<nettime> National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty

[florian schneider <fls@kein.org>]

The National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty 
http://www.tepeyac.org/amnistia
will return to Washington, DC on July 20th 

PRESS RELEASE July 17, 2000

The National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty will be in Washington, DC
on July 20th at 10 AM for a press conference and demonstration, on the
staircase of the Capitol where thousands of immigrants from community
organizations, unions, churches, etc. will participate; they are members
of the this National Coalition.

Also present will be several Congressmen who are already expressing their
support for the campaign for a General Unconditional Amnesty, along with
representatives of the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO, the president of
LIUNA (Laborers' International Union of North America), representatives of
the National Association of Restaurants, the NCLR (National Council of La
Raza), LACLAA (Labor Council For Latin American Advancement), several
representatives of various religious denominations, and others who support
the Unconditional General Amnesty proposal. Also, six Ex-District
Directors of the INS who have added their support to this project.

The State Coordinators decided to mobilize representatives from their
bases two days before July 20 in Washington, DC to hand over to Congress,
Senators, and the White House, a proposal for a law for Unconditional
General Amnesty.

Given that the project for Unconditional General Amnesty from the National
Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty has as one goal to include the largest
number possible of workers and families who have enriched the economic and
cultural life of this country during the past 14 years, and who have
suffered different kinds of violence in their lives because of poverty and
unemployment in their countries of origin, or as migrants crossing
borders, and as immigrants who are kept undocumented and exposed to
employers without scruples who abuse and exploit them without mercy. As
such, their proposal for the law is vast since it includes and supports
other residency projects and groups that have been campaigning to obtain
their legal residency.

This Coalition will insist on having the Registry Date be closer to the
year 2000 so that it can include those workers who have sustained the
country's economy for the past 14 years. For this reason, the January 1,
1986 deadline for registry seems inappropriate to us.

The National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty will applaud the decision
of finally granting permanent residency to those who solicited "delayed
amnesty" but who were not granted it for various reasons. It will also
express its support for immigrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras,
Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba, to apply for the NACARA law which will grant
them permanent residency. However, knowing that many immigrants from those
countries will not be able to meet its legal requirements, the urgent need
for General Amnesty must be insisted upon for all undocumented immigrants
who arrived before they year 2000, and who have strengthened the country's
economy. 

The National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty shares with the AFL-CIO its
opposition to binational agreements of any kind of bracero program, now
called "guest workers", which attempt to legalize the exploitation of
workers from the third world who are contracted to be slaves of an
employer, and who are not granted the right to unionize or seek freely
better work conditions with other employers, nor fight for the privileges
of having permanent residency status.

The National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty announces that it has
decided the cities for the mobilization of immigrants planned for the 14th
of October, 2000: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Austin, and New
York where national organizations will be present such as El Grito de los
Excluidos, or world organizations such as the March for Women which counts
on the presence of a few Nobel peace prize laureates. 





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