Restore Fairness
Overview
When some of us are denied our human rights, it puts the freedoms of all of us at risk. The Restore Fairness campaign (www.restorefairness.org) uses compelling video documentaries along with a timely blog to draw attention to the ways in which immigration policy and laws in the United States affect the everyday lives of people, often denying them basic American values of fairness and due process. Our documentaries, produced in partnership with civil society and human rights groups, tell the stories of men and women whose human rights have been violated - who have been humiliated as a result of their racial or ethnic background, inhumanely detained, suffered pain and abuse, and separated from their families and loved ones.
Take the case of Juana, for example, who was forced to give birth while shackled by immigration enforcement. Or of 18 year old Karwan, who was stripped in broad daylight by police, simply for being in the "wrong" neighborhood at the wrong time. Through these videos, we hope to inspire you to stand up for immigrant rights and racial justice and create a culture where we can all live with fairness, equality, and dignity.
With your help, we can mobilize members of organizations, groups and individuals to demand that our government uphold the human rights of all people. We need you watch our videos and share them with your networks. Together, we can stand up for American values of due process and fairness.
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Juana Villegas: A pregnant immigrant woman detained
video | Posted: 06/20/2012Juana Villegas was nine months pregnant when she was stopped for careless driving, taken from her children, and then detained in jail where she remained shackled while giving birth.
Mallika Dutt: The “war on women” is bigger than you think
video | Posted: 04/25/2012As the Supreme Court considers key elements of Arizona’s SB 1070 law, which legalizes racial profiling of and blatant discrimination against immigrant communities and people of color, stories from around the country show that this and other laws like it, such as Alabama’s H.B. 56. are causing intense damage to families, communities and economies, with […]
Mansimran: How a Sikh teen deals with bullying
video | Posted: 04/06/2012Meet Mansimran. He’s an all-American guy who likes Starbucks, hoops, and robotics. He’s a student, an older brother, and an active member of his Sikh religious community. Sometimes, when strangers see his turban, and the color of his skin, they lean out their car window and call him a “terrorist.” He’s not alone: especially since […]
Deserted: The human rights crisis on our soil
video | Posted: 12/14/2011Deserted calls on viewers to recognize border deaths as a humanitarian crisis.
Checkpoint Nation? Building Community Across Borders
video | Posted: 09/09/2011Early one morning, Maria–then nine months pregnant–and her family were stopped by the police for no discernable reason. A special breakfast outing became a nightmare–and at one of the most intimate moments of her life, Maria found a team of immigration agents–not her husband–by her side. Maria’s chilling story, which Breakthrough captured on a trip […]
Documentary: “Face the Truth: Racial Profiling Across America”
video | Posted: 09/28/2010Kurdish American, Karwan Abdul Kader, was stopped and stripped by local law enforcement for no reason. Watch stories like his in this powerful new documentary showing the devastating impact of racial profiling in the U.S.
Breakthrough documentary: “Two moms fight to stay together” on immigration and LGBT rights
video | Posted: 06/21/2010Shirley Tan came from the Philippines decades ago, and built a life with her partner Jay, giving birth to twin boys and becoming a full-time mom. But Shirley faced the biggest challenge of her life as she fought to stay on in the United States, crippled by laws that do not allow gay and lesbian couples to sponsor their partners.
Breakthrough joins the masses in D.C. to march for fair immigration
video | Posted: 03/21/2010On March 21, 2010, the very same day that health care reform passed in Congress, Breakthrough joined 200,000 workers, families and communities to march for just and humane immigration reform.
Interview with Esmeralda: A transgender detainee speaks out on the harsh realities of immigrant detention
video | Posted: 11/12/2009Courage 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.
Documentary: “Restore Fairness: bring back due process to the immigration system”
video | Posted: 09/07/2009The “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.
“A Surprise Visit”, a mother is separated from her children because of her immigration status
video | Posted: 03/11/2009Sarah (name changed), a legal permanent resident who was in the U.S. since she was 7, and the mother of two citizen children. She never realized she could be deported for life. At least, that’s what she thought.
“Warren Joseph: Military Man Faces Deportation”
video | Posted: 03/09/2009Warren Joseph from Trinidad had a Green Card and served in the U.S. Army in Iraq. After he returned home after war, he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and served three years in immigrant detention where he faced and observed numerous counts of abuse from immigration officials.
Interview with Betsy DeWitt Acquista, whose husband’s deportation tore her family apart
video | Posted: 03/04/2009Betsy, a European American, fell in love with a man from Italy and they started a family. After having children, he faces deportation to Italy.
Breakthrough interviews immigrants in detention in “Live from Jail”
video | Posted: 02/17/2009Breakthrough went “live from jail” and interviewed several long time legal permanent U.S residents who face possible deportation. As one says, “this is a nightmare that I’ve not been able to wake up from.”
Interview with Agatha Joseph, who fought to get her daughter out of immigrant detention
video | Posted: 01/06/2009Agatha Joseph’s daughter was only seventeen when she was placed in immigrant detention. She spent three years fighting to prove her innocence in seven detention centers all from smoking a joint with friends as a teenager.
Anselm IFill, a veteran ordered to be deported
video | Posted: 01/06/2009Anslem Ifill is a legal permanent resident who has lived in the US for 25 years—it is his home. So much so that he was in the U.S. Army for eight years. Now facing deportation he asks, “How can you deport individuals who risk their lives for the very beliefs and freedoms of this country?”
Animation about racial profiling in the U.S. – “America Rocks!”
video | Posted: 01/06/2009A family watching President Bush’s public address, soon realize they are targets in the United States.
“Death by Detention” uncovers inhumane conditions that immigrants face behind bars
video | Posted: 12/04/2008As told by her sister June Everett, watch the story of Sandra Kenley, a 52- year-old grandmother, who after living in the U.S. legally for 33 years, was subjected to degrading and inhumane conditions and died in immigration detention.
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