Update from the Southern US Border
Courthouse ICE Arrests
The New York Times has published a number of articles on the trend of ICE arresting undocumented immigrants at courthouses. Monserrat Padilla, Co-Director of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) describes the increase of ICE arrests at public courthouses here in Washington state.
You can call the WAISN 24 hour hotline at 1-844-724-3737 for help, information and resources.
LGBTQ Immigration Detention in Washington State
As of January 28th, Washington’s Northwest Detention Center is intentionally housing LGBTQ detainees. Monserrat Padilla Co-Director of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) describes the efforts to protect this population of immigrants.
Producer: Yuko Kodama
Photo: torbakhopper
Skagit Valley Farmworkers and ICE
US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agents arrested 24 year old Medardo Cruz-Ventura on January 24th. Edgar Franks, Political Director of Familias Unidas por la Justicia describes how ICE activities impact Washington’s Skagit Valley where farmworkers make up 30% of the population.
Yes! Magazine: Sanctuary Policies and Deportation
We have some new information about how the US government is addressing deportations. According to a new study from the Pew Research center, nationwide deportations made by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2017 increased 30% from the previous year. These increases are not distributed evenly. In regions where city and state governments worked hand-in-hand with ICE, deportations increased more than 75%. In regions where sanctuary policies are more prevalent, increases remained relatively low. YES! Magazine’s Bailey Williams speaks with magazine fellow Micheal Dax who wrote the article “A Year Later, Fewer Deportations in Cities That Adopted ‘Welcoming’ Policies“.
Maru Mora-Villalpando: The Department of Licensing and ICE
Maru Mora-Villalpando is an Undocumented Immigrant rights Activist, founder of NWDC Resistance and #Not1More Deportation. In January, 2018, she was served a letter from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ordering her to appear in immigration court at an unspecified date. Then, in February, 2018, the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) admitted that it furnished records to a request from ICE about Mora-Villalpando and other undocumented Washington residents. KBCS’s Yuko Kodama spoke with Mora-Villalpando last month about her experience with the DOL and how she expects the state to respond to the DOL’s actions.
Lawsuit Against the Northwest Detention Center
On September 20th, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced a lawsuit against the GEO Group, the second-largest private prison provider in the country, which operates the Northwest Detention Center. The state’s lawsuit asks the court to order the company to give up the profits netted from paying detainees up to one dollar a day for their work in the detention center.
KBCS’s Yuko Kodama caught Maru Mora Villalpando, community organizer of Northwest Detention Center Resistance, on the phone to talk about the conditions regarding work inside the Northwest Detention Center, for its detainees.
Hunger Strike at Tacoma’s Immigration Detention Center
In Tacoma, detainees at the immigration detention center are continuing their hunger strike. They’ve stopped working at the facility, making phone calls, purchasing from the commissary and sleeping in addition to not eating. Demands to GEO, the private firm operating the detention center are better pay to run the facility, better food, access to healthcare and speedier court procedures. The strike started on Monday and was scheduled to end today at noon.
KBCS’s Yuko Kodama contacted Northwestern University’s Deportation Research Clinic Director, Jacqueline Stevens by phone to get some perspective on conditions within the detention centers.
Anxiety Among Our Immigrant Community
Globalist Editorial Director, Venice Buhain interviews their writer, Agatha Pacheco about the anxiety felt by the immigrant community with increased ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids throughout the nation.
Photo: Courtesy of Michael Fleshman
