Who are we?

We are residents of and organizations in Western Massachusetts, working to:

1. End Secure Communities, a harmful federal program that detains and deports immigrants without a serious criminal record
2. Stop racial profiling through accurate and transparent police records
3. Curb domestic surveillance by limiting information sent to – and greater transparency of – fusion centers
4. Push back against forthcoming draconian federal policy – such as the NDAA.

Join us now in Amherst for a resolution against Secure Communities at the Spring Town Meeting!

Join us in Northampton to pass a citizen’s petition addressing racial profiling and domestic surveillance!

Why these issues?

Since the “war on terror” began a decade ago, the federal government has consistently violated civil rights and liberties protections guaranteed by our constitution. Lately, we’ve seen an alarming increase in these violations as Washington has relied more and more on local law enforcement to carry out harmful federal policies.

These policies have never before been the job of our local police departments, and there’s no reason for them to be now. While we may not have much of a voice in Congress, we can use our municipal governments to ensure that our civil rights and liberties are protected in our community — and we  can send a strong message to Washington while we’re at it.

The Preserving our Civil Rights campaign is a community effort to pass local legislation that will ensure:

• CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS:  Simple requirements to stop our community from participating in federal programs that violate the constitutionally-protected rights of our residents.
• PRESERVING COMMUNITY TRUST: We want limits on local authorities’ enforcement of harmful federal immigration policies. It is our police department’s job to protect and serve all members of our community.
• A COMMITMENT AGAINST RACIAL PROFILING AND TOWARDS TRANSPARENCY:  We want to ensure that no one in our community is treated differently by any local authority because of the color of their skin.

The campaign is sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the Alliance to Develop Power, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.

Preserving Our Civil Rights PSA from Northampton Community Television on Vimeo.