Essex County's holiday party was held recently at McLoone's Boathouse, a luxury restaurant and catering venue that Essex County just paid $4.3 million to build. The party was hosted by Joe DiVincenzo, Essex County Executive.
For everyone who missed yesterday's festivities at Occupy Newark and the Occupy the Freeholders event below is a short overview. You can also read the hashtag #OccupyICE on Twitter you will get some more of the blow by blow.
It was pouring rain yesterday so I don't begrudge anyone who did not show up to the rally, but kudos to those who did. We were a small group but we were joined by a couple members from Occupy Newark who did not lack in enthusiasm and lead chants of "jobs not jails" and "no prisons for profit" as we marched first to Wells Fargo next to the Federal Building and then to the POP rally before heading into the Hall of Records.
The real drama, however, was at the Essex County Freeholders meeting. About 20 people testified in opposition to the ICE contract. As a result, we tied up the meeting for at least an hour.
As I sat down to write this blog post, about our upcoming protest on December 7th in Newark over the for-profit immigration detention contract, I was tempted to lead with statistics about the percentage of foreign born residents in Essex County. Then I remembered a quote from a book on racial justice by Rev. Bryan Massingale. "We act justly not because we are intellectually convinced, but because we are passionately moved. Compassion moves the will to justice."
As a movement and as individual activists, there is a tendency toward providing facts, data and statistics that support just immigration policy. There is the belief that if only we could effectively combat the tremendous body of misinformation we would prevail. The problem is that one of the primary tactics of the campaign against immigration reform is an attempt to dehumanize an entire group of people.
However, it becomes obvious, that what is fueling the anti-immigrant movement is anything but rational. The statistics are simply a justification for a deep seated fear of people who are in some way different. It is a deep seated fear that these new people will upset the social order.
I am often asked why I am an advocate for immigration reform. After all, being an advocate for social change of any kind does not win a person any popularity contests, particularly not in New Jersey's suburbs.
Good post from over the weekend. - promoted by Rosi
Work hard, go to school, get ahead. Isn't that the American Dream we were all brought up to believe in?
That is not the case for two brothers from Passaic County. Michell D. Valle and Yasser S. Valle were born in Peru and immigrated to the United States in 1989, at the young age of 6 and 5 years old. Both graduated high school and attended college in their pursuit of the American dream. That dream became a nightmare for Michell, the father of two US citizen children, when he was detained October 25, 2010 after years of going through all the proper legal channels to adjust his immigration status. His brother Yasser followed his brother when he was detained on August 5, 2011.
The Valle brothers should qualify for relief from both detention and deportation based on new guidelines that were issued to all ICE field offices by DHS back in June.
"We're responsible for being leaders to promote the long-term economic prosperity and quality of life for everyone in our communities. If they prosper, so do we."
Wells Fargo has a major presence in New Jersey's urban centers and neighborhoods. It's marketing strategy includes a significant outreach to minorities and immigrants. However, it is one of the largest investors in private prisons. Their investments include GEO Group which owns Delaney Hall(it subsequently leases the building to the politically connected company CEC) and Corrections Corp of America (CCA) which owns and operates the Elizabeth Detention Center.
Wells Fargo and its investors are making billions while people suffer as these for-profit prison operators squeeze every last dime out of the facilities they run. This means smaller food portions, denial of access to medical care, inadequately and poorly trained guards, limited access to personal hygiene items, more prisoners to a cell, etc.
These conditions exist in a system with limited oversight which is further shrouded by corporate secrecy. This focus on profit over human rights creates an environment where abuse is overlooked, tolerated and, in the most egregious cases, justified.
"Please we need help from each & every one of you." the sister of a man held at Delaney Hall, a for-profit immigration detention center in Essex County said.
On October 9th outside of Delaney Hall, the private, for-profit correctional facility that is housing ICE detainees as part of a deal with Essex County, protesters met a woman who had waited an hour and a half to see her brother only to be turned away. She told us how badly her brother was being treated and with tears in her eyes she begged for help.
