Category: Detention

Email from Jay Johnson-Castro.

After the Hutto Walk II and the Hutto Vigil VII this past weekend…I’ve had a chance to sift through all the results and realities. Great people supported the walk and the vigil. Great people showed up. Great minds are determined to forge ahead to Free the Children.

Are we ready to take it to the next level in order to FREE the CHILDREN? If so…please mark your calendars for Saturday, April 28th, 11:00am-4:00pm. Texas State Capitol…Austin.
Let’s start by saying first…that we now have registered FreeTheChildren.info. With that name, our mission is defined. We intend to start a state, national and international campaign to free the thousands of children from cruel and inhumane, yes illegal incarceration…starting with the ugly reality that we have hundreds on innocent little ones in concentration camps… right here in Texas. There are children from some 30 countries in Hutto…who are denied all the freedoms that America promises.

Second reality is that some within our government…local, state and national…are callous enough to not only permit the imprisonment of babies…some actually derive financial and political benefits for their complicity in this crime…which up until now is being committed with impunity. That too will change.

Dedicated people are battling all kinds of sick and warped things going on in the world around us as well as in our own country. We are constantly forced to prioritize which battles we choose to fight…no? But…how much more sinister and demented…and how much more worthy a cause do we need…then the reality that precious little children are being cruelly imprisoned….and for-profit…on the pretext of national security? How much more cruel can the Administration, Chertoff and ICE be than to abuse these babies.

How much more repugnant does the federal government have to be…before the sane people of this country, who still have a conscience, rise up and say that we’ve had enough of this tyranny. Babies, children in their formative years, elementary aged children, school age children…should not be in concentration camps…let alone for profit. A concentration camp with a swing set…is still a concentration camp!

We now know that Rep. Eddie Rodriquez and Rep. Rafael Anchia are trying to champion the freeing of these little ones. They have authored HCR 64…essentially condemning the immoral incarceration of children at Hutto. Yet, the Chair of the State Affairs Committee, David Swinford, has blocked the progress of that bill. He has refused up until now…to allow we the public to address the Hutto concentration camp before the State Affairs committee in a public hearing…thereby disenfranchising democracy and the voice of “We the people”. And…only two weeks remain for committee hearings.

Since Swinford is willing to prevent we the people from expressing our views…”We the people” will therefore hold our own public hearing in the Capitol. A “We the public” Hearing. In one week…Saturday, April 28th we will meet in Committee Room: E2.028 The room is reserved from 11:00am-4:00pm. This is an opportunity for any one who has that inner conviction that the innocent children in Hutto should be freed…along with their mothers…to publicly voice their hearts and minds.

If you’re sincere about freeing the children…make this sacrifice. Join us at the capitol…to Free the Children. You don’t have to stay the whole time. But do…join us to Free the Children who are being immorally and illegally imprisoned in Hutto.

View the resolution that was introduced by Rep. Eddie Rodriquez to free the children in Hutto.

So amigos. Let’s make a difference. Please forward this to your friends and organizations…and the media contacts that you have. Let’s Free the Children!!!

Let’s remember…

“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Looking forward to seeing you at the Capitol this coming Saturday…the 28th…

Jay
(830)768-0768

Email from Jay Johnson-Castro

Afternoon Freedom Ambassadors…

When Hutto Vigil IX was announced…for June 23rd…

…another group headed up by Antonio Diaz of the Texas Indigenous Council was in the planning stages of a June 9th vigil at Hutto. While this was not done to confuse anyone…there seems to be a little confusion. Let’s try to clarify it this way.

Hutto Vigil IX. This is a Hutto Vigil. It is headed up by Antonio Diaz and his group. We will therefore identify it as Hutto Vigil IX. It will be held on June 9th. We applaud the initiative and encourage all who can to support it. We encourage you to call Antonio to get the specifics. For info call (210)396=9805. E-mail: texasindigenouscouncil@yahoo.com.

Hutto Vigil X. This is the vigil sponsored by Amnesty International. Many organizations have committed to support that vigil, including LULAC. This vigil will be held on June 23rd. Amnesty International will make the public announcement with the exact details at a future date. The Hutto Vigil X date of June 23rd was selected because it falls on the weekend of the International Day of the Refugee. Folks will be coming from around the country to attend Hutto Vigil X.

Here’s a brief yet special update from Freedom Ambassadors…Gloria Benacci and two daughters…who came up with the coveted “No Child Left Behind Bars” buttons. Gloria says:

“We have T-shirts…logo, white with black/red printing front and back…Spanish and English. (see attached) Only need a better estimate on how many we need. The T-shirts are high quality and our printer does an incredible job.”

