Texas Civil Rights Review

Category: Uncategorized

  • Jail stops housing immigration detainees

    forwarded by Jay Johnson-Castro

    Thursday, Dec 21, 2006
    Ramsey County sheriff acts as policy study launched

    BY TIM NELSON

    Pioneer Press (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN)

    The door to the Ramsey County jail is shut for suspected illegal immigrants picked up by federal immigration authorities.

    Sheriff Bob Fletcher said Tuesday he would no longer accept “immigration boarders” brought to the St. Paul jail by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
    Fletcher announced the administrative change the day Ramsey County commissioners launched a policy study on housing detainees.

    “I think you’re going in the right direction,” Fletcher told the commissioners.

    Several commissioners expressed concern about the appropriateness of holding suspected illegal immigrants in the county jail.

    The change of course was prompted by Commissioner Rafael Ortega, of St. Paul , who said he wanted to see the county get out of the business of holding immigration detainees. The 494-bed jail averages 60 such detainees per day and received $2 million from the federal government for doing so last year.

    Ortega and others noted that one immigration detainee has been held for more than 400 days in a jail where the average stay is only four days.

    “This isn’t going to get any better,” he said of the extended stays in the jail. “It’s only going to get worse. We at least need to have a conscious look at our policies.”

    He also said that refusing to accommodate immigration detainees is “a simple issue of social justice.”

    “These people are here because we need them,” Ortega said. “They’re part of our economy.”

    Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt, of White Bear Lake , agreed and added that responsibility for the appropriate custody of immigration detainees must ultimately fall to federal officials.

    “I agree with the philosophical position here,” she said. “We need to send a message some way that they need to do their job.”

    The County Board as a whole, though, reacted with caution on the proposal. Some said they hadn’t been aware of Ortega’s plans before Tuesday.

    Commissioner Tony Bennett, of Shoreview , said other considerations factor in the decision, noting the detainees won’t be freed just because they are not held in St. Paul . They will be sent elsewhere, said Bennett, a former U.S. marshal.

    Commissioner Jim McDonough, of St. Paul , said routing people elsewhere might make matters worse for detainees.

    “Are we actually doing more harm to people who are already in a tough situation … separating them further from their families?” McDonough said.

    He also advised caution on taking the initiative in matters involving the jail.

    “At what point are we going to say we have a problem with this law, and we’re not going to accept people arrested for it,” McDonough said. He noted that the county surely will jail some protesters during the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul — a largely Democratic city in a largely Democratic county.

    The matter hasn’t yet become an issue in other local facilities that might house detainees for immigration authorities, though few are in the same position as Ramsey County .

    • Washington and Dakota county jail authorities say their facilities are already full of local inmates and can’t accommodate any other jurisdictions.

    • Sherburne County has a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was holding 168 of the agency’s detainees Tuesday, according to Sheriff Bob Anderson.

    • Carver County doesn’t have a formal contract with immigration authorities, but it has agreed to hold detainees on an as-available basis, according to Sheriff Bud Olson.

    • Anoka County jail Capt. Dave Pacholl said his facility didn’t take immigration detainees for practical reasons, citing the language and translation demands immigrants put on jail staff.

    Fletcher told Ramsey County commissioners that detainees in his jail come from dozens of countries and speak 12 languages that require more attention from staff. He has also cited the safety risk of housing nonviolent immigration offenders on a long-term basis with suspected “murderers, serious weapons offenders and rapists.”

    Although illegal immigration is a hotly debated issue, public presence at Tuesday’s discussion was small. Deborah Rosenstein, a program coordinator with the Labor Education Service at the University of Minnesota and a St. Paul resident, later expressed her support for the board’s consideration.

    “To me, this is a humanitarian issue,” she said. “It is absolutely horrible what happened in the Worthington raids (on a Swift & Co. meatpacking plant). We have a crisis here, and I am glad to be a part of a community that’s addressing it.”

    Commissioners, though, only directed county administrators to study the potential impact of turning away detainees in the custody of immigration authorities.

    Fletcher thought it could be as much as $800,000 next year. Commissioners are expecting initial results sometime next month.

    Nancy Yang and Frederick Melo contributed to this report. Tim Nelson can be reached at tnelson@pioneerpress.com or 651-292-1159.

    http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/16278295.htm

    “To me, this is a humanitarian issue. It is absolutely horrible what happened in the Worthington raids (on a Swift & Co. meatpacking plant). We have a crisis here, and I am glad to be a part of a community that’s addressing it.”

    Deborah Rosenstein, program coordinator with the Labor Education Service at the University of Minnesota …

  • Jay's Open Letter to the Media

    from Jay Johnson-Castro (Dec. 23 pm)

    Afternoon y’all…

    The media has played a great role in getting this truth out to our fellow Texans and Fellow Americans. This is an appeal to you of the media…

    Regarding this vigil, I received this caution from someone who knows more about the inside of the Hutto prison camp than most of us.

