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For Civil Minds Blog

Immigration Reform—A Long Overdue Change

Posted on February 6th, 2013 by ERC

Last week, the seemingly intractable problems in our immigration system finally received significant political attention. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, unofficially titled the “gang of 8”, announced a framework for immigration reform. A day later, President Obama endorsed the Senators’ efforts and unveiled his administration’s similar framework for immigration reform. The broader framework of both plans reveals the same goals: (1) developing a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented individuals currently living in the U.S. and contributing to the economy and culture; (2) improving the process to enter the country legally for qualified people seeking work; (3) strengthening the employment verification process and cracking down on employers who hire undocumented workers; and (4) tightening border security.

The details of these proposed immigration reforms need to be ironed out, and any final legislation will undoubtedly not fully appease either side of the immigration debate. However, this starting point for discussion, and an apparent commitment from leaders in both political parties, is a positive first step towards providing stability for the 11 million individuals, and millions more family members directly impacted by the issue—and will also bring us a step closer toward equal opportunity for all. (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Immigrant Rights
Tags: immigration, President Obama, reform, US Senate
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ERC’s Assistance Animal Toolkit Now Available!

Posted on January 30th, 2013 by ERC

The ERC is proud to announce the publication The Assistance Animal Users’ Public Accommodations and Fair Housing Toolkit. This toolkit is just one of the many resources and publications that the ERC uses to educate individuals about their rights under federal, state and local laws.

Thousands of individuals use service and assistive animals in their everyday lives. From guide dogs that help blind individuals navigate their surroundings, to cats that provide emotional support to people suffering from depression, there are numerous types of assistance animals available to people with disabilities. However, federal laws governing the right to be accompanied by these animals in various settings can be confusing.

The Assistance Animal Users’ Public Accommodations and Fair Housing Toolkit is designed to inform individuals who use service and assistance animals of their rights under both the federal Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The toolkit is designed to help define and categorize the different types of assistance animals, and to inform those who use an assistance animal of their rights and what they can do if they experience discrimination.

The toolkit outlines the process for requesting reasonable modifications and reasonable accommodations under federal laws, informs individuals how to report discrimination and provides self-advocacy tips.

To download a PDF copy of the report, click here.

To request a hard copy of the toolkit, send us an email at members@equalrightscenter.org.

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Categorized as Advocacy, Disability Rights, Fair Housing
Tags: ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act, disability rights, ERC, fair housing, public accommodations, service animals, toolkit
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Play Ball!

Posted on January 28th, 2013 by ERC

School sports are an integral part of many young peoples’ formative years. Sports, both individual and team, help teach social skills, collaboration, teamwork, encourage good physical health and instill discipline. It is important that all students have the opportunity to participate in valuable school athletic programs.

Last week, the Department of Education took steps to ensure that all students, regardless of any physical or mental disability, have the option to compete in school sports alongside their peers. The Education Department calls on schools to make “reasonable modifications” to allow students with disabilities to play on teams already established. If such reasonable modifications cannot be met, the department will direct schools to create parallel athletic programs.

”We applaud the United States Department of Education for recognizing that all students, including students with disabilities can benefit immeasurably from the opportunity to participate in school athletics. This DOE directive is a powerful step in insuring equal opportunity for all in the disability community.”

This new directive from the Department of Education opens up wonderful opportunities for students with disabilities. The lessons learned from participating in school athletic programs are carried throughout the rest of students’ lives, and every student should have the chance to experience personal growth through good sportsmanship.

Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights, Disability Rights
Tags: athletics, department of education, disability rights, public schools, sports
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How Far We Have Come

Posted on January 21st, 2013 by ERC

“In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men … would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

These words were spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on a hot August day fifty years ago in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Spoken from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King stood at the feet of a statue immortalizing the man who ended slavery 100 years prior. Yet he was still unable to enjoy his full rights to freedom in a country that claimed to be founded on equality for all.

In that speech, Dr. King famously envisioned a day in America’s future when all people would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” He dreamed of a day when the country would be free from racism and all Americans, through hard work and dedication, could pursue happiness and achieve their dreams.

