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Vol. 78/No. 26      July 21, 2014

 
Inmate in Texas immigration jail
fights deportation, wins support
Finds lack of interest among ‘friends of Latinos’ politicians
 
BY STEVE WARSHELL  
CONROE, Texas — Supporters of the rights of inmates at the Joe Corley immigration jail here have been organizing against prison abuse and impending deportations.

On July 1, No Están Solos, an organization that defends detainees at the Corley jail, organized a delegation to the office of State Sen. Sylvia Garcia to appeal for support for David Vásquez, who is facing imminent deportation. The group was formed last March to support inmates at the detention center on a hunger strike, demanding improved conditions, an end to abuse by authorities and a halt to deportations.

The prison is designed to hold 950 inmates, but currently Immigration and Customs Enforcement says 1,100 are incarcerated there.

“We are coming here because David Vásquez has no more legal steps left that can prevent his deportation back to El Salvador,” Orlando Lara, an organizer for the group, told the Militant. “We are demanding that Sen. Garcia help us.” Garcia was the only elected official in the Houston area to vote against imposing ICE’s 287(g) agreement that ties local jails into the federal database to determine if a prisoner is in the United States legally.

A camera crew from Telemundo was present at Garcia’s office to film what they thought would be a statement from the senator and Adelina Cáceres, wife of David Vásquez. But after 10 minutes security guards came to the office and told everyone to disperse. The delegation then organized a press conference on the building’s steps.

“The Democratic politicians present themselves as ‘friends of the Latinos,’ they say they are for immigration reform,” said Cáceres, “but they don’t lift a finger to stop these abuses.

“My husband has spent a year in detention,” she continued. “I am losing everything — cars, our house, everything. David was an inspector for the city of Houston for more than 20 years. But he has been stripped of his rights and dignity. This is a travesty, but it is not an accident. This is the deportation policy of President Obama that is devastating immigrant families across the country.”

Later that day, Garcia’s office issued a one-paragraph statement saying, “It would be improper for me as a state legislator to attempt to influence the judicial process. However, I directed my staff to provide resources to Mrs. Cáceres that could help with the best course of action.”

Facts about the conditions facing jailed immigrant workers are gaining more attention. Thousands of persons “subject to deportation are now confined in private, for-profit prisons under inhuman conditions and shocking abuse,” American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Terri Burke told a news conference in Houston June 10, reported Rumbo newspaper. The Texas ACLU recently completed a four-year study documenting this mistreatment.

“I spoke to prisoners who spent weeks in isolation cells after being sent there upon intake,” said Carl Takei, one of the authors of the report, according to the ACLU website. “Simply arriving at prison was the reason why they were locked in a cell and fed through a slot for 23 hours a day.”  
 
 
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