JUICE: Kagan vs. Simmons for D17 Senate, Gansler's Attack Ad, MoCo Council Hopefuls for Wage Hike, Duncan on Purple Line

PLUS:  A PUSH AGAINST USING COPS FOR IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT IN MARYLAND

Below Maryland Juice provides a round-up of news that may be of interest to Free State politicos:

JUICE #1: FORMER DELEGATE CHERYL KAGAN ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN FOR D17 STATE SENATE // MEANWHILE: DEL. LUIZ SIMMONS RELEASES D17 SENATE POLL -  This week, former Delegate Cheryl Kagan announced her campaign for the District 17 State Senate seat currently held by Jennie Forehand. Notably, D17 Delegate Luiz Simmons recently announced his intention to run for the same Senate seat. Below you can see Kagan's press release announcing her Senate campaign, followed by a polling memo released by Delegate Simmons:

PRESS RELEASE

Former Delegate Cheryl Kagan Announces Plans to Run for State Senate
(Rockville, MD) Former state legislator and longtime Democratic activist Cheryl Kagan announced today that she plans to run for the District 17 State Senate seat in 2014.

Kagan, who represented District 17 (primarily Rockville and Gaithersburg) in the House of Delegates for eight years, has been a leader on issues such as civil liberties, public safety and gun control, transportation, and the budget.

In the State Senate, Kagan pledged to get results on issues that matter.

"We need an effective advocate who will work tirelessly to protect our values," Kagan said.  "In the Senate, I will speak up for our interests and for improving the quality of life in Rockville, Gaithersburg, and all of Montgomery County."

Cheryl Kagan, a Montgomery County native, represented the 17th legislative district from 1995 to 2003, when she chose not to run again.  While in office, she earned a reputation as a hard-working, effective, and independent-minded leader who asked tough questions on behalf of her constituents.

In addition to her service in elective office, Cheryl Kagan has done legislative, political, and nonprofit work at the federal, state, and local levels.  She has lobbied to strengthen our federal gun control laws; defended women's reproductive rights; supported the election of progressive, pro-choice Democrats; and, as a foundation executive, distributed more than $1,000,000 per year to local nonprofit organizations.  Kagan currently works as the Director of Community Engagement for BBYO, an international nonprofit organization helping to nurture and support Jewish teen leaders.

"My experience in the nonprofit sector has given me a deep understanding of how state policies in Annapolis affect our neighbors here in Montgomery County," Kagan said.  "By listening to the community and building coalitions, I'm confident that we can overcome our state's challenges."

Committed to giving back to the community, Kagan is a dedicated volunteer leader as well.  She has served with civic organizations including the Maryland State Arts Council, the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, the Charter Review Commission, and Leadership Montgomery.

In 2010, Kagan's energetic and competitive campaign for State Senate was called the "#1 Race to Watch" in all of Maryland.  She finished with 48% of the vote.

"Over the past several months, I've been humbled by the tremendous number of people who have encouraged me to run for the State Senate.  I am excited to continue these conversations on the campaign trail," said former Delegate Kagan.

An official announcement of Kagan's candidacy will be forthcoming.  To learn more about Cheryl Kagan and her campaign, please visit www.CherylKagan.org, www.facebook.com/CherylCKagan, and http://www.twitter.com/CherylKagan.

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Shortly after Cheryl Kagan announced for the D17 State Senate race, rival candidate Delegate Luiz Simmons released a polling memo claiming a 16 point lead in the race. It is worth noting, however, that the poll results below came from a fairly small sample of 219 voters:

Delegate Luiz Simmons NOV 2013 District 17 Polling Memo

Meanwhile, Cheryl Kagan points to a different metric in her race against Simmons - namely, social media followers. Bethesda Magazine's Lou Peck recently highlighted some numbers in the race for online support in District 17:

BETHESDA MAGAZINE: Just days after Delegate Luiz Simmons formally announced he would seek the District 17 Senate seat in next June’s Democratic primary, the jockeying is intensifying for what may turn out to be the only competitive 2014 contest among Montgomery County’s eight Senate districts....

The Kagan camp was boasting that, in just over three hours after its launch, her Facebook page had accumulated as many “likes” – 135 -- as a counterpart fan page launched by Simmons six months ago, in May. “The social media primary was won in less than 3.5 hours. Thank you, @facebook friends,” Kagan declared Friday night via Twitter.

As of Sunday evening, the Kagan page had slightly more than 400 likes, as compared to just under 175 for the Simmons page....

If you're interested in the social media contest, you can check out Cheryl Kagan and Luiz Simmons' campaign profiles on Facebook.


