One Love Movement, Pennsylvania                                                                                                    Providence Youth Student Movement, Rhode Island                                                             Khmer Girls in Action, California                                                                                     Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association, Louisiana                                          CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities, New York                                                        Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, Washington D.C.

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On November 1 2011, videos were submitted by community groups around the country for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) “What’s Your Story” Video challenge . Winners from the contest would have the opportunity to present their issue at the White House to White House Administration officials at an event called “Champions of Change” on April 5, 2012.

We were really excited to see Studio Revolt’s video on the issue of deportation in the Cambodian American community, My Asian Americana, be chosen for the final 11, because it meant we were being heard. It’s a video that speaks to the activism work of our community, challenges institutional oppression and unjust immigration policies, and shows the depth of our humanity.

The community and the country watched and voted, and “My Asian Americana” went viral and was viewed by thousands of people! We were thrilled. We knew a presentation at the White House would not solve the problem of deportation. But it would be a step in this long haul movement. However, Studio Revolt was not invited to the White House as one of the 9 out of 11 chosen groups, despite clear and massive public support. Our families, our communities, our pain, was silenced again.

THIS IS WHY WE’RE ANGRY

We’re angry because our country was the target of secret and illegal US bombing during an unjust war in Southeast Asia.
…because the destruction of bombing led a genocidal dictatorship to rise and wipe out nearly a third of our people.
…because we lived with unknown futures in Thai refugee camps for years.
…because as refugees in the US, we were resettled in neighborhoods that didn’t accept us.
…because we suffer from PTSD & are given little access to mental health services.
…because our teachers have limited language services to communicate with our parents.
…because we are not given quality or equal education.
…because we are bullied & beat up by our peers who don’t understand us or our history.
…because we are labeled “gang members” and racially profiled because we stick together.
…because we feel the complex heartbreak of poor choices made with little guidance.
…because rehabilitated re-entry offers few avenues to work & support our families.
…because our loved ones are detained & mandatorily deported by ICE for past mistakes.
…because the prison industry is making billions separating our families & locking us up.
…because our loved ones are torn away from us & sent back to the country we once fled.
…because our families are struggling to make ends meet.
…because our country believes in second chances, but we don’t see them.
…because we are doubly punished.
…because our community is labeled “criminal aliens.”
We’re angry because our struggle is being silenced.

“My Asian Americana” gave the public and our government yet another opportunity to understand and acknowledge the unjust conditions in which we live, and the unjust policies that dehumanize us. But that opportunity wasn’t taken, because our government considers the issue of deportation for criminal convictions “too controversial”. Our community has been campaigning and building power around this issue since 2002, and we are continuously silenced. Our government, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), prefer to label us “criminal aliens”, “threats to society”, and use our community as a political scapegoat – instead of understanding the depth and complexity of our struggle, recognizing the severe due process and proportionality violations in the law, and the long term effects deportation will have on our communities and families for decades to come.

THIS IS OUR CALL

We call on our brothers and sisters all over the country to speak out to the White House, WHIAAPI, and members of the US Congress in solidarity against deportation of those who fall under the misused and politically exploited category of “Criminal Alien”, and advocate for Southeast Asian American families. We need to fight against the racist, classist, anti-immigrant, and anti-refugee sentiment that affects all of us. We cannot allow politics to deter us from our unity as human beings and make us sacrifice one community over another.

We call on communities who are faced with school-to-prison pipeline, juvenile and criminal justice, racial profiling and re-entry issues to stand with us in this fight, because these are our experiences too. We call on communities fighting for immigrant rights to stop using “criminal” vs. “non-criminal” language in the immigration debate, as it plays into a system of language that oppresses and simplifies our stories, and divides immigrant communities.

Cambodian Americans who pledged allegiance to the flag, and are then retroactively torn away from the arms of their families for crimes they have already been punished for – is a reality for us EVERYDAY. We call on our communities to stand up and fight for what is ours – our rights, our homes, our families, our dignity – and march with love in our hearts and our fists in the air! We will not be silenced!

Here are steps you can take to get involved:

1. Organize a community screening of Studio Revolt’s My Asian Americana and Return to Sender in your home or other space. Discuss the issue and brainstorm how you can organize your community together.
 And continue to follow the work of Studio Revolt.
   
