Category: Uncategorized

Editor’s Note: Email from Irma Muniz received on Dec. 18:

Dear Friends:

Ramsey Muñiz is going on two weeks in solitary confinement. We seek prays for him, as the suffering is intense. The lockdown has come about because of the hostility of others. Ramsey has been unable to call home or receive visits until further notice. The letters that I share have been written under extreme suffering.

To send encouragement and photographs, write to Ramiro R. Muniz – 40288-115, FCC Beaumont – Medium, P.O. Box 26040, Beaumont, TX 77720.

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“Where are you, mi raza hermosa? I continue after 16 ½ years to suffer in this imprisonment of oppression and injustice. I was confined for many years in the dungeons of America. Where are you mi raza hermosa? The chains, shackles and continuous solitary confinement presently endured has become a part of my life in darkness and agony. Where are you, mi raza? Many in the so called free world speak of and advocate freedom and justice, yet they refuse to look into this world of mine. Where are you mi raza? Know in your heart that it is my destiny in life to live and die for your freedom, justice, and love in this world.”

Ramsey R. Muñiz – Tezcatlipoca
12/12/10

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December 8, 2010

My most powerful love:

Even though I’m confined in solitary, our love has been the most powerful and profound freedom in my heart. You are constantly in my mind and corazon. At times I find it hard to study because my mind wanders off with you. Be that as it may, please know that these are the times when I become a stronger Mexicano in all aspects of life. I’m amazed that I find myself wondering how in the world I was able to survive the three years in the dungeons of Leavenworth. There is no question in my heart that the Creator has a purpose in my life not only for myself but for all humanity.

“All humanity is united with divinity. I’m fit for the mode of oppression and darkness by the indwelling of the holy spirit.”

“In the prisons of the oppressor, John the Baptist was the same in his loyalty to God and his zeal for righteousness as when he preached God’s message in the wilderness. In his faithfulness to principle, he was as firm as a rock.”

Tezcatlipoca

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Don’t ask me why or how, but I’m convinced that Dr. Salvador Alvarez was preparing me for these days and weeks to come. He is quite impressed with our studies pertaining to our entire spirituality. He constantly states that from my birth it became a part of my life and that is the reason I have so much love in my heart regardless of the dungeons, hunger, chains, shackles, darkness and oppression. Yes, there are times when I seek the relief of my hunger, but in my heart I remembered that it is written — man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word “proceedeth” out of the mouth of God. I’m praying that we be released before Christmas but it is hard to tell. Incidents were serious – the same that is happening throughout the world today. Ask others to join me in prayer asking God to continue giving me His profound spiritual strength and power to overcome these injustices on my life.

“It is moral worth that God values. Love and purity are the attributes He prizes most. John the Baptist was great in the sight of the Lord. Before the messengers from the Sanhedrin before the people, and before his own disciples, he refrained from seeking honor for himself, but pointed all to Jesus as the “Promised One.” His unselfish joy in the ministry of Christ presents the highest type of nobility ever revealed in man.”

Tezcatlipoca

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December 12, 2010

Mi Amor, mi Corazon:

Please promise me not to be saddened. Be brave and proud to know that we are most powerful spiritually and there is nothing that can defeat this love of ours not only for ourselves but for all of humanity.

“Christ’s work testified to His divinity. Through Him the Father has been revealed. If the disciples believed this vital connection between the Father and the Son, their faith would not have forsaken them when they saw Christ’s suffering and death to save a perishing world. Christ was seeking to lead them from their low condition of faith to the experience they might relieve if they truly realized who He was – God in human flesh.”

Christ, who was also confined in the dungeons of the oppressor, came to break the shackles of sin, slavery, and oppression from the soul.” If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be, indeed.” The law of the spirits of life in Jesus Christ set us ‘free from the law of sin, oppression, and death.’ (Rom. 8:1)

Amor,
Ramsey – Tezcatlipoca

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We sent the Office of the Pardon Attorney evidence in the trial transcript. During the 1994 trial, the prosecution withheld information that would have revealed the culprit that was allowed to go free and Ramsey Muñiz was incarcerated for life without parole. What will it take for President Barack Obama to provide assistance?

www.freeramsey.com

Editor’s Note: In the following letter to the ICE Director in Phoenix, immigration advocate Ralph Isenberg of Dallas, TX states his case for the immediate release of Hector Lopez from a detention facility in Florence, AZ.

In the letter Isenberg offers to take responsibility for any transportation or monitoring costs that would be involved in releasing the 21-year-old college student. Isenberg also discusses contradictions in immigration policy. On the one hand the President has announced a policy of discretionary lenience for undocumented college students who have grown up in the USA. On the other hand, immigration officials appear to be under continued pressure to meet deportation quotas.

Isenberg has been involved in immigration advocacy since the time he successfully campaigned to have his wife returned from China. Since that time, Isenberg has been active in the successful campaign to release all children from the T. Don Hutto detention center in Taylor, TX.

Isenberg is also active in efforts to return American dreamer Saad Nabeel to the USA where the young man will be able to complete his engineering studies and strive for admission to Stanford graduate school.

