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A nonviolent campaign to end child prisons in America will begin outside the Dallas office of Congressman Pete Sessions next Tuesday, Feb. 13.

The coalition to Free the Children Now held its inaugural meeting today at the office of Dallas real-estate developer Ralph Isenberg. The coalition plans a sustained nonviolent campaign until children prisons in America are closed.

The first protests will be supported by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) , the League of United Latin-American Citizens (LULAC), and Rev. Peter Johnson.
In the second week of the campaign, protesters will add the offices of Congresswoman Eddie Bernice-Johnson while continuing outside Sessions’ office.

“We’ll grow from two offices to four the week after that,” said Isenberg by telephone Thursday night.

Each demonstration will have a similar style. Four people with signs saying “Free the Children Now” will stand silently with heads down while a fifth person answers questions and distributes literature.

“We’re working carefully on the body language so that we will send the exact same message at each demonstration,” explained Isenberg. Eventually the coalition wants to include all Congressional and Senatorial offices in Texas.

Free the Children Now also will plan to target presidential candidates who tour Texas in search of votes.

“We welcome any tips about when candidates are scheduled to come to Texas,” said Isenberg who can be reached via email at Hamtx44@aol.com

Further down the road, the coalition to Free the Children Now anticipates that the issue of child prisons will be added to the agenda for immigrant-rights mega marches being planned for April.

And when longtime civil rights activist Andrew Young recovers from recent health difficulties, the coalition to Free the Children Now expects to have his support in person.

“Andy Young called me to offer his complete support,” said Isenberg, adding that he coalition to Free the Children Now is gathering a committee of former civil rights advisors.–gm

Despite warnings that a bond hearing could result in weeks or months of extended detention for Salaheddin Ibrahim, it appears that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities may release him to family and friends on Friday.

But the optimism of observers Thursday has been mixed with fears of what could change over night.
On Thursday, family and friends raised money for the $30,000 bond “very quickly,” said Ahmad Ibrahim, Salaheddin’s brother. And they expected to have him home Thursday night. But paperwork was not completed in time to meet a deadline at the end of the business day in Dallas–a business day that ended sooner than expected.

Some fear had been expressed by the family lawyer and others that once a bond had been set the government would be able to hold Salaheddin over while they filed appeals. But that fear subsided when Judge James Nugent–as reported in the Dallas Morning News–seemed not impressed by alarmist attempts on the part of ICE prosecutors to portray Salaheddin as a risk.

The decisive question is whether the government’s failure to appeal the bond on Thursday will last through Friday morning, when the family returns to complete the bonding process.

Thursday’s tip about imminent release was apparently based on the fact that ICE was not appealing the bond and the anticipation that the family could complete the bonding process before close of business.

One ominous note that plays to the pessimist side is that ICE apparently closed early for bonding business on Thursday at 3pm.

Email from Rebecca Bernhardt, forwarded by Jay Johnson-Castro

We need your help urgently at a last minute event out at the Hutto Detention Facility in Taylor , TX tomorrow morning. We are staging a “rolling protest” for most of the day tomorrow, starting at 8 am. If possible, we’d like to have the heaviest presence between 10 am and 1pm. The address to the Hutto Detention Facility is 1001 Welch St. , Taylor TX.

This protest has been called to respond to several media tours of the facility scheduled to go on throughout the day tomorrow, the first one starting at 8 am. The folks running Hutto have been working for weeks to try to make the facility seem more decent, by doing things like painting and adding plants and disney posters. Please come out to show that we aren’t buying it and neither should the press.

“I’ve got my mother-in-law and her 11-year-old out from Hutto,” says Reza Barkhordari via cell phone Thursday evening. “I’ve been basically traveling on the road since yesterday evening trying to get the family back.”

The release of Nazmieh Juma Hazahza and her son Mohammad was made “quickly and without any preparation” Wednesday evening, says Barkhordari.
Following a call from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the pair were first picked up from the T. Don Hutto prison by Riad Hamad of the Palestinian Children’s Welfare fund and transported to the Austin home of Dr. Aman Attieh.

After being denied airplane tickets at the Austin airport, because they did not have proper identification, they were driven back to Dallas by Juma’s son-in-law-to-be Barkhordari.

“They’re doing good. They’ve been terrified and horrified but very happy to be out. And they are easing their way out of their whole mental confinement.”

Juma and Mohammad will be staying with relatives in the near future as they await word on possible release of father Radi and four adult children, including Reza’s fiancee Suzan.

“We had to let the apartment go, and put their things in storage, because we had no idea how long they would be in prison,” said Barkhordari.

“I’m letting them rest,” said Barkhordari. “They are very exhausted and tired.”–gm