Deaths in ICE Custody

A report by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security noted that four out of the five facilities it investigated had "instances of non-compliance" regarding health care, "including timely initial and responsive medical care."

ICE has confirmed that there have been 63 deaths of immigrants in custody since 2004.

Sandra M. Kenley, a legal resident in the U.S. for over 30 years, was taken into custody for two old misdemeanor drug convictions, which together are a deportable offense. She had been clean for three years, completed a nursing course and had gained custody of her 1 year old granddaughter. Before her detention she was being treated for high blood pressure, a fibroid tumor and uterine bleeding, and was scheduled for surgery. Her detainment in Virginia disrupted her treatment and she died in 2005 from an enlarged heart caused by her untreated hypertension.

Young Sook Kim, about 60 years old, died in federal custody in a New Mexico facility on September 11th, 2006. According to her cell mates, she had been pleading with officials for medical attention for weeks, which she received only after her eyes had yellowed and she had stopped eating. The autopsy revealed that she had pancreatic cancer.

Abdoulai Sall, 50, whose lawyer petitioned officials for medical attention, died in a detention center in Virginia on December of 2006 from a serious kidney ailment that worsened as it went untreated.

In the last month there have been three documented preventable deaths of immigrant detainees in ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) custody.

Victoria Arellano, an HIV+ transgender woman living in California who officials housed in the male facility, was denied her antibiotics and given medical attention only after 80 of her fellow detainees organized a protest as she was vomiting blood. She died on July 20th, shackled to her hospital bed.

Rosa Isela Contreras was 7 weeks pregnant when she lost conciousness after complaining of leg pain. She died on August 1st.

Edman Alves de Araujo, an epileptic man living in Massachusetts, was arrested by local police at around 2 pm on August 7th. His sister brought his medication to the station as soon as she heard, and pleaded with police saying that he couldn't skip a single day. They turned her away and handed Edman over to ICE at 3 pm. He was pronounced dead at 4:18 pm, but his family did not find out until the next day.

These deaths, regardless of one's opinion on immigration, are abhorrent and cruel.

Facts about undocumented immigrants in U.S.

Immigration raids and deportations split families apart.
According to a 2004 study by the Pew Hispanic Center, there are 3.1 million U.S. born (citizen) children with at least one parent in the country illegally.

The U.S. economy relies heavily on undocumented labor.
Estimated 70% of farm workers in the U.S. are undocumented.
Only 2% of all farm workers in the U.S. come on the guest-worker program.
apples

Undocumented put more into the system than they take out.
Undocumented immigrants put in $7 billion more into Social Security than they take out.
They put $1.5 billion more into Medicare than they take out.
A study by The National Academy of Sciences found that immigrants' tax payments are greater than all costs of services they use.

ICE AGENTS STRIKE NORTH CAROLINA IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES

Statement by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union - August 22, 2007

Washington, DC: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are raiding communities today in St. Paul and Lumberton, North Carolina, demonstrating, once again, the abject failure of the U.S. immigration system. Instead of doing the hard work of immigration reform, the federal government is conducting middle-of-the-night raids in North Carolina designed for headlines that fuel discrimination and cast suspicion on anyone who looks different or has a name that's hard to pronounce.

ICE officials arrived in the dead of night at local mobile home parks, targeting areas heavily populated by poor immigrant workers and their families, and arresting people in their homes. Eyewitnesses report that ICE agents forced women to leave their children. Meanwhile, residents are afraid to leave their homes.

Worksite law enforcement and other ICE actions around identity and immigration issues are a symptom of a failed immigration system, and no substitute for comprehensive reform. They
represent a form of political theater that ends in real human tragedy: the devastation of communities, breakup of families, and the defilement of fundamental American values.

Congress has failed to demonstrate the necessary leadership and persistence to fix our broken system. The UFCW will continue to fight for reform that ensures that all working people - immigrant and native-born - are able to improve their lives and realize the American dream.

For more information contact Jim Papian 202-466-1564 or press@ufcw.org.

Geraldo vs. Tancredo, Pt 1

Geraldo Rivera is really surprising me (in a good way) by his stance on immigration and not backing down. This is a clip of Rivera confronting presidential candidate Rep. Tancredo (R), Colorado on Wednesday 8/22/07. The topic is sanctuary cities, focusing on the NJ triple homicide. As a response to Tancredo's assertion that Newark's sanctuary city status is to blame for the crime, Rivera replies,

"Two points. First of all, this was the 60th homicide in Newark this year, and I'm sure Congressman Tancredo has not opined about any of the other homicides, and only became interested in this one when it became clear that one of the six alleged perpetrators came to this country illegally at the age of 11. That's one thing.

Number two, why was this person, this one of the six around to commit this hideous crime? He was out because he had a 31-count indictment for the rape of a child, and he was out on $15,000 bail, instead of the requisite $450,000 bail that he never could have made and never would have been on the street.

It had nothing to do with his immigration status. And it's just being used by advocates of this crushing anti-immigration policy to make a cheap political point."

Well said.

Fear and Mistrust of Police

This story is a perfect example of how state and local police enforcement of immigration law fosters fear and mistrust of the police in the immigrant community. It also shows just how unjust and inhumane the current policy is.

GA Immigration Law Breeds Fear, Mistrust