Immigrant Detention: Action Alert

Advocating on behalf of immigrants currently held in detention

April 29, 2003

In this Action Alert:

1. Contribute to the Emergency Family and Legal Fund
2. Mutefa Alrubiem, Qatari detainee must be released
3. Release Nigel Maccado from Custody!
4. Punished for being Palestinian? Release Farouk Abdel-Muhti
5. Six years in detention? Release Gavin Lawrence!
6. Passaic County Jail –Use of Dogs Ceases, but Food Worsens – Hunger Strike now on!
7. Rotten Food for Detainees? Major Complaints at Wackenhut Facility
8. La Casa Shelter for Pakistani and Egyptian Asylum Seekers fleeing the US needs help
9. A note for unaffected communities
10. Know Your Rights
11. Action Team Training

1. Immigrant families need your support! Contribute to the Emergency Family and Legal Fund

Since September 11^th 2001, almost 5,000 people of Arab, South Asian, and Muslim origin have been rounded up by the US government and disappeared. For months now, the FBI, the INS, and other law enforcement agencies have been racially profiling immigrants and raiding homes and workplaces, in many cases arresting people in the middle of the night and in front of their families. The vast majority of these people continue to languish in county jails and federal prisons without ANY charges brought against them.

Our communities and families need your support. DRUM works with detainees and their families as part of the campaign to Stop the Disappearances! Many detainees are experiencing deteriorating health as they languish in jails simply because they cannot afford bail or bond money and have no support outside. Others still are in urgent need of funds to help support the families left behind. Please help fight for their release by sending a donation to our special fund. Please make your checks out to "The Brecht Forum" and write "Fund" in the memo.

2. Mutesa Rubiemi, Qatari detainee must be released

Mr. Mutefa Rubiem (A# 95 956 854), a Qatari detainee at Passaic County Jail has been verbally and physically abused on numerous occasions. One beating resulted in a major head wound. In response to pressure he has now received medical attention, but went on hunger strike for four days in protest of his treatment. He is now eating, but is severly depressed. Kept in a psychiatric unit, he has been unable to receive any visits for over three weeks. He is being given various pills, but has not been informed as to their content. His family has not received any information from the deportation officer for over a month. There has been no movement on his case, and Mr. Rubliem must be released.

Please, call Deportation Officer Chung at 973-645-3666 x5020 and the Warden of Passaic County Jail, Charles Meyers, at  973-881-4620 (fax 973-881-2485) and ask that his family be given visits and information, that he receive adequate medical information., and that he be released

The information here is compiled by the Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants (CHRI) - Detention Working Group, in consultation with other groups organizing visitation, support and advocacy for immigrants in detention. The Campaign to Stop the Disappearances! is:

Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants (CHRI)

3. Release Nigel Maccado from Custody!

Nigel Maccado (A#21-098-333), has not been in India since 1974, but may be deported there shortly. He has been in immigration custody since November 2001, but has appealed his final deportation order because he fears torture if he returns to India. As a Roman Catholic, he has reason to fear for his safety as there have been well-documented attacks on Christians in recent years. He has been waiting since December 2001 for a decision on his appeal. He and his family in the US need an answer. Write to his congressman and ask that he enquire about the decision to the Office of the Clerk.

            Contact: Supriya 718-205-3036

4. A year in detention - Release Farouk Abdel-Muhti Now!

In February 2003, Farouk Abdel-Muhti was moved to York Pennsylvania, delaying his case by months and making it more difficult for his legal team.

Last April, Farouk Abdel-Muhti A 21 063 913 was arrested by the Absconder Task Force at his home. The well-known Palestinian rights activist was then detained by the INS on the basis of an outstanding deportation order from 1995 (issued while Farouk was in the hospital)

Since that time a habeas petition has been filed. The petition alleged that Farouk is a stateless Palestinian who cannot be deported and that his continued detention for deportation since Apr. 26 2002 is therefore unlawful and goes against the Supreme Court's decision in Zadvydas v. Davis setting six months as a reasonable time to effect a deportation. From the beginning the INS has claimed that Farouk's case is just a standard detention and has nothing to do with his political activism. His Defense committee holds that Farouk's detention is just part of a wider effort to repress activism as resistance grows to the current administration's illegal war policies and its failed economic policies.

Please

• Contact INS Assistant Commissioner for Detention David J. Venturella and politely but firmly demand Farouk be returned to the New York area and be released. You can reach Venturella at INS, (address below)

• Join the weekly vigils Fridays at the INS office at 26 Federal Plaza 12 noon, Broadway and Worth, Manhattan (4/5/6 to City Hall/Brooklyn Bridge walk west and north, N/R/Q/W to Canal, walk west and south)

5. Six years in detention? Release Gavin Lawrence!

Gavin Lawrence (A#74 973 221), a detainee of Jamaican descent has been held in immigration custody since August 1996 because the INS has been unable to receive permission to deport him. Although required to hold a custody review after six months of detention, a review was not completed until 2000. A second review found him neither a flight risk, nor a risk to the community, the only viable reasons for refusing release. This continued detention is contrary to INS policy and the Supreme Court decision in Zadvydas that mandates release in undeportable cases after six months. Please write to the office of the Inspector General and demand a formal investigation into his continued detention.

Office of the Inspector General

Investigations Division

US Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 4706

Washington, DC 20536-0001                                                                                 

Contact: Mac 646-489-4375

Detainees in Passaic County Jail  detail physical and verbal abuse by correctional officers including beatings, slamming against walls, having legal materials dumped in water, bringing in police dogs in the middle of the night, and the use of anti-immigrant language. In response to a series of violent incidents, 8 detainees went on hunger strike for almost a week in March. During this hunger strike, Sgt. DiFranco and others reportedly physically and verbally abused the detainees.

