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.
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Below is a letter that nearly 100 organizations across the state have endorsed supporting the demands of hunger strikers at the Mesa Verde Detention Facility in Bakersfield, CA. Strikers demand that Gov. Newsom and Attorney General Becerra take broader steps to protect detainees from COVID-19 exposure.
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
1303 10th Street, Suite 1173 Sacramento, CA 95814
The Honorable Xavier Becerra Attorney General
State of California 1300 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Governor Newsom and Attorney General Becerra,
On April 16th, 2020 the following statement was shared by detainees in the Mesa Verde Detention Facility:
As we continue our hunger strike inside Mesa Verde, it has come to our attention that the California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has sent a letter to DHS asking them to take action on ICE detention in California. We appreciate this effort, but DHS and ICE are well aware of what is happening inside detention centers in California and across the country, and have refused to act. We would like to remind Mr. Becerra that under California law his office has the right to inspect all immigrant detention facilities in the state, and to oversee the standards of care in these facilities. We ask Mr. Becerra’s office to join his own call to action and reach out to those of us who are currently held in immigrant detention facilities in his state, and help protect our due process and our struggle for freedom. His office can document what is taking place here, at a time when ICE is trying to deny our ability to organize and speak out. We also call on Governor Newsom to protect the health of everyone in California, including those of us in immigrant detention. He cannot leave these matters in the hands of private corporations, or a federal agency that does not care about us. We have asked them to take action every day and they have refused. That is why we are organizing and speaking out, just like many others in detention. While ICE works to undermine our resistance efforts, intimidate us and our supporters, and deny us our basic rights including access to commissary funds, we ask the Attorney General and the Governor to take concrete action. In solidarity with our brothers and sisters in detention and prisons in California and across the country during this desperate time. -Mesa Verde Detention Center, Dormitory C In the face of inaction by ICE, and negligence by for-profit operators, we join the call to action by individuals unjustly detained in Mesa Verde and appeal directly to your office to take concrete action. Our state is now home to the largest outbreak of COVID-19 in any immigrant detention facility in the country, with more than 19 people confirmed to have the virus in Otay Mesa. More than 90% of the 5,200 people in detention are held in private, for-profit facilities. These corporations operate with no transparency or accountability, and should not be tasked with making public health decisions for those in detention or the surrounding communities. California has the legal authority, and in fact the moral responsibility, to take action on this issue. As advocates, attorneys, and community members we urge you to use your authority to ensure the health and safety of those held in these facilities. If the state does not take clear and concrete action immediately, immigration detention, like other forms of incarceration, will become a death sentence.
Sincerely,
1. Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus
2. Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles
3. African Advocacy Network
4. Alianza Sacramento
5. Amigos de Guadalupe Center for Justice and Empowerment
6. Asylum Sponsorship Project
7. Bay Area Asylum Support Coalition (BAASC)
8. Black Alliance for Just Immigration
9. California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice
10. California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance
11. California League of United Latin American Citizens
12. California Sanctuary Campaign
13. Campaign for Immigrant Detention Reform
14. Central American Resource Center- CARECEN- of California
15. Centro Legal de La Raza
16. Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative (CVIIC)
17. Coastside Immigrant Advocacy Group
18. Comite VIDA
19. Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, Inc.
