Prison authorities at the Taylor Correctional Institution in Perry, Florida, have now impounded three consecutive issues of the Militant, dated Feb. 2, Feb. 9 and Feb. 16. They object to three lead articles in each issue, which report on the fight to defend immigrant workers against far-reaching arrests, deportations and abuse in Minneapolis.
They object to the front-page article in issue no. 4, “Amnesty for immigrants, to unify the working class! Course of liberals, left poses obstacle to progress” by Mary Martin. It includes her photo of a broad, labor-supported rally Jan. 10.
The second notice is for a front-page article in the next issue by Helen Meyers, “Join fight for amnesty for all immigrants in the US! Unions need to lead to unify the working class.” It’s accompanied by a photo of thousands of people marching in downtown Minneapolis Jan. 23, captioned, “Area unions built and organized to help ensure it was a disciplined, peaceful action.”
The third denounces the front-page article “Fight for amnesty for all immigrants in the US!”
Prison officials claim each of the three articles is “dangerously inflammatory in that it advocates or encourages riot, insurrection, rebellion, organized prison protest, disruption of the institution, or the violation of the federal law, state law, or Department rules.” It adds that they present “a threat to the security, order, or rehabilitative objectives of the correctional system or the safety of any person.”
For weeks, the Militant and news media worldwide have been reporting on the response in Minneapolis and other cities to the escalation of assaults, raids, arrests and shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and police against immigrant workers, their families and supporters.
Far from being inflammatory, or urging disruption, or riots, much less insurrection, all three articles argue for mass, legal, working-class protest. “The assaults are prompting widespread discussion among working people about what we can do to be effective to defend workers without papers, stop attacks on constitutional protections like due process and unite the working class,” Martin wrote in her article.
In issue no. 5, Meyers points positively to recent actions that show “the potential for building a powerful and disciplined union-led movement to fight and win amnesty for those in the working class without papers.”
She said a Jan. 23 march in Minneapolis “reflected the determination of many working people to stand up in defense of immigrant workers — their co-workers, neighbors, fellow unionists, church members and more. The Minnesota AFL-CIO Executive Board endorsed the action and urged its members to attend. Many did.”
The articles all contrast these broad union-backed rallies to the ineffective and dangerous ultraleft tactics and thuggery that have led to demonstrators being injured and even shot. They back a course of action that can draw millions of workers into action that can be effective and win an amnesty.
We have to assume our continuing coverage of this political fight will lead to further bans unless we can overturn them.
Letters of support needed!
“We request that you reverse the ban by Florida prison authorities and that all impounded copies” be delivered to subscribers at Taylor C.I., wrote Samuel J. Morley, general counsel of the Florida Press Association, in a Feb. 16 letter to the Florida prison system’s Literature Review Committee. The association represents all the daily and most of the weekly newspapers in the state.
“We believe this action infringes upon the First Amendment rights of both The Militant’s publisher and its incarcerated subscribers,” the letter says.
“The justifications offered for the ban are unsupported by the article’s content. The news article strongly condemns ‘ultraleft actions aimed at disrupting ICE’ as well as any ‘provocations leading to violent clashes,’” Morley wrote. “It explains the need for large, peaceful, disciplined protests calling for amnesty for undocumented immigrant workers.
“Nothing in the article can rationally be considered to meet the criteria cited,” he says. “Rather, the decision appears to be arbitrary and irrational.”
“We thank the Florida Press Association for its support,” John Studer, editor of the Militant, said. “We ask other organizations that defend free speech and the freedom of the press, unions and individuals to send letters defending the right of prisoners to read what they wish and to form their own opinions about political developments in the world. In Florida 135 prisoners currently subscribe to the Militant at 31 state prisons.”
Militant attorney David Goldstein is preparing an appeal to have the impoundment overturned.
Letters urging reversal of the ban can be sent to: Literature Review Committee, c/o Saritza Legault/Melvin Herring, Library Services Administrator Florida Department of Corrections, 501 S. Calhoun St., Tallahassee, Florida, 32399-2500. Or emailed to Melvin.Herring@fdc.myflorida.com and Saritza.Legault@fdc.myflorida.com with a copy to the Militant.