These T-shirts will be available for a suggested donation. For more information on the buttons and T-shirts…we invite y’all to visit Free the Children at MySpace where we are approaching 2000 friends…and according to Gloria…going on 10,000.

Regarding the Hutto vigils…we cannot have too many. If anything…we should try to have more. We should all try to muster up all of the expressed outrage that we can…against the imprisonment of innocent little children…and those who would profit off of them.

Hutto is like an ugly boil that has come to the head. It is so in your face. It violates everything we believe as a people. Unless we put a stop to this kind of abuse of democracy…such atrocities will go from ugly to uglier. Why do we say that? In May of last year…for the Hutto dedication…the proud architect of imprisoning innocent children…Chertoff, himself…bragged about Hutto being the prototype for future prison camps for families.

We the people happen to disagree with this demented concept and we are letting Chertoff, Bush, Congress, the U.N….and the world community know…that in no uncertain terms…we will not tolerate such conduct that defies all universal laws. Americans with a conscience will keep growing in numbers and massing together…to free the innocent children of the world. Taking down their prize razor wire, after months of protest, does not change the fact that the tender lives of little ones are being abused by the world’s biggest bullies.

In solidarity…we come to their rescue. We come to demand their freedom…and the freedom of their mothers. We come to defend our family and our race. The human family and the human race.

No Child Left Behind Bars

Free the Children

Jay

“If you make peaceful change impossible….. you make violent revolution inevitable.” President John F Kennedy

Press Release

FREE the CHILDREN

People’s Hearing on H.C.R. 64 to end illegal imprisonment of children in Taylor, Texas

CONTACT:

Jay J. Johnson Castro Sr.: 830 734 8636 (cell)

Jane Chamberlain (media): 512 453 5669

AUSTIN: Save the Children, a coalition of individuals and groups opposing the illegal and immoral detention of immigrant families with children (approximately 400 people from 30 countries) at the T. Don Hutto detention center in Taylor, Texas, will gather at the Texas Capitol in committee room E2.028 on Saturday, April 28th, 11:00 a.m-4:00pm., for a People’s Hearing on HCR 64. This bill, filed by Reps. Eddie Rodriguez and Rafael Anchia, which condemns as immoral the incarceration of children at Hutto, has been stuck in Chairman David Swinford’s House State Affairs Committee since it was filed in February.
The people of Texas will hear testimony from citizens across many sectors of society about the abuses of the system of immigrant detention and the improper aggrandizement of private corporations such as Corrections Corporation of America which runs the immigrant prison at Hutto.

We invite all Texans with an interest in human rights to grab this rare opportunity to think globally and act locally all in one.

Audiencia popular sobre el proyecto de ley H.C.R 64 para acabar con el encarcelamiento ilegal de menores en Taylor, Texas

Save the Children, una coalición de interesados opuestos a la detención ilegal e inmoral de familias inmigrantes con hijos (aproximadamente 400 personas procedentes de más de 20 países) en la cárcel T. Don Hutto en Taylor, Tejas, se juntarán en el capitolio de Texas, en el salón de comité E2.028, 11:00am-4:00pm del sábado 28 de abril, para asistir a una Audiencia Popular sobre el proyecto de ley HCR 64. Este proyecto de ley, presentado por los Reps. Eddie Rodríguez y Rafael Anchia, que condena como inmoral la encarcelación de niños en Hutto, ha estado inmovilizado en el Comité de Asuntos Estatales del Presidente David Swinford desde que se presentó en Febrero.

El pueblo de Texas escuchará el testimonio de representantes de varios sectores de la comunidad en cuanto a los abusos del sistema de detención de inmigrantes, y el engrandecimiento indebido de las corporaciones privadas, así como la Corrections Corporation of America, que tiene a su cargo la administración de la cárcel en Hutto.

A todos los residentes de Texas interesados en los derechos humanos, les invitamos a aprovechar esta singular oportunidad para pensar a nivel global y expresarse a nivel local.

Relevant links

HCR 64 Resolution text:

Detention and Removal Operations: Alternatives To Detention. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Fact Sheet of March 2007.

Locking up Family Values: The Detention of Immigrant Families. Monograph by the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, February 2007

Corrections Corporation of America: A Critical Look at the First Twenty Years, by Philip Mattera, Mafruza Khan, and Stephen Nathan (May 2003).

Texas: Tougher than Ever, But Are We Safer? Comparison with New York. Recent legislation contributed to a reduction in NY prison population while allowing the state to spend tax dollars more effectively.

