Texas Civil Rights Review

Author: mopress

  • A Sad and Sick System Finally Frees Four More

    Jay J. Johnson-Castro, Sr. walked from Abilene to Haskell in solidarity with the Hazahza family. In the following email he responds to news that four of five family members have been released.–gm

    Hey amigos…

    You’ve endured a lot of e-mails about the “for profit” prison camps. As you know…we put a lot of focus on the Hazahza family. Tonight…we rejoice that four more of their family free.
    Many people protested and fought for their “liberty and justice”. They never really got “liberty and justice”. The fact is that they endured 6 months of inhumane treatment in a prison camp…being incarcerated with convicted felons. They never committed a crime and were never charged with a crime. Yet they endured…and they are once again free.

    Bush, Chertoff, ICE and the Emerald “for profit” prisons, along with Texas legislators and Washington insiders, county officials…all corruptly profited off of their incarceration. It is a sad and sick system when the Governor of Texas and his own hometown folk would profit from this atrocity and protect the corruption.

    It’s interesting that the youngest son, Ahmad, was wrongfully incarcerated in this adult prison at the age of 17. When the error was realized, he was put in solitary confinement. While there, he became ill and was mocked by the guards and refused medical treatment. The daughters were subjected to violations of their bodies.

    Vigils were held in their behalf. Asma Salam, MD, stood outside of the Federal Courthouse at 1100 Commerce in Dallas everyday for over the past month and a half. Patricia Juarez joined her. Josh Bardavid, a NY attorney argued aggressively in their behalf. The federal judge scolded the federal attorneys for having no case against them…and scolded Homeland Security for committing offenses that in themselves were not legal.

    Ralph Isenberg and his assistant, Jose De La Rocha tried to pull all the strings they could. Brett Shipp of WFAA in Dallas repeatedly reported on the case. Even Dr. Javier Iribaran from California came out to walk in protest to this crime. Reza Barkhordari, Suzi’s fiance, took care of his future mother-in-law during all this time. And Greg Moses of http://www.texascivilrightsreview.org had the story on his front page since February. All to no avail.

    According to our current unconstitutional laws…ICE can detain an immigrant for up to six months without cause…without due process. Damned convenient for the cronies of the Bush administration who own stock in “for profit” prisons like Emerald’s Haskell prison camp…and CCA’s Hutto prison camp where the mother and youngest son were imprisoned and separated from the rest of the family.

    In the end, Chertoff and ICE virtually snubbed us Americans and Texas citizens who have been deeply grieved over such atrocities. I am personally committed to seeing that each and every corrupt and complicit person be held responsible for these crimes that are being committed against members of our human family like the Hazahza, Ibrahims and the some 30,000 more that we don’t even know about. The real felons are the ones who have committed these crimes against the Hazahzas. They just have not been charged yet. But their day is coming. From the guards to the county judge and commissioners, the councilmen and the state and national officials who all receive money form this corrupt scheme.

    The only real victory is that the Hazahzas have not been deported…yet. I hope they are allowed to stay in our country. I hope that they choose to stay in our country. I hope that they realize that most Americans do not even know what atrocities our current administration is committing…and that once we do know…we are willing to stand up along side them and in their behalf…in solidarity. I wouldn’t blame them if they choose to get the hell out of this tyrannical atmosphere. Yet, that would be a grievous loss…for we need an America whose future includes decent families like the Hazahzas.

    Enough of the racist, supremacist elitists!!! Their arrogant power will be stripped from them…in the same way that they keep trying to strip us of our freedoms…and strip those who come to this country of their dignity. The end of that tyranny is soon.

    Now…let’s free all of the children and their mothers who are victims of this same tyrannical regime in the ICE/CCA run Hutto prison camp…

    Jay

  • Happiness and Thanksgiving for the Hazahza's Freedom

    “I’m just so happy!” says Dr. Asma Salam over the telephone Wednesday night, laughing to the verge of tears. For the past five weeks she has kept a vigil for the freedom of the Hazahza family.

    “Tonight God grants me a wonderful birthday gift.” She will see the Hazahzas free.
    The phone calls started coming at 5:30 pm, after Dr. Salam had returned home from her last day of vigiling outside the Dallas Federal Court.

    “It wasn’t an easy day,” she recalls. “I was so scared in my heart. I was outslde all day. My friends came to see me, but I couldn’t hear anything about the case, because there was no open hearing.”

    The first call came from New York attorney Joshua Bardavid, the second from Dallas real estate mogul Ralph Isenberg, and the third from Suzi Hazahza’s finace Reza Barkhordari.

    “They all told me the same thing. The family is free.”

    Dr. Salam gave some thought to writing an email, but found that she was unable to type anything. Instead, she used her computer to listen to songs and read the Koran and Psalms from the Hebrew scriptures.

    “I’m just so happy I cannot tell you. I was like speechless when I heard this news. Oh my God, thank you so much. How happy I am and grateful I am to God and everyone working for this issue.”

