights of the workpeople” it establishes a series of recommendations to restore the balance and the respect between both laws.

Day labourer breaks the silence

Josué Díaz is only an example of the abuses to which thousands of undocumented workpeople are exhibited. Along with his partners they decided to break the silence and denounce his employers.

The history of Josué Díaz goes back to September of last year when after the step of the hurricane Ike, in a local community of Texas, was recruited along with 11 day labourers to be employed at the reconstruction of the affected area.

In a corner of the streets of New Orleans Josué received the proposal to be employed at the houses demolition in a nearby place, under the promise of a payment for 13 dollars for hour and a sure place where to sleep. On the other hand, Josué along with other day labourers they were moved to a refinery of oil left in Beaumont, at four hours where from they were to realize dangerous demolition works without the necessary accident control measures.

“ The area was still flooded and they installed tents to sleep. They forced us to work under very poisonous measurements without the suitable team. We were witnesses how the white workpeople were receiving a different dealing and were entrusting them simple works, so we decide to demand better labor conditions. But in return they voted for us of the refinery in the night and called the police and the service of immigration and accused us of theft”, tells Josué Washington Hispanic.
This group of day labourers was imprisoned for four months until they achieved that they were withdrawing the charges from them on having demonstrated, that they had not committed any crime. But, then the Service of Immigration had them in care to initiate the deportation procedures.
“ We decide to present our case because they want to cover these abuses and the fact that the Service of Immigration is not right in his work. The workpeople we do not feel the necessary force to extract this to the light”, expresses Josué.
With the support and the consultancy of the Center of Workpeople of New Orleans for the Racial Justice, this group of day labourers presented a demand before the Commission of Equal Employment opportunities (EEOC, for his initials in English) and the office of civil rights of the Department of Work.

“ We have initiated a campaign so that this type of outrage is not repeated”, he added. Also Josué and his partners are asking the secretary of Internal Safety, Janet Napolitano grants them a "Deferred share" that allows them to remain in the country up to finishing the investigations of the case. “Otherwise it will be a responsibility of the government of Obama that the violations that our employer committed remain unpunished”, the worker Josué Díaz finished.

THE FACT
According to a mistake of the Supreme Court in case of White hairs v. Bica in 1976: "To accept that undocumented foreigners realize works in conditions below the standard in terms of wages and labor conditions can affect seriously the scale of wages and the labor conditions of citizens and foreigners admitted legally.

To use undocumented persons with these conditions can reduce the effectiveness of the trade unions and unions”.

The migratory reform presses

The report presented by the groups American Rights at Work, National Employment Law Project, and the central trade union AFL-CIO does not do any more that to demonstrate the urgency of an integral migratory reform, there assured Frank Sharry, executive director and founder of America's Voice.

“The key so that our migratory system works for all consists in legalizing all the workers, guaranteeing that all the employers hire authorized workpeople, and that apply aggressively the labor laws to themselves. This combination will level the conditions for all the workers and for the employers who expire with the laws at the time that it allows that the laws to be applied aggressively against those employers who do not respect the rules”.

Debts there has been in the distribution of the vaccine against the Flu H1N1. photo: AP

President Barack Obama decrees national state of emergency

Writing
Washington Hispanic

Due to the high activity that there has showed the influenza H1N1 2009, the President Barack Obama declared national emergency and gave powers to his health secretary so that it acts without need to continue the federal norms in the hospitals and to improve the treatment for the persons infected with the virus.

The president pointed out that the pandemic keeps on advancing and the levels of the illness increase quickly in many areas, in addition to which the possibility exists of “overloading the resources of the system of health”.

The declaration that the president signed on Friday, the 23rd allows the secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, to omit the federal norms to open alternative health centers in places out of the hospitals, like schools and community centers if it is necessary.

On the other hand, the development of the vaccine has been more complicated of what they were predicting the authorities.
In the beginning it was thought that there would be up to 120 million dose by the middle of October, but till now this number is far from being a reality.

Nevertheless, the government hopes to have approximately 50 millions of dose for middle of November and 150 millions in December.

