04-10-2009, 06:16 PM
REJECT ANTI-IMMIGRANT POLICIES
WAUKEGAN RESIDENTS UPSET MAYOR HYDE; REJECT ANTI-IMMIGRANT POLICIES
Chicago, Illinois (NED).â The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) would like to congratulate Mayor Elect Bob Sabonjian, who upset controversial Waukegan Mayor Hyde this evening.
Mayor Hyde was renowned for his anti-immigrant harassment practices, making Waukegan the first city in Illinois to apply for the controversial 287g authority; permission for local police to enforce federal immigration laws. Waukegan became known for the racial profiling of its Latino citizens and harassment through measures such as towing immigrantsâ cars. This caused many immigrants to leave the area, businesses to close, and homes to go into foreclosure. It also caused criminal activity to go unreported because immigrants were afraid to call the police when they were victims or witnesses of crimes.
For the last three years, immigrant activists worked to assist eligible immigrants to become citizens through the New Americans Initiative (NAI) and to register them to vote through the New Americans Democracy Project (NADP,) both administered by ICIRR. Today, the Latino voters turned out in force and threw Mayor Hyde out of office in a shocking upset.
"The defeat of Mayor Hyde shows that the politics of anti-immigrant hate is rejected by both Latinos and by all Illinoisans. The people of Waukegan, Illinois, and the United States want solutions to fix our broken immigration system, not cheap scapegoating of immigrants," said Joshua Hoyt, ICIRR Executive Director.
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is a state wide coalition of over 100 organizations dedicated to promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation in the civic, cultural, social, and political life of our diverse society.
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WAUKEGAN RESIDENTS UPSET MAYOR HYDE; REJECT ANTI-IMMIGRANT POLICIES
Chicago, Illinois (NED).â The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) would like to congratulate Mayor Elect Bob Sabonjian, who upset controversial Waukegan Mayor Hyde this evening.
Mayor Hyde was renowned for his anti-immigrant harassment practices, making Waukegan the first city in Illinois to apply for the controversial 287g authority; permission for local police to enforce federal immigration laws. Waukegan became known for the racial profiling of its Latino citizens and harassment through measures such as towing immigrantsâ cars. This caused many immigrants to leave the area, businesses to close, and homes to go into foreclosure. It also caused criminal activity to go unreported because immigrants were afraid to call the police when they were victims or witnesses of crimes.
For the last three years, immigrant activists worked to assist eligible immigrants to become citizens through the New Americans Initiative (NAI) and to register them to vote through the New Americans Democracy Project (NADP,) both administered by ICIRR. Today, the Latino voters turned out in force and threw Mayor Hyde out of office in a shocking upset.
"The defeat of Mayor Hyde shows that the politics of anti-immigrant hate is rejected by both Latinos and by all Illinoisans. The people of Waukegan, Illinois, and the United States want solutions to fix our broken immigration system, not cheap scapegoating of immigrants," said Joshua Hoyt, ICIRR Executive Director.
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is a state wide coalition of over 100 organizations dedicated to promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation in the civic, cultural, social, and political life of our diverse society.
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