JUICE #2: DOUG GANSLER RELEASES VIDEO ATTACKING ANTHONY BROWN ON HANDLING OF OBAMACARE - The gubernatorial campaign of Attorney General Doug Gansler released the following video this week attacking rival Anthony Brown on his handling of Maryland's Obamacare roll-out:



JUICE #3: NEW MOCO COUNCIL CANDIDATES LAUNCH CAMPAIGNS WITH SUPPORT FOR MINIMUM WAGE HIKE: BETH DALY AT-LARGE & NEDA BOLOURIAN IN DISTRICT 2 - Two candidates this week announced campaigns for the Montgomery County Council: Beth Daly for an at-large seat and Neda Bolourian for the District 2 seat. All four at-large incumbents (Marc Elrich, Nancy Floreen, George Leventhal & Hans Riemer) are seeking re-election next year, as is the District 2 incumbent Craig Rice. Below you can see a press release and social media roll-out from the candidates, as well as statements in support of the proposed MoCo minimum wage increase:

PRESS RELEASE

Beth Daly Declares Candidacy for Montgomery County At-Large Council Seat   Daly is a Critic of Unchecked Growth
Montgomery County, MD – Beth Daly, a civic activist and member of the Montgomery County Upcounty Citizens Advisory Board and the Sugarloaf Citizens Association, announced her candidacy for one of the county’s four at-large county council seats. Daly will be running as a Democrat in the June 24 primary.

Daly, a critic of unchecked growth who has been active in advocating for public transit and more accurate traffic management systems, would be the council’s only at-large council member from Montgomery’s fast-growing upcounty region. Currently, all four of the at-large council members live south of White Flint Mall.

“We need to put the smart back in smart growth,” Daly said in her campaign video, which appears on her website www.bethdaly.org. “I do not want to hear that the Montgomery County Council is powerless to fix the problems it created or allowed to fester under its watch,” Daly said.

While working as an advertising consultant, Daly, 51, raised two children, Jack and Joe, with husband Steve Seeger, living first in Bethesda and later in Dickerson. Daly now works for the Spanish language broadcaster Telemundo. 

A first-time candidate for elected office, Daly is no stranger to Democratic politics or public policy. She began her career in the mid 1980’s on the staff of the late Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH); she directed the Clinton/Gore presidential campaign’s media buying efforts in the 1990’s; and in 2012 was selected by EMERGE Maryland, for a program designed to recruit and develop accomplished women seeking elected office throughout the state of Maryland.

 “I love Montgomery County and I’ve loved my life here as an apartment dweller, as a suburban homeowner and as someone who now lives in the Agricultural Reserve,” said Daly. “This county has much to offer. The challenge now is to keep pace with transportation, education, recreation and other needs. I am tired of seeing our school grounds littered with portable classrooms. I am tired of spending more time in traffic and less time at home with my loved ones. We either do it right, now, and right now, or we feel the pain for decades to come.”

The Daly campaign held its first campaign kickoff on November 16th to a jam-packed crowd at the Poolesville home of Tom Gutierrez and Ann Stevens. A second event is scheduled for November 21st in the Chevy Chase home of George and Monica Baker.

# # #

In the District 2 Council race, former candidate Neda Bolourian announced her intentions to run for the seat through a couple of messages on Facebook:

NEDA BOLOURIAN: Pleased to announce that we have filed the appropriate paperwork and are officially in the running for Montgomery County Council! Thank you for the outpouring of support!....

The new website will be up by next week! I look forward to hearing from all of you and would love to get the youth involved in our great county!! Message me if you would like to volunteer or take part in our informal panel discussion. This campaign is about ALL of us! Let's get this started!

On the week of their campaign announcements, Daly and Bolourian both came out for the proposed Montgomery County minimum wage increase:

PRESS RELEASE

Statement by Beth Daly Montgomery County, MD At-Large Council Candidate on Increasing Montgomery County’s Minimum Wage

I fully support Bill 27-13 - to raise the minimum wage in Montgomery County to $11.50 over a three-year span.  We live in one of the ten wealthiest counties in the nation. We also have a very high cost of living, as compared to other areas of Maryland and the U.S.  Hourly workers deserve a living wage, and the federal minimum of $7.25 is simply not enough to allow low-wage workers to pay for rent, food, and transportation in Montgomery County.

In real terms, the minimum wage has decreased. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “Legislated increases in the federal minimum wage in both 2007 and 2008 boosted it from $5.15 in 2006 to $7.25 in 2009, its highest level in real terms since 1981. But even after this nearly 41 percent increase, the minimum wage in 2009 was still 7.8 percent less than its value in 1967 (in 2011 dollars).”
http://www.epi.org/publication/declining-federal-minimum-wage-inequality/

I want to thank Councilmember Marc Elrich for introducing this important legislation, along with Council President Nancy Navarro, and Councilmember Valerie Ervin  for co-sponsoring it. I urge the remaining five councilmembers to sign on to this bill.

# # #

Neda Bolourian announced her support for a minimum wage increase on Facebook and Twitter:

NEDA BOLOURIAN: Every citizen deserves a #livingwage. I support raising the minimum wage in our county immediately. There is no time to waste.

Pleased to hear that the committee has voted to raise the #livingwage in our community. Hope that the full council follows suit. #MDpolitics

JUICE #4: MARYLAND BOARD OF ELECTIONS TAKES ISSUE WITH GANSLER'S PROPOSAL FOR AN OUTSIDE SPENDING BAN IN THE GOVERNOR'S RACE - Maryland Juice previously reported that Doug Gansler was calling on Anthony Brown and Heather Mizeur to join him in a pledge to voluntarily reject outside spending from groups in the 2014 Governor's race.  But The Washington Post reported this week that the Board of Elections has issues with the pledge (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: As Maryland gubernatorial hopeful Douglas F. Gansler presented it last week, his plan to “keep outside money out of Maryland” would require him and his Democratic rivals to sign a pledge discouraging third-party spending on the race.

