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The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
“By far the most important initiative and best opportunity for reform in the world ever”
Draft
UN SDG Targets 10.7 and10.3.4 & Target Action Plan #15
48. Cease all unlawful deportations and detentions of migrants. Make amends for previous such acts and for stealing over half of Mexico’s land. Replace inhumane, unconstitutional migration laws and practices. Prepare for massive migrations worldwide made necessary by global warming
(Updated January 9, 2022)
Please consider this plan as ever-evolving awaiting your proposed additions and recommendations which can be forwarded to PeopleNow.org by email info@peoplenow.org
48.1.1 This open ended document attempts to outline how to help better provide humane, constitutional migration policies, laws and practices as part of the plans to implement the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs)
48.1.2 For a brief history of how the land that is now Texas was stolen from Mexico see paragraph 15.5.2 below “Excerpts from the article Texas Amnesia, May 05, 2012 by James W. Russell, Truthout.”
48.1.3 The major lesson learned from past reforms is that harsh, punitive measures, both in criminal and civil immigration law have not deterred unlawful immigration nor have they made us safer; rather our current laws wreak havoc on families, particularly U.S. - born children who have been left fatherless or motherless. We are now have an opportunity to craft immigration laws that adhere to our values and offer a just approach to crime and deportation. (Author unknown)
48.1.4 The U.S. cannot continue with a system in which millions of workers and their families are unconstitutionally subjected to economic exploitation and live in fear of deportation. There is no place in our country or the world for second-class status.
48.1.5 The U.S. must acknowledge and affirm that:
48.1.5.1 The U.S. is a nation of the people including migrants and refugees and all constitutional and other rights apply equally to all the people of the U.S. not just citizens.
48.1.5.2 America stole over half of Mexico’s original territory and that we owe Mexico and Mexican.
48.1.5.3 There is plenty of work to be done in particular to combat global warming and climate change, end poverty, provide health care, quality education, clean water, etc.
48.1.5.4 Everyone cannot migrate to the U.S. so we must help other countries
Table of Contents
Attachment A Salient Constitutional Rights
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Replace unconstitutional, immoral, wrongful, unlawful, disrespectful and/or discriminatory immigration laws, court rulings, regulations and practices, implement appropriate legislation, policies and action and compensate migrants who were impacted by these laws.
48.3.1 Implement SDG Targets:
48.3.1.1 10.7: “Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies”
48.3.1.2 10.3.4: “Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard” in the area of migration.
48.3.2 Vacate as null and void unconstitutional rulings and laws and implement and enforce constitutional moral and humane immigration policies and laws.
48.4.1 Cease all unlawful deportations, family separations and detentions of migrants insure all rights are observed for all people regardless of their immigration status. End the system in which millions of workers and their families live in fear of deportation and are subject to economic exploitation.
48.4.1.1 See: What Process is Due? A Return to Core Constitutional Principles in Immigration by Aarti Kohli, Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, http://www.acslaw.org/sites/default/files/Kohli_-_What_Process_is_Due.pdf
48.4.1.2 Attachment A provides a list of many of our Salient Constitutional Rights that clearly show that dragnet searches :
48.4.2 Vacate as null and void, inhumane, unconstitutional immigration laws and court rulings and replace with humane, constitutional laws. Laws to be vacated include:
48.4.2.1 Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 as Amended. (Pub.L. 82–414, 66 Stat. 163, enacted June 27, 1952), also known as the McCarran–Walter Act. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1952).
48.4.2.2 Arizona’s SB1070.
48.4.2.3 Current laws that bar certain people who live abroad from re-entering the U.S. for a period of three to 10 years, as well as portions of the law that place immigrants at risk of deportation for having committed minor, nonviolent offenses in the past.
