Across California, Latinx families are grieving and suffering the trauma and pain caused by losing loved ones at the hands of police violence. AB 392 is supported by hundreds of victims’ family members and Latino-led organizations. California Latinxs have marched on the streets in San Diego, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, Bakersfield, Salinas, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, and many other parts of the state. We have lobbied in the Capitol, sent in hundreds of letters, and made thousands of calls to our representatives in support of AB 931 and now AB 392. This bill is being introduced less than a year after Assemblymember Shirley Weber introduced AB 931, a common sense legislative proposal that would have updated a weak and dangerous use of force standard that was established in 1872 - 137 years ago, the oldest in the nation! This minimal California use of force standard was passed in order to protect racialized state violence at a time when our state had the highest lynching rates in the nation - largely perpetrated by law enforcement on Mexican and Native people - including the genocide of indigenous Californians, which resulted in the murder of 90% of Native Californians. AB 931 was stalled in the legislative process in 2018, but the California Let Us Live Coalition decided that in order to protect Black and Brown people from being killed in our communities then we needed to raise it again in 2019. The California Act to Save Lives (AB 392) will reduce and prevent use of force resulting in homicide and also ensure that officers avoid the use of deadly force unless it’s in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. AB 392 is modeled after best practices already in place in a number of departments across the country – practices that have already been proven to reduce deadly use of force. You can find out more by downloading the fact sheet here. Specifically, AB 392 will: - Clarify that police should use deadly force only when there are no reasonable alternatives. - Require de-escalation whenever possible. - Hold officers accountable when deadly force wasn’t necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury and when the officers’ conduct created the circumstances that led to deadly use of force. Latinx-based organizations and self-identified individuals stand in solidarity with black and indigenous communities who are killed at the highest rates by law enforcement and urge you to protect our communities and take action for our families.

As a Member State of the United Nations, the United States government has the moral, ethical and legal obligation to adhere to international law and protect the human rights of the vulnerable. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” As such, governments are responsible for protecting people who seek safety in their territory without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or physical incapacity. As a signatory to the UDHR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; and the Convention and Protocols Relating to the Status of Refugees, the US has international legal obligations to ensure refugees exercise their basic human rights and live securely and with dignity. Moreover, the US has the obligation to ensure refugees right to seek asylum is respected and they are not forcibly returned. Closing the U.S.-Mexico border port of entry, the use of lethal force, subjecting asylum seekers to forcibly return to their countries where they risk persecution (refoulement), as enacted by U.S. officials in the San Isidro-Tijuana U.S. port of entry on 25 November 2018, are gross violations of international law and the human rights of refugees. The US government must end its hostile treatment of refugees and uphold its international legal obligations. This effort is a collaboration between among the US Human Rights Network, Puente Arizona, Mijente and Presente.org. Reference: 1. "Mexico to deport up to 500 migrants who tried to cross US border." The Guardian. November 26, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/25/us-mexico-border-crossing-closes-migrants?fbclid=IwAR1DNsKtC67Evcx2z0GIBAfMv6EHh8_y-7iUFjVQO4P33Hza_lCLSE_z_B0

The Florida state prison system is run like a 21st century slave plantation. Prisoners endure brutal conditions at the hands of guards and that state. That is why Florida has the highest inmate death rate in the US. While this sounds horrific, big corporations are cashing in. Florida sells prison labor to corporations for a fraction of what they would pay employees covered by labor laws. And because Florida does not pay the prison workers, Florida's government directly profits from free slave labor. This arrangement creates a perverse incentive to under-educate, under-employ and over-incarcerate large numbers of low-income Black bodies for the benefit of corporate profit. The state of Florida should not promote, manage and benefit from this arrangement. Florida prisoners are on strike in what they are calling #OperationPUSH to fight for an end to prison slavery and humane conditions for prisoners.

In a 6 month period last year, 4 community members died in Clarke's jail, including a newborn baby and Terrill Thomas, who died of dehydration after guards shut off his water for 8 days. Clarke later threatened the medical examiner in an attempt to obstruct the investigation into Thomas' death. Clarke is being sued by dozens of women who were shackled by his deputies while giving birth. Clarke has wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in litigation while enriching himself as a mouthpiece for white supremacists. He has referred to the Black Lives Matter movement as "black slime" and "garbage," and compared the movement to ISIS. He has slandered Muslims. He has called for beating up protesters and said he wants to round up 1 million dissenters for Guantanamo. He has threatened violence against elected officials and community members opposed to his policies. Clarke wants to turn Milwaukee County Sheriffs deputies into Immigration agents through the discriminatory 287g program, which Joe Arpaio used in Arizona to racially profile and terrorize immigrant communities. Clarke would use his new position to continue his vicious rhetoric against immigrants, Muslims, and Black people, and to bully sheriffs and chiefs of police into adopting 287g, which is opposed by the vast majority of local law enforcement and elected officials. Secretary Kelly, do not appoint Sheriff Clarke to any position in the federal government!

