CIYJA - California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance
We are the 14 immigration attorneys, undocumented organizers, and supporters who locked ourselves to each other and to the gate of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s mansion Monday morning, demanding he use his authority to protect the lives of people who are currently incarcerated in California state prisons and detention facilities.
[vcex_spacing size=”15px”][vcex_heading text=”by CIYJA Staff” style=”bottom-border-w-color” tag=”h2″ italic=”true” text_align=”right” font_family=”Crimson Text” font_weight=”normal” text_transform=”none” color=”rgba(9,30,20,0.55)” css=”.vc_custom_1539289509003{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}” font_size=”14″ inner_bottom_border_color=”#777777″][vcex_heading text=”Last updated: March 17, 2020″ tag=”h2″ text_align=”right” font_family=”Crimson Text” font_weight=”normal” text_transform=”capitalize” color=”rgba(9,30,20,0.55)” css=”.vc_custom_1539289521335{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}” font_size=”14″][vcex_spacing size=”15px”][vc_column_text css_animation=”none” font_family=”Crimson Text” css=”.vc_custom_1540929993941{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}” font_size=”d:16|tl:16|tp:16|pl:16|pp:16″]
***En español abajo.
As COVID-19, more commonly referred to as the “coronavirus,” begins to make its impact in the United States, we want to take this moment to remind undocumented youth and their families to prioritize their health to the best of their abilities.
Though health access for our community has been long fought for, there are still gaps that leave us specifically vulnerable to health threats, such as this pandemic. From medical neglect at private detention centers, to being less likely to be allowed to stay home from work, undocumented people face challenges that are specific to our community that we want to to address and ask allies to pay particular attention to amidst the panic.
Amongst these challenges, here are some of the obstacles that affect undocumented immigrants the most:
Not all of us can take paid time off.
As we use social distancing to minimize the risk of spreading the virus, this also means undocumented people might have had hours reduced at work, or have been completely cut off from being able to work. We understand that this might create financial instability, and want to encourage folks to utilize crowdsourcing online (using pages such as GoFundMe, or personal Venmo accounts) to reach out for support. If so, please feel free to tag CIYJA on any posts you would like us to uplift, and we would ensure to push out on our platforms.
Cities like San Francisco are protecting tenants from evictions during these times, we want to also encourage folks to (safely) organize their apartment complexes, units, neighborhoods to demand landlords hold off on rent for the next few months as we collectively work through this pandemic. The governor of California has encouraged localities to halt evictions, slow foreclosures, and protect against utility shut offs during this time, so we encourage folks to reach out to landlords and inform them of this.
Additionally, this resource guide is an ongoing piece, so if folks are aware of any other resources that could provide monetary relief for these families, please feel free to reach out to us at info@06d.b80.myftpupload.com.
Limited health access for undocumented people, especially those detained.
Though the fight to provide health access to undocumented people continues to wage on, we still face certain gaps to getting the full coverage we deserve. However, we want to remind undocumented people that they still qualify for emergency Medi-Cal. This means that should a loved one (specifically immunodeficient individuals such as our elders or loved ones with diabetes) is experiencing flu-like symptoms, you should not hesitate to get them to get medical assistance in California!
For those who have loved ones that are detained, we want to affirm to you our commitment to demand their liberation. Detention facilities, especially private ones, are notorious for medical negligence. This is an opportunity for this country to act boldly in ensuring this global health crisis gets responded to with compassion and humanity. Help us demand they all be released by signing this petition!
Our families deserve to be healthy, together. The mental strain of separation is especially fervent during crises such as this, so make sure you’re checking in with your loved ones during this period of collective isolation.
CIYJA is committed to protecting our community’s health by doing the following: adhering to medical asks to keep our community safe; continuing to monitor ICE and the treatment of detained folks; uplifting crowdsourcing pages of community members who’ve lost their jobs during this time; sharing resources that are specific to the undocumented community; and sharing information that is not centered on panic, but awareness.
Especially in times of crisis, we remain committed to our abolitionist goals and in the liberation of our community. While we join efforts to self-isolate to protect the most vulnerable members of the community, we will continue to mobilize digitally to fight for a better world.