20. Council on American-Islamic Relations – California
21. Democratic Socialists of America Kern County
22. Detention Watch Network
23. Dolores Huerta Foundation
24. Dolores Street Community Services
25. Education and Leadership Foundation
26. Estamos Unidos
27. Faith In Action Bay Area
28. Freedom For Immigrants
29. Graton Day Labor Center / ALMAS
30. Human Agenda
31. Human Impact Partners (HIP)
32. ICE Out of Marin
33. Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
34. Immigrant Defense Advocates
35. Immigrant Legal Defense
36. Immigrant Legal Resource Center
37. Immigration Task Force (Monterey)
38. Indivisible Sausalito
39. Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
40. Kern Welcoming and Extending Solidarity to Immigrants (KWESI)
41. La Plaza: Nuestra Cultura Cura
42. Law Office of Helen Lawrence
43. Legal Aid at Work
44. McGeorge Community Legal Services
45. NorCal Resist
46. North Bay Organizing Project
47. North Bay Rapid Response Network
48. Open Immigration Legal Services
49. Pacifica Social Justice
50. Pajaro Valley Rapid Response
51. Pangea Legal Services
52. Peninsula Progressive Action Group
53. Public Counsel
54. Public Law Center
55. Raizes Collective
56. Rapid Response Network in Santa Clara County
57. Rapid Response Network of Kern
58. Rapid Response Network of Monterey County
59. Sacramento Immigration Coalition
60. Sacred Heart Community Service
61. San Joaquin College of Law – New American Legal Clinic
62. San Francisco Immigrant Legal & Education Network
63. San Francisco Public Defender
64. SIREN (Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network)
65. Solano County Rapid Response Network
66. SOMOS Mayfair
67. STEP UP! Sacramento 68. Street Level Health Project
69. Streetwide
70. SURJ Marin (Showing Up for Racial Justice)
71. The Multicultural Center of Marin
72. Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo Social Justice Ministry
73. UFW Foundation 74. USF Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic
75. Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy and Services (VIDAS)
76. Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club
77. West County Rapid Response[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[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:
_____
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.
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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_column width=”2/3″][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=”SEPTEMBER 10, 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″]Rob Bonta’s Assembly Bill 32 makes its way to the senate floor today. This bill upholds immigrant values and holds million-dollar corporations accountable for the atrocities they are responsible for, including death, within their immigrant prisons. Though we celebrate this bills potential and power, we must also reflect on its failure to honor commitments in the state and in our community towards decarceration. A safety valve amendment that would allow prisons to contract with private prisons betrays the bill’s intention to rid California of the dirty business of prisons-for-profit. AB32 aims to ensure California does not contract with any private companies to run detention centers and prisons, due to rising deaths and medical negligence at such facilities.
Despite a rising movement to end for-profit detention centers and prisons in the state of California, Governor Newsom sided with the private prison company GEO Group, by allowing a window by which Californian’s can still fall prey to their cages. Through an amendment presented last minute Friday afternoon, California’s carceral system would be allowed to contract with private companies if court-ordered population caps are reached.
In values and practice there is no such need for this amendment, given that decarceration efforts led by criminal justice advocates and even CDCR’s own reports demonstrate that the incarcerated population will decrease by 2023, thus far ensuring the cap will not be surpassed. The amendment highlights the threat corporate lobbying plays in California’s democratic process, the very week community packed Sacramento building hallways, GEO was buying support against AB32 in the capitol. This also undermines the work being led to ensure California reaches population zero, such as SB136. Also known as the RISE Act, SB136 presented by Scott Weiner would reduce 136,000 years of prison time if passed, and can lead to the liberation of up to 10,000 folks in CA prisons today. SB136 is the real solution to ensuring California’s prison system have no reason to contract with violent companies such as GEO. CA values will only be upheld if Governor Newsom alongside AB32 alongside SB136.
Given this amendment, we need bolder commitment from Newsom to ensure that cap is not met. This can only happen if we ensure decarceration becomes a priority for California, if it is to truly stand against the hate of the administration.
No human being should be subject to the violence experienced at the hands of private corporations looking to make profit off of caging people up. California has the opportunity to ensure this is the case, and it will take AB32 but it will also take a bolder commitment to reach population zero by passing and signing policies such as SB136 , to truly ensure California is equitable to all, including migrants and other communities of color.
Collectively, these bills will make California a better and safer place. We must lead the nation in enacting bold policies and boldly enforce those policies despite the profit-driven efforts of multimillion dollar corporations like GEO to keep our country grid-locked in a xenophobic cycle of decline.
[/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_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vcex_spacing size=”15px”][vcex_heading text=”by SANDY VALENCIANO” 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=”AUGUST 16, 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″]This morning, California Governor Newsom and Attorney General Xavier Becerra challenged the Trump on their racist public charge policy, in another effort in California’s so called “resistance” against the administration. As an undocumented immigrant that calls California home I feel like much more is needed from my state to protect my community.
