Trailer: "No Sanctuary: The Big Business of Family Detention"

This new documentary which chronicles the return of immigrant family
detention in the United States. The Texas-made film follows our
government's response to refugees and migrants in the creation and
expansion of new private prisons for these families in remote and
isolated areas of the Southwest. Reversing the progress of the immigrant
rights movement and his own previous decisions, President Obama has
surpassed the Bush administration in expanding the use of detention
centers for refugee families. This history is portrayed and told by the
people who live it and shines light on the growing grassroots movement
fighting to close these family prisons and welcoming our neighbors with
compassion.

For more information contact: tuff@grassrootsleadership.org

Open Your Hearts To The Children Vigil at EDC (10-12-14) : Kathy O'Leary

Kathy O'Leary of Pax Christi NJ (formerly a board member of First Friends of NJ & NY) speaks about the hardship of having to move to a different town in order to obtain the proper educational opportunity for her son; & reflects on the blessing of being afforded the right to mobility (& the right to flee persecution) whereas those who languish in immigration detention are not afforded that right.

Kathy spoke at the "Open Your Hearts To The Children" Children's Vigil To Support Human Rights - First Friends of NJ & NY's 16th Annual Vigil at The ‪#‎ElizabethDetentionCenter‬ (625 Evans St., Elizabeth, NJ, 07201 - off Dowd Ave.)

https://www.facebook.com/events/1505707183004888

The Annual Vigil is in recognition of the ‪#‎dignity‬ of each person, but especially the ‪#‎unaccompaniedmigrantchildren‬, as we stand in solidarity with our ‪#‎immigrant‬ sisters and brothers as a powerful collective voice seeking justice for those languishing in detention.

The number of unaccompanied migrant children has surged this year. Many of these children are fleeing from ‪#‎organizedcrime‬ and ‪#‎gangviolence‬, ‪#‎insecurity‬ and ‪#‎poverty‬ in their home countries. We want to ensure that the rights of children are protected, in accordance with U.S. obligations under ‪#‎internationallaw‬.

Every day, more and more children are seeking refuge in the ‪#‎UnitedStates‬. Desperate parents are sending their children to make the journey to the ‪#‎border‬ alone, and once they get here they are not wanted. The journey for anyone, let alone a child, can be extremely traumatic and the U.S. ‪#‎government‬ compounds the suffering of these children by placing them in detention under ‪#‎inhumane‬ conditions.

These children need protection, not detention!!!

First Friends is accepting ‪#‎donations‬ of toiletries, gift cards, and materials for our Stamp Out Despair Campaign

For More information or to co-sponsor contact: First Friends at 908-965-0455 / interns@firstfriendsnjny.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgOev-0Y6B4

Open Your Hearts To The Children Vigil at EDC (10-12-14) : Kimberly Roja...

Kimberly Rojas performs a marinera dance on Evans St. after the rally - due to unforeseen circumstances, she was unable to make it back on time to perform for the assembly, so we took it upon ourselves to record a dance so that everyone could see what we would otherwise have missed.



https://www.youtube.com/user/kimroja



"Open Your Hearts To The Children" Children's Vigil To Support Human Rights - First Friends of NJ & NY's 16th Annual Vigil at The ‪#‎ElizabethDetentionCenter‬ (625 Evans St., Elizabeth, NJ, 07201 - off Dowd Ave.)



https://www.facebook.com/events/1505707183004888



The Annual Vigil is in recognition of the ‪#‎dignity‬ of each person, but especially the ‪#‎unaccompaniedmigrantchildren‬, as we stand in solidarity with our ‪#‎immigrant‬ sisters and brothers as a powerful collective voice seeking justice for those languishing in detention.



The number of unaccompanied migrant children has surged this year. Many of these children are fleeing from ‪#‎organizedcrime‬ and ‪#‎gangviolence‬, ‪#‎insecurity‬ and ‪#‎poverty‬ in their home countries. We want to ensure that the rights of children are protected, in accordance with U.S. obligations under ‪#‎internationallaw‬.



Every day, more and more children are seeking refuge in the ‪#‎UnitedStates‬. Desperate parents are sending their children to make the journey to the ‪#‎border‬ alone, and once they get here they are not wanted. The journey for anyone, let alone a child, can be extremely traumatic and the U.S. ‪#‎government‬ compounds the suffering of these children by placing them in detention under ‪#‎inhumane‬ conditions.



These children need protection, not detention!!!



First Friends is accepting ‪#‎donations‬ of toiletries, gift cards, and materials for our Stamp Out Despair Campaign



For More information or to co-sponsor contact: First Friends at 908-965-0455 / interns@firstfriendsnjny.org



‪#‎immigration‬ ‪#‎immigrationdetention‬ ‪#‎immigrationlaw‬ ‪#‎immigrationcourts‬ ‪#‎law‬ ‪#‎courts‬ ‪#‎prisons‬ ‪#‎jails‬ ‪#‎privateprisons‬ ‪#‎UACs‬ ‪#‎SIJs‬ ‪#‎UnaccompaniedImmigrantChildren‬ ‪#‎UnaccompaniedMinors‬



___





And you can encourage us to make more of these videos by following us on our social media sites:



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Rev. Joyce Antila Phipps, Esq. at the Ash Wednesday 2013 Pilgrimage To R...

