8th Day Center for Justice Speaker Series: Angel Adelso Reyes

Meet Adelso! Ángel Adelso Reyes is a parish coordinator and president of the health committee of San Nicolas, Santa
Barbara. He serves as president of the commitee for ecclesiastical work of the San Nicolas Catholic Church and
coordinates the Multi-Sector Network of vulnerable groups inSan Nicolas. He is part of the group of Friends of Radio Progreso (ECOS), which supports the promotion of the radio in the valley zones in his area of Santa Barbara.

HONDURAS IS SUFFERING A DEEP CRISIS. THIS HAS NOT STOPPED JESUIT FATHER MELO AND HIS TEAM FROM CONTINUING THEIR VALIANT WORK AS ONE OF THE FEW INDEPENDENT MEDIA SOURCES IN THE COUNTRY THROUGH RADIO PROGRESO AND AT THE CENTER FOR REFLECTION, RESEARCH & TRAINING (ERIC) WHERE THEY IDENTIFY, RECRUIT AND TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS TO BUILD THE BELOVED COMMUNITY, AND TO AMPLIFY THE VOICES OF THOSE WHO ARE SOCIALLY, ECONOMICALLY OR POLITICALLY MARGINALIZED.

THIS MAY 2018, FATHER MELO AND A DELEGATION OF VICTIMS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS FROM HONDURAS WILL TRAVEL ON A TOUR TO EL PASO, SAN FRANCISCO, BOSTON AND CHICAGO TO TESTIFY ABOUT THE RISING REPRESSION IN HONDURAS AND CALL FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE. FOLLOWING THESE VISITS, THEY WILL TRAVEL TO WASHINGTON DC FOR A NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR
PEACE IN HONDURAS AND A SERIES OF MEETINGS WITH CONGRESSIONAL AND
RELIGIOUS LEADERS.

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May

8th Day Center for Justice Speaker Series:  Angel Adelso Reyes

Meet Adelso! Ángel Adelso Reyes is a parish coordinator and president of the health committee of San Nicolas, Santa
Barbara. He serves as president of the commitee for ecclesiastical work of the San Nicolas Catholic Church and
coordinates the Multi-Sector Network of vulnerable groups in San Nicolas. He is part of the group of Friends of Radio
Progreso (ECOS), which supports the promotion of the radio in the valley zones in his area of Santa Barbara.

HONDURAS IS SUFFERING A DEEP CRISIS. THIS HAS NOT STOPPED JESUIT FATHER MELO AND HIS TEAM FROM CONTINUING THEIR VALIANT WORK AS ONE OF THE FEW INDEPENDENT MEDIA SOURCES IN THE COUNTRY THROUGH RADIO PROGRESO AND AT THE CENTER FOR REFLECTION, RESEARCH & TRAINING (ERIC) WHERE THEY IDENTIFY, RECRUIT AND TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS TO BUILD THE BELOVED COMMUNITY, AND “TO BE THE VOICE OF THE VOICELESS.”

THIS MAY 2018, FATHER MELO AND A DELEGATION OF VICTIMS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS FROM HONDURAS WILL TRAVEL ON A TOUR TO EL PASO, SAN FRANCISCO, BOSTON AND CHICAGO TO TESTIFY ABOUT THE RISING REPRESSION IN HONDURAS AND CALL FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE. FOLLOWING THESE VISITS, THEY WILL TRAVEL TO WASHINGTON DC FOR A NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR PEACE IN HONDURAS AND A SERIES OF MEETINGS WITH CONGRESSIONAL AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS.

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11 CRLN staff, board and members will travel to DC April 20-23 for Ecumenical Advocacy Days and advocate for legislation that would improve the lives of Central Americans and other immigrants with Temporary Protected Status and would suspend U.S. military aid to Honduras. You can help us by giving your permission by Tuesday, April 17 to sign your name onto letters we will deliver to members of Congress or call your Representatives to support the following House bills:

 

American Promise Act of 2017 (H.R. 4253)

 

Background: Until the recent past, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for renewable periods of 6 to 18 months to immigrant applicants from countries in which civil unrest, violence, epidemic or natural disasters made it unsafe for them to return to their countries. In return, immigrants could get registration documents and authorization to work. Up through January 1, 2017, there were people from 13 countries eligible for TPS.