RESOURCES:
Northern California
Southern California
Los Angeles
Riverside
Moreno Valley
Coachella
Central Coast – Monterey County
Central California
Statements and demands to end immigration detention and incarceration:
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A medida que COVID-19, comúnmente conocido como el “coronavirus”, comienza a tener su impacto en los Estados Unidos, queremos aprovechar este momento para recordarle a los jóvenes indocumentados y sus familias que protejan su salud lo mejor que puedan.
Aunque se ha luchado por el acceso a la salud de nuestra comunidad, todavía hay brechas que nos dejan específicamente vulnerables a las amenazas a la salud, como esta pandemia. De la negligencia médica en los centros de detención privados hasta los efectos económicos de no poder trabajar, las personas indocumentadas enfrentan desafíos específicos que queremos recalcar..
Entre estos desafíos, estos son algunos de los obstáculos que más afectan a los inmigrantes indocumentados:
No todos podemos tomarnos tiempo libre pagado.
A medida que usamos el distanciamiento social para minimizar el riesgo de contraer el virus, esto también significa que las personas indocumentadas pueden perder horas de trabajo o haber sido temporalmente dejadas de su trabajo. Entendemos que esto podría crear inestabilidad financiera, y queremos recomendar que utilicen el “crowdsourcing” (colaboración abierta/participativa) en línea (usando páginas como GoFundMe o cuentas personales de Venmo) para buscar ayuda. Si esto es lo que sus familias deciden, siéntanse libres de etiquetar a CIYJA en cualquier publicación que desee que elevemos, y nos aseguraremos de publicar en nuestras plataformas.
Ciudades como San Francisco están protegiendo a los inquilinos durante estos tiempos, también queremos recomendarles organizar (de forma segura) a los inquilinos de apartamentos, unidades y vecindarios para exigir que los propietarios no cobren renta los próximos meses mientras trabajamos colectivamente para superar esta pandemia. El gobernador de California ha alentado a las localidades a detener los desalojos, retrasar las ejecuciones hipotecarias y protegerse contra el cierre de servicios públicos durante este tiempo, por lo que guiamos a la gente a comunicarse con los propietarios e informarles sobre esto.
Esta guía de recursos es una pieza comunitaria, por lo que si la gente conoce otros recursos que podrían proporcionar un alivio monetario para estas familias, nos pueden contactar a info@06d.b80.myftpupload.com.
Acceso a la ayuda médica para las personas indocumentadas es más complicada, especialmente las detenidas, ¡pero hay recursos!
Aunque la lucha para el acceso a la salud para las personas indocumentadas continúa, aún enfrentamos ciertas dificultades para obtener la cobertura completa que merecemos. Sin embargo, queremos recordarle a las personas indocumentadas que todavía califican para Medi-Cal de emergencia. Esto significa que si un ser querido (específicamente personas inmunodeficientes, como nuestros abuelos o seres queridos con diabetes) está experimentando síntomas similares a los de la gripe, ¡no debe dudar en pedir asistencia médica en California!
Para aquellos que tienen seres queridos que están detenidos, queremos darle nuestro compromiso de exigir su liberación. Los centros de detención, especialmente los privados, son notorias por negligencia médica. Esta es una oportunidad para que este país actúe audazmente para garantizar que esta crisis mundial de salud sea respondida con compasión y humanidad. ¡Ayúdenos a exigir que todos sean liberados firmando esta petición!
Nuestras familias merecen estar sanas, juntas. La tensión mental de la separación es especialmente ferviente durante una crisis como esta, así que asegúrese de consultar con sus seres queridos durante este período de aislamiento colectivo.
CIYJA se compromete a proteger la salud de nuestra comunidad haciendo lo siguiente: cumplir con las solicitudes médicas para mantener a nuestra comunidad segura; continuar monitoreando a ICE y el tratamiento de personas detenidas; publicar en nuestras plataformas las páginas de crowdsourcing de miembros de la comunidad que han perdido sus trabajos durante este tiempo; compartir recursos que son específicos de la comunidad indocumentada; y compartir información que no se centra en el pánico, sino en la conciencia.
Especialmente en tiempos de crisis, seguimos comprometidos con nuestros objetivos abolicionistas y para la liberación de nuestra comunidad. Mientras nos unimos a los esfuerzos para autoaislarnos y proteger a los miembros más vulnerables de la comunidad, continuaremos movilizándonos digitalmente para luchar por un mundo mejor.
