The topic of our workshop reflects the need for discussion and action focusing on the increased incarceration and detention of low income and immigrant women.

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) continues to terrorize immigrant communities in Washington State and across the country with increasingly militaristic raids, covert detention in for-profit facilities, and expedited deportations.
Women are 53% of the workforce in the US and the numbers of women incarcerated has also increased.

It is our proposal to join the USSF 2007 to call upon those who would like to share their stories, actions and forms in which communities, organizations and individuals have challenged the systems that are oppressive. The Bush Administration's policies and positions have been explicitly against reproductive and abortion rights. Cuts to social security and increases in the wage gap disproportionately affect low-income women. Millions of dollars have been withdrawn from international family planning programs, denying vital services to women across the globe.

The workshop will address to questions:

How do women end up incarcerated. The assumptions are because of partners, domestic violence, drugs, self defense and lack of options. LELO will open up the floor for discussion and responses.

Secondly, What are the impacts on women? In short the impacts are in birth, family, coming out as LGBTQ, healthcare, workplace as well as other socio/economic examples. This workshop hopes to draw out the deep impacts and collect stories to address the inequalities, oppression and racism.

Our biggest challenge today in our movement and organization is capacity building and funding. Those two challenges are not preventing us from reaching out to talk to workers it's the worker's challenge to make time in their already busy life to actively take up action when needed. We hope to network and talk to workers.

There is no translation during the presentation. The alternative to translation is to tape the workshop sessions and have the session translated and have copies available to the USSF participants.

USSF participants will be involved with using popular education tools, timelines and media.
Pamphlets, leaflets and tshirts will be available. We will have documents in English and Spanish.