If an organization other than a campaign spent money on radio or television ads, the candidate who benefited would have to pay a penalty by donating campaign money to charity....

This week, however, a state election official said there was a hitch: Maryland election law bans most charitable contributions by active campaigns.

“However noble it may be, it’s not allowed,” said Jared DeMarinis, director of the state election board’s candidacy and campaign finance division....

“This can be worked out,” [Gansler spokesman Bob Wheelock] said. “The first step is getting the other campaigns to agree to do it.”

Brown’s campaign manager, Justin Schall, wasn’t biting. He said Gansler’s proposed pledge was “well intentioned,” but he added, “We have been advised that it fails to comply with Maryland law....”

JUICE #5: DOUG DUNCAN'S COMMENTS ON THE PURPLE LINE AT MARYLAND JUICE'S "MILLION VIEWS" PARTY UNDER SCRUTINY - The Washington Post's Bill Turque earlier this week wrote a review of commentary from rival MoCo executive candidates Ike Leggett and Doug Duncan. But Turque followed up on his piece with a second article digging into some remarks Doug Duncan made during Q&A about the Purple Line (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: While answering questions from Democratic activists at a Rockville restaurant Monday night, Doug Duncan — the former Montgomery County executive who is running to regain that office — said he’d “always” been a steadfast supporter of the Purple Line. But that depends on your definition of “always....”

During his first campaign for county executive in 1994, Duncan signed a pledge to oppose light rail from Bethesda to Silver Spring, especially if it happened to cross the fairways of the Columbia Country Club or pass through land behind expensive Chevy Chase homes. A copy of the agreement is on the Action Committee for Transit Web site, under the “Purple Line History” tab....

[Action Committee for Transit's Ben] Ross, who attended the Monday night event and asked Duncan about his position on the Purple Line, tweeted attention to Duncan’s revision of history the next day....

Duncan said Wednesday he didn’t think he misled the audience Monday night. “I’ve always supported the Purple Line. It was a question of alignment,” he said.... “But, we had a good debate on it, and the decision was made to put it somewhere else, and I support that decision,” he said. “We’re not going to revisit that. We need to get it built.”

JUICE #6: NEW MARYLAND ACLU REPORT DETAILS HOW USING LOCAL POLICE AS IMMIGRATION AGENTS UNDERMINES PUBLIC SAFETY - Maryland Juice has for a long time been calling for the Free State and its counties to stop participating in the Department of Homeland Security's so-called "Secure Communities" program. Other states have fought participation in the program, which forces local police to serve as immigration enforcement agents. This week the ACLU of Maryland, along with CASA and SEIU, highlighted a new report indicating that these "immigration detainers" by local law enforcement undermine public safety. You can read the press release and the ACLU's report below:

PRESS RELEASE

ACLU Report Details How Immigration Detainers in Maryland Undermine Public Safety Through Unnecessary Enforcement

Group Will Support “Maryland TRUST Act”Legislation in the 2014 Session

TAKOMA PARK, MD – Amid a deportation frenzy in the U.S. even while immigration reform is being considered in Congress, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland today released a report on how state and local law enforcement are undermining public safety and wasting resources by enforcing immigration detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Compliance with these detainers is not mandatory, yet the report details the startling rate at which many counties detain immigrants with no greater offense than a traffic violation – effectively transforming their local law enforcement officials into proxy immigration agents.

The ACLU report was launched at a press conference featuring State Sen. Victor Ramirez (D-Prince George’s) and representatives from CASA de Maryland (CASA) and Service Employees International United (SEIU). Sen. Ramirez will be the lead Senate sponsor of the Maryland TRUST Act, a bill to restore community trust in local law enforcement by eliminating their entanglement in civil immigration enforcement efforts.

“More and more jurisdictions across the country are refusing to act as surrogates in the current deportation frenzy,” said Sirine Shebaya, attorney directing the ACLU of Maryland’s immigrants’ rights advocacy. “The ACLU is calling on Maryland to join other states in deciding that complying with these requests is an inefficient use of our limited law enforcement resources and results only in ripping apart our communities.”

The report, Restoring Trust: How Immigration Detainers in Maryland Undermine Public Safety Through Unnecessary Enforcement, describes how immigrants in Maryland are detained after they are eligible for release, in state and local facilities and at state and local expense, for the sole purpose of transferring them to federal immigration authorities even when they are picked up solely on traffic violations and even when they are not even charged with a civil immigration violation.

Key findings in the ACLU report:

• Most individuals held on an immigration detainer in Maryland are charged only with traffic violations or minor misdemeanor offenses.
• The overwhelming majority of people targeted by immigration detainers in Maryland are Latino.
• Immigration detainers undermine public safety and community trust in local law enforcement by entangling local authorities in federal immigration enforcement.
• Immigration detainers are purely voluntary requests that impose costs on local jurisdictions, and those costs are not reimbursed by the federal government.
• Several states, counties, and cities across the United States have taken steps to stop detaining individuals based solely on immigration detainer requests.

