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Infiltration Leads to DHS Opening Civil Rights Investigation into ICE

First step in cleaning up problem agency

NATIONAL—After being infiltrated and exposed by the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, Immigration and Customs Enforcement will now have to comply with a civil rights investigation by the Department of Homeland Security into five separate incidents of detainee mistreatment. NIYA will make the communication from DHS (with personal case information redacted) available to reporters upon request.

In response to infiltration of ICE facilities in Florida and Michigan, ICE has accused NIYA twice of making false allegations. Every single detainee ICE releases because of our organizing, however, stands as a small admission of guilt from the agency. With this forthcoming investigation into five separate incidents of mistreatment, we may finally get a deeper admission of wrongdoing from DHS and their private contractor, GEO Group, Inc.

Yesterday, Michigan ICE informed us that they will release our infiltrator there, Claudia Munoz. We have obtained information of serious mistreatment—including verbal abuse that authorities internally have tried to correct—that we will make public in the coming days. Everilda Calvo-Sanchez, a detainee from Guatemala who is eligible for legal residence, was released two weeks ago after NIYA exposed her case as a failing of local ICE officials to follow national ICE policy.

NIYA will continue to organize against the attacks on immigrant communities and the indignities immigrants must face in detention. We know local ICE officials, like Regional director Rebecca Adducci, do not follow policies set forth by their national office until we hold them accountable. We stand by our demand that Adducci be fired or resign, and we will continue to bring ICE’s wrongdoing to light, anywhere and everywhere.

Last summer, 26 members of Congress supported our call for a full review of all cases inside Broward Transitional Center. While that demand has not yet been met, this investigation is admission that the behavior of their local officials is too repugnant to ignore, even by their supervising department.

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Caving to Pressure, ICE Begins Releasing Low-Priority Detainees Nationwide

Wave of releases will not cover up disingenuous record on deportations

Detainees about to be released from Polk Detention Center

NATIONAL—The National Immigrant Youth Alliance is hearing from contacts at multiple detention centers across the country that low-priority detainees are being released in large groups without bond. The office of US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has confirmed that this move by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is related to sequestration. While congressional sequestration talks may provide convenient timing for the administration, this is a direct response to the pressure placed on the administration from NIYA, the American Civil Liberties Union, and others who demand that it back away from its aggressive deportation regime.

“Lots of us are getting out who were brought in for driving without a license or other small things,” said Manuel Perez, a detainee at Polk Detention Center in Livingston, Texas. Dozens of people in any given facility we have contacted are being released simultaneously. “I hope more of us are able to get out soon.” Polk is owned by GEO Group, Inc., a private prison company which has been under heavy public scrutiny for its record of mistreatment and neglect of detainees.

Last week it was revealed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had violated its own policy of prosecutorial discretion through such egregious practices as trolling state Department of Motor Vehicles records and using traffic safety stops. In North Carolina, one recent immigration checkpoint was established under the guise of the state’s “Click it or Ticket” campaign. Today, we have heard that dozens of detainees have been released from facilities in Florida, New Orleans, and Texas. We are currently trying to determine where else this has occurred.

Between 2008 and 2012, only 22 percent of ICE detainees were convicted of any crime at all. We have always known that prosecutorial discretion was not strictly followed, but the documents released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made by the ACLU revealed that National ICE instructed its regional offices explicitly to violate policy upheld by the president and reiterated in testimony before Congress from DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. After hearing of this explicit directive to counteract public ICE policy, we called on ICE Director John Morton to resign.

The people being released today are people ICE could have released months—or in some cases, years—ago. If ICE adhered to its own policies, they would have. As the president continues to push for immigration reform, his record on deportations will only stand in greater contrast with the policies he has proposed.

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NIYA Demands that Florida Atlantic Reject “OwlCatraz” Deal with Geo Group

Naming rights at stadium insults Florida immigrant families

 BOCA RATON, Fla.—The National Immigrant Youth Alliance is appalled that Florida Atlantic University (FAU) would sell naming rights to its football stadium to GEO Group, Inc. amid the controversy it has generated over the treatment of its detainees in Broward Transitional Center. We are asking for the university to reconsider its decision and have launched a petition, found here: http://action.dreamactivist.org/florida/geostadium/

FAU has allowed the private prison corporation naming rights to its football stadium, leading FAU students to sardonically call the stadium “Owlcatraz.” GEO Group has generated a major controversy in Florida after its poor management of Broward Transitional Center (BTC) came under public scrutiny.

GEO Group has an extensive record of negligence and abuse inside its facilities. GEO Group formerly operated the infamous Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility (WGYCF) in Mississippi, where a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into abuses concluded that ”due to the unconstitutional operation of WGYCF, youth were sexually preyed upon by staff and all too frequently suffered grievous harm, including death.”

