Archives for January 2017

December 15, 2016

To the Honorable Mayor,  

Due to collaboration between local and federal law enforcement, President Obama’s administration deported a record 2.5 million immigrants. This has happened while southern states have approved xenophobic laws in the last few years. Persecution of immigrant communities is facilitated by racial profiling and prejudice that remains to be acknowledged, and the resulting anti­-immigrant climate promotes wage theft and labor violations. As a result, the Memphis multi-­cultural and multi-­ethnic immigrant community feels particularly targeted.

Anti-­immigrant sentiment has increased during the Obama administration and shows signs of worsening with the incoming administration. Our worry grows due to the statements that

President-­elect Donald Trump has made during his electoral campaign actively targeting Muslims, women, LGBTQIA+ people, migrants, and people of color. As the highest executive of our county, we ask that you defend our city as a place that values and protects all of its members, regardless of race, nationality, religion, or immigration status. Additionally, we are sending a similar letter to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and hope that this be a collaborative effort of both city and county.

In fact, at the November 10th meeting at El Mercadito, Mayor Strickland assured us that the

Memphis Police Department (MPD) does not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and that currently MPD officers do not ask anyone questions about residence status. Are these policies also reflected within Shelby County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO)? If not, we ask that they be adjusted by instructing SCSO deputies to not cooperate with ICE and not to ask residence status questions. We also ask you to reject indiscriminate deportations, which often result in family and community separations. Specifically, we ask that you take the following concrete steps to ensure that the SCSO does not become another arm of the President’s deportation force:

1. Adopt and implement formal policies to require the SCSO to cease collaboration with ICE and disallow any collateral arrests for immigration enforcement purposes;
2. Re­affirm publicly that SCSO shall not detain anyone for civil immigration violations, shall refuse to collaborate with ICE in any capacity, and shall require ICE officers to produce a criminal warrant against a specific person prior to entering SCSO facilities, including the County Jail.  
3. Direct the SCSO to adopt written policies regarding item 2 above;
4. Issue a formal request to the current and future federal administrations that fingerprints taken by the SCSO during booking be used only for criminal background checks, and for no other purposes, including civil immigration enforcement;
5. Re­affirm Shelby County’s commitment to assist in the prosecution of wage theft, labor violations and other crimes committed against immigrants, regardless of immigration status;
6. Commit that no local authority shall request information about or otherwise investigate the immigration status of any person; and
7. Oppose any registry based on religious identity or national origin.
8. Commit that the SCSO will not apply for any federal grant that requires cooperation with ICE.
9. Finally, we request an in­person meeting to explain and discuss our concerns in more detail. Please respond to Comunidades Unidas en Una Voz, c/o Mid­South Peace and

Justice Center, 3573 Southern Ave, Memphis, TN 38111 , or by e­mail to cuuv.memphis@gmail.com  by Monday, January 9th, 2017.  

We look forward to, and thank you, for working together to ensure that Shelby County joins the numerous communities around the nation that have acted to stand by and support those most targeted by the current hostile environment1 . If we are to preserve Shelby County as a diverse, welcoming community in which the civil and human rights of all residents are respected, we must act now.  

Sincerely,  

Comunidades Unidas en Una Voz (CUUV)  

and other organizations:

Coalition for Concerned Citizens  

Detention Watch Network

Indigenous and Hispanic Student Association  

Manna House

Memphis A. Phillip Randolph Institute

Mid­South Immigration Advocates

Mid­South Latino Chamber of Commerce  

Mid­South Peace and Justice Center

Youth and Police Relations cohort at BRIDGES Inc. CHANGE

Workers Interfaith Network

Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region

Muslims in Memphis

Pax Christi Memphis

Tennesee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC)

1  Since the presidential election, city elected officials and community advocates have responded by creating or strengthening welcoming cities policies.  
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle­news/politics/seattle­will­remain­sanctuary­city­for­immigrants­despite­trumppresidency­mayor­says/
http://www.sfexaminer.com/mayor­lee­sf­will­remain­sanctuary­city­despite­trump­presidency/ http://fortune.com/2016/11/11/new­york­los­angeles­sanctuary­cities­donald­trump/ http://fusion.net/story/370130/los­angeles­second­week­student­walkouts/
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us­news/sanctuary­cities­vow­protect­immigrants­trump­plan­n684551

It’s been a really exciting month for Streetwise Ink! After much research and deliberation, Streetwise has finally decided on the business model that will work best for our vision and goals. We are also moving forward with the creation of all the manuals, training, and legal paperwork involved in the process toward incorporating! In addition to the news of our progression, we are super ecstatic to have gotten in some much needed training and practice making the Mid-south Peace & Justice Center’s limited edition “Necessary Troublemaker” t-shirts! More updates to come as Streetwise Ink continues to venture into the screen printing business while creating jobs our awesome friends in HOPE (Homeless Organizing of Power & Equality).