The report calls for statewide reform that would take back control of Maryland’s entanglement in a broken immigration enforcement system and that would provide safeguards that address the significant due process and other constitutional concerns raised by immigration detainers. These safeguards would restore and help build community trust in law enforcement. And they would ensure that local jurisdictions are fully reimbursed for any costs associated with responding to immigration detainer requests.

Recently, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office issued a letter of advice joining a number of other state and county attorneys in recognizing that compliance with immigration detainer requests is discretionary.

###

ACLU Maryland Report: How Immigration Detainers In Maryland Undermine Public Safety

Liberal Group Condemns Sen. Anthony Muse's Divisive Campaign Flyer // Marriage Equality Foes Admit Division is Goal

UPDATE: The national progressive blog Daily Kos has picked up the story of State Senator Anthony Muse's divisive flyer.

This week, Maryland Juice posted campaign flyers from State Senator Anthony Muse, who is currently trying to replace U.S. Senator Ben Cardin in the April Democratic Primary. We noted that Mr. Muse's literature may mislead voters into thinking that President Barack Obama had endorsed Muse, when in fact he had endorsed Senator Cardin for re-election. We also noted that Mr. Muse voted against the Dream Act and was a leading opponent of marriage equality in Maryland.

A number of readers, however, have also pointed out that Mr. Muse's literature seems to pit voters against Maryland's Jewish community. They point to the following portion of his literature:

One Maryland Juice reader commented:

...the anti-Semitism of that palm card just leaps off the page. Let's not forget that Ben Cardin is (ahem) Jewish. 

I particularly like the "subtle as a sledgehammer" use of "Jewish" alongside white, black, Hispanic and Asian, and the doubly insulting insinuation that Jews are something other than white. You stay classy, Anthony Muse. 

The overall thrust of this palm card, again beyond the lie, is Muse's completely transparent attempt to empower the African-American community by appealing to blatant bias against Jews. "Hey, look, THOSE people are overrepresented. That should be OUR Senate seat." Disgusting.

PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY CONDEMNS MUSE LIT: The liberal advocacy group People for the American Way (PFAW) picked up on the story and is condemning Sen. Anthony Muse's literature. Trivia: PFAW's former head was Ralph Neas - the 1998 Democratic nominee for the 8th Congressional District.

Disturbing Campaign Literature in Maryland

...Muse, an African American minister in the Washington suburbs, is challenging Sen. Ben Cardin in a Democratic primary election next week. Cardin is Jewish. Maryland Juice has posted a copy of a Muse sample ballot reportedly being distributed at some early voting centers that seems to indirectly make Cardin's religion an issue. The second page notes the underrepresentation of African Americans and other people of color, but also seems to go out of its way to imply there are too many Jews in the Senate.

What legitimate reason is there to include a count of Jews in this tally, when there is no count of any other religious group? Noting that Jews are 12% of the Senate but only 1.8% of the population seems designed to stoke unwarranted and dangerous resentment among voters who are justifiably frustrated that there are no African Americans in the U.S. Senate today.

MARRIAGE EQUALITY OPPONENTS ADMIT GOAL IS TO TURN COMMUNITIES AGAINST EACH OTHER: Notably, PFAW's piece recent post about Muse also notes that the anti-LGBT group, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), has also admitted that its goal is to stoke divisions between African American and Latino voters and other Democratic constituencies. Does this sound familiar to you? (Ahem  *cough* - Archbishop O'Brien & Anthony Muse).

PFAW commented:

The anti-gay National Organization for Marriage is being widely condemned as Americans learn from previously secret organizational documents the lengths it is willing to go in order to turn one community of Americans against another. This week, campaign literature from one of NOM's allies in the fight against equality, Maryland state senator Anthony Muse, is raising questions as to whether he is using similar methods himself.

HRC EXPOSES DIVISIVE TACTICS: If you haven't been following the new revelations about the disgusting, divisive tactics that are being employed by anti-LGBT activists, check out this recent article from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). They obtained copies of strategy documents, where the anti-marriage organizers detail the very strategies we are watching unfold in Maryland:

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF MARRIAGE: “The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks—two key Democratic constituencies. Find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage, develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots…” 

Another passage: 

"The Latino vote in America is a key swing vote, and will be so even more so in the future, both because of demographic growth and inherent uncertainty: Will the process of assimilation to the dominant Anglo culture lead Hispanics to abandon traditional family values? We must interrupt this process of assimilation by making support for marriage a key badge of Latino identity - a symbol of resistance to inappropriate assimilation." 

On PDF page 12, it talks about “sideswiping Obama,” painting him as a “social radical” and talking about “side issues” like pornography.

MARYLAND JUICE CONCLUSION: Wow. So Sen. Anthony Muse -- who has appeared at Tea Party rallies to fire up the anti-LGBT base -- is playing directly into rightwing divide-and-conquer activist tactics (see their playbook here). NICE!

This is what happens when one part of the Democratic base tries to capitalize on hatred towards another part of the Democratic base. That's why we all need to hang together, and its why Sen. Anthony Muse has no future as a statewide candidate in Maryland or in national Democratic politics.

Sorry, but its the truth!

