Restore Fairness » Family

Restore Fairness

heidi — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:00:50 +0000

“Restore Fairness” produced by Breakthrough in association with 26 leading organizations, calls for the U.S. government to bring back due process and fairness to the immigration system. The video features the powerful voices of Congresswomen Zoe Lofgren and Lucille Roybal-Allard, Judges Dana Marks and Bruce Einhorn, and civil society leaders Anthony Romero, Donald Kerwin, Karen Narasaki and Mallika Dutt. It also gives a human face to harsh immigration laws through three very compelling personal stories – Jean Pierre Kamwa, an asylum seeker who faced mandatory detention, June Everett who lost her sister to immigration detention, and Walter Chavez and Ana Galindo, legal permanent residents who were victims of a warrantless home raid. Watch this video and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores due process and fairness to our immigration system.

Two Moms Fight to Stay Together

madhuri — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:34:10 +0000

Shirley Tan came from the Philippines decades ago, and built a life with her partner Jay, giving birth to twin boys and becoming a full-time mom. But Shirley faced the biggest challenge of her life as she fought to stay on in the United States, crippled by laws that do not allow gay and lesbian couples to sponsor their partners. Watch this video and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores due process and fairness to our immigration system.

Is 2010 the Year for Immigration Reform?

madhuri — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:54:47 +0000

On the very same day that health care reform passed in Congress, Restore Fairness joined 200,000 workers, families and communities to march for just and humane immigration reform. The atmosphere was electric. Crowds chanting slogans, waving American flags, reasserting the need to restore fundamental human rights to our broken immigration system, cheering President Obama as he extended his support to immigration reform. Watch this video and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores due process and fairness to our immigration system.

Shackled and Detained: A Pregnant Woman’s Story

heidi — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:59:40 +0000

Juana Villegas from Mexico was nine months pregnant when she was stopped for a traffic violation, for which she was later found innocent. Because of an agreement between local police and federal immigration authorities, she was detained in jail where she was shackled. As Juana began to go into labor, she was shackled in transit to the hospital and while giving birth. She was not allowed to use a breast pump or nurse her newborn child. She talks of her pain after giving birth, “The nurse brought me a breast pump… she asked permission for me to take it to jail… again the sheriff said, no.” Watch Juana’s story and take action to ensure that the U.S. government stops the continued use of local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law.

Death by Detention

heidi — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:58:49 +0000

The New York Times and the Washington Post have recently reported on the shocking “System of Neglect” in immigrant detention centers that denies basic medical care to those detainees desperately in need of it. Watch June Everett’s moving account of her sister’s death in detention – how Sandra Kenley, a 52- year-old grandmother who had lived legally in the US for 33 years “died because the American system failed her, a system we believed in, a system that needs fixing now.” Watch June tell her sister’s story and take action to ensure that the U.S. government creates legally enforceable detention standards and implements cost effective alternatives to detention.

A Mother’s Battle

heidi — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:56:33 +0000

Agatha Joseph’s daughter was only 17 when she was placed in detention. She spent 3 years fighting for her case in 7 detention centers—all for making a small mistake as a teenager. Agatha tells how officials treated her daughter, “She was in a gymnasium that housed 200 people. There was only one exit door and a fire broke out and they shut the gymnasium down and everyone was locked in.” Watch her daughter’s story and take action to ensure that the U.S. government creates legally enforceable detention standards and implements cost effective alternatives to detention.

Tearing a Family Apart

heidi — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:54:33 +0000

Betsy, an American, fell in love with a man from Italy and they started a family. In all respects he was American – he lived in the U.S for decades, was a legal permanent resident, was married to an American Citizen, and had citizen children. Yet when he was arrested, their life spiraled out of control – as he faced deportation back to Italy. Reflecting on her experience, she says “When these laws were initially passed back in 1996 they were passed to protect people… yet the people that are being deported are fathers and mothers.” Watch Betsy’s story and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores the ability of judges to consider individual circumstances so everyone receives a fair day in court.

A Surprise Visit

heidi — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:52:37 +0000

Although Sarah has been in America legally since the age of 7, with a respectable profession and two children, just one wrong decision led to a series of events that has resulted in her detention, separation from her children and exile from everything she held dear. Watch as she shares how she “this is a bad, bad dream and something has to change.” Watch Sarah’s story and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores the ability of judges to consider individual circumstances so everyone receives a fair day in court.

Don’t Deport Me, Scotty

madhuri — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:47:59 +0000

See what happens when a permanent member of a popular space crew finds his status is in question. In any galaxy, when we deny due process and human rights to some, we put all of our freedoms at risk. Watch this playful animation and take action to ensure that the U.S. government restores due process and fairness to our immigration system.