In response to pressure, the use of the dogs has ended, and beatings have ceased in one cell block, but abuse continues. On April 28, 2003 Mohabir Hemnauth A#44267779 went on hunger strike in response to worsening food, particularly for vegetarians. His demands are that he be moved to Hudson County Jail, that adequate protein be provided in the vegetarian food, and that the beatings and abuse in Passaic cease.

The Campaign to Stop the Disappearances is calling for all concerned individuals to call or fax Warden Charles Meyers at Passaic County jail and the District Director and ask that the concerns be addressed.

7. Rotten Food for Detainees? Major Complaints at Wackenhut Facility

On April 29, 2003, detainees at the Wackenhut facility in Queens, NY reported that in recent weeks they had received milk past its expiration date, mysterious green substances in food, and cockroaches in the cereal. Detainees are concerned about the health impacts of such food, and ask that supporters make complaints and investigations to: 

Warden Ronald Nardolillo

PHONE – 718-553-5420 FAX-  718-553-5426

8. La Casa Shelter for Pakistani and Egyptian Asylum Seekers fleeing the US needs help

 Vive, Inc. is a non-profit organization that runs La Casa, the only homeless shelter in Western New York for asylum seekers. Since mid-December 2002, Vive has experienced a large influx of asylum seekers wishing to make a refugee claim in Canada.  Most are Pakistani and Egyptian, and afraid to register with the US government, as they fear they will be deported back to their countries of origin, from which they fled. Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Canada has failed to respond to the crisis by putting more resources on the border, and asylum seekers are now waiting up to 6 weeks for an appointment. 

Vive is trying to keep up with the influx and the backlogs and continue making appointments for people at the Canadian border, while housing the most vulnerable. They have had to put on extra staff members to process the incresed numbers. They have had additional costs in food and supplies.  They are in need of donations of toiletries and cleaning supplies, but most needed are funds to cover our increased costs and to allow them to continue to serve this vulnerable population for as long as they needed.

To make a donation, please contact: 

ACTION TEAM IMMIGRANTS RIGHTS TRAINING.

Monday, May 13th, 6:30-8 pm

Training for groups of about 5 people who call & fax the INS (now the BICE), every weekday for 2 weeks of every month to focused pressure to meet demands of detainees & their families. Teams work w/Desis Rising up & Moving (DRUM) & Stop the Disappearances Campaign (STDC) & follow wishes of affected detainees & their families. At least a 4-month commitment required. At Community

Service Society (CSS) 105 E 22nd St (Park Ave), rm 4A. Info: < [email protected].

A NOTE FOR UNAFFECTED COMMUNITIES

Stop the Disappearances Campaign! is dedicated to following the leadership of those in communities directly affected by INS detentions, especially DRUM’s constituency of families of detainees and detainees. However, we encourage those who are not from these communities to show their support and get involved in the fight to end immigrant detention. We have four suggestions of appropriate ways to show your support:

1. Form an action team! This is a group of five or more people who commit to making a call or fax each day (for a period of a week every few weeks) on the situation of someone in detention. Contact Abby email [email protected]
2. Donate money to the DRUM bond and support fund, each dollar goes directly to support families of those detained, or to provide the bonds to set detainees free! (contact DRUM)
3. Offer to drive detainee family members and community members to make visits to detainees. Contact mac 646-489-4375 [email protected]
If you or anyone you know has legal expertise become part of the needed legal network to represent and assist detainees in their cases. Contact Megan [email protected]

Know Your Rights!

Trainings and Wallet-Sized Palm-Cards (Spanish, Arabic, English and Urdu) are available from the Know Your Rights Committee of CHRI.

You have these rights in the USA (regardless of your immigration status!):

·         You do not have to answer any questions by the police, FBI, INS, or other law enforcement.  Do not talk without a lawyer.  Say you want to see a lawyer.

·         You do not have to sign any paper without a lawyer with you.

·         You do not have to let the police, FBI, INS or anyone else come into your house without a "warrant" (special paper from a judge).  Tell your roommates not to let them in without a warrant.

·         You do not have to answer any questions about your immigration.

·         You do not have to show identification unless you are driving a car.

(Backs of cards list places to call for legal assistance, finding a lawyer, and other resources)

For more information or a complete training, in Spanish or English, please call CHRI: 212-254-2591, and leave a message for Lara of the KYR Committee.

***Thanks to those who have called, faxed and written. Many cases in past bulletins have been quickly resolved. 60 detainees have been transferred from the horrendous conditions in Passaic to the better conditions of Hudson County Correctional. Letter Writing Works!. Applying pressure with fax zaps and letter campaigns has convinced many officials and politicians to provide needed medical treatment, expedite bond releases and voluntary departures and deportations. Visitation is a lifeline for detainees and our advocacy helps.****

STOP THE DISAPPEARANCES!

Our demands:

1.   Release all detainees being held for immigration violations.

2.   Repeal the racist Patriot Act, the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), and the 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.

1.       Release a real list of all 9/11 detainees.

2.       Provide detainees with immediate, full and proper access to legal information and representation.

5.       Ensure all facilities used for detention meet the INS standards for detention.

6.       Inform detainees of when they will appear before a judge, be released, or be deported.

7.       Stop holding detainees who have been granted bond or ordered removed.

8.       End all cooperation between the INS and local law enforcement.