Category: Uncategorized

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UFW

Today, July 26, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a
hearing on proposals for comprehensive immigration reform. The voices
of hardworking immigrants living in the shadows of our society need to
be heard.

Our broken immigration system needs fixing. But as the immigration
debate continues, we must let lawmakers and President Bush know we will
not accept harsh and unrealistic proposals.

One such plan is the "Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration
Reform Act" introduced last week by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tx.) and Jon
Kyl (R-Az.). This bill would create a new unlimited guestworker program
with no chance for workers to earn the right to stay in the country. It
would also require that undocumented immigrants already working and
living here leave after five years of the law’s enactment. This bill
would further separate families and divide our country.

We need real, bipartisan and comprehensive solutions that include the
following principles: A path to hard-earned legalization for
undocumented immigrants already contributing to this country;
reunification of families; and protections for workers in this nation.

The AgJobs bill (S. 359, H.R. 884) sponsored by the United Farm
Workers has all of these components. It would allow undocumented farm
workers to earn the right to permanently stay in this country by
continuing to work in agriculture. With broad bipartisan support, it is
a comprehensive bill negotiated by the UFW and the nation’s
agricultural industry. It is the only viable bipartisan immigration
reform solution for the agricultural industry.

Contact President Bush and your congressmembers today. Let them
know measures such as the Cornyn-Kyl bill are harmful to this country.
Tell them they should enact AgJobs and other bi-partisan comprehensive
immigration reform bills that include our principles.

See Action Page at UFW

By Greg Moses

As we await Alex Jones’ promised sequels to his report from the Diez y
Seis rally, a review of links at Azteca net suggests that preliminary
reports from Mr. Jones appear to be based on a 2003 smear campaign
against California’s Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, whose college membership
in MEChA was turned against him during his campaign for Governor of
California. As argued
by Jorge Mariscal, the scare tactics used by familiar pundits against
MEChA have a legacy in Anti-Mexican hate groups. See also: Mecha
Facts and Myths by Ralph de Unamuno at azteca.net

Alex Jones is a Minuteman sympathizer who
sees the US-Mexico border in terms of a war zone. On the Alex
Jones radio show today (Sept. 22) he encouraged his audience to help
him get some Minutemen guests on his show, explaining that his direct
calls to the organization have not been very successful. He pleaded
with his audience to remind the Minutemen that Alex, "is having rallies
to defend you!" Apparently, some of the Minutemen treat Mr. Jones
as a lightweight. Meanwhile, standing among
the protesters who demonstrated with or merely alongside Mr. Jones
Saturday were people with signs demanding "Mexico Out of USA" and "One
Nation One Language". Whenever people who keep such company shout
loudly about "Mexican Supremacism" we have a right to wonder what
bothers them most: supremacism or Mexican?
In keeping with our general method of approach, to not
multiply disputes, I enjoyed hearing Mr. Jones today jealously guard
the liberties of USA citizens against powerful government
encroachments. What puzzles me is why Mr. Jones would support
efforts by citizens to extend the power of the state over the freedoms
of migrants. It seems the puzzle is solved so long as one draws a
very bright line around who does and who does not count as a person
with rights. And so long as Mr. Jones seeks to cultivate favor
with fellow demonstrators and organizations who prefer to draw bright
lines between Mexicans and the USA, we have a difficult time
understanding why he gets so miffed at the very idea that others might
appropriate his bright line schema, only to reverse the hierarchy of power.

A framework of human and civil rights is the better alternative, and
that’s why we won’t support one supremacist who stands in the favored
circle condemning the alleged existence of would-be supremacists who
would only reverse the
power dynamic between groups already separated by Mr. Jones’ bright
line. In this sort of sordid atmosphere, we wonder, why
Mr.
Jones, did you stand with or merely beside an obviously supremacist
outpouring on a day of Mexican-American celebration? You say it was to
expose extremist hate groups within the Mexican-American community. But
given the company you stood with–and the supremacist exclusions they
represent in their plain sign language–what gives you the right to
complain about supremacism of any sort?

—–

Note: "In parts two and three, I will detail the long trail of horrors that I
witnessed as well as posting a lengthy video report documenting our
claims. We have ten hours of footage from four cameras, which includes
people frothing and screaming racist comments and then calling us
racists for saying that we should all live together in peace."–Alex
Jones

Note: the Doyle affidavit begins with the drug surveilance
activities, the suspect’s [X’s] house, and an attempt on the part of
police to determine a supplier for the "middleman" [X]. In
Doyle’s affadvit a suburban [Doyle says a white one, Shroeder says a
brown one] is identified and Doyle follows it to the stop sign where
Schroeder initates the take down.

