Immigrants Abused in INS Detention

I do realize that this is holiday season and while we go shopping and quaffing eggnog, we need to remember what is being done by our Government and the DOJ ( Department of Justice ) on our behalf. The NY Times sat on the story for over a year before divulging the information about the illegal wiretapping and e-mail snooping our Government has been engaged in , " to keep all of us safe". The story that is not yet out is how legal immigrants are being arbitrary detained by INS ( now re-christened ICE - Immigration and Customs Enforcement ) and abused while in custody.

* Most of the inmates I met with did not speak a word of English. The immigration courts do have translation capabilities, but the jails where the detainees are being housed, lack interpreters or even access to translation services. I would spend most of my time writing letters to the families and attorneys of the detainees.

* Most of the INS detainees are not aware of their rights, or the reasons why they were being deported. I saw legal residents with green cards, signing deportation orders agreeing to be deported to their " home " countries. Countries they had often left over 20 or 30 years ago. They were leaving behind careers, families, houses purchased with hard earned money and having paid taxes and social security deductions for 20 - 30 years. The US government keeps all this money that was being collected from the paychecks of the deportees. This money is just lost. Not exactly, it does help shore up our economy, when we go about giving tax cuts to the wealthy.

* Immigration court does not make public defenders available to detainees, unlike regular court. So most of these detainees who tend to be people of little or no means, show up in immigration court with no legal counsel and are so dazed and confused, that I saw detainees agree to be deported and sign the deportation order, just because they were tired of the abuse they experienced while in custody. They just want to get on with their lives.

* Medical facilities are denied to the inmates. True there are nurses who sell you medicine!! Prescription drugs are denied repeatedly. A Sikh inmate had ulcers on his tongue and was unable to eat food. But the " doctor " - Dr. Cassidy refused to prescribe medication to the inmate. Dr. Cassidy would send letters to INS in Washington DC asking for permission to prescribe medication. The permission would of course never be granted.

* Gay inmates get repeatedly raped by other inmates and by officers. I shared a cell with an inmate who told me of his harrowing experiences, as he was a transgender person. He would have been in detention for 10 years this Christmas.

These are detainees who have no money. No money to call anyone, not their families, not their attorneys ( if they have them ).

I managed to get released, because I am reasonably articulate and know my rights. I was raising hell when in illegal detention and I guess the INS authorities decided that they had had enough of me!!

This e-mail is not an attempt to focus on my situation, but on how INS, the DOJ and our government continues to detain legal immigrants and subject them to deportation proceedings. Attorneys ask ridiculous fees such as $30,000 - $ 60,000. If the person is eligible for bail bond, the figures range from $ 10,000 - $ 100,000. This very egalitarian system, tends to hence keep potential deportees with the means out of the grimy jails and INS detention holes.

I want to bring to your attention what is happening to the INS detainees. I have been trying to support them by placing orders for Christmas and holiday cards made by them. These are talented men, with hope. They dream of being reunited with their families who live here in San Jose and San Francisco. They need the money to make phone calls to their families. They need money to buy food. Yes the County jails sell soup, razor blades and telephone calling cards ( $ 20 for 15 minutes ). Each collect call costs their family a minimum of $10.

I would appreciate if you could place an order for cards. They sell for $10 for 3 handmade cards, including shipping. $ 20 for 10 handmade cards. Please make your checks to " Education For All" and mail them to the address below. You can order cards for an office party, a family party and can be personalized with your message inside. Each card is hand made using colors that the inmates have to pay for. You cannot send them food or color pencils or pens. They have to buy them form the county jails they languish in.

You could also support the work that AAPPI does by sending us a check made to AAPPI. Education For All is a program of AAPPI

Have a nice Christmas and New Year.

Thanks

Kim Singh
Executive Director
Asian American Public Policy Institute
Education For All
4546 El Camino Real, Suite B10-129
Los Altos, CA 94022
Ph: 650 218 6016