Meanwhile please share the need to send holiday cards to Hector for as long as he remains wrongfully detained. –gm

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December 13, 2010

Katrina Kane
Field Office District Director
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Phoenix, AZ 85004

RE: Hector Lopez A 074809057

Dear Ms. Kane:

I write in support of your office using the discretion it has to immediately release Hector Lopez. While not an attorney, I am familiar enough with current policy and procedure to know you have it within your power to honor my request.

I am willing to take responsibility for Hector and make certain that he has both shelter and the means to return to Arizona immediately should you require his presence. I am also willing to reimburse the government for reasonable expenses associated with alternative methods of detention like ankle bracelet, home call-in or home visit. It is incumbent that we bring a quick end to his detention.

Hector Lopez may not be an American citizen but he is as American as you or I. I believe that he finds himself detained through no fault of his making and perhaps even through no fault of his parents. As I understand the facts, his parents did in fact enter the United States without proper documentation but they later tried to correct that situation and become documented.

The parents dreamed of a day when they would all be Citizens of the United States. They hired a family attorney to handle their immigration matters who was later punished by the Bar of California for not notifying clients of pending immigration hearings. The family was ordered deported by an Immigration Judge for failure to attend a hearing that the Lopez family had no notice of. Hector was a mere child when this happened.

Ineffective assistance of counsel and failure to get notice are grounds that should result in the case being reopened. In the meantime, it is clear that you have it within your discretionary power to release Hector. There are other factors that I believe should weigh in his favor. The family has never hid from immigration or done anything to hide their identity. Their social security cards came from the Social Security Administration and their driver licenses came from the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicle.

The family has always paid taxes. Mr. Lopez worked for the same company for seventeen years and his wife worked in a similar fashion until three years ago when she opened a small family owned convenience store. Their two sons have always been model students. I also find it interesting that the Lopez children do not speak Spanish. Their parents raised them to know and understand only one culture. That culture is the American way. This is the type of family every American would welcome as their next door neighbor. Hector is a person of the highest moral character and will not be a flight risk. I trust the above stated is sufficient evidence to compel you take do the right thing and release Hector.

I also believe that the deportation of Hector was flawed because Hector Lopez is a Dream Act student. Less than two weeks before Hector was deported, the President of the United States delivered a speech at the University of Texas that stated Dream Act students would not be deported. On the same day, the New York Times reported that the Obama Administration would not be deporting Dream Act students. “In a world of limited resources, our time is better spent on someone who is here unlawfully and is committing crimes in the neighborhood,” John Morton, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said, according to the New York Times. “As opposed to someone who came to this country as a juvenile and spent the vast majority of their life here.” During the same period of time scores of Dream Act students have been granted various kinds of deferred action by District Directors, such as yourself, around the country.

I have been at a loss to explain why Hector was deported until I read the Washington Post last week. In an article entitled “Unusual Methods Helped ICE Break Deportation Record” it was reported that ” ICE officials realized in the final weeks of the fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, that the agency still was in jeopardy of falling short of last year’s mark, they scrambled to reach the goal. Officials quietly directed immigration officers to bypass backlogged immigration courts and time-consuming deportation hearings whenever possible, internal emails and interviews show. ICE also ran a Mexican repatriation program five weeks longer than ever before”. I find it interesting that the Seattle District Office might have been under unusual pressure to produce results in that they had a new Director assume office in July of 2010. Hector Lopez was deported at the height of this deportation frenzy. We owe it to Hector to grant him relief if there is one shred of truth to the Washington Post report.

As for the asylum claim, I believe it best to let the experts interview Hector and determine for themselves whether his fears are real. Obviously, he is at a distinct disadvantage being forced to live in a culture that he neither speaks the language nor understands. The fact that he would rather sit in a detention center in Arizona than be free in Mexico speaks volumes about what must be going on in his mind. When I read the headlines that speak of the terror going on in Mexico I am thankful he is out of there. The violence in not limited to a certain part of the country. I also know that the Department of State still has active travel advisories associated with these conditions.

The danger to Hector is not just gang related. There are political parties, currently not in power, that blame and target everything American. Such activity is particularly present on various university campuses around Mexico. I question how Hector can get a quality education in Mexico and not find himself in danger. I am confident that if Hector is treated fairly, unlike what happened to him at the border when a Border Patrol Agent tried to fool him into signing deportation documents, he will be granted asylum. Beyond the asylum claim, I believe Hector is eligible for other forms of relief. Hector Lopez is deserving of your help. To hide behind the use of discretion, when it is available to you, for cases like this would not be right.

Family unification has been a fundamental cornerstone of our immigration policy since inception. It is basic to our way of life and must not be ignored. Too often those involved in immigration tend to forget the words of our forefathers as expressed in the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. “Due process of law is something that applies to all people that happen to find themselves on our soil. Too often those involved in immigration tend not to ask what was the intent of Congress when asked to make a decision. Congress has always given the immigration decision makers broad discretionary powers for a reason. We know that no two immigration cases are ever alike and that some fall between the cracks of common reasoning and are deserving of special attention and action. Such is the case of Hector Lopez.

