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BANISHED VETERANS
BRING HOME OUR DEPORTED
SUPPORT THE On January 1st, 2010 a group of dedicated students began a four month walk from Miami to Washington DC in support of immigrant families. Also on January 1st, 2010 a half dozen people whose lives have been directly affected by our destructive immigration policies will began a fast in a desperate attempt to get President Obama to hear their pleas and use his executive authority to bring relief to families being cruelly separated by our admittedly broken immigration system. At the end of 17 days there was no response from Washington and Janet Napolitano, who was within one block of them ignored their requests for a meeting. The fast was broken. YOUTH
FOR THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS - 1949
DETENTION
WATCH NETWORK AUDRIUS KAZENAS UPDATE:
The Board of Immigration Appeals has remanded his case back to the judge saying he needs more proof. The assistant council for ICE (prosecutor) - in her appeal brief said that Audrius had no proof he was ever in the military, he could not prove that his father was, in fact, his father . . . she said a lot of things that reveal more than I think she intended to reveal about her own intentions and motivations. His next hearing is September 8th. He's still sitting in a tiny cell in Suffolk County House of Corrections - it is still six to seven hours of driving to go visit him, the return trip in the depths of the night, but I make the trip. At his last hearing his wife decided she would not pursue the family waiver at the very last minute, leaving him virtually without a case as he had not pursued his bid for asylum and had put his trust in her. He was ordered deported, but despite the lack of time to prepare a case the judge did see credible reason to believe that his deportation would likely result in torture and death and so he was granted deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture. So Audrius sits in prison still and we, his friends, are held hostage to the whims of ICE agents . . . still. Timing is everything sometimes and I find Audrius' wife's timing interesting. Two weeks earlier - when our family put up the $2,565 for the family waiver - she assured the lawyer she wanted that family waiver. Her timing and actions stripped a lot of money from Audrius' defense fund and it could not have been better coordinated for maximum assurance of his being deported. I've been researching the timing of a number of actions of various individuals in this case . . . yes . . . timing is fascinating. The good news: there are contact visits at this prison - his family can visit him and hug him. His children can finally hug their dad. The bad news: His wife has moved her boyfriend into the house and has cut off all contact between Audrius and his children. They did not even get to speak to their father at Christmas. He sent them letters, but has never heard back. Aurius was taken from us the day before Thanksgiving, 2008. We are into his second year of doing hard time for loving his family. Despite it all, Audrius maintains. He's still forever trying to fix all the hurts for everyone else. I keep reminding him that we need to focus on saving him at the moment - he's not hearing me on that one any better than he ever did . . . In the United States of America a kennel owner who cannot adequately care for the number of dogs in his or her care is not allowed to continue to keep that many dogs. A kennel owner who abuses those dogs looses his or her right to keep dogs at all. DHS and ICE have, by their actions and admission shown that they are not able to adequately care for the number of immigrants they presently hold in custody. They have shown through their actions that they can not protect or are unwilling to protect from abuse immigrants they are currently holding. Are not these immigrants, these human beings, worthy of at least as much consideration as we would grant a dog? Letters Out
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A NEW HAMPSHIRE YANKEE ON ICE Dedicated to our greatly missed friend A small taste of a book in progress: For full text, click here November 24, 2008 I was a normal wife and mother. Thanksgiving was three days away. I’d started my day feeding the chickens and goats on our small farm, did some shopping, spent time on the phone coordinating schedules for the multi-family dinner planned for turkey day and took my teenage son to his jujitsu class. November 26 found me sitting in a police station looking into an abyss of international politics stemming from the end of the Cold War and coordinating the dissolution of the various pets and belongings that had been a man’s life. My mind raced to keep up with everything I was being told, everything that had happened and that I had just learned. I stood lost in a jungle of government agencies and national egos. The task facing me was to find navigable pathways back to safety for a close friend, Audrius, and if I was to help him, for myself. Thanksgiving was a day away and totally forgotten. I’d been ICEd. Well over a million people are ICEd by the government every year in the United States. They aren’t killed. That would be the old meaning of the term. This is the new, updated twenty-first century version where people are left walking around, existing under crushing mental torture, perhaps wishing they’d been killed instead. ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is part of DHS, the Department of Homeland Security. They are responsible for handling the detention and deportation of immigrants within this country. Please note: I did not say “illegal” immigrants. One of the first things that happens to a person who has been ICEd is they suddenly start to speak in acronyms. ICE, DHS, INS . . . for those who are still walking around unaffected it begins to sound like their friend’s speech has been taken over by some form of gibberish. The acronyms give comfort. Like the inhabitants of a Harry Potter book who refuse to speak the name of the ultimate evil, not speaking the name of these agencies leaves one with a shred of hope, lows the illusion that your own government has not become the resident evil in your life. Only corrupt governments attack and destroy the lives of their own people and this is the United States. This doesn’t happen here – and so those who have been ICEd speak in acronyms and pretend.
