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.
EAST LANSING– About 30 people protested in support of the DREAM Act at the East Lansing office of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Thursday afternoon. After of a series of introductory remarks, including statements from some of the seven youth participating in a hunger strike to force Stabenow to become a co-sponsor of the immigration reform bill, the protesters attempted to enter the offices to meet with staff.
They were met by a locked door.
Teresa Plachetka, Stabenow’s state director, did come out and meet with students in front of the offices. There she heard stories of an undocumented youth who had worked hard to graduate from high school with top grades and earning scholarships to private universities, only to be arrested for a minor traffic error, and find themselves deported.
Plachetka assured protesters that Stabenow would respond “personally/” to their concerns. She did not provide a timeline as to when protesters could expect a written statement from Stabenow, saying only it would be “soon.”
Michigan Messenger has made numerous phone calls and email inquiries of Stabenow’s press team since Monday to inquire about her stance on the DREAM Act. None of those inquiries have been responded to as of Thursday night.
The DREAM Act, supporters say, would provide a path to citizenship for the estimated 65,000 undocumented youth who graduate from U.S. high schools annually. Under the legislation, youth brought here at a young age would be allowed to establish temporary residency, then they would have six years to complete two years of higher education or two years of military service. Successful completion of one of those two routes would qualify the youth for permanent residency. That status would then qualify them for the process to become full legal citizens of the U.S.
Stabenow is being targeted by protesters because she has supported the legislation in the past, Mohammad Abdollahi told Messenger Wednesday. Abdollahi lives in Ann Arbor, but is originally from Iran. The 24-year-old was arrested Monday by Tucson police, and subsequently detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on Tuesday afternoon. The arrest came because Abdollahi and two other undocumented youth staged a sit-in at the Tucson offices of U.S. Sen. John McCain. They were protesting in an attempt to get McCain to support the DREAM Act.
Abdollahi is now facing deportation to Iran, a country he has not seen since he was three-years-old. Because he is openly gay, Abdollahi faces whippings, torture, imprisonment and possible execution if he is sent back to that country.
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