Aaron Reichlin-Melnick Profile picture
Sep 15, 2020 4 tweets 2 min read Read on X
After a lot of thought, I deleted this tweet. My intent in posting it was to emphasize that the allegations reveal the routine cruelty and horrors caused by ICE's utter failure to care for the health of people it locks up in private prisons—but do not reveal systematic eugenics.
Whistleblowers have been coming forward for years to reveal that people have died of preventable deaths inside ICE detention centers. We know medical services given to people in detention are routinely insufficient. Yesterday's allegations supported that. tyt.com/stories/4vZLCH…
I firmly believe that yesterday's allegations should be taken in context with the detailed reporting and activism around the appalling and horrific conditions in detention centers around the country, not just for women, but for everyone that suffers while locked in a cage.
But because my original tweet couldn't express that all in 240 characters, my point was lost and I gave the false impression to many that I was trying to downplay the allegations or shift blame away from ICE or the problems inherent in the system at large. It was not my intent.

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More from @ReichlinMelnick

Nov 4
Rep. Jayapal is correct -- it is not a crime to be undocumented. Here's the Supreme Court saying as much.

Plus, less than 10% of the undocumented population has a removal order, and would only be chargeable if they had willfully disobeyed it, and many don't know they have one. Image
As for 8 USC 1325, illegal entry applies only to the undocumented population that crossed illegally, meaning visa overstays or people who came via humanitarian parole commit no crime -- and the statute of limitations is 5 years, so most people couldn't even be criminally charged.
Two things can be true at once:

1. It is not a crime to be undocumented, as the Supreme Court itself has noted.
2. A subset of the undocumented population (far less than half) is theoretically criminally chargeable for specific immigration violations.
Read 9 tweets
Nov 4
🧵Today a federal judge is looking into horrific conditions inside ICE holding cells in Chicago, which until January were for stays under 12 hours absent exceptional circumstances.

People are now held for days — and ICE uses the threat of longer stays to get deportation orders. Image
The excerpts I'm posting are taken from over a dozen sworn declarations submitted in a lawsuit seeking to force ICE to improve conditions. I'll link to the docket at the end of the thread.

One thing comes through clearly in these declarations: the cells are FILTHY. Image
Multiple immigrants detained at the facility say ICE officer demanded that they sign deportation paperwork, refused to let them talk to lawyers, and threatened them when they wouldn't sign documents in English that they couldn't read.

Here's a representative example. Image
Read 13 tweets
Oct 28
🚨HUGE moment. ICE leadership is being purged tonight. The old guard, which prioritized targeted enforcement operations aimed at people with criminal records, is being replaced with Border Patrol and Greg Bovino's "Midway Blitz" style.

Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.
The first to report on the purge tonight was @Anna_Giaritelli. ICE's leadership is going to be heavily replaced/augmented with Border Patrol leadership.

These are different agencies with different missions and different tactics. It will be chaotic.
@Anna_Giaritelli NBC news reports that the person making all these decisions is not Secretary Noem; it's Corey Lewandowski, who is still a "special government employee" (and by many reports sleeping with Noem and running the agency while she does mostly TV), as well as Gregory Bovino himself. Image
Read 6 tweets
Oct 21
Hey @DHSGov: if you want me and other nonpartisan experts to trust your numbers, publish the data! The moment you took office you STOPPED publishing monthly data on immigration enforcement.

There hasn't been a single normal ICE arrest data release since inauguration! Image
Since I have your attention, here are the datasets you STOPPED publishing:

1. The monthly Immigration Enforcement tables: no update since January: ohss.dhs.gov/topics/immigra…
2. The quarterly ICE arrest data: no update since January. ice.gov/statistics
x.com/DHSgov/status/…
I'll also add that if you'd bothered to even read the second post in my thread, I *explicitly acknowledged* that the Trump admin is likely to break records.

That said: do you deny that the 515,000 number includes CBP administrative returns at airports?
Image
Read 7 tweets
Oct 21
🚨This is FALSE. The characterization of this report is MADE UP. The Texas investigation found 2,274 “potential noncitizens” on the voter rolls out of over 18 million (0.01%).

AT NO POINT does the investigation say any of these “potential noncitizens” are “illegal immigrants.” Image
This MASSIVE ERROR appears to come from Fox News not realizing that “potential noncitizen” is not a synonym “illegal immigrant.”

Here is the ENTIRE press release from the Texas Secretary of State. Note that AT NO POINT does she say that those flagged are “illegal immigrants.” Image
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We know from MANY such audits in the past that people flagged in this situation as “potential noncitizens” usually ARE U.S. citizens, but got flagged b/c of a data error.

For example, last year Alabama claimed to have found 3,251 noncitizens on the voting roll — which was false! Image
Read 7 tweets
Oct 13
This makes NO SENSE. A 13-year-old was arrested by local police for unknown reasons, and then turned over to ICE, which is detaining him far away from his mother — who is going through immigration court, has an asylum application on file, and is legally authorized to work. Image
Important context from @TriciaOhio that I'm posting in the interest of fairness. I do not automatically trust it given that she has made multiple inaccurate claims in the past (including even yesterday). IF true, it would at least provide an explanation.
@TriciaOhio To be clear, absolutely none of that information is included in public reporting on this story and the Everett Police Department did not give any statement to the Boston Globe about the initial arrest. Tricia is the the first person to ever give this info.
Read 12 tweets

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