#immigration #immigrationdetention #immigrationlaw #immigrationcourts #immigrationpolicy #immigrants #immigrantrights #immigrantdetention #Elizabeth #NewJersey #NJ #EDC #ElizabethDetentionCenter #CCA #corrections #privateprisons #privatecorrections #ICE #DHS #HomelandSecurity #Obama #ChrisChristie #MotherJones #government #politics #deportation #courts #law #Jesus #Mohammed

Kathy O'Leary at Delaney Hall on the DREAMS NOT DETENTION Bus Tour To En...

Kathy Wargo O'Leary of Pax Christi NJ (& at the time a board member of First Friends of NJ & NY) on the DREAMS Not DETENTION Bus Tour To End #ImmigrantDetention 2012 - she speaks about #DelaneyHall, #CommunityEducationCenters (#CEC), & the #EssexCounty Board Of #Freeholders;
the need for the people to reach out to their elected officials &
hold them accountable; the obscenity of the status quo of putting profit
over people & the inevitability of Occupy Wall Street - she scolds John Clancy for the manipulation of the truth he used to get his bid for CEC to have Delaney Hall house #immigrantdetainees, and the #environmentalracism as well as socio-political #racism which has helped drive the boom in #immigrationdetention in these #privateprisons,
in remote & toxic environments; & she reminds us of the people
that are suffering from lack of clean water, food & medical care
within this nation's #correctionalfacilities,
horrible enough on their own but especially atrocious considering that
most immigrants are detained on civil infractions, & routinely
denied due process rights to challenge their detention.

#NewJersey
advocates, faith leaders, & residents took a bus tour of the
state's jails which house immigrant detainees to tell local politicians
to choose "DREAMs not Detention" on Monday, October 8, 2012, in
commemoration of Indigenous Celebration Day.

Vigils were
organized in every NJ community that detains and profits from the
incarceration of immigrant workers, students, parents and community
members.

The bus left the #ElizabethDetentionCenter & stopped at jails in #Bergen, #Hudson, and #Essex
counties. All hold people suspected of being in violation immigration
laws in return for a per diem payment from Immigrations and Customs
Enforcement (#ICE). Vigils were also held in #Sussex and #Monmouth
counties which also hold immigrants for ICE. The bus will return for an
afternoon vigil to the Elizabeth Detention Center, the for-profit
facility operated by Corrections Corporation of America (#CCA) where ICE first started incarcerating #immigrants in #NJ over a decade ago.

The event was co-sponsored by: First Friends; Pax Christi NJ; AFSC Immigrant Rights Program - Newark; Wind of the Spirit; Felician Sisters of North America; Casa Esperanza; St Joseph Social Service Center; Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless; Reformed Church of Highland Park; Passaic County Coalition for Immigrant Rights; Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry - NJ Synod; NJ; St. Stephan's Grace Community - ELCA; Centro Jornaleros Unidos de Passaic; Action 21; NJ for Haiti Solidarity Network of the Northeast; Monmouth County Coalition of Immigrant Rights; (NJAID) New Jersey Advocates For Immigrant Detainees, Unidad Latina en Acción NJ; Casa Freehold; Shrine of St. Joseph - Sterling; Riverside Sojourners Immigration Detention Visitor Project; NJ Forum for Human Rights; Elizabeth Lutheran Center; JAN-NJ; Intentional Community -- Wyckoff

_______________________________________________


The press release for the event may be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/notes/casa-esperanza/dreams-not-detention-bus-tour-vigils-to-end-immigration-detention-press-release-/10151189895933537

The facebook event is archived here:

http://www.facebook.com/events/361779337233916/

Pictures from the day may be viewed here:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151192008088537.475467.122914673536&type=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-nIiEcNymk

Dignity, Not Detention: Catalina Nieto at TEDxFoggyBottom

Catalina Nieto, an activist for human rights and immigration, shares her personal message of advocacy and action.

Catalina
Nieto is the Field Director of the Detention Watch Network (DWN), a
national coalition of organizations and individuals working to expose
and challenge the injustices of the U.S. immigration detention and
deportation system. Ever since Catalina migrated from Colombia to the
United States in 2000, she has been actively engaged in the immigrant
rights and Latin American solidarity movement as a community organizer,
artist and popular educator. Through her work at DWN, Catalina supports
local and national organizing against detention expansion and towards
policies that promote the rights and dignity of all persons. Catalina
graduated with an M.A. in Social Justice and Intercultural Relations
from SIT Graduate Institute in Vermont and a double B.A. in Sociology
and Communications, Media and Theater from Northeastern Illinois
University. Before joining DWN, Catalina worked as a community organizer
with the immigrant rights organization Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee
Coalition (TIRRC), the Latin American solidarity organization Witness
for Peace, and supported movement building as an interpreter and popular
educator with the Highlander Center for Popular Education and the
Wayside Center for Popular Education.