48.4.3 Decrease the need for migration by providing means for a decent life for all, have open borders and prepare for massive migration worldwide made necessary by global warming and climate change - all by implementing the UN SDGs
48.4.4 Take measures to reduce the underlying causes of increased migration and refugees
48.4.4.1 Replace free trade agreements with fair trade agreements,
48.4.4.2 Eliminate subsidies for and ban dumping of, corn, wheat and other commodities.
48.4.4.3 Increase foreign aid and assist other countries/areas to produce what they need.
48.4.5 Rescind funding for the immigration border fence
48.4.6 Refine and pass the USA Family Act (HR 440 or equivalent) which will:
48.4.6.1 Offer immigrants a clear road map to legal status in the United States.
48.4.6.2 Grant legal permanent residence to immigrants who have been living in the U.S. for five or more years.
48.4.7 Offer conditional legal status and work authorization to all law-abiding immigrants living in the United States for less than five years.
48.4.8 Protect the rights of all the people, including immigrants, [protected and fair and constitutional policies and practices put in place for all its people including immigrants. These policies and practices should recognize that the U.S. is an immigrant nation and affirm that we are a nation of the people and for the people, not just the citizens. Constitutional and other rights apply equally to all the people of the U.S., not just citizens. Certain immunities and privileges such as voting are reserved for citizens.
48.4.9 Work with the Open Society Foundation to help implement their International Migration Initiative and make it part of the SDGs so that it will be rapidly implemented worldwide
48.4.9.1 “Ensuring that migrants are employed under just and equitable conditions.” The following is from Open Society Foundations’ International Migration Initiative.
48.4.9.2 “This line of work aims to improve conditions for all workers by putting migrants on an equal footing with the local workforce. The assumption is that when migrants are subject to poor conditions, unfair practices, and exploitation, conditions for all workers are diminished. The International Migration Initiative’s aim is to ensure that employers adopt ethical recruitment practices, that migrants have the flexibility to change employers without jeopardizing their legal status, and that migrants get what they are promised.”
48.4.10 “Promoting access to legal channels and protections throughout the migration process. This line of work addresses problems stemming from policies focused on deterring migration. The assumption is that security-centered policies do not stop migration, and instead put migrants at risk. Policies that maximize options for movement through safe, legal channels will decrease both the human costs of migration and spending on migration control and border enforcement. The International Migration Initiative seeks to ensure that alternative migration channels extend protections to more people, that asylum systems and migration policies respond to the pressure of mixed flows, and that states detain migrants only as a last resort.”
48.4.11 “To achieve Actions 15.4.13 and 15.4.14, the International Migration Initiative aims to fill three gaps in the field: 1) it works across borders through a strategic corridor approach, facilitating coordinated action in countries of origin, transit, and destination; 2) it catalyzes policy innovations through high-level engagement with policymakers and support for advocacy; and 3) it strengthens civil society to advance reforms both nationally and across corridors.” (From the Open Society Foundations’ International Migration Initiative.)
48.5.1 In an increasingly connected world where goods, information and money move freely, people are sure to follow. Therein lies both an opportunity and a challenge for the United States.
48.5.2 The major lesson learned from past reforms is that harsh, punitive measures, both in criminal and civil immigration law have not deterred unlawful immigration nor have they made us safer; rather our current laws wreak havoc on families, particularly U.S. - born children who have been left fatherless or motherless. We are now have an opportunity to craft immigration laws that adhere to our values and offer a just approach to crime and deportation. This is not to say that the government cannot or should not deport individuals who are deemed a threat; rather, that we work towards creating a full, fair and transparent process that reflects our democratic principles. (Author unknown)
48.5.3 Excerpts from the article Texas Amnesia, May 05, 2012 by James W. Russell, Truthout:
48.5.3.1 With unauthorized immigrants crossing illegally into Texas and fears that the border region was growing out of control, the government responded by militarizing the area. The year was 1827 - not 2012. The unauthorized immigrants were from the United States, not Mexico. The nervous government was that of Mexico, not the United States.
