What’s New?

Mariano Espinoza, MIFN Executive Director receives ‘25 on the Rise’ leadership award!

As the Executive Director of the Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network, Mariano Espinoza has led the vision to gain in-state tuition for immigrant youth – overseeing the organizing of over 1,000 students, teachers, college volunteers, and allies statewide to come together around education policy and civic engagement. Mariano was recently honored with the “25 on the Rise” award bestowed upon by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Minnesota, thereby recognizing him as a driven leader who creates and shapes the future. Mariano is an active in strengthening the field of Latino serving community-based organizations as a member of the Minnesota Collaborative of Latino Nonprofits. He participates in bridging the urban and rural divide as an elected Board Member of the Worthington Area Language Academy, a K-8 dual-immersion charter school where subjects are taught in both English and Spanish to help students become not only bilingual but also bi-literate. Mariano’s skills have elevated him to be sought at the transnational and global level, he has advised international figures from China and the United Kingdom on public policy, workplace rights and immigrant integration through the Minnesota International Center’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Mariano also served as an elected representative of the Institute of Mexicans Living Abroad, a civic leadership entity managed by the Mexican Consulate. During his free time, Mariano enjoys sharing the richness of his Puebla roots by cooking traditional recipes and sharing a meal over a Vikings game. We congratulate Mariano on his steadfast vision and comittment to lead our communities into the future!

Alondra Espejel, MIFN Associate Director, co-publishes  article for college counselors!

This winter the editors for Journal and Bulletin of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) accepted and published Alondra Espejel’s and Jennifer Godinez’s (Associate Director, Minnesota College Access Network) article titled “The Minnesota Immigrant College Access Movement: History, Policy and Recommendations to Admission Counselors.” We encourage all community members, students, policy wonks, and advocates to check out the article and share your views with us:

http://groups.google.com/group/immigrant-freedom-network/files

Building Immigrant Power, End of Year Celebration!

Dear Friends,

Please join us next Wednesday December 16th from 5:30pm – 7:00pm for our end of the year “Building Immigrant Power” party at the Global
Market’s Salsa a la Salsa Restaurant. Parking is validated at the ramp so please bring your parking ticket.

There is much to celebrate in 2009 and much to work for in 2010, we invite you to join us at this event to help us build the power and unity our immigrant community will need in order to ensure that all immigrant families and youth – regardless of immigration status – can live happily, freely, and without fear of persecution or discrimination.

What you can expect at the event:

~ $10 donation will be asked for at the door to support the work of MIFN

~ A program presented by our board and staff will begin at 6:00pm describing our work, wins, and vision for 2010

~ Spokenword artist and board member Teresa Ortiz will share some of her inspiring poems

~ Appetizers will be available at no cost, a cash bar is accessible and you can order dinner on your own if you’d like

~ How you can help: a membership booth will be available to help you become an active network member!

To help us order enough food please RSVP by emailing Denise at intern@immigrantfreedomnetwork.org or RSVP on our evite page at:

http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/ECINDMCZCFVVSZXZTZVH/MIFN

We hope to see you there!

Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network Staff and Board

MPR

Open Letter to Minnesota Public Radio

Dear Minnesota Public Radio,

As many scholars, researchers, and philosophers have noted – words have power. We write to you in the hopes that you will recognize how your outlets’ use of the words “illegal immigrant” is a disservice to news reporting. Furthermore, as the Center for New Community and the Southern Poverty Law Center, along with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, have noted – using the framework of “illegal” to label people of color is not only dehumanizing, but can be linked to an increase in hate crimes against our very own communities.

Since 2006 we have been trying to help MPR understand this dynamic, and we ask you once again to please abolish the usage of this term – just like the Mn Daily has – when covering our community. We would just like to recap the following points as to why MPR should reconsider using the word “illegal” when discussing the estimated 12 million immigrants living and working in the US without the proper visas or social security number.

-”Illegal” is not Neutral.
News reporting needs neutral wording. “Illegal immigrant” is not a balanced term, using this term polarizes the immigration debate, it does not help explain it.  The word “illegal” is a loaded term, according to the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the label carries negative stereotypes and negative connotations that immediately skew a story and fuel hate-based crimes in our community.

-Why do you only use “illegal” when describing immigrants?
We wonder, do you use the term “illegal” to label any and every person or group of people that have not met proper regulations? We have reason to believe that news outlets are using the term “illegal” only to describe Latinos or immigrants. For example, in May 2008 the Star Tribune reported that Mayor Rybak was driving with a suspended drivers license, why was he not labeled as an “illegal driver?” (See http://www.startribune.com/local/18788239.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU) We want fair journalism practices that treat every human being the same, we hope that if your news group shies away from labeling politicians and other “law breakers” as “illegal” that you do the same for immigrant people.

