NEWS

An article in THE RECORD on Monday, July 18, 2014, describes the attempt of a 13 year old from Guatemala  to get to her father in  New Jersey. (See http://www.northjersey.com/news/one-teen-s-desperate-bid-to-reach-north-jersey-from-guatemala-1.1058078)

Monsy Alvarado, a staff writer who writes frequently about immigration and other issues in the Hispanic community, tells how the child begged her parents to let her try to come. They finally agreed to let her make the trip with a 16-year-old male cousin, paying more than $5,700 for assistance in attempting the dangerous journey–a trip the father had made just four years ago himself, across the deserts of Arizona.

Both the child and the cousin were apprehended at the border and she is now in a federal facility in Arizona. Her father is waiting to hear whether she will be allowed to come to New Jersey to be with him. He is anxious about her safety and is doing everything possible to find a way to keep her safe. Both he and her mother know that any solution is only temporary; she will have to appear in court and plead her case. Her parents have sketchy information from her about some things that happened to her in Guatemala that she is unwilling to talk about.

This incident is very similar to others that have happened over the years in this area. Last year a teenager managed to get to her father in Bergen County, where she was able to stay with a cousin for a few weeks. However, eventually the father and her mother in Guatemala paid $500 for the airfare to send her home.

Alvarado’s article includes a useful map showing the various routes migrants from Guatemala are using to try to get to the U.S. Although this migration has been going on for generations, there is general agreement that the conditions of travel are worse than ever, and the lack of knowledge and empathy among the U.S. population is greater. A woman who often claims to speak for the anti-immigrant community is quoted as saying “maybe millions or tens of millions of people” will be coming to our country illegally!

Concerned citizens who wish to receive regular updates on the actual facts of the situation, and things we can do to help,  are advised to contact First Friends of NJ and NY for up-to-the-minute information. www.firstfriendsnjny.org

From this:

To this:

On August 23, 2012, Hampshire College announced the establishment of a scholarship fund dedicated to helping undocumented students get degrees. It would give more than $25,000 each year to help an undocumented student pay for the $43,000-plus tuition.[8]

The Guatemalan Consulate will send its mobile unit to Fairview on Sunday, August 10, 2014. The mobile consulate provides important identification documents, including renewals of passports and cedullas, to people in the Guatemalan community. Watch this space for more information.

The new Guatemalan Consul General is Myriam De la Roca. The consulate telephone number is 914-830-6321.

For information on other programs carried out by consulates, go to www.thechildrensvillage.org/dobbs-ferry-campus/trac/ We do not know what role such programs may have in dealing with the current inflow of child migrants, but the article is useful in demonstrating this is not a new phenomenon.

CoFiA Cabelleros, vice-chair Roni and secretary Guillermo

We can’t guarantee that our favorite cowboys will appear in costume at the first fall meeting, but we wanted to get your attention.

THE DATE IS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2014, AT 7:30, at the Presbyterian Church in Leonia.

This article was prepared by Eduardo Jimenez, (right) Coordinator of Association Grupo Cajolá in Cajolá (voluntary position) and Municipal Director of Planning, and Caryn Maxim, (left)North American Coordinator of Grupo Cajolá

A letter from Grupo Cajolá, Guatemala
Grupo Cajolá is a group of Guatemalans and friends of Guatemalans, mostly from the town of Cajolá in the department of Quetzaltenango in Guatemala, and most of us are Maya Mam. (The Mam people are one of the four largest groups of Maya people now living in Guatemala.) Many of us have had to migrate to the United States out of necessity — to earn money for food, medical care, school, or housing for our families. Nearly 94% of Cajolá is poor, and nearly 40% of us live in the United States. We have organized ourselves to watch out for each other, especially during hard times, such as when someone dies, or gets sick. Some of us have returned to Guatemala, to Cajolá, and we are working there to organize the community to develop opportunities for a better life so that no one has to leave his family and community behind in order to survive. For more information go to www.grupocajola.org.

