As advocates, us included, continue to sound the alarm that @ICEgov detention centers will become death camps if folks aren’t released + as ICE continues to claim they are taking necessary steps to protect + stop the spread of Covid + - here’s what happened last Friday. Thread.
Our attorney’s client visit happened to coincide with a #freethemall car procession outside of Adelanto that day (4.23). She arrived at 8am. She noticed a Telemundo van parked outside to cover the protests which started at 10am.
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That day marked the 1st time ever she had seen any guards wearing PPE. She noted some were wearing homemade masks even though our attorneys were denied entry when they showed up in the ones our co-founder Nora Phillips made them. We were told masks had to be OSHA approved. 2/
A few of the guards, donned in full PPE even went outside to watch the protest. As soon as the Telemundo van left though, guards tossed their gloves and masks in the trash. At around 11:20am, the glove box in the lobby ran out and no one used them anymore. 3/
At 12pm, 4 hours later, she was finally permitted to see her client. Her temperature was not taken as per Adelanto’s own Covid protocol. Her client came to see her with no mask or gloves. It wasn’t until her client was already in the meeting room that he was handed a mask. 4/
Something very important to keep in mind: when @ICEgov reports before Congress on testing amongst staff, they are not reporting on 3rd party contractors which make-up 80% of facility staff. #Adelanto is run by Geo Group, one of @ICEgov’s private contractors. You do the math. 5/5
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ICE recently released a Gazan Palestinian client of ours from over a year of immigration detention. They finally gave up trying to deport him… to Gaza…in the middle of the war. A thread 🧵 on why ending the genocide in Palestine is a refugee rights issue.
So obviously ICE didn’t really care much about the ongoing war or the White House’s proclamation that it wouldn’t be deporting Palestinians absent compelling national security needs. That’s normal ICE stuff. They’re always trying to deport people to war zones.
First, let’s talk about how most of the Palestinians dying in Gaza are refugees. What does that mean? The United Nations defines Palestinian refugees as the people who were displaced from the British Mandate of Palestine in 1948 as well as their descendants. Our client’s grandparents were born in Yibna in the Mandate of Palestine and fled to Gaza in 1948.
As Al Otro Lado continues to assist with the @CBP street releases of asylum seekers in San Diego we continue to encounter families that have been separated. Every day we meet dozens of people who have no idea where their spouse or child is. 1/6 🧵
Some lost loved ones may still be in CBP custody, others were dropped off at a different transit station sometimes over 1hr away from each other or dropped off at a hospital due to medical concerns. No info is given to the family member as to where their spouse or child is. 2/6
Other disappeared family members have been shipped off to ICE detention centers as far away as Louisiana.
Al Otro Lado staff have been calling hospitals looking for individual family members, emailing CBP, and in some cases, filing missing person reports. 3/6
Did you know that being willing to die for your country is not enough to guarantee you automatic citizenship? Yes, that’s right. We’re talking about the thousands of veterans who have been deported after serving their country.
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Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to be an American citizen to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces nor does your service automatically qualify you for citizenship.
2/9
Immigrant service members are eligible for citizenship after their service, but not all get to complete their naturalization.
3/9
Today, we, along with @ImmDef@TransLawCenter@JFSSD + @sdACLU filed a complaint asking @DHSOIG to investigate @CBP’s failure to expeditiously process urgent humanitarian parole applications. Right now humanitarian parole is practically the only path to safety in the U.S.
In recent months, dozens of applications for urgent humanitarian parole filed by all of us have gone unanswered for weeks, if not months or denied with no explanation
Some of the pending applications include:
- A family with a 3yr old child who has urgent medical needs due to suffering from epilepsy + the frequent seizures caused by the condition.
- A family with a baby who has intracranial hypertension, epilepsy + fluid in the brain.
Late last year we started to notice a disturbing trend. Migrant mothers who had given birth on US soil, therefore making their babies American citizens, were being immediately expelled by @CBP just days after giving birth + before babies’ birth certificates could be issued.
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Not only were these newborns sent back to some of the most dangerous cities in the world, but without any proper paper work, these babies were essentially left stateless making it even more difficult to get vaccinations and essential government benefits like food assistance.
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To get to the bottom of what was happening we demanded answers from @CBP by filing a Freedom of Information Act requesting information regarding these expulsions including the treatment of pregnant women in CBP custody and stats on of the total number of mothers expelled.
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This weekend, for the first time in over three years, our client Luis was able to hold his son in his arms again. His son was only five years old when @CBP officers callously took him while Luis was in court. He was told his son would be there when he got back. He wasn’t. 1/8
But Luis’ story isn’t the only happy one we have to share. He’s 1 of 13 parents that were reunited with their kids over the weekend + 8 more will be reunited this week! These were parents who were separated + deported from their children during the terror of #zerotolerance.
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For two years we have been fighting to reunite these parents with their children, some of whom have been separated nearly four years. But the journey is not over. It will take years to undo the damage that has been done to these families. Reunification is just the first step.
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