Mn Dream Act passes the Ways and Means Committee!

Dear Mn Dream Act supporters,

The Higher Education Omnibus bill, which included the Mn Dream Act, passed the Ways and Means Committee this afternoon with a 26-8 bipartisan vote!!

The Mn Dream Act, as part of the Higher Education Omnibus bill, has now successfully passed the proper committees and is ready for a full floor vote in both the House and the Senate.   Legislators believe the Senate will vote on their Higher Education Omnibus bill on Thursday and the House will vote on theirs on Friday.

THE MN DREAM ACT NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT UNTIL THE END!

Your continued support and advocacy on this issue is still very much needed; your voices have proven to fuel the engine of this movement!   In fact, during the Committee today Rep. Anderson-Kelliher acknowledged the Dream Act advocates present, asked them to stand, and applauded them.  There is still a chance that an amendment could be introduced on the House floor, and as we learned last year we're not safe until the Governor signs the bill.

TAKE ACTION:  Please call your Representative and make sure they will vote "yes" on the Higher Ed omnibus bill, which includes the Mn Dream Act.   If you have any connection to greater MN, please help spread the word.

COME TO THE CAPITOL:  As of now, we expect the Dream Act to be voted on the House floor Friday morning.   Legislators urged us to pack the house with supporters.  If you are able to make it on Friday, make sure to call us at 612-310-2186, because plans change frequently.   We're in the process of setting up a hotline where you can phone in for the most current information.

WHAT'S NEXT:

Thursday: Floor vote in the Senate  (tentative)

Friday: Floor vote in the House  (tentative)

-Conference Committee (the bill's language is the same in both bills, so this shouldn't be a problem)

-Floor votes in the Senate and House

-Higher Ed Omnibus signed by the Governor

¡Si se puede!  Yes we can!

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media coverage of Sunday's march

Here are some links to media coverage of this Sunday's march:

Watch videos here!
KSTP: http://kstp.dayport.com/viewer/viewerpage.php?Art_ID=166401/
WCCO: http://wcco.com/video/?cid=5  (click on the video)
KARE-11: http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=122730

Print media:
Star Tribune:  http://www.startribune.com/462/story/360893.html
and: http://www.startribune.com/484/story/361047.html

Pioneer Press:
-still running the AP story right now
but also: http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/14304579.htm
boo:  http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/14299502.htm

MN Daily: http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/04/10/67951

online:
Workday Minnesota
http://workdayminnesota.org/view_article.php?id=4a8ce1dd9cd1b582d9a96fdffb627ea0

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Social Justice Award Dinner. Come and Celebrate with us!

We are honored to be receiving this year's Social Justice Award from the National Lawyers Guild in Minnesota. Everyday we are committed to the fight for workers' rights and work to open the doors of justice and change to our communities. Our members are proud to be recognized for their work and commitment to the cause. Farmworkers and rural Latinos supported by our allies make this organization successful and strong. It is because of our collective work that we grow and evolve through the years as we expand our programs and campaigns.

Therefore, it is important that we share our struggles and victories with everyone that has played a role. We are expanding our humble invitation to all of you that have supported our work to come and joins on this recognition. We would love to see many of you celebrating with us as we continue working for positive social change.

Sincerely,

Jesús Torres
Community Organizer
Centro Campesino Inc.

SOCIAL JUSTICE DINNER
for more information visit: http://www.nlgminnesota.org

Saturday, April 15, 2006 starting at 6:00 p.m.
William Mitchell College of Law, 875 Summit Ave., St. Paul
Keynote Speaker:
Mara Verhayden Hilliard - Anti-War Leader and Civil Rights Attorney
Social Justice Award:
Centro Campesino - Owatonna, MN
Paul Marino People's Lawyer Award:
Rosalie Wahl - Former Justice, MN Supreme Court

The Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild is a progressive legal organization active within the state and surrounding region. We fight to protect civil liberties and human rights in the courts and in government, educate the community, and partner with a variety of groups in pursuit of the NLG mission: "to the end that human rights shall be more sacred than property interests." NLG-MN supports student chapters of the National Lawyers Guild at each of the local law schools: Hamline University School of Law, University of St. Thomas Law School, the University of Minnesota Law School, and William Mitchell College of Law. The NLG was founded in 1937. It was the first integrated bar association in the United States and its members have been actively involved in defending economic and social justice nationally and internationally ever since. For more information visit http://www.nlg.org.