-Entering the US without the proper paper work is an administrative fault, not a crime.
MPR must stop misinforming the public about the infraction at play when we talk about immigrants who do not have a social security number. For example, if a news headline reads “Mn Senate considers tuition break for illegal immigrants” the headlines does not tell us much about what infraction the immigrants committed. We need descriptive yet neutral language that points to specificity. Please be informed that crossing the US-Mexico border without inspection is neither a crime nor a felony. According to US immigration law, entering the country without permission is categorized as an administrative fault.

Many people ask, “what word should we use to label these people?” The answer is not an answer, but a conversation. We are happy to meet with you to begin to discuss how human beings, those of us being distorted by the immigration system and economic inequities, can participate in creating a more just and fair media reporting system. Again, we ask that you abolish the usage of the term “illegal immigrant” from your news reporting practices.

We hope to hear from you soon,

Alondra Espejel

Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much to all those of you who were able to join us this past Saturday at the “Up in Arms: A night of Hip Hop and Spoken Word to Honor Fong Lee and End Police Brutality.” Over $3,000 were raised in funds that will go directly to the Lee family to help them cover legal costs in their journey for justice.

If you did not get a chance to donate or want to donate again please feel free to send a check payable to “Fong Lee Memorial Trust” and mail the checks to the MIFN office at:

2500 University Avenue, Suite C7

St. Paul MN 55114

You can also donate online by login on to our Paypal link at:
http://immigrantfreedomnetwork.wordpress.com/membership/

We would also like to thank the co-organizers and sponsors of this amazing event, including the Lealtad-Suzuki Center, Asian Student
Alliance, Ua Ke, DJ Club, History Department, Coalition for Community Relations, The Loft Literary Center, Shades of Yellow, Take Action
Minnesota, Communities United Against Police Brutality, Minnesota Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, and the Minnesota Immigrant
Rights Action Coalition.

If you have questions about this case or want to get involved please contact Joseph Hang, Coalition for Community Relations, at 612-747-3768.

Dear Friends and Allies,

We have a goal – to raise $5,000 by the end of 2009 – please consider joining this effort to invest in creating healthier, more unified communities!
Here are some ways you can help or participate:

VOLUNTEER AUGUST 8 and 9
MIFN will be teaming up with the Ecuadorian Civic Society for their festival scheduled to take place on Saturday August 8th and Sunday August 9th at the intersection of Lake St. and 13th Ave. We will have a booth selling raffle tickets and taquitos, can you volunteer for a couple of hours to help us run the booths?
If you can help out anytime during these days, please email us at peoplepower@immigrantfreedomnetwork.org or call our office at 651-287-0660.

TAQUIZA AT HOLY ROSARY CHURCH, SUNDAY AUGUST 16
On Sunday August 16th we will be working with Holy Rosary Church to sell tacos after the mass in Spanish, if you would like to help organize this event and sell tacos the day of, please contact us at peoplepower@immigrantfreedomnetwork.org or call our office at 651-287-0660.

HOST A HOUSE PARTY FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
Currently our Board Members are busy cleaning their houses and inviting their friends to host a house party to learn about the work of MIFN and to get connected to immigrant rights work.
We thought we would extend the invite to you as well – would you like to host a house party for immigrant rights?
We can help you figure out an outreach strategy and can help craft the invites, we just need you to invite your friends and open up your home to a night of good eating, social justice and fun.
If you would like to learn more about hosting a house party or are ready to do it, please call Teresa Ortiz at 651-287-0660 or email her at teresa@immigrantfreedomnetwork.org

BUY A RAFFLE TICKET – ONLY $20 each!
Investing in creating a better future for immigrant youth is easy, just buy some of our raffle tickets! First prize is a brand new KIA car, super shiny and a great gas saver. Second prize is a locally made brand new Surly bicycle, Crosscheck, for those of you who can’t get enough of this bike friendly city. Third prize is a free bike tune up at the Hub, as a little helping hand for bike owners. The raffle is over on August 23 of this year, we will be raffling off the items at the Spanish mass at Holy Rosary Church so hurry up and buy your ticket today!
You can come by our office Mon-Fri from 9am to 5pm to buy your tickets or purchase a ticket online by visiting this site (we will then mail you your tickets):

http://immigrantfreedomnetwork.wordpress.com/membership/

PURCHASE OUR BOOK – Democracia pero para quien? Democracy, but for whom?
Ok we haven’t really written a book – just yet – but MIFN Staff did team up with Professor Louis Mendoza to author a collaborative article about the intersections of community organizing and university activism. You can take a peek at the book cover here: http://reflections.syr.edu/

In an effort to raise funds for the work of immigrant rights, MIFN is selling the book at our offices for only $15. You can come by our office Mon-Fri from 9am to 5pm to purchase and pick up your book or you can purchase your book online by visiting this site (we will then mail you your book):

http://immigrantfreedomnetwork.wordpress.com/membership/

JOIN THE ART4JUSTICE ~ ARTE SIN FRONTERAS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
We are beginning to organize and plan for next year’s Art4Justice – Arte Sin Fronteras fundraising event. If you have experience in the arts community and have an interest in social justice, or if you want to help organize an amazing event, please contact Roman at roman@immigrantfreedomnetwork.org or call him at 651-287-0660 to get the details about how to join the planning committee. This past May we organized our very first Art4Justice event – it was a HUGE success! Artists donated their art so we could sell it and support our immigrant rights work, we also showed a movie tracing the history of the Oaxacan students’ and teachers’ struggle for equal access to education, then we connected via Skype with organizers from the movie to get an update on their movement. We had a live DJ, food, and an overall good time, so please consider joining the Organizing Committee to plan next year’s event!

