This is not a new poster; it was printed and distributed at the height of opposition to SB 590, but the PDF never made it up to this site. We know the struggle against borders and social repression is a long-term one, so we’re now sharing this file in the hopes that it’ll contribute to an ongoing resistance.
For 11 x 17 printing: racewarorsocialwar
Reposted message from DREAM activists in Bloomington:
We send this email to you in deep sorrow due to the arrests of FIVE courageous Indiana DREAMers (youth who are undocumented) who protested SB 590 & HB 1402 (no in-state tuition for undocumented youth) in Indianapolis at the statehouse just a couple of hours ago in order to demand that their future not be torn by these bills. Both are on Governor Mitch Daniels’ desk waiting to be signed, ignored, or vetoed. His spokeswoman said he will sign them into law in a few days. You can find the stories and news clip on the events below.
This simple last measure could mean taking away the right to education for a large number of Indiana students. We want to emphasize the injustice of these bills for Hoosiers who have worked hard in school since a very young age and have overcome so many obstacles just to make it to college. They work hard to pay for their studies, but many don’t have a pathway to legal residency! We ask you, what will they do if the price is raised so much higher? Do we want a more uneducated populous? Do we want their talent to go to waste just because their families, not them individually, had to come here to find more opportunities for a better future for these DREAMers? This is their home and Indiana is mostly all that they know. Will you speak up for them? Our legislators did not understand DREAMers’ situations or immigration as well as they should have before passing such bills. We ask you to please support and spread this message to your friends, family, professors, and to as many people as possible. These Hoosiers need the Indiana community’s help! Check out the links below to see how you can help.
Story about event: http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/may/09/six-protesters-arrested-outside-gov-mitch-daniels/?partner=RSS
(with video) http://www.theindychannel.com/news/27831083/detail.html
Picture of arrest that someone posted online: http://twitpic.com/4vn52k
Video of Sayra – Indiana Dreamer ARRESTED http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9mLaoc0e1Q&feature=youtu.be
Video of Lupe – Indiana Dreamer ARRESTED http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwSSXZbomQ4&feature=youtu.be
YOU CAN HELP: Fund to help dreamers: https://action.dreamactivist.org:443/bail/
UPDATE:
[Two days ago] at 5 a.m., as our five undocumented brothers and sisters risk being detained by ICE, they declared a hunger strike calling for the veto of SB590 and HB1402! Their request has an added sense of urgency: HB1402 becomes law today unless vetoed by Gov. Daniels.
Love and solidarity to these five courageous fighters.
Both houses of Indiana’s legislature have now passed versions of SB 590. The bill is in conference committee now, where it faces further revision. It’s likely that the final version (and the whole bill could still die in committee) will be milder than the original proposal. For example, it will most likely pass without the racial profiling provision requiring police to check immigration status. But we should keep in mind that such practices are already common, and that the rest of the bill is equally racist. Between the competing politicians, the divisive question is not “for or against racist measures,” but “how fast should those racist measures be legislated and implemented.” So if the final SB 590 eliminates the profiling measure or anything else, we need to remain watchful so that these measures are not implemented unobserved and piecemeal.
To the degree that the bill has been moderated for the time being, though, it’s because of the popular mobilization that’s happened, and which continues. Our resistance is what divides the politicians and slows their attacks. We’ll post more updates soon.
humanposter11x17 : Printable in tabloid format.
humanposterhandbill : Printable as an 8.5 x 11 handbill.
We want to briefly emphasize another racist, anti-immigrant initiative
creeping along in Indiana’s legislature. The goal of House Bill 1402
is to “prohibit resident tuition for illegal aliens.” Given the class
status of most undocumented people, the implicit aim is their
expulsion from all higher education.
SB 590 has garnered widespread opposition across the political
spectrum. Even for many anti-immigrant bigots and advocates of
heightened social control, it seems like too much, too fast. They
believe that the kind of diffuse surveillance required to keep tabs on
immigrants needs to be implemented slowly. HB 1402 is a much more
modest effort, targeting only one sector of the immigrant population,
using a reasonable, if incoherent, rhetoric.
The argument goes that if a citizen from Illinois has to pay
out-of-state tuition, it is only fair that someone in the country
illegally should as well. The obvious hole in this logic is that
it’s comparing two entirely different standards. It is conflating residency
and status, as many undocumented students have lived in Indiana most of
their lives, thus meeting the same standard as all other students receiving
in-state tuition.
The broader goal for both bills is the creation of a legal
racial-underclass. SB 590 tries to reach this goal right away, by
empowering the police to systematically target immigrants and people
of color, and through many other measures. HB 1402 is seeking to
reach it slowly, by creating a class of students for whom exceptional
laws apply: a strong foundation for prejudice that can always be built
on later.
For this reason, not only did all the House Republicans support the
bill, but half of House Democrats did as well (the initial House vote
was 75-14). And while everyone on the Left has raced to denounce SB
590, many remain silent on this bill. The loud opposition to SB 590
voiced by prominent Democrats masks their real intention, which is
the slow and rational reorganization of economic exploitation and racial
hierarchy in this state, in opposition to the hasty and haphazard rush
of the Republicans. Here in Bloomington, this point is illustrated
perfectly by a progressive City Council that votes to condemn SB 590 and
endorse heightened border security at the same time (during its March 9
session; see the Indiana Compact).
A Senate committee will schedule a hearing on HB 1402 this Wednesday, March 16th, at 1:30 PM in Room 233.
There is a rally against SB 1402 & SB 590, organized by the Indiana Student Coalition for Immigrant Rights (ISCIR), in Indianapolis on Tuesday, March 15 from 2:30-5:30pm. Meet at Indiana State Capitol Building (south stairs at the Washington St. Entrance) – 200 W Washington St. Indianapolis, IN.
Stop SB 590 