Detained Immigrant Finally Released From Jail, NYC Fast Food Worker Salary Protest Creates A Stir

Arizona Prohibits Licenses To Legally Recognized Deferred Action Immigrants. On behalf of five DACA-eligible immigrants, Arizona civil rights groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday to challenge Governor Brewer's (R-Ariz.) executive order which denies driver's licenses to temporary legal immigrants. Issued Aug. 15, Brewer's order says it "defend[s] state law, which limits the disbursement of public benefits and Arizona driver's licenses," in the face of the President's "decision to pursue this program via executive action rather than through the proper legislative process." While the move has gained some Republican backing from Congress, the ACLU proposes that instead of denying young people the ability to drive, leaders should enact "long-term solutions that would allow our talented immigrant youth to achieve the American dream." [Reuters]

Detained Immigrant Finally Released From Massachusetts Jail. Josemaria Islas is eligible for release from jail after a month behind bars. Though lack of evidence could not convict him of armed robbery, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Islas--who is undocumented--in a move that immigrant rights groups decried as "an example of overly aggressive ICE policy." Mayor DeStefano Jr. commented that Islas case is "just one of too many cases where individuals with little to no criminal history are subject to deportation." A federal immigration judge announced that Islas will be released from ICE after posting his $4,000 bond. [Yale Daily News]

LGBT Activists Outraged After Dr. Oz Features Reparative Therapy. LGBT activist groups are calling for popular TV show host Dr. Oz to stand with them against the "repair" of homosexuality. Dr. Oz, who featured a representative of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) as an "expert" on his show, failed to offer his own opinion about the issue during the episode. Accredited organizations including the American Medical Association and National Association of School Psychologists stand with the LGBT groups, rejecting the idea that therapy will change a person's sexuality. "This issue is not one that can be discussed as though both sides are equally valid," said the President of GLAAD. "This line of thinking is outdated, ultimately harmful, and in modern media, should be treated like lobotomies or medical mercury." [San Diego LGBT Weekly]

NYC Fast Food Worker Salary Protest Creates A Stir. Fast food workers in New York City returned to work Friday morning after a 1-day strike to protest disproportionately low wages. The workers, most of whom make minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, earn an average annual salary of $11,000, what Colorlines translates as "only 25 percent of the money the[y] need to survive in NYC." A Fastfoodforward.org petition on Thursday amassed 16,000 in just those 24 hours, which brought widespread attention to their painfully low wages. Community members escorted the strikers back to work Friday morning, although some had already been laid off for participating in the 1-day strike. The campaign's petition is still gathering signatures at Fastfoodforward.org. [ColorLines]

Jennifer Hicks is a Communications Intern for Campus Progress.

Related Stories

• Campus Informer: Sexual Assault Edition
• How College Students Are Responding To Boston Bombing; Another Campus Victimized By Gun Violence
• Kerry: Foreign Students Shun U.S. Because Of Gun Violence; Legislature Halts Gender-Neutral Housing
• Lawmaker Says ‘It’s Not Our Job To See That Anyone Gets An Education’; Hate Speech Hits Campus
• Students Protest Ahead Of Tyga Performance; Liberty University Allows Concealed Carry In Classrooms