A NEW HAMPSHIRE YANKEE ON ICE America's Secret
ICE Castles
DID YOU KNOW? That this country has 5% of the world's population and 25% of the world's prison population? That immigrants charged with any crime in this country, no matter how minor, are automatically detained and have deportation proceedings started against them, whether they have been found guilty or not? That immigrants charged with minor crimes, once detained, are not allowed to defend themselves against the charges leaving them unable to prove their innocence or obtain any justice? That even when the police find they have the wrong person, or that an immigrant is actually the victim of a crime themselves, that ICE will still hold them and attempt to deport them, even when they are here legally. That immigration hearings are not open to public scrutiny - and you, as a citizen, are not allowed to know what our government is doing in those courtrooms? That we are holding immigrants in prison for indefinite periods in this country on a "civil detention" - meaning they have broken no criminal code? They sit in jail and rot while thieves, pedophiles and drug dealers walk free. That some of those held on a civil detention have been in a US prison for years - longer than they would be if they had stabbed someone - and they have committed absolutely no crime? That after an immigrant is ordered released by a judge it can take ICE as long as 5 months to release him - and then frequently only because the ACLU forces them to. That immigration prosecutors can claim anything about these people with no substantiating proof and the detainee is guilty till proven innocent? That even after an immigrant has been ordered deported or has agreed to be deported they are frequently still held in prison for months, sometimes over a year? That at least one ICE official has bragged to government representatives about her intentions to hold an innocent man indefinitely. That immigrants have been detained and imprisoned by ICE for being the victim of a crime? That some detainees have been forcefully injected with massive, potentially deadly doses of psychiatric drugs when being deported? That keeping these people in prison is costing the US taxpayer $100 a day per detainee? That badly needed skilled and professional immigrant workers are leaving this country because of our draconian immigration practices - and Canada is gladly welcoming them? That this is the land of the Free - the sweet land of Liberty? Hey - here's an oldie, but goodie. . . "One nation, under God, With Liberty and Justice for all." Remeber that one? Here's another: remember the Statue of Liberty and the poem at her base: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore Send these, the homeless, tempset-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Ahhh, those were the days! I remember when those things actually meant something. . . yup . . . I'm that old! "What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we
do for others and the world remains, and is immortal."
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An ally to the USA against Cold War Soviet oppression, an internationally recognized human rights hero here legally and never having committed a crime - in a US prison for over 3 years The leader of a Christian prayer group dead in ICE custody A refugee here since a baby, doing hard time for no crime while he fights being deported to a country he does not know An insulin dependent diabetic in need of dialysis nearly killed through neglect A broken jaw left untreated for years DESPERATE PLEAS FROM THE HELPLESS HUMAN BEINGS FOR HUMANE TREATMENT FROM AN APPROPRIATELY NAMED AGENCY - I CHALLENGE YOU TO READ THESE AND NOT BE MOVED . . .
What . . .you thought he was that easy to shut up "First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me." Rev. Martin Niemoller Rantings of an Untamed Itch "Do not do this in the name of the American people. This is not justice, and where there is no justice there can be no freedom." On Human Rights and Immigration "Evil can not win. Anything that is based on destruction and non-survival carries within it the seeds of its ultimate end." From: Hope Mohamed Amine Hamada was finally released from prison on December 23, 2009. After a year and a half in prison he was offered voluntary departure by ICE and he chose to return to Algeria rather than continue the torturous existence he and those he loves endured at the hands of ICE. He chose to leave the U.S. and go to a country he does not know - away from his friends and community, away from his family that loves him. Remember . . . Amine committed no crime. He came hree as a refugee at the age of two. He is 100% a young American. Is this the shelter we offer those who turn to us in time of need?
STILL KICKIN’ . . . The day before Thanksgiving of 2008 our close and valued friend, Audrius Kazenas, was picked up by INS (immigration). I am still writing to him and visiting him in prison. The statement below was what I wrote the week after he was taken from us. I leave it as evidence – evidence of how badly such an experience can affect even the strongest citizen. I’ve recovered my footing to some degree and am dealing with the situation – am learning much about a world that someone like me would normally never know . . .am dealing with the constant financial rape that our prison system inflicts upon those who have friends and family held within it as well as the demoralizing mental torture that ICE inflicts upon those who value someone they have targeted. Audrius remains in danger. As long as that is so I will stand by his side, fully engaged in the cause for a more humane immigration and justice system – one that recognizes that we, the citizens of the United States of America, have rights. That all in this country, citizen or immigrant, have human rights. That we are a great nation because we respect those rights. Initially I had hoped this would be quickly resolved and I could return my attention to lighter subjects. No longer. No matter what happens to Audrius, I have vowed to continue monitoring this country's actions within it's immigration and justice system. So here it is – my first response to loosing a friend to the government: "Warning: I am in a very dark place right now. I’ve lived for the last month in the clutches of INS. No, I’m not here illegally or personally in trouble with them. I’ve broken no laws. I trace back to the founding families of this country, Dunham, Sherman and Poole, so my body is safe from being removed. INS could never touch my world, or so I thought, but lately it is absorbing all my attention, sucking the joy from my body, the faith from my soul. This has been one of the most heart-wrenching times I have ever experienced. How could this happen in my life? I am a citizen, damn it! My ancestors fought and died to make this country free. I should not know how the grip of INS crushes the soul. I should not feel how their talons rip mercilessly, but I now know and I now feel. It has forever changed my perception of this country, of justice, and of myself. I will eventually be released, but the wounds are already deep. Each time I struggle they sink deeper still, but I can not help but struggle. I have lived in this body for 59 years and bear many scars already, we all do. Life is hard on this planet. But these wounds – these wounds are different. The scars they leave, of helplessness, a sudden realization of expendability – these scars are harsher, crueler, like no other. Will they ever heal completely? I do not know, can not know until INS is satisfied and releases its hold. All I can say for now you will find in my essay, “A Bid for Compassion,” in the Human Rights section of this site. I wish I could say more – perhaps when this is over – probably sooner as eventually I will loose patience and speak out anyway. For now, your prayers are needed and appreciated. If you talk to an inmate on the phone and don't live right near the prison this service will save you money. Tell them I sent you.
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