EFE: The Mexican Attorney General’s Office publicly apologized to an Ecuadorian couple for the March 2014 death of their 12-year-old daughter at a children’s shelter in the northern state of Chihuahua.
The deputy attorney general for human rights, crime prevention and community services, Eber Omar Betanzos Torres, “addressed some words to the parents,” who live in the United States, at the Consulate General of Ecuador in New York, the AG’s office said in a statement Tuesday.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label immigrant detention. Show all posts
Showing posts with label immigrant detention. Show all posts
Oct 22, 2015
Oct 2, 2014
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Compares U.S. Migrant Detention Centers to Guantánamo
La Jornada, Oct. 2. Washington. The United States is going back to old practices with the practice of keeping children and families of undocumented migrants in detention, reported the vice president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Felipe González, on Thursday. He compared the detention center with "prisons."
"We're very concerned because we see that the United States is returning to policies that appeared to have been left in the past, like having detention centers for children and families," said Gonzalez, who is also the Rapporteur on Migrant Rights.
Gonzalez led a delegation of the Commission this week that visited the U.S. southwest border, where about 66,000 unaccompanied minors-and a similar number of families-from Mexico and Central America have been apprehended since October 2013, registering record numbers .
Some migrant children have been sent to relatives or shelters to await their appearance before an immigration judge.
But the fact that many remain in detention centers is a "setback" and a quick solution "looks complicated," Gonzalez said.
In a statement, the IACHR--an autonomous organ of the OAS--said the detention of migrants is "undesirable" and must be "only used as an exceptional measure" and for a short period. In that regard, it called on the United States to enact legislation to ensure that children and families are not sent to those centers.
The numbers of children caught at the border has been falling since June, but the government has been cautious in declaring the situation resolved. It is currently expanding capacity for detention of migrants.
The Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to open a new facility this year in Dilley, Texas that could accommodate 2,400 beds.
The United States "is returning to policies that existed more than five years ago," Gonzalez said, referring to the center in Hutto, Texas that was forced to cease housing child migrants in response to demands from civil organizations.
The conditions of migrants in the United States is of concern to the Commission, which has already announced a hearing to discuss the issue during the next session later this month.
"Equivalent to prison"
González, accompanied by the Rapporteur on the Rights of Children, Rosa María Ortiz, and other experts, visited the ICE center for children and families in Karnes, Texas, and interviewed former detainees from the center of the Border Patrol in McAllen, Texas since they were denied access to migrants currently detained there.
The U.S. government applies "the same standard as Guantánamo" in the migrant centers, the commissioner said.
Migrants reported lack of privacy and recreation, and restrictions on calling relatives from the centers, according to testimony gathered by the Commission. The Commission considered that the human rights situation has been "exacerbated" by the recent wave of migrant children.
It also noted that the detention is arbitrary and that many migrants lack legal representation, which is a major factor in determining the probability that an asylum case be accepted, Gonzalez said.
For the Commission, the facilities "are equivalent to prisons."
Another complaint is that U.S. authorities do not thoroughly investigate the asylum claims of migrants, who flee drug violence, mainly in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
"It's a very serious situation of violence in these countries and therefore each case should be analyzed carefully," Gonzalez said.
"This means that people who face risks in their countries are being deported," he added.
"We're very concerned because we see that the United States is returning to policies that appeared to have been left in the past, like having detention centers for children and families," said Gonzalez, who is also the Rapporteur on Migrant Rights.
Gonzalez led a delegation of the Commission this week that visited the U.S. southwest border, where about 66,000 unaccompanied minors-and a similar number of families-from Mexico and Central America have been apprehended since October 2013, registering record numbers .
Some migrant children have been sent to relatives or shelters to await their appearance before an immigration judge.
But the fact that many remain in detention centers is a "setback" and a quick solution "looks complicated," Gonzalez said.
In a statement, the IACHR--an autonomous organ of the OAS--said the detention of migrants is "undesirable" and must be "only used as an exceptional measure" and for a short period. In that regard, it called on the United States to enact legislation to ensure that children and families are not sent to those centers.
The numbers of children caught at the border has been falling since June, but the government has been cautious in declaring the situation resolved. It is currently expanding capacity for detention of migrants.
The Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to open a new facility this year in Dilley, Texas that could accommodate 2,400 beds.
The United States "is returning to policies that existed more than five years ago," Gonzalez said, referring to the center in Hutto, Texas that was forced to cease housing child migrants in response to demands from civil organizations.
The conditions of migrants in the United States is of concern to the Commission, which has already announced a hearing to discuss the issue during the next session later this month.
"Equivalent to prison"
González, accompanied by the Rapporteur on the Rights of Children, Rosa María Ortiz, and other experts, visited the ICE center for children and families in Karnes, Texas, and interviewed former detainees from the center of the Border Patrol in McAllen, Texas since they were denied access to migrants currently detained there.
The U.S. government applies "the same standard as Guantánamo" in the migrant centers, the commissioner said.
Migrants reported lack of privacy and recreation, and restrictions on calling relatives from the centers, according to testimony gathered by the Commission. The Commission considered that the human rights situation has been "exacerbated" by the recent wave of migrant children.
It also noted that the detention is arbitrary and that many migrants lack legal representation, which is a major factor in determining the probability that an asylum case be accepted, Gonzalez said.
For the Commission, the facilities "are equivalent to prisons."
Another complaint is that U.S. authorities do not thoroughly investigate the asylum claims of migrants, who flee drug violence, mainly in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
"It's a very serious situation of violence in these countries and therefore each case should be analyzed carefully," Gonzalez said.
"This means that people who face risks in their countries are being deported," he added.
Jul 22, 2014
The process Congress wants to use for child migrants is a disaster
Vox: Congress and the Obama administration are scrambling to respond to the humanitarian crisis of 57,000 unaccompanied Central American children who've crossed the border into the US this year.
One policy change that Republicans are expected to demand (in order to give the Obama administration the $3.7 billion in emergency funding it's asked for) has actually gotten the support of members of Congress from both parties, and encouraging hints from the White House. That change: updating a 2008 law so that Central American children could be returned to their home countries as quickly as Mexican children are today. Read more.
One policy change that Republicans are expected to demand (in order to give the Obama administration the $3.7 billion in emergency funding it's asked for) has actually gotten the support of members of Congress from both parties, and encouraging hints from the White House. That change: updating a 2008 law so that Central American children could be returned to their home countries as quickly as Mexican children are today. Read more.
Jul 11, 2014
Kids First: A Response to the Southern Border Humanitarian Crisis (Congressional Progressive Caucus)
Congressional Progressive Caucus: The United States and the international community have long recognized the unique needs of children seeking asylum. As an extremely vulnerable population, unaccompanied migrant children need special care and protection. We must not allow politics to jeopardize any child’s safety and we should immediately reject attempts to solve the migration crisis on our southern border by circumventing due process or rule of law. Calls for expediting removal of children without due process, back to the violence they have escaped, is an attempt to simplify a complex situation and it is a derelict of U.S. responsibility under international standards. When examining the reasons for migration, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) found nearly 60 percent of children had fled violence and were in need of international protection. Only two of 404 children interviewed reported that they had traveled to the U.S. because of rumors of potential immigration reform.
An effective response must recognize that this is largely a refugee crisis and must place the best interest of the children first. Abrogation or repeal of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act,
including the protections to children arriving from non-contiguous countries, will do nothing to alleviate the situation and could place children in harm’s way. Read more.
An effective response must recognize that this is largely a refugee crisis and must place the best interest of the children first. Abrogation or repeal of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act,
including the protections to children arriving from non-contiguous countries, will do nothing to alleviate the situation and could place children in harm’s way. Read more.
Jun 6, 2014
Leaked Images Reveal Children Warehoused In Crowded U.S. Cells, Border Patrol Overwhelmed
Breitbart Texas
By Brandon Darby
June 5, 2014
Houston, Texas - Breitbart Texas obtained internal federal government photos depicting the conditions of foreign children warehoused by authorities on U.S. soil on Wednesday night. Thousands of illegal immigrants have overrun U.S. border security and their processing centers in Texas along the U.S./Mexico border. Unaccompanied minors, including young girls under the age of 12, are making the dangerous journey from Central America and Mexico, through cartel-controlled territories, and across the porous border onto U.S. soil.