The company in question, CEC, is Gov. Christie's BFF's company, master privatizer William Palatucci, its Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Public Affairs, and its lobbyist for 15 years. - promoted by Rosi
This past August, the Essex County Executive, Joe DiVincenzo, entered into an inter-governmental services agreement (IGSA) with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to increase the number of ICE detainees held in Essex County to 1250. The contract is being touted as a way to generate huge revenue for the county, which may, in turn, benefit some property owners. However, serious questions regarding whether the county will experience any net benefit from the contract, and the effect that incarceration for profit will have on already inhumane conditions remain. We are also left with the overarching question of whether or not using the incarceration of people as a way to make money is an acceptable way for Essex County to raise revenue.
Unfortunately for Essex County's coffers, the prison business is labor intensive and one where economies of scale do not easily apply. The $50 million per year the County Executive claims Essex will receive is significantly overstated. Essex County has admitted, through written communication, that this is both a gross revenue number and one calculated using an absolute best case scenario of all 1250 beds being filled at all times at the full $108/day reimbursement rate.
"When prisoners become units from which profit is derived, there is a tendency to see them as commodities rather than as children of God." From "Wardens from Wall Street: Prison Privatization" a pastoral letter from the Catholic Bishops from the South
After last Wednesday's vote by the Essex County Board of Chose Freeholders to approve a contract that would expand immigration detention at the Essex County Jail and neighboring Delaney Hal, the Board VP Ralph Caputo explained the vote in a conversation with a reporter from the Star Ledger.
The Essex County Freeholders have placed a resolution on the agenda for the 9/7 meeting to approve a new contract with ICE that would increase the number of immigration detainees at the Essex County Jail and Delaney Hall to 1200.
According to the Essex County Executive, Joe DiVincenzo, this contract is a "home run" because it would generate $50 million/year in revenue for the county. However there has been no discussion of the human misery that will be inflicted in order to realize this financial benefit.
I had a momentary surge of happiness when I read the headline on a press release that was published by my New Jersey legislators. It read:
Addiego, Rudder, & Delany Bills will Remove Illegals from Behind the Wheel.
"Finally!" I thought. Someone is doing something about Wall Street bankers and corrupt corporatists. If we can't put them in jail for destroying the American economy, at least we can take away their drivers licenses.
Of course, what my mean-spirited Republican legislators were referring to is undocumented immigrants. People who believe in the American Dream and come here to make a better life for their families. And unless you are a Native American, you or your ancestors did the same.
But the bills proposed by my Republican legislators are not only mean-spirited, but they place an undue burden on everyone. They require that individuals who sell a car ensure that the buyer is not undocumented.
Make no mistake about it. Those who are undocumented are not following the legal process. But their "crime" and its impact is much less than the crimes of the Bush administration, the crimes of the Wall Street financiers, and the crimes of the corporate cartels.
Instead of putting roadblocks in front of hard working folks who are trying to make ends meet and contribute to society, the Republicans, along with Democrats and Independents, should take positive action on immigration reform and clear the path for legal, compassionate, and comprehensive immigration.
And let's put the real "illegals", the ones that trashed the American economy, in jail.
Kathy O'Leary is with Pax Christi NJ, part of the national Catholic peace movement, which has done considerable work in immigration issues. Remember Bill Palatucci? Veteran GOP operative, fundraiser for George W. Bush, member of both RNC and the NJ GOP redistricting team, and driving force behind Christie slush fund 'Reform Jersey Now'? Well, he stands to make a huge pile of cash from this deal. - promoted by Rosi
At their February 9th meeting, the Essex County Freeholders will be voting on a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) regarding a proposed a new 2,700 bed facility in Essex County. This facility would constitute a significant expansion to the immigration detention system, more than doubling the current number of immigration detention beds currently in NJ.
What everyone needs to understand about immigration enforcement and detention is that it is a system that is flawed, that is extremely costly, that it separates families and that it negatively impacts our local economies and communities.
A minority of Senators have succeeded in blocking the DREAM act, which would have provided a path to legal citizenship for children of undocumented residents. Apparently these misanthropes have declared that the America I grew up in is no longer the America I live in. Generally, these naysayers are the same Neanderthals who voted against medical care for the 9-11 heroes that they use as political pawns and whose House colleagues are in favor of oppression of children around the world in their blocking of the Child Marriage Protection Act. (My apologies for insulting Neanderthals.)
The America I grew up in was not perfect. There have always been problems in how we have treated non-whites and non-Christians in their search for the American dream, whether it is the thousands of Japanese who we put in internment camps, the thousands of Jews trying to find a home free of the tyranny of the Nazi state, or the thousands of Muslims who run into hateful opposition when they attempt to construct houses of worship or cultural centers.
