Breakthrough's Content

Esmeralda: A transgender asylum seeker speaks out against immigration detention

Breakthrough — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:06:25 -0800

Courage comes in many different forms. For Esmeralda a transgender asylum seeker from Mexico who faced horrific circumstances in immigration detention, it came in the form of seeking justice. Kept in a segregated cell with other transgender detainees, Esmeralda never realized that her experience in detention would match the trauma of discrimination she had faced back home. But her story is also one of hope for change.

Let's Breakthrough Together 2009 - A Night of Authors and Artists

Breakthrough — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:06:26 -0800

On October 22, 2009, Breakthrough held Let's Breakthrough Together 2009, at the Harvard Club in NYC.

Watch highlights from the event, a benefit to support human rights, with authors and performers including: Ishmael Beah, Sarita Choudhury, Elizabeth Gardner Hines, Carol Jenkins, Suketu Mehta, Andrew Solomon, Barton Biggs, Urban Bush Women and auction by Sandhya Jain-Patel.

Let's Breakthrough Together 2009

Breakthrough — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:03:33 -0800

On October 22, 2009, Breakthrough hosted Let's Breakthrough Together 2009, a benefit for human rights at the Harvard Club in NYC. Please watch the video that was screened at the event that highlights our instrumental work in India, namely our current campaign, Bell Bajao, that calls on men and boys to bring domestic violence to a halt in their communities.
bellbajao.org
breakthrough.tv

US: Restore Fairness to the Immigration System

Breakthrough — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:17:47 -0700

It's time you heard the truth, but not from Representative Joe Wilson.

It's not surprising that President Obama's speech was interrupted by the now infamous phrase: "You Lie!" when the President stated that health care reform will not cover undocumented immigrants. With immigration and race snapping back into the limelight, we are getting a preview of what will happen when immigration reform does move through Congress. That's seeming more and more likely as Representative Luis Gutierrez announces that he will introduce immigration reform legislation in the coming months.

All the more reason we need a powerful video advocacy campaign like Restore Fairness that calls upon the U.S. government to bring back fairness and due process to our broken immigration system. The video - produced in partnership with an amazing range of 26 leading organizations spanning human rights, immigration, and community based groups, including WITNESS - features interviews with influential Members of Congress, immigration judges, civil society leaders, and ordinary families affected by harsh immigration laws.

Looking at the immigration landscape after September 11th, the video also shows a government that often arrests people without warrants, holds them in inhumane detention conditions, and deports them without fair trials. People like Ana Galindo and her husband Walter Chavez, legal permanent residents with a 10-year-old U.S. citizen son who had their home raided without a warrant by armed immigration officers. Or June Everett, who lost her sister - a 53-year-old grandmother - due to alleged medical negligence in immigration detention. Or Jean Pierre Kamwa, a torture survivor from Cameroon who came to the U.S. seeking freedom and shelter from persecution, but instead was greeted with 5 months in mandatory detention before ultimately being granted asylum.

These stories make up the fabric of a broken immigration system - one that will sustain more than 440,000 detainees this year alone at an estimated cost of US$ 1.7 billion. Watch Restore Fairness and tell Congress to fix our broken immigration system now.

As the Chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren says in the video: "Everybody in America under our Constitution is entitled to due process of law and we’ve fallen short in the due process arena when it comes to the whole immigration system. If we’re not going to adhere to the basic standards that are in the Constitution, everybody is at risk."

TAKE ACTION NOW: Email your Senators and Representatives and tell them to Restore Fairness and due process to the immigration system

Restore Fairness: bring back due process to the immigration system

Breakthrough — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:54:59 -0700

The “Restore Fairness” documentary is produced by Breakthrough in partnership with 26 leading organizations and calls for the U.S. government to bring back due process and fairness to the immigration system.
The video features the powerful voices of Congresswomen Zoe Lofgren and Lucille Roybal-Allard, Judges Dana Marks and Bruce Einhorn, as well as civil society leaders like Anthony Romero, Donald Kerwin, Karen Narasaki and Mallika Dutt.
It also gives a human face to harsh immigration laws through three very compelling personal stories- Jean Pierre Kamwa, an asylum seeker who faces mandatory detention, June Everett who lost her sister to immigration detention, and Walter Chavez and Ana Galindo, legal permanent residents who are victims of a warrantless home raid.
www.restorefairness.org

Warren Joseph: Military Man Faces Deportation

Breakthrough — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:50:40 -0800

Warren Joseph from Trinidad, received a green card and served the U.S. Army in Iraq; detained and threatened with deportation because of violations to the conditions of his green card due to behavior and actions caused by post-traumatic-stress-syndrome; spent three years in detention where he observed and encountered serious physical and psychological abuse from immigration officers and jail officials.

Ali: An HIV+ Man Suffers in Detention

Breakthrough — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:07:07 -0800

Ali has been living in New York city for 30 years with a green card. Life changed when he spent more than a year in immigrant detention where he witnessed the worst kind of physical abuse and medical mistreatment, including constantly fighting to get his HIV medication. Despite all this, Ali reaffirms that "life is beautiful"!

Call to Action: Fight Against Hate!

Breakthrough — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:57:26 -0800

Hey everyone,
Remember the Ecuadorean Jose Sucuzhanay beaten to death in New Jersey back in December? Or recently, the 37-year old Marcelo Lucero who was stabbed by teenagers just because he was Mexican? Hate crimes against immigrants are on the rise and need to be stopped--and YOU can help! Visit this site (http://www.wecanstopthehate.org/) to read, learn, and act against all forms of hate in the immigration debate. You can also visit our own Breakthrough site to find out more about immigration and human rights. Act now--your voice makes a difference!

Watching Change

Breakthrough — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:57:05 -0800

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday was indeed a day of change and renewed hope! While clearly there are a lot of obstacles ahead to tackle, let's pause for a moment and just re-live some of the more celebratory moments of the day as not just America, but the entire world welcomed the new U.S President, Barack Obama.

Take a look at this photo gallery that shows viewers from Miami to Baghdad, and stay tuned to see pictures of us at Breakthrough watching the inauguration at Caroline's on Broadway at Times Square in NYC!

www.breakthrough.tv

Sarah Jones at the 2008 Breakthrough Benefit Gala

Breakthrough — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:07:05 -0800

Watch the extremely talented Sarah Jones perform at the 2008 Let's Breakthrough Together Benefit Gala. www.breakthrough.tv