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The criminalization of dissent in the U.S.

Early in the morning on Friday, September 24, FBI agents in Chicago and Minnesota's Twin Cities kicked in the doors of anti-war activists, brandishing guns, spending hours rifling through their homes. The FBI took away computers, photos, notebooks and other personal property. Residents were issued subpoenas to appear before a grand jury in Chicago. It was just the latest in the ongoing crackdown on dissent in the U.S., targeting peace organizers as supporters of "foreign terrorist organizations."

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war on terror surveillance raids obama administration fbi dissent department of homeland security Criminalization of Dissent civil rights civil liberties activism

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When governments have contempt for the law

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There is an alarming trend in Canada in the past few months of governments demonstrating contempt for the law and for people's civil liberties.

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Criminalizing Dissent

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It’s not just the text of Bill C-36 (the anti-terrorism act due to pass the Senate before the end of December) that we need to be concerned about; it’s also the context in which the legislation is going to be implemented.

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babble: A Public Inquiry into G-20 2010 Toronto Policing is Clearly Urgently Required

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Clearly there is an urgent and alarming requirement for a public inquiry into all aspects of the police response and performance during the G-20 Toronto event.
in her own words

Harper's border deal expands the national security state

The Canada-U.S. "Beyond the Border" agreement announced in December 2011 promotes bilateral "friendship, sharing, and collaboration." These are excellent values. They are instilled in kindergarten. But if Canada wants to build an adult relationship with the United States, we need to openly address issues of civil rights, due process and accountability.

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trade agreement trade surveillance security privacy privacy law enforcement department of homeland security civil rights border security

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Privacy, civil liberties advocates issue statement of principles on Canada-U.S. perimeter agreement

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In advance of today's anticipated Canada- U.S. border deal signing in Washington, D.C., privacy and civil liberties advocates are releasing a 12-point statement of principles they hope will help guide public and parliamentary debate.

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The North American Security Perimeter should be an election issue

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On Feb. 4, 2011 a joint declaration on border security perimeter was announced by Prime Minister Harper and President Obama. No debate took place in the House of Commons.

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Stephen Harper's unilateralism at the border gets us nowhere

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Today Prime Minister Harper will fly to Washington where he's expected to sign a perimeter security and economic competitiveness deal with President Obama.

Weekly Diaspora: Big Business dictates immigration policy -- at workers' expense

By Catherine A. Traywick
| March 24, 2011

Arizona's business leaders, frustrated by the deep financial fallout of increasingly radical immigration proposals, successfully swayed state lawmakers into defeating five extremist anti-immigrant bills.

New America Media's Valeria Fernández reports that 60 executives from the likes of WellsFargo bank and U.S. Airways penned an open letter to state Senate President Russell Pearce last week, urging him to leave immigration policy to federal government. Julianne Hing at Colorlines.com has posted the letter in full, but here's the gist:

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Weekly Diaspora: The 2012 budget and our unsecured border

By Catherine A. Traywick
| March 3, 2011

President Obama is taking heat from all sides this week for his 2012 budget proposal, which proposes increased funding for immigration enforcement and border militarization. While immigrant rights advocates are predictably up in arms over the proposal, House Republicans are (somewhat uncharacteristically) demanding significant cuts to border security funding -- on the grounds that the Obama administration’s efforts to secure the border have been ineffective and fiscally irresponsible.

Obama’s future immigration priorities remain counterproductive

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Weekly Diaspora: Will $600 million border security bill target innocents?

By Catherine A. Traywick
| August 12, 2010

Anti-immigrant forces have adeptly shaped the ongoing immigration debate into an issue of crime and punishment. Now, the pending passage of a $600 million border security bill could breathe new life into the narrative of the criminal immigrant -- despite the increasing safety of our border communities.

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Weekly Immigration Wire: Building up to change

By The Media Consortium
| April 23, 2009

by Nezua, TMC MediaWire Blogger

As the U.S. moves closer and closer to enacting immigration reform, the situation on the ground is evolving as well. Nothing is static for an issue that touches so many people across so many communities. This week's wire follows up on trends observed last week: holding mainstream media accountable, enforcement tactics, and immigration's positive effect on the economy.

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Weekly Immigration Wire: 'Systematic failures' in U.S. detention healthcare

By The Media Consortium
| March 19, 2009

by Nezua TMC MediaWire Blogger

This week, two comprehensive reports on the health of immigrant detainees were released by Human Rights Watch and the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. As Public News Service reports, "Immigrants are, literally, dying for decent care."

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