2. Write a statement against unjust and retroactive deportation for past criminal convictions, the silencing of this issue, and ICE and DHS’s destructive policies that rip families apart. Send it to the White House, WHIAAPI, and your US Congressional members. You can find out who they are at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. Send us a copy and we’ll post your letters on One Love Movement’s website: contact@onelovemovement.com
3. Become more educated on this issue and spread the tools to others. See Deported Diaspora’s Resources and Links, One Love’s Know The Issue, and Families For Freedom, Immigrant Defense Project, National Immigration Project and Detention Watch Network’s Community Organizing Manual Deportation 101.
   
4. Join the SEARAC’s legislative visit database – commit to visiting your local and federal elected officials to engage them on this issue. For more info, email searac@searac.org.
5. Read and share One Love’s Statement against the government’s use of the word “Criminal” to target our loved ones, and join our Mailing List to stay informed. And see PrYSM’s End Racial Profiling Campaign to learn how to organize against institutionalized oppression of law enforcement in your community.

Organize your family, friends, & community to STAND UP & FIGHT BACK!

On Wednesday March 14, 2012, Tania Chairez and Jessica Hyejin Lee of DreamActivist PA (DAPA), engaged in the first civil disobedience action by undocumented youth here in Philly, historically changing the course of immigrant and human rights activism in Pennsylvania. They sat cross-legged in the middle of 16th Street in front of the Regional ICE Headquarters for over an hour before they were arrested for blocking traffic by Philadelphia Police. They walked away, hands cuffed behind them, chanting loud and strong, “Undocumented! Unafraid!”

Coming out of the shadows, Jessica, Tania, their fellow organizers and supporters demanded the release of Miguel Orellana Garcia, an undocumented young person and father of two, who has been held in ICE custody for 9 months and faces deportation for crimes he committed in his past. They also demanded universal human rights for all of our communities and an end to deportations that are tearing families apart everyday. Please see the Philadelphia Inquirer story for more coverage. Please also sign this petition for Miguel’s release.

In this brave act of civil disobedience, DreamActivist PA has empowered our Philly communities to come out of the shadows and fight for our rights as human beings. One Love Movement was proud and honored to march with you, chant with you, scream with you, and hold down the line across 16th street with you. We stand strong is solidarity with communities around the country who are fighting back against oppression during the National Immigrant Youth Alliance‘s Coming Out of the Shadows Week. From California to Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Georgia to New York and Pennsylvania, undocumented young people and their families are coming out with heart, passion, and fire – inspiring people everywhere to put everything we love on the line for what is right and just for our families and our communities.

As a Cambodian-American community organizing group that fights against the deportation of those categorized as “criminal aliens” due to prior criminal convictions, we have to fight everyday to insert ourselves in a national immigration dialogue that doesn’t want its image tainted with criminal justice issues. Building across communities on a national level has always been a struggle because of that. However, as national messaging around immigration would rather see us divided along status and criminal/non-criminal lines, we have built across communities on the ground here in Philly in a way that is deep, inspiring and full of love. One Love also witnessed our DAPA allies engage in a civil disobedience in Montgomery, Alabama on November 15, 2011, in protest against the harshest state anti-immigrant laws in the country. Please read our blog post in response: A New Civil Rights Movement Starts in Alabama.

One Love Movement stands with undocumented youth and families in this struggle for our rights, our dignity, and our families, as a united community. #FWYH!

Jessica and Tania were released from police custody on March 15th. ICE declined to detain them once they learned that Jessica and Tania came out of the shadows publicly with mass community support. Please visit DreamActivist PA for more updates and upcoming actions as the fight continues.

As human beings, we cherish those closest to our hearts. One Love Movement grew out of LOVE for our family, friends, our community, and the need to keep families together. We commit to continuing this fight for human rights and dignity, and we humbly ask for your support.

One Love Movement is a 100% volunteer group of hard-working, passionate people. Help us continue spreading the word, advocating to our elected officials, and organizing our community to fight for social and political change. Your support will help keep this movement strong.

Our year so far…

MLK DAY 2012 ~ On January 16th, we marched in honor of Dr. King and the fight for Human and Civil Rights. We partnered with Juntos, Media Mobilizing Project and DreamActivist PA, to bring immigrant communities together to stand for the rights of all families. 500 people marched in the streets to the Regional ICE Headquarters at 16th and Callowhill, Philadelphia. There we declared that we will continue to fight for change in unity.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH ~ We are a grassroots movement. Our focus is building power and knowledge of criminal and immigration laws, campaign messaging and organizing strategy, within our communities. We engage in regular community meetings to inform and empower the people in our lives, so we can fight back together against policies that oppress our families and our communities.

