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OneAmerica honors veterans defending human rights, justice
Immigrants continue to bravely serve U.S.
OneAmerica honors veterans of the United States armed
forces and their commitment to defending American values of human rights and
equal justice. OneAmerica also recognizes the vital contributions immigrants have
made to the armed services throughout U.S. history.
Noncitizens have fought in
the U.S. armed forces since the Revolutionary War.
Nationally, more than 70,000 immigrants (noncitizens and
naturalized citizens) are serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces,
according to the 2008 American Community Survey. In Washington State,
immigrants make up about six percent of the total number of those serving in
the armed forces.
Citizens and noncitizens
serve side by side at home and abroad in a daily effort to protect the United
States and its values.
Veterans from across Washington State are still facing  barriers to citizenship while others who have become
citizens face enormous immigration backlogs after years of trying to unite with their
families.
For example, Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry - a veteran of the Army
National Guard living in Yakima with his wife, a U.S. citizen - is
wheelchair-bound due to injuries suffered while on active duty prior to his
deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Not only did the government recently
deny him U.S. citizenship for failing to disclose 13-year-old misdemeanor
charges from Australia, but has placed him in deportation proceedings.
In a case illustrating the problems with family unification, Benito Valdez moved to Seattle in 1992 and was granted citizenship
along with other Filipino World War II veterans in recognition of his military
service. However, the 85-year-old
veteran has been waiting ever since to bring his children to the U.S. due to a
tremendous immigration backlog.
FOR INTERVIEWS OR INFORMATION
For more information, contact Charlie McAteer at
OneAmerica at 206-723-2203 x204. For information regarding Muhammad Zahid
Chaudhry, contact Devin T. Theriot-Orr at 206-708-8740.
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OneAmerica condemns Ft. Hood attacks
Nation urged to remain calm and unified
OneAmerica is greatly saddened by and strongly condemns
the attack on Fort Hood military base in Texas last week. No religious or political
ideology could justify such indiscriminate violence. OneAmerica joins the
Council on Islamic-American Relations in urging the nation to remain calm and
unified as Americans nationwide react to the tragic events.
OneAmerica supports President Obama's recognition during
his radio address on Saturday, November 7, that veterans "are Americans of
every race, faith, and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and
Hindus and nonbelievers. They are descendents of immigrants and immigrants
themselves. They reflect the diversity that makes this America."
Gen. George Casey also sounded the alarm against potential anti-Muslim hate. "I've asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that," Gen. Casey
told CNN on Sunday, saying "as great a tragedy as this was, it
would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well."
As the Spokane family of civilian victim Mike Cahill said on CBS this week, "You can't blanket a whole group of people. There's extremists in every
religion, and there's extremists all over the world." Cahill's
daughter, Kerry, also said, "And I don't think that we can blanket a whole group
of people when this man obviously was ill, I think." (see video)
FOR INTERVIEWS
For interviews on the potential backlash against Muslims and Arabs after this attack, contact Media Relations Manager Charlie McAteer at 206-723-2203 x204.
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 About OneAmerica
OneAmerica, formerly Hate Free Zone, is a non-profit organization that advances the
fundamental principles of democracy and justice by building power within
immigrant
communities. Visit www.weareoneamerica.org. ###
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For more information:
Charlie McAteer
Media Relations Manager
206-723-2203 x204
cell 917-696-1321
charlie@weareoneamerica.org
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Veteran and OneAmerica member speaks out for immigration reform
Former US Navy Officer Defends Immigrant Rights in D.C.
Read the full speechAfter his 24 years of service in the U.S. Navy,
OneAmerica member Rick Covington did not stop fighting for a country where
every person can work and live with dignity. In early 2009, his friend
Elizabeth Ruiz - an undocumented immigrant from Oaxaca, Mexico - was unjustly arrested and detained for two months in a
Tacoma detention center. Along with other supportive community members,
Covington helped start a petition in her support in Vancouver, Wash., organized
a group of more than 100 people to raise funds for a lawyer, and testified at a
hearing for Ruiz. At the hearing, Covington told the judge that "it would be an
honor equal to my receiving the U.S. Navy's meritorious service medal to be
Elizabeth's sponsor for naturalization as an American citizen." For his
service, Covington received several awards, including the Navy achievement
medal and the joint service commendation medal. "I would give up all of my U.S.
Navy medals even though they are my legacy for my children and my grandchildren
if I could be assured that Elizabeth, a compassionate mother, wife, friend, and
neighbor, could be united with her family," Covington said. "Her present
situation is not the America I spent years defending."
On Oct. 13, 2009, Covington spoke at a rally in
Washington, D.C., along with members of Congress, in support of comprehensive
immigration reform. The full text of his speech is now available on
OneAmerica's website. Immigration reform - which President Obama and leaders in
the House and Senate have indicated will be debated late this year or early
next year - would affect all segments of the immigrant population, including
those serving in the military and veterans. Watch Rick speak in DC
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