First Friends: Need Your Assistance to House Accompanied Minors, including a 2 year old in Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody !!!

With the continued influx of unaccompanied children crossing the borders, ORR and DHS are overwhelmed in providing services to many of them while communities are responding to this humanitarian crisis, wondering how they can be more of a help.

First Friends, has assisted 2 unaccompanied minors with release and assisted with transportation logistics to have them united with family members in Michigan and Texas. First Friends is currently working with an undocumented family member to establish the support for the release of a 14 and 16 year old held in ORR custody in Texas. 

A referral from Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) in need of housing for a 17 year old unaccompanied male minor from Honduras who is currently in ORR custody at the Union County Juvenile Detention Center. E's father abandoned him at birth. E became a street child when he was six years old when his mother left to receive treatment for cancer. While living on the streets, he was robbed, beaten, and struggled to find food and bared witness to gang violence. He stopped attending school and began working at age eight in agriculture, picking up cans, shining shoes, and construction. His relationship with his mother is strained, and she often abused alcohol. E came to the United States seeking protection, and wants to receive an education. He has no family in the United States. When he arrived, U.S. immigration officials apprehended him, placed him in deportation proceedings, and placed him in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement in Arizona.

The government then transferred him to Union County Juvenile Detention Center. Despite that E has no criminal convictions or juvenile delinquency record, unless he finds an alternative arrangement, the government will transfer him to an adult immigration detention center when he turns eighteen on August 3, 2014. E hopes to be released from detention, and remain safely in the United States and attend school.

E is eligible for an immigration benefit and defense to deportation called Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), because he is unable to reunify with either of his parents. Special Immigrant Juvenile Status would permit him to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, or green card holder, and remain in the United States permanently. He has completed the first stage of the process for applying for SIJS. Once his application for SIJS is approved, he will be immediately eligible to file for his green card and work authorization.

This morning, First Friends received a referral from ORR, New York for assistance for a 17 year old mom/baby (2 years old) from Honduras that have been in placement at Children's Village since March 2014 and have no reunification options. They do not have any family in the United States. 

First Friends is seeking your support to see if there is anyone in your community willing to provide shelter for them which would allow for their release. 

These children will spend much of their time in the custody of various federal agencies, so opportunities for public help are limited.

More importantly as soon as they turn 18 they will be moved to adult facilities. The 17 year female will be separated from her 2 year old daughter with limited possibility of unification if not released together. 

They need your help and support. 

Please contact Sally Pillay 908-469-7337 for more information.

SUGGESTIONS ON HELPING:

 

• Housing an accompanied minor or an asylum seeker released from immigration detention

• Shoprite, Pathmark, Target gift cards help us  
  purchase food and needed clothing for 
   released individuals 

• A USPS Money order valued at $28.75 helps a detainee to make phone calls to lawyers and family members

• Volunteer to visit immigrants in detention (A great need for Spanish Speakers). Your visits help to boost the morale of the individual and alleviates the isolation

• Donate to our Community Supported Post-Release Program: Visit www.firstfriendsnjny.org and click on the DONATE  
  tab !!! Money goes to towards food, clothing, shelter, transportation, medical needs among other needed services. 

• Take on a case: Attorneys can assists with taking a case pro bono 

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS!

First Friends Response to the Southern Border Humanitarian Crisis!!!

Worsened conditions of sexual assault, economic instability and rising gang and drug violence in Central America have led thousands of unaccompanied children to flee their home countries causing an "urgent humanitarian situation" at the US-Mexico border. These children are in need of care,  are often mistreated by border agents and are placed in already overcrowded holding cells and temporary shelters. They are being subjected to inhumane, appalling conditions. 

Border Agents are not equipped to handle the influx of unaccompanied children streaming in that is straining existing detention and enforcement capacity resulting in overcrowding and dehumanizing conditions of captivity. There are not enough Pro Bono attorneys available to assist these children in their legal proceedings.

As the crisis continues at the border, First Friends recently took in an unaccompanied minor who turned 18 on June 24th and was going to be placed in an adult jail facility if First Friends was not able to assist him.

His traumatic story of his journey from Central America fleeing gang violence, and the mistreatment he endured at the border illustrated the inhumane conditions of incarceration. He was placed inside rooms nicknamed "coolers," "ice boxes" or "hieleras" for 3 days in severely overcrowded conditions. The children were forced to sleep on the floor, and the exposure to frigid temperatures made him very ill. 

First Friends was able to temporarily house him, before getting into contact with family members in Texas. We were able to provide necessary arrangements to have him reunited with his family and provided necessary referrals to legal services providers to assist him. After 2 long days traveling on the bus and multiple changes, we found out that he successfully and safely made it to Texas.

We believe that opening up more family detention centers is not the solution.These children are not criminals, but refugees who have fled violence in their countries and are seeking refuge and a better life amidst the chaos. Department of Homeland Security and Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) should consider Alternatives to Detention rather than using detention facilities as a solution. ORR needs to speed up placement with parent or relative sponsors   and or ensure that children are placed into community-based care whenever possible rather than have them languish in detention 

U.S. authorities must deal with this humanitarian crisis immediately, addressing root causes of the crisis, improving resources and coordination and ensuring the needs of the children are met in a safe and humane manner.