    “Most of all, I want to thank Mr. Ralph Isenberg on behalf of all the Muslim community. He is the one who has been practically relieving the pain of the families one at a time. He is so passionate and so dedicated. He knows the pain of the families and he really wants to help those who are going through it.”

  • Rolling Vigil Ends with Suzi's Release!

    Email from Dr. Asma Salam.

    Dear Imams, Rabbi, Pastors, UNTHSC Family and Friends,

    On Wednesday May 2nd, 2007 my 5 week protest against inhumane treatment of children and families at Immigration Detention Centers operated by “ICE” Immigration Custom Enforment agency will end, however my efforts to release the pain and suffering of these children, women and men will not stop until we put an end to the violations of human rights in our state of “Texas” and in our homeland “United States of America”
    Our religious, spiritual and moral obligations reminds us that we do not have to give birth to feel the pain and sufferings of innocent children and we do not have to be related by blood or marriage to support and help people in misery. The most beautiful relation and the strongest bond we share is the bond of humanity among all of us as we all are children of Adam and Abraham regardless of our color, cast and creed. It is an imperative as human for all of us to defend the human rights and to melt “ICE” and to let our government know that we will not accept this inhumane treatment of children, women and men in our country.

    I would like to share these verses by Sheikh Saadi from his book “Gulistan (The Rose Garden),” written in his honor on the entrance to the Hall of Nations in New York .

    “Of one Essence is the human race,
    Thusly has Creation put the Base;
    One Limb impacted is sufficient,
    For all Others to feel the Mace.”
    (Sheikh Saadi)

    Thank you all for your direct and indirect support. May God help us all in uniting and bringing peace and justice to these children and families who have already suffered enough in these immigration detention centers as we all know that none of them deserve a moment to be in this inhumane and unjust environment.

    Please log on to http://texascivilrightsreview.org to learn more about this issue, and feel free to contact me at 817-707-6411 or at asmasalam@sbcglobal.net if you have any question or concern regarding this issue.

    Thank you and God bless you.

    Asma Salam MD
    Arlington, TX

  • The Hazahzas are Free!

    Email from Joshua Bardavid, Esq.

    The Hazahzas are free! They have been released on an order of supervision. Obviously we are all thrilled that they are finally free from unnecessary imprisonment, but I remained deeply dismayed that the
    government waited until six months had elapsed. As we noted in our Court filings, simply because detention beyond six months is presumptively unreasonable does not mean that detention before six months reasonable or constitutional. Put another way, by releasing the
    Hazahzas, the government is conceding that removal/deportation is unforeseeable. So if removal is unforeseeable today, then it was unforeseeable yesterday (and the day before that, and even on November 2, 2006, the day they were detained). As far as we can tell, ICE held the Hazahzas this long simply because they believed their actions were
    unreviewable. I hope Congress takes note of this, and restores the habeas corpus authority of the courts to review actions of ICE.

    Greg, thanks again for your keeping everyone informed of this and all of the other cases — Congress may be able to shield ICE from the eyes of the courts, but they will never be able to shield it from the eyes of the grassroots movement!

    -Josh

    NOTE: in reply to a follow-up email, Bardavid said he expects Ahmad Hazahza to be released on Monday, May 7.

  • The Rolling Vigil for Rolling Plains Prisoner Suzi Hazahza

    The following materials were previously posted as site announcements.–gm

    Please join Dr. Asma Salam as she continues her rolling vigil for Rolling Plains prisoner Suzi Hazahza and all mistreated immigrants at the Dallas Federal Courthouse, 1100 Commerce St., every weekday from 9am – 4pm. At last report, Suzi’s human right to habeas corpus has been placed in ABEYANCE by the USA until May 2 (see below).

    Signs of Justice

    Dr. Asma Salam keeps vigil outside the Dallas Federal Courthouse (Photo by Trish Majors)

    Thank you so much. I hope this protest makes a difference and God accepts our deeds. Every morning that I spent alone makes me very sad as I could not escape thinking about all that is going on inside these immigration detention centers and the ignorance and acceptance of even understanding this issue in our society. It makes me feel like we are hitting our heads against the wall. Everyday I fight this challenge with tears in my eyes that how do I make people understand how inhumane these detention centers are, and regardless of status issues no one deserves to be there. May God help us all in releasing the pain and sufferings of these families and children.

    The Emerald Companies

    If you can’t make the vigil, please visit the website of the folks who profit from the imprisonment of Suzi Hazahza and other mistreated immigrants: The Emerald Companies. It’s time we get to know them all better. Check out our preliminary roundup of internet resources on Emerald, “Getting to Know the Emerald Companies“.–gm

    Follow the Money

    Intrepid ally and web surfer Sarah Boone found a national report on private prison lobby money compiled by the Institute on Money in State Politics. The report for Texas begins on page 29 of this pdf.