Fifty years later, Barack Obama will stand in the same spot as Dr. King did when he told the world of his dream, and be sworn in for a second term as president of the United States. In fifty years, this nation has gone from denying a black man the right to sit in restaurant booth, to re-electing a black man to occupy the most powerful seat in the world. The significance of this transformation, in two generations time, cannot be overestimated. We are far from perfect, but we have experienced progress.

The fullness of Dr. King’s dream has not yet been realized. Racism and bigotry still haunt our nation, and people continue to experience discrimination based on the color of their skin. Equality is still a dream.

But as we celebrate Dr. King and swear in President Obama for a second term, we can, for a moment, marvel at the way America has changed. We continue to secure equality for all individuals, but we move forward with a renewed sense of hope that one day we will live to see Dr. King’s dream fully realized.

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Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights
Tags: civil rights, equal rights center, inauguration, MLK, President Obama
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Cashing Out

Posted on January 17th, 2013 by ERC

by Grant Beck, Communications and Outreach Assistant

We all eventually come to terms with the reality that living in America is expensive. Little did we realize how expensive it is to keep people from living in America.

A recent report released by the non-partisan Washington-based Migration Policy Institute reveals that in 2012 the U.S. government spent more money on federal immigration enforcement than any other federal enforcement activities. And the numbers aren’t even close. According to the report, the federal government spent $18 billion on immigration enforcement in 2012, 24 percent more that than it spent for the FBI, the DEA, the Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the ATF combined.

The report provides an exhaustive insight into America’s immigration enforcement efforts. Since 1986, when Immigration Reform and Control Act’s passage marked the beginning of the modern immigration enforcement era, the U.S. has spent $186.8 billion ($219.1 billion adjusted to 2012 dollars) on immigration enforcement. In addition to the mind-baffling financial statistics surrounding immigration enforcement, the human toll of this enforcement is staggering. Since 1990, an estimated 4 million “noncitizens” have been removed from American soil. And less than half of those are “removed following hearings and pursuant to formal removal orders from immigration judges.” In 2011, the average daily population of noncitizens detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was 33,330. (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Immigrant Rights
Tags: immigration, immigration enforcement, Migration Policy Institute, President Obama
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Stand Up Against Abuse

Posted on January 16th, 2013 by ERC

By Tori Vogel, ERC Civil Rights Intern

Amongst the plethora of proposed legislation pending before Congress this holiday season is the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The act, which provided legal protections and funding for programs to survivors of domes tic violence and sexual assault, passed in 1994 and reduced the number of reported domestic abuse cases by 67%. The Senate has already passed a bi-partisan bill that reauthorizes VAWA, however the bill is stalled in the House of Representatives. Members of both the Democratic and Republican parties are urging leaders in Congress to take action and pass the bill.

As a twenty one-year -old female attending college, I am at high risk of experiencing sexual assault. Despite traditional media tropes, sexual assault is not something that only occurs at college parties involving alcohol or in dark allies by a stranger. Sexual assault is typically committed by someone known to the victim yet still has the potential to be very dangerous. (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights
Tags: Congress, domestic violence, ERC, sexual assault, VAWA, women's rights
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DHCD Releases the District of Columbia Analysis of Impediments

Posted on January 14th, 2013 by ERC

Steve Paikin, Director of Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity for HUD’s Washington, D.C. field office, speaks at the DHCD press conference.

In December, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced the release of the “District of Columbia Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice 2006-2011.”

Published every five years by districts and municipalities that receive federal funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for fair housing activities and programs, this report analyzes “the essential goals of the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) and the Fair Housing Act to achieve racial, ethnic, and economic diversity in housing…”

The DHCD report examines the state of housing and housing discrimination issues in the District of Columbia over a five-year period. Following exhaustive investigations and research, DHCD recognized 13 impediments to fair housing in Washington, D.C., spanning both the private and public sector. The report also details recommendations to remedy these impediments. (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights, Fair Housing, Government Services
Tags: Department of Housing and Urban Development, DHCD, fair housing, press conference, Washington DC
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Immigrant Rights Movement: A take on the fight for citizenship in America

Posted on January 11th, 2013 by ERC

By Leah Danville, ERC Communications Intern

As an African-American, with half of my family emigrating from Jamaica, my family has endured the struggle for civil rights all while trying to build a life in American society. Despite full citizenship, both sides of my family have struggled to be treated as “Americans.” This leads me to ask the question; what defines an American?