[vcex_spacing size=”15px”][vcex_heading text=”by Dignity Not Detention Coalition” style=”bottom-border-w-color” tag=”h2″ italic=”true” text_align=”right” font_family=”Crimson Text” font_weight=”normal” text_transform=”none” color=”rgba(9,30,20,0.55)” css=”.vc_custom_1539289509003{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}” font_size=”14″ inner_bottom_border_color=”#777777″][vcex_heading text=”FEBRUARY 19, 2020″ tag=”h2″ text_align=”right” font_family=”Crimson Text” font_weight=”normal” text_transform=”capitalize” color=”rgba(9,30,20,0.55)” css=”.vc_custom_1539289521335{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}” font_size=”14″][vcex_spacing size=”15px”][vc_column_text css_animation=”none” font_family=”Crimson Text” css=”.vc_custom_1540929993941{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}” font_size=”d:16|tl:16|tp:16|pl:16|pp:16″]
Alliance of local farmworkers, formerly detained immigrants defeat GEO Group’s bid to expand immigration detention in McFarland, CA
McFarland, CA–Immigrant rights advocates are celebrating a significant victory this week in the town of McFarland, CA, where courageous grassroots organizing by hundreds of local residents – including many farmworkers who dedicated hours to outreaching door to door – led to a surprise defeat for multi-billion dollar corporation GEO. The controversial company had sought permission from the local planning commission to turn two soon-to-close local prison facilities into immigration detention centers, pre-negotiating an agreement with the commission.
However, in what a local news report called a “stunning turn of events,” an outcry from farmworker residents led to a 2-2 split at the commission, effectively defeating GEO. While GEO has vowed to appeal the denial to the City Council, McFarland’s Mayor resigned today in the wake of the community outcry.
The proposed expansion of the detention centers has been slammed as an illicit attempt to skirt California’s AB 32, which bans for-profit detention centers and prisons.
Immigrant rights organizers say the victory points to a powerful trend: workers flexing their muscles to achieve broader social justice aims. Many migrant workers had made it clear they would leave McFarland, fearing detention capacity would increase ICE enforcement in the region. It was testimonies from these local farm workers that had an impact on Commissioner Rudy Nuñez to vote deny the permit.
“We want schools, not immigration detention centers,” McFarland farmworkers resounded in chants and testimonies, arguing that those of the sorts of jobs the city should be investing in.
“Our strength is in community,” said Doña Teresa Figueroa, resident of McFarland and Faith in the Valley, who organized local community members. “It’s important to not be afraid, and to have faith in the people, in God, and in the work that we are doing when we put people over profit.”
The Dignity not Detention Coalition, made up of local, state, and national organizations, worked to pass AB 32, and is standing with local activists in McFarland; in Adelanto, which faces a vote tonight, and across the state.
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”1350″][vc_column_text][vcex_spacing size=”15px”][vcex_heading text=”by CIYJA STAFF” style=”bottom-border-w-color” tag=”h2″ italic=”true” text_align=”right” font_family=”Crimson Text” font_weight=”normal” text_transform=”none” color=”rgba(9,30,20,0.55)” css=”.vc_custom_1539289509003{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}” font_size=”14″ inner_bottom_border_color=”#777777″][vcex_heading text=”JUNE 14, 2019″ tag=”h2″ text_align=”right” font_family=”Crimson Text” font_weight=”normal” text_transform=”capitalize” color=”rgba(9,30,20,0.55)” css=”.vc_custom_1539289521335{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}” font_size=”14″][vcex_spacing size=”15px”][vc_column_text css_animation=”none” font_family=”Crimson Text” css=”.vc_custom_1540929993941{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}” font_size=”d:16|tl:16|tp:16|pl:16|pp:16″]
The following statement in support of AB-32 is issued by the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance:
CALIFORNIA– As California policymakers end their summer recess, they will have the opportunity to help lead the nation against private detention centers and prisons. AB-32, which would prohibit the use of all for-profit, private detention facilities in the state, will be making it to the senate floor early September.
The measure, authored by Assemblymember Rob Bonta, (D-Oakland), gets at the heart of one of the main drivers of mass incarceration in our state and in our country: private prison companies. As the nation begins to wake up to the reality of countless individuals suffering in state-sponsored concentration camps, it is imperative that policy makers take drastic measures in ensuring that no facilities continue to be in operation in our state and in our name.
