Solidarity from UNC SDS
Solidarity with MIRAc
Submitted by Chapel Hill SDS on Sat, 2009-05-16 10:31UNC SDS stands in full solidarity with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action coalition (MIRAc) and its allies who committed civil disobedience at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Bloomington, MN on May 6, 2009. Exposing and condemning the terror-tactics used by ICE to arrest and deport undocumented workers and rip apart families in the process is becoming more important than ever. The radical right is using the economic crisis as an opportunity to promote xenophobia and attack immigrants and multiculturalism. Actions like the one undertaken by MIRAc last week are an essential part of any strategy to counteract ICE’s secret raids and the racist anti-immigrant hate speech of the radical right that promotes them.
Having recently come under attack from the press and the police here in Chapel Hill for our role in a protest against racist former-Congressman Tom Tancredo, members of UNC SDS have had a taste of the kind of police harassment faced by nonviolent protesters in Bloomington. We condemn police harassment and brutality everywhere and stand together with MIRAc activists who are fighting to make our society safer and more accepting for immigrants and to stop the ICE raids that poison our communities and destroy families.
The daring action undertaken by MIRAc activists on May 6 inspires us to continue in the struggle to make our society more open to immigrants and to counteract the radical terror-tactics of ICE and the hate speech of its right wing supporters.
In solidarity,
UNC SDS
May 14, 2009
UNC Asheville's HOLA Statement of Solidarity
Submitted by Chapel Hill SDS on Sun, 2009-04-19 19:18April 19, 2009
Dear Friends at UNC Chapel Hill,
We are writing this letter to commend you on your protest of Tom Tancredo on April 14th. We are deeply concerned that the so-called rights of Mr. Tancredo to spew hate speech are seemingly more important to the administration of UNC Chapel Hill than the rights of our community to feel safe. Apparently, the administration feels that intimidating the Latin@ community is a protected form of speech.
It is also concerning that your right to speak out against Mr. Tancredo is being judged by the administration as intolerant, when it is clearly Mr. Tancredo who is guilty of intolerance. We have also heard of the excessive violence used against you by the police. We are outraged by this abuse of power and hope you are safe and doing well.
Do not let others' racist words and actions become part of your campus culture. We Latin@s have a right to feel safe. Thank you for your dedication in making the UNC Chapel Hill campus a welcoming place for us.
Pa' lante,
Gabriela Lemus and Alikhan Salehi
Co-Presidents
Hispanic Outreach for Learning and Awareness
UNC Asheville
