World Refugee Day in Austin Texas 2011
June 20 was World Refugee Day, and it also marked a lengthy discussion at
the Texas Capitol on Senate Bill 9 and House Bill 9, both immigration
bills left pending in committee. Outside the Capitol building, civil
rights and immigration rights groups marched in opposition of those two
bills and in opposition of an immigrant detention center being built
outside San Antonio. The march was organized by Texans United for
Families, but the immigration bills have stirred up plenty of
controversy. Other organizations joined the march including PODER,
Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition, Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera,
American Gateways, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Detention
Watch Network, Grassroots Leadership, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas
Jail Project, Texans United for Families, San Antonio Immigrant Youth
Movement, Save Our Youth, Southwest Workers Union, Wilco Justice
Alliance and Workers Defense Project. To learn more about the movement
and the detention center to be built outside San Antonio in Karnes,
check out the Grassroots Leadership website
(
http://www.grassrootsleadership.org).
The video below contains live Son Jarocho music; also from the rally:
This video is a ZGraphix production. Produced for Austin Indymedia by
Jeff Zavala. http://zgraphix.org, http://austin.indymedia.org