"SimplyZinhle Production" - Filming and production directed by Zinhle Essamuah. http://simplyzinhle.com

In
the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local,
self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like
experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to
spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local,
self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently
organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for
the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.*
(*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Gaby Moreno Live in Durham, NC - Full Concert

Get Ready for April 5th When We Say #Not1More

Edward Snowden and ACLU at SXSW

Take Action: https://www.aclu.org/immunity4snowden
More information: https://www.aclu.org/nsa-surveillance

Edward Snowden speaks about privacy and technology with the ACLU's Ben Wizner and Christopher Soghoian at SXSW Interactive.

Ash Wednesday Pilgrimage 2014 : Luke Nephew Of The Peace Poets

)



Luke Nephew of The Peace Poets recites a poem "Falling In Solidarity" at Liberty State Park, across the footbridge from Ellis Island & within sight of the Statue Of Liberty, for the 5th Annual Ash Wednesday Pilgrimage For Dismantling of the Detention and Deportation Machine that Feeds the Prison Industrial Complex At Sites Across New Jersey on Wednesday, March 5, 2014.

https://www.facebook.com/events/210937349105529/

More about The Peace Poets may be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/ThePeacePoets
https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePeacePoets
http://abetheprofit.wix.com/the-peace-poets-new
http://www.reverbnation.com/thepeacepoets
http://thepeacepoets.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/peace-poets
http://thepeacepoets.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/ThePeacePoets

Luke spoke about making love political & hate unpopular, food for thought, marching for justice, hope for community, the struggle to end immigrant detention, the beauty of freedom, & the difficulties of unity, optimism about a future where the police state doesn't bomb innocent people & war is impossible, where army recruiting facilities are shut down & human beings are incapable of being exploited as machines.

This was the beginning of a day-long series of events in 4 cities in New Jersey, Including a 10-Mile March from Ellis Island to the Elizabeth Detention Center; which culminated in the 18th Annual Vigil at EDC. People from across the state representing over a dozen faith-based, community, youth, and immigrant rights groups, & families of current & former detainees (including members from Pax Christi USA New Jersey, IRATE & First Friends, PICO-NJ, American Friends Service Committee AFSC Immigrant Rights Program, Wind of the Spirit and New Jersey Advocates For Immigrant Detainees or NJAID), The Most Rev. Bernard Hebda, Presiding Co-Adjutor Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark; The Most Reverend Thomas A. Donato, DD, Regional Bishop for Hudson County of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark; Rev. Canon Petero Sabune; Yves Nibungco, chairperson Anakbayan USA; Ana Bonilla Martinez, organizer, Wind of the Spirit; Luke Nephew, spoken word artist and member The Peace Poets) gathered in Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City & Newark to call for the dismantling of the detention and deportation machine that is feeding the prison industrial complex.

Participants drew attention to the interconnectedness of our county's projection of military and economic power abroad with the flow of migrants and the way in which the detention and deportation machine feeds the prison industrial complex, tearing apart families in the process. Vigils, rallies and protests including prayer, music and testimony to call attention to our country's foreign policies that force people to migrate, were held to call for a halt to the detentions and deportations that are tearing apart families and to call for an end to prison profiteering.

Actions were held at Liberty State Park, the Hudson County Administration Bldg., St. Peter's University's Panepinto Plaza, St. James Church, the offices of Senators Cory Booker & Robert Menendez at One Gateway Center, the Rodino Federal Bldg., the Essex County Hall of Records, the Union County Courthouse, & EDC (a for-profit facility operated by the Corrections Corporation of America or CCA, where ICE first started incarcerating immigrants in NJ almost two decades ago).

A public statement against for-profit incarceration was made at the Board of Chosen Freeholders Meeting at the Essex County Hall of Records at 7pm. And there was also a mass held in solidarity at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Camden & a press conference with the family of a released detainee.

You can find the press release here:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/casa-esperanza/press-release-for-ash-wednesday-pilgrimageday-of-action-against-immigrant-detent/10152235270748537

___

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http://www.facebook.com/groups/casaesperanzanj/
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https://twitter.com/casaesperanzanj

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_

Ash Wednesday Pilgrimage 2014 : Luke Nephew Of The Peace Poets

)



Luke Nephew of The Peace Poets recites his poem "Falling In SolidarityNYC", speaking truth to power about making love political & hate unpopular, food for thought, marching for justice, hope for community, the struggle to end immigrant detention, the beauty of freedom, & the difficulties of unity, optimism about a future where the police state doesn't bomb innocent people & war is impossible, where army recruiting facilities are shut down & human beings are incapable of being exploited as machines.

Luke spoke at #LibertyStatePark, across the footbridge from #EllisIsland & within sight of the #StatueOfLiberty, for the 5th Annual #AshWednesday #Pilgrimage For Dismantling of the #Detention and #Deportation Machine that Feeds the #Prison Industrial Complex At Sites Across New Jersey on Wednesday, March 5, 2014.

