Ahmad Ibrahim faxed the following letter to the White House yesterday in hand-written form. This morning, over the telephone, he read the letter to the Texas Civil Rights Review:
Dear Mrs. Bush,
Hello. A Palestinian mother and four children are in jail in Taylor, Texas for two months at Hutto detention center (215) 218-2400.
The mother and 5-year-old child are held in the same cell. They count them four times a day. The mother tells me it’s the most demeaning thing to be lined up with your children and counted. The children are ages 5, 7, 12, and 15.
The immigration came and arrested the whole family on Nov. 2, 2006, and they have been in jail until now. Their lawyer said they are here legally. They came to America on a 5-years visiting visa, issued from the American embassy in Jerusalem, and they filed an asylum case which is still pending.
And the husband [my brother] has a work permit, and he is held now in another jail in Haskell, Texas. The man in charge of the jailing of the children is Marc Moore (210) 967-7175.
I hope this letter will reach you. (Names and ages of family members in jail.) One child is with me, because she is born in America [not in jail].
This is a terrible time for our family, and I hope you can help the children be out of the jail and in the school where they belong, and in the playground.
Sincerely,
Ahmad Ibrahim
Texas Civil Rights Review 