We urgently ask President Obama to use his executive power to reform our immigration laws that reflect American ideals of compassion and family unity. We must place the best interest of the children first and should offer protection to the victims. These children should be our priority in dealing with this crisis. 

The government should appoint legal representation to assist them through the legal process. Many of these unaccompanied minors admitted into custody are potentially eligible for some type of immigration relief such as special immigrant juvenile status, asylum or visas for victims of crimes or trafficking. Without representation, these kids fall through the cracks. Children who would flee are clearly desperate and more attention needs to be focused on the problem.

To learn more about the humanitarian crisis at the border First Friends will host a focus meeting in early August.

Please join NOT1More Deportation NJ on April 5th! let's raise our voices to end deportations. #2Million2Many

http://player.vimeo.com/video/89445927

NOT 1 MORE NJ INVITES YOU TO: 

Date: Saturday April 5th at 3:30pm 
Where: In front of Essex County Hall of Records (by Lincoln statue) @ 465 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 
Newark, NJ 07102 

Everyday more than 1,000 people are deported. It is predicted that in April 2 million people will have been deported by the Obama Administration. Amid Congressional inaction, President Obama and his Administration must understand that our community cannot continue to wait. The President can take concrete, bold and necessary actions TODAY to turn back the deportation dragnet.

Watchdog: Feds Are Muzzling Us for Reporting Alleged Immigrant Detainee Sex Abuse

After a community group raised concerns about alleged sexual abuse at an immigrant detention facility in California, the feds asked the group to sign away its First Amendment rights.

Last summer, Solace, a community group that helps oversee immigrant detention, warned US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about alleged sexual assault, harassment, and neglect at the agency's Otay detention facility in San Diego. But instead of working with the organization to address its concerns, ICE is now blocking its access to the center.

In August, ICE told Solace that it would no longer be able to continue its visitation program at the facility unless its volunteers agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement. The confidentiality agreement is "extremely confusing," says Carl Takei, a staff attorney with the ACLU's National Prison Project. "It's vague enough that it could be used as a cover for inappropriate termination of visitation rights based on advocacy or other free-speech activities." The form also requires volunteers to "defend" and "indemnify" ICE and Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the detention facility, from any liability "arising" out of the volunteers' work, meaning that if a volunteer tells a detainee she has the right to sue Otay for sexual abuse, the volunteer would be required to defend Otay if the detainee were to bring a lawsuit against the facility. Takei says that this type of language would "chill" volunteers from raising concerns about detention conditions.

For six months, Solace tried unsuccessfully to persuade ICE's San Diego field office to reinstate the visitation program and to modify the language in the confidentiality form to comply with ICE's national detention standards, which merely require volunteers to sign an acknowledgment that they understand the rules of the facility and a waiver that releases ICE from responsibility in case of volunteer injury.

Civic, an umbrella network of visitation programs that includes Solace, sent a formal request to ICE's national office last week requesting that the agency force its San Diego field office to modify the application form and reinstate Solace's visitation rights. Civic asked for a response by Monday but has not received one. On Tuesday, when Civic told ICE it was going to publicize the issue, the agency said it was willing to meet with the immigrant visitation organization. "We hope to have a collaborative resolution," says Kristen Kuriga, who helps run Solace. "But it has already taken six months." ICE did not return a request for comment. Neither did the Department of Homeland Security.

This is not the first time that ICE has suspended visitation after volunteers criticized the agency. Last July, in response to an editorial penned by Civic's co-executive director, Christina Fialho, which slammed the lack of oversight at immigrant detention facilities, ICEsuspended Civic-affiliated visitation programs at three ICE detention centers in California. Fialho says that there have been other instances around the country in which individual Civic volunteers have participated in vigils outside of detention facilities and then been denied visiting privileges.

ICE detains about 34,000 people every day. It's a big system and there is "very, very little oversight," says Grisel Ruiz, a law fellow at the nonprofit Immigrant Legal Resource Center. Oversight of ICE detention facilities, which are often run by counties or private prison companies, has improved over the past half decade, Takei says. But unlike the federal prison system run by the Bureau of Prisons, there is no third-party overseer built into the ICE immigrant detention system, which is housed within the Department of Homeland Security. Most oversight of immigrant detention comes from civil-society groups, including groups like Solace.

Now, ICE "is asking us to choose between our First Amendment rights and visiting our friends in detention," Fialho says. "This is not a choice any democracy should ask its people to make."

After we published this article, ICE sent this response:

"US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is committed to an immigration detention system that prioritizes the health and welfare of detainees. The agency welcomes visits to its facilities by members of community groups and encourages constructive feedback for improving conditions of immigration detention. In the interest of ensuring the safety of facility staff and detainees, ICE policy [as detailed in the agency’s 2011 Performance-Based National Detention Standards] requires that members of community service organizations seeking to participate in voluntary detainee visitation programs undergo background checks prior to being admitted to these secure facilities."

