For CCA and Country (A visit to Eloy Detention Center)

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Visitors to Eloy Detention Center are greeted by a mural of three flags. They are, from left to right, there the stars & stripes of the United States, the rising sun of Arizona, and the maroon corporate logo of CCA. The three flags are painted as if they are being flown on the same level, with the Corrections Corporation of America’s flag flying to the right of the flag of the United States of America. This is, as any cub scout knows, a terrible violation of decorum, and highly disrespectful of the U.S. flag. 

It is also a violation of the Federal Flag Code, 4 U.S.C. §§ 4-10, for which CCA should be instantly deported.

The Dream 9 were in Eloy when I visited the for-profit prison in the middle of the Arizona desert. All of the nine young people had been brought to the United States as children and would have qualified for DACA relief, the legalization-lite the Obama administration had conceded after three years of escalating pressure from Dreamers. But seven of the Dream 9 had lost hope and left the country before DACA was announced, and so they no longer qualify. The other three – Marco Saavedra, Lulu Martinez and Lizbeth Mateo – did something almost beyond comprehension: they voluntarily left the U.S. a few weeks ago to go fetch the others back. In doing so, Martinez and Mateo made themselves ineligible for DACA. When the nine Dreamers presented themselves at the Nogales port of entry, they were arrested and ended up in Eloy.

Border Patrol Overkill

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SAN DIEGO — San Diego is a town surrounded by military might. To the north is Camp Pendleton and its 37,000 active duty Marines. To the west, Naval Base Coronado is the command center for the Navy SEALS. To the east, the military trains its elite special forces in the Mountain Warfare Training Facility.

And then to the south, there’s the border and Tijuana.

Given the geographic proximity to all these Marines and Special Forces machos, it’s no wonder Border Patrol agents stationed in San Diego in the early 1990’s felt a bit chagrined at their inability to stop national security threats like dog whisperer Cesar Milan from unauthorized entry into the United States.

NDLON Calls for Improvements to Senate Bill

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In response to the cloture vote on the Corker-Hoeven amendment, Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, issued the following statement:
 
“The equality of eventual citizens is not something to be bought and sold in exchange for Republican votes, and that’s exactly what Senate Democrats have done with the Corker amendment.   At this early stage, lawmakers should be focused on getting the best bill possible from the perspective of those who got them elected, not by sweetening the deal for our nativist opponents.   We only need 60 votes in the Senate to move this process forward and to galvanize our community.  

¿Apoyar o No Apoyar? Opinión Sobre la Reforma de Inmigración debajo de un vehículo de la Patrulla Fronteriza

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El 17 de febrero, online policías locales aplicaron la ley racista SB 1070 y llamaron a la patrulla fronteriza; un padre de seis hijos fue llevado bajo custodia en Tucson, Arizona. Siendo testigo de una separación de familia, case yo espontáneamente corrí hacia el vehículo de la Patrulla Fronteriza y me metí debajo de ella…

New Orleans City Council Backs Immigrants in Latest Blow to Sheriff’s Deportation Practices

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City Council Set to be first city in the South to Vote on Resolution On Civil Immigration Detainers

Immigrant workers and families will come closer to winning the Right to Remain in New Orleans today as City Council is set to vote on a resolution condemning Sherriff Marlin Gusman’s racial profiling-based deportation policy. Over the last two years the Sheriff has faced mounting pressure through civil rights lawsuits and public outcry to stop submitting to voluntary civil immigration holds also known as immigration detainers.

.Council members James Gray, LaToya Cantrell, and Susan Guidry will introduce a resolution limiting Sherriff Marlin Gusman’s practice of submitting to voluntary requests of federal immigration officials to detain individuals in Orleans Parish Prison. Immigrant workers who have survived the Sherriff’s policy will testify on the disastrous impacts on families; and advocates will testify on the impacts on city budget (the federal government does not reimburse jail costs) and constitutional integrity.

WHO: Council members Gray, Cantrell, and Guidry will introduce resolution. Immigrant workers and families, New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, Congress of Day Laborers, and advocates for criminal justice reform will testify.
WHERE: City Council Chambers, 1300 Perdido St., New Orleans
WHEN: 10 AM, Thursday, May 15, 2013
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Deferred Action for Victims of Arpaio’s Raids

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(Originally published at Politic365.com)
Despite the fact that political winds are blowing away from Arizona-style attrition politics, some officials in that state are determined to keep their tent staked in the ground, by hook or by crook.  For those living under the shadow of Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio, looking at federal immigration reform comes with a specific perspective and particular issues to be resolved. When asked what his favorite song is, Arpaio immediately snaps back, ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra.  One can see why.  Even as Congress crafts proposals to reform our immigration system, which will possibly include some form of legalization, a well-oiled deportation machine continues to churn in Arizona.  Through interlocking departments, it criminalizes and deports the very people who stand to benefit from that same legislation.  For such reform to be meaningful, it must improve the lives of the people of Maricopa County and reign in the immigration and law enforcement actions that were once considered rogue and now look as if they’re taking root system-wide.

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5 Questions for John Morton and an Agency Gone Rogue

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As the momentum for meaningful immigration reform continues to build, one person who stands out as moving in the opposite direction is ICE Director John Morton.  

His record as director and as the person who has overseen the expansion of immigration enforcement and the resulting record deportations during the Obama Presidency has prompted organizations to call for his firing and has created a credibility issue for the administration.

As Morton is called to testify in front of Congress, below are five questions we would like to see asked. 

 

Immigration reform: Obama needs to close gap between rhetoric and reality

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Obama Inauguration“We must act,” declared President Barack Obama in his second inaugural address. “We cannot afford to delay.”

On a diverse stage that reflected the legacy of our country’s social movements for gay, women, and civil rights, the president spoke about the nation’s unfinished journey towards greater equality. Making reference to the voices of past civil rights leaders, the president forcefully spoke to meet the nation’s challenges, especially our duty to advance equality for gays, women, and immigrants.