The photos illuminate the conditions of the U.S. Border Patrol’s processing centers, as well as the overwhelming task Border Patrol is facing.
Breitbart Texas Border Expert and Contributing Editor Sylvia Longmire reviewed the photos.
“Given the deteriorating security and economic conditions in the Central American countries where most of these children and adult immigrants came from, it's hard to understand how DHS didn't see this coming,” Longmire said. “The trend towards increased cross-border movement towards south Texas and away from Arizona has been apparent; the trend of Central Americans starting to outnumber Mexican crossers has been apparent. Even worse is believing that DHS knew this was coming, but didn't have the resources or ability to cut through bureaucratic red tape to prepare more quickly. Read more.
By Brandon Darby
June 5, 2014
The photos illuminate the conditions of the U.S. Border Patrol’s processing centers, as well as the overwhelming task Border Patrol is facing.
Breitbart Texas Border Expert and Contributing Editor Sylvia Longmire reviewed the photos.
“Given the deteriorating security and economic conditions in the Central American countries where most of these children and adult immigrants came from, it's hard to understand how DHS didn't see this coming,” Longmire said. “The trend towards increased cross-border movement towards south Texas and away from Arizona has been apparent; the trend of Central Americans starting to outnumber Mexican crossers has been apparent. Even worse is believing that DHS knew this was coming, but didn't have the resources or ability to cut through bureaucratic red tape to prepare more quickly. Read more.
May 31, 2014
Migrants dropped off at bus stations in Arizona
Chron
By Astrid Galvan
By the time the women arrived disheveled and hungry at the Greyhound station in Phoenix, they had already spent weeks traveling thousands of miles with young children in tow.
Ranging from months old to adolescents, some of the children were sick and lethargic. Others played gleefully at arcade games in the crowded waiting room of the bus station.
The families were apprehended in Texas, flown to Arizona and dropped off by the busload at the station in Phoenix by federal immigration authorities overwhelmed by a surge of families caught crossing the Mexican border into the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
It was signal of a shift in immigration that has seen the Rio Grande Valley surpass Tucson as the leader in border apprehensions, overwhelming border agents in Texas. The trend is being driven by a huge increase in the number of immigrants from Central America.
Yet while the number of apprehensions in the Rio Grande Valley vastly surpasses those in the Tucson sector in Arizona, the area has fewer agents. From October 2013 to May 17, agents in the Rio Grande Valley made more than 148,000 arrests, compared with 63,000 arrests in the Tucson sector. But the Rio Grande Valley has about 1,000 fewer agents than Tucson. Read more.
By Astrid Galvan
Ranging from months old to adolescents, some of the children were sick and lethargic. Others played gleefully at arcade games in the crowded waiting room of the bus station.
The families were apprehended in Texas, flown to Arizona and dropped off by the busload at the station in Phoenix by federal immigration authorities overwhelmed by a surge of families caught crossing the Mexican border into the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
It was signal of a shift in immigration that has seen the Rio Grande Valley surpass Tucson as the leader in border apprehensions, overwhelming border agents in Texas. The trend is being driven by a huge increase in the number of immigrants from Central America.
Yet while the number of apprehensions in the Rio Grande Valley vastly surpasses those in the Tucson sector in Arizona, the area has fewer agents. From October 2013 to May 17, agents in the Rio Grande Valley made more than 148,000 arrests, compared with 63,000 arrests in the Tucson sector. But the Rio Grande Valley has about 1,000 fewer agents than Tucson. Read more.
Aug 9, 2013
Threat of punishment doesn’t dissuade illegal immigration, new study shows
USC News
By Gilien Silsby
August 1, 2013
Neither the threat of arrest nor punishment may significantly deter Mexicans from trying to enter the United States illegally, according to a new USC Gould School of Law study that was published in the August issue of the American Sociological Review.
The study examined a variety of economic and noneconomic factors that may influence decisions to migrate illegally from Mexico to the United States. It found that people’s perceptions of the certainty of arrest and the severity of punishment are not significant determinants of their intentions to migrate illegally, once other relevant factors are taken into account. Read more.
By Gilien Silsby
August 1, 2013
Neither the threat of arrest nor punishment may significantly deter Mexicans from trying to enter the United States illegally, according to a new USC Gould School of Law study that was published in the August issue of the American Sociological Review.
