About Le Anne Clausen Expertise I can answer questions about human rights work as a vocation, human rights as they pertain to the Middle East and/or Muslim world, particularly Palestine/Israel, Iraq, and Afghanistan. While in Iraq, I helped to investigate prisoner abuses, including those at Abu Ghraib. I can also answer questions on women's rights in the Middle East. I cannot give you legal advice.
Experience I was a human rights worker for four years in the Middle East, including Palestine, Israel, and Iraq. I also participated in a human rights delegation to Afghanistan in summer 2005. I have an MA in Christian-Muslim relations, with special study on women's issues; I also worked one year for an Arab women's grassroots human rights organization. I am currently working to build an interfaith peace-teams based human rights organization
Publications "Be the Healers" (considering next steps for addressing the Abu Ghraib scandal), July 2004 edition, "The Lutheran" magazine.
Also: www.christian-muslim.net; www.young-activist.blogspot.com; additional interviews and articles about me are available via Google search.
Human Rights - Human Rights for Illegal Immigrants?
Expert: Le Anne Clausen - 5/5/2009
Question I am a high school student in little town nowhere, i'm not exactly sure how this site responds to students but i am doing a speech on illegal immigrants and the rights they have in the united states and surprisingly i have come up with Not a lot of information that's useable. i don't think this site is a type of border patrol. ha but any information you have would be very helpful!
Answer Greetings Chris, and thanks for your question. In short, unfortunately, illegal immigrants (or undocumented workers, as many non-profit agencies prefer to call them), do not have very many rights in our country--that's why there is such a call for immigration reform. Many abuses have taken place that have caused considerable harm.
Here are some programs/projects that I'm aware of that you can check out on Google or the search engine of your choice:
Chicago New Sanctuary Alliance
Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America
8th Day Center for Justice Immigration Campaigns
No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes
Borderlinks (an educational program that shows why so many people need to migrate, and what human rights issues affect them).
Humane Borders (these guys provide water stations in the desert so that people who might die of thirst while crossing are able to survive)
Samaritans (these guys train volunteers to provide medical treatment to migrants who may be stranded or at risk of dying in the desert).
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Immigration Projects
Also try a search of "Postville, IA" and "human rights" and "immigration" to get a good example of some of the major human rights violations in a recent case.