I had the mic in my hand and was preparing to advise over the radio
that the vehicle was turning right onto Pleasant Valley and that I did
not have a traffic violation yet. Before I could get out on the
radio I saw Officer Shroeder and officer Borton turning from south
bound Pleasant Valley to west bound Quick Silver. They pulled
sort of diagonally and to the front of the White SUV, but did not block
the vehicle. I believe officer Schroeder was driving and I
noticed that the Red and Blue emergency lights were activated. I
knew we were on our channel and that I need to switch to Frank radio to
advise we were making a traffic stop. I was also trying to get my
emergency lights activated. As I was doing this I observed a
Hispanic male exit the passenger side of the SUV and jump a
fence. I saw Officer Borton coming to the driver side of the SUV
I heard her say "Sarge help Julie she has Rocha." I don’t recall
seeing whether Officer Borton had her weapon or not. I
immediately exited my vehicle and ran to the passenger side of the
SUV. I was wearing my police raid vest and noticed that Officer
Schroeder was wearing her police raid vest also. I did not see
Officer Schroeder with her weapon drawn and I didn’t see the suspect
with a weapon. I saw a Hispanic male trying to run away from
Officer Schroeder and Officer Schroeder was trying to grab him to
prevent him from escaping. The Hispanic male was bent over and
pulling away from Officer Schroeder. I believe Officer Schroeder
was behind or beside the Hispanic male. I approached and I was
trying to grab the guy. I recall Officer Schroeder yelling
police. I was focused on getting the guy to the ground. It
was happening quick. Very quick. The guy was a little
shorter than me and weighed less than me. His size did not
concern me. I grabbed the guy’s shirt and he was struggling and
and trying to pull away. The guy never punched or kicked me and I
never saw him punch or kick Officer Schroeder. He was
aggressively trying to pull away from us. It was like we were
going in a circle with the guy. At some point I believe I had the
guys wrist, but I really don’t recall seeing his hands during the
struggle. Somehow during the struggle I ended up on the
ground. I believe I was on the ground and was on my butt.
During the struggle I lost site of Officer Schroeder and I was focused
on the guy. I knew she was there, but like I said I was focused
on him and was trying to grab a hold of him. I remember when I
was on the ground I was able to grab one of his legs around the ankle
area and I [in original] he was still on his feet and struggling.
I was hoping we could get him to the ground. At that time I heard
a pop….

The affadavit goes on to describe Rocha falling on his back in his
white t-shirt.  Only when Doyle rolls him over does he see the
blood.

Signed and notarized June 10, 2005

The entry wound is to the left back, below and medial to the scapula,
centered 14 3/4 inches below the top of the head, 4 3/4 inches to the
left of posterior midline, 6 1/2 inches below the upper surface of the
shoulder, and about 1/4 inch above nipple level….The wound is also
surrounded by a slightly eccentric deposit of black soot and powder
tattoo marks which fan upward and to the left of the defect for 1.1 cm,
and downward and medially for 8 mm….Eight loose flakes of gunpowder
are present surrounding the wound in an 11.5 cm diameter.

The bullet is easily palpated along the right lateral torso, 20 1/4
inches below the top of the head…4 inches below nipple level….

Subsequent autopsy reveals the bullet entered the left posterior chest
cavity by fracturing the posterior 7th rib which is fragmented and
splintered. Bone fragments are carried along the track of the
bullet through the left lower lung lobe, along a 1.5 cm wide
hemorrhagic track through the lung. The bulle then passed across
the left lateral vertebral column at the level of the 8th intercostal
space without producing any fracture, and perforated the aorta.
The track through the aorta contains bone splinters, and an 11X1X5 mm
detached copper petal of the bullet jacket. The bullet then
passed through the right lower lung lobe, the right hemi-diaphram, and
through the liver where a 4.5 cm wide stellate track is present from
the dome of the liver to the anterior right lobe. The bullet then
perforated the anterior reflection of the diaphram and fractured the
anterolateral right 7th rib, lodging in the 7th intercostal space.

The recovered bullet is semi-jacketed, with a 9mm wide base, and one
petal of the jacket missing. The other petals of the copper
jacket are curled backward, exposing the lead core. The number
"1082" is inscribed in the open lead core of the bullet, and the bullet
is placed in a small envelope, labeled, and released to… The
detached copper petal recovered in the aorta is also released to…

The gunshot wound produced a 1,000 cc left hemothrax, and a 650 cc
right hemothrax. The path of the gunshot wound was back to front,
left to right, and downward.

A few other acute injuries are noted to the body:

• Present along the lateral left upper arm, centered about 3 inches
  below the upper surface of the shoulder, is a 5X4 cm wide injury
  composed of stippled lines of punctate pink abrasions which lie about 5
  mm apart, and run upward from anterior to posterior.
• Along the lateral right forehead is a 6 mm sparse red abrasion.
• Along the anterior right chin, 1 1/4 inches below the corner of
  the mouth, 3/4 to the right of anterior midline, is a 1.2 X 0.7 cm
  abrasion.
• Along the right anterior chest, beginning two inches below nipple
  level and 1 1/2 inches to the right of the anterior midline, and
  running downward to the right, is a 5 X 0.1 cm red scratch abrasion.
• Along the mid back of the right upper arm is a faint 3 cm wide blue contusion.
• Along the mid medial right forearm is a 3 X 2 mm red abrasion