Josh Rushing
Here’s a primer for my latest episode of Fault Lines. It’s about for-profit immigration detention facilities in the US. This was put together by the show’s producer, Anjali Kamat.
For more on why undocumented migration from Mexico is at an all-time low see: http://is.gd/QXq5Pk & http://is.gd/xH0qNO
@DetentionWatch has a useful map of all the #immigration #detention ctrs in the US. http://is.gd/wD53hH
On average the federal govt pays prison operators – both private as well as county jails - $122 a day per detainee.
For more about the #dreamact and Jose Salcedo @slumdogsalcedo: http://is.gd/e4PMfD
#nosomosrubios is a campaign critical of Sen. Marco Rubio’s bid for VP launched by @presenteorg http://is.gd/wYe3bP
Sen. Rubio is now pushing a Republican version of the DREAM act: http://is.gd/tz3a82 & http://is.gd/pJmi1B
See “Marco Rubio’s Prison Problem” by Beau Hodai: http://is.gd/c4oRCd
Excellent backgrounder on profits & #immigration #detention from @DetentionWatch http://is.gd/g7PZIl #dwn
Also great on immigrant gold rush & #privateprisons - Judy Greene & Sunita Patel: http://is.gd/RknEwW
From Oct 2003 – Mar 2012: 129 deaths in #ICE detention: http://is.gd/DtL7P1
@ACLU is a great resource on sexual abuse of detainees in #ICE custody http://is.gd/m2h6Z7
Even if all the new civil detention ctrs R built, 86 % of #ICE detainees wd still be held in jail-like facilities http://is.gd/W5poGg
Meanwhile Republican Congressman Lamar Smith of Texas calls detention reform a “holiday”: http://is.gd/G0JI3I
Since 2009 #ICE has added or promised over 6000 new detention beds, most run by #privateprisons. via @humanrights1st
Critical look at reforms to detention system by @kalhan in Columbia Law Review http://is.gd/Pttdet
Is the focus on conditions taking attention away from ending detention altogether? http://is.gd/h91P6U
Alternatives to detention: cheaper & more humane: http://is.gd/Lr3QqS via @LIRSorg
Telephones in #ICE detention facilities are operated by private companies that charge exorbitant rates for making & receiving calls
We asked #ICE how much #privateprisons might be saving by using detainee labor instead of hiring workers to cook & clean
Gary Mead of #ICE said he didn’t know because the operating costs for #privateprisons are “proprietary information.”
#Privateprisons are not subject to FOIA requests. On lack of accountability & abuse concerns: @ACLU report: http://is.gd/FRx4Ve
Prison Legal News is another great resource on #privateprisons http://is.gd/UhMrNu
A brief history of immigration detention: http://is.gd/pRkelt #DWN
@silkys13 has a stark history of #immigration #detention after 9/11 in @SamarMagazine: http://is.gd/DbbuyH
Infographic on Secure Communities by @reneefeltz & @stokelybaksh on their site: Deportation Nation http://is.gd/wZ4Gm9
@sethfw on the “criminal aliens” captured in recent #ICE raids across the country
Is the Dept of Homeland Security redefining criminality? http://is.gd/JyxYDK
Many were against a proposed #ICE facility in SouthWest Ranches run by the largest #privateprison company: CCA http://is.gd/qhdd0Y
Calls for Wall Street to divest from #privateprisons: http://is.gd/yio9xo & http://is.gd/OODZt0
ALEC is behind many of the tough laws on crime & immigration benefitting #privateprisons: http://is.gd/xvXqZp via @ALECexposed
On lobbying by GEO & CCA see http://is.gd/tXRrRl & @Justice_Policy report Gaming the System: http://is.gd/g20GCD
Also an older site by @reneefeltz & @stokelybaksh: Business of Detention http://is.gd/v1ao52
@txprisonbidness is a great resource on detention in Texas: http://is.gd/h8W8qe
A brief and accessible introduction to the mandatory detention of non-citizens from @DetentionWatch: http://is.gd/DHAu1i #DWN
Most people are surprised to hear that a large number of greencard holders like Naz can end up in immigration detention
Pearsall, where Naz was held, was the site of alleged sexual abuse in 2008. Last year guards protested their low wages http://is.gd/iizp5D
Naz also talked about the poor medical care in Pearsall and how it took days before he could see a nurse when he was ill or injured
@Nomoredeaths has a strong report on abuses by the border patrol: http://is.gd/FySBnn
At a courthouse in McAllen, TX, we witnessed but weren’t allowed to film the mass trial of some 35 men and women.
Some had grown up in the US, others in Mexico or Guatemala. They all had family in the US.
The trial – a daily occurrence - was heartbreaking. One lawyer watching said: “This is where the American dream comes to die.”
Prosecuting people for illegal entry makes up more than half of all federal criminal filings: http://is.gd/qhQxYE
Illegal re-entry cases have surged under President Obama: http://is.gd/lKvFiR