PLEASE ATTEND OUR SOCIAL JUSTICE DINNER ON April 15, 2006!

Individual tickets: $40 per person Student and low-income tickets: $15
Tables: $280 -- Reserve tables by April 5, 2006

Program
6:00 p.m. Social Hour
6:30 p.m. Dinner
7:30 p.m. Awards and Speaker

William Mitchell College of Law Auditorium, 875 Summit Ave., St. Paul, MN
Call (612) 978-1936 for ticket information or e-mail president@nlgminnesota.org

- For Advertising questions or to reserve your ad contact Susan Hagler at (612)267-5563 or susanhagler@earthlink.net
- Please make checks payable to NLG-MN and send to 3547 Cedar Avenue S., Mpls, MN 55407
- Dinner Questions: (612) 436-3664 - Bruce or Lorena

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Over 40,000 souls gathered to demand Fair Immigration Reform!

Sunday April 9th, 2006 will be a day to remember for Minnesota. This was the day of real unity and solidarity for a cause that is fair and vital to our society. All over the nation thousands and thousands of immigrants as well as immigrant supporters have gone out to the streets to make their voices heard. Si se Puede! (Yes we can!) became the phrase that resonated from corner to corner, coast to coast. There is no doubt that a new movement for civil and human rights is rising again in United States as immigrants organize and unite to demand what they have earned with their hard work and the sweat of their backs.

Minnesota wanted to say Presente! and show that we are also united. Our state politicians got a taste of what our community is willing to do when their human dignity and basic human rights are denied by biased, discriminatory and racist laws. Our community is awakening and will soon demand a change that looks inevitable.

Thousands of souls gathered at the cathedral as yellow school buses kept arriving with people from all over the state. Flags from all over the world swung high in the sky as people chanted and smiled at each other. The capitol was shaken by the powerful unified voice that reached it when a 40,000 people strong crowd arrived to its steps.

This was a great success and victory for Minnesota, for immigrants, for their supporters and allies, and all the organizations that tirelessly worked to put this together. This march definitely has set the ground for a new movement that should not die and will continue to grow. Thank you to all of you that participated in this great event. Thank you for all the support as we continue the struggle for a real comprehensive and humane immigration reform.

We have to continue with the momentum and keep contacting our representatives as much as we can. Anti-inmigrant groups are flooding the senators with calls and we can do the same. Right now the senators went on a two week break and immigration reform is waiting. One thing we have to keep in mind is that we do not want just any kind of reform.

We want a reform that offers:

• Permanent residency and a path to citizenship for the over 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country.
• Family reunification
• Full respect of human, civil and labor rights.

Right now there are three bills being considered by the senate:

- The bill recently passed by the Judiciary Committee, based largely on the McCain-Kennedy bill which provides legal residency and a path to citizenship, along with a guest worker program with some guarantees of working rights. This bill also contains some restrictions on due process rights, like judicial review of immigration cases.

- The "compromise" bill sponsored by Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) that is more restrictive in providing for legal residency and due process rights.

- The bill of Sen. Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader, which basically follows the hateful policies in the Sensenbrenner 4437 bill.

Call your senators and urge them to support the senate judiciary committee bill and take a leadership role on this issue. This an election year and we have to pressure them to act according to values and moral standards. Let's make our voices heard as we do on the streets! Call, fax, e-mail, visit! Do not stop until we rise in victory!

Senator Mark Dayton
Federal Building, Suite 298
Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111
tel: 612-727-5220
fax: 612-727-5223

Senator Norm Coleman
2550 University Ave W, Suite 100N
St. Paul, MN 55114
tel: 651-645-0323
fax: 651-645-3110

PASS THIS ON TO YOUR NETWORKS

Sincerely,

Jesús Torres
Community Organizer
Centro Campesino Inc.

Visit http://www.centrocampesino.net for more information

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