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The recent conviction of former General Efrain Rios Montt was overturned by Guatemala’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, on Monday, May 20, 2013–less than two weeks after he was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity by a three-panel tribunal.  The decision was 3-2, and was thanks in part to an aggressive lobbying effort by the nation’s most influential business federation.  After the ruling, Rios Montt was sent back to house arrest, where he had been since the case started in January, 2012.

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) welcomed the verdict on April 18, 2013, in Guatemala by the High Risk Court in the trial of former military dictator José Efrain Ríos Montt. The 86-year-old ex-general was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity against the indigenous Maya Ixil population during Guatemala’s Civil War. He was sentenced to a total of 80 years in prison. José Mauricio Rodriguez Sánchez, the co-accused, who headed military intelligence under Ríos Montt, was found innocent.

A number of community groups including our friends at MIGUA and La Fuente are sponsoring a pre-Mother’s Day event in Ellsworth Park, 23rd St. at New York Avenue, in Union City.  The event promotes unity and solidarity in opposing the separation of families caused by current U.S. immigration policy.

For more information call Lucia Gomez at 201-988-8824.

On Thursday, May 16, 2013, at 7:30 p.m., the Leonia-based Community of Friends in Action, Inc. (CoFiA) will hold an open meeting on current immigration reform proposals.  The meeting will be held at the Presbyterian Church in Leonia, 181 Fort Lee Road in Leonia.

The speaker is Amy Gottlieb, Program Director of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Immigrant Rights Program in Newark.  AFSC Immigrant Rights is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees through legal services, community organizing, and advocacy.  Gottlieb is also an Adjunct Professor of Immigration Law at Rutgers Law School, and a recipient of the ACLU of New Jersey’s 2012 Legal Leadership Award and the 2012 Arthur Kinoy Award from the Rutgers Law School chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

CoFiA works closely with the AFSC as it assists migrant workers in Eastern Bergen County. One of the major issuesthe workers face is “wage theft.”  Unscrupulous employers frequently hire workers for day work and then fail to pay them the money they earned.  Nearly all workers interviewed for a recent research project of John Jay College of Criminal Justice reported having experienced wage theft.  All workers are protected under federal and state wage and hour laws, but few are able to collect money owed even when they receive a favorable ruling.

Gottlieb will discuss implications of the current immigration reform proposal for these and other issues migrant workers face.

The meeting is free and open to the public.  For more information go to www.communityoffriendsinaction.org or call 201-833-1737.

May First Rally
Stop DETENTION & DEPORTATION and Keep Workers’ Families Together!
A country built on immigration! A State bordering the Statue of Liberty! And still no justice for immigrant workers and their families in NJ.
Mandatory Detention is still a law!
Detention bed quota –Requires ICE to fill every detention bed, tears apart immigrant workers’ families every day. We need a bill that reduces the use of detention drastically, preserves due process and stops the deportation of immigrant workers. We call for an end to detention and deportation.
What: Rally to voice our concerns over immigration detention and deportation, and demand family unity for immigrant workers prior to the passage and within the Senate comprehensive immigration reform proposal.
When: May 1st, 2013 – 11:00 am
Where: 950-970 Broad Street, Newark NJ

For co-sponsorship, contact Alix Nguefack at American Friends Service Committee at 973-854-0401/anguefack@afsc.org
Organized by the NJ Advocates for Immigrant Detainees*, American Friends Service Committee-Immigrant Rights Program, Wind of the Spirit, CEUS, La Fuente, Newark African Commission, GRADA-54… [list in formation]
*Members include: ACLU-NJ, AFSC-Immigrant Rights Program, Casa de Esperanza, Casa Freehold, Community of Friends in Action, Haiti Solidarity Network, IRATE & First Friends, Ironbound Community Corporation, Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry in NJ, Middlesex County Coalition for Immigrant Rights, Monmouth County Coalition for Immigrant Rights, NJ Association on Correction, NJ Forum for Human Rights, Pax Christi-NJ, People’s Organization for Progress – Bergen County, Reformed Church of Highland Park, Saint Patrick Church, Sisters of Saint Joseph ESL Program, Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ, UU Congregation of Montclair – Social Responsibilities Council, and Social Responsibilities Council, Unitarian Society of Ridgewood.

On Friday, April 26, there will be a vigil in support of immigration reform at Ellsworth Park, Union City, at 7:00 p.m. The event will take place between 23rd and 24th Streets, New York and Palisade Avenues. It is co-sponsored by a number of groups, including CoFiA’s friends at CEUS (Comite en Union Para Salvadorenos), and MIGUA (Movement of Guatemaltecan Immigrants in the United States).
Please support this important effort as we try to encourage the US Congress to pass meaningful immigration reform.

The CoFiA and GUD-sponsored coffee house, Casa Latina, had its first meeting of this year’s six week series on Monday, April 22, 2013, at Grace Lutheran Church.  The theme for this year’s series is learning about the proposed immigration reform.

A group of 16 GUD and CoFiA members enjoyed a good Guatemalan dinner and conversation.  We welcomed the 18 year old daughter of a member.  She had just arrived from Guatemala.

Claudia Carias, of MIGUA, led the discussion and provided very helpful information.

Members of CoFiA marched with members of MIGUA and the Grupo Folklorico Tikal at the rally for immigration reform on Saturday, April 6, 2013, at Liberty State Park.
CoFiA founding member Ellie Spiegel was quoted in the Bergen RECORD on Sunday, April 7, as saying she attended because she’s hopeful there will be reform. “It’s a way of saying to our legislators that there’s a strong movement of people behind it and many of us are citizens and have always been concerned about the rights of immigrants. (Photo courtesy Suzanne Broffman)