The study examined a variety of economic and noneconomic factors that may influence decisions to migrate illegally from Mexico to the United States. It found that people’s perceptions of the certainty of arrest and the severity of punishment are not significant determinants of their intentions to migrate illegally, once other relevant factors are taken into account. Read more.
Jul 20, 2013
NYC implements program that teaches how to avoid deportation
HuffPost Voces
By Claudia Torrens
Original Americas Program Translation
New York (AP) - New York will spend municipal funds to enable young immigrants without permission to live in the U.S. to petition the government for suspension of deportation orders and obtain a work permit.
New York officials announced on Wednesday that it would spend $ 18 million in adult education programs and legal assistance to help "dreamers" secure local entitlement to deferred action that President Barack Obama signed last year. The "dreamers" are young people who were brought illegally to the United States, usually by their parents as children.
New York is the first city in the country implementing the initiative, officials said.
An estimated 79,000 undocumented youth in New York City can still qualify for the Obama plan but 16,000 of them must register in a school or adult education program, as stipulated in the federal requirements. Because adult education programs in the city are full and private education is expensive, the city will use the money announced Wednesday to create 10,370 new opportunities for students in adult education programs.
By Claudia Torrens
Original Americas Program Translation
New York (AP) - New York will spend municipal funds to enable young immigrants without permission to live in the U.S. to petition the government for suspension of deportation orders and obtain a work permit.
New York officials announced on Wednesday that it would spend $ 18 million in adult education programs and legal assistance to help "dreamers" secure local entitlement to deferred action that President Barack Obama signed last year. The "dreamers" are young people who were brought illegally to the United States, usually by their parents as children.
New York is the first city in the country implementing the initiative, officials said.
An estimated 79,000 undocumented youth in New York City can still qualify for the Obama plan but 16,000 of them must register in a school or adult education program, as stipulated in the federal requirements. Because adult education programs in the city are full and private education is expensive, the city will use the money announced Wednesday to create 10,370 new opportunities for students in adult education programs.
Jun 3, 2013
Who’s crossing the Mexico border? A new survey tries to find out.
Washington Post
By Brad Plumer
June 2, 2013
Last year, the Border Patrol caught about 356,000 immigrants trying to cross illegally at the U.S.-Mexico border. That’s thought to be about half of all attempts.
It also isn’t much of a deterrent. About 43 percent of those detained say they’ll try to cross again in the near future — often because they’re trying to get back to a job or family members waiting for them in the United States.
That’s one upshot of a big new survey (pdf) from the National Center for Border Security and Immigration at the University of Arizona. The researchers interviewed more than 1,000 detainees at the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector in 2012. Read more.
By Brad Plumer
June 2, 2013
Last year, the Border Patrol caught about 356,000 immigrants trying to cross illegally at the U.S.-Mexico border. That’s thought to be about half of all attempts.
It also isn’t much of a deterrent. About 43 percent of those detained say they’ll try to cross again in the near future — often because they’re trying to get back to a job or family members waiting for them in the United States.
That’s one upshot of a big new survey (pdf) from the National Center for Border Security and Immigration at the University of Arizona. The researchers interviewed more than 1,000 detainees at the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector in 2012. Read more.
Mar 26, 2013
Immigrants Held in Solitary Cells, Often for Weeks
The NY Times
By Ian Urbina and Catherine Rentz
Published: March 23, 2013
WASHINGTON — On any given day, about 300 immigrants are held in solitary confinement at the 50 largest detention facilities that make up the sprawling patchwork of holding centers nationwide overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, according to new federal data.
Nearly half are isolated for 15 days or more, the point at which psychiatric experts say they are at risk for severe mental harm, with about 35 detainees kept for more than 75 days.
While the records do not indicate why immigrants were put in solitary, an adviser who helped the immigration agency review the numbers estimated that two-thirds of the cases involved disciplinary infractions like breaking rules, talking back to guards or getting into fights. Immigrants were also regularly isolated because they were viewed as a threat to other detainees or personnel or for protective purposes when the immigrant was gay or mentally ill. Read more.
By Ian Urbina and Catherine Rentz
Published: March 23, 2013
WASHINGTON — On any given day, about 300 immigrants are held in solitary confinement at the 50 largest detention facilities that make up the sprawling patchwork of holding centers nationwide overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, according to new federal data.
