tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55169540556185642092024-03-14T00:56:01.845-07:00Injustice in Immigration DetentionKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02119689480514680732noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516954055618564209.post-55003104311003514432012-05-07T16:56:00.001-07:002012-05-07T16:56:22.951-07:00Cobb County JailI just got back from visiting Arturo today. He's doing well and says "HELLO" to whomever is reading. Arturo had court last week and again wasn't able to see a judge. I am currently in the procces of searching for a new attorney to represent him. Arturo turned 48 May 1st and wants to wish every mother a happy mothers day. On a small tangent there will be a Protest wedensday May 9th from 4 p.m to 10 p.m at the Marietta town hall in the square to prevent the construction of a Racetrac on powdersprings road. FREE ARTURO SUCHITE!!!Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02119689480514680732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516954055618564209.post-41724267850314935352012-05-05T08:28:00.001-07:002012-05-05T08:40:29.555-07:00Jose Carlos<div><p>My mom visited a man a Stewart last week named Jose Carlos. Jose is Salvadoran and stayed in the U.S after his Visa expired. Jose is a pastor and preached among troubled youth in El Salvador and continued to preach in Charolette, NC. Jose has a 17 year old who has been forced to drop out of school in order to find a place to work. Lida, (Jose's wife) had to wake up early everyday walk miles to the city in order to look for a place where she can earn a little money. Lida and her son both live in the living room floor of other woman's apartment who has given them a place to stay. In my previous post I wrote about a man who was in the hospital; well that was Jose and his family had no idea what had happened to him. Lida and her son both need an ID in order to visit Jose aand to travel back to El Salvador if it is necessary. Jose speaks fluent English. SHUT DOWN STEWART.</p>
</div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02119689480514680732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516954055618564209.post-77847458870931588852012-04-28T15:38:00.001-07:002012-05-05T08:36:36.177-07:00Stewart Detention Visit<div><p>Visiting Stewart has never been so difficult. I accompanied a familly visit their dad. 4 kids who haven't seen their dad in a year and probably won't see him again. My mom also visited a church pastor from Charleston,NC who has been detained unjustly and was just released from the hospital. He was in the hospital for 9 days receiving 2 blood transfusions. He hasn't seen his family in 7 months and misses them dearly. There were at least 20 families during the time i waited at Stewart and ALL with children. I volunteered at El Refugio and the kids and families who came trhough the house left very grateful. I can't wait to return. SHUT DOWN STEWART!! </p>
</div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02119689480514680732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516954055618564209.post-46688190309401780782012-04-25T12:59:00.001-07:002012-04-25T19:42:31.992-07:00The Immigrant Detention Industry<div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Arturo Suchite, a Guatemalan immigrant inmate detainee at the Cobb County Jail, who has now been in custody for nineteen months wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit. Arturo has not been granted a court date, bail, nor the health care that he deserves. Arturo is one of thirty thousand immigrant detainees facing the same situation of injustice in The United States immigration detention system. Currently, the largest immigration detention center in the United States is Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. Stewart operates by a private company, Correction Corporation of America or CCA, and funded by the Immigration Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) an agency of the Federal Government. Issues facing U.S. immigration detention are the cost of immigrant detainees, the violation of basic human rights and the unnecessary detention of immigrants with no criminal record. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The expensive cost of detaining immigrants has allowed private detention facilities like Stewart to have a large profit margin. Private detention centers treat immigrant detainees as a product from which they can profit instead of humans who should be deported or released. The amount of money I.C.E gives Stewart in order to hold detainees and pay their expenses depends on the number of detainees being held: “Because they're paid per detainee, per day by whichever government entity they've contracted with, CCA and other private prison firms need a steady stream of inmates in order to remain profitable” (Gwynedd). In other words, detainees are the crop by which private detention centers profit and the detention centers are the plantations where detainees are harvested. Private detention centers rely on a certain number of detainees to remain profitable and running. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>CCA hire lobbyist and treat elected officials to dinner in order to persuade them to vote in favor of more anti-immigration bills. Here in Georgia, by inviting officials to dinner, CCA helped put together, and pass the anti-immigration bill HB 87: “CCA have spent bundles in campaign contributions and lobbyist dinners wooing Georgia lawmakers…None of the eight house members who were treated to dinner by a CCA lobbyist during last legislative session voted against HB 87” (Gwynedd). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CCA lobby’s for anti-immigrant bills in order for there to be an increase of immigrant detainees in their detention center like the one in Stewart. CCA and other private detention centers prefer to profit than to help correct the broken immigration system.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Immigrant detainees have very few rights while being held. Detainees deserve proper legal representation and proper medical treatment because they are human. Hector Romero, local Kennesaw business owner states, “all human beings are entitled to basic human rights regardless of their legal status”. Many detainees are left for long periods of time without adequate treatment or medicine for their diseases. Former Nurse Catharine Rouse and current employees of detention centers all across the United States have witnessed the cruel treatment of immigrant detainees. Rouse, who witnessed the mistreatment while working in an Arizona detention center, compares the cruel treatment of immigrants with that of an animal, she says, "Dogs get better care in the dog pound" (Priest & Goldstein). Immigrant detainees are treated as if they were criminals or animals knowing that a detention center is only a medium before being deported or released. Dana Priest and Amy Goldstein of the Washington post state, “The detainees have less access to lawyers than convicted murderers in maximum-security prisons and some have fewer comforts than al-Qaeda terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba”. Inmates in prison and terrorist in Guantanamo