Under the Trump Administration, DHS is conducting a country by country review to assess whether or not to extend TPS. So far, DHS has ruled that TPS holders from Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Sudan will have to leave the U.S., despite continuing violence or lack of recovery from natural disasters in their countries of origin. TPS will continue for Syrians who came to the U.S. before August 2016, but those who came after that date cannot apply for TPS, despite the continuation of the war. The decision on whether or not to extend TPS for Hondurans has been delayed until June 2018.

 

Bill summary: H.R. 4253 would change the status of eligible immigrants from 13 countries with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) to a status of LPR, lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Immigrants would be eligible to apply if they were granted or were eligible for TPS status, or granted DED, on or before October 1, 2017. Immigrants must apply for this status change within 3 years of the bill’s date of enactment. After 5 years of LPR status, immigrants could apply to become U.S. citizens.

 

Status: Currently has 97 co-sponsors, is in the House Judiciary Committee, and has been referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, ask to be connected to the office of your U.S. Representative, and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 4253. Below are some talking points you can use:

  1. TPS holders have been in the U.S. for a long time and are well integrated into U.S. communities: Most TPS recipients have been in the U.S. for at least 15 years and many over a couple of decades. They have married U.S. citizens and/or have U.S. citizen children who were born here. It makes sense to naturalize TPS holders rather than deport them and separate them from their families and communities. In addition, 88.5% of TPS holders are in the labor force, higher than the national average. They have jobs that are essential to the economic health of the U.S.
  2. TPS holders contribute a great deal to the U.S. economy. Salvadoran, Honduran, and Haitian TPS recipients alone are projected to contribute an estimated $164 billion to America’s GDP over the next decade, according to the American Immigration Council. The AFSC cites the $6.9 billion the contribute to Social security and Medicare. They pay income taxes. Their work is integral to large industries such as construction, home health care, and hospitality.

 

The Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act (H.R. 1299)

 

Bill Summary: This bill prohibits U.S. funds from being made available to Honduras for the police or military (including for equipment and training), and directs the Department of the Treasury to instruct U.S. representatives at multilateral development banks to vote against any loans for the police or military of Honduras, until the Department of States certifies that the government of Honduras has:

  • prosecuted members of the military and police for human rights violations and ensured that such violations have ceased;
  • established the rule of law and guaranteed a judicial system capable of bringing to justice members of the police and military who have committed human rights abuses;
  • established that it protects the rights of trade unionists, journalists, human rights defenders, government critics, and civil society activists to operate without interference;
  • withdrawn the military from domestic policing; and
    brought to trial and obtained verdicts against those who ordered and carried out the attack on Felix Molina and the killings of Berta Caceres, Joel Palacios Lino, Elvis Armando Garcia, and over 100 small-farmer activists in the Aguan Valley.

 

Status: Currently has 71 co-sponsors and is in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It needs more co-sponsors, preferably some Republicans, to get out of Committee. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, ask to be connected to the office of your U.S. Representative, and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 1299. Below are some talking points you can use:

  1. The U.S. should not fund security forces that have committed such an alarming number of human rights abuses with a 97% impunity rate. Some argue that U.S. training for Honduran troops will professionalize them or that funding Honduran troops will give the U.S. influence over them, but there is no evidence of improvement since the 2009 military coup d’etat. Those who planned that coup are still in power. In fact, there is credible evidence that units of the Honduran military trained by the U.S. are operating as “death squads” and have hit lists of the leaders of various social movements. Berta Cáceres was one casualty. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/28/berta-caceres-honduras-military-intelligence-us-trained-special-forces
  2. The U.S should not entrust funds to an administration as corrupt as that of Juan Orlando Hernández’ in a country with such a weak judicial system. There is rampant institutional corruption in Honduras. High-level officials siphon off money from public institutions for their own gain or for political advantage. The looting of at least $350 million from the social security system by its chief administrator, part of which funded National Party efforts to elect current President Hernández in 2013, is an example. Officials also have been implicated in taking bribes from drug trafficking gangs in exchange for allowing gangs to operate without police interference. http://www.insightcrime.org/news-analysis/corruption-honduras-result-of-functioning-system-report
  3. The U.S. should not fund security forces used by an illegally installed president to repress nonviolent dissent against his electoral fraud. President Hernández ran for a second term, forbidden by the Honduran Constitution, and the vote count was labeled “highly irregular” by the Organization of American States, whose initial call for new elections was rebuffed. The U.S. congratulated Hernández on his “victory.” Hondurans call this a “second coup.” Hernández uses the military in domestic policing, also forbidden by the Constitution, and has formed a Military Police Force in addition to the National Police. All security forces have been deployed against the many people who protested the election results, with 30 people killed, scores wounded, and many rounded up and thrown into prison since the November elections. https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/us-policy-perpetuates-violence-honduras