This was the beginning of a day-long series of events in 4 cities in #NewJersey, including a 10-Mile March from Ellis Island to the Elizabeth Detention Center; which culminated in the 18th Annual #Vigil at #EDC. People from across the state representing over a dozen #faith-based, #community, #youth, and #immigrantrights groups, & families of current & former #detainees (including members from Pax Christi USA New Jersey Chapter or PCNJ, IRATE & First Friends, PICO-NJ, American Friends Service Committee #AFSC #Immigrant #Rights Program, Wind of the Spirit and New Jersey Advocates For Immigrant Detainees or NJAID), The Most Rev. Bernard Hebda, Presiding Co-Adjutor Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark; The Most Reverend Thomas A. Donato, DD, Regional Bishop for Hudson County of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark; Rev. Canon Petero Sabune; Yves Nibungco, chairperson Anakbayan USA; Ana Bonilla Martinez, organizer, Wind of the Spirit; Luke Nephew, spoken word artist and member The Peace Poets) gathered in #Camden, #Elizabeth, #JerseyCity & #Newark to call for the dismantling of the detention and deportation machine that is feeding the prison industrial complex.

Participants drew attention to the interconnectedness of our county's projection of #military and economic power abroad with the flow of #migrants and the way in which the detention and deportation machine feeds the prison industrial complex, tearing apart families in the process. #Vigils, #rallies and #protests including prayer, music and testimony to call attention to our country's foreign policies that force people to migrate, were held to call for a halt to the detentions and deportations that are tearing apart families and to call for an end to prison profiteering.

Actions were held at Liberty State Park, the Hudson County Administration Bldg., St. Peter's University's Panepinto Plaza, St. James Church, the offices of Senators Cory Booker & Robert Menendez at One Gateway Center, the Rodino Federal Bldg., the Essex County Hall of Records, the Union County Courthouse, & EDC (a for-profit facility operated by the Corrections Corporation of America or CCA, where ICE first started incarcerating immigrants in NJ almost two decades ago).

A public statement against for-profit incarceration was made at the Board of Chosen Freeholders Meeting at the Essex County Hall of Records at 7pm. And there was also a mass held in solidarity at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Camden & a press conference with the family of a released detainee.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWp4GjchWCs

#EndTheQuota National Call-in Day

#EndTheQuota National Call-in Day



Join the Movement to End the Quota at Detention Watch Network-http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/EndTheQuota

Narrativa de la campaña No Más Cuota en español abajo

As the immigrant rights movement grows stronger, and as communities in defense of justice and dignity for all immigrants, we have the power to demand that Congress and President Barack Obama
eliminate the quota and stop the senseless targeting and incarceration
of immigrants. The Congressional Appropriations Committee should take
the lead by striking the quota language in the upcoming appropriations
bill. And every single member of Congress has the power to get rid of it
via the amendment process by voting to eliminate the quota.

End The Quota National Call-in Day, March 11th, 2014

Get Involved

Join #DWN's mailing list to get regular updates on the #EndTheQuota campaign

Organize an End The Quota action or public #education event in your community

Call and/or meet with your member of #Congress and ask them to oppose the immigration detention bed quota in any appropriations bill

Call on President Obama to publicly oppose the quota

What is the #immigration #detention bed #quota?


Congressional appropriations language on ICE's detention budget states
"[t]hat funding made available under this heading shall maintain a level
of not less than 34,000 detention beds." The immigration detention bed
quota requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (#ICE) to lock-up an average of 34,000 immigrants in detention at any given time.

For talking points and more information on the quota, read DWN's End the Immigration Detention Bed Quota Campaign Narrative:

http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/EndTheQuotaNarrative

Listen to a conversation about the bed quota on #WBAI's War on Immigrants Report:

https://soundcloud.com/detentionwatch/endthequota-discussion-on

Impact of the Quota


With a guaranteed need for detention “beds” or jail cells, the
detention bed quota essentially forces the use of facilities that have
poor track records in which innumerable human rights abuses and dozens
of deaths have occurred. These facilities have issues ranging from no
access to the outdoor space, maggot- and worm-infested food, and wholly
inadequate medical and mental health care.

What’s more, the
cost to maintain this unmanageable system is excessive. In 2012, ICE
detained an estimated 478,000 immigrants and the current budget for
ICE’s detention budget is just short of $2 billion. During a time of
fiscal crisis, it is unacceptable to be spending billions in taxpayer
dollars each year to needlessly detain #immigrants to fill a quota.

Having a quota on how many people must be locked up every day puts a price tag on #immigrant
lives. The policy leads to Congress and ICE treating immigrants as
numbers filling a quota and products to be bought and sold, not as real
people with children and loved ones depending on them.

The
quota not only impacts the hundreds and thousands of immigrants that go
through the detention system each year, but also the #families and #communities that that have been torn apart due to immigration detention.

The quota also incentivizes targeting people for #deportation in order to fill jail cells. As politicians tout efforts towards comprehensive immigration #reform (#CIR)
and relief for those subject to deportation, any meaningful reforms to
the immigration system will be impossible with the quota in place.