With a rise in white supremacist violence targeting communities of color, the time is ripe for us to direct our outrage towards efforts to unravel the very structure that has allowed white supremacy to thrive in the United States to this very day: mass incarceration.
Though there is an illusion to the general public that both the criminal justice and immigration systems are broken, they have in fact been functioning as designed. Namely, to criminalize and incarcerate poor people of color. To make matters worse, private companies have built a business model around this racialized system, adding industrial fuel to an already detrimental operation.
Without acknowledging that these money-driven systems have been working towards the advancement of a white supremacist agenda, people of color will continue to be subject to state-sponsored and other forms of extremist violence. Failing to recognize this is what makes even well-meaning politicians fail to get at the core of the problem of mass incarceration and the ever-escalating mass detention of migrants.
Earlier this month, Governor Newsom met with law enforcement to discuss public safety, instead of consulting directly with advocates who have been building real public safety solutions with low-income communities of color, those most vulnerable to violence. Leaving out those perspectives is exactly why California still holds such high incarceration rates even at a global context, surpassing countries such as the United Kingdom, France, and Canada. This also explains why California holds the second highest immigration detention population in the nation.
To an extent, the state claiming to be the resistance against Trump is keeping the tools he’s using against our communities thriving.
There are several reasons why this is taking place, including the lack of stern accountability and oversight over private prisons in California. Despite a 2-year investigation into immigration detention centers in the state (majority run by a private company named GEO Group), California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s many investigations concluded much of the same information local organizers and advocacy groups had already unveiled: facilities are inadequately kept and not up to basic standards.
This is allowed to happen because elected representatives are heavily influenced by the California Sheriff’s Association, notorious for having strategy meetings with the Trump administration. During his term, Governor Brown failed to adequately address California’s prison pipeline by continuously being guided by the Sheriff’s Association, who has been proactively working to end criminal justice and immigration reform efforts throughout the state.
The truth is that the solutions to these problems will require nuance that state officials cannot resolve by simply having conversations with one another. They need the guidance of those of us who work and build better visions of the future with those most directly impacted by mass incarceration.
This is why despite grassroots advocacy, recorded cases of abuse, and even thorough reports, leadership in California is still falling short in terms of putting bold decarceration solutions forward that will actually benefit Californians. Governor Brown’s lack of criminal justice reforms dated back to his years as Attorney General in the 70’s, and we now urge Governor Newsom to turn the tide and take bold policy action against the radical hate plaguing the nation.
With such an important federal election ahead of us, California leadership cannot step backwards on our push for a more just world. The only way this can be accomplished is by no longer allowing the California Sheriff’s Association to so heavily influence the bold policies we put forward. Especially given the fact that the current president of the Association, Sheriff Livingston, is under fire from local Contra Costa residents for unexplained deaths at the county’s jails and collaboration aimed at aiding direct transfers from local jails to ICE despite sanctuary policies.
California’s trajectory can no longer fall in line with supporting law enforcement’s questionably far-Right agenda, which continues to push for no accountability. It must instead invest in the communities that make up California’s population to seek solutions. To fail to do so will ensure threats to communities of color continue to flourish, and make California vulnerable to Trump’s racist rhetoric.
In order for California lawmakers to truly lead a fight against Trump, they must recognize that they are not the resistance, those of us organizing on the ground are. If they really seek to resist a fascist agenda, they must stop taking the direction of facist organizations. As Trump’s reelection campaign continues to spread his violent hate-filled propaganda that will continue to incite white supremacist terrorism, the California legislature must meet him with bold policy.
This legislative cycle is an opportunity for California to do just that; to truly put its values into action, taking a proactive approach against the administration’s violent rhetoric targeting the very communities that make us such a vibrant state. How California defends its values depends on the leadership that Governor Newsom will show in getting guidance from those us at the forefront of this resistance.
It will also depend on how bold the legislative branch of California is when protecting efforts like ending prison enhancement through SB136, or passing and signing AB32 to completely divest California from private companies who profit off of the incarceration, detention, and deportation of our communities.
Furthermore, we will need Attorney General Bracera to set strict oversight over law enforcement that holds them accountable for violating the state laws meant to protect our communities. This will ensure that the gang regulations being negotiated do not give ammunition for law enforcement to further criminalize communities of color using databases.
