By Fabian Bedne

Years ago my wife and I visited northern Patagonia. We spent a week in the town of Bariloche and also took a couple of trips. One trip was a tour that took us to Chile by hopping from boat to bus to boat and so on, all the while we were getting higher and higher in the Andes and getting more and more in the middle of nowhere - extremely beautiful and cool.

On one of the legs of this trip we happened to overhear English being spoken by a nearby couple - obviously angry. And as I looked I noticed that the couple, both enveloped with brand new Eddie Bauer luggage and clothing, needed my help. They were obviously tourists that were way over their heads trying to argue something with the ship’s staff. I walked ever to them and offered my assistance. They were a couple of New Englanders traveling through Patagonia. They spoke no Spanish and were mad because their travel agent had “lied” to them.

They wanted to travel to Chile using a tour their agent had sold them, but had just learned that the trip only took them to the border of Argentina and Chile and back. There was a way to go from the border on into Chile, but it was accessible a couple of days later. The couple was in complete and utter disbelief that they had been sold a package that was not workable. They had to make it to Chile in time to make connections in Santiago. They were very angry and upset that this was all wrong, and they were insistent that a tourist agent should be held responsible and should not lie to you.

I tried to explain that in Argentina things were different, that the expectations for doing business were not the same, and that they should finish the trip that day, return to Bariloche and redo the same trip in a couple of days. But they refused to listen. What they knew and believed about how the world worked was what was real to them. They believed they were entitled to their rights - the right to make a complaint, to expect redress and to get what they paid for. They were forced to continue on a trip through the lakes and their anger made the trip worse and worse. We arrived at our destination, a beautiful alpine looking resort by a lake surrounded by snowy mountains. They continued to be angry and were really annoyed that no payphone was available anywhere to make their complaints and new travel arrangements. Later they asked me to translate their requests with the border soldiers to find out if they could rent a car. But no car was available and they wanted to know if they could walk or pitch a tent, but that wasn’t possible as the way down the mountain was extremely hard. Finally they asked me to ask the Chilean military if they could spend the night in their post, the answer was that the woman could but not the man. I couldn’t tell if the border police were joking, but in any case that attitude and suggestion changed the minds of the New Englanders, and they agreed to go back to Bariloche as I had suggested. Unfortunately, they were still so angry that all during the rest of the trip they completely missed the amazing beauty of the place they were in.

I spent a good part of that day trying to understand why even after I explained the situation to them they refused to believe it. When I took a second look I saw that they were holding on tight to what they knew of how the world was supposed to work – that provided a sense of security for them. This is what they knew how to do. Yet, this was still surprising to me given that they were on a trip to explore the world and have new experiences.

As I see the immigration debate progressing in the USA, I feel like I am in that boat again. I see people extrapolating their beliefs and life experience and assuming that it applies to people all over the world.

The idea that you can “demagnetize” a place, that you can make things so hard for somebody that comes from the worst places on earth so that they will move on is so disingenuous, it is like expecting a payphone in the middle of the Andes.

Most Immigrants are not just moving to a new place casually. It is not like making the choice I did or so many Americans make to move from Ohio to Tennessee to be closer to family or to find a better job. These immigrants leave family and friends behind and face all kind of hardship both economic physical. They do so because there is nothing else to do to survive. The options at home may include death, sickness, living in shanty towns with no utilities, torture, brutality and all the results of extreme poverty, totalitarianism and isolation. And because life is so extremely hard back home there is nothing that anybody could possibly do that will make them turn around and go back. The worst of the worst situations in the USA is better than many of these folks could ever hope for in their own countries.

Making things hard for Immigrants only makes life harder for everybody. Immigrants already know how hard life is. Let's work on positive solutions that benefit everybody.

Photo by Dietmar Temps. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: immigrants

Former Nashville mayoral candidate and current U.S. Senate candidate Kenneth Eaton was interviewed by The Greeneville Sun, speaking about a variety of topics including immigrants and the laws that relate to them. While mostly aligning himself with the more statesmanlike politicians in this field, Eaton does use insensitive language in the interview:

Statesman:

[T]hose whose only crime is illegal immigration that are productive workers should be allowed citizenship.
...
I support English as the official language of the United States, but I will not sign my name to worthless legislation that actually would infringe upon the rights of those who speak English as a second language.