Recently, 26 members of Congress sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement requesting a full review of BTC after hearing about negligence and mistreatment inside the GEO facility. Viridiana Martinez had this to say about her experience inside BTC:  “They treated us like animals—we found that most detainees were jailed for minor offenses, such as driving without a valid driver’s license. The worst part about it wasn’t really even the treatment they received from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); but rather how the GEO staff and the GEO guards treat all detainees.” Viridiana was an undocumented activist who had herself purposefully detained to join the immigrants inside BTC organizing against the horrendous mistreatment there.

NIYA hopes that FAU reconsiders its decision to enter into business with GEO Group, Inc. and sets better standards for who it considers a good community partner.  We will begin organizing against the FAU-Geo partnership in the coming days.

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Fire ICE Director John Morton: Documents Reveal Deception on Immigration Policy

No chance of reform without confidence in administration

 NATIONAL—After the release of documents detailing the abandonment of prosecutorial discretion, the National Immigrant Youth Alliance is calling on John Morton, the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to resign.

Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union released emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in which national ICE officials instructed regional offices to increase the deportations of immigrants who had been arrested for traffic tickets and other low-level offenses. This directly contradicts ICE and Department of Homeland Security policy.

In public, ICE and DHS have repeatedly claimed that they are committed to discretionary policy:

• June 17, 2011: Morton outlined how ICE would carry out prosecutorial discretion and avoid deporting immigrants with little or no criminal record.
• August 18, 2011: DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano reiterated this policy with respect to DREAM Act-eligible youth in a letter sent to Senator Dick Durbin. She said: “The President has said on numerous occasions that it makes no sense to expend our enforcement resources on low-priority cases, such as individuals like those you reference in your letter, who were brought to this country as young children and know no other home. From a law enforcement and public safety perspective, DHS enforcement resources must continue to be focused on our highest priorities.”
• October 25, 2011: Napolitano testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on prosecutorial discretion, saying: “Each of these cases costs considerable taxpayer dollars, and those involving low priority individuals divert resources away from and delay the removal of higher priority individuals. The expenditure of significant resources on cases that fall outside of DHS enforcement priorities hinders our public safety mission by consuming litigation resources and diverting resources away from higher-priority individuals.”
• February 13, 2013: Napolitano testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee, once again upholding prosecutorial discretion.

The documents released by the ACLU prove renders this public record meaningless.

ICE officials in Washington approved of violations of this policy as egregious as combing through state driver’s license records for traffic offenses and establishing checkpoints for roadside apprehensions. In detention facilities such as Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Florida, NIYA found hundreds of cases who not only met the policy definition of “low-priority,” but also suffered medical complications resultant from the refusal of ICE to halt their deportation in order for them to receive treatment.

Morton’s violations of his own policies can only amount to incompetence or malfeasance. For these reasons, we are calling on Morton to resign or be removed from office.

In order for the administration to move forward on immigration reform, we must make a clean break with the past. We have no confidence in this administration to accomplish or implement immigration reform, the DREAM Act, deferred action or any other change to immigration policy while Morton remains the head of ICE.

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 NIYA Response to Secy. Napolitano’s Testimony: Applauds Broad Definition of Discretion

New definition could save Florida immigrant being deported tomorrow

 During her testimony before the Senate Judiciary hearing today, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano defined low-priority detainees in a way we have hoped she would for years: as someone who does not meet any of the “priority” enforcement categories. For one Florida immigrant being deported today, this could mean he gets to stay home.

“If they don’t fit any of the priority categories, their not a repeat violator, someone using the border as a revolving door, if they are not someone with serious misdemeanor conviction or felony conviction and if it was splitting up a family, that would be a low-priority matter,” Napolitano said in response to a line of questioning from Senator Dick Durbin.

We are learning today that Napolitano’s unwillingness to adhere to departmental policy thus far has ripped thousands of families apart that could have remained together. We expect this policy to be adhered to, especially as the administration pushes for immigration reform this year.

Baudilio Discua Andara was detained as a passenger in a car. He came to the US in 2007 seeking a better life, he has no prior convictions and has been an active member of his church. He has been detained at Broward Transitional Center since December and will be deported today.

Similarly, Yogesh Mistry, who fled India seventeen years ago and became a law abiding member of his community, is still in proceedings despite meeting Napolitano’s criteria.

A majority of the cases the National Immigrant Youth Alliance and DreamActivist.org take on would, according to Napolitano’s statement under oath, meet her definition of low-priority.

We hope that Napolitano maintains the definition of prosecutorial discretion she put forward today. As immigration reform returns to the public debate, the administration should apply its current discretionary policies in good faith in order to keep families together.

More on Yogesh Mistry:                                http://action.dreamactivist.org/florida/yogesh

More on Baudilio Discua Andara:             http://action.dreamactivist.org/florida/baudilio

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The National Immigrant Youth Alliance is an undocumented youth-led network of 27 organizations in over 24 states that organizes communities to fight deportation and against the criminalization of immigrants. As NIYA we believe the only way to safeguard our communities is to empower, educate and most importantly, escalate. 

