Category: Uncategorized

By Nick Braune
Mid-Vally Town Crier
by permission

The July 8th front page of McAllen’s paper, The Monitor, had an article, ‘Border Patrol May See Surge,’ discussing a proposed increase (surge) in numbers of Border Patrol agents. This momentarily caught my attention for two reasons.

First, the U.S. has not done well with surges lately: ‘The Surge’ in Iraq has produced nothing but a resented brutal lockdown of Baghdad and its suburbs. And secondly, I always suspect there are too many Border Patrol agents already.

But the article kept my attention. I take it that a private contracting company, DynCorp International of Virginia, is sending out press releases (basically advertising itself) hoping to be hired by Homeland Security in this border region. It is offering ‘to train and deploy 1,000 private agents to the U.S.-Mexican border within 13 months, offering a quick surge of law enforcement officers to a region struggling to clamp down on illegal immigration.’

Note that the company thinks we don’t know that the 100,000 private contractors in Iraq, with at least half of them doing policing and fighting functions, have a horrible reputation. (See the documentary ‘Iraq for Hire.’)

DynCorp, it seems from The Monitor, is touting its mercenary — ‘we’ll fight anyone for pay’ — experience in Iraq and says that many of their cadre have law enforcement backgrounds and are licensed officers. (The company does not use the term ‘mercenaries’ however, preferring terms like ‘officers,’ ‘private agents,’ and ‘contract agents.’ The company also does not say what countries the mercenaries are ‘licensed officers’ in. These big contractors recruit from all over the world; Latin America and Fijian mercenaries have made the news lately.)

To the credit of the Border Patrol, their spokesman told The Monitor that they do not need outside help from private contractors like DynCorp and are recruiting and training new people every day. This claim, however, contains a untruth. The Border Patrol has already contracted ($50 million) to Wackenhut/GEO, a notorious private policing and jailing corporation, for transporting migrants back to Mexico. (Tucson Weekly, May 3, 2007)

So much for the claim that the Border Patrol doesn’t need help from private contractors; in the past, transporting migrants to Mexico was done by the Border Patrol itself. To the credit of The Monitor, it quoted a critic, a sociologist studying the border region, who said that private contractors wouldn’t have the proper training for this work. The critic was also quoted as taking a dig at the National Guard troops supplementing the Border Patrol, reminding us that three guardsmen recently were arrested on suspicion of smuggling immigrants in Laredo.

Three admittedly impressionistic responses:

First, on the Border Patrol itself: I am unconvinced that their agents, in contrast to the mercenaries, are much better trained and ‘professional.’ (I have watched their uniformed agents accepting free coffee and discounts on sandwiches…a sure sign of problems.) And I believe, once again, that there are actually too many of them driving around in vans and standing around at the checkpoints already.

Secondly, on the mercenaries — they’d be worse. Even if they were trained to Border Patrol standards, do we really want these mercenaries, who have been in Iraq (maybe helping at Abu Ghraib while reading ‘Soldier of Fortune’ magazine) patrolling our Valley? The humanist philosopher back in the 1500s, Erasmus of Rotterdam, referred to mercenaries as ‘vile excrement of criminality holding life less dear than a small piece of profit.’ (They could write caustically in those days.) The ‘for sale’ mercenaries Erasmus saw coming back from fighting in the Middle East seemed horrifying to him, emotionally contorted.

Thirdly, because border leaders have had such a bad experience with privatized prisons, I would think they would be wary of privatizing policing functions as well. Just last week a prison in Spur, Texas run by contractors (Wackenhut/GEO, which is part of the mercenary business.) was blasted in the press by the State of Idaho. Idaho has sent overflow prisoners to Texas, but one of them committed suicide recently causing Idaho to investigate the treatment. Investigators were shocked, calling it the worst facility they had ever seen.

This is the second scandal in a Wackenhut/GEO prison in Texas triggered by a suicide. A previous suicide, in Val Verde County, apparently resulted from sexual abuse. Our political leaders should be wary of private contractors promising to provide low cost social services.
(Here are the first two sentences of a 1999 Gregory Palast article on Wackenhut: ‘New Mexico’s privately operated prisons are filled with America’s impoverished, violent outcasts – and those are the guards. That’s the warning I took away from confidential documents and from guards themselves who nervously spoke on condition that their names never see the light of day.’)

The importance of The Monitor article: using private contractors directly for border immigration policing is now being publicly floated. Beware. The article even reports that one congressman, Mike Rogers (R-Ala), is authoring legislation mandating the use of ‘contractors’ by the Border Patrol, if hiring goals are not met. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rogers wants to deputize the Minutemen.

Email from Jay Johnson-Castro

Today we celebrate World Refugee Day…

Freedom Ambassadors are grateful to Amnesty International for their support in this celebration…here in Texas…at the Hutto prison camp that imprisons innocent children from all over the world…and their mothers…who are seeking asylum.