Nearly half are isolated for 15 days or more, the point at which psychiatric experts say they are at risk for severe mental harm, with about 35 detainees kept for more than 75 days.
While the records do not indicate why immigrants were put in solitary, an adviser who helped the immigration agency review the numbers estimated that two-thirds of the cases involved disciplinary infractions like breaking rules, talking back to guards or getting into fights. Immigrants were also regularly isolated because they were viewed as a threat to other detainees or personnel or for protective purposes when the immigrant was gay or mentally ill. Read more.
Sep 5, 2012
Undocumented Latinos end protest tour of south at Democratic convention
'No Papers No Fear' group reach Charlotte,
North Carolina after six weeks of holding rallies and confronting prejudice.
The Guardian.
Ed Pilkington.
For the past
15 years Miguel Guerra has been living in the shadows as an undocumented Latino
immigrant in the US. He kept out of view, avoided public places and never spoke
his mind to anyone outside his immediate family.
Not any more.
Under a
blazing North Carolina sun,
Guerra joined almost 50 other undocumented Latino immigrants on a Sunday in a
park on the outskirts of Charlotte, the North Carolinan venue of this week's
Democratic national convention. It was in effect a mass coming out ceremony.
For the past
six weeks the group has been riding across the American south in a converted
Greyhound bus bearing the slogan: "No Papers No Fear". They have
stopped in about 20 cities in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia before arriving in North
Carolina, holding rallies and confronting anti-Latino prejudice along the way.
"We're
no longer afraid to say we are undocumented," Guerra declared. Read
more.
Dec 30, 2011
Immigration crackdown: U.S. launches new hotline for detainees
latimes.com: "Federal immigration officials Thursday announced the creation of a telephone hotline to ensure that detainees held by local police are informed of their rights. The toll-free number, (855) 448-6903, will field queries from detainees held by state or local law enforcement agencies if the detainees "believe they may be U.S. citizens or victims of a crime," the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said in a statement." read more
Dec 12, 2011
Immigration Crackdown: Detention Centers in Kentucky, Illinois Violate Rights, Report Says
Fox News Latino: "Detainees in three immigrant detention centers in Illinois and Kentucky have been denied legal counsel, received poor medical care and rarely eat a hot meal, among other human rights violations, advocacy groups said in a report released Monday.
The detention centers, two in Illinois and the other in Kentucky, were the focus in the report by the Chicago-based National Immigrant Justice Center and the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights. It calls on the Obama administration to cut down on the number of immigrant detainees. It also seeks the closure of the three centers cited." read more
The detention centers, two in Illinois and the other in Kentucky, were the focus in the report by the Chicago-based National Immigrant Justice Center and the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights. It calls on the Obama administration to cut down on the number of immigrant detainees. It also seeks the closure of the three centers cited." read more
Dec 6, 2011
Immigration Crackdown: Jails and Jumpsuits: Transforming the U.S. Immigration Detention System
From the full report by Human Rights First on the dysfunctional immigration detention system.
In this report, Human Rights First focuses ... on the progress of DHS and ICE in transforming the U.S.
immigration detention system away from its reliance on jails and jail-like facilities to a system with conditions
more appropriate for civil immigration law detainees.
In this report, Human Rights First focuses ... on the progress of DHS and ICE in transforming the U.S.
immigration detention system away from its reliance on jails and jail-like facilities to a system with conditions
more appropriate for civil immigration law detainees.
Among the Findings:
- Asylum Seekers and Other Immigrants Are Still Overwhelmingly Held in Jails and Jail-like Facilities
- Immigration Detention Costs U.S. Taxpayers Over $2 Billion Each Year
- ICE Continues to Rely on Detention Standards Modeled on Correctional Standards
- ICE Has Taken Some Steps Toward Less Penal Detention Conditions, But Only a Small Portion of Detainees Will See Change
- Asylum Seekers and Other Immigration Detainees Continue to Be Detained Unnecessarily
- Detained Asylum Seekers and Other Immigrants Do Not Have Adequate Access to Legal Assistance and Fair Procedures, Particularly in Isolated Detention Facilities. read more
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)