International Human Rights Day: Our Declaration of Human Rights

Declaration of Human Rights

Convention Equal Voice for Human Rights
November 30, 2012

Community Center, Precinct #2
1429 S Tower Rd
Alamo, TX 78516

The power of human rights lies in the simple but profound idea that we all have basic rights solely by virtue of our humanity. Each individual, family and community should live in equality, dignity and freedom, with the power to participate and shape government policies and institutions that affect our lives.

Love is an emotional need that we all have. Love for thy neighbor and mutual aid leads us to the point that we all take responsibility to defend and take care of each other.

The right to have good jobs with fair wages is important because it is necessary to provide healthy food, decent housing and opportunities for the family.

It is very important to have immigration reform. We deserve to have our families united and that is why we reject separation of families. As part of reform, we should have equal access to the services we need for a dignified life, regardless of immigration status. For example, a driver’s license, an education for our children and our parents, health care and public services.

Education is important to develop intellectually, for both youth and adults. A good education opens the doors to opportunities we need to live a dignified life.

To live a dignified life, we have to live in decent housing. We need proper housing with adequate infrastructure to protect us from floods and other natural disasters.

As each and every one of us lives on this planet, the right to live in dignity also means that the environment has to be cared for. It is not fair that some enjoy a healthy natural environment when others lack this.

Health is very important because with good health, we are ready to serve our families and communities. This is why we need comprehensive medical care, of the body and mind.

Our faith guides us in our daily lives. And because we are different people with different beliefs, the right to religion should be protected in our community.

We have the right that our representatives respond to our requests and take actions to ensure our needs are met. Representatives should represent everyone, regardless of socioeconomic level, sex, gender, religion, race, or immigration status.

As an organized community in dialogue with our neighbors and loved ones, we recognize that many of our basic needs are not taken into account.

Therefore, although each and every one of us has dignity, the fact that our needs are not taken into account affects our ability to live a dignified life. We believe that a just society should ensure a decent life for every individual, family and community.

Therefore we declare:

We all have human rights because we are all human beings.
We strive for:
• Fair jobs with just wages,
• An immigration reform that will treat us like human beings,
• An education that recognizes our diverse needs to develop intellectually with access to technology,
• Adequate housing that will protect our families
• Protection to our communities so they can live in peace with space to play and exercise
• Adequate and affordable health care, regardless of immigration status or socioeconomic levels

To achieve this new society, we need to start by making our commitment to work for it. We recognize our rights because we need them. However, we are denied them. That is where our participation comes in, to demand that our human rights are respected. We commit ourselves to work to create a society that respects our rights. We are guided by these principles as we aspire to a better world – universality, equality, protection of public goods, participation, transparency and accountability.

In the same manner, we welcome other members of the community, representatives of our city, county, state, and nation, businessmen and women, leaders of faith, and each person with sincerity, to also take the opportunity to make their commitment to work for human rights.

Approved and ratified on November 30, 2012, by participants of the Equal Voice for Human Rights convention.

Section 3 campaign victory!

They’re calling it the strongest Section 3 plan in the state. And a model for all of Texas. And we made it happen!

Section 3 is the federal law that requires that federal funds be used in benefit of the low income and working families of our area.

Early this year, we organized a petition campaign calling on the Council of Governments (CoG) to accept the Section 3 plan crafted by the Equal Voice Network with input from colonia residents for the use of federal disaster recovery funds meant to help get the families affected by Hurricane Dolly back on their feet.

While the CoG did not accept all of our plans, what they did accept is still the strongest Section 3 plan in the state.

The Monitor reports on the victory:

With Obama Administration Announcement, a Sprinkle of Justice

Today we feel a sprinkle of justice.

With the announcement by the Obama administration, immigrant youth in the RGV are feeling a refreshing moment of hopefulness. After years of organizing for the DREAM Act, we are finally seeing a change in policy at the highest levels of government concerning our undocumented youth brothers and sisters. This is a recognition of the value that undocumented youth bring to this nation. Youth are hearing from the President himself that their lives are valuable and that they deserve to stay–and that he is willing to take action to make that happen.

