Category: Detention

Does the CCA Lease Expire Jan. 31?

Take a look for yourself, at agreements between Williamson County, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the Imprisonment of Women and Children (forwarded by Jay J. Johnson-Castro in PDF format [400 kb]).

Bottom Line: ICE pays $2.8 million per month for up to 512 prisoners (plus $19.23 per hour for off-site guard services, $125,000 per month for medical care, with contraceptives, immunizations and off-site medical care billed at additional cost). After that, $79 per day extra per head, plus $8 for medical care. For its trouble, the county collects $1 per day per child or adult imprisoned from CCA, the company that books the amounts from ICE stated above.

In January 2006, Williamson County Commissioners approved a one-year agreement with CCA. In April 2006 they approved the prison contract with ICE “indefinitely unless terminated in writing” with 120 days notice.

Public minutes of the April 18, 2006 Commisioners Court [Agenda Item 25] announce a change in “per diem and detainees” for ICE but do not indicate that the contract length with CCA is also being changed to “indefinitely.”

For these reasons, Jay Johnson-Castro says the County’s agreement with CCA expires at the end of this month, Jan. 31, 2007.

“What I am asking is…Will the Williamson County Commission choose Chertoff and CCA over the children?” says Johnson-Castro. “Will they become local, state, national and
international heroes and choose the children over Chertoff and CCA?”
Note: “Rick” mentioned on page one is, according to a reliable source, Rick Zinsmeyer, Director of Community Supervisions and Corrections for Williamson County.

By Greg Moses

Speaking on his cell phone from somewhere near the border, Jay Johnson-Castro is explaining how his lone walk from Laredo to Brownsville last October, “tore down the wall before it ever got built. That wall will never be built!”

Now it is Christmas Eve, and Johnson-Castro will be driving all afternoon from Del Rio to Taylor to join a vigil outside the T. Don Hutto jail for immigrant children. He is determined to shut it down.

“Can you hold on a minute?” he asks. “There’s a checkpoint.” “Are you a citizen of the United States?” comes a voice. “Where are you going?”

After answering the questions, Johnson-Castro is waved onward.

“Unfortunately this is one of the realities of living on the border,” explains Johnson-Castro, returning to the phone. “Nowhere else in the USA do you have to prove you’re a citizen just to drive down the road.”

I tell him that I’ve been to the Rio Grande Valley before, and I’ve heard stories that the police nuisance is getting worse by the year.

“And it’s getting worse by the year, because of the way the US government is dealing with it,” rejoins Johnson-Castro.

“Before the border walk I was the go-to guy for border tourism. Heritage tourism. I was all about tourism,” he explains.

“But look how we’re being treated on the border by our state and federal governments. We have 13,000 going on 19,000 border patrol agents here along the border with Mexico, while along the border with Canada, there are fewer than 1,000.

“But US policies are part of the reason why we have an immigration problem to begin with. US companies put up factories along the border in Northern Mexico where they pay workers $75 per week for 48 hours of work. Then they close the factories and move them to Indonesia. And many of the factory workers are single moms who live under desperate conditions. We created this situation.”

Citizens north of the Mexico border have “responsibility” for people who have served as “slave labor” in factories of the South, says Johnson-Castro. “And people who imprison the migrant workers are not any different from people who supported Hitler. No different. How far does it have to go?”

“How can I be silent?” asks Johnson-Castro. “At some point they might consider me an enemy of . . . “

The cell phone enters a dead zone. The voice of Jay Johnson-Castro disappears, but he keeps a hand at the wheel, driving to a Christmas Eve vigil that will go down in history some day as the spark that shut down detention camps for desperate Southern children, whose only crime was to join a social movement in search of work further North.

In addition to the Ibrahim and Suleiman families, we present below information about seven members of the Hazahza family, who were also abducted in a dawn raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The account is taken from a slightly edited letter of appeal to ICE officials, written on Nov. 27 by Reza Barkhordari of Plano. We have only deleted for the time being the circumstances of the September killing of the family’s 16-year-old son, pending documentation and verification. The family is now represented by Dallas attorney Michelle L. Saenz-Rodriguez.–gm

The following members of a family from Irving, Texas were detained by US Immigration, Dallas Field
Office at 6:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, November 2nd.

1. Nazmieh Juma (Mother)
2. Radi Hazahza (Father)
3. Suzan Hazahza (Daughter, 19)
4. Mirvat Hazahza (Daughter, 23)
5. Mohammad Hazahza (Son, 11)
6. Hisham Hazahza (Son, 23)
7. Ahmad Hazahza (Son, 17)
The father of the family, Radi Hazahza, is originally from Palestine and worked in Jordan and Palestine as a
respected bank manager for many years. The family lived in Jordan for a long time before they moved to
Palestine.