Resources

One pager backgrounder on the immigration detention bed quota

http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/detentionwatchnetwork.org/files/bed_quota_101_backgrounder_final.pdf

American Immigration Lawyers Association, #AILA's Take on the Detention Bed Quota

http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=47205

Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center or NIJC, Eliminate the Bed Quota

http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=47205

Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC)Detention (#CIVIC)'s video, 34,000 Sold: How human rights are traded for profit in the United States

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iwO1AskwPM

Advocacy

End The Quota National Call-in Day, March 11th, 2014


Call your Senators and Representative and tell them Congress should
eliminate the detention bed quota, which ensures funding to keep 34,000
immigrants locked up in ICE detention facilities on any given day.

Click here to find your Senators and their phone numbers

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Click here to find your Representative and their phone number

http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121


Sample Script: My name is _____ calling from [CITY, STATE]. I urge
Congress member [NAME] to oppose the wasteful and inhumane immigration
detention bed quota in any appropriations bill.

Background
Information: The immigration detention bed quota requires U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to lock-up a minimum of 34,000
immigrants at any given time. This policy is unprecedented – no other
law enforcement agency operates on a quota system. [Or is allowed to!]


With a guaranteed need for detention “beds”, the detention bed quota
essentially forces the use of facilities that have poor track records in
which innumerable human rights abuses and dozens of deaths have
occurred. These facilities have issues ranging from no access to the
outdoor space, maggot- and worm-infested food, and wholly inadequate
medical and mental health care.
The cost to maintain this
unmanageable system is excessive. In 2012, ICE detained an estimated
478,000 immigrants and the ICE’s current detention budget is just short
of $2 billion. During a time of fiscal crisis, it is unacceptable to be
spending billions in taxpayer dollars each year to needlessly detain
immigrants to fill a quota.

The quota not only impacts the
hundreds and thousands of immigrants that go through the detention
system each year, but also the families and communities that that have
been torn apart due to immigration detention.

Members of Congress on the #HomelandSecurity #Appropriations Subcommittee will be debating the detention bed quota over the coming months.

Schedule a meeting with your Senators and Representative

End The Quota legislative toolkit. For more information on how to set-up a meeting with your member of Congress.

http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/detentionwatchnetwork.org/files/leg_packet.pdf

Tell us how it went. We need your help in tracking which Members of Congress will help us end the quota!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VRM_WeFKZiy-MQp8CBztJTWtLCxvnIz_0f8mnzQ5wT4/viewform


Please contact Madhu Grewal DWN's Policy Counsel at
mgrewal@detentionwatchnetwork.org if you need support with scheduling a
visit with your members of Congress.

Media Coverage of the Bed Quota

Opinion: Detention must be paid, The Editorial Board of The New York Times, 1/20/14

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/opinion/detention-must-be-paid.html

Immigrants jailed just to hit a number, Robert M. Morgenthau, New York Daily News, 1/19/14

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/immigrants-jailed-hit-number-article-1.1583488#ixzz2r8qB4usA

Shah: Immigration detention quotas must be stopped, Silky Shah, Houston Chronicle, 11/22/13

http://www.chron.com/default/article/Shah-Immigration-detention-quotas-must-be-stopped-5002771.php

Little-Known Immigration Mandate Keeps Detention Beds Full, Ted Robbins, #NPR, 11/19/13

http://www.npr.org/2013/11/19/245968601/little-known-immigration-mandate-keeps-detention-beds-full

Immigrant detention and the ‘bed mandate’, Melissa Harris-Perry, #MSNBC, 10/26/13

http://www.msnbc.com/melissa-harris-perry/watch/immigrant-detention-and-the-bed-mandate-57194563770

Immigration reform could still leave thousands in detention, Silky Shah, MSNBC, 10/25/13

http://www.msnbc.com/melissa-harris-perry/immigration-reform-will-leave-thousands

The outdated immigrant detention system, Katharina Obser, The Hill, 10/18/13

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/judicial/329325-the-outdated-immigrant-detention-system#ixzz2i78yku6T

'Bed mandate' ensures 34,000 immigrants are detained each day, David Brancaccio, #Marketplace, 10/18/13

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/bed-mandate-ensures-34000-immigrants-are-detained-each-day

¿Quiénes se benefician con la detención de indocumentados?, Jaime Garcia & Jorge Ramos, #Univision, 10/14/13

http://noticias.univision.com/video/357493/2013-10-14/noticiero-univision/videos/cuota-de-detencion-de-indocumentados

Controversial quota drives immigration detention boom, Nick Miroff, Washington Post, 10/13/13

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/controversial-quota-drives-immigration-detention-boom/2013/10/13/09bb689e-214c-11e3-ad1a-1a919f2ed890_story.html

The Madness of U.S. Immigration Policy, Continued, The Editors at #Bloomberg View, 9/26/13

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2013-09-26/the-madness-of-u-s-immigration-policy-continued