bay are paying their dues to society for the crimes they have committed. Detainees are not inmates and more than half of the detainees have not committed a crime. Immigrant detainees deserve to be treated like detainees and less like criminals and animals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">There are laws that protect the rights of citizens, children, the disabled and even a convicted murderer on death row. In contrast, there are no laws protecting the rights of immigrants or immigrant detainee’s. PJ Edwards local immigration activist who fights for the rights of immigrant detainees states that, “federal standards aren't codified, and therefore aren't legally enforceable. Failing to meet the standards could mean CCA is in violation of its contract, but the company isn't likely to be seriously penalized for the transgressions”. Immigrant detainee’s rights are easily violated since there are no laws which state how detainees are supposed to be treated. A standard for detention centers are rarely overseen and since I.C.E standards are not laws there is no way of suing in court. A detainee is able to complain, but very little is ever done to punish these detention centers for violating standards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Detainees are being held in detention too long. Detainees who were detained with no criminal charges are paying time as if they were criminals. Detainees who were convicted of a crime and have already paid their due to society are being punished again: “Being in violation of immigration laws is not a crime. It is a civil violation for which immigrants go through a process to see whether they have a right to stay in the United States. Immigrants detained during this process are in non-criminal custody” (About The U.S. Detention and Deportation System). Private detention centers interest to have more detainees in custody for a long period of time is because of their profit. Not because they want their detainees deported or released quickly. Detention of immigrants is a punishment not commensurate with the violation. The unnecessary detention of immigrants with no criminal records cost tax payers money and violates human rights.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Arturo’s court date has been set for April 9<sup>th</sup> he will face his sentence and because of his status he will most likely be transferred to the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA to await deportation. Arturo will be another crop for CCA who will use tax payer money to profit while Arturo is in custody. Arturo is a non-criminal detainee whose deportation process should only take up to six months according to I.C.E. standards, but Arturo has already spent 19 months in jail and will await many more until he is in Guatemala. Issues facing U.S. immigration detention are the cost of immigrant detainees, the violation of basic human rights and the unnecessary detention of immigrants with no criminal record.</span></div></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02119689480514680732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516954055618564209.post-55433078010195680972012-04-25T12:54:00.000-07:002012-04-25T12:55:33.713-07:00Arturo's 1st letter<div><p>Arturo wrote me a letter for the first time today. I had asked him to explain to me the troubles he faces in Jail and he says he has been treated kindly by the other inmates and the most difficult part has been communicating with others because of his language barrier.</p>
<br/><img src='http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Ihr2p0CLyKg/T5hWs609dtI/AAAAAAAAAA8/RvtBt_ek5ww/2012-04-25%25252015.51.50.png' /></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02119689480514680732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516954055618564209.post-19723617777669720802012-04-25T12:42:00.002-07:002012-04-25T12:42:28.659-07:00Frank WilliamsArturo told Frank about the issue of Immigration Detention that I began to research and Frank was very open to talk to me, and so I made an appointment to visit him. Frank is an American citizen and was born here in Smyrna, GA. Frank shares the same cell as Arturo and tells me that they both lead a prayer group that meets every night and reads the bible. Frank also tells me that it is easy to pin-point out the undocumented inmates because of how they're treated. Frank explained to me that he was suffering from a small pain in his arm and the jail clinic attended him 1 week faster than they attended Arturo who had a really bad tooth-ache. Frank also told me that he and Arturo have became bestfriends which I find extremly surprsing since Arturo doesn't speak a hint of English and Frank doesn't speak any Spanish. Frank says that when Arturo wants to talk to him they either use another inmate that can translte for him or he shows Frank a bible verse that will usually demonstrate to Frank how he is feeling.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02119689480514680732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516954055618564209.post-65249624316898301542012-04-25T12:29:00.000-07:002012-04-25T12:29:26.230-07:00Arturo Suchite<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Arturo Suchite, a Guatemalan immigrant inmate detainee at the Cobb County Jail, who has now been in custody for 583 days wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit. Arturo has not been granted a court date, nor bail and has been treated with very poor medical care. Arturo came to the United States in 2008 and was arrested September 20th 2010. Arturo's faith in God is the only thing that keeps him going. Arturo's friend Frank Williams describes Arturo as a father figure for the younger inmates. </span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QIZeNYz4WIY/T5hQOmb2YeI/AAAAAAAAAAw/-UsOMZbkvGc/s1600/guatemala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QIZeNYz4WIY/T5hQOmb2YeI/AAAAAAAAAAw/-UsOMZbkvGc/s320/guatemala.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02119689480514680732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516954055618564209.post-91236642360756368182012-04-25T11:41:00.001-07:002012-04-25T12:15:52.693-07:00Intent<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: large;">Injustice in Immigration detention is an issue that many Americans do not realize is occurring right in their backyards. The injustice of immigration detention not only affects those detained but it also affects the families of those detained. Families suffer tremendously when one of their family members are detained. The intent of this blog is to share the stories of those families with you. So that you know that there are families that come to America to work and give their family and themselves a future and by detaining them America is only KILLING them. Yes, it really is that harsh. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YaxyI09Mr00/T5hE-dAsZlI/AAAAAAAAAAk/hIUaGbHkVkg/s1600/child+fence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="224" oda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YaxyI09Mr00/T5hE-dAsZlI/AAAAAAAAAAk/hIUaGbHkVkg/s320/child+fence.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02119689480514680732noreply@blogger.com0