They were initially granted entry into the United States on a visitor’s visa. At the completion of the
visa term they applied for asylum from the US government as their life had been threatened by the existing
violence and various life threats in those territories on multiple occasions.

The case was initially turned down largely for their counsel’s incompetence, and they appealed the case. The appeal was again handled in an unprofessional manner by their next Immigration attorney, who filed their petitions 90 days after the due date–papers which had been already provided to her previously along with the appropriate filling fees. In a formal letter to the INS Court of Appeals, she has officially addressed this issue and admitted to her shortcoming in their case, but the petition for asylum was rejected nevertheless.

Five of the seven family members have been transferred to the Haskell Jail, Immigration Detention Facility at 507 S 2nd St., Haskell, TX 79521.

The mother, Nazmieh Juma, and her 11-year-old son are being detained at the T. Don Hutto jail in Taylor, TX.

It breaks our hearts to see that such a hard-working family which is only trying to seek peace here in our
country is facing more difficulties than they have ever before when they fled here to escape this kind of
intimidation and violence in their own homeland.

Just like everyone else, they were also trying to integrate into the society with respect and dignity and to take advantage of the opportunities that our country has to offer for a better living standard. I wish we could do more to display our hospitality to those who are running away from the evils of their worlds and are seeking refuge in us.

Please do note the following facts and conditions with regards to the family concerning their case:

1. The family is currently undergoing extreme emotional difficulties due to the loss of their loved one.
The parents are still grieving the loss of their 16-year-old son (who was killed in September) and visit the cemetery at least once a week as a form of emotional release. I assume anyone with family could relate to the unbearable pain associated with this kind of tragedy.

2. The younger daughter, Suzan Hazahza, also engaged to a US citizen (the author of this account, Reza Barkhordari) for over a year now was also detained with the rest of the family. She was forced to temporarily withdraw from attending Northlake College to care for her mother after the family tragedy due to her mother’s emotional instability. Suzan is a daughter that most of us Americans would dream of having with a fully clean and clear criminal record. She does not even have a traffic violation.

3. The older daughter, Mirvat Hazahza, is officially and legally married to a US citizen as of two
months ago. She is a perfect model citizen with a clean criminal history, getting through college as
an honor student while making great financial contributions to her family and taking care of them.
The worst thing on her record maybe a traffic ticket, if any.

4. The mother, Nazmieh Juma, is on anti-depressant medication due to the high levels of stress and
extreme depression she is experiencing for the loss of her son. She is not mentally prepared to
undergo this type of additional mental stress. We are very concerned about her health, as it is very
important that she stays on schedule with respect to her prescriptions. She is not properly eating due to her depression and her dietary needs. Since she does not respond well to processed and prepared foods, she is basically living on lettuce, which is a cause of real worry for us.

5. Radi Hazahza, the father, is 60 and in a very bad mental condition fearing the life of his family
members if deported back to Palestine.

6. Ahmad Hazahza is a high-school student at McArthur High School in Irving, which he has been
unable to attend. As a juvenile in the adult jail at Haskell, he is being held in solitary confinement, which is causing him to be depressed. As a result of his extreme distress, he urinated blood for ten days prior to being attended by a physician.

[Note: the following information is found posted in a press release from ICE about the November roundup of “21 criminal aliens” in “Operation Return to Sender”: Ahmed Hazahza, 18 (editor’s note: Ahmad was 17 years old at the time of his arrest and incarceration by ICE), Palestinian, born in Jordan, was arrested in Irving, Texas on Nov. 02 on an outstanding order for deportation. Hazahza was convicted as an adult for three burglaries for which he received a 10-year probated sentence.]

7. Mohammad Hazahza was attending Sam Houston Middle School in Irving until detained by
Immigration.

The Immigration Deportation Officer in charge of their case is Mr. Calvin Meredith in the Dallas Field Office, Tel: (214) 905-5880.

This family has been through so much hardship that would not be bearable by most. In my heart of hearts I
know that they deserve much better than being detained under such conditions and being treated as
criminals.

Your kind and urgent attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.
Kind regards,

Reza Barkhordari
Plano, TX

World Responds to Family’s Jailing Despite Media Silence
The Continuing Story of Ibrahim’s Faith in America

By Greg Moses

CounterPunch / ElectronicIntifada / DissidentVoice

After a hectic day of child care and phone calls, Ahmad Ibrahim decided not to attempt a San Antonio protest Friday.