Gang Activity in Cajolá, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

QUESTIONS REGARDING GANGS:
What are the gangs present in Cajolá? Have you heard of the Vatos Locos also known as Los Vatos Locos, or Los Batos Locos?
There are three gangs present in Cajolá, Sureños, Los Vatos Locos, and Raperos. When members of these gangs were deported from the US they began their own cells in Cajolá. They do not have any relationship with other cells, either in the US or in Guatemala. Each gang has approximately 50 members who are Cajolá indigenous youth.
Are they nationwide? Are they part of a larger group, like the 18 or MS13 or any other group?
There are cells of these gangs all over Guatemala, but they work as independent cells and do not act or affiliate with other cells. They do not have any relationship with the 18 or MS13.
Are there any documents/reports/etc re the Vatos Locos and their criminal activity?
We do not know of any.
Do they dress in a certain way?
No. Each group has its norms, whether loose pants or tight pants, but not recognizable on the street as a gang member.
Do they carry weapons? What kind?
They carry knives and chains. Sometimes they carry homemade guns.
What are some of their characteristics?
They steal from businesses, stores, churches, and individuals, as well as extort from young people, either students or workers. They use thinner to get high, and they drink alcohol. They target anyone that is weaker than them…such as a drunken man. They do not attack someone who seems more powerful, such as the Ladinos, a strong man, etc.
Who do gangs target? Do gangs target youth?
The gangs target other Cajolá youth to be members, particularly those that are not studying.
Do they specifically target a certain group of young boys? Do they go after indigenous youth? Do they use the fact that someone is indigenous in recruitment?
Cajolá is 97% indigenous. All the gang members are indigenous. They recruit other indigenous youth. They do not recruit Ladino (mixed race) youth.
What happens to youth who refuse to join?
They are punished, beaten up, and persecuted on an on-going basis. One young man was assassinated last year.

QUESTIONS ABOUT POLICE/LAW ENFORCEMENT:
How are laws enforced in Cajolá?
Cajolá does not have a state police force (the town evicted the police during the civil war for kidnapping the citizens.) There is a traditional community voluntary police force which is recruited annually among young men. The young men serve for 7 day periods, 24 hours/day, once per month for one year to maintain peace in the community, mediate domestic or other disputes. When a crime occurs they call the state police who are in the next town.
Does law enforcement respond to victims of gang activity?
No.
Does law enforcement protect the indigenous people as equally as non-indigenous people?
The local law enforcement, the voluntary community police, is also indigenous. In fact, their authority stems from their indigenous status. Unfortunately, since they recruit their members each year among the young men – and it is a requirement to serve – the voluntary community police force includes gang members as well.
Are law enforcement officers Ladino or Maya, or both?
The state police are both Ladino and Maya.

Does law enforcement make efforts to protect/prevent against gang violence?
There are no efforts at present to protect or prevent against gang violence.

QUESTIONS REGARDING YOUTH LABORERS:

Is there a name for the subset of children who are child laborers (for money, outside the home)?
When children stop attending school they look for paid work outside the home, whether in construction, shoe polishing, carpentry, whatever. We are not aware of any special name for this subset.
Are they all, or almost all, indigenous?
Since 97% of Cajolá is indigenous, most of these young workers are indigenous.
Are they specifically targeted by the gangs for extortion or other reasons?
They are targeted because they probably have money, whereas the school students do not.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MILITARY DRAFTING YOUTH:
Is the military drafting youth currently?
There is no military draft at present.
What is the minimum age for military service? 18 years to enlist
Are they only recruiting Maya youth? There have been rumors circulating but there is no draft.

SAVE THE DATES: CoFiA kicks off the 2014-2015 season with a general meeting on Thursday, September 7, 2014, at 7:30 at the Presbyterian Church in Leonia. We’ll catch up on what’s been happening and hear from our friends who are traveling to Guatemala to build a school this summer. All welcome!

NEXT–Our annual fund-raiser will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2014, at the Legion Hall in Leonia. Our favorite band “Still Standing” will be back for a request performance (two sets this year!) so bring your dancing shoes. We may have our very own marimba band as well!

ESL classes will resume on the second Tuesday of September, and the Spanish Story Hour at the Palisades Park Library will also begin again in early September.

Unfortunately, wage theft doesn’t take a vacation, so we will be reporting on wages won and wages lost over the summer.

This week Princeton, New Jersey, passed an ordinance that requires contractors who wish to do business in town to be in compliance with federal and state wage theft laws.

Wage theft, according to the ordinance, includes not paying sufficient overtime, paying less than an amount agreed upon, not paying for all hours worked, paying less than the minimum wage, misclassifying employees as independent contractors, or not paying them at all, Howard said. This resolution would apply to the landscaping business but there are plans to expand it to construction and restaurant companies as well. In order to get a license to operate in the town, companies would need to read and sign off on an acknowledgement of the wage theft law.