The hate-filled world we find ourselves in now did not come out of nowhere; communities of color have been fighting against this apparatus for decades now. However, Trump has escalated it to the openness by which it operates now, and we need to meet that with bold strides against the systems that help propagate it. It is the responsibility of California policymakers to push forth policies that highlight our vision of the future.
Leave the resistance that will create an environment for these policies to us.
[/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;}”]SANDY VALENCIANO is a crimmigration strategist, currently the Statewide Coordinator for the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance. [/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 width=”1/6″]
[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]
[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1525199274516{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”1325″ css_animation=”fadeIn” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1525199482691{margin-top: 10px !important;border-top-width: 10px !important;}”][vcex_heading text=”by SANDRA DE ANDA” 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_1560616864973{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}” font_size=”14″ inner_bottom_border_color=”#777777″][vcex_heading text=”MAY 16, 2018″ 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_1526446958306{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_1560624527373{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}” font_size=”d:16|tl:16|tp:16|pl:16|pp:16″]“Today is seemingly quiet,” thinks Samantha to herself, as she sips her soy green tea latte at a local coffee shop. She shrugs and thinks nothing of it. She had just come back home to Santa Ana after graduating from college with the Class of 2045. At the coffee shop she peers over someone’s shoulder, because she hadn’t seen anyone read a newspaper before. The man being peered over noticed, chuckled to himself, and said under his breath, “It’s vintage, you know.” The NYT Headline of the Newspaper Reads: “This City is 10% Latino Now, and The Face of a New California: Santa Ana, in Orange County, has an all Latino City Council and Stands in the Vanguard of a California Where Latinos Have No Influence in their Everyday Lives.” Samantha is taken aback by the headline, almost coughing up her drink. She runs out of the coffee shop heading to her parent’s apartment with her luggage in tow. As she continues to run to the nearest bus stop, she realizes there are no bus stops. There are only bird scooters. On one of the nearest buildings, she sees a poster with a green parrot graphic that reads, “Bounty of $100 for each parrot caught alive.” She looks up and realizes that these winged beasts are no longer speckled on the telephone lines. They are gone.
She tries grappling with this new knowledge, by investigating what other changes have unfolded in her hometown. She tries to see if she can still find the edifice that casts the longest shadow: the Watertower. She looks north, shielding her eyes from the sun, and finds out that in its place is a gigantic plasma television blaring commercials. “Head East!” Blares one commercial, depicting a big neon mustachioed cowboy riding a horse with covered wagons behind him. “It is your destiny! Free shuttles to Riverside and Moreno Valley every hour, every day, except for Sunday (we’re having brunch!)”
“Es un verano silenciosa, el nido está roto. Es un verano silenciosa, el nido está roto,” the wind whispers to Samantha.
This has not happened — yet. And it may not unfold in this particular way for what I have depicted is gross hyperbole, but some sentiments of which I have depicted above are happening. The stories of our communities are palpable when our history is cherished. They may be the only remnants that linger once many of us get displaced during a rabid process of gentrification, which is why I’ll tell you a little bit about the three generations of my family.
* * *
My grandmother Berenice and my grandfather Antonio met in downtown Santa Ana in the 1950s. My grandmother had just gotten out of a tumultuous marriage back in Sinaloa. She lived in a pueblo that can only be compared to Juan Rulfo’s depiction of Comala in his work Pedro Paramo: “That town sits on the coals of the earth, at the very mouth of hell. They say when people from there die and go to hell, they come back for a blanket.” Her tia told her to cross over, to leave her marriage behind and live with her in an apartment close to downtown. Crossing back then, my grandma says, was not difficult. You just used a citizen’s ID, fell asleep in the car so the border official wouldn’t question you, he’d try to match a face with an ID, (all sleeping brown faces look the same to them) and then BAM! you wake up in the US. Santa Ana is only two hours away from the border, so she was home before she knew it. My grandmother raves that Santa Ana had a vibrant Mambo dance scene in the 1950’s. The city of Santa Ana was in full swing; the wave of McCarthyism could not touch the hottest clubs playing Perez Prado, Tito Puente, and Tito Rodriguez. My aunt advised my grandmother from going to the clubs saying that she would fall in love with another tall stranger who would destroy her life all over again. Eventually she did go to the club and eventually she did fell in love again, with a tall man from Zacatecas, which spurred this monstrosity of a life that can only be tamed by my grandmother’s tongue.