ONE LOVE PANEL ~ On February 4th we brought together an expert panel to provide multi-faceted insight into the issue of deportation in the Cambodian community, including issues of foreign relations, behavioral health, education, the links between the criminal justice and immigration systems, and the current political landscape around immigration policy. It was a huge success! Please stay tuned for a video and written reflection right here on the One Love Blog.

CHILDREN OF THE KILLING FIELDS ~ A multi-media piece by Michael Maher of the international publication, The Global Mail, published on February 8th. Mout Iv of Olney, talks about life before and after deportation. Please view the entire story here.

Please donate here. Or if you prefer to make a donation through check, cash or money order, please contact us: contact@onelovemovement.com

We thank you for your support and love, and anything you are able to contribute to keep this movement strong!

Photo Credit: Harvey Finkle, www.harveyfinkle.com. Thank you Harvey!

New Directions: Exploring the Future of Asian American Progress

Sheraton University City : 3549 Chestnut St. Phila, PA 19104

One Love Panel 1030AM-1200PM

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Criminal and Immigration Law: A Comprehensive Analysis of Deportation in the Cambodian Refugee Community

The Cambodian community in Philadelphia, and around the country, has experienced a dramatic increase in the detention and deportation of community members on the basis of prior criminal convictions. The Obama Administration officially announced a new policy prescription in August 2011 that targets and prioritizes “criminal aliens,” or anyone with criminal histories, for removal from the United States. These policies neglect to consider the severe flaws in the immigration system, including the presence of retroactive punishment, denial of individualized review, the broad range of crimes deemed deportable, and the value of rehabilitation. The experience of Cambodian families who have been broken apart by deportation has led the community to stand up to keep their families together. Locally, a grassroots organization, One Love Movement, was formed to create more awareness of the deeper story behind what the government labels “criminal deportations.” This expert panel will provide multi-faceted insight into the issue of deportation in the Cambodian community, including issues of foreign relations, behavioral health, education, the links between the criminal justice and immigration systems, and the current political landscape around immigration policy.

Opening Remarks Councilman James F. Kenney City of Philadelphia

Panel Moderator Stella Tsai Asian Pacific American Bar Association of PA

Panelists

Ben Kiernan Professor of History and of International and Area Studies, Yale University

Rorng Sorn Executive Director, Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia

Joe In Organizer, One Love Movement

Edward McCann, Esq. First Assistant District Attorney of Philadelphia

Honorable Steven Morley Federal Immigration Judge, Philadelphia Immigration Court

Helly Lee Director of Policy, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center

Tuyet Duong Advisor on Civil Rights and Immigration, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

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Please see detailed panelist bios and registration info below.

Ben Kiernan is the A. Whitney Griswold Professor of History, Chair of the Council on Southeast Asia Studies, and founding Director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University (www.yale.edu/gsp). He also founded the Cambodian Genocide Program (www.yale.edu/cgp), which established the Documentation Center of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, uncovered the archives of the Khmer Rouge secret police, and detailed the case for an international tribunal. He is the author of How Pol Pot Came to Power: Colonialism, Nationalism and Communism in Cambodia, 1930-1975 (1985); The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-1979 (1996); and Genocide and Resistance in Southeast Asia: Documentation, Denial, and Justice in Cambodia and East Timor (2007). His edited anthologies include Genocide and Democracy in Cambodia (1993), and Conflict and Change in Cambodia (2006), for which he won the Critical Asian Studies Prize. Ben Kiernan’s latest book is the multiple award-winning Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur (2007).

Rorng Sorn is the Executive Director of the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia (CAGP).  CAGP, the city’s foundation of social, health and education programs for Cambodian refugees and their families has achieved extraordinary organizational development and growth over the past thirty years. Rorng has over 20 years of experience working in the community providing health, social and educational services to Cambodian American community members. She was a community health educator for the Albert Einstein Medical Center, a community health advocate for the Maternity Care Coalition, and a medical interpreter/health educator for the Philadelphia Health Department. She serves on the Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs and on Keystone Mercy Health Plan’s Community Advisory Committee. Rorng is Cambodian American. After surviving the Vietnam War’s effects in Cambodia, escaping the Khmer Rouge, hiding a year in the jungle between the Cambodian and Thai border, and living 8 years in refugee camps in Thailand, Rorng and her family were finally able to come to the United States as refugees in 1987 and were resettled in Philadelphia, PA. She holds a graduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice in Nonprofit/NGO Leadership.