Allow me to discuss one doctrine which I think speaks directly to the case of Hector Lopez. We have on our books a form of relief known as Humanitarian Reinstatement. I realize that the rules speak to when someone is applying for admittance to this country and the petitioner dies. But I also feel that the evaluating criteria used for such requests is powerful and shows the intent of Congress when it comes to families. The factors that our Congress asks immigration officials to consider are very much on point to the case of Hector Lopez.

It is clear there has been a disruption of an established family unit. There is also an extreme hardship created for the younger Lopez child who is an American citizen. Hector has no home to go to. It would also appear that there is going to be delays associated with processing his case. Finally, Hector has strong family ties in the United States. I believe these ties go beyond his immediate family and include his girlfriend, friends, classmates, fellow workers and the community at large. Surely there must be some provision within the massive discretions you have that can be granted to Hector.

To Hector you are the most powerful person in the world. With the stroke of a pen you can set him free and give this young man his freedom back. Hector has demonstrated great courage so far. He has done everything asked of him. I am very proud of him. He is my hero. His detention must end now. I always say that in life there is right and there is wrong and there is the right thing to do. In my heart I have got to believe you understand what I am talking about and will do the right thing.

Kindest Regards,

Ralph Isenberg
Dallas, TX

Civil Rights Groups Call on Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Karnes County to Reject Private Detention Center

AUSTIN – Texans United for Families and Grassroots Leadership, two civil rights organizations, today called on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Karnes County to reject an Intergovernmental Service Agreement to construct a new 600-bed for-profit immigration detention center in Karnes City, Texas. The groups will speak in opposition to the proposed detention center at the Karnes County Commission meeting Tuesday, December 14th, at 9:00 am at the Karnes County Courthouse.

GEO Group, the private prison company that will build and operate the facility, has a track record of abuse, deaths in custody, and mismanagement at their Texas prisons and detention centers which have led to several lawsuits. Just last week, the GEO Group – along with Reeves County and the Federal Bureau of Prisons – was sued on behalf of the family of Jesus Manual Galindo, an immigrant who died at the GEO Group’s Reeves County Detention Center after he was put in isolation and not provided medication to control seizures. Galindo’s death was the 9th death at the Reeves County detention center in recent years.

“Karnes County is setting itself up for a potential lawsuit if it enters into a contract with a troubled for-profit prison company known for human rights violations,” said Geoff Valdes, a Texans United for Families member. In addition to last week’s Reeves lawsuit, Val Verde County was sued due to the death of an immigrant prisoner at its GEO Group detention center.

The GEO Group has had at least six contracts in Texas ended in recent years. The suicides of Idaho prisoners Scot Noble Payne and Randy McCullough and subsequent investigations into “squalid” conditions led to the closure of GEO’s Dickens County and Bill Clayton detention centers. In 2007, the GEO Group-run Coke County Juvenile Justice Center was shuttered by the Texas Youth Commission after a damning investigation into conditions at the youth detention center.

“Karnes County has not even had a discussion or a public hearing on the implications of entering into a long-term agreement with a company like GEO,” said Rocío Villalobos of Texans United for Families. “The Karnes County Commission should delay any move until a full investigation into the impacts of such a contract can be completed. The history of human rights violations at for-profit detention centers demonstrates that immigration detention will never be ‘civil’ and endangers human lives.”

A year ago, ICE announced sweeping reforms to its immigration detention system and a desire to move away from contracts with isolated detention centers. The Karnes County immigration detention center was announced last week as a “civil” detention center for low-level immigration detainees.

“No matter how soft the detention center, people who should not be locked-up are being detained for profit. We call on ICE to prioritize release and community-based alternatives to detention that allow people to remain in their communities awaiting their hearings,” said Bob Libal of Grassroots Leadership. “These programs are proven to be more humane and less costly.”

Source: Press Release from Bob Libal.

(Dallas, Texas) – Join us in sending Hector Lopez a holiday greeting while he awaits his release from an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention facility in Florence, Arizona. Please send Hector a greeting card so he knows he is not alone in his struggle. Join with the people of Oregon, Texas and Florida as we send this young man hope during this holiday season. We hope to send him 1,000 greeting form all of his supporters.

Feliz Navidad Hector Lopez

(Dallas, Texas) – Accompaniaños en mandando saludos a Hector Lopez mientras espera su liberación de ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) en Florence, Arizona. Por favor envie a Hector un a tarjeta de saludo para confirmar que no esta solo en su batalla. Accompañe con la jente de Oregon, Texas y Florida asi le mandemos esperanza entre estos dia festivos. Esperamos mandarle 1,000 tarjetas de todos los que lo apoyan.

Please send your greeting cards here:
Por favor envie su tarjeta aqui:

Hector Lopez
A074809057
3250Pinal Parkway
FLORENCE, AZ
85132

Source: Press Release from Ralph Isenberg