The couple returned back to Sinaloa, because there was land back there and my grandmother wanted to emancipate herself from her aunt’s judging eyes. She birthed 4 children in the pueblo of La Concha in the late 1960s into the 1970s, where men would hop buses thinking 400 pesos will be more than enough for the journey to the US. These men and their crumpled up Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz bills were never seen again. Then she birthed four more children in Santa Ana years later. The last child of the litter was my mother, named after the protagonist of a Cuban-Mexican film named, “Sandra, La Mujer de Fuego.”
My grandparents traveled back and forth from the pueblo to the city over a period of 15 years. On the 14th year of this traveling period, my mother ran away from home. My grandfather had created an empire that brought violence unto the family, and my mother wanted no part of it. She ended up meeting my father that same year at an 80’s club in Buena Park. (Everytime my dad and I drive past Knott’s Berry Farm, he mentions how there used to be a club there.) My father was from Culiacan, but crossed over to find a job. His cousins were already living in Santa Ana, so he got a job at a factory alongside them. To this day, he still works at that same factory. This should not be the most notable thing about him though; he was a renowned boxer in Mazatlan. They called him “el alacran” because his left hook stings and sinks. After crossing over he became involved in the break dancing scene, where he helicoptered with his amber scorpion necklace.
This pair ended up settling down close to West 7th St. one block away from where the recent Bristol Parcels are being debated for public land usage. When the third child of the family was born, there was not enough space for us in my aunt’s back house anymore. My parents applied to live in South Minnie Street, now known as Cornerstone Village after the so-called beautification process.
We grew up with a police station right smack in the middle of our apartments, and with missionaries from Mariners Church who would give us christmas presents if we enrolled in the learning center. Army recruiters would post up in our neighborhoods, knock on our doors asking if we had a 16 year old in our household, offering us MRE’s. Many adolescents fell for the American dream the army was selling; my brother would fall for it 12 years later.
Minnie Street was a diverse community of Mexicans, Salvadorans, Cambodians, and Guatemalans. Eventually what used to be $400 rent per one bedroom apartment, became close to $1000. Many residents who refused to pay these expensive rents, chose to move to more affordable cities like Moreno Valley or Riverside, where rents continue to rise as well. Many communal economies disappeared with the wave of migration going east towards those cities, while others, like the grocery trucks , the hidden pupuserias and tamalerias, and some curanderas are still there.
At times I run into people who walk through Minnie Street to reminisce about their first home. They point and they say I used to live here. They point at these ghosts of themselves, at the memories that yawn in the crevices. I used to live here too, but I left because I was sold a myth that everything that you want to be and what you want to do with your life is out there, not here.
It is too late for epiphanies; it is time for action. This node in which many of our families have migrated to and in the process displaced a large vibrant black community, is in danger of no longer being the equipped nest that waits for migrating birds. As best described by my friend and comrade Jose Servin, who inspired me to write this piece, the next steps towards preservation of this nest, of our home that holds so many generations of diverse populations and many versions of ourselves, is “pooling resources and drawing from the cunning and resiliency of our ancestors, while at the same time purging ourselves of their traumas, insecurities and prejudices.”[/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_1560616905824{padding-right: 25px !important;padding-left: 25px !important;}”]Sandra De Anda is a community organizer and longtime CIYJA supporter from Santa Ana, CA. [/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”][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_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[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″]On June 9th, Valeria Suarez–an undocumented and queer organizer–was detained by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) on her way home from Puerto Rico, where she celebrated having recently graduated. Like many undocumented folks who travel within the United States, both with or without DACA, she traveled with her passport from her country of origin.
