Keith Kamisugi

Asian Law Caucus executive director Titi Liu yesterday sent out an email inviting the community to their 2008 Summer Brownbag Lunch Series.  These discussions will focus on juvenile justice, nail salon working conditions, ICE raids and border detentions and profiling. See more details below.  If you’d like to attend, email Angela Chan at angelac@asianlawcaucus.org.
YOUTH VIOLENCE & THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM,
Presented by Angela Chan (Staff Attorney at ALC) and Brian Blalock (Staff Attorney at BALA)
The Asian Law Caucus and Bay Area Legal Aid will present on the impact of the school to prison pipeline on lo w-income youth and their families.  We will discuss the cycle of youth violence in schools and entrance of youth into the juvenile justice system.  The presentation will explore prevention and intervention strategies that can be implemented in schools and outside of schools to address the core causes of youth violence, including a look at restorative justice strategies and increasing access to support services for youth and families.

June 4, 2008 (Wed)
12PM to 1:15PM
Bay Area Legal Aid (BALA),
405 – 14th St., 11th Floor
Oakland, CA

IMPROVING WORKING CONDITIONS FOR VIETNAMESE IMMIGRANTS,
Presented by Lenh Tsan (Project Manager) and Tina Ling (Policy Analyst)

In California, where an estimated 80 percent of the state’s 94,000 licensed nail salon workers are Vietnamese, the Asian Law Caucus is engaging in administrative and policy advocacy, producing health and safety curriculum, outreaching, organizing, and coordinating bilingual community forums to improve conditions for these vulnerable workers.  The presentation will focus on providing information about the challenges facing immigrant workers in this industry and explaining the Caucus’ strategy to create changes that will positively impact the community.

July 9, 2008, (Wed)
12PM to 1:15PM
Asian Law Caucus
939 Market Street, Suite 201 (2 nd Floor)
San Francisco , CA 94103
(415) 896-1701

ICE RAIDS: THE GREAT IMMIGRATION PANIC,
Presented by Sin Yen Ling (Staff Attorney)

An escalating campaign of raids in homes and workplaces has spread indiscriminate terror among millions of people who pose no threat. The recent Iowa raids at the Agriprocessors, Inc. meatpacking plant, netting some 400 workers, led to 270 immigrants facing five months of jail time for using false documents for work. In 2006, the Swift raids, happening across several states including Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa and Minnesota led to the arrests of some 1,200 workers in one single day. In May 2008, ICE in the Bay Area conducted raids at a chain restaurant called El Balazo and conducted home raids near Elementary Schools in Oakland and Berkeley. Join us for a discussion on Asian Law Caucus’ involvement in representing the El Balazo workers and parents who were victims of the school raids.

July 23, 2008 (Wed)
12PM to 1:15PM
Asian Law Caucus
939 Market Street, Suite 201 (2nd Floor)
San Francisco , CA 94103
(415) 896-1701

RETURNING HOME: WATCH LISTS AND PROFILING AT THE BORDER,
Presented by Shirin Sinnar (Staff Attorney)

Some citizens and immigrants, especially people of Muslim, South Asian, and Middle Eastern background, are repeatedly facing lengthy detentions, intrusive searches, and interrogations when returning from travels abroad — and struggling to clear their names. In 2008, the Asian Law Caucus and Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the US Department of Homeland Security under the Freedom of Information Act for records on border searches and questioning. Join us for a discussion of the experiences of Northern California residents struggling with this, the legal framework, and ongoing attempts to challenge this practice.

August 5, 2008 (Tuesday) 12PM to 1:15PM
Asian Law Caucus
939 Market Street, Suite 201 (2nd Floor)
San Francisco , CA 94103
(415) 896-1701