More than 60 years ago, African-Americans rallied in this nation’s largest civil rights movement to be accepted as having equal rights as Americans. To this day, the struggle for equal rights continues, for people of color generally and even more so for people who want to become Americans but do not yet have citizenship.

In 2010, an estimated 11.2 million undocumented immigrants resided in the United States, accounting for approximately four percent of the nation’s population and five percent of its workforce. Yet many immigrants, regardless of legal status, face discrimination at every turn. Earlier this year, the state of Arizona began enforcing its controversial “show me your papers” law, which allows law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of individuals detained for misdemeanors or crimes. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott an effort purportedly intended to purge non-citizens from voter rolls targeted minority voters and led to American citizens being disenfranchised. This type of racial profiling and bigotry threatens the diverse framework that helped build America. (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Immigrant Rights
Tags: ERC, immigrant rights, immigration
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We Speak Your Language

Posted on December 12th, 2012 by ERC

Teanaste’lle’n, amarenya techelallueh?

If someone asked you this question, would you know how to answer? Would you even know what language the person was speaking?

According to the Migration Policy Institute, in 2010, more than 25 million people in the U.S. had limited English proficiency (LEP), accounting for nine percent of the nation’s population. LEP individuals are among the most targeted for discrimination, in part because of their limited access to information and resources, and general biases against immigrants.

Federal agencies, and organizations that receive federal funds, are required to ensure that LEP and non-English proficient (NEP) individuals have meaningful access to their services, in order to comply with Title VI of the U.S. Civil Rights Act. Most federal agencies have a “LEP plan,” detailing their efforts to provide language access, as well as basic materials on their website in multiple languages.

Language access is a critical component of fair housing. No one should be denied housing, required to pay more rent, or otherwise be subject to different terms because they have limited English language skills. Where feasible, housing providers and managers should have some way to communicate in the primary language of their tenants. Translators and language line services are available to provide this service, and should be arranged at the cost of the housing provider. (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Immigrant Rights
Tags: equal rights center, ERC, immigrant rights, LEP, Limited English Proficiency
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Equality for ALL takes one step forward, one step back

Posted on December 10th, 2012 by ERC

Last week, we received some promising news, and some bad news, from the halls of power in Washington, D.C.

First, what is promising. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear challenges to the U.S. Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8 (Prop 8) in its 2013 session. Both the federal DOMA and California’s Prop 8 serve as barriers to marriage equality in the United States by defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Should the Supreme Court rule Prop 8 and/or DOMA unconstitutional, it would be a significant victory for the gay rights movement and for all those who stand on the side of equality. If Prop 8 is overturned, California would become the 10^th and largest state to allow same-sex marriage licenses to be issued. Should DOMA be ruled unconstitutional, same sex couples who are legally married in their state would be entitled to the same federal benefits as opposite sex married couples. Regardless of how the cases are decided, the Court’s analysis will be highly influential in the marriage equality debate, and LGBT rights generally, for years to come.

Now the bad news. Last Tuesday, the U.S. Senate failed to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to ratify the Convention with a vote of 61 to 38. As a nation boasting the most comprehensive national protections for individuals with disabilities, this failed opportunity prevents the U.S. from showing true leadership on protecting even the most basic civil rights for persons with disabilities across the globe.

The 2006 treaty has seen bipartisan support from lawmakers since its inception, including endorsements from former President George H. W. Bush and former Senator Bob Dole, but several conservative lawmakers refused to endorse a UN treaty. The Convention has already been approved by 125 countries, many of which do not have legal protections akin to the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to the U.N., about 10 percent of the global population has a disability, making the disability community the world’s largest minority. The Senate’s rejection of the Convention is an embarrassment to the advocates and nations working to make the global community a better place for those with disabilities.

The Senate’s vote, coupled with the Supreme Court’s action, accurately reflect the movement for equality. For every step forward, there is a defeat that serves to remind us that there is still so much work to be done in ensuring civil rights for all individuals.

Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights, Disability Rights, LBGT Rights
Tags: disability rights, DOMA, LGBT rights, marriage equality, Prop 8, Supreme Court, United Nations, US Senate
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