Upon returning home, TSA Agents singled out Valeria for using her Peruvian passport and reported her to Customs and Border Patrol. It is important to note that TSA has no requirement to refer people to CBP and clearly targeted Valeria for being an immigrant. What was supposed to be a simple domestic flight resulted in the 12-hour detention of Valeria after they noted she had overstayed her visa. The agent had the power to let Valeria board her plane without notifying CBP, and safely travel home, but instead decided to profile her and intervene in her celebratory trip.
As she was being transferred over to CBP, Valeria contacted CIYJA and within minutes we were able to mobilize our community. Hundreds of calls generated within hours began to flood the CBP office, so much so that TSA could no longer contact CBP to detain another individual. The rally call: #FreeValeria began trending on Twitter nationally.
This became the leverage we needed to pressure them to release her that day, before transferring her over to an ICE detention facility in Florida. Every single call, tweet, and share played a pivotal role in ensuring CBP knew that they would not be able to get away with their usual shady practices when apprehending immigrants.
Valeria was not new to these sorts of campaigns, having organized them to free others before (i.e. #FreeFloricel, #FreeLuis). Because of this, she knew she had the right to remain silent while detained, and knew to ask to call an attorney. She also knew not to sign what is known as a Voluntary Departure Form, which would have initiated her deportation proceedings. Valeria’s knowledge of her rights ensured that we had the opportunity to free her within 12 hours.
As such, we would like to remind our undocumented youth to continue informing their loved ones on the protections granted to them by both state and federal laws. To remind them that though we are undocumented, we have certain constitutional rights. ICE depends on fear to keep immigrants quiet when facing injustices at their hands, so spread power, not panic.
Having collectively freed Valeria is a testament to the power undocumented people have to free our own. It was an undocumented attorney who represented her, undocumented people who made the original call to action, and undocumented people who engaged the most with our call to action. In short, it showed us the power we have to free our own despite the consistent attacks against our migrant communities. It displayed before the public what happens when #IllegalTwitter becomes a collective front against the apparatus seeking to destroy our communities.
Many of our accomplices joined in our fight, and trusted the leadership of undocumented folks. They didn’t claim to speak on behalf of our community, but instead allowed the people most impacted by the violence of global displacement to guide the strategy.
Though Valeria still has a long legal battle ahead of her, she fights it outside of detention thanks to all those who engaged in her campaign. She fights it with her family, with her loved ones, and with all of those who are willing to fight alongside her moving forward.
We hope you can join us in fighting alongside one of the fiercest organizers we know, who continuously puts her body on the line for the liberation of the most criminalized by the state. [/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_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Press Statement
For Immediate Release:
March 28, 2019
Contact: Dianey Murillo, dmurillo@06d.b80.myftpupload.com, 951-742-1848
Jose Servin, jservin@06d.b80.myftpupload.com, 714-728-2520
RIVERSIDE — The California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance today released the following statement in response to the announcement by the city council of Adelanto on the termination of the agreement between them and ICE to detain immigrants for profit:
“The city of Adelanto must go further than pull out of this immoral contract. The future of those detained is in the hands of the local city government that profited off of the incarceration of immigrants for over 8 years. Without local city oversight, an unchained ICE agency, along with human rights violator GEO will surely begin to treating inmates more ruthlessly than before. Now that this terrible contract has ended, council members must join their community and demand that ICE take responsibility to release all immigrants detained inside and commit to not expanding their ruthless enterprise in California.
Last year, the notorious Adelanto Detention Center was the subject of a damning report that among other things, found nooses in holding cells despite the facilites long history of suicide incidents. These conditions violated ICE’s own detention standards, conditions which surely motivated the city council’s decision to suddenly end this contract in closed session without opening up the item for discussion.
We will not give in to ICE’s fictitious claims that shutting down immigrant prisons harms our communities. We demand that ICE release every person detained in Adelanto so that they may fight their case outside of detention, alongside their community and legal representatives.”
“The fight to #ShutDownAdelanto has been a long lasting effort to denounce the cruel and inhumane conditions forced on detained folks,” said Dianey Murillo, a regional organizer in the Inland Empire for the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance. This community will continue to denounce these abuses and make sure that the City of Adelanto, GEO, and ICE responsibly terminate and close the facility in a just and humane way.”
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