Police detectives talking God and socialism and traditional marriage ... firefighters talking Ground Zero Victory Mosque ... "Sand Flea" talk from the audience ... Um Wow. - promoted by Rosi
Roland Straten held a Town Hall Meeting on homeland security in Nutley NJ Tuesday night October 12 in his campaign to unseat incumbent William Pascrell Junior as Congressman from New Jersey's 8th Congressional District. The evening revealed more about his supporters than the candidate.
The candidate spoke briefly, touching on his background as a business owner and his belief that people are in a better position to make choices than government. Straten's campaign uses the mantras of "Less Government" and "Lower Taxes" which seemed okay, but his choice of guest speakers provided irony to the evening. Both speakers have worked their entire lives on the public payroll.
Word from CBS is that Stephen Colbert will testify late this week before a Judiciary subcommittee on "Protecting America's Harvest." And that he will make his testimony not as the mild-mannered Montclair homeowner he is but the souped-up superduper patriot that he is in character on The Colbert Report. Consider it preamble to this.
He's expected to talk about illegal immigrants and in case C-SPAN doesn't cover that (and really, what are the chances?) that testimony might go something like this conversation with a very patient United Farm Workers president Arturo Rodriguez.
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside...Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."14th Amendment - Citizen Rights
You might think Republican strict-constructionists support this amendment to the fullest. Right? Of course, what we are hearing from members of congress, social conservatives and others is that they do not. Nonetheless, NJ Democrats and yes Republicans should not be shy in showing their love for this great amendment.
As reported by Politico, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) announced in late July that he is considering introducing a constitutional amendment that would no longer grant citizenship to children of immigrants born in the United States. He crudely refers to this as "anchor babies" or "Drop and leave," but Politifact does an excellent job of countering his claims. 92 House members had already signed on to a similar 2009 bill (HR1868) including one from NJ, Scott Garrett. What Graham did not seem to note is that over hundreds of years countless children of immigrants have gone on to become essential to the fabric of our country, including colleagues of Sen. Graham currently in congress. Granting citizenship by birth location is a practice followed by many countries. It has worked well for America.
A few days later San Francisco Federal Judge Vaughn Walker said his state's ban on same-sex marriage violated the 14th Amendment's rights to equal protection and due process of law. To justify the proposition's inherent discrimination on the basis of sex and sexual orientation, he wrote, there would have to be a compelling state interest in banning same-sex marriage. Although the defendants focused on "tradition," the importance of procreation, and the supposed value of child rearing via both a male and female parent, they provided no compelling basis for justifying discrimination.
The arguments and results of this case help us in NJ where a similar same-sex marriage case will be presented to a Superior Court. "Equal protection" will be a key argument. Following our experience with failed civil unions, our significant caveat will be that separate is not equal.
NJ ratified the amendment in 1866, but our legislature tried to rescind its ratification in 1868. Although no such counteraction seems likely now, as we approach midterm elections Republicans will use these wedge issues to energize their fringe base. However, Democrats, even those in moderate or conservative districts, should also be proud to stand up for "equal protection," "due process" and citizenship for people born here. Too frequently Democrats have been hesitant to speak out when confronted by conservative TV/radio hosts, tea party activists, and others of that ilk. I am not aware of any NJ congressman who contradicted Glenn Beck when he said, as reported by Politifact, that "we're the only country in the world" that offers birthright citizenship. "Celebrate this incredible victory by defending it," read one Democratic e-mail that went out just after the San Francisco decision was released. Let's show our love in NJ for the 14th.
UPDATE: you can view the text of the resolution here
Like many elected officials throughout the country, I was shocked and appalled by the recent immigration legislation passed in Arizona legalizing racial profiling and eroding civil rights. Immigration is a federal issue that needs to be tackled by Congress - not by local governments and the states. We need a uniformed policy tackling an array of issues arising out of the problem on the Mexican-American border, not piecemeal attempts by the states to regulate a federal issue.
In Haledon we have a strong Latino population that has been making strong contributions to our community. Councilman Reynaldo Martinez - the first Dominican American elected to the Haledon Council - is one example. In his 4 years on the Council he has been a strong voice in balancing our budget, improving our quality of life, and bringing more people into the democratic process. We need to encourage more participation by the Latino American community - not dissuade it like the Arizona law will surely do.
