Texas Civil Rights Review

Category: Uncategorized

  • 'It's Very Hard Being There' : Venezuelan Mother and Children Freed from Hutto

    Thanks to Jay Johnson-Castro for alerting us to this story.–gm

    IMMIGRATION

    Family divided at U.S. border reunited in Miami

    A Cuban man has an emotional airport reunion after his Venezuelan-born wife and children are released from a Texas immigration detention center.

    BY ALFONSO CHARDY
    achardy@MiamiHerald.com

    Immigration authorities Friday abruptly released the Venezuelan-born wife and children of a Cuban refugee who was paroled into the country on the same day his family was put in deportation proceedings at the Texas-Mexico border.

    An emotional Ocdalis Gómez, 22, and her children Abel, 2, and Winnelis, 6, immediately boarded a plane in Austin, Texas, bound for Miami, where they rejoined Abel Gómez, 30 — the Cuban migrant who for weeks desperately tried to gain freedom for his family.

    When Abel and Ocdalis reunited at Miami International Airport, the husband and wife held each other tightly for a few seconds while their children stared in awe at the television cameras trained on the family. Then Abel Gómez picked up the children, hugged and kissed them and proudly displayed one on each arm for the cameras.

    ”I’m immensely happy,” he said when he finally was able to speak, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Thanks to God, I am now next to my family again.”

    The Gómez family showed up June 11 at a U.S.-Mexico border crossing near McAllen, Texas. As a Cuban, Abel was paroled into the country under the wet foot/dry foot policy, but Ocdalis and the children were detained and placed in deportation proceedings because they were non-Cuban foreign nationals arriving without papers.

    Gómez is among an increasing number of Cubans arriving through the Mexican border. Figures released last week by U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed that 84 percent of all Cuban migrants last year came through Mexico rather than the Florida Straits. Cuban arrivals at the Mexican border have increased year by year amid intensified Coast Guard interdictions in waters between Cuba and Florida.

    With a wide smile on her face, Ocdalis said Friday she was happy to be with her husband in Miami — but added she also felt deep sorrow for other foreign families she came to know at the detention center who were left behind while she was freed.

    ”I am extremely happy, of course,” she told reporters gathered at MIA. “But I also feel sadness.”

    She paused for several seconds and then burst into tears. ”Some people qualify for bond and release, but because they don’t have money for bond they are deported with their children,” Ocdalis said, sobbing as she spoke. “It’s very hard being there.”

    See Complete Story

  • Each New Border Agent Costs $187,000 (Times 4,400 Per Year)

    By Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL)
    Congressional Record
    June 12, 2007 (H6272-H6273)

    I also remain concerned about the ability of DHS to recruit and train an additional 3,000 new Border Patrol agents funded by the bill. Given attrition rates, this means that Border Patrol will need to hire and train approximately 4,400 agents a year. While I support putting more boots on the ground as quickly as possible, I am convinced that the current approach DHS is using cannot meet this goal.

    I am also concerned that it continues to cost $187,000 to recruit, train and deploy just one Border Patrol agent. The Subcommittee on Management Investigations and Oversight plans to hold another hearing on Border Patrol agent training costs in its capacity next Tuesday. It is my hope that the findings from this hearing will be considered by the House and Senate conferees on this bill to improve the way DHS recruits and trains Border Patrol agents.

    Note: $187,000 x 4,400 = $822.8 million

  • Border Wall Protest Report

    Email from Jay Johnson-Castro

    A smashing success…!!!

    On Saturday (July 14)…two significant protests against the wall were held. Thought I’d give a brief summary on both.

    On Saturday morning, Betty Perez and company…or the Lower Rio Grande Valley area…coordinated a flotilla of kayaks and canoes. Betty was the coordinator of this event…which was hosted by “noborderwalls”…a group of environmentally savvy folks (groups.yahoo.com/group/noborderwall ). To my knowledge…this is the most cohesive group on the US-Mexico border so far. It includes some caliber minds from around the Valley who are using their creative juices to collectively oppose the wall.

    We launched up river from Roma in a secluded village along the banks of the Rio Grande called Fronton. Media was converged in ample numbers…including AP, Reuters, San Antonio Express News, Univision, local CBS and a diverse group of local journalists.

    We floated down to the historic suspension bridge that connects Roma and Miguel Aleman. The Miguel Aleman Mayor joined the flotilla. His family was on the bank downriver as we paddled by. When we got to the suspension bridge…there was a rally, press conference…and then…a “Hands Across the River”. A human chain that virtually stretched across the international bridge.