Congress Mandates Jail Beds for 34,000 Immigrants as Private Prisons
Profit, William Selway & Margaret Newkirk, Bloomberg, 9/24/13

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-24/congress-fuels-private-jails-detaining-34-000-immigrants.html

DHS Requirement Keeping 34,000 Immigrants Locked Up Daily To Continue, Mike Bruschini, Reason.com, 7/9/13

http://reason.com/blog/2013/07/09/dhs-requirement-keeping-34000-locked

Insight: Congress keeps detention quota despite immigration debate, Andy Sullivan, #Reuters, 7/8/13

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/08/us-usa-immigration-detention-insight-idUSBRE96711920130708

Detention centers releases may have silver lining, Ruthie Epstein, The Hill, 2/28/13

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/homeland-security/285515-detention-centers-releases-may-have-silver-lining

______________________________________________


End The Quota Campaign Narrative


The United States has the largest immigrant detention infrastructure in
the world and today, the U.S. government locks up and deports more
immigrants than ever before. The expansion of the system is in part due
to an arbitrary quota from Congress that requires the incarceration of
34,000 immigrants in detention at any given time. This policy, known as
the detention bed quota, is unprecedented; no other law enforcement
agency operates on a quota system.

Background

The U.S.
immigrant detention system has grown drastically over the last 15 years
from less than 10,000 detention beds to 34,000. Beginning with the
passage of harsh anti-immigrant laws in 1996 to the post-9/11 backlash,
the system has reached an all-time high during the tenure of President
Obama. The expansion of deportation programs that target immigrant
communities, such as 287(g), Secure Communities and the Criminal Alien
Program (CAP), have funneled thousands of people into detention. Private
interests also play a role, with private prison corporations lobbying
for more enforcement to ensure private prison bed space is filled.

History of the Quota


The immigration detention bed quota requires U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold a minimum of 34,000 immigrants at any
given time. Far from being a longstanding policy, the quota is a recent
invention, and its origin is sneaky and undemocratic. It was inserted
into the appropriations bill in 2007 with no vetting and zero public
comment. The man who created the quota, Senator Robert Byrd of West
Virginia, got his political start as a Kleagle for the #KKK.
Not merely a member of the KKK, Senator Byrd was one of the KKK’s most
productive recruiters. As Senator Byrd rose in power within the
Democratic Party, he tempered his anti-Black racism to stay in line with
his party. His anti-immigrant racism, however, remained unmitigated
until his passing in 2010.

Private Prisons Profit from the Quota


Money appropriated for the bed quota often lines the pockets of the
for-profit prison corporations that run nearly half of the beds in
immigration jails. The two top private prison companies, Corrections
Corporation of America (#CCA) and the #GEO
Group, have a combined annual revenue of over $3 billion. By trying to
force ICE to detain a minimum number of people, the bed quota protects
CCA’s and GEO’s profits. These companies lobby hard to protect their
bottom line. In 2013, for example, The GEO Group’s in-house lobbyists
spent $1.2 million convincing Congress to act in the corporation’s best
interests. The corporation also paid outside lobbyists another $880,000
to echo their desire to keep profits high. For more info: http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/privateprisons

Impact of the Quota


With a guaranteed need for detention “beds” or jail cells, the
detention bed quota essentially forces the use of facilities that have
poor track records in which innumerable human rights abuses and dozens
of deaths have occurred. These facilities have issues ranging from no
access to the outdoor space, maggot- and worm-infested food, and wholly
inadequate medical and mental health care. For more info:

http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/ExposeAndClose


What’s more, the cost to maintain this unmanageable system is
excessive. In 2012, ICE detained an estimated 478,000 immigrants and the
ICE’s current detention budget is just short of $2 billion. During a
time of fiscal crisis, it is unacceptable to be spending billions in
taxpayer dollars each year to needlessly detain immigrants to fill a
quota.

Having a quota on how many people must be locked up
every day puts a price tag on immigrant lives. The policy leads to
Congress and ICE treating immigrants as numbers filling a quota and
products to be bought and sold, not as real people with children and
loved ones depending on them.

The quota not only impacts the
hundreds and thousands of immigrants that go through the detention
system each year, but also the families and communities that that have
been torn apart due to immigration detention.

The quota also
incentivizes targeting people for deportation in order to fill jail
cells. As politicians tout efforts towards comprehensive immigration
reform and relief for those subject to deportation, any meaningful
reforms to the immigration system will be impossible with the quota in
place.

Solution

Immigration detention is unjust,
inhumane, and costly. As the immigrant rights movement grows stronger,
and as communities in defense of justice and dignity for all immigrants,
we have the power to demand that Congress and President Obama eliminate
the quota and stop the senseless targeting and incarceration of
immigrants.

The Congressional Appropriations Committee should
take the lead by striking the quota language in the upcoming
appropriations bill. And every single member of Congress has the power
to get rid of it via the amendment process by voting to eliminate it.


