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Indefinite Hunger Strike at the Port Isabel Detention Center in Bayview, TX
January 18, 2010 - Anayanse Garza, Southwest Worker's Union [posted by Laura Rivas, NNIRR]
Detainees facing deportation at PIDC wage hunger strike to protest human rights abuses in and beyond the confines of the prison, standing in solidarity with Day of Action Against Arpaio, Fast for Our Families, and Jean Montrevil who is also in detention awaiting deportation.

Officials Hid Truth of Immigrant Deaths in Jails
January 9, 2010 - Nina Bernstein, New York Times [posted by Laura Rivas, NNIRR]
NY Times reveals scathing report of ICE cover-ups to stymie outside inquiry of systemic abuses and deaths of immigrants in ICE custody.

Trying to Build Bonds With Immigrant Stories
December 25, 2009 - Samuel G. Freedman, NY Times [posted by Laura Rivas, NNIRR]
BAJI and East Bay Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice partner to build stronger alliances between African Americans and immigrants in Oakland through sharing powerful stories of struggle and resistance to dispel myths about undocumented immigrants and garner support for immigration reform.

1,200 janitors fired in 'quiet' immigration raid
November 9, 2009 - Sasha Aslanian, Minnesota Public Radio [posted by Laura Rivas, NNIRR]
Obama administration continues aggressive crackdown on immigrant workers- San Francisco-based ABM Janitorial Company recently fired 1,200 immigrant workers after an ICE audit required them to re-verify work authorization documents.

NYC Muslims Charge Profiling During Terror Probe
October 11, 2009 - CBS News (Queens)/ [posted by Laura Rivas, NNIRR]
Muslim communities in Queens speak out against racial profiling, police raids and surveillance targeting Muslims, following the arrest and FBI investigation of Najibullah Zazi, accused of plotting to detonate a bomb on the NY City subways. Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), member of NNIRR, organized a community action and press conference denouncing the heightened surveillance, racial profiling and backlash against an entire community in the wake of one investigation.

The Pecos Insurrection: How a private prison pushed immigrant inmates to the brink.
October 2, 2009 - Forrest Wilder [posted by Laura Rivas], Texas Observer
Immigrant detainees raise their voices to expose and denounce ongoing and worsening human rights abuses at Reeves County Detention Center, one of the country's largest privately-run detention facility for immigrants facing deportation. Detainees organized uprising to bring attention to deaths of fellow inmates -five deaths in the span of three months- also denouncing severe abuse and mistreatment by guards including solitary confinement as tool to silence anyone seeking medical attention. Earlier this year, NNIRR spoke to several family members whose loved ones are jailed at Reeves and launched a fax/letter writing campaign urging Congressmember Ciro Rodriguez and the Department of Justice to investigate the abuses at the facility and allow for humanitarian visits.

Obama speaking about Immigration Reform
February 13, 2009 - YouTube
On the El Pistorelo radio show in Chicago, Pres. Obama asserts the importance of "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" which according to him includes "better security on the borders" and "more effective sanctions on employers", as well as providing "a pathway to citizenship." He does not respond directly to ending raids but pointed to addressing the separation of families and job creation in Mexico.

The RNC Meets to Draft Their Platform: Sparks Fly on the Issue of Illegal Immigration
August 30, 2008 - Cathi Tactaquin, NNIRR
All eyes may be on Denver this week, but the Republican National Committee began their meetings to draft an election platform today ahead of next week’s convention. Sparks flew when delegates got into debate over illegal immigration, which reflected where John McCain originally stood on the issue, but has now taken a more conservative stance.

Interpreting after the Largest ICE Raid in US History: A Personal Account
July 11, 2008 - Erik Camayd-Freixas, Ph.D. [posted by Arnoldo Garcia], NNIRR
On Monday, May 12, 2008, at 10:00 a.m., in an operation involving some 900 agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) executed a raid of Agriprocessors Inc, the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse and meat packing plant located in the town of Postville, Iowa. The raid –officials boasted– was “the largest single-site operation of its kind in American history.” At that same hour, 26 federally certified interpreters from all over the country were en route to the small neighboring city of Waterloo, Iowa, having no idea what their mission was about.On Monday, May 12, 2008, at 10:00 a.m., in an operation involving some 900 agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) executed a raid of Agriprocessors Inc, the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse and meat packing plant located in the town of Postville, Iowa. The raid –officials boasted– was “the largest single-site operation of its kind in American history.” At that same hour, 26 federally certified interpreters from all over the country were en route to the small neighboring city of Waterloo, Iowa, having no idea what their mission was about.[...] Echoing what I think was the general feeling, one of my fellow interpreters would later exclaim: “When I saw what it was really about, my heart sank…” Then began the saddest procession I have ever witnessed, which the public would never see, because cameras were not allowed past the perimeter of the compound (only a few journalists came to court the following days, notepad in hand). Driven single-file in groups of 10, shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles, chains dragging as they shuffled through, the slaughterhouse workers were brought in for arraignment, sat and listened through headsets to the interpreted initial appearance, before marching out again to be bused to different county jails, only to make room for the next row of 10.