It is refreshing as a cool summer shower.

But make no mistake, DREAMers made this happen.

BREAKING: RITA responds to Obama Announcement on DREAMer deportations

(EL PASO, Texas) — The White House announced today that the administration will provide Deferred Action for some undocumented youth.

The Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance congratulates the undocumented youth whose leadership and bold action forced this announcement. DREAMers have been occupying Obama campaign offices for weeks demanding action. And today, the White House had no choice but to respond.

SECRETARY NAPOLITANO ANNOUNCES DEFERRED ACTION PROCESS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE LOW ENFORCEMENT PRIORITIES

June 15, 2012

WASHINGTON— Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today announced that effective immediately, certain young people who were brought to the United States as young children, do not present a risk to national security or public safety, and meet several key criteria will be considered for relief from removal from the country or from entering into removal proceedings. Those who demonstrate that they meet the criteria will be eligible to receive deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and will be eligible to apply for work authorization.

Take action for local jobs and local small businesses‏!

$122 million is what’s at stake.

$122 million in federal hurricane disaster recovery funds are heading to the Valley. We want local low income residents to be hired for the projects receiving federal assistance.

For that reason we are calling on the Council of Governments to require that URS, #267 of the 500 biggest companies in America and the firm that our local representatives have hired to manage the funds, adopt the Equal Voice Network’s plan for Section 3 compliance.

The Equal Voice Network is calling on our representatives to stand up and support our plan. Our plan asks URS and the Council of Governments to:

• Ensure that 30% of all work done with the Hurricane money is by local, low income people.
• Ensure that local small businesses can compete and get contracts for the work
• Ensure that local, low income people get construction training that will be useful to the improvement of the Valley in the future.
• Ensure that the training and hiring is monitored and therefore successful.

Take action for local people and local businesses now!

In the near future, the Council of Governments will make a decision on this issue: whether to allow URS to award contracts to companies with no oversight or accountability to local residents, or to implement the Equal Voice Network’s section 3 plan and put local, low income people and local businesses to work.

We’re collecting signatures from all over the RGV to show the Council of Governments that we’re serious about creating local jobs. The more signatures, the better. We want to show our representatives that we are aware of the issue and are counting on them to support local people and local business. The sooner we collect signatures, the faster the Council of Governments will consider our petition and put local, low income residents to work.

We’ve convinced the CoG to take colonia residents into account before. Now let’s show them that when it comes to creating opportunities for local, low income people we mean business.

Click here to urge the Council of Governments to adopt this plan!

Texas Border Coalition reports on “America’s Border Security Blunders”

The Texas Border Coalition has released a study asserting that the US government’s border security policy is failing. Titled “Without Strategy: America’s Border Security Blunders Facilitate and Empower Mexico’s Drug Cartels,” the TBC unveiled the report in a press conference call Friday.

The Rio Grande Guardian reports, “TBC asserts that the U.S. government has spent nearly $90 billion over the past decade to secure the Southwest border, with no better than mixed results. It says that while apprehension rates are up to 90 percent for undocumented persons seeking to cross the frontier between designated U.S.-Mexico border crossings, Mexican drug cartels continue to enjoy commercial success, smuggling more drugs than ever into the country through the nation’s legal border crossings. Read TBC’s statement on the Guardian’s website.

The TBC’s report is not surprising and more evidence of what we have known all along. “Border Security,” motivated by political interests, does not improve security of the border communities, on either side of the border. Instead of increasing drug and weapon smuggling and human trafficking-related law enforcement efforts—the cartels’ main industries—US Customs and Border Protection has increased prosecution of non-violent border crossers, laborers in search of a means to provide for their families but denied legal means of migrating to this country. This is policy motivated by anti-immigrant politicians taking advantage of anti-immigrant sentiment.

The impact of Operation Streamline on law enforcement shows how devoting increased resources toward prosecuting non-violent border crossers has actually taken away resources from operations focused on drug and weapons smuggling and human trafficking. While the Border Patrol and Justice Department focus more resources prosecuting poor workers, serious criminals involved in organized crime are neglected.

