* Attention: Lawyer Needed Immediately. Please read and listen to the details of Benjamin's case (below). If you know of an immigration attorney who could help out with Benjamin's case, please get in touch with Heather Bradley Kubo asap at heather@gandhibrigade.org or 301 588 1399. Benjamin needs to file certain papers this morning to stop his deportation to El Salvador, which may be a death sentence for him. Kubo said, Benjamin "is the sixth young person who I've seen deported… in the past three years. … some of them under the age of 18, most of them under the age of 25; most of whom haven't been criminally charged or haven't been convicted of any criminal charge. But for the simple fact of being Latino, for the simple fact of being foreign born, for the simple fact of being, of living in a particular neighborhood, they are being profiled for that and because of that they're being detained. People are so preoccupied with Arizona and we don't realize that Arizona is Maryland. Arizona is Virginia. Arizona is D.C. There is absolutely no difference really in the policies that Arizona has and the policies that Maryland has." Audio

WTUL News & Views interviews Wesley Ware of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana about the release a new report, “Locked Up & Out.” According to the report, youth continue to report physical and sexual abuse, psychological abuse, excessive use of lockdown and isolation, confidentiality breaches and privacy violations, as well as insufficient post-disposition representation which results in limited access to the court system and therefore a lower probability of obtaining early release when warranted.

from the TG Center:The afternoon of June 22nd at 1:40 PM, well-known community member Lance Reyna was attacked at knifepoint and left with a concussion. Lance was in a Houston Community College Central Campus 1st floor restroom when a black male with a shaved head said in falsetto, “Hey queer!” and put a knife to his throat. The attacker then told Lance to give him his valuables and then began beating Lance to the ground. Once Lance was on the ground, the attacker began kicking Lance in the head.

Lance was rushed to the emergency room. As of today, Lance is out of the hospital and being cared for by friends and family. The TG Center is taking up a collection to help offset the medical expenses associated with this attack. If you would like to donate, please come by the TG Center or call our helpline at 713-520-8586. Additionally, you can make a donation via Paypal HERE. [Read Full Story]

DIA 10: NUEVA YORK APOYA JÓVENES INMIGRANTES: Senador Schumer No Cumple Su “Deadline” de los Jóvenes Inmigrantes Después De 220 Horas en Huelga de Hambre

Melissa Schott writes, "Peace On The Streets, being a group for only five weeks, was able to organize a community forum that not only discussed the violence on the streets but was able to address the problems our community has been faced with and came up with many solutions. I have never seen such a great crowd where each person cared so much about their surroundings. In little words I would like to admit that I, Melissa Schott, am proud to be one of many in such a progressive group."

Three undocumented student leaders arrested and likely to face removal proceedings in effort to push reform

Tucson, Arizona - On May 17th, the anniversary of landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education, Arizona law enforcement arrested three undocumented leaders of the immigrant student movement. In addition to Arizona native Raul Alcaraz, Lizbeth Mateo of Los Angeles, California; Mohammad Abdollahi of Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Yahaira Carrillo of Kansas City, Missouri, were detained in Tucson, Arizona, after staging a sit-in at Senator John McCain’s office. These four leaders defied local and federal anti-immigrant laws and are risking deportation from the United States in the hope that this action will make a significant contribution to the fight for immigrant rights.

Dozens rallied all afternoon in front of McCain's office to show support for those inside (photos). Vigils and demonstrations are planned nationwide over the coming days to show solidarity with immigrants in Arizona, and urge passage of the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) as the standard for immigration reform. The DREAM Act would normalize the status of many who graduate from U.S. High Schools and entered the country as minors, as well as allowing them to pay in-state tuition at colleges and universities... read more>>> | thedreamiscoming.com

Sheriff Scott Franklin of Jena says he is trying to rid his community of drugs. Critics say he is pursuing a vendetta against the town’s Black community. At four am on July 9 of last year, more than 150 officers from 10 different agencies gathered in a large barn just outside Jena, Louisiana. The day was the culmination of an investigation that Sheriff Scott Franklin said had been going on for nearly two years. Local media was invited, and a video of the Sheriff speaking to the rowdy gathering would later appear online.

The Sheriff called the mobilization “Operation Third Option,” and he said it was about fighting drugs. However, community members say that Sheriff Franklin’s actions are part of an orchestrated revenge for the local civil rights protests that won freedom for six Black high school students - known internationally as the Jena Six - who had been charged with attempted murder for a school fight.

One thing is clear: the Sheriff spent massive resources; yet officers seized no contraband. Together with District Attorney Reed Walters, Sheriff Franklin has said he is seeking maximum penalties for people charged with small-time offenses. Further, in a parish that is eighty-five percent white, his actions have almost exclusively targeted African Americans. In a town with just over three hundred Black residents, he sent his 150 officers only into the town’s Black neighborhood.

In the recently released itemized receipts for repairing Kerr Hall, following an occupation of the building in November 2009, there appears to be evidence that the UC Santa Cruz administration filed a claim for damages that occurred, and may have been reimbursed for the costs. This implies that the UCSC students being held responsible for participating in the occupation are being charged for expenses that have been covered by the UC's insurance policy. This raises questions about the validly and legality of those restitution charges.