#JSA Gets Political: Letter from Jorge Steven Acuna Re: Today's Meeting With U.S. Senator Ben Cardin & MD Sen. Anthony Muse

UPDATE: Apparently, State Senator Anthony Muse stood up the #JSA students and was a no-show at their meet-and-greet today. Organizers indicate that Muse had confirmed attendance at the event. One student commented: "Didn't even have the courtesy to let anyone know he wasn't coming. I feel like it might be a good representation of what will happen if he is elected to the US Senate: he'll promise things and never show up to the immigrant community." OUCH!

BACKGROUND:Maryland Juice has been covering the inspiring story of the student activists involved in the #JSA movement. As apolitical MoCo youths, they "got political" after Homeland Security tried to deport one of their friends, Jorge Steven Acuna (aka JSA). JSA and his family were jailed and being readied for deportation after their application for asylum from Colombia was denied. The student activists called on Rep. Chris Van Hollen to intervene -- and in just a few days -- they amassed a 12,500 member Twitter following and several thousand petition signatures. Their efforts got the attention of Rep. Chris Van Hollen, and the Acuna family was promptly released and granted a one-year-stay on their deportation.

NEXT STEPS FOR #JSA: Yesterday we reported that today the #JSA students were hosting town hall style meet and greets between their members and U.S. Senator Ben Cardin and State Senator Anthony Muse. Both men are vying for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate. When I asked for more information on their plans, organizers stated that students around the nation wanted to join their effort. #JSA now announces that high school and college chapters are in progress around the nation -- in places ranging from Virginia to Florida (ie: key swing states). They are now rebranding their efforts as Justice for Students in America and are an explicitly multiracial progressive movement.

After their foray into the U.S. Senate race, organizers tell Maryland Juice they are launching a voter registration drive and will move into the 6th Congressional District race next. They call CD6 the epicenter of their membership, due to the Jorge Steven Acuna case. In fact, the Acuna family appears to be among those households moved from CD8 to CD6. On a side note, we also hear the #JSA students have been in touch with MoCo's anti-curfew organizers to build synergy. Rock on!

Below we print a letter from the newly freed Jorge Steven Acuna. He discusses his detention and highlights how the #JSA activists are getting political:

"Some say tragedies are hard to get over, but sometimes that tragedy means it's over."

To a certain extent that is how it feels. You see, it all happened growing up, through my teenage years, I felt it coming, i felt the fear that one day the tragedy would arrive. The morning my father woke me up telling me it was over, i realized that my fear had finally come to an end. It's rather ironic to think that you grow up with a certain fear for years and years, and then one day, your biggest fear happens. So what happens? What did i truly feel? Nothing. Everyone that visited me came out of the jail inspired by my optimism, when those who visited saw me most would go into tears, and what would i try to manage? A smile. It's a sick thing what happened to me, i had to see some of the closest people in my life cry in front of my eyes, even harder thing was that i had to make sure I was strong. It turned out to be a huge injustice, and I say this not as someone who is an immigrant but rather as a human being.

But then, it happened, perhaps our lives are limited to few or none miracles, for me this was it. My miracle, and when it happened i was free. My story is not to target any feelings in your heart but rather to let everyone now that I do not plan on letting this miracle only be mine. It's crazy how my life has changed in the past two weeks, mostly because now i feel like i have a voice, and i don't feel that fear i grew for all those years.

Today JSA gives you the opportunity to meet our Maryland Senator, and a State Senator running against him. I urge you to come out and see it for yourself, because together we all have a voice, and together we can make a difference.


U.S. Senator Ben Cardin & State Senator Anthony Muse
Saturday March 24, 2012 at 12:30 p. m. on the
Montgomery College Rockville Campusm TC room 136
Let's make our voice be heard so that no one ever lives through what i lived through. Furthermore, let's do this for those who suffer countless of other injustices, because we are all human, and we all have the right to be treated as some.

Sincerely,

Jorge Steven Acuña

Maryland Juice will report back on the results of the U.S. Senate Primary candidate meetings, as well as on future plans for JSA soon!

SATURDAY: Students Behind #JSA Campaign Host Townhall Meetings w/ Senate Candidates Ben Cardin & Anthony Muse

UPDATE: The JSA organizers are clarifying that the event is a town hall style meet and greet with their members and two Democratic U.S. Senate candidates. However, Senator Cardin and State Senator Anthony Muse will not be sharing a stage to debate.  See the updated press release with scheduling details below. 

In short: Maryland Senator Anthony Muse will attend from 1:15-1:45pm and U.S. Senator Ben Cardin will attend from 1:45-2:15 pm. The event will be on Saturday, March 24 at 12:30 pm on the Montgomery College Rockville Campus, TC building, room 136.

Maryland Juice just received the press release below from the student activists behind the campaign to free Jorge Steven Acuna (aka #JSA). We recently wrote about their efforts to aid their friend and classmate after he and his family were arrested by Homeland Security and ready to be deported when their application for asylum was denied.

