I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
One Michigan has announced that it will host vigils in Detroit and Lansing Tuesday to continue calls for the passage of the DREAM Act and to support three undocumented youth and a supporter arrested Monday during a sit-in protest at Sen. John McCain’s Tucson, AZ office.
The DREAM Act, supporters say, would create a path to citizenship for an estimated 65,000 undocumented youth. Part of the program the DREAM Act would create includes a mandatory two years of higher education or military service in order to qualify for permanent residency in the country.
Three undocumented youth were arrested Monday along with one legal immigrant ally in the Tucson offices of U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). McCain says he opposes the legislation.
Among those arrested was an Iranian 24-year-old from Ann Arbor, Mohammed Abdollahi. Abdollahi has lived in Michigan for 21 years and an immigration paperwork foul up left his family illegally in the country. He faces possible criminal charges of trespassing for the protest, and could be detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and face deportation to Iran.
Abdollahi is openly gay, and Iran has strict punishments for those who are gay, including floggings, torture and executions, experts tell Michigan Messenger.
“Never in our history has it been American to deny people their civil rights,” Abdollahi said in a press release. “We have decided to peacefully resist to encourage our leaders to pass the DREAM Act and create a new standard for immigration reform based on education, hard work, equality, and fairness.”
The vigils in Detroit and Lansing will focus on support for those arrested and putting pressure on U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to become a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act. A location for the Detroit rally has not been determined, but the Lansing rally will be held at 8:30 p.m. at Cristo Rey Church located at 201 Miller Rd. in Lansing.
Organizers will also hold a 12:30 press conference Tuesday at a church near the state capitol. The press conference will happen while state lawmakers and activists rally against illegal immigration on the steps of the capitol.
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