    I would be careful though, because I heard that as a result of the last vigil, the detainees were kind of in lock-down most of the day. They didn’t get to go outside that day. So I would be careful, because you wouldn’t want ICE to get upset and take it out on the detainees. Just a heads-up.

    I appeal to the media to help people know what happened last week as mentioned here. The media has a great opportunity to inform the public about what is really going on. By doing so…perhaps the children and their moms will not be mistreated this way tomorrow evening.
    Here is the latest great link…and networking together of two local media folks to bring transparency to this cruelty right here on Texas , American soil. Greg Moses, editor of The Texas Civil Rights Review has consistently been right on top of this. https://texascivilrightsreview.org/phpnuke/index.php

    Gratefully the Austin American Statesman, Fox news, Univision, BBC and even the Taylor and Williamson County newspapers have shown journalistic leadership in weighing in on the prison camp that has incarcerated innocent children and helpless mothers behind razor wire walls. I keep asking myself…where is the outrage from the other big(s)?

    Where’s CNN…and all the national networks? Where is Houston , Dallas , San Antonio ? Is this too insignificant of a story for them. Where’s USA Today, NY Times, LA Times, Washington Post? Where’s Lou Dobbs and Bill O’Riley, Jack McCaferty, Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer? What does it take for these folks to weigh in? Do the children and their moms in this prison camp have to somehow be tortured too before they respond? Or are they too deep into Chertoff & Company for their national ratings? Let’s hope not!

    Meanwhile…my deepest respect and admiration to all the media that has had the courage to report this issue of incarcerating children in the Hutto prison camp. Until this garners the national and international media…much credit goes to the local and grassroots media…and the many blogs that have picked up on this heartbreaking story. You are perpetuating the truth and exposing the immoral and criminal actions of those who would exploit and abuse the weak…for obscene profits…all in the name of national security. When history is written about this expanding Texas-American Gulag for greedy profit system…you of the media who have already courageously weighed in…will be recognized. The internet has the reporting time-line all archived.

    Keith Olbermann? Where are you? You’re not afraid to say it like it is?

    The Christmas Eve Vigil goes on tomorrow evening. 5pm-6pm.

    Jay

  • A Right of Return for American Twin Girls and their Family?

    The following email from Ralph Isenberg is a dawn musing on the frustration of trying to visualize justice for the Suleiman family. The email references Isenberg’s spouse, Nicole, and New York attorneys Ted Cox and Joshua Bardavid. He also discusses a draft testimonial from the teenage youth Ayman Suleiman recounting his experiences of arrest, imprisonment, and deportation. A response to the email from Ayman’s father, Adel Suleiman in Jordan follows.–gm

    The Suleiman Family and the Law

    Hi Guys,

    5:30 am here in Dallas and I woke up thinking about the Suleiman Family. I understand all the reasons why they (father, mother and son) can not come back to the United States. What I do not understand are why we can not prosecute the reasons why they can come back to the United States. Allow me to humor you guys. Law to me has always been based on two simple premises; common sense and right and wrong. Common sense screams at us that the right thing to do is to bring the entire family home. How we do that is the more interesting question.

    I believe that while our current policies may have changed the laws of Congress still promotes family unity, humanitarian concern and of the public interest. I submit the Suleiman Family falls into all of these major areas of concern. It is my understanding of law that the laws of Congress rule over policies enacted to enforce the law; thus we have one tier of our court system. But it does not stop there.

    We also have Constitutional law which is not exclusive to citizens. The main area of concern here is the doctrine of “due process.” It is further my understanding that Constitutional law rules over the laws of Congress. Here also the Suleiman Family has claim to relief. I believe the fact that the Suleiman Family was forced from this country by duress is a clear violation of due process. I also believe that past attorney error was also a violation of the due process doctrine. These concepts and other doctrines of fairness need to be bottled up and prosecuted. We may be on new turf but it would be wrong to the family not to try.

    Think outside of the box with me. When Nicole and I got on that plane to China many thought we would never be back or it would take years at best. We were back in fourteen months. Ted, do you recall those fourteen months. How many times did you give me hope where there was none. Josh, you were lucky and did not know me then or you would have learned how to speak Chinese like Ted.

    Every time I got hit with bad news I made something potentially good happen. In the end I believe it was my brief work that I presented to the Department of State that led to our freedom. The law was in need of a simple explanation. In the case of the Suleiman Family I believe we need to start in Federal District Court and go form there. I also believe that we are on solid ground to enlist the assistance of the FBI as it relates to human rights violations by those directly and indirectly connected with ICE here in Dallas. What we did to this family was clearly illegal and those that violated the law need to pay.

