Crimmigration Under Obama: Pushing Back Against the "Enforcement-only" Immigration Regime
Immigration enforcement under the Obama administration has continued almost unchanged from the “enforcement-only” regime perfected by the Bush administration, applying criminal enforcement tactics to the civil immigration system. While Department of Homeland Security officials have promised to reform the immigration detention system after dozens of deaths in detention, the effort has been cosmetic and designed to forestall more rigorous oversight. Despite moving away from massive workplace raids, the agency has continued home and business raids under the radar, with the result that overall levels of deportation have actually increased under Obama. Meanwhile, legislative reform is stalled in Congress and the White House has not shown leadership. Join advocates and activists in a discussion of recent direct action pushing back against the Obama administration’s enforcement policy.
Madhuri Mohindar is a Multimedia Producer of new media and video documentary campaigns at human rights organization Breakthrough. She is a producer for Breakthrough's innovative campaigns on immigration and racial justice including a video game ICED: I Can End Deportation and online video campaign Restore Fairness. Her video 'Death by Detention' was popularly voted as 'Best Long Form Video' for the 2009 DoGooder TV Nonprofit Video Awards. Madhuri regularly presents at national and international conferences, universities and forums on the intersection of media and human rights, and most recently was awarded an Experimental Television Center Media Fund to participate in the 2010 Flaherty Seminar. Co-directed with Vaishali Sinha, her documentary film 'Red Roses' examines the lives of South Asian women in a Pakistani beauty parlor in Queens, New York, and has received considerable publicity at a number of film festivals and consequent press coverage. She has worked on a number of documentary films featuring diverse subjects ranging from gender, civil liberties and immigrant rights to LGBT issues and religion and peace. Madhuri’s desire to integrate media and social issues emerged after a Post Graduate Diploma in Social Communications Media at Sophia Polytechnic in Mumbai, after which she completed a Masters in Media Studies from the New School in New York.
Edmundo "XicanoPwr" Rocha is the publisher and content producer of The XP Report (formally known as the Para Justicia Y Libertad) from San Antonio, Texas. His blog is a Latino-centered political blog focusing on the humanistic perspective of politics, history, and society as they relate to the Latina/o community throughout Texas and the United States. He is an activist and freelance writer and have been honored with the Texas Progressive Alliance's Silver Star Award for Para Justicia Y Libertad! He was also selected for the New Leaders Council's 40 under 40 Awards Emerging Leaders Award.
Vincent Warren is the Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a national legal and educational organization dedicated to advancing and defending the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Vince oversees CCR’s groundbreaking litigation and advocacy work which includes combating the illegal expansion of presidential power and policies such as illegal detention at Guantanamo, rendition, torture and warrantless wiretapping; holding corporations and government officials accountable for human rights abuses; and, challenging racial injustice and mass incarceration. Vince has spearheaded a public campaign, “Beyond Guantanamo: Rescue the Constitution” coinciding with CCR’s landmark Supreme Court victory in Al Odah v. U.S. and Boumediene v. Bush, which held that the detainees at Guantánamo Bay have a constitutional right to the writ of habeas corpus. Prior to his tenure at CCR, Vince held the position of national senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where he led constitutional and impact litigation to advance civil rights and liberties. Among the cases he has litigated are: • Gratz v. Bollinger, companion case to the landmark Supreme Court decision to uphold affirmative action in college admissions. • Dasrath v. Continental Airlines on behalf of plaintiffs removed from an airplane shortly after 9/11 because they were perceived to be Arab or Muslim, and • White v. Martz, a class action lawsuit which helped create Montana’s first statewide public defender system. He also monitored South Africa’s historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings and worked as a criminal defense attorney for the Brooklyn Legal Aid Society. Vince holds a law degree from Rutgers School of Law and a B.A. from Haverford College. Vince is a frequent national cable, network and independent media commentator, having appeared on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, CNN’s The Situation Room and Paula Zahn Now, Democracy Now! and numerous National Public Radio programs.
I'm a latte-drinking, bike-riding, NY Times-reading, taco-loving, social justice do-gooder freak show originally from NC. I have been an advocate and organizer with immigrants and refugees in Charlotte, New York/Newark, and LA, as well as in Zimbabwe and Great Britain. I have an undergraduate degree in history and international relations from Wake Forest University, a master's in public administration from Columbia University and a postgraduate certificate in forced migration studies from the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford. Through Aquifer Media, I designs social campaigns and digital storytelling that cultivate community and civic participation.