President Obama should show his support for immigration reform by
removing it from the president’s budget proposal and publicly opposing
the quota.

http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/EndTheQuota

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Narrativa de la campaña #NoMásCuota en español

http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/NarrativaNoMasCuota

No Más Cuota de detención de inmigrantes


Los Estados Unidos tiene la infraestructura de detención de
#inmigrantes más grande del mundo y en la actualidad, el gobierno de
EE.UU. detiene y deporta más inmigrantes que nunca antes. La expansión
del sistema se debe en parte a una cuota arbitraria del Congreso que
requiere el mantener una cifra de 34.000 inmigrantes encarcelados cada
día. Esta política, conocida como la cuota de camas de detención, no
tiene precedentes, ninguna otra agencia del orden público funciona con
un sistema de cuotas.

Antecedente

El sistema de
detención de inmigrantes de los EE.UU. ha crecido drásticamente en los
últimos 15 años a partir de menos de 10.000 camas de detención a 34.000.
A partir de la aprobación de rigurosas leyes anti-inmigrantes en 1996 y
el contragolpe después del 9/11 , el sistema ha llegado a un máximo
histórico durante el mandato del presidente Obama. La expansión de los
programas de deportación que se dirigen a las comunidades de
inmigrantes, tales como la 287 ( g ), Comunidades Seguras y el Programa
de Extranjeros Criminales (conocido como CAP por sus siglas en ingles),
han canalizado a miles de personas en la detención. Los intereses
privados también juegan un papel, con el cabildeo de las corporaciones
de prisiones privadas para que existan más medidas para garantizar que
el número de camas de prisiones privadas se llene.

Historia de la Cuota


La cuota de camas de detención de inmigrantes requiere que el
departamento de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE) de los EE.UU. mantenga un
mínimo de 34.000 inmigrantes al día en detención. Lejos de ser una
política de larga data, la cuota es una invención reciente, y su origen
es engañoso y antidemocrático. Se insertó en la ley del presupuesto
nacional en el 2007 sin investigación de antecedentes y cero comentarios
del público. El hombre que creó la cuota, el senador Robert Byrd de
Virginia Occidental, inició su carrera política como Kleagle para el KKK
. No sólo era un miembro del Ku Klux Klan, el senador Byrd fue uno de
los reclutadores más productivos del KKK . Al subir de rangos de poder
dentro del Partido Demócrata, el senador Byrd atemperó su racismo en
contra de los afro-americanos para permanecer en línea con su partido.
Su racismo contra los inmigrantes, sin embargo, permaneció sin
paliativos hasta su fallecimiento en el 2010.

Las prisiones privadas se benefician de la Cuota


Dinero asignado para la cuota de camas de detención de inmigrantes a
menudo llena los bolsillos de las corporaciones de prisiones privadas
que mantienen casi la mitad de las camas en las cárceles de inmigración.
Las dos principales compañías de prisiones privadas, Corrections
Corporation of America (CCA ) y el Grupo GEO, tienen un ingreso anual
combinado de más de $ 3 mil millones. Al tratar de forzar a ICE para
detener a un número mínimo de personas en detención, la cuota de camas
protege las ganancias de CCA y del grupo GEO. Estas empresas presionan
fuertemente para proteger sus ganancias. En el 2013, por ejemplo, los
grupos internos de cabildeo del Grupo GEO gastaron 1.200.000 millones de
dólares para convencer al Congreso que actué en el mejor interés de la
corporación. La compañía también pagó cabilderos externos otros $
880.000 dólares para resonar su deseo por obtener altas ganancias. Para
más información: http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/privateprisons

Impacto de la Cuota


Con una necesidad garantizada por "camas" de detención o celdas en la
cárcel, la cuota de camas de detención obliga esencialmente el uso de
las instalaciones de detención que tienen un historial deplorable en el
que se han producido abusos, decenas de muertos, e innumerables abusos
de derechos humanos. Estas instalaciones tienes problemas que empiezan
con la ausencia de acceso al espacio exterior, comida podrida y con
gusanos, y atención médica y de salud mental totalmente inadecuada. Para
más información:

http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/ExposeAndClose


Lo que es más, el costo de mantener este sistema inmanejable es
excesivo. En el 2012, el ICE detuvo a un estimado de 478.000 inmigrantes
y el presupuesto actual de detención del ICE es poco menos de $2 mil
millones de dólares. Durante un momento de crisis fiscal, es inaceptable
que se gasten miles de millones de dólares de los contribuyentes cada
año para detener a inmigrantes por una cuota.

Tener una cuota
que prescribe cuántas personas deben de ser encerradas todos los días
pone un precio a la vida de los inmigrantes. La política lleva al
Congreso y el ICE a tratar a los inmigrantes como si fueran números para
llenar una cuota y productos que se compran y venden, y no como
personas reales, con hijos y seres queridos que dependen de ellos.


La cuota no sólo afecta a los cientos y miles de inmigrantes que pasan
por el sistema de detención cada año, sino también a las familias y
comunidades que han sido desgarradas por la detención de inmigrantes.