Joe In is a Cambodian refugee who came to the United States in 1982 with his mother, sister, and aunt. His father was a soldier in the Cambodian army, and was killed fighting against the Khmer Rouge during the war in Cambodia. Joe was resettled with his family in Brooklyn, and stayed there until he was 9 years old. They then moved to the Hunting Park area of North Philly where he attended middle school at Roberto Clemente. He later moved to the Logan area of Philly and attended Olney High School. He knows first hand the flaws in the education system, including lack of resources for immigrant and refugee youth and parents, language access issues, the acceptance of bias violence in schools, and education budgets that do not put students first. He graduated and studied Business Management for 2 years at Cheyney University, but had to leave when his mother passed away in 2002. Since then he has worked as a contractor in the Philadelphia area. Joe is also an artist, producer and manager of AZI Fellas, a Cambodian Hip Hop group that formed out of Olney 8 years ago. When his friends and family were detained and deported to Cambodia in the Fall of 2010, Joe formed One Love Movement with a group of other people in the community, and has been a dedicated and passionate organizer for justice for the last 18 months.

Edward McCann has been with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office for more than 21 years. He currently serves as the First Assistant District Attorney of Philadelphia. He began his career in the Law Division, litigating miscellaneous motions
and state habeas corpus petitions on serious felony cases, including homicides. He later moved to the trial division, trying dozens of major felony and homicide cases before becoming the Chief of the Felony Waiver Unit in 1998, where he supervised attorneys with 1-3 years of experience. From 2002-2009, Ed was the Chief of the Homicide Unit, overseeing the investigation and prosecution of all homicides that occurred in the City of Philadelphia. In 2010, Ed became the Deputy of the Trial Division, overseeing more than 200 trial attorneys, detectives and support staff. Ed supervised all of the trial units in the office including the Homicide Unit, Family Violence and Sexual Assault Unit as well as all of the geographic prosecution bureaus. In 2011, Ed was promoted to First Assistant District Attorney. In this capacity he oversees the daily operations of the entire District Attorney’s Office. He is instrumental in the making of all prosecutorial, administrative and investigative decisions for the office. He has been a frequent lecturer on trial advocacy and mental health defenses for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, the National District Attorneys Association and Aequitas (the Prosecutor’s Resource on Violence Against Women).

Steven A. Morley was appointed an Immigration Judge with the Executive Office for Immigration Review in Philadelphia in December 2010. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Morley practiced immigration law as a founding partner of Morley, Surin & Griffin for nearly eight of his twenty-seven years in private practice. Before entering private practice Judge Morley was a federal and state court public defender in Philadelphia. He successfully argued Mitchell v. United States, before the United States Supreme Court, extending the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent at sentencing. He also argued numerous cases before the Third Circuit as well as before other U.S. Courts of Appeals. He was an editor of the Immigration & Nationality Handbook (AILA) for many years, and frequently lectured on immigration matters. He is adjunct instructor at Earle Mack School of Law where he has taught Immigration Law, Refugee & Asylum Law, Sentencing Law and Immigration Litigation. He has also been adjunct at Villanova Law School, Rutgers-Camden Law School and taught immigration in the paralegal program at Community College of Philadelphia. Judge Morley is an honors graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, where he also received his B.A.

Helly Lee is the Director of Policy for the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), where she focuses on immigration and poverty issues. Ms. Lee got her start in policy during her time spent on Capitol Hill as an intern and staff assistant, and later as an advocate in non-profit organizations such as Hmong National Development, Inc and the Healthy Asian Americans Project at the University of Michigan. Ms. Lee is a Board of Director with the Legacies of War organization which raises awareness about U.S. cluster munitions in Laos left over from the Vietnam War era that continue to maim and kill innocent children and villagers today. She also has an extensive background in providing direct services in the child welfare and juvenile justice fields. Ms. Lee received her Masters of Social Work with a concentration in Social Policy and Evaluation from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and her B.A. in Social Work and a concentration in Criminal Justice from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Tuyet Duong serves as the Advisor on Civil Rights and Immigration for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. She has joined the Initiative from the Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, where she worked on immigration benefits issues, border policy, language access, detention reform, and emergency response issues. Ms. Duong has spent seven years working on issues at the intersection of immigration and civil rights. Previously, she was a Senior Staff Attorney for the Immigration and Immigrant Rights Program with the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC) and led its language access and immigration policy initiatives for three years. Prior to this, Ms. Duong provided immigration legal assistance for a national ethnic nonprofit, BPSOS, Inc., in Houston, Texas for two years. Ms. Duong has also authored pamphlets on language access and disaster, and most recently, an article on family immigration in the Asian American Policy Review of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. She holds a J.D. from the University of Texas Law School and also a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Texas.