Sowing Injustice, Reaping Sorrow 5th Annual Pilgrimage for Human Rights

Sowing Injustice, Reaping Sorrow 5th Annual

Pilgrimage for Human Rights

Visit our Events Page ...

http://irate-firstfriends.org/future_events.html

LCWR Responds to House Republican Standards for Immigration Reform

[Silver Spring, Maryland] The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) welcomes the release of the Republican immigration standards and leadership’s willingness to engage in immigration reform.

 “Achieving just and compassionate immigration reform will require the wisdom and leadership of legislators on both sides of the aisle,” said Sister Janet Mock, CSJ, executive director of LCWR. “We applaud Speaker Boehner’s willingness to enter into serious negotiation around one of the most pressing moral issues of our time.”  

We are encouraged that the standards acknowledge the special circumstances and extraordinary potential of those brought to the United States as children and hope that legislation crafted in the House will apply to DREAMers broadly and respect the special needs of their families.

However, we are concerned about the implications of many of the other broad principles outline by US House Republican leaders in their statement of standards. 

We are troubled by the prioritization of employment-based immigration over family unity. Our nation needs immigration reform that reflects the paramount importance and socio-economic contribution of families, not reform that pits one group of aspiring Americans against another.  We need not sacrifice our families to meet the needs of our economy. In fact, ensuring family unity will help us meet our national economic goals. 

While we acknowledge the responsibility of the federal government to secure our borders and enforce the rule of law, we believe the best way to protect America is to create a rationale immigration system that respects human rights and border communities, reunites families, and meets the needs of employers and workers.

Perhaps most concerning is the failure of the Republican standards to lay out a clear roadmap to citizenship for the approximately 11 million Americans trapped in the shadows by our broken immigration system.  Our nation cannot abide an immigration law that bars our brothers and sisters from citizenship they are willing to earn and we will not tolerate legislation that consigns members of our community to second class status.

Sister Janet reaffirmed the pledge made by LCWR at its 2012 assembly. “We remain committed to seeing just and compassionate immigration reform enacted and look forward to working with Representatives across the political spectrum to ensure that the standards upon which our immigration law is built reflect Catholic social principles and the values of our nation.”

LCWR, and its members across the country, will continue to press for legislation that protects the dignity and human rights of all people; creates an achievable pathway to citizenship; fixes the immigration visa system and reunites families; protects the rights of all workers; promotes the full integration of newcomers; respects the special needs of the most vulnerable; and addresses the violence, persecution, and poverty that force migrants from their homes.

The faith community, immigrant advocates, and immigrants themselves have been pursuing reform that builds upon the seminal values of our nation for years. We have waited long enough.

“As women of faith we take seriously the gospel call to welcome the stranger and care for those in need,” said Sr. Janet. “Together with people of faith and good will we will continue to work to ensure that the rights of our immigrant brothers and sisters are fully protected.”

LCWR is an association of leaders of congregations of Catholic women religious in the United States. The conference has more than 1400 members, who represent more than 80 percent of the approximately 51,600 women religious in the United States. Founded in 1956, the conference assists its members to collaboratively carry out their service of leadership to further the mission of the Gospel in today’s world.

Contact:

Sister Annmarie Sanders, IHM
Director of Communications
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
asanders@lcwr.org
301-588-4955

HRW condemns solitary confinement of detained immigrants

The placement of immigrant detainees in solitary confinement is now subject to heightened scrutiny within Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Human Rights Watch reported that at any given time, hundreds of detained immigrants are held in solitary confinement. In September, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced it would limit but not ban the use of solitary confinement.

To address the risks of solitary confinement, ICE officials changed their policy last year on the use of solitary confinement. The policy limits who can be placed in solitary confinement, specifically stating that victims of sexual assault and people with mental disorders will have limited exposure to solitary confinement.

While Immigration and Customs Enforcement say they only place about 1 percent of its detained immigrants in solitary, this practice is nonetheless shocking because those detainees are being held on civil and not criminal, charges.

According to Univison, ICE released a statement saying, that “the segregation of detained immigrants remains rare and is only used when the authorities determine that there is no other option to ensure the safety of the detainee or the facilities.” ICE added, “The majority of prisoners in solitary confinement have been convicted of serious disciplinary offenses,” and sometimes are sent to these cells at their request.

The New York Times also reported last year that on any given day about 300 immigrants are held in solitary confinement at the 50 largest detention facilities that make up the sprawling patchwork of holding centers nationwide overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Solitary confinement violates basic human rights

The United States has come under sharp criticism at home and abroad for relying on solitary confinement in its prisons more than any other democratic nation in the world.

Prison isolation fits the definition of torture, as stated in several international human rights treaties, and thus constitutes a violation of human rights law. For example, the U.N. Convention Against Torture defines torture as any state-sanctioned act “by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person” for information, punishment, intimidation, or for a reason based on discrimination.