Freedom Ambassadors will keep celebrating the World Refugee Day to the end of the week…when we hold Hutto Vigil X in Taylor, TX on Saturday, June 23…sponsored by Amnesty International. Hutto Vigil X is essentially an all day event. The Amnesty International sponsored program is from 1-3pm. We expect a record turnout…in solidarity with the children immorally and criminally imprisoned there by Chertoff and ICE.

Then, as many that can, Freedom Ambassadors will head down to Raymondville, TX on June 24th where 2000 refugees from some 50 countries are imprisoned by Chertoff and ICE in a 10-tent concentration camp. We will join up with the Valley coalition that will be holding a vigil from 6-8pm.

The attached statement (below) and letter which features the innocent little victims of Chertoff and ICE is from Amnesty International. The Amnesty International contact information follows at the end of this letter.

In every other country of the world…we call them refugees. As Americans…we sincerely want to help. The elitist supremacists call refugees in America “illegals”…thereby desensitizing the Americans’ natural spirit and desire to reach out and help. This allows ICE to inhumanely round up refugees in American..and imprison them in “for-profit” concentration camps.

We do not really celebrate this inhumane treatment of refugees in America by Chertoff and ICE. We celebrate their inalienable rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.

Freedom Ambassadors will be launching our new web site this week. Stay tuned.

Hoping to see you Saturday and Sunday…

Jay

---

Amnesty International USA’s
REFUGEE ACTION

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Ste. 500
Washington, DC 20003
T. 202.544.0200
F.202.546.7142
E-mail. refugee@aiusa.org

June 18, 2007

UNITED STATES: Oppose the Detention of Refugee and Migrant Children

SUMMARY: Amnesty International is concerned about hundreds of migrant children and their parents who are detained at the Don T. Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas. The Hutto building used to hold criminals before being converted to a temporary residence for refugee and migrant children. Children from Central America and other parts of the world including Greece, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq, Russia and Romania are detained at Hutto in prison cells for months at a time.

BACKGROUND: Every day, the United States government detains over 600 migrant children and their parents who are asking permission to remain here legally. Some families flee violence and war in their home countries and come to the United States hoping to be protected by our government. Others come because they want to have a better life than they left behind. When immigration officers find families who don’t have permission to stay, they can lock them in facilities like Hutto until they decide whether to allow the families to remain in the U.S. Sometimes this process can take years.

The detention of families expanded dramatically in 2006 with the opening of the new 512-bed T. Don Hutto Residential Center. Prior to the opening of Hutto, the majority of immigrant families were arrested and then released from custody while they worked through their immigration cases. Hutto is a former criminal facility that houses immigrant children in prison cells. Some families with children have been detained in the facility for up to two years. The majority of children in the facility appear to be under 12 years old.

According to international standards to which the United States has agreed, asylum seekers, in particular, are not to be detained unless warranted by special circumstances. Migrants in detention are to be afforded the same rights as nationals who are detained, and even in detention, children have the right to be with their families, to get an education, to have recreational time, and to live in a place that is safe.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please contact the Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, asking the government to stop holding migrant children and their parents in prison-like facilities. You can also copy your letter to the head of Hutto, and the Juvenile Coordinator for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

SAMPLE LETTER:

Michael Chertoff, Secretary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
245 Murray Lane, SW
Washington, D.C. 20528

Dear Secretary Chertoff:

I write with regard to the detention of migrant families and children in the Don T. Hutto Detention Facility in Taylor, TX. Since Hutto opened, the detention of families in the United States has increased. The use of a prison-like facility that has not been updated to meet the needs of detained migrants and asylum seekers is not appropriate, especially for children. The majority of children detained at Hutto appear to be under 12 years old, and they have a right to be with their families in a place that is safe, with education and recreational opportunities.

Additionally, I remind you that international standards for the treatment of asylum seekers recommend against detention except under special circumstances. And migrants in detention are to be afforded the same rights as nationals who are being held.

I urge you to investigate the conditions at Hutto to determine whether it is appropriate to hold migrant families with children there, and if not, to resolve the situation immediately.

Thank you for your prompt attention to my concerns,

cc:

Simona Colon
T. Don Hutto Residential Center
1001 Welch Street, P.O. Box 1063
Taylor, TX 76574

John Pogash
ICE National Juvenile Coordinator
Department of Homeland Security
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
800 I Street NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20536

Email from Jay Johnson-Castro.

Hola y’all…

Here you are. The official itinerary for Hands Across el Rio…a 1250 mile…17 day protest against the border wall. See the border ambassadors web site.

We are not launching as early as anticipated…but the launch date is going to be worth the weight. Yesterday, we received the commitment of El Paso to support our project with a press conference on August 25th and a send off on August 26th. Folks in the Big Bend region want to support the Presidio-Ojinaga event on August 28th. Both Mayors of Del Rio and Ciudad Acuña are pledged to support the event 31st. Mayor Chad Foster of Eagle Pass is in touch with the Alcalde of Piedras Negras to receive us on September 1st.