Victory! $2.4 Million Dollars for Immigrant Youth

Dear Friends and Allies,

Immigrant youth have won 2.4 million dollars to help them achieve their dreams of a college education!

This July the Governor and state legislature signed a bill which gives 22 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities $2.4 million to ensure they continue to charge one tuition rate for all, regardless of citizenship status. This means immigrant youth, wherever they were born, can now attend these 22 colleges at the same rate as any Minnesota resident. Our Minnesota dream has come true and it’s even better than before as no three year rule applies.

Incredible? Yes, but even more incredible is the people power that’s made this possible. It’s people like you – hundreds of students, youth, teachers, professors, community leaders and activists that have made this win a reality!

After more than five years advocating for the Mn Dream Act, the power of youth pushed the state legislature to invest in making education more accessible to all, regardless of citizenship status.

Please share this ground breaking news with everyone you know, together we can say “si se pudo!”

There is a lot more to tell about this win, in the near future we will send you more information about the history of this victory, what it means for Minnesota education and for continued action from immigrant youth.

LIST OF SCHOOLS WITH FLAT-TUITION

See a list of In state schools that give all students flat rate tuition regardless of doument status.

Una Celebracion de Fe, Cultura y Justicia

A Celebration of Faith, Culture and Justice

Sunday August 23^rd, 2009

12:00 Noon at Holy Rosary Church, Minneapolis

MUSIC FOOD RAFFLE GAMES AND MORE!

Three items to raffle off! You could win:

First Prize - Brand New 2008 KIA Car

Second prize - Surly Bike

Third Prize - Free Bike Tune Up from HUB Bike Co-operative

Buy your $20 raffle tickets today!

2008 KIA CAR

BIKE from Sunrise Cyclery

Here is what Sunrise Cyclery has to say about the Surly Cross-Check Bike:

“This bike has proven itself over and over around the world, on the streets, in the dirt, through the muck and sleet, blazing sun and dark night, over exhilarating trials, through hectic traffic and long stretches of uninterrupted back road boredom. The Cross-Check is tough as nails and used for everything. It’s been changed very little over the years because it works great as it is.”

To buy your raffle ticket and for more information call us at 651-287-0660

Take Action to Make a Fair and Humane Immigration Reform a Reality!!

Reform Immigration for America | Home

Dear Friends and Allies,

We have some big news.

This week, hundreds of allied organizations launched the campaign to Reform Immigration FOR America in cities all across the country — from Los Angeles to Minnesota, Miami to Seattle. Yesterday, a broad coalition of allies from labor, business, and community groups officially kicked off the national campaign in Washington, DC. Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network is a part of this exciting grassroots movement for a fair and humane immigration reform, and we invite you to join us.

Thursday, over 700 advocates are descending on Capitol Hill to tell Congress:

“We cannot wait any longer. America needs a fair and humane immigration reform now.”

We can’t afford to fly you out to DC to join them in person, but we can give you a 1-click way to be there on paper.

Please take 30 seconds to send a (free) fax to your Senators, Representative, and Congressional leadership right now:

http://www.ReformImmigrationFORAmerica.org?p=MIFN

Please forward this to friends and family. Our goal is to back up those 700 advocates on the Hill with 2,500 phone calls and 20,000 faxes.

Here’s our thinking: President Obama has said reforming the immigration system is a priority for him. But it’s going to take more than just having the President on our side to win. We need 279 votes to pass comprehensive immigration reform: 218 US Representatives + 60 Senators + the President’s signature. So over the coming months, we’re going to be asking you to help us flood Congress and the White House with faxes, calls, emails, and visits to say (each in our own way):

Our economy and thousands of families are suffering under the burden of a broken system. The time has come for a just and humane immigration reform. We cannot wait any longer.

If we work together and all take action in unison we may be able to soon say “si se pudo,”

Mariano
Executive Director
Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network

12-Year-Old US Citizen to President Obama: “I Want My Mom Back”

A video of 12-year-old Gerardo Zamudio and MIFN Executive Director Mariano Espinoza on Democracy Now!, May 5, 2009.

Original link

Letters to Michelle Obama

Below is a video interview with Lalo, Pablo, and Lupita: