Midwest

“Don’t Open the Door”: How Chicago Is Frustrating ICE’s Campaign of Fear

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This article is a joint publication of Workday Magazine and In These Times. “Tom Homan said Chicago is very organized,” Margarita Klein, director of member organizing for Arise Chicago, proclaimed gleefully in Spanish to a room of 80 people at an immigrant rights training, many of whom laughed and clapped in response. 

Klein was calling back to a CNN appearance two days earlier by Trump’s handpicked border czar. “Sanctuary cities are making it very difficult,” Homan told anchor Kaitlan Collins of the administration’s immigration sweeps. “For instance, Chicago … they’ve been educated on how to defy ICE, how to hide from ICE.”

When Trump moved to make an example of Chicago, sending federal immigration authorities to the city on Sunday, Chicago’s immigrant rights community was braced for it. The city’s vast networks of workers’ centers, unions, and community organizations have spent months preparing, disbursing flyers and cards, and sending the message to residents: Don’t talk to ICE.

International

Cómo puede el movimiento laboral luchar contra la agenda de deportaciones masivas de Trump

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Este es un momento aterrador para los trabajadores inmigrantes. El presidente electo Donald Trump hizo campaña con el lema “deportaciones masivas ahora” y nombró a un equipo de extremistas anti-inmigrantes. La dirigencia del Partido Demócrata se ha inclinado hacia la derecha en este tema, adoptando la retórica de Trump sobre “asegurar la frontera” y las políticas republicanas fundamentales. Un proyecto de ley que apuntaría a personas indocumentadas para deportación si son simplemente acusadas, no condenadas, de delitos no violentos como el hurto en tiendas fue aprobado en la Cámara de Representantes con apoyo bipartidista. Está avanzando en el Senado, donde sólo ocho demócratas se opusieron a su avance.

International

How Labor Can Fight Back Against Trump’s Mass Deportation Agenda

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This article is a joint publication of Workday Magazine and Labor Notes. This is a frightening time for immigrant workers. President-elect Donald Trump ran on the slogan “mass deportations now,” and has appointed a team of anti-immigrant hardliners. The leadership of the Democratic Party has lurched to the right on this issue, adopting Trump’s rhetoric about “securing the border,” and embracing core Republican policies. 

A bill that would target undocumented people for deportations if they are merely accused—not convicted—of nonviolent crimes like shoplifting passed in the House with bipartisan support. It’s moving forward in the Senate where only eight Democrats opposed its advance.

Minnesota

Wall Street Took Over a Vital Sign Language Service—And Started Union Busting

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This article is a joint publication of Workday Magazine and In These Times. “Do no harm” is the guiding principle of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters’ professional code of conduct. But when Joe Klug, 28, worked as a Video Relay Service (VRS) interpreter for a Twin Cities metro area office of Purple Communications, he says this principle was routinely violated. The VRS field, which allows Deaf and Hard of Hearing people to make phone calls by video interfacing with interpreters, is difficult and fast-paced work. While some calls are social, others can be serious: medical emergencies, job interviews, jargon-heavy discussions with lawyers or sensitive conversations with doctors.