48.5.3.2 In 1827, East Texas, as it is known now, was a backward frontier area of the Mexican federation, ... Three groups warily and sometimes violently confronted each other over who was to prevail: Indians, the original inhabitants, who, along with migrant Indians being pushed out of the United States, sought to preserve their hunting areas; Mexicans, who wished to farm and ranch; and Anglo Americans, who also wished to farm and ranch, and who, most importantly, carried with them the slave system of the South. ...
48.5.3.3 Mexico abolished slavery on September 16, 1829, the ninth anniversary of its own independence from Spain.
48.5.3.4 Even before their victory in the 1836 Texas War of Independence the Anglo-American colonists made one of their intentions completely clear in their prospective Constitution: they explicitly legalized slavery and slave importation.
48.5.3.5 In 1848, with their troops occupying Mexico City, Americans forced Mexico to cede over half its national territory for twenty million dollars. The sold area included what would later become the western half of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Colorado, Utah and part of Oklahoma - the Southwest of the United States.
48.5.3.6 Out of the Southwest in the second half of the 19th century would come half of the United States' total mineral wealth, including gold, copper and oil; the ranching industry; and California, which includes what is perhaps the richest agricultural area in the world. It is doubtful that without this windfall bonanza of wealth the United States would have been propelled in fifty short years to the first rank of world powers. It is also doubtful that if the area had remained a part of Mexico that the severe first world/third world inequality that exists between the two most populated countries of North America would be nearly as severe as it is today.
48.5.3.7 The Mexican government never recognized the independence of Texas. ... Texans today live with the historical consequences of those events: a still-subjugated black population; an unauthorized Mexican population of low-wage, off-the-books labor that lives in tenuous conditions in an area that was once its homeland; a dwindling Indian population; and a white population divided between ultra-reactionaries, who continue to celebrate the aggressive seizing of the state and demand a wall to keep those to the south from coming back in, and others who, with varying degrees of guilt or amnesia, live their lives without actively worrying about the origins of where they live them. (Read more at Texas Amnesia, May 05, 2012 by James W. Russell, Truthout, http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/8737-texas-amnesia)
48.5.4 The major lesson learned from past reforms is that harsh, punitive measures, both in criminal and civil immigration law have not deterred unlawful immigration nor have they made us safer; rather our current laws wreak havoc on families, particularly U.S. - born children who have been left fatherless or motherless. We are now have an opportunity to craft immigration laws that adhere to our values and offer a just approach to crime and deportation. (Author unknown)
48.5.5 The U.S. cannot continue with a system in which millions of workers and their families are unconstitutionally subjected to economic exploitation and live in fear of deportation. There is no place in our country or the world for second-class status.
48.5.6 The U.S. must acknowledge and affirm that:
48.5.6.1 The U.S. is a nation of the people including migrants and refugees and all constitutional and other rights apply equally to all the people of the U.S. not just citizens.
48.5.6.2 America stole over half of Mexico’s original territory and we owe Mexico billions of dollars.
48.5.6.3 There is plenty of work to be done in particular to implement the UN SDGs combat global warming and climate change, end poverty, provide health care, quality education, clean water, etc.
48.5.6.4 Everyone cannot migrate to the U.S. so we must help other countries
Attachment A Salient Constitutional Rights
DRAFT
Salient Constitutional Rights
Paragraph numbering added by the compiler.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution includes nor shall any State deprive any person [not just citizens, adults or males] of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
All the below are some of the many rights of all the people in and of the United States including women, children, men, all races, LGBTGs, citizens, non-citizens, prisoners, so-called aliens or undocumented, etc.
1. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated
2. no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized” Amendment IV
3. The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury
4. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right:
a. to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and
b. to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation;
c. to be confronted with the witnesses against him;
d. to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and
e. to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
5. No person shall .....
a. be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb;
b. be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself,
c. be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
7. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and
8. no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
9. "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
10. The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it
11.The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.