Meeting canceled after 700+ students walk out of classes and blockade TUSD headquarters. Fifteen arrested during occupation of Arizona state building

Attend the School Board meeting on Monday, May 10 (this Monday), at the Portland Public Schools Administration Offices on North Dixon. There will be student speakers at this event. The School Board meeting is scheduled from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m

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Help support the ones most affected by Portland Public Schools Redesign Plan -- the students, their families and their neighborhoods. Listen to their voices and support them in their right to be heard and listened to. It is their future at stake!

Marshall High School in outer-Southeast Portland and Benson Technical High School are the high schools which are going to be most impacted by the High School Redesign Plan. The proposal for Marshall High School includes making it a "focus" (which focus is as yet undisclosed) school with a student body of 400. Lents neighborhood teens not attending the Marshall High School "Focus" School would be attending Madison or Franklin High Schools, a substantial commute from their neighborhood. Marshall High School is a vital part of the struggling Lents neighborhood. The effective closure of Marshall High School would negatively impact the Lents community.

The proposal for Benson Technical High School is to transform it from a four-year technical high school and make it a two-year vocational school for juniors and seniors. These juniors and seniors would attend other schools but would enroll for tech classes at Benson. Both Marshall High School and Benson High School serve large populations of low income and minority youth, who will suffer from these changes.

Time has almost run out. In less than two weeks the city council will vote on Mayor Fenty’s proposed budget for 2011. If changes aren’t made before then the subsidized child-care program, which has been under-funded for years, will be cut even further. As a result child-care centers, which are also local businesses owned and staffed mostly by women, will close. Empower DC's Child Care For All campaign hosts a press conference to protest cuts in the subsidized child care program. Video || Empower DC

150+ students remain overnight in front of Tucson High School to defend ethnic studies

For those who would like to pretend that Arizona's SB1070 is not about racism, HB2281 forbids ethnic studies courses from being offered in any school district in Arizona, lumping such classes together with sedition and "promoting the overthrow of the United States government." HB2281 is specifically targeted at the Tucson Unified School District, whose raza studies students have previously organized protests of Arizona State Superintendent Tom Horne. While the law has passed both houses of the Arizona legislature, Governer Brewer has yet to sign HB2281 into law, although she is likely to do so in the coming days. As with the struggle against SB1070, students continue to lead the way in fermenting resistance to Arizona's emerging apartheid regime. READ MORE | RELATED: Immigrant Rights Activists Block Entrance to Downtown ICE Detention Center | Phoenix Suns protest SB1070 | Hunger Strike at UC Berkeley | Defeat SB1070! Thoughts from Two Days of Struggle in Houston

by RGV Student/ Farmworker Alliance published to the open publishing newswire: Last week, 15 Rio Grande Valley and 2 Houston youth made their way to Tampa, FL to participate in the Farmworker Freedom March in support of better wages and working conditions for tomato pickers in Immokalee, FL. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a farmworker organization from southwest Florida, along with allies from around the nation, gathered in Tampa for the Farmworker Freedom March, a 30 mile trek to the small city of Lakeland, where Publix, an east coast grocery store chain and current focus of the CIW's Fight for Fair Food, has their national headquarters.

Over 1300 people marched to Lakeland because farmworkers face the most brutal conditions when laboring in the tomato fields of Florida. They endure backbreaking work in extreme weather conditions for long hours without overtime or benefits of any kind, and all for per-piece wages that have remained stagnant for over 30 years.In extreme cases, workers are held against their will and forced to work for no pay with threats of violence from their overseers (slavery). Publix, the country's largest privately owned grocery chain, and a huge buyer of Florida tomatoes, pays the lowest possible market price to ensure maximum profits. Growers are then motivated to keep profits high by any means necessary, including the slavery of workers. The CIW and their allies say it is time for Publix to pay more money for tomatoes and pass on a penny per pound directly to farmworkers, a well deserved pay raise for the invaluable work they do. [Full article with photos]

Students from Across Phoenix Valley Converge on State Capitol

PHOENIX – On Thursday, hundreds of students walked out of school to protest the controversial immigration bill which is awaiting the governor's signature. As many of 300 students left Cesar Chavez High School at Baseline Road and 40th Avenue at 11 a.m. The move came despite loud speaker warnings from their principal to stay in class. Up to 700 students also left Trevor Brown and Maryvale high schools to protest the bill, alongside others from Tolleson High School, Carl Hayden High School, Metro Tech High School, and North High School.

Tuesday, April 20 at 11am, high school, University of Arizona and Pima Community College students joined community members to march on the State building in downtown Tucson to demand the Governor veto SB1070.

Many high school students reported that administrators used fear tactics to keep them from participating in today's action. Students from Tucson High were put on lock-down for a time to impede them from taking to the streets on behalf of their families and communities. Students marched to the State building in downtown Tucson to demand a meeting with a high-level member within Brewer's staff. The students continued to wait and hold vigil until a meeting occurs or until Brewer vetoes SB1070. Read More & Photos | Related: Senate Bill 1070 Protesters Arrested | Students from Across Phoenix Valley Converge on State Capitol | Marches, rallies and walkouts planned all weekend across Arizona | Civil Disobedience in Protest of SB1070