Princeton is the second municipality in the state to address wage theft through local ordinance; New Brunswick was the first.

In Princeton, the Human Services Department, Police Department, and Latin American Legal Defense Fund streamlined a process for workers reporting wage theft, including a new process that allows workers to seek help at any of these agencies.

As part of a broader training on immigration issues, the police department invited state labor officials and representatives of New Labor, a New Brunswick organization focused on immigrant workers, to train the Princeton force earlier this year on wage theft laws and how to handle complaints.

Craig Garcia of New Labor said that thousands of dollars in unpaid wages have been recovered since the ordinance was adopted in New Brunswick. “It really does have a powerful effect,” he said.

Like the Princeton group, CoFiA’s wage theft committee reports that even though federal and state labor laws apply to all workers, people are often afraid to report theft because they fear losing their jobs or are afraid of being reported by the employer to ICE. This is a threat employers frequently make, although they know that ICE has no jurisdiction in wage theft cases.

CoFiA regularly provides information to workers about how to protect themselves against wage theft, including providing booklets in which they can keep records of hours worked and the location of jobs. OSHA training is also provided to help workers learn how to be safe on the job, and what constitutes violation of their rights as workers. Our wage theft committee also actively works to recovers wages that have not been paid, using whatever means necessary to achieve success–from “pricking the conscience” of the employer to reporting him or her to the Departmen of Labor.

On July 16, 2014, the ACLU-NJ announced that it had sent letters to officials in all 21 New Jersey counties urging them to stop honoring warrantless immigration detainer requests issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

These requests are not legally binding. They just represent ICE’s desire that local jails hold people for 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. This period of incarceration is at the expense of the county’s taxpayers, not the federal immigration service. Further, they do not represent an official finding that the person is undocumented or deportable. “Indeed, ICE has wrongfully issued detainer requests against hundred of United States citizens…leaving the counties liable for unlawful imprisonment.” For example, a Perth Amboy-born man who was held for ICE in Lehigh County, Pa., won a nearly $100,000 settlement for unlawfully keeping him in custody. As a result, the Lehigh County Board of Commissions voted unanimously to end the county’s police of imprisoning people based on ICE detainer requests.

In August, 2013, Newark became the first New Jersey jurisdiction to adopt a formal policy of rejecting these “warrantless immigration detainers.” Another 153 jurisdictions outside of NJ have followed suit, including Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago, and the states of California and Connecticut. Most recently, Middlesex County took similar action.

Bergen County has not yet taken action on warrantless detainers. For a sample letter showing why this should be done, go to the ACLU report at www.aclu-nj.org or contact us at www.cofia-nj.org.

Trying to understand the current surge of unaccompanied minors trying to get to the U.S. from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador is–for me, at least–like visiting Alice’s Wonderland. What are “facts” depends on who is reporting them. And what should be done is even more subject to who is talking.

A helpful article is “Confronting the Central American Refugee Crisis” by Marta Sanchez-Soler of the Center for International Policy The Americas Program, based in Mexico City. (http://www.cipamericas.org/archives/12441)

Most importantly, Sanchez-Soler gets to the root of the crisis: “The current crisis is the product of the lethal mix of US immigration policies, the hardening of border control, militarization, and regional economic models that displace small farmers and urban workers.”

Sanchez-Soler concludes that the children and families desperately trying to get out of Central America–and not just to the U.S. but to surrounding countries including Nicaragua, Belize, Mexico and others–must be defined as refugees and treated under the measures of extreme emergency laid out in international law. They clearly meet the definition of refugees: “[T]hey find themselves in a situation where they cannot stay and have nowhere to go, are extorted by organized crime and corrupt government officials, kidnapped and executed in the transit countries, and detained without defense and deported if they manage to arrive in the country of destination.”

Many of the causes of the current crisis are detailed in the CoFiA video, “Why I Am Here/Porque Estoy Aqui.” For information about the video or to arrange a screening, call 201-833-1737.

Following the graduation party for the people who completed the recent OSHA training program, the graduates presented a substantial check to the Community of Friends in Action, Inc., to express their appreciation for the opportunity to take the course. A totally unexpected–but much appreciated–contribution! Thanks, friends!