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This panel is sponsored by One Love Movement, Asian Pacific American Bar Association of PA, and Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia.

Please see the New Directions Conference schedule here and consider registering for an entire day of amazing speakers and panelists from all over the country.

Or to register for the One Love Panel only, please do so here.

CLE credit will be available to students and attorneys.

We give so much thanks to the Penn APALSA Conference Team for hosting this panel, our co-sponsoring organizations for all of your time, effort, support and love, and all the panelists and speakers for helping us tell the deeper story of our community struggle.

Come out and join One Love Movement, Media Mobilizing Project, DreamActivist Pennsylvania, and JUNTOS on MLK Day, 2012 as we march for our Human Rights!

One year ago, on MLK Day 2011, the community came together and we marched for the release of 4 Cambodian-Americans who had been detained for deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The government deported them to Cambodia in the Spring, 2011. We stayed strong and built with allies across immigrant communities and across issues.

We know that millions of immigrant families are stripped of their civil and human rights in this country everyday. Millions of us live in poverty – struggling to live without access to quality education, healthcare, housing and jobs. We are made to feel like we are isolated in this experience, but we know that is not true. Millions of American families live in these same conditions everyday. The great Martin Luther King Jr. said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

We must stand against the injustice that keeps us from living our lives with dignity, and the injustice that is breaking apart our families and communities. Laws are introduced every day to divide us and make us feel as though our struggles are not connected. We are coming together today to declare that this is not true and that we will not be divided. We see that only when we unite together can we fight back for our rights, not just for immigrants, but for all of humanity.

Now, this year we are marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day as the day immigrant communities in Philly commit to continue the fight for Human Rights for all communities and struggles. We are marking our commitment to each other. And we are marching together to show that we’re not going away. We know our families are targets. We know the deportation rate of Cambodian-Americans quadrupled last year, and will only continue to rise. We know the rate of all families being broken apart is at an all time high right now. We are fighting back together because, When our communities are under attack, what do we do? STAND UP! FIGHT BACK!

Cesar and Fernanda Marroquin. Montgomery, Alabama. November 15, 2011. Copyright Pete Pin 2011

One Love Movement stands strong in solidarity with the Alabama Youth Collective, the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, Cesar and Fernanda Marroquin of DreamActivist Pennsylvania, and the 11 other leaders who were arrested yesterday during a sit-in in front and inside of the Alabama State House in Montgomery. We are humbled by this righteous act of civil disobedience, and the will and hearts of the 13 people who took a stand in the name of Civil and Human Rights. Through an act to empower and break the cycle of fear in communities oppressed by unjust laws here in Alabama, these individuals empowered and broke our fear, and the fear of many others around the United States yesterday.

As members of the Philly community, people may wonder, why Alabama? With that, we remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail after he was arrested for civil disobedience, “I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.”

Alabama’s HB 56, the harshest anti-immigrant state legislation to date, was signed into law in June 2011. The law was written to deny undocumented immigrant families access to housing, work, education, public services, and even threatens access to utilities, such as gas and water. For example, it would require elementary and middle school administrators to report undocumented students to ICE. And violating ethics of racial equality, it would give local police the power to question and investigate people upon “reasonable suspicion” of being undocumented. Pieces of the law have been blocked or appealed in federal court on constitutional grounds. However, the introduction of the law in its original form has led to the isolation, fear, and oppression of an entire community of people. In a City and a State that has been historically known as the Cradle of Civil Rights, we know that HB 56, at it’s core, represents severe violations of those fundamental ideals.

In the spirit of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Sit-ins of the Alabama State University students at Montgomery State Capitol, the Freedom Riders, the Selma-to-Montgomery March, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech, “How Long? Not Long!”, given from the State House steps in Montgomery on March 9, 1965 – we witnessed yesterday an act of pure courage and heart. As our communities have been so divided through labeling and isolation, this nonviolent direct action in the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, has re-centered our struggle to the values of family, unity, and human dignity.

“It’s time for all immigrant rights groups to stand up together. We are all in the same struggle. With the history of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama, what they did here yesterday was necessary for us to move forward. I felt honored to witness such a powerful statement,” said Sokhom Touch, Organizer with One Love Movement.

Our thoughts and love are with Cesar and Fernanda, and all the other leaders who could now face deportation for being undocumented, as a result of standing up for us, for justice, and for the future of this movement. We watched them all be taken away by the police, standing proud and walking tall. We thank them deeply. #unafraid

“I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law…One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream…”