“I am very thankful for the support,” said Ibrahim in a late-night email Thursday. “And I hope when this nightmare is over, the Hutto women’s and children jail in Taylor, Texas will be shut down forever.”

The T. Don Hutto jail is where Ibrahim’s three neices, nephew, and pregnant sister-in-law have been held for alleged immigration violations since early November. Ibrahim’s brother was separated from the rest of the family and placed at a jail in Haskell, Texas.
Ibrahim had planned to protest the jailings in front of offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The protest has been tentatively rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 10:30 a.m.

In other developments Thursday, Dallas attorney John Wheat Gibson announced via email that he had received official notice from ICE that clemency for two jailed families had been denied:

“Today we received written notice from Marc J. Moore, Field Office Director in charge of the T. Don Hutto concentration camp for children at Taylor, Texas, that our requests for clemency on behalf of the Ibrahim family and the Suleiman family have been DENIED. Nothing remains but habeas corpus based on local and international legal limitations on child abuse, kidnapping, and imprisonment. A well publicized suit in the Interamerican Court of Human Rights would be useful.

“I called Marc J. Moore today, but he refused to accept my call. His secretary said he would call later, but he has not done so and I do not think he will. Also, I am certain it would make no difference if he did. If somebody with money does not get involved in these cases, then they are at a dead end.”

In an email earlier in the day to concerned supporters, attorney Gibson wrote about the need for political and media support:

“We need demonstrators outside Marc J. Moore’s office every day and all the media exposure possible, with spokespersons denouncing the terror instead of clucking the tongue.”

According to Gibson and Ibrahim, the family came to the USA from Palestine, using Jordanian passports, with 5-year visas issued by the American embassy in Jerusalem. The family is pursuing asylum, but has been subjected to an order of deportation by ICE.

To date, the story of the families’ detention has not been reported by anyone other than the Texas Civil Rights Review, although our reports have been circulated around the world by blogs such as Latina Lista and activist websites such as CounterPunch, Dissident Voice, Electronic Intifada, IndyMedia, Infowars, and Uruknet.

As a result of the story’s popularity on the internet Thursday, Ibrahim received messages and calls of support that kept him busy for many hours.

Especially significant for Ibrahim was an offer of support from Rita Zawaideh, Chair of the Seattle-based Arab American Community Coalition (AACC). Zawaideh and the AACC have been active in anti-Arab discrimination issues since Sept. 11, 2001.

“Unfortunately, discrimination against Arab and Muslim Americans has only just begun with the need for a civil rights organization dedicated to and focused on the Arab and Muslim communities strong,” says the AACC website. “The Arab American Community Coalition is going to be around for quite some time.”

The Muslim community is preparing for a major religious holiday, Eid ul-Adha, that will run from Dec. 31 to Jan. 2. Wikipedia describes the holiday as “a commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael for Allah”–a story that is also of great significance for Jewish and Christian believers, too. In the end, Ibrahim’s hand was stopped by God, but the prophet’s willingness to sacrifice his only son at God’s command is a very influential instruction about faith in the Abrahamic [or Ibrahimic] traditions.

As for Ahmad Ibrahim, besides being overwhelmed with child care, phone calls, and bad news, one other thing he pondered on Thursday was the effect of waiting until after the holiday season to stage a symbolic protest against the two-month-long jailing of three nieces, a nephew, brother, and pregnant sister-in-law.

An official with ICE in San Antonio also advised Ibrahim that the Homeland Security offices were located on private property where protesters might be subject to arrest.

As foster parent to a 3-year-old niece who was born in the USA, and as an American citizen who hasn’t participated in protest activity, the mention of possible arrest on Homeland Security premises for the crime of holding a sign may have played a part in Ibrahim’s decision to postpone the event.

Whatever the effect on Ibrahim may have been, the thought of Homeland Security officials passing along such “advice” about arrests is a discomforting reminder to us all of the climate we seem to be sharing in the USA, where Homeland Security’s privatized offices serve as auxiliaries to the power of their privatized jails for children and pregnant mothers.

At any rate, we join issue with Ibrahim when he calls Homeland Security officials “criminals” for their treatment of his family, and we don’t mind if Homeland Security calls our well-chosen words “obscenities” as they did on Thursday when Ibrahim used them.

If there is an obscenity here, it will be found in the indelible memory of a Bible-thumping American culture that took a woman from the Holy Lands who was pregnant with a boy and instead of granting her amnesty from her torn-up homeland locked her and her family in jail during the Christmas holidays without even a single mention of the story being printed or broadcast through the usual media channels to an audience of self-proclaiming Christian conscience.

There is an America that Ibrahim loves. In the New Year we resolve to live there with him.