I know many of you have questions and grave concerns about a complaint filed with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security. The coverage of this complaint raises some red flags for me. Here is what we know. (Read with care; it is disturbing).
A number of organizations sent a letter to the Office of the Inspector General at DHS, the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at DHS, the Acting Director of Atlanta's ICE Field Office and the Warden of the Irwin County (GA) Detention Center.
You can learn more about Project South, which works in Education, Local and Regional Organizing, Legal and Advocacy issues like immigration, and supporting grassroots movements, here. projectsouth.org
Here is a statement from the Government Accountability Project, which represents the whistleblower.
The details provided in the letter are well-past alarming. A licensed practical nurse (who is named in the letter -- it seems imprudent to me to throw her name all over Twitter) who is employed at the Irwin County Detention Center describes inhumane, cruel conditions.
This is not an anonymous complaint, though. The nurse is named and has provided a supporting Declaration. I have not been able to locate a copy of the Declaration online.
The detention center is operated by LaSalle Corrections, a private company. Here is one of many news articles about LaSalle's operations.
The conditions described in the letter are horrific and sadly consistent with reporting about private prisons and immigration detention facilities. I urge you to follow @jacobsoboroff for his reporting on immigration facilities. Please follow @eji_org for its work on prisons.
You have likely seen reporting about high rates of hysterectomies in ICE facilities. This is one section of many about neglectful and racist medical care. Pages of this letter describe conditions that get and keep detained people gravely ill.
The letter alleges that Covid-19 is welcomed in the facility. I cannot use strong enough language to tell you that these allegations, if true, indicate a level of racism, corruption, cruelty, and ethical violations that merit sweeping change and accountability.
ICE denies the allegations in the letter and is critical of the way the letter is drafted. Here is the Washington Post's reporting on the letter.
Georgia state Rep. and Minority Leader Robert T. Trammell has written to the Georgia Composite Medical Board and the Georgia Board of Nursing to request immediate suspension of the licenses of the providers named in the letter pending investigation. pbs.twimg.com/media/Eh6XL7oX…
I hope and expect that we will see more reporting on the letter and the conditions in this facility from major, well-established news outlets shortly.
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January 6th Committee Hearing 7 - Chairman Thompson is gaveling in
"When I think about the most basic way to explain the importance of elections in the United States, there's a phrase that always comes to mind...we settle our differences at the ballot box." - Rep. Thompson
"When you're on the losing side...you can protest, you can organize, you can get ready for the next election...but you can't turn violent. You can't try to achieve your desired outcome through force or harassment or intimidation." - Rep. Thompson
Jacobson v. Mass is a Supreme Court case from 1905. Massachusetts had a law stating that the board of health or a city or town could “require and enforce the vaccinations and revaccination of all inhabitants thereof.”
The fine for noncompliance was $5. Physicians could certify certain children as “unfit subjects for vaccination.”
Agree with Branden that the language around this has been imprecise. It is a sweeping action, AND testing is an alternative to vaccination. And, there's a lot of other stuff in this plan that isn't getting much coverage:
The administration is using the Defense Production Act to increase the availability of testing. Rapid, at-home tests will be sold at cost for 3 months via Walmart, Amazon, Kroger. The administration is sending 25 million rapid tests fo community health centers and food banks.
The free testing program is expanding to 10,000 pharmacies. Basically, a lot of money and resources are being aimed at expanding the availability, convenience, and discipline around testing (editorial comment: hallelujah. I wish we had done this 2 years ago -b).
Tomorrow on the podcast, my friend Brian (in Sarah's absence-enjoy the vacation, Sarah!) & I briefly discuss the corporate fallout from Georgia's elections legislation. I have a little more I would like to say about this, with help from America's favorite pastime.
I've read so many "is it really voter suppression?" takes over the past few days. I would so much like to exit the Take Economy.
As we've said before, there are elements of this (big ole) bill that are desirable... Like allowing officials to start processing absentee ballots earlier.