Greetings from the Burgh, where Payday is getting ready for a busy weekend covering legal clinics to help immigrants fighting deportation.
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Fox News “Embedded” with ICE on Immigration Raid in Boston
As ICE targeted immigrants, Fox News was allowed to embed with immigration raids in the Boston area. The arrests were later broadcast on Fox News.
While ICE does not have the resources to target immigrants at the level that many anti-immigrant groups desire, the video of the arrests has spread mass panic in immigrant communities, causing many immigrants to miss work and pay.
"I worry that a lot of families will be retreating, will be very cautious about so many different public spaces, to their detriment, and really to all of our detriment," Elizabeth Sweet, the Director of the MIRA Coalition, told WBZ.
Chicago Educators Refuse ICE Entry
Earlier today, ICE agents showed up to raid Hamline Elementary in Chicago. When they showed up, school staff refused to allow them to enter their building.
"School staff followed CPS established protocols. They kept ICE agents outside of the school and contacted CPS law department and CPS Office of Safety and Security for further guidance,” Chicago Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova said during a press conference at the school. “The ICE agents were not allowed into the school and were not permitted to speak to any students or staff members. Here is the bottom line, our students and staff are safe. Our protocols were followed."
Donate to Help Us Cover the Fight to Defend Immigrants
Across the United States, activists are fighting back and attempting to protect immigrants from deportation. Payday is going to cover an immigrant legal clinic tomorrow to show the methods people are using to defend immigrants.
Donate to help us cover the fight back to defend immigrants. Please, if you can, sign up as one of our recurring donors today.
Trump Wants Federal Employees to Snitch on Fed Employees Engaged in "Covert" DEI
This week, Trump announced the federal government had placed on leave all federal employees, who were responsible for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.
Now, the Trump Administration announced that they would penalize any federal employee that did not report on co-workers practicing DEI. Slate’s Scott Pilutik has a long look at the real desire behind these emails:
“The incoming administration is essentially bypassing human resources in favor of a wholesale Lord of the Flies approach: Let the workers hash out the first round of staffing cuts among themselves, conveniently revealing which go-getters really want the conch, and who, by their silence or by virtue of being ratted out by their co-workers, are tagged as disloyal; federal agencies will be hollowed out, not by any meaningful metric, but because workers will be turned against their colleagues, on penalty of reprisals, should they fail to root out some unknowable DEIA-based infraction.
This Machiavellian loyalty-reveal technique could have been about almost anything, but no issue probably suits Trump’s purpose better than DEIA because it serves as a proxy for party preference. Compelling workers to confess their party affiliation would be a cleaner tell, but the law still prohibits this. For now, anyway.
As a relevant aside, it’s worth noting that “Accessibility” has sneaked in, converting the pejorative use of “DEI” to “DEIA.” Is the Americans with Disabilities Act the next target? Are Republicans planning on demolishing wheelchair ramps at libraries? While it might still seem to be in the realm of the unthinkable, influential right-wing figures such as Christopher Rufo and Charlie Kirk recently took aim at sign-language interpreters “taking up half the screen” during a news conference about the Los Angeles wildfires.”
Canada Corner: After Union Breakthrough, Amazon Lays Off 1,700 Quebec Warehouse Workers
Canada Corner is a new weekly segment from Canada written by our co-op editor Saleh Waziruddin
Last May, 300 Canadian workers made a breakthrough by winning the first Amazon union election in Canada with the CSN (Confédération des syndicats nationaux), and were in the middle of negotiating their first contract. Amazon is outsourcing all of its 7 Quebec warehouses, laying off 1,700 workers.
“It sends out such a bad message to ordinary people, who get up early in the morning trying to make a living when the price of everything is going up, that they’re disposable,” CSN President Caroline Senneville told The Globe and Mail.
The union says this intimidation tactic is aimed across the country, where Amazon workers are trying to unionize in British Columbia.
“It’s kind of like, for the union, a case of Whac-a-Mole. You’re always trying to figure out, how do you actually unionize a situation that’s becoming more and more fragmented?” Stephanie Ross, a Labour Studies professor at Hamilton’s McMaster University, told The Globe and Mail.
Canada’s Industry Minister pushed back by threatening to cut off $50 million in federal contracts for cloud computing.
For more, check out The Globe and Mail.
Navajo Nation Members Being Detained by ICE
Finally, even Navajo Nation members, who don’t always have the “right” IDs, are being swept up in ICE raids. From the Arizona Mirror:
“These raids have sparked significant fear, especially among tribal members in urban areas who face challenges with documentation,” the Navajo Nation Council said in a press release. A verified number of the Navajo people who have been detained was not shared during the committee meeting.
State Sen. Theresa Hatathlie joined the committee meeting virtually and shared her report and concerns in Navajo. Hatathlie represents the Legislative District 6, which encompasses the Navajo Nation.
Hatathlie reported to the Council that she received a call about a case involving a Navajo citizen who was detained for nine hours. She did not share the individual’s identity. Hatahtlie told council members that there is a need for emergency protocols because many tribal members already struggle with access to proper documentation, which can get worse under the ICE sweeps.
“Despite possessing Certificates of Indian Blood (CIBs) and state-issued IDs, several individuals have been detained or questioned by ICE agents who do not recognize these documents as valid proof of citizenship,” the Navajo Nation Council stated in a press release.
For more, check out the Arizona Mirror.
News & Headlines Elsewhere
- US’s largest resort operator raises wages following Park City strike & threats of more strikes
- Editors at scientific journals are resigning en masse
- CTU reaches stalemate in Chicago Public Schools negotiations; strike potential closer to reality
- DOJ orders federally funded legal service providers to stop providing support at immigration courts
- Michigan AFL-CIO condemns passage of bills cutting minimum wage, sick leave benefits
- Beth Israel Medical Center physicians and fellows vote to unionize
- Finally, after the Gaza ceasefire, some American unions say that they will continue to fight for Palestinian liberation
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Love & Solidarity,
Melk