The students petitioned Rep. Chris Van Hollen to help the Acuna family, given that they are currently 8th Congressional District residents. They succeeded in getting the family released, with a one-year stay on their deportation. But their efforts have not stopped there. They are now pressing forward with efforts to make sure their issues are not ignored in the future. Amazingly, they are now hosting a town hall meeting with two U.S. Senate Democratic candidates, Ben Cardin and Anthony Muse. Their press release is below:

PRESS RELEASE

JSA Movement to Host Town Hall Meetings with
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin and State Senator Anthony Muse

Saturday March 24, 2012 at 12:30 p. m. on the
Montgomery College Rockville Campus

Youth will have the opportunity to ask questions directly to the Senators

Rockville MD, March 23, 2012 – The Justice for Students in America (JSA) movement will host a town hall–style meeting with Maryland Senator Anthony Muse from 1:15-1:45pm and U.S. Senator Ben Cardin from 1:45-2:15 pm, on Saturday, March 24 at 12:30 pm on the Montgomery College Rockville Campus, TC building, room 136. Press conference will be held at 12:00 pm. JSA members and other youth will have the opportunity to ask questions directly to the Senators on issues that most affect them from the DREAM ACT, jobs, the economy, to comprehensive immigration reform and other topics.

All Montgomery College students and other youth and their families are welcome to attend. There will be an opportunity to register to vote for all of those who are eligible.

The JSA movement is a student- and youth-led, grassroots, empowering group with the mission to give all students and youth in America a voice. JSA promotes and encourages its youth members to become a positive force of civically-active members of society, and seek a high quality of live and equal opportunities for themselves, their families and all Americans through education.

Visit the JSA Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/300409916692389

Follow us on Twitter @TheJSAMovement

##

BREAKING: Rep. Chris Van Hollen Reports Jorge Steven Acuna & Family Have Been Released // One Year Stay for Deportation

UPDATE: Casa de Maryland is still planning on hosting the rally in Rockville today at 3:30. The event will be in Rockville Town Square, and is designed to highlight the problem of deportations more generally. They hope to draw attention to the situation of others in a similar position to Jorge Steven Acuna.

Maryland Juice just received the following breaking news from Rep. Chris Van Hollen's office. Jorge Steven Acuna (aka #JSA) and his family have been released!

"I'm pleased that ICE reviewed the facts of the case and decided to release Jorge and the Acuna family and stayed their removal for a year. In light of the circumstances in this situation, it was the fair and humane decision." -- Congressman Chris Van Hollen

Thanks to the politicians who are stepping up in this fight. Let's keep the momentum going!

Rep. Chris Van Hollen & Montgomery County Councilmembers Respond to Planned Deportation of Jorge Steven Acuna #JSA

Yesterday, Maryland Juice reported on a sudden and new movement for immigrant justice in the Free State. The campaign emerged due to the planned deportation of Jorge Steven Acuna -- a Dream Act student at Montgomery College. Casa de Maryland earlier today provided details on his case (read here). Essentially, Jorge and his family have been detained by ICE after their application for asylum status was rejected. They came here over a decade ago due to political violence in Colombia. The quality of their prior representation is in question, given that their attorney was later disbarred.

The issue has rallied the community in Montgomery County and beyond, as young people have launched a social media-driven awareness campaign to save their friend. Their initial target for their communications was Rep. Chris Van Hollen, since Jorge and his family are residents of Van Hollen's 8th Congressional District. Their efforts are getting noticed. Below we print a message from Rep. Van Hollen's office on the matter, along with a statement of support from all nine members of the Montgomery County Council:

CVH: "Congressman Van Hollen is deeply concerned about Jorge and the Acuna family.  He has shared his concerns with ICE and has spoken personally to the Maryland Field Office Director to urge him to issue a deferment of removal proceedings against this family." -- Bridgett Frey, spokesperson for Congressman Chris Van Hollen.

PRESS RELEASE

Montgomery County Council Statement on 
Pending Deportation of Acuña Family

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 12, 2012—All nine members of the Montgomery County Council today signed a statement expressing their concern about the Department of Homeland Security’s detention and pending deportation of Germantown resident Jorge Steven Acuña (age 19), his mother, Blanca, and his father, Jorge.

“We urge the White House and the Department of Homeland Security to intervene in this terrible situation,” the statement reads. “We also call on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform to finally fix this broken system.”

The complete Montgomery County Council statement on the detention and pending deportation of the Acuña Family:

We are deeply concerned by the Department of Homeland Security’s detention and pending deportation of Germantown resident Jorge Steven Acuña (age 19) and his mother, Blanca Susana Acuña and father, Jorge Acuña.

This issue was brought to our attention because of the incredible outpouring of support and activism by students at Montgomery College. More than 4,000 people have signed a petition and joined a Facebook group in an effort to stop this unjust action by the federal government.

Jorge’s parents brought him to the United States from Colombia when he was 8 years old. He grew up in Montgomery County, was an honor student at Northwest High School, and is only a semester away from graduating from Montgomery College. His parents, in an effort to do the right thing and seek legal asylum status, were caught up in our nation’s broken immigration system and now face the prospect of deportation. The entire family is currently being held in an ICE facility on the Eastern Shore.

In a similar situation earlier this month in Florida, ICE used its prosecutorial discretion and decided to defer deportation of an 18-year-old high school valedictorian who was born in Colombia and came to the United States at 4 years old. We encourage ICE to use the same good judgment again, this time in the case of the Acuña Family.