Clarke is a national pariah. His efforts to bring 287g to Milwaukee County will increase civil rights violations, hurt the economy, and make everyone less safe. 287g has been totally discredited nationwide. Where it has been implemented, it has lead to an increase in racial profiling and constitutional rights violations. Communities that enrolled in the program, like Joe Arpaio’s Maricopa County, Arizona, have wasted millions defending themselves in civil rights lawsuits, while serious crimes have gone ignored. The program would make tens of thousands of people in Milwaukee County afraid to report crimes, making all less safe. On places like Fox News and at white nationalist events like the "Deplora-ball," Clarke has compared the Black Lives Matter Movement to ISIS and made racist slurs against Black, Muslim, and Latinx community members he is sworn to protect. The deaths in the Milwaukee jail are a tragedy for which Clarke may bear legal responsibility. His harassment of a community member at the airport is shameful, and his obstruction of the investigation may well be criminal. Clarke's extremist antics in the right wing media completely misrepresent Milwaukee County and Wisconsin. Governor Walker, use your authority to fire Sheriff Clarke! --------------- Clarke es un paria nacional. Sus esfuerzos para llevar 287g al Condado de Milwaukee aumentarán las violaciones de los derechos civiles, perjudicarán a la economía, y harán que todos estén menos seguros. 287g ha sido totalmente desacreditado en todo el país. Cuando se ha implementado, ha llevado a un aumento en el perfil racial y violaciones de los derechos constitucionales. Comunidades que formaron parte del programa, como el condado de Maricopa de Joe Arpaio, en Arizona, han perdido millones defendiéndose en demandas de derechos civiles, mientras que los delitos graves han sido ignorados. El programa haría que decenas de miles de personas en el Condado de Milwaukee tuvieran miedo de denunciar los delitos, haciendo que todo fuera menos seguro. En lugares como Fox News y en eventos nacionalistas como el "Deplora-ball", Clarke comparó el Movimiento de las Vidas Negras con ISIS e hizo insultos racistas contra miembros de la comunidad negra, musulmana y latinx a quienes juró proteger. Las muertes en la cárcel de Milwaukee son una tragedia por la cual Clarke podría tener responsabilidad legal. Su acoso de un miembro de la comunidad en el aeropuerto es vergonzoso, y su obstrucción de la investigación bien podría ser criminal. Las tonterías extremistas de Clarke en los medios de comunicación son una desgracia para el condado de Milwaukee y Wisconsin. ¡Gobernador Walker, use su autoridad para despedir al Sheriff Clarke!

As a Latino Iraq War Combat Veteran and son of a pastor and bible school teacher I have learned that God, family, and service to country and neighbor come first. And it’s why I’m voting Yes on 64 and asking you to join me. Growing up I saw the direct impact and great injustice the War on Drugs has had in low-income Latino and African-American families. Currently in the state of California Latinos and African-Americans make up 87% of the inmate population due to non-violent drug offenses, 1.8 million children don’t have a two parent house-hold because either one or both of the parents is currently incarcerated due to the War on Drugs, and Latino and African-Americans communities are losing $3.57 billion annually due to the life-tag of a non-violent drug conviction. Proposition 64 ends the criminalization of marijuana and allows our communities to start healing from the War on Drugs. With $50 million dollars in economic and job placement investment in low-income neighborhoods that have been disproportionately affected, pardoning our family members who have a non-violent misdemeanor or felony due to marijuana drug possession, providing education funding to ensure higher school retention, and ensuring our kids don’t go to jail for a petty marijuana offense is for me and many other Californians the first step towards breaking the Cycle of Poverty, the New Jim Crow, and ensuring our families and children stay together. I did not go and fight a War in Iraq to come back home and see our citizen’s corralled needlessly into prisons and our families torn apart. When you grow up in the Barrio and see your friends not being able to apply for financial aid because of their marijuana conviction, when you come back home from a tour overseas and realize your best friends Marcos and Adrian are locked up, and when you go to church and see the difficulties men and women face finding a job simply because they were convicted of doing something other states have already successfully made legal, you have to act. As a person of faith I have to act and I’m asking you to also because as my mother said, “Never get tired of fighting for was is right.” I humbly ask you to stand for what is right and vote for giving our brothers and sisters a second chance in life. Join me and Pledge to Vote Yes on Proposition 64 this November 8th. Learn more about Prop. 64 here: http://www.legalizeca2016.com/about The facts: http://theleafonline.com/c/business/2016/10/real-progressives-support-64/ Film on effects on people of color of marijuana criminalization: http://www.bravenewfilms.org/yesonprop64

Apple CEO Tim Cook published a statement on the company's website speaking out against racism and announcing donations to organizations that "challenge racial injustice and mass incarceration." That's a great first step; now Apple needs to reexamine the content it makes available to the world. Allowing the Prison Empire Tycoon app to remain available directly contradicts Mr. Cook's statement and his financial contribution to fighting injustice. The private prison industry increases their profits by keeping inmate population counts high and expenses low, which means they benefit from crime and unjust policies that promote and prolong detention (which disproportionately impact people of color). While the Prison Empire Tycoon app incorporates rehabilitation programs and meeting inmate basic needs (both of which should be automatic and not require incentives), it also encourages the use of solitary confinement to manage problematic inmates - a practice that, in reality, causes lasting psychological damage and is akin to torture. The United States of America needs to rethink the entire criminal justice system from arrest to imprisonment and demand that people be treated with dignity and respect every step of the way; profits should never be prioritized over basic needs and human rights. An app like Prison Empire Tycoon allows people to view America's tragic mass incarceration problem as a game and dehumanizes the lives of those living through injustice. If Apple truly wants to honor their mission to "create technology that empowers people to change the world for the better," they need to remove this app. https://www.mintpressnews.com/private-prison-simulation-game-goes-viral-on-apple-app-store/269324/