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News Briefs: Rally at Georgia Prison; No-Match Protest
The rally culminated a week-long 105-mile march through six counties, organized by the Prison & Jail Project, a 15-year-old civil rights and prisoner rights advocacy group based in Americus, Georgia.
Immigration News Briefs
Vol. 10, No. 24 - September 23, 2007
1. Marchers Rally at Georgia Prison
2. Arrests at Texas Military Base
3. Illinois Workers Fired Over No-Match
4. Border Agency Arrests 202 in Alabama
Immigration News Briefs is a weekly supplement to Weekly News
Update on the Americas, published by Nicaragua Solidarity
Network, 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012; tel 212-674-9499;
fax 212-674-9139; wnu [at] igc.org. INB is also distributed free via
email; see below or contact nicajg [at] panix.com for info. You may
reprint or distribute items from INB, but please credit us and
tell people how to subscribe.
*1. MARCHERS RALLY AT GEORGIA PRISON
On Sept. 15, some 100 people rallied outside the Stewart
Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, a privately-run immigration
prison, to protest the treatment of detainees. The rally
culminated a week-long 105-mile march through six counties,
organized by the Prison & Jail Project, a 15-year-old civil
rights and prisoner rights advocacy group based in Americus,
Georgia. The group's annual "Freedom Walk"--now in its 12th year-
-highlights racial and social inequities in the criminal justice
system in rural southwest Georgia.
About eight people from the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and the
Atlanta Minuteman Project held a counter-demonstration with
banners reading: "Enforce our existing laws" and "Secure our
borders."
The Stewart Detention Center is operated by the Corrections
Corporation of America, a for-profit prison company, under
contract for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It opened
in October 2006 and with about 500 employees it has become the
largest employer in Stewart County, one of the poorest counties
in Georgia.
"This is a for-profit prison. Is America about turning prisoners
into commodities?" asked Anton Flores, a leader of the faith-
based Alterna community, which co-sponsored the Lumpkin protest.
The groups also pointed out that the prison's remote location
makes it difficult for attorneys or family members to visit
detainees. Flores said he planned to visit detainees from El
Salvador and Colombia later in the day. "I will let them know
that there are people who see them as people," he said.
[Associated Press 9/15/07; WALB.com (Albany, GA) 9/13/07; Email
Message from Anton Flores 9/18/07]
*2. ARRESTS AT TEXAS MILITARY BASE
On Sept. 14, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents
arrested 12 construction workers at the Fort Bliss US Army post
in El Paso County, Texas, for lacking proper work permits. The 12
were detained after Military Police and ICE agents interviewed
335 workers at a housing construction site at Fort Bliss and one
at Biggs Army Airfield on the base.
Most of the workers were employed by four subcontractors for
Balfour Beatty Construction, said Winn Maddrey, a Balfour Beatty
spokesperson. The four companies were doing framing, drywall,
rock-wall building and flooring at the sites. Maddrey said the
subcontractors are required to provide documentation of workers'
immigration status to Balfour Beatty, and it is the
subcontractor's responsibility to verify the information. The
prospective employee must present a copy of the form certifying
his documentation and personal identification before he is issued
a work badge, Maddrey said.
ICE agents will continue an investigation into the source of the
false documentation, post officials said. Fort Bliss spokeswoman
Jean Offutt said it will be up to the prime contractor for Fort
Bliss housing to determine whether any action will be taken
against the subcontractors. [El Paso Times 9/15/07]
*3. ILLINOIS WORKERS FIRED OVER NO-MATCH
On Sept. 19, eight Latino workers were fired from the Ballco
Manufacturing plant in Aurora, Illinois, apparently over
allegedly mismatched Social Security numbers. The next day, Sept.
20, a number of other workers walked off the job at Ballco and
joined their fired co-workers on a picket line outside the plant.
Early on Sept. 21, 15 of the workers who protested the firings
were also fired.