Mexican Congresswoman, Maria Dolores Gonzales-Mendivil will lead the coordination of Los Dos Laredos Hands Across el Rio on September 2nd. She is also coordinating support to the four Mexican neighboring states of Texas , the alcaldes along el Rio Bravo (mayors on the Mexican side) and Mexican consuls. We’re lining up similar commitments from Roma-Miguel Aleman, Rio Grande City-Camargo, Los Ebanos-Diaz Ordaz, McAllen/Hidalgo-Reynosa on down to Brownsville-Matamoros on September 8th. We will finish our journey at the mouth of the Rio Grande at Boca Chica on Sunday, September 9th.

LULAC National, Rosa Rosales , President and Jaime Martinez, Treasurer, have committed their support of Hand Across el Rio. The same is true of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. We anticipate the support of many other organizations and coalitions, from environmental, cultural, economic, political, faith-based, and tourism.

With the exception of El Paso y Juarez…we will launch kayaks and canoes upriver from each principal international pedestrian bridge. Any one who wants to join our flotillas for any portion or any day of this historical event is welcome to do so. Kayaks, canoes, inner-tubes. We will paddle down river to each international bridge respectively and meet up with fellow grass roots citizens from both sides of our Rio who are opposed to the wall. As we experienced in Roma and Miguel Aleman this past weekend…we will be inviting the grass roots folks from both sides of el Rio…to form a human chain in symbol of our border solidarity and amistad.

As Mayor Chad Foster says…”We’re joined at the hip”. That’s something that folks like Lou Dobbs and members of Congress who have never lived inside the checkpoints do not understand. Our Congressmen and Texas legislators from the border region have spoken out against the border wall. The Texas Border Coalition of our border mayors, judges and economic experts have all spoken in our behalf…in solidarity…against the wall. Our border sheriffs have spoken out against the wall. No one in Washington is listening to them. Now…we the people of the Rio Grand Corridor…from both sides of el Rio…must make our voices heard. “NO Border Wall…!” “Hell NO!!!

We can tell the Congress and the national media all day long that we who live on the border live in friendship with our neighbors on the other side of el Rio. We can tell them that we don’t want to be in a militarized zone…on American soil…here in Texas . Now…we will show them why we don’t need one. We get along just fine!

En amistad and solidarity…

Jay

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jay J. Johnson-Castro, Sr

(830)768-0768

jay@villadelrio.com

After the fireworks of July 4 have fallen back to earth, high summer in Texas will demand hard thinking about how people in a “land of the free and home of the brave” are supposed to act.

In early July, citizen-workers at the Swift meat cutting plant in Cactus, Texas will argue why their racketeering lawsuit against company management should not be dismissed.

Valenzuela, etal v Swift (3:06-cv-02322) was filed in the federal Northern District of Texas last December, alleging that managers of the butcher corporation have been hiring migrant workers in an effort to depress wages.

Lower wages would be the most obvious cost-cutting benefit of hiring migrant workers, but it is also cheaper to supervise workers less likely to demand their rights to workplace health and safety.

For named plaintiffs in the lawsuit — Blanda Valenzuela, Margie Salazar, Jose A. Serrato, Josie Rendon, Clara Tovar, Consuelo Espino, Maria Avila, Ernestina Navarrette, Maria E. Munoz, Amanda Salcido, Candelario G. Ortega, Maria Ortiz, Jose Oliva, Rafaela Chavez, Elodia Arroyo, Susana Cardiel, Gracie Rios, and Leonel Ruiz — the Swift company’s hiring practices deliberately undermined the value of workers.

A Dallas Observer story by Megan Feldman, “Ground Meat,” really digs into the guts of the Cactus butcher factory, where workers are ever slipping onto gore-strewn floors, or ruining their own tendons as they cut into cow carcasses at a rate approximating 400 per hour.

About the same time that the federal court will be updating the Swift worker lawsuit, the United Nations will convene the first meeting of its Global Forum on Migration and Development.

Session 1.3, for example, “aims at some best policy guidelines for governments to engage with the private sector to the mutual advantage of migrants, host communities, employers and developing economies.”

“This session will address the following questions: How can private sector and other non-state agencies better ensure that migrants are well informed and protected from abusive and malevolent practices (e.g. at the hands of smugglers or traffickers), both in their migration and the job placements abroad? How to balance facilitation and control of these players to help them facilitate beneficial and protective migration without further driving such agencies underground.”

As a working idea, we look forward to July’s high summer as a time for “free and brave” assertions about respecting rights of workers, for citizens and migrants alike. Otherwise, the only “mutual advantage” we see is where companies are able to depress the value of labor because immigration authorities intimidate migrants rather than protect their fundamental human rights.–gm