La cuota también incentiva la discriminación hacia los inmigrantes para
canalizarlos hacia la deportación a fin de llenar las celdas de las
cárceles. Mientras los políticos tratan importunar los esfuerzos hacia
una reforma migratoria integral y un alivio para todos y todas los/las
que están sujetos/as a la deportación, una reforma significativa en el
sistema de inmigración será imposible con la cuota vigente.

Solución


La detención de inmigrantes es injusta, inhumana, y costosa. A medida
que el movimiento de derechos de los inmigrantes se hace más fuerte,
como comunidades en defensa de la justicia, y la dignidad para todos y
todas los/las inmigrantes, nosotros/as tenemos el poder para exigir que
el Congreso y el presidente Obama eliminen la cuota y detengan los
ataques y el encarcelamiento de los inmigrantes.

El Comité de
Apropiaciones del Congreso debe tomar la iniciativa eliminando el
lenguaje de cuotas en la próxima ley del presupuesto nacional. Y cada
uno de los miembros del Congreso tiene el poder de votar para eliminar
la cuota durante el proceso de enmiendas a la ley del presupuesto
nacional.

El presidente Obama debe mostrar su apoyo a una
reforma migratoria eliminando la cuota de su propuesta presupuestaria y
oponerse públicamente a la cuota.

Ash Wednesday Pilgrimage 2014 : Kathy O'Leary On The Dream Of A Better Life

Kathy O'Leary of Pax Christi New Jersey calls on all Americans to stop dehumanizing & demonizing immigrants & take responsibility for our actions on the global stage, with our foreign policy, especially as our government threatens to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (which will launch a whole new era of displacement of the people & destruction of the local economies of our foreign nationals' sending countries - in the same that the trade & development policies which the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank, & NAFTA/CAFTA, which steal from the poor people of the world & give to the already rich elite transnational corporations, have produced this last era of immigration into the U.S.).

https://www.facebook.com/events/210937349105529/

More about Pax Christi NJ may be found here:

http://paxsummit.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/70959325050
https://twitter.com/PaxChristiNJ

Kathy spoke at Liberty State Park, across the footbridge from Ellis Island & within sight of the Statue Of Liberty, for the 5th Annual Ash Wednesday Pilgrimage For Dismantling of the Detention and Deportation Machine that Feeds the Prison Industrial Complex At Sites Across New Jersey on Wednesday, March 5, 2014.

This was the beginning of a day-long series of events in 4 cities in New Jersey, Including a 10-Mile March from Ellis Island to the Elizabeth Detention Center; which culminated in the 18th Annual Vigil at EDC. People from across the state representing over a dozen faith-based, community, youth, and immigrant rights groups, & families of current & former detainees (including members from Pax Christi USA New Jersey, IRATE & First Friends, PICO-NJ, American Friends Service Committee AFSC Immigrant Rights Program, Wind of the Spirit and New Jersey Advocates For Immigrant Detainees or NJAID), The Most Rev. Bernard Hebda, Presiding Co-Adjutor Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark; The Most Reverend Thomas A. Donato, DD, Regional Bishop for Hudson County of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark; Rev. Canon Petero Sabune; Yves Nibungco, chairperson Anakbayan USA; Ana Bonilla Martinez, organizer, Wind of the Spirit; Luke Nephew, spoken word artist and member The Peace Poets) gathered in Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City & Newark to call for the dismantling of the detention and deportation machine that is feeding the prison industrial complex.

Participants drew attention to the interconnectedness of our county's projection of military and economic power abroad with the flow of migrants and the way in which the detention and deportation machine feeds the prison industrial complex, tearing apart families in the process. Vigils, rallies and protests including prayer, music and testimony to call attention to our country's foreign policies that force people to migrate, were held to call for a halt to the detentions and deportations that are tearing apart families and to call for an end to prison profiteering.

Actions were held at Liberty State Park, the Hudson County Administration Bldg., St. Peter's University's Panepinto Plaza, St. James Church, the offices of Senators Cory Booker & Robert Menendez at One Gateway Center, the Rodino Federal Bldg., the Essex County Hall of Records, the Union County Courthouse, & EDC (a for-profit facility operated by the Corrections Corporation of America or CCA, where ICE first started incarcerating immigrants in NJ almost two decades ago).

A public statement against for-profit incarceration was made at the Board of Chosen Freeholders Meeting at the Essex County Hall of Records at 7pm. And there was also a mass held in solidarity at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Camden & a press conference with the family of a released detainee.

You can find the press release here:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/casa-esperanza/press-release-for-ash-wednesday-pilgrimageday-of-action-against-immigrant-detent/10152235270748537

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Espiral - 'Niñas y Miños Migrantes' con Michelle Brane. 11 12 2013

The Politics & Players of Immigration Reform (discussion with Frank Sharry)

For more information please visit: http://epid.rutgers.edu

The Politics & Players of Immigration Reform
A discussion with Frank Sharry and Sayu Bhojwani

December 2, 2013 at the
Eagleton Institute of Politics
Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this video are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the Eagleton Institute of Politics or Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

©2013 Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

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Making Guantánamo History