    An example of “out of the box thinking:” Can we not file suit in whatever circuit the family might intend to live in? Put differently, if the family says they are going to live in Queens, file the actions in Queens, I say this because they are in deed out of the United States right now and I’m not sure the Fifth Circuit has any more jurisdiction over them than say the Second or Third.

    I know you guys have read the story written by the father and the one written by the son. I know you have also read the events that the twins were exposed to. I think of my children and how I would feel if these actions were happening to me. To some extent they did and thus I am very dedicated to helping people. We may not have a leg to stand on but a leg we will in fact stand on. In so doing we let the Suleiman Family know that they are not alone and we care.

    Guys, I appreciate you very much and look forward to once again doing battle with you. Ours is the higher ground to stand on.

    ************

    Dear Mr.I,

    I just read your statement Suleiman family and the law. I don’t know but i just felt the need to write you back. first i do appreciate what you are doing , but I’m sure you don’t need our thanks you need more than that because i used to feel the same way when i used to help somebody. helping others it’s spiritual message, only special people and chosen people get that message and carry it out.

    i just would like to let you know that me and my family are in the bottom of the well in spite of all the darkness we see in front of us, yet we keep our heads up and we see birds of freedom flying over the well and you are one of them, matter of fact you are the only one… what ever happens , what ever the result you’ll be in my and my family’s prayers……

    Adel S.

  • Washington State Activists Encourage Contacting Hutto Jail

    The website for “United for Peace of Pierce County” in Washington State has posted materials from the Texas Civil Rights Review and others. In a summary of issues recently brought to light, Madeleine Lee and Hank Berger encourage contacting the jail to express your opinion:

    “You can write to the T. Don Hutto Residential Center at 1001 Welch St., P.O. Box 1063, Taylor, Texas 76574; the phone number is 512-218-2400, and the FAX is 512-218-2450, according to the Corrections Corporation of America web site.”
    Solidarity is always gratifying, but Pierce County also holds sentimental value for me as my place of birth. Thanks, Madeleine and Hank–gm

  • CHILDREN IN PRISON IN TAYLOR, TEXAS

    By John Wheat Gibson
    December 15, 2006

    The children of the Ibrahim family, 3, 5, 12, and 14 have been in prison in Taylor, Texas in the “T. Don Hutto Residential Center,” since November 3, 2006,when their mother and father were arrested in a midnight raid on their home in Dallas by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The three oldest children are enrolled in school, but have been unable to attend while in prison. The BICE took the 2-year-old daughter away from her mother and siblings, and placed her in a foster home.
    A midnight raid by the BICE also landed a 17-year-old senior at Bowie High School, in Arlington, Texas in the prison, spoiling his senior year and destroying his hopes of graduation.

    The children, imprisoned with their mothers, have never been accused of any wrongdoing. Neither have their mothers. All are Palestinian refugees who entered the U.S. legally, but have been denied asylum.

    The Ibrahim children, Hamzeh, 14, Rodaina, 12, Maryam, 5, and Faten, 3, are the children of Salaheddin Ibrahim and Hanan Ahmad. Mr. Ibrahim is in the jail at Haskell, Texas.

    Ayman Suleiman is imprisoned with his mother Asma Quddoura. His father Adel Suleiman is in the Garvin County Jail in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.

    Hanan Ahmad is a few weeks pregnant. Her children became hysterical when guards wrapped her in wrist and leg chains to take her to the hospital.

    Their attorney, John Wheat Gibson, said, “There is no legitimate reason for the detention of the children, even though a Department of Homeland Stupidity press release accuses them of being ‘fugitives’ and ‘criminals.’ In fact, they are neither, and their parents always kept the Department informed of their current address.”

    Gibson described the roundup of the families November 3 as “Chertoff’s publicity stunt.” He said the purpose was “to make it appear that 1) the Muslims among us are our enemies but 2) the DHS is protecting us, and therefore 3) we should not mind shredding the Constitution.”

    The Suleiman and Ibrahim families had been ordered deported, but had never received the customary notice to report for deportation. If they had, Gibson said, they would have worked out through their attorneys arrangements with the government for the children to finish the school year and then to depart at their own expense.”

    “Compare the treatment of the Colombian wife of Georga State Senator Curt B. Thompson last week,” Gibson said.

    “She also was under a final order of deportation, but the DHS did not detain her, even though, unlike my clients, she had been hiding from them since November 28, according to Brenda Goodman, writing in the New York Times, December 6.”

    While the four Ibrahim children and their mother are in prison in Taylor, the 2-year-old daughter is in foster care because she was born in the U.S. The DHS would not allow her to remain with her mother and siblings.

    “Two months is a long time for a 2-year-old baby to be torn away from her mother–especially for no reason other than a cynical political publicity stunt,” Gibson said.

    –30–