Author: mopress

The following correspondence from Austin City Council Member Mike Martinez raises important issues about the contradictions of federal immigration power in border-state communities. The occasion for the letter is a recent “process” decision by Sheriff Greg Hamilton to give working space to federal immigration officials at county offices.–gm

To all:

I am sending out this email to provide additional information regarding, what I consider to be, a process shift at the county jail that is having a dramatic affect on our community. This change has resulted in an increase of immigration detainments/deportations. Prior to the change there were only a handful of cases per month resulting in detainments (4 to 5). That number has now risen to approximately 111 for December and over 110 for the first 2 weeks of February alone.

Let me be very clear: my public comments and position relating to the process shift have absolutely nothing to do with telling Sheriff Hamilton how to do his job. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Sheriff Hamilton and men and women of the Travis County Sheriff’s department, and was proud to support Greg in being elected as our Sheriff. I believe we absolutely should enforce our laws and maintain public safety. Folks who are convicted via the judicial system should be held accountable for their actions.

My position and comments relate to our tax dollars (city and county) providing and enabling a federal agency unfettered and internal access to a facility and to equipment that was and is being paid for by local taxpayers. These funds are derived from property taxes, fines, fees and sales taxes (ALL OF WHICH ARE PAID BY EVERYONE – including undocumented residents).

ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) has the absolute right and duty to enforce all immigration laws. I also believe our local law enforcement should have a working relationship with all law enforcement agencies within our area, including ICE. Again, this is not the issue at hand and those that believe otherwise are simply avoiding true, open and honest public dialogue leading to positive outcomes for our entire community.

The city of Austin is the largest external resource provider of funding to the county jail system through an interlocal agreement signed and ratified by the Travis County Commissioners Court and the Austin City Council. The city of Austin provides about $4.6 Million per year to the county for the services and facilities we utilize. At a minimum, it is my belief we should do everything within our policy making abilities to ensure that resources expended via our interlocal agreement be prioritized to reflect our values, stated policies and adopted council resolutions (For example, Resolution 970130-33 Establishing Austin as an Immigrant Safety Zone).

As an example, I would submit that psychological/mental health screening and even general health screening would be a much higher priority for our [tax payer funded] facilities and equipment if they are available. These two intake procedures alone would also have a dramatic and positive affect on our community.

Lastly, I believe, immigration reform (or lack there of) is what is truly causing this issue to become divisive, disrespectful (by some) and devastating to our community. By simply increasing the amount of undocumented residents being deported and doing nothing to affect true immigration reform with a legal and achievable path to citizenship, we will never resolve this issue. The detainees simply get to their country of origin and do whatever is necessary to return to the United Sates to their families, jobs and lives. But they come back with a greater distrust of government, the judicial system and especially law enforcement. And the situation only gets worse.

Please join me in discussing this very difficult issue and in making policy decisions that improve our city and make Austin the best city in the world for ALL to enjoy.

Thanks for your time,
Mike Martinez

ITEM: “The Texas Democratic Party announced Wednesday it would hold a public drawing for tickets to next week’s debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in Austin. The decision came after Wednesday’s announcement that the debate will be closed to the public and will be invitiation only.”

Wasn’t it Thoreau who said all voting is a kind of gaming — a vast lottery that should never be confused with an exercise of conscience?

To paraphrase a famous motto of cybernetics: “Lottery in, lottery out.”

Email from Jay J. Johnson-Castro, Sr.

The Spring Break…March Against the Border Wall is a 9-day 115-mile walk from Roma, TX to Brownsville. It will start on March 8 and end on March 16 at the UTB campus. This protest walk/march is being organized by the academic community. It is designed to allow the students, many of which have friends and family on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande, to have a chance to be heard, whether they want to be condemned to a costly and grotesque border wall on American soil that cuts through their community and their land. What better time than Spring Break for the future leaders of America to speak up and be heard?

Through Border Ambassadors networking the 1250 mile Texas-Mexico from El Paso to Brownsville, the entire border region is not caving in, bowing down or bending over to the dictates of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff. When it comes to our ecology, our environment, our economy, our culture, our history, our geology, our solidarity or our friendship, as long as we live in a democracy, “we the people” of the borderlands will have the final say. To Chertoff, the border is little more than a black line that runs the thread of the Rio Grande. In his mind, the border will be defined as a totalitarian “iron curtain” that will cut through people’s lives and community and turn a culture of friendship into a war zone.

For those of us who live in this militarized zone, the region “inside checkpoints” on the north and every form of military surveillance on the south, the border is not a line, but the blend of we the people on both sides of the Rio Grande. It is diverse and tolerant. We get along, despite the political corruption, oppression and racist supremacy from the north. We are the poorest and most neglected region of the great state of Texas. Worse, we are the poorest region of then entire United States of America. Yet, today, because the Texas delegates will more than likely determine the Presidential candidates in the March 4 primaries, and therefore the next President, the Presidential hopefuls are rushing to South Texas to garner the predominantly Hispanic vote.

It will therefore be the vote here in South Texas that tips the scale in the presidential race. We the people “inside the checkpoints” on the Texas-Mexico border will not squander this opportunity. We will make THE difference.

Can we the people of the Texas-Mexico border shape the future of Texas and therefor the entire United States and therefore the world?

“We sure as hell can”

We will…

Jay

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Connecting the dots
…Making a difference

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Border Ambassadors
Jay J. Johnson-Castro, Sr.

You read it here first. See Jay J. Johnson-Castro’s Christmas letter to the President–gm

*******

Press Release
February 22, 2008

NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD ANNOUNCES OPPOSITION TO FEDERAL JUDICIAL NOMINATION OF CCA GENERAL COUNSEL GUS PURYEAR

On June 13, 2007, President Bush nominated Gustavus Adolphus Puryear IV for a position on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Mr. Puryear currently serves as vice president and general counsel for Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation’s largest for-profit private prison company. If appointed he would serve as a federal judge in the same jurisdiction where CCA is headquartered.

Since 2000, at least 260 federal lawsuits naming CCA, company subsidiaries or CCA employees have been filed in the Middle District of Tennessee. Such cases would constitute a conflict of interest for Mr. Puryear, and assigning them to other judges would not be an effective use of judicial resources.

Of greater concern is that Mr. Puryear lacks familiarity with the federal courts and has little trial or litigation experience. By his own admission he has tried only two cases to verdict; he has been personally involved in only five federal cases, most recently a decade ago. He is not admitted to practice before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is over the Middle District of Tennessee, and received only a “qualified” rating from the American Bar Association rather than a “highly qualified” rating.

Both Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker strongly support Mr. Puryear’s nomination. Neither Senator has acknowledged the substantial financial contributions received from Mr. Puryear and his employer, CCA – which include over $80,000 to Senator Alexander and $27,000 to Senator Corker since 2004.

Further, Mr. Puryear mentioned in disclosure statements that he is a member of the Nashville-based Belle Meade Country Club. The fact that Mr. Puryear maintains membership in an exclusive, predominately white club that did not admit its first minority member until 1994, and reportedly does not afford voting privileges to female members but only to male members, is a matter of significant concern for a federal judicial nominee.

In an Associated Press national wire article concerning Mr. Puryear’s nomination, Vanderbilt Professor Stefanie Lindquist was quoted as saying his judicial appointment “might slide through as a compromise.” The National Lawyers Guild does not believe the people of Tennessee should have to compromise or settle for a less-than-qualified federal judge to represent their interests in U.S. District Court.

The National Lawyers Guild calls on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary to vote down this unqualified, conflicted and controversial judicial candidate.