At the same time, the militarization of the US-Mexico border has increased human rights abuses, decreasing the security of communities all along the border. Families are separated, with children ending up in the custody of relatives and increasingly of state-run foster care programs. High speed chases through densely populated neighborhoods put bystanders at danger, while lack of community oversight of Border Patrol agents allows abuse of power to persist, often resulting in physical violence against non-violent crossers and residents along the border.

While the TBC’s findings emphasize the problem, their proposed solution does not get at the root of it. Organized crime will continue to grow while the economic conditions in which organized crime flourishes persist. Failed economic policy like the North American Free Trade Agreement have put Mexican workers out of a job and pushed peasant farmers off their land. Organized crime flourishes in such dire economic conditions. Until those policies are ended and Mexico’s economy is rebuilt from the ground up, no amount of border enforcement will put a dent in their operations.

This is a further reminder that we have a major need for immigration reform. We on the border understand the intimate connection between families and communities on both sides of the border, and that increased border enforcement spending strains those relationships. Comprehensive immigration reform needs to be passed that recognizes the need for increased access to legal immigration and that does not focus on criminalizing the members of our families and communities crossing the border.

Until that happens, and until the Mexican economy is rebuilt, instead of increased spending on enforcement efforts targeting non-violent border crossers, funds should be redirected toward fighting drug smuggling and human trafficking.

While recognizing the failure of recent border enforcement policy, TBC does not recognize the complexity of the problem or the solution. TBC’s policy recommendations will not fix the problem, but rather serve as a band aid solution on a wound that runs deep.

Perry’s “Texas Miracle” – Baloney

A quick post to share this great video. Holding up a huge log of bologna, Rachel Maddow debunks the myth about Rick Perry’s Texas miracle.

Perry supporters are selling his horrible record as Governor–one that has slowed economic recovery, decreased our access to health care, and maintained our low wages–as evidence that he’d be a great presidential candidate.

What do you think?

Thanks to texaskaos.com for sharing the video.

LUPE’s organizing against wage theft getting stronger

Worker learning his rights

“Although we’re undocumented, we have rights.”

Rosario Contreras has dedicated herself to educating those around her about the rights that all immigrants have, whether documented or not. For that reason she is being trained to advocate for workers’ whose wages have been stolen.

“They abuse us because we don’t have documents. They don’t pay us the minimum wage and many of us aren’t paid at all.”

LUPE member Rosario Contreras helps lead training

At the training, organized by South Texas Civil Rights Project and LUPE, members learned that, although you might not have documents, you still have the right to organize, the right to be paid for your work, and the right to the minimum wage.

“The training was about the rights that we have, as people without documents, and how we can defend ourselves from bosses that want to abuse us,” Rosario said.

Organizer Cris Rocha trains LUPE leaders on worker rights

STCRP and LUPE are training leaders that can advocate for the rights of their fellow members and therefore better tackle the rampant problem of wage theft in the Valley. STCRP and LUPE are part of Fuerza del Valle, a new workers’ center dedicated to organizing for workers’ rights in the Rio Grande Valley.

They Get the Tax Breaks, We Get the Bill

Union workers protest the tax-payer funded bailout of Bank of America

I pay my taxes. I bet you do, too.

But a lot of big, profitable companies pay little or nothing at all. GE is a good example—the company paid no taxes last year, despite $14.2 billion in profits.

While hard-working Americans scrimp and save to pay their taxes, wealthy corporations and Wall Street banks are able to take advantage of billions in tax breaks, loopholes and handouts.

And then politicians on Capitol Hill and in the states have the nerve to tell us our country can’t afford Social Security or Medicare or education or investments in jobs.

The AFL-CIO and MoveOn.org have a better idea: Let’s make them pay.

This Tax Day, April 18, the AFL-CIO and MoveOn.org are organizing hundreds of Tax Day: Make Them Pay events to call on US lawmakers to cut corporate tax breaks, not social spending. RSVP for an event near you.