That is why I am proud to announce the resolution passed last night by the Haledon Council denouncing Arizona's actions. I see first hand everyday the impact the Latino population has in Haledon: a commitment to family values, a hard work ethic, and an investment in making our borough a better place to live. As Dr. Martin Luther King stated in his Letter from Birmingham Jail: "an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." We need to make our voices heard against this injustice.
By empowering local law enforcement officials to demand a citizen produce documentation of citizenship, we are fueling an already explosive issue. It is obvious we officials will be targeting in Arizona, and I agree with Assemblywoman Nellie Pou in her assessment of this law: it is Un-American. It chips at our civil rights and instills a fear into immigrants legally in our country of being harassed and detained by law enforcement.
So please, sign our petition against this Arizona legislation. We need to let local and state officials all over the nation know that we will not stand idly by and let the civil rights of any ethic group be eroded.
Rand Paul was supposed to be a guest on Meet the Press today with Joe Sestak, John Cornyn and Bob Menendez. Paul bailed after the really really bad week he had, but Menendez appeared and here's the show where they talked about the races in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Connecticut among other topics. Toward the end of the segment, they also got into the immigration debate and the Arizona law:
This week, the Phoenix Suns responded to their home state's harsh new immigration law by playing basketball wearing jerseys reading: Los Suns.
Bravo. But we also got word of protest closer to home. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity - with more than 3,000 members in New Jersey - is boycotting, pulling their annual convention from Phoenix and giving their business to Las Vegas. This is the oldest collegiate African American fraternity in the country, and counts among NJ members Ron C. Rice, who stands for re-election Tuesday as Newark West Ward Councilman, Princeton's Cornel West, and Randall Pinkett. Also Alphas: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thurgood Marshall. Here's the Alpha president:
Our late Alpha brother the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, in a letter he wrote while sitting in the Birmingham Jail, 'injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' Alpha Phi Alpha's decision to boycott Arizona continues that same fight, fought during the Civil Rights era. We will not only speak with our voices and our feet, we will speak with our economic clout; and we will not spend our money in Arizona and urge other organizations and people who believe in equality under the law, to do the same.
This year's convention includes a special Summit on the African-American Male, and is expected to draw up to 10,000 participants, revenue Arizona's now going to lose.
FYI - a report on this, with pictures and in Spanish is here. Great outreach work. - Promoted by Rosi
Thrilled that the report we've been working on for 6 months, Locked Up But Not Forgotten is finally out and linked on the NY Times website following Nina Bernstein's coverage of some of our stories yesterday. (I wouldn't have minded if my first name weren't printed as 'Karin'. As manglings of my name go, I prefer Katrina.)
We had supporting statements that weren't covered -- Star Ledger was a no show-- from Senator Menendez:
The more sunlight is shone on the conditions behind the walls of our detention centers, the more we can ensure that all of our fellow human beings are treated humanely. I commend these groups for taking the initiative to investigate and compile this important report.
Congressman Payne:
At the end of the day, everyone is a human being who deserves to be treated with fairness and dignity. When that does not happen, it is imperative that we, as a society, decry the deplorable treatment and sound the clarion call to put a stop to it. I appreciate these hard-working groups that are giving a voice to the voiceless and calling on all stakeholders to take action against the inhumane treatment of those in detention centers.
and Congressman Holt:
The lack of transparency and access to detainees makes it difficult for them to receive due process. I thank these New Jersey immigration advocates for their valuable report and recommendations.
After our press conference yesterday in front of Newark ICE, we went up to deliver the report to Newark ICE's leadership, apparently the Field Office Director Scott Weber is on assignment in DC. To the best we could understand, someone named Corzine (!) was going to come out and accept it. I had to leave, but the rest of the group ended up being escorted out by uniformed officers for 'demonstrating' because a few people had the printed 'No one is illegal' signs. They had to just leave the report at the front desk. Amy Gottlieb of AFSC, discussed that briefly (right after the oil spill coverage) on wbai Thursday Apr 29 6pm evening news, but the reporters really s/have been there for that, or at least a photographer!
I'm learning way more than I ever wanted to this week about how free speech rights can be curtailed in federal buildings and county jails.
