Twin Cities Indymedia | Movement Media for Minneapolis-St. Paul

UPDATE: U.S. Judge Susan Bolton issued a partial injunction against elements of SB 1070 until the full case can be heard. Proponents of the law are disappointed, but the group PuenteAZ says the ruling is "NOT a victory."

St. Paul Demonstration on Thursday, July 29

Latina/o communities and activists everywhere are fighting against racist anti-immigrant legislation.  The flashpoint of this summer's struggle is Arizona law SB 1070, the precedent setting anti-immigrant measure that codifies existing but unofficial racial profiling.  But although that law has brought thousands into the struggle for comprehensive immigration reform and against the border itself, it exists in an ongoing context of intimidation, leaked data, raids and border militarization.

SB 1070 is set to take effect on Thursday July 29, if a federal judge doesn't strike down part of it first.  Either way, dozens of large protests are scheduled Thursday from coast to coast.  In St. Paul, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAc) and Boycott Arizona--Minnesota (BAM!) campaign expect a large turnout on Thursday at 6pm at the State Capitol. "Our community is calling for us to take to the streets and show Minnesota that we will not stand for these hateful laws and demand a real solution to this broken system – federal immigration reform with legalization and full equality," write organizers.

The latest from Arizona: | Monday: Seven arrested in civil disobedience outside Phoenix courthouse | Soundstrike Artists Rage Against Arizona | Coverage from Colorlines | Alto Arizona | PuenteAZ | No Mås Muertes | Arizona Indymedia

Minneapolis is one of four cities in the running for the 2012 Democratic National Convention, just one cycle after the metro-wide suspension of civil liberties that accompanied the Republicans' national party in 2008.  This time around, local organizers are mobilizing in an effort to sabotage the bid before a decision is even made.

Last Sunday, 20-25 people rallied outside the Minnesota Twins game downtown before heading to the Metrodome, the city's preferred DNC site.  On Thursday, organizers from the 2008 Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War staged a press conference at the dome to announce that they'll host a major anti-war protest if the DNC chooses Minneapolis. Speaking to the selection committee, Meredith Aby of the Anti-War Committee warned, "We're ready. If you choose us, we're good to go." | noDNC.org | MPR: Officials visit MPLS, met by protest

Tom Emmer, the endorsed Republican candidate for MN Governor made a stab a damage control Wednesday. Last weekend Emmer emerged from a restaurant in St. Paul with tales of restaurant servers making $100,000 a year while the owners scrape by on leftovers. The problem he pointed to on Saturday was minimum wage laws. While he didn’t actually say the words: “ I want to cut minimum wages for servers”, he argued that minimum wages interfere with the “market” and presumably make things harder for owners who are the gooses with the golden eggs. (You can see the video here.)

Emmer’s gullibility at believing that that servers are making more than owners (in reality the average MN server makes $19,000 a year), and his suggestion that minimum wage laws are the problem, the implication being that it’s elimination or reduction would be some kind of solution, has caused quite an uproar in these parts. Emmer’s reaction has been to parse out his statements and deny wanting to cut wages. Today he took that message to Ol’ Mexico, a restaurant in Roseville.

Video from The UpTake: Activist Robert Erickson dumped a bag of 2,000 pennies on Emmer's table, effectively ending the event.  The action connected Emmer's statements on the minimum wage to his anti-immigrant views, as many Minnesota servers are immigrants - both documented and undocumented. More: MinnPost | TwinCities.com