Neal and Angela Kopit have written a well rounded and persuasive piece on the Taylor Hutto Prison.

We have previously shared a pdf file released by writer Dave Maass–including an April letter from the state of Texas informing the Corrections Corporation of America that it will continue to be exempt from child protection regulations. In the May 22 edition of the San Antonio Current, Maass coins a term for Hutto “Kidmo” and summarizes his research into licensing:

ICE assigned the licensing responsibilities to CCA, the U.S.’s largest private prison operator. CCA’s inexperience in residential programs is evident in documents obtained by the Current that show in March 2006 CCA was hoping to receive licensing from the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and the Texas Youth Commission. Both agencies determined that Hutto was outside their jurisdiction because the detained juveniles had not committed criminal offenses and were foreign nationals. Only as the facility was set to open in May 2006 did CCA finally file paperwork with the proper agency, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. However, instead of applying for a license, CCA requested and received a licensing exemption, which Sparks pointed out does not satisfy Flores.

By Jay j. Johnson-Castro

While driving back to Del Rio from the People’s Hearing at the Texas State Capitol yesterday a song was going through my head…

Then I decided to answer phone messages from the day. While I was speaking with Dr. Javier Iribarren…recognizing that he was born and raised in Spain…I realized that the tune in my head was probably not known in Spain. I asked him. He said he had never heard it.
It occurs to me that all over English speaking Anglo North America…there is probably not a human who was raised in this country who doesn’t know this song. I don’t care if one is red or yellow, black or white…we know this song…probably better than we know the National Anthem.

I just Googled the song…and found that it was written by C.Herbert Woolston (1856-1927). It is based on Matthew 19:14. “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.”

Few will not know this song by heart…

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in His sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

I’m 60 years old and find myself totally committed to freeing these little children from a prison camp on American soil…here in Texas. Then this little Sunday School Class tune comes full circle and hits me yesterday. How much more simple can our cause be. To show love to the little children of the world…and to their mothers and fathers who want them to be happy. And yet the cruelty and tyranny of our immoral and criminal leaders would have us believe that Hutto is humane!!!

After nearly five months of being driven by conviction, truth, honesty and dignity, here we are, a rapidly growing group of Americans…trying to free these precious little children of the world…red and yellow, black and white. Trying to free them from the grips of one of the most evil forces in human history. The grip that has them imprisoned without any freedoms whatsoever comes from the hands of a group of so called evangelicals…who also get money from a racist supremacist micro-minority who are committing this atrocity…using every cruel weapon in their arsenal…for money.

According to the dictionary, “evangel” means “good news”. Correspondingly, “evangelical” is “a designation for Christians who hold to basic conservative interpretations of the Bible…and the proclamation of the “evangel” or “good news” of salvation through Christ.”

Interestingly, at the Capitol yesterday, many were commenting on the gross absence of the faith based organizations when it comes to the cruel, inhumane, immoral and criminal detention of these little children…of the world…right here in Texas, 35 miles northeast of the Capitol building. Excuse my profanity…but where the hell are these well salaried spiritual leaders?

The answer is ever so simple. Dr. Javier Iribarren gave me a wristband on our walk to hold a vigil in Governor’s Perry’s hometown of Haskell, Texas, where Suzi Hazahza and here family are still incarcerated in a prison camp for wanting to be Americans. The wristband is wrapped on my rear-view mirror. Silence is Complicity. The churches KNOW about the imprisonment of the innocent and precious “little children of the world”…especially those in Taylor and Williamson County. So…after all of their silence…what could/would/should any one of us conclude? One would do well to ask…”Do they still teach the Sunday School classes C. Herbet Woolston’s little song…’Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World”?

Fortunately, religious bigotry has not corrupted the hearts of all Taylor and Williamson County residents. Many were at the Capitol building yesterday…strategizing on how to get the political leaders of the Texas Legislature, who like us also grew up with Woolston’s song burned in their minds, to obey their consciences instead of their political party…and support the freeing of “the little children of the world” who are imprisoned “for profit” by the White House, Chertoff and ICE at the CCA prison camp.

After all is said and done…I just got this link from Trish Taylor…who was also with us at the Capitol yesterday…committed to freeing the children.

Moral leadership?! How degradant can “Christianity” and their leaders become in America …before the flocks rise up in outrage? Weren’t the religious leaders and their flocks in Germany complicit with the fascism of that era?

Jay
“NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND BARS”
Free the Children
jay@villadelrio.com.