On the other hand, nearly sixty million persons have been vaccinated against the seasonal influenza, possibly because they have put more attention to the care against the influenza in general.

The increase is due partly also to the fact that there is a major vaccines supplying. The United States is provided at present with 85 million dose against the seasonal influenza, a much major quantity of the normal thing for these dates of the autumn, said Joe Quimby, spokesman of the Centers of Control and Prevention of Illnesses (CDC for his initials in English).

The CDC informed that more than 20 thousand persons have been hospitalized by the illness. While 100 children's deaths and thousand have happened in the population in whole.

"Like nation we must be ready in all the levels of the government, as like individuals and communities, to take measures without precedents who fight the pandemic in development”
President Barack Obama

Doctor Ximena Hartsock will work for six more months like temporary director of the Department of Parks and Recreations of DC. Photo: Alvaro Ortiz/Washington Hispanic

Mitzi Mace
Washington Hispanic

Ximena Hartsock, who directs the Department of Parks and Recreations of Washington DC from the last April will remain in the position for a few months more, to sorrow that the council of the city will push his official appointment back, after a controversial hearing, last October 2.

Mayor Adrian Fenty presented last Friday, the 23rd an executive order across which it changes the Hartsock title of “director into functions” (Acting Director) to “temporary director” so that it continues with his functions until the suitable substitution should be, but it pointed out that “it will not be an easy work”.

“ It will be very difficult to obtain a person as qualified as doctor Hartsock so that of pursuit to the initiated work and make sure that the services will not be interrupted”, expressed the mayor of Washington DC.

For his part Ximena Hartsock, of Chilean origin in interview with Washington Hispanic pointed out that what more worries him is that hundreds of children and young people are harmed under a new direction. “There are great the projects that we have initiated and before going away I want to leave everything in order and under control. The most important thing is that there is continuity in the work”, he added.

With the signature of the executive order Hartsock it is authorized to remain in the position for 180 days under his new title since his initial period after the nomination of the mayor was expiring the first week of November. According to the general district attorney of DC, Peter Nickles, who supports the Hartsock work it showed that it might take less than six months finding a substitution.

Council does not agree
Before the decision of the mayor, the councilman Mary Cheh indicated in an interview in channel 8 that “the haya presented secretly under a new title, does not change the fact that we disapprove his service”.

Before this comment the Republican Committee of DC reacted and sent a letter to the council of the city where they disapprove the Cheh comment because they consider that the use of the word "smuggling", that means “contraband“ on having described the reauthorization of his charge as temporary director is “racialmente insensitively”, for doctor Hartsock is an immigrant of Chilean origin that is not an American city dweller. “The comments of the councilman Cheh were insensitive and we must not tolerate it coming from the elect official one. I hope that they should join us to re-light the language chosen by the councilman to describe a woman compromised in serving to our community”, it points out the letter signed by the president of the Republican Committee of DC, Robert J. Kabel.
For his part the DC council announced the possibility of presenting a legislative order of emergency that it establishes that when an appointment for a public position is pushed back by the council, the candidate must leave the position immediately.

Controversial hearing
Hartsock turned into the first appointment of mayor Fenty who was pushed back by the council, what was understood like a political answer more than the result of a just hearing.

The hearing was considered to be by most of the presents and of the proper Hartsock a “sexist and racist” act on having been interrogated by the councilmen Marion Barry and Harry Thomas for his migratory status and for his aptitude to understand the culture of the African American residents, as well as if for his woman's condition it would understand the sports requirements of the residents.

These actions made to react to the Hispanic community, who felt that the dealing to Hartsock was “unjust and racist”. In press conference representatives of diverse Latin organizations asked to the council it to express a public excuse and they should check the articles of association of how it is necessary to realize a hearing of just nomination based on the qualifications of the candidates and not on political passions.

Gustavo Torres, executive director of House of Maryland. Photo courteousness.

Mitzi Mace
Washington Hispanic

To know to true science what are the benefits of turning into citizen of the United States constitutes the base to motivate and to achieve that thousands of eligible immigrants conquer the barriers and decide to fulfill the real American dream on having changed the green card into the American passport.