We stand committed to working with Congressman Chris Van Hollen and Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski to help the Acuña Family avoid deportation. The Acuña Family’s attorney has prepared an emergency stay application and the Montgomery County Council is strongly supportive of this request.

We urge the White House and the Department of Homeland Security to intervene in this terrible situation. We also call on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform to finally fix this broken system.

For additional information:

• Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/groups/300409916692389/
• Change.org Petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/jsa
• Twitter Hashtag: #JSA
• Florida Case: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/07/us-usa-florida-student-idUSTRE8261KA20120307
• www.lethimstay.net

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Casa de Maryland Responds to Planned Deportation of Jorge Steven Acuna // Hundreds to Rally in Rockville: WED @ 3:30 PM

PRESS RELEASE (en español)

Hundreds of Students, Teachers & Community Members Call on ICE to 

Halt Deportation of a Maryland Dream Act Student & His Family 

Case of family of 3 from Germantown, MD sparks a grassroots revolution of support

• WHAT: Press Conference, rally and vigil
• WHERE: Rockville Town Square, Rockville, MD 20850
• WHEN: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 3:30 P.M.
• WHO: Friends and family of Jorge Steven Acuña, Members of St. Rose of Lima church, St. Martins church, Mother Seton Parish, Northwest High School Teachers, Montgomery College Professors, Soccer Coaches, Hundreds of students, Members of the community, CASA de Maryland

Rockville, MD - This Wednesday, hundreds of students, community members, faith leaders, and teachers will join together to urge justice for the Acuña family. On March 8th 2012, Blanca, Jorge Sr., and Jorge Steven Acuña were taken from their home by immigration agents and are now being held at Snow Hill Detention Center in a maximum security unit.

The Acuña family came to the United States in 2001 to escape the political violence of their home country of Colombia. Moving first to Florida then to Montgomery County, Maryland, they quickly adopted to their new community buying a home, working multiple jobs to support the family, and getting active in their church St. Rose of Lima in Gaithersburg. Jorge Steven started his education at the grade school level in the United States, graduated with a 3.8 GPA from Northwest High School in Germantown, and started his studies at Montgomery College this year where he has made the Dean's List, excelling in academics and athletics. Jorge's dream is to go to Johns Hopkins and become a surgeon.

When the Acuñas came to the United States, they applied for asylum. Despite the tens of thousands they spent on representation, their case did not receive adequate legal attention from their attorney who was later disbarred. Asylum was denied and last week ICE officials came to pick the family up, putting the star student in leg irons for transport to the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland.

“This terrible news is sending shockwaves through our community not just because the Acuñas are productive members of our society, but especially because of the loss of a young, inspiring, and successful college student,” said Julio Castillo, a classmate, teammate and close friend of Jorge’s. “This must stop with Jorge”

Hours after his detention, Jorge’s friends and family organized an impressive social media campaign with viral videos and photos. Within 48 hours their online petition gathered almost 5,000 signatures while their twitter campaign #JSA is trending as one of the most talked about topics in the Washington D.C. Metro area. They have gained the attention of thousands across our county and state prompting a unanimous statement of support from the Montgomery County Council.

“It is good to see hope in jail, a place where I never see daylight,” said Jorge Steven to his supporters when they visited him in an Eastern Shore detention center over the weekend.

In late August of last year, the Obama administration announced it planned to review cases of people currently in removal proceedings and focus their resources only on the highest priorities. In other words, DREAM ACT- students, relatives of veterans, victims of domestic violence and other individuals would be able to stay in the country and get work permits. Actions tomorrow will draw attention and recruit supporters to the cause of the Acuña family while continuing to highlight the impact of the broken immigration system on local communities.

Links:

• Online petition: www.lethimstay.net
• Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/300409916692389/
• Twitter: #JSA

MoCo Residents Fight Back Against Politicians' War on Immigrants // Students Fight Deportation of Their Friend #JSA

UPDATE: Rep. Chris Van Hollen, all nine members of the Montgomery County Council, and Casa de Maryland have published responses to the case of Jorge Steven Acuna.

Jorge Steven Acuna = #JSA

BACKGROUND: In the course of the last few years, Maryland Juice has been evangelizing the power of the Internet and peer-to-peer information sharing to advance social causes and political candidates. Over the weekend, numerous readers have flagged the latest experiment in social change, driven by otherwise ordinary individuals. Rather than tackling a global issue -- like the now famous Kony 2012 effort -- young people in Montgomery County are trying to make a difference in their own community. Their efforts center around a young man named Jorge Steven Acuna.

A reader who has been helping this cause provides information about Jorge: "There is a young Germantown kid – Jorge Steven Acuña – who was picked up with his parents by ICE to be deported after their multi-year application for asylum was denied.  It is a very typical story.  What is different here is that the community has exploded around it. Jorge is a resident of the 8th Congressional District and a Montgomery College student (future surgeon as his YouTube bio says). All of his supporters started out as apolitical young people who grew up in Montgomery County but have become totally politicized by the case."

LAME MARYLAND DEMOCRATS: Members of the Maryland Congressional delegation, along with state and county leaders, are completely LAME on immigrant justice. For the last two years, I have watched Democrats in other states fight back against rampant and careless deportations, reject the ridiculous "Secure Communities" program, and file private bills for DREAM Act students. But none of that happens in Maryland (aka "The Free State"). Once again, this Democratic complacency has led to youths taking matters into their own hands.