‘Now is the time to move swiftly forward’

United Farm Workers President Arturo S. Rodriguez, who was invited to be with President Obama when he delivered his address on immigration reform at Del Sol High School today (Jan. 29, 2013) in Las Vegas, Nev., issued the following statement following the address. Thirty farm workers from across California who drove through the night to also be with the President accompanied Rodriguez.

We take heart from three commitments firmly articulated by President Obama in his address. Now is the time to move swiftly forward on a new immigration process in reality and not just preachment, a process that brings long-overdue recognition to hard-working, tax-paying immigrants whose hard labor and sacrifice feed all of America and much of the world.

1. We are cheered by the President’s insistence on a clear and unequivocal roadmap to citizenship.

2. We join President Obama in being encouraged by the bipartisan framework outlined by the senators on Monday. Yet we also applaud the President’s vow that if Congress does not act in short order, he will move forward with his own bill based on the principles he has outlined, and insist on a vote.

3. The bipartisan group of senators’ ambiguous and vague references to the existing H-2A agricultural guest worker program, and the suggestion that it should be replaced with a new visa program raises serious potential concerns for farm workers. The existing H-2A program contains a set of labor protections from abuse for farm workers from both sides of the border that were established during the Reagan administration and updated by the Obama administration.

What pleases us so much about President Obama’s remarks on this topic in Las Vegas is that he does not agree with the growers that a new visa program is needed and he does agree with the UFW that strong labor protections need to be continued.

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PRESS STATEMENT

For immediate release: January 29, 2013 Contact: Jorge-Mario Cabrera, 562-243-5559

jmcabrera@chirla.org

An American Century without an ‘us” vs. “them”

President Obama advances immigration reform principles to begin much needed work on humane, fair path to citizenship. Anyone can make America great, said the President.

Los Angeles – The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) described President Obama’s address on immigration Tuesday as a significant turning point in American domestic policy and a ray of sunlight at the end of a long dark tunnel that has kept so many families in the shadows for more than two decades. The following is a statement by Angelica Salas, executive director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), traveling with a caravan of community members and immigration rights leaders in Las Vegas.

“We welcome the President’s impassioned statements that America is ready to overhaul an immigration system that lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. We applaud the President’s inclusion of gays and lesbians as members of the family unit when applying immigration law and we agree with him that a path to citizenship should not become an insurmountable, extended ordeal.

We are saddened to hear the President still believes ‘smart enforcement’ is a priority. For the past decade, the United States has practiced only one single immigration policy: enforcement-heavy. In addition to the 1,580,359 immigrants deported during the past four years, many more families will be torn apart and never reunite if the mistaken notion of “back of the line” continues to permeate our idea of fair and tough immigration laws. Immigration reform can move forward without any out of step triggers that threaten to separate more families and delay a path to citizenship indefinitely.

Now that the Senate and the White House have shared roadmaps we can work with, it is time to get to the tough work of drafting legislation that best matches and serves our nation’s values and needs. We expect disagreements in Capitol Hill, but we will not tolerate partisan games. The American people expect their elected leaders to sit together and enact real and lasting solutions to the nation’s pressing issues.

Immigration reform is about opening opportunities for aspiring Americans to ‘write the next great chapter’ in our history. The huddled masses of yore are the aspiring citizens of today. The families that yearn to raise a family, build a house, send their kids to school, attend church, and pledge allegiance to this nation’s principles are the families that want to make sure ‘this century is like the last one: an American century” we can be proud of.”

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Moms Call for Inclusive Immigration Reform that Strengthens Families, Aligns with Our Nation’s Values

Las Vegas, NV – MomsRising today applauded President Obama for making immigration reform one of his top legislative priorities, and congratulated the bipartisan group of senators that drafted a framework for improving our immigration system that recognizes the need for continued collaboration to make our immigration policies more fair, just and reasonable.

“We are ready to advocate for legislation that would strengthen our families, our communities, and our national economy; and that includes a roadmap to citizenship for all aspiring citizens,” said Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director of MomsRising, a national grassroots organization with more than one million members working to increase family economic security.

Immigration reform is especially critical for immigrant mothers who work hard to contribute to our communities and care for their families, but who live in fear that any day they could be separated from their children.

An estimated five million children in our country live in fear of being separated from their parents. Currently more than 5,100 children are in foster care after having been being separated from their parents.

“Congress must come together to develop policies that are good for all our families, and recognize the damaging effects of separating American children from their parents or forcing them to start over in a country that is not their own,” said Mary Olivella, Chief Strategy Officer and Director of Diversity and Inclusion Campaign Initiatives for MomsRising.