Mass incarceration is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Advocates recognize immigration detention as an extension of the for-profit prison industrial complex that disproportionately affects Black communities in the United States. These carceral systems are inextricably tied to the abonimable institution of slavery and the systematic exploitation of people since the country’s founding.
The caging of many of our communities has led to the illicit prosperity of a few at the expense of all. If we are to demand that the inhumanity of migrant detention must end, we must simultaneously demand that all private cages, be they criminal or civil, be dismantled, and community-led alternatives to incarceration be developed and implemented.
The amended AB-32 introduced by Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) aims at doing exactly this. Californians have a right to demand that the sufferings of our communities not be a profiteering mechanism for private prison companies such as GEO Group, who have come into our state to wreak havoc. To make matters worse, private prison companies are shielded from scrutiny as they are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act or open records laws. Therefore, they are rarely held accountable for their documented track record of inhumane conditions, which federal and independent monitors have routinely exposed.
For years now, GEO Group has been running private concentration camps where migrants have been held up indefinitely with little to no access to their loved ones and the outdoors, and where they are routinely denied medical assistance that oftentimes lead to their deaths. Last month, a thorough report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General highlighted the “egregious” conditions at Adelanto Detention Center, where make-shift nooses were not an uncommon find in the cells.
At Mesa Verde Detention Facility, a current chicken pox outbreak has led to the isolation of detained individuals forcing them into quarantine, causing them to miss critical court hearings. Chicken pox outbreaks are common at GEO facilities, where medical negligence leads to quarantines that then intervene in immigrants’ due process rights.
GEO Group is attempting to dramatically expand these facilities despite outrage from community members. This is why California, as the state with the largest number of immigrants, must take a stand that reflects our values, and not those of a Florida-based company that is only concerned about its bottom line.
For a while now, the language of “security” and “safety” has been used to criminalize communities of color and disproportionately incarcate them. This administration is now weaponizing these terms to justify the illegitimate detention of migrants seeking refuge, highlights the malleability of this criminalizing propaganda.
The reality is that there is no need to detain migrants seeking political asylum or otherwise, given that crossing the border without documentation is merely a civil offense. Furthermore, ICE has prosecutorial discretion power to release all immigrants immediately, so that they may fight their legal battles outside of these deplorable conditions. The idea that they must be detained at all is a falsehood that ICE and GEO Group have collaborated in normalizing for the purpose of profiting off of the misery and desperation of migrants.
We refuse to give into this falsehood and demand that all currently being detained at GEO Group and all other privately operated facilities in California to be immediately released back to their families and communities; we demand all existing GEO Group facilities to be closed down, and kept from ever torturing human beings the way they’re currently doing to migrant communities and other communities of color.
The time is ripe to abolish these for-profit cages in California, and we must meet the extremism of the president by limiting the power he holds to keep our communities hostage for political leverage.
[/vc_column_text][vcex_spacing size=”20px”][vcex_spacing size=”20px”][vcex_spacing size=”20px”][vcex_heading text=”ABOUT THE AUTHOR:” tag=”h2″ text_align=”left” font_family=”Crimson Text” font_weight=”bolder” text_transform=”capitalize” color=”#072824″ css=”.vc_custom_1525156357047{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}”][vc_column_text font_family=”Crimson Text” css=”.vc_custom_1540925369778{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}”]CIYJA STAFF is comprised of immigrant youth across the state of California, fighting for the liberation of all immigrant communities. [/vc_column_text][vcex_spacing size=”20px”][vcex_heading text=”ABOUT OUR CONTENT:” tag=”h2″ font_family=”Crimson Text” text_transform=”capitalize” color=”#072824″ css=”.vc_custom_1525156404548{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}” font_weight=”bolder”][vc_column_text font_family=”Crimson Text” css=”.vc_custom_1525819240900{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}”]We aim at becoming a platform for directly impacted immigrant youth across California to reclaim their narratives and speak on the issues that most affect them. If you’re interested in submitting an opinion piece or need support in turning your ideas into one, reach out to info@06d.b80.myftpupload.com. and specify on the e-mail subject.[/vc_column_text][vcex_spacing size=”20px”][vc_single_image image=”760″ img_size=”thumbnail” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_hover=”shrink” link=”https://ciyja.org”][/vc_column][/vc_row]