 

 

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11 CRLN staff, board and members will travel to DC April 20-23 for Ecumenical Advocacy Days and advocate for legislation that would improve the lives of immigrants. You can help us by giving your permission by Tuesday, April 17 to sign your name onto letters we will deliver to members of Congress or call your Representatives to support the following:

 

At a very high level, the federal budget for FY18 provides big increases in funding for both ICE and CBP. It provides $14.018 billion for Customs and Border Protection (CBP), $1.831 billion more than last year. It also provides $7.076 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), $641 million more than last year. $370 million of this increase is for “Custody Operations”, the account that funds immigrant detention.

 

ICE has a lot of discretion over how those extra $370 million will be used. This means there’s little to guarantee that number of people held in immigrant detention won’t increase. Given this, and given that we’ve been raising concerns since last fall that ICE would use claims of increased per diem costs to get more money to fund expansion, we remain gravely concerned about the risk of large scale expansion despite the negotiated ADP numbers.

 

Although the appropriator added new language requiring ICE to submit weekly reports about the number of people it is holding in detention, we will be asking members of Congress to aggressively intervene if/when ICE begins using its funding to expand detention.

 

If your Representative or Senator voted against the bill (for the right reasons, of course), we will make sure to thank them. If they voted for the bill, especially if they had previously joined a DefundHate letter or otherwise expressed support for cutting funds, we hope to hold them accountable for their vote. We ask that members of Congress continue to push publicly for significant funding cuts to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) in the federal budget for FY19.

 

Resources:

Op-Ed – ‘We need a federal budget that values families, not one that destroys them’

Video Series – ICE lies, hides, and retaliates

Op-Ed – ‘These federal program incentivize policing. Why did Congress fund them?’

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Please join us for a house party, held in the Rogers Park neighborhood, in support of the people of Honduras. The event is co-sponsored by the International Labor Rights Forum, Witness for Peace, and CRLN

 

Date/time: Sunday, April 8, 2018  |  5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

 

RSVP:  Space is limited to 50 people and will fill up. RSVP early to gabby@ilrf.org to hold your spot and to receive the address for the event.

 

In the immigration debate, we don’t often hear about how U.S. policies play a major role in exacerbating the push factors of migration, driving people from their homes to seek safety and security in the United States. In Honduras, recent U.S. policies have legitimized a violent dictatorship and implemented trade deals that exploit cheap labor. But a people’s movement has been re-born. Hondurans young and old are risking their lives to fight for a future where they can feed their families, have decent wages, and fully participate in a democratic society, without fear of reprisal. Come meet Honduran trade union leader, Tomas Membreño, and learn how people in the U.S. can hold the federal government and corporations accountable for their actions in Honduras.

 

Featuring:

  • Tomas Membreño, STAS (Honduran Agricultural Workers Union)
  • Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D – IL)
  • Judy Gearhart and Gabby Rosazza, International Labor Rights Forum
  • Elise Roberts and John Walsh, Witness for Peace

 

Background on STAS:

 

El Sindicato de Trabajadores/as de la Agroindustria y Similares, or STAS, is a trade union that organizes workers to fight for justice on plantations in Honduras that are exporting fruit to U.S and European markets. They represent over 800 workers in the banana, melon, sugar, and palm oil sectors, industries long plagued by poverty wages and exposure to toxic pesticides. Their efforts to seek dignity in the workplace have come at a high cost, as Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a trade unionist. STAS members and union leaders have received death threats and been physically attacked for organizing workers. For the past five months, 300 palm oil workers have been on strike protesting illegal firings and severe labor violations. STAS is looking for international support for their current campaigns to win collective bargaining agreements on Fyffes melon plantations and Grupo Jaremar palm oil plantations.

 

Spread the word on Facebook and forward this email to others that may be interested!