“We need an immigration reform that is inclusive and aligns with the values of our nation while addressing the complex realities of hard-working families in the United States,” concluded Olivella, who attended the event in Las Vegas where President Obama made his announcement.

# # # #

MomsRising.org is an online and on-the-ground grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to achieve economic security for all families in the United States. MomsRising is working for paid family leave, flexible work options, affordable childcare, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes so many others. MomsRising also advocates for health care for all, toxic-free environments, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families. In 2012, Forbes.com named MomsRising’s web site as one of the Top 100 Websites For Women for the third year in a row.

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NIYA Demands that ICE Stop the Unjust Deportation of Celebrity Kat Stacks

ICE may deport Andrea Herrera, “Kat Stacks”, her for online persona

LOUISIANA—Andrea Herrera, better known by her alias “Kat Stacks,” may face deportation based on her public persona rather than the merits of her case. As a victim of sex trafficking as a minor and being a low-priority case, Dreamactivist.org is demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement stop pursuing her deportation and allow her to remain in the country.

“ICE is more interested in her public persona than they are in the merits of her case. This is an outrage,” says Viridiana Martinez, an organizer with the National Immigrant Youth Alliance. “She’s a victim of sex trafficking and a low-priority case. She has the exact kind of case the administration has promised not to pursue anymore.”

Herrera, 22, came to the United States when she was eight years old. At age fifteen, she was kidnapped by a pimp named “Prince” that forced her into prostitution. She was able to reunite with her family at nineteen, and has been attempting to recover ever since. As of today, Herrera has spent 22 months inside Lasalle Detention Center in Louisiana, harming her and further preventing her from living a normal life. She is away from her three-year-old son, who misses her dearly.

Herrera used her online persona to recover some of the humanity taken away from her as a victim of sex trafficking. In court, an expert witness stated that “…the persona, Kat Stacks, was a way for the Respondent to claim a little bit of the power that had been repeatedly taken away from her. It gave her a sense of empowerment and a sense of being able to control her own destiny.” Her family and counsel are pursuing a visa for Herrera as a victim of human trafficking. During her previous attempt to adjust status, the judge cited her persona instead as a reason to deport her, not as an attempt to cope with her trauma. “In sum, the Court finds that the Respondent’s behavior as an online persona is a significant negative equity,” court documents read. NIYA strongly disagrees.

A petition for Herrera can be found here: http://action.dreamactivist.org/florida/katstacks

Andrea has been tweeting from detention at @AdmireAndrea, rallying supporters with the Twitter hashtag #FreeKatStacks

The Herrera family is available for interviews upon request.

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Rosalina Cuellar de Osorio challenged the BIA’s interpretation of the CSPA in Matter of Wang before the 9th Circuit.  She initially lost before a three judge panel, but the court sitting en banc agreed to rehear the case.

A number of organizations submitted briefs in support of Cuellar de Osorio’s case, including DreamActivist.  DreamActvist was represented by Benach Ragland.

On September 26, 2012, the Ninth Circuit in a 6-5 split, overturned Matter of Wang in Cuellar de Osorio v. Mayorkas, stating:

“We conclude that the plain language of the CSPA unambiguously grants automatic conversion and priority date retention to aged-out derivative beneficiaries. The BIA’s interpretation of the statute conflicts with the plain language of the CSPA, and it is not entitled to deference.”

The Ninth Circuit now joins the Fifth Circuit in rejecting the position of the BIA. It will allow many young people who were the derivative beneficiaries of previous petitions filed for them to apply for a green card, even if they were aged-out of the process after they turned 21. This is great news for many young people, including many Dreamers, who would no longer have to face lengthy separation from their families and deportation from their homes.

The impact of this case is felt personally by many Dreamers, who have been aged-out of the process and thrust into removal proceedings.

“I still don’t know how to react. I’ve been fighting this for such a long time. My next court hearing is scheduled on October 11 and I will go to the Immigration Judge and tell her that I am ready to get my green card,” says Prerna Lal, a co-founder of DreamActivist, who aged out of an immigrant petition filed by her U.S. citizen grandmother back in 2001. By the time her mother was able to gain residency using the 2001 priority date, Prerna was over the age of 21 and USCIS refused to grant her a green card, placing her in removal proceedings, even while the rest of her family gained legal residency. If the Ninth Circuit decision stands, Prerna will now be able to use the 2001 priority date to prove to the court that she has been eligible for a green card for several years now.

On May 11, 2012, DreamActivist filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Cuellar de Osorio v. Mayorkas asking the Court to reject the Board of Immigration Appeals decision in Matter of Wang, which unnecessarily limited the class of individuals who could gain the benefits of the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA).  This represented the first time that a Court heard directly from Dreamers on a question of statutory interpretation and public policy.

For more information and for interviews, please contact DreamActivist at admin@dreamactivist.org