On Sept. 21, more than 20 workers formed two picket lines outside
Ballco, carrying signs that read "Unfair Labor Practice Strike"
and "Honk for Justice." The protesters said they had been called
individually into a supervisor's office and told that the Social
Security numbers they had provided did not match government
records. "They just told me, 'There's a problem with your Social
Security number, so we're going to have to fire you,'" said
Arturo Lopez, a machine operator at the plant, which manufactures
steel balls, valves and pipe fittings. Another machine operator,
Gonzalo Bello, said: "They said if I ever fix the problem with my
Social Security number that I can try to come back."
Marcos Samano, a supervisor at the plant, said he was initially
told to stay at Ballco through the end of the year to train new
employees, but he was fired after walking out to join other
workers in the protest. Samano said he was confused about
apparently being fired for not documenting his employment
eligibility, although he had been working at the plant for eight
years. Ballco declined to comment on the firings. [Chicago
Tribune 9/22/07]
*4. BORDER AGENCY ARRESTS 202 IN ALABAMA
Between Sept. 2 and 14, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
agents arrested 202 out-of-status immigrants in Mobile County,
Alabama, according to Ken Fuller, the agent in charge of the CBP
station in Mobile. The two-week crackdown, dubbed "Operation
Uniforce III," targeted migrants who were traveling through
Alabama by vehicle after crossing into the US from Mexico. In
announcing the arrests on Sept. 17, Fuller said that more
important than the number of people arrested is the information
gathered from those arrested, including when, how and where they
crossed from Mexico into Texas. The Border Patrol, in partnership
with other law enforcement agencies, plans to continue these
operations in the future. [Press-Register (Mobile, AL) 9/7/07,
9/17/07]
----------------------------------------------------------------
END
*****************************************************************
ORDER "The Politics of Immigration: Questions and
Answers," a new book by the editors of Immigration News Briefs
and Weekly News Update on the Americas, out now on Monthly Review
Press: for details see publisher website:
http://monthlyreview.org/politicsofimmigration.htm
book website:
http://thepoliticsofimmigration.org
authors' blog:
http://thepoliticsofimmigration.blogspot.com
*****************************************************************
Vol. 10, No. 24 - September 23, 2007
1. Marchers Rally at Georgia Prison
2. Arrests at Texas Military Base
3. Illinois Workers Fired Over No-Match
4. Border Agency Arrests 202 in Alabama
Immigration News Briefs is a weekly supplement to Weekly News
Update on the Americas, published by Nicaragua Solidarity
Network, 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012; tel 212-674-9499;
fax 212-674-9139; wnu [at] igc.org. INB is also distributed free via
email; see below or contact nicajg [at] panix.com for info. You may
reprint or distribute items from INB, but please credit us and
tell people how to subscribe.
*1. MARCHERS RALLY AT GEORGIA PRISON
On Sept. 15, some 100 people rallied outside the Stewart
Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, a privately-run immigration
prison, to protest the treatment of detainees. The rally
culminated a week-long 105-mile march through six counties,
organized by the Prison & Jail Project, a 15-year-old civil
rights and prisoner rights advocacy group based in Americus,
Georgia. The group's annual "Freedom Walk"--now in its 12th year-
-highlights racial and social inequities in the criminal justice
system in rural southwest Georgia.
About eight people from the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and the
Atlanta Minuteman Project held a counter-demonstration with
banners reading: "Enforce our existing laws" and "Secure our
borders."
The Stewart Detention Center is operated by the Corrections
Corporation of America, a for-profit prison company, under
contract for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It opened
in October 2006 and with about 500 employees it has become the
largest employer in Stewart County, one of the poorest counties
in Georgia.
"This is a for-profit prison. Is America about turning prisoners
into commodities?" asked Anton Flores, a leader of the faith-
based Alterna community, which co-sponsored the Lumpkin protest.
The groups also pointed out that the prison's remote location
makes it difficult for attorneys or family members to visit
detainees. Flores said he planned to visit detainees from El
Salvador and Colombia later in the day. "I will let them know
that there are people who see them as people," he said.