Insensitive:

Eaton used the word "illegal" as a noun, a usage which has been widely condemned (see story here).

When Eaton was a mayoral candidate, the Hispanic Nashville Notebook judged his performance at a immigrant-focused forum as "Best Use of Humor" (story here).

(Eagle-eyed RSS subscribers will have noticed that this post was originally bestowed with a more simplistic draft title, "Eaton good on immigration." Hitting "publish" when you are just drafting will do that to you.)

Labels: immigrants, justice

Officials needed everyone to be prepared

89% of Hispanic students never left

The Tennessean reports here that most of the 90 Hispanic students (both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens) who fled Robertson County schools in the wake of January immigration raids are back and have taken federally mandated No Child Left Behind tests:

When at least 90 Hispanic students disappeared from Robertson County classrooms last winter, school administrators worried.

If the children, about 11 percent of the total Hispanic student body, didn't come back right away, they'd be too far behind to succeed on spring achievement tests. School leaders didn't know if they would turn up the day before the tests, unprepared but counting toward countywide performance anyway.

In the high-stakes world of the federal No Child Left Behind law, every group of students needs to pass.

The fears weren't realized. Most of the students, who left over fears of immigration raids, came back in time to get ready.

The improvement in scores over last year's performance was enough to earn the county "improving" status

The original story about the disappearance of the students, who represented about 11% of the overall Hispanic student body in the county, is here.

Labels: education, english, immigrants, justice, statistics

Berry Hill officer, Davidson County Sheriff's department draw questions, ire over arrest, jail stay, and entry into 287(g) system of Juana Villegas

Tim Chávez files Amnesty International complaint, warns against visits to Music City

Backlash over restraints

The New York Times reported Sunday on the Berry Hill arrest and Davidson County incarceration of a visaless, pregnant Juana Villegas*, who gave birth while in custody. Villegas is a current resident of Nashville who has lived in the U.S. as far back as 1996** and is originally from Las Cajones, Guerrero, Mexico.

Tim Chávez, the former Tennessean columnist who started his own blog Political Salsa in May of this year, brought local and national attention to the story of Villegas' arrest and, particularly, the restrictions over her and her baby during her incarceration. Chávez filed a complaint with Amnesty International and has promised to warn everyone he encounters outside the city not to visit Nashville, until state lawmakers step in (original post here).

Most of the voices crying foul in and outside Nashville are calling into question the restrictions over Villegas' movements while in the late stages of labor and delivery, as well as her ability to be with her child - which have all been defended by the Sheriff's department as standard procedures regarding a pregnant woman in custody. The practice and the policy are being described by the growing list of critics as a human rights violation that far exceeds the boundaries of humane and reasonable conduct.

Metro policy: citation, not arrest, with I.D.

The fact that Villegas was arrested at all is one that has dismayed local immigration advocates, including Gregg Ramos, who is trying to keep ordinary immigrants out of the local crackdown on illegal immigration and has been quoted in a few stories including the New York Times piece. The general understanding among advocates like Ramos is that an officer's decision to arrest a person turns on whether that person can be identified. In May, Metro police chief Ronal Serpas confirmed this to the Tennessean:

[I]t has long been our policy, as provided by Tennessee law, to issue arrest citations whenever possible. Officers have no choice but to make physical arrests in cases where the defendants cannot or will not offer satisfactory evidence of identification. Unlicensed persons who choose to drive without proof of identification will be arrested regardless of race or ethnicity.

In Villegas' case, she had on her person a photo I.D. with her name on it, issued by her country's consulate. According to the New York Times piece, her immigration status was neither checked nor confirmed until after she was arrested:

After Mrs. Villegas was taken to the Davidson County jail, a federal immigration agent working there as part of the cooperation agreement conducted a background check. It showed that Mrs. Villegas was an illegal immigrant who had been deported once from the United States in March 1996, Karla Weikal, a spokeswoman for the county sheriff, said. She had no other criminal record.

If Berry Hill officers are arresting people instead of giving them citations in the hope that their immigration status will be checked by the Davidson County Sheriff once in custody, that could be driven by racial profiling, which is illegal by statute in Tennessee as of this year. Reporting on this story has been too light to draw any real conclusions. One would want to know what the standards are for arrests in Berry Hill (a different police department from Serpas' department, even though both are inside the shared boundaries of Metro Nashville/Davidson County), and what information is available to Berry Hill officers on the street at the time the arrest-or-citation decision is made, and how that analysis was made in this case in particular.