    In the evening, we attended a protest in Brownsville. I was coordinated and hosted by a group called CASA, under the direction of Elizabeth Garcia. Again, the media was plentiful. After a rally, there was another human chain…which felt more symbolically a human wall along the banks of Rio Grande…in opposition to the border wall. After the chain…there was a march from the park through downtown to the campus of the University of Texas Brownsville (see photos at Unidos Contra El Muro).

    In both cases, elected officials showed up in support. The diversity of participants reflected those of us who reside on the border. There was no lack of color, size, age, religious affiliation. There was not lack of opposition to the wall. Lots of interviews were taken. Lots of pictures and video. Lots of sound bites…of diversified feelings about the wall. Mission accomplished!

    This took the collaboration, coordination and willingness on the part of many folks…who may not have been heard or had their quotes or pics in the paper and on TV. Hopefully you can feel the reward of seeing the fruits of their labor. We’re grateful to you…

    Jay

  • Hutto XII: Freedom Walk to Hutto Prison, Aug. 18

    Freedom Walk from Heritage Park, Taylor, Aug. 18 at noon

    Activists will gather once again from San Antonio, Fort Worth, Austin, and surrounding areas. Beginning at Heritage Park (4th and Main) at noon, we will proceed south on Main over the railroad overpass (Main /Hwy 95). After crossing the I-95 overpass we’ll turn right onto Martin Luther King /Walnut, right on South Doak and left on Welch to the prison where we will hold a vigil and protest.

    Antonio Diaz says “Our Freedom Walk will symbolize a “Freedom Bridge” that we are traversing in order to Free the Children. Dr. King reminded the people that everything done in Nazi Germany was legal. In this case, our government is violating International Law.” Our government is violating its own law as well; a 1993 Supreme Court decree requires ICE to keep children and parents together if possible and hold minors in a nonrestrictive setting.

  • 'Acting Like It's Done' : Homeland Security's Gaping Holes

    By Rep. Mark E. Souder (R-IN)
    Congressional Record
    June 12, 2007 (H6273)

    Mr. Chairman, I want to point out a tremendous irony that is happening here in the Capitol Building today. In the other body [the US Senate], the President of the United States has come over to lobby for an immigration bill and the other body is considering this. Yet we are debating a homeland security bill where we have had Republicans come down to the floor who say it’s too expensive, that it’s spending too much money, but if you took this times four on an annual basis for 5 years, you couldn’t begin to meet the standards that are in the Senate bill.

    We have people like Mr. Rogers of Kentucky pointing out that we’re mandating Homeland Security to go check everybody in these detention centers but without any money for it. Unless your intention is complete and pure amnesty, how would you do that if you don’t fund programs?

    Mr. Rogers of Alabama pointed out that we don’t have a realistic program for training Border Patrol, that it’s costing too much. Yeah. Well, how are we going to ramp this up two or three times if we don’t have money to do the Border Patrol people?

    [The DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008] is an advertisement, a walking billboard for the gaping holes in the bill of the [US Senate].

    On pages 12 and 13 of this bill, and I agree with all these criticisms as we worked through our subcommittee, it says that they have to define activities, milestones and costs of implementing the program for the Secure Border Initiative. You mean they don’t have that? You mean they’re promising that we’re going to have a secure border and they don’t even have the cost estimates? Yes, that’s correct.

    Number 2 here on page 12 says, demonstrate how the activities will further the objectives of it and have a multi-year strategic plan. You mean they don’t have a multi-year strategic plan? No, they don’t.

    Identify funding and staffing. You mean they haven’t done that?

    Describe how the plan addresses security needs at the northern border. They don’t even have the date set for when they’re going to develop a plan for the northern border, yet we’re debating a bill in the other body that says that we’re supposedly securing our border?

    On page 37, it says, complete the schedule for the full implementation of a biometric exit program or certification that such program is not possible within 5 years. Well, I’ve talked to US-VISIT. They haven’t even been talked to about it. Of course they can’t meet 5 years. We’re talking 10 years minimum.

    What are they debating over in the other body? When the American public looks at what’s happening in the Capitol Building on the same day and we’re passing an appropriations bill that has theoretically looking at a biometric exit maybe in the next 5 years and the other body is acting like it’s done, what’s going on here?

    On page 59, there’s a direct challenge to the question of our matching system. Now, the other day we had somebody with TB who had the warning on the screen, one we actually caught and we released him. But what we have is a question of are our lists even valid and there are restrictions on that.

    Other parts of the bill are actually going to delay the implementation of the fence by saying that, for example, 75 percent of the land in Arizona is actually either government-owned, Native-American-owned, it’s a wilderness area, it’s a range; and it says we have to work out each of those things before we can put any fence in.

    Another part of the bill says we have to work with State and local governments in their areas. How in the world can the other body be making these promises when this bill points out the gaping holes?