Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA)

June 26, 2007

Dear Senator,

We, the undersigned organizations that serve the South Asian community in the San Francisco Bay Area, are writing to express our concerns about the direction that the Senate is taking in immigration reform through Senate Bill 1639. The Senate bill does not balance the civil rights of immigrants and will inevitably lead to separated families, isolation and fear, and distrust of law enforcement and government officials.

As of June 8, 2007…

What happened with the Senate immigration bill:

• Bill was problematic to begin with (see below)
• Bill was made worse by adding anti-immigrant amendments (see below)
• Vote to limit debate (to help speed bill’s passage) failed on June 7
• Senate majority leader Reid tabled further work on the bill
• Immigration reform now stalled, not dead, in Senate — White House and Reid say the bill’s coming back (no timeline, but maybe later in ‘07)

AsianWeek
March 29, 2007
by Phil Tajitsu Nash
http://www.asianweek.com/2007/03/29/south-asian-americans-convene-in-dc/

Dalip Singh Saund was born in a village in Punjab Province, India, in 1899. In 1956, after emigrating to California, getting a Ph.D. in mathematics at U.C. Berkeley, working in agriculture, and serving as a judge, he became the first Asian Pacific American elected to the United States Congress.

International Solidarity
"ILPS Anti-Imperialist Contingent Marches on August 12 in Solidarity With the Lebanese and Palestinian People"
September-October 2006
by Dave Pugh
http://www.bayanusa.org/downloads/ilps_newsletter_06.pdf

In the first major ILPS demonstration in the U.S., the Anti-Imperialist Contingent rallied at Powell and Market in San Francisco, then stepped out onto the streets in a spirited march which later joined the march and rally called by International ANSWER. Wearing red shirts and yellow bandanas, with bright banners, ILPS flags and infectious chants, the Anti-Imperialist Contingent set a radiant, militant tone for the day.

ASATA co-sponsors a new exhibit at the Asian Resource Gallery in Oakland’s Chinatown.

“One Nation Under Surveillance: Reimaging the South Asian Community” opens Thursday, August 10, 2006, at the Asian Resource Gallery in Oakland Chinatown. Opening reception at 6pm with refreshments, performances and film screening of “Punjabi Cab.” Gallery hours: M-F, 9am-6pm, 310 8th St., Oakland. Free.

Joint press release from ASATA, Maitri, and South Asian Sisters

Judge Claudia Wilkens reinstated the sentence of Lakireddy Bali Reddy, and all the conditions of release after the completion of 97 months was reinstated. This was a huge victory for community organizations, who have been working on the case for the past six years, and have put in tremendous effort to educate the community about the heinous crimes committed by Lakireddy Bali Reddy.

Siliconeer
May 2006
"In Memoriam: Birjinder Anant, Scholar Activist"
http://www.siliconeer.com/past_issues/2006/may2006.html#Anchor--OBITUA-8013
by Anirvan Chatterjee

Oakland, Calif.-based activist Birjinder Anant died in December last year. As Anant grew up in a small town in Texas, he overcame racism with thoughtfulness and humor. Later, he grew up to be a compassionate and tenacious activist whose commitment withstood the siren calls of the dot-com boom. Anirvan Chatterjee offers a tribute.

We at ASATA oppose the continuing domestic “war on terrorism” and “war on immigrants”: movements that we understand as intricately linked.

For us, opposition to and mobilization around the various versions of HR4437 means showing our solidarity with other immigrant communities, particularly our Latino brothers and sisters, as they fight what is also our fight.

Immigration to this country does not denote positions of privilege, but of plight. The majority of us did not make a decision to migrate from our homes, families, and communities: we were forced here by the violent effects of global economic inequity. The U.S. government is using a double-edged sword as it coerces countries in the Majority World into Free Trade Agreements and then simultaneously criminalizes the people displaced by them.

South Asian Advocates Strongly Urge Congress To Pass Immigration Reform That Respects Civil Rights Of Immigrants

As representatives of organizations that serve South Asians across the United States — from empowering women, workers and youth to protecting the civil rights and liberties of ethnic and religious minorities — we see firsthand the impact of the immigration system on our community. As Congress prepares to pass the broadest immigration reform law in decades, we urge lawmakers to adopt sensible and humane solutions to fix the broken immigration system in the United States.

We’re heartbroken. Birjinder Anant died last week in Oakland.

We knew him as a builder of activist movements, teller of bad jokes, reader of good books, connector of communities, tapper of shoulders, and a good friend to so many of us.

Birjinder has been the heart and soul of ASATA since his first meeting on September 18, 2001. His strength, commitment, and humility were an inspiration to many, and he was a driving force behind much Asian American and South Asian American activist work in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. His loss has truly shaken us. We offer our deepest condolences to others who knew and loved Birjinder as we did.

UpFront Radio (New California Media), KALW-FM
July 29, 2005
http://www.kalw.org/pops/sched45.html
http://media.ncmonline.com/audio/radio/UF2005_07_29.ram

Mini from ASATA spoke to Sandip Roy about immigrants in the U.S., and her recent trip to Lodi, California. Click to hear the full program (streaming RealAudio).