 

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As members, we commit to the following:

  • To build networks of love and protection.
  • To make an impact on US policy toward Latin America and on immigration policy through education and advocacy.
  • To accompany our partners in Latin America who are leading the fight for human rights. We work with organizations of indigenous, African-descended, LGBTQ, women and others who are marginalized or threatened in their countries and are seeking social justice.
  • To build interfaith power for immigrant justice and act against unjust detention and deportations.
  • To participate in expanding sanctuary and meet other people and organizations resisting the criminalization of communities of color.

Membership Benefits Individual Congregational / Organizational
CRLN event tickets Advance notice and

10% discount on tickets

Advance notice, 10% discount on tickets  + 1 free ticket
Training Discounts on trainings Limited free spots in CRLN trainings plus a customized training for your congregation or organization
Input into annual programming Input at annual member meeting Input at annual member meeting
E-Digest, action alerts, issue updates & webinars Monthly E-Digest, action alerts, issue updates and invitations to webinars

 

Monthly E-Digest, action alerts, issue updates, invitations to webinars and promotion of your events related to campaigns
Other resources New member packet, interfaith toolkits and signage available for download

 

New member packet, interfaith toolkits and signage available for download as well as access to the CRLN resource library

 

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1. Contact Honduran Authorities

2. Contact US and Canadian Representatives

Long-time Honduran activist Edwin Espinal was arrested by US-trained police forces
on January 19, 2018, on trumped up charges related to protests against the
presidential election fraud on November 26, 2017. Since the elections, at least 35
demonstrators and bystanders have been killed during anti-fraud protests, the
majority carried out by state security forces which routinely fired live bullets at
protesters. In the same context, according to data from Honduran human rights
organizations, at least 393 people were injured and 76 people tortured. The Public
Prosecutor’s Office, which has two embedded US advisors, has yet to prosecute any
of the murders by state forces, but instead, has arrested and pressed charges
against dozens of pro-democracy demonstrators.

We encourage you to join the Global Day of Action today, March 19,
2018, to demand the immediate freedom of Edwin Espinal and all political prisoners in                                                                                                        Honduras.

Edwin Espinal and other 25 political prisoners have been targeted for their role in the
opposition to the elections and involvement in anti-fraud protests. They face
fabricated charges including accusations of terrorism, arson and criminal
association. Some cases are being reviewed by judges embedded in military-led
task forces and many arrests were carried out by US-trained, vetted, and financed
security forces like the special forces TIGRES unit. The majority of the 26 Honduran
political prisoners are being held in newly built US-modeled, military-run, maximum
security prisons and their cases have been plagued by the refusal of Honduran state
prosecutors to share information with their attorneys. Judges ordered pretrial
detention for all 26 political prisoners who could remain in prison for years while
awaiting trial. The political prisoners are being held in jails across the country – in the
northern cities of Tela and El Progreso, in the “La Tolva” prison in Morecelí, El
Paraiso, and the “El Pozo” jail in Ilama, Santa Barbara.

US-trained security forces and officials have not only carried out the arbitrary
detentions of political opposition and social movement leaders, but in some cases
run the prisons. Human rights defenders, journalists, and even the attorneys and
families of the accused have been denied access making it extremely difficult, if not
impossible, to verify their conditions. We know that some political prisoners have
been held for long periods in solitary confinement and denied their essential rights
under the law. This is deeply regrettable but not surprising in a political environment
where corruption and impunity are rampant.

Edwin Espinal has been subject to state harassment, violence, and threats since the
2009 US-backed coup, which has led him to receive precautionary measures by the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. On March 3rd, Edwin Espinal began
a hunger strike to demand that he, political prisoner Raúl Eduardo Álvarez, and other
inmates be taken to see a physician. There is some sort of flu-like virus circulating
inside the jail module where approximately 200 prisoners are being held. Edwin and
other prisoners have been refused medical attention for several days. In another
maximum security prison where 15 political prisoners are being held, a tuberculosis
outbreak was recently reported, suspecting at least 30 cases and 5 deaths. The
prevalence of these illness can be linked to the poor conditions inside the prison
including severe water shortages and less than adequate amounts of food provided
to prisoners

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Save the date and join CRLN, Detention Watch Network, and many other organizations in the Chicagoland area for a people’s tribunal, as we put ICE on Trial in Kankakee on April 28th. We will be calling attention to abuses in the immigration enforcement system and demanding transparency and accountability.

More information will be available soon.

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