A NEW CAMPAIGN IS BORN: Friends of Jorge Steven Acuna have launched a multi-faceted campaign to raise awareness of his cause and have launched a viral YouTube video, Facebook effort, Twitter hashtag (#JSA), and change.org petition. Their request is simple: They want Rep. Chris Van Hollen to intervene, and they are doing everything they can to make sure he gets their message. See their kick-off video and numerous examples of guerilla marketing below:

CONCLUSION: Indeed, Maryland Juice has wondered why there has been deafening silence from Maryland Democrats (who are high-ranking officials in the Party) about Barack Obama's record-setting deportations of (mostly Latino) immigrants, and their seeming lack of interest in doing anything about Secure Communities. I was just in Dublin, Ireland last week and learned a great deal about the flood of immigrants to the United States during the great famine in Ireland. I am planning to write about my trip soon, but in the meantime, I have to point out that the parallels between the Irish immigrants of the last century and the immigrants of today are obvious. The biggest difference is that today's immigrants have a different skin color and speak a different language. The fact that this difference allows for such a massively lame response today is sickening.

Our political system stinks, and we're getting sick of this. 
Young people, I think it is time for a political rumble. 
We need to dislodge the oldsters if things don't start changing.

DC Rejects Anti-Latino "Secure Communities" Deportation Program // Plus, Restaurant Eve Top Chef Weighs In?

Yesterday, the District of Columbia announced that it was refusing to participate in the Department of Justice's controversial "Secure Communities" deportation program. According to the Washington Post, Mayor Vince Gray signed an Executive Order "that prohibits public safety agencies from asking about a person’s immigrant status or contacting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement."  The announcement came on the same day that researchers released a new report calling into question the record number of deportations occurring under the Obama administration. According to PBS, Secure Communities really does break up families (lots of them) and racially profiles Latinos:

...a new report, released today, raises major questions about a program that has lead to many of those deportations. 

Secure Communities, a high-tech way of tracking immigration violators via fingerprint data, has led to the disproportionate arrest of Latinos, the wrongful detention of U.S. citizens and families being split apart when a spouse or parent is deported, according to a new study, [PDF] released today by the Warren Institute at the University of California, Berkeley Law School, in conjunction with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. 

The study is the first to analyze government data on the program. Among its findings:

Another GOP Cog Defects: A Border Patrol Agent Speaks Out

Earlier this week, we pointed Maryland Juice readers toward an article written by a former GOP cog. The page-turner of a post is titled "Confessions of a GOP Operative: The Inside Story on Republican Sabotage." The article it discusses was written by a veteran Hill staffer who spent years working for Republicans. One observation from the author that we didn't highlight previously (but do below), is the perfect introduction to the topic of this post:

While Democrats temporized, or even dismissed the fears of the white working class as racist or nativist, Republicans went to work. To be sure, the business wing of the Republican Party consists of the most energetic outsourcers, wage cutters and hirers of sub-minimum wage immigrant labor to be found anywhere on the globe. But the faux-populist wing of the party, knowing the mental compartmentalization that occurs in most low-information voters, played on the fears of that same white working class to focus their anger on scapegoats that do no damage to corporations' bottom lines: instead of raising the minimum wage, let's build a wall on the Southern border (then hire a defense contractor to incompetently manage it). Instead of predatory bankers, it's evil Muslims. Or evil gays. Or evil abortionists.

Yes indeed, this blog is also prone to shouting about nativism. We are, after all, witnessing the exploitation of the recession as a motivator for unprecedented anti-immigrant animus. That's why I thought Monday's "Confessions of a GOP Operative" post would make a nice introduction to today's post. In what may just be a coincidence, yet another GOP cog has seen the light. This time it is a former border patrol agent:

John Randolph is a retired US Border Patrol/ICE Agent. In his twenty six year career, he worked as a US Border Patrol Agent, INS Criminal Investigator, and a DHS Special Agent assigned to the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

TONIGHT: Homeland Security Hosts DC Area Hearings on Deportation Program - Will MD Officials Speak Out?

UPDATE: Washington Post coverage of the DHS hearings:  "Maria Bolanos told [ICE]... that she was arrested after calling police in Maryland during a fight with her partner.... Now she’s facing deportation because her fingerprints were shared with immigration authorities and she was identified as an illegal immigrant as part of the Secure Communities program....  200 people walked out of the meeting, chanting “end it, don’t amend it.” 

Earlier this week, my friends at the Bill of Rights Defense Committee alerted me to tonight's DC-area Department of Homeland Security public hearing. DHS is gathering input on their controversial "Secure Communities" deportation program (see email alert below). We discuss what the fuss is all about in greater depth below, but first a little bit of political background on the issue.

At issue is DHS's program asking local law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of people they detain. People flagged as present without documentation could be instantly whisked away by immigration officials (note: currently deportation occurs whether or not they are guilty of the crime in question -- they may even be the crime victim!)

Democratic Governors in Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts have ensured their states refused to participate in "Secure Communities." Will Maryland officials follow?