[Associated Press 9/15/07; WALB.com (Albany, GA) 9/13/07; Email
Message from Anton Flores 9/18/07]
*2. ARRESTS AT TEXAS MILITARY BASE
On Sept. 14, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents
arrested 12 construction workers at the Fort Bliss US Army post
in El Paso County, Texas, for lacking proper work permits. The 12
were detained after Military Police and ICE agents interviewed
335 workers at a housing construction site at Fort Bliss and one
at Biggs Army Airfield on the base.
Most of the workers were employed by four subcontractors for
Balfour Beatty Construction, said Winn Maddrey, a Balfour Beatty
spokesperson. The four companies were doing framing, drywall,
rock-wall building and flooring at the sites. Maddrey said the
subcontractors are required to provide documentation of workers'
immigration status to Balfour Beatty, and it is the
subcontractor's responsibility to verify the information. The
prospective employee must present a copy of the form certifying
his documentation and personal identification before he is issued
a work badge, Maddrey said.
ICE agents will continue an investigation into the source of the
false documentation, post officials said. Fort Bliss spokeswoman
Jean Offutt said it will be up to the prime contractor for Fort
Bliss housing to determine whether any action will be taken
against the subcontractors. [El Paso Times 9/15/07]
*3. ILLINOIS WORKERS FIRED OVER NO-MATCH
On Sept. 19, eight Latino workers were fired from the Ballco
Manufacturing plant in Aurora, Illinois, apparently over
allegedly mismatched Social Security numbers. The next day, Sept.
20, a number of other workers walked off the job at Ballco and
joined their fired co-workers on a picket line outside the plant.
Early on Sept. 21, 15 of the workers who protested the firings
were also fired.
On Sept. 21, more than 20 workers formed two picket lines outside
Ballco, carrying signs that read "Unfair Labor Practice Strike"
and "Honk for Justice." The protesters said they had been called
individually into a supervisor's office and told that the Social
Security numbers they had provided did not match government
records. "They just told me, 'There's a problem with your Social
Security number, so we're going to have to fire you,'" said
Arturo Lopez, a machine operator at the plant, which manufactures
steel balls, valves and pipe fittings. Another machine operator,
Gonzalo Bello, said: "They said if I ever fix the problem with my
Social Security number that I can try to come back."
Marcos Samano, a supervisor at the plant, said he was initially
told to stay at Ballco through the end of the year to train new
employees, but he was fired after walking out to join other
workers in the protest. Samano said he was confused about
apparently being fired for not documenting his employment
eligibility, although he had been working at the plant for eight
years. Ballco declined to comment on the firings. [Chicago
Tribune 9/22/07]
*4. BORDER AGENCY ARRESTS 202 IN ALABAMA
Between Sept. 2 and 14, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
agents arrested 202 out-of-status immigrants in Mobile County,
Alabama, according to Ken Fuller, the agent in charge of the CBP
station in Mobile. The two-week crackdown, dubbed "Operation
Uniforce III," targeted migrants who were traveling through
Alabama by vehicle after crossing into the US from Mexico. In
announcing the arrests on Sept. 17, Fuller said that more
important than the number of people arrested is the information
gathered from those arrested, including when, how and where they
crossed from Mexico into Texas. The Border Patrol, in partnership
with other law enforcement agencies, plans to continue these
operations in the future. [Press-Register (Mobile, AL) 9/7/07,
9/17/07]
----------------------------------------------------------------
END
*****************************************************************
ORDER "The Politics of Immigration: Questions and
Answers," a new book by the editors of Immigration News Briefs
and Weekly News Update on the Americas, out now on Monthly Review
Press: for details see publisher website:
http://monthlyreview.org/politicsofimmigration.htm
book website:
http://thepoliticsofimmigration.org
authors' blog:
http://thepoliticsofimmigration.blogspot.com
*****************************************************************
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