To support this cause the Project of New American Citizens of Maryland threw a campaign to help eligible residents in the process of turning into citizens of this country and be able to exercise his right to vote.

This initiative combines with AmeriCorps, a corporation for the National and Community Service, consists of offering classes of citizenship and free consultancy in the naturalization process. For it AmeriCorps will designate seven of his members to six different organizations that are part of the Project of New Citizens of Maryland.

“ We are proud that Maryland leads the creation of the program of AmeriCorps helping the immigrants in the last step of the process of turning into Americans” there said the governing vice of Maryland, Anthony Brown.

It is believed that Maryland lodges at least 210.000 legal permanent residents to whom to the date 120.000 they are eligible to turn into citizens.

“ The goal consists of the fact that for August, 2010 at least 500 permanent residents turn into citizens. For it we will offer classes, workshops and educational fairs to advise in the naturalization process, but at the same time to report on the benefits so that the persons should take conscience on the importance of turning into citizens”, he tells to Washington Hispanic, Cecilia Murach, member of AmeriCorps, who works with House of Maryland.

The barriers

Between the principal barriers to initiate the naturalization process there is the language, the fear of the examination and the high price of the form of citizenship.

There exist many eligible residents who do not dominate the language yet by what across this initiative there will be facilitated the access to classes of English. On this point Cecilia Murach highlighted that it is not necessary to have a high level, but yes the necessary one to be able to communicate with the immigration official.

For his part Gustavo Torres, executive director of House of Maryland reconció that the principal disadvantage is to finance the request that amounts to 675 dollars. But, at the same time it highlighted that it is worth while doing the sacrifice on having recognized the benefits that an American citizen acquires.

Taking part centers

They take part of the initiative of citizenship Community College of Baltimore, Network of Information and Reference to the Foreigners, Vietnamese's Association of Maryland, Legal Center of American Asians of the Pacific Ocean, Institute of Learning for the Enrichment and Discovery in Frederick's County and HOUSE of Maryland.

For reports to call to House of Maryland (301 431-4185. The first citizenship fair will realize on November 21, 12 m. to 4 p.m. in the center of work places of Prince George's.

Leadership workshop
Adolescents and parents are invited to inform in the Workshop to develop skills of the leadership in the young people which realizes on Wednesday, the 4th of November of 7:00 pm, in Prince George's Ballroom, 2411 Pinebrook Avenue, Landover, MD 20785. For information call 301-446-3400.

Voluntariado
The Office of the Voluntariado of the County of Arlington invites the community to to integrate across his voluntariado programs. For volunteers information in Spanish, call Ileana Mayorga 703-228-1198.

Meeting
The adviser Mike Knapp will have a meeting for the community on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 7 a.m. p.m. in ‘all-purpose room’ of the elementary school South Lake, located in 18201 Contour Road Gaithersburg, MD 20877.

Closed offices
The Offices of Government of the city of Falls will be closed for the day of veterans, as well as the churches and the services of recycling which were recapturing his works on Wednesday and Thursday, the 12th of November, Community Center Schools will be opened on November 11. For information call 703-248-5081 (TTY 711).

Family parents workshop
Officers of the School Division of the Public Schools of the County of Prince William will have a meeting for family parents to provide information about the examinations SAT and the steps to request I deposit the university on Thursday, November 12, of 7:00 to 9:00p.m., in Freedom High School located in 15201 Neabsco Mills Road, Woodbridge. For information call 703.791.8720.

Walk
The Foundation Has hope invites to take part in the walk in the field of Washington DC that is realized on Sunday, the 15th of November in honor of the day of the veterans. The interested parties can register in http://www.runwashington.com/veterans10k/, the cost of $ 25 and in return they will receive a T-shirt of the Foundation It has hope.

Bilingual volunteers
The National Network of Day labourers of DC. needs bilingual volunteers for community work on payments claims with the Day labourers community. The voluntary works will be done in: Culmore, Annandale and DC. Infomación calls Alex (203) 710 4222.

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