KPFA Apex Express
July 14, 2005 7:00-8:00pm
"Aftermath of arrests"
http://www.kpfa.org/archives/archives.php?id=5#9105

Aftermath of arrests: What was it like in Lodi when the FBI came to town? Lawyer and ASATA activist, Veena Dubal talks about the atmosphere in the small town and why she decided to assist Pakistani Americans living there.

An earlier version of this article appeared on the front page of Bayosphere

Lodi Revealed
by Mini Kahlon

Bombs in the UK, the shock and fear of my relatives living in London, and my recent trip to Lodi, CA jostle with each other in my mind. Action, Reaction, Reality.

On June 8th, 2005 the media received a copy of an affidavit from the FBI accusing two men they had picked up in the Central Valley town of Lodi, California, of terrorism. As more men (including two imams) were arrested in Lodi, the FBI filed their affidavits with the court. These affidavits did not mention terrorism, but were changed to accuse the men of lying to the FBI. By then, the truth was too late; the media blitz had occurred, and “terror,” “mosque,” “Al Qaeda,” Muslim-sounding names, and the city of Lodi had all been conflated.

This article was widely reposted. It elicited discussion on Sepia Mutiny, Ihsan Blog, SF Bay Area Indymedia, and the Pacific News Service. It also appeared in American Muslim Perspective, Bay Area United Against War Newsletter, Not In Our Name, Infoshop News, Tokyo クリ, and Nha Hang Chay's blog. It has also appeared in India Currents (August 2005), and a different version appeared in Siliconeer (July 2005).

The FBI "Witch-Hunt" in Lodi
by Veena Dubal and Sunaina Maira

On June 7th 2005, national and international media attention focused on the small, agricultural town of Lodi, located approximately forty miles south of Sacramento. The FBI arrested and detained two individuals, both Pakistani-Americans, who they suspected had AL-Qaeda affiliations.

Pakistan Link
"San Francisco Celebrates Pakistan’s Independence"
August 27, 2004
by Ras H. Siddiqui
http://www.pakistanlink.com/Community/2004/Aug04/27/02.html

San Francisco: The 57th Independence Day of Pakistan was celebrated with much fanfare in front of San Francisco’s City Hall on August 14, 2004 as over 6000 people came to share the joy of the occasion in the largest annual gathering of the Pakistani-American community held in Northern California. And once again the Pakistan Association of the San Francisco Bay Area (www.pasfbayarea.org) needs our commendation because the logistics of an event of this size are indeed formidable. But beyond that the credit goes to Pakistanis plus other South Asians and their descendents, some of whom have lived in the California Central Valley for almost a century (since almost 40 years before India’s Partition).

IndyBay
"SF demands end to ICE raids in the city: Juana Flores & Sunaina Maira"
August 13, 2004
by Bill Carpenter
http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/08/1691942.php

Flores and Maira speak at the July 27th demonstration demanding an end to ICE raids in San Francisco. Seven minute QT movie. 22MB.

QuickTime movie at 21.6 megabytes

Poor News Network
"About their departure"
August 5, 2004
by Ace Tafoya
http://www.poormagazine.org/index.cfm?L1=news&category=35

In the early waking hours of a crisp May morning in the heart of the Mission District in San Francisco, United States federal officials stormed into the Hotel Sunrise on Valencia Street. Looking for a “deportee,” the agents terrorized residents getting ready for a day’s work.

San Francisco Chronicle
"100 rally to protest U.S. raids in Mission; 'This is not supposed to happen' in S.F., says one organizer"
June 24, 2004
by Cicero A. Estrella
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/06/24/BAGQV7AVEU1.DTL

About 100 people gathered in front of federal immigration offices Wednesday in San Francisco to protest recent raids in the Mission District.

Organizers of the rally say they know of at least three raids by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since early May that have resulted in arrests and deportations. They invoked San Francisco's refuge ordinance -- which prohibits use of city funds and resources in enforcing federal immigration laws -- in calling for an end to the sweeps.

Pakistan Link
"AMV Workshop on Impact of Special INS Registration"
June 18, 2004
by Abdus Sattar Ghazali
http://www.pakistanlink.com/Community/2004/June04/18/06.html

San Francisco: The Second South Asian Progressive Conference was held on May 23, 2004 in San Francisco. The conference was attended by over a hundred people, primarily activists from the Bay Area. The focus of the conference was on brainstorming to build a strong and vibrant South Asian community.

India Abroad
"The Lakireddy saga"
June 18, 2004
by Arthur J. Pais

At the center of this real life drama that rivaled the best efforts of Bollywood's storywriters was Lakireddy Bali Reddy.

It had all the ingredients of a Bollywood potboiler - the rich, respected businessman-philanthropist unveiled, dramatically, as a womanizer who exploits hapless young women.

At the center of a real-life drama that rivaled the best efforts of Bollywood's storywriters was Lakireddy Bali Reddy - the wealthy owner of over 1,000 apartments, two restaurants and assorted other businesses; a philanthropist known for his charitable contributions to the needy in his hometown, Andhra Pradesh.