287(g) designed with dangerous criminals in mind, but 80% of charges are for misdemeanors

The reason advocates want ordinary immigrants to stay out of the Davidson County jail, and therefore out of the 287(g) system, is that they say the program was promoted as a weapon against violent criminals. One of the sources listed below has a more recent quote from Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"), but when asked about a similar case in 2006 in which a Nashville woman was thrown into jail after a minor traffic offense, ICE spokeswomen Temple Black told the Tennessean here that the result was puzzling:

Temple Black, spokesman for ICE [formerly known as INS] in the Southeast, seems puzzled that Metro law enforcement would expend resources on busting undocumented workers who aren’t dangerous criminals. "What we are focused on is aggravated felons…. We don’t go down to the Shell Station and pick up [undocumented workers]."

Differentiating between ordinary immigrants and dangerous criminals was a point made by Rick Casares, in an interview here with HispanicNashville.com:

To my knowledge, we do not routinely jail those who jaywalk, litter, or trespass. At this time, mere presence without documents is not a crime, but is equivalent to a civil infraction like those listed above.

Casares also raised the possibility of human rights abuses:

Once we single out a portion of our population and determine that they are unworthy of basic human rights, it becomes easier and easier to justify.

When asked about the program before its implementation in this interview with HispanicNashville.com, Sheriff Hall advised that even misdemeanors offenders who are only issued a citation would be run through the system, but he could not predict the numbers of ordinary immigrants vs. dangerous criminals who would be processed as part of 287(g).

The number turned out to be 80% misdemeanors, 20% more serious violations (story here).

Roundup of coverage

Here is a sampling of the local coverage of Villegas' story:

Political Salsa: "Go to www.nytimes.com and read about the embarrassment brought to Metro Nashville by its sheriff, mayor and congressman"

Tiny Cat Pants: "One Last Things about Juana Villegas DeLaPaz"

GingerSnaps: "Outraged"

Women's Health News: "New York Times Covers Treatment of Juana Villegas DeLaPaz"

NewsChannel5: "Police Claim Legitimate Arrest; Woman Clams Racial Profiling"

WKRN: "Hispanic woman claims racial discrimination"

Nashville Post: "Eager To Hit That 287(g) Pinata"

Nashville Post & Nashville City Paper: "School board candidate arresting officer in controversial 287(g) case"

Here is some of the national coverage:

Associated Press by former Tennessean reporter Travis Loller

Beyond Chron: "Out of Public Limelight, U.S. War on Immigrants Intensifies "

Blue Collar Muse: "Tim Chavez on Nashville’s 287g-estapo"

The Curvature: "Immigrant Woman Abused By Government While Giving Birth"

Daily Kos: "Woman Gives Birth Under Torture: Homeland Security Hell"

Dream Act Texas: "Juana Villegas Part IV"

Delaware Libertarian: "Is this where the debate over immigration has taken us--to complete dehumanization?"

Latino Político: "Shackled Like An Animal During Labor"

National Immigrant Justice Center: "Detained immigrant woman shackled during labor"

National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health: "The Inhumane Treatment Towards Juana Villegas DeLaPaz (Nashville, TN)"

Our Bodies Ourselves: "Appalling Treatment of Jailed Pregnant Immigrant"

Standing FIRM: "Shackled While Giving Birth - Police Abuse 287(g)"

Vivir Latino: "Human Rights Abuses Against Pregnant Undocumented Workers"

*Due to the different rules for Latin American surnames and U.S. surnames, Villegas has also been identified by her mother's surname, de la Paz, so you will also see her identified as "Juana Villegas de la Paz" or "Juana Delapaz," depending on the U.S. source.

**The New York Times reported that Villegas has lived in the U.S. since 1996. Various sources have reported that Villegas was deported in 1996. It is not clear how long Villegas had been living in the U.S. before her 1996 deportation and how soon after her removal she returned.

Labels: 287g, immigrants, justice, mexico, reputation

Over 500 people attended last night's "American Dream Banquet" hosted by the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition ("TIRRC") at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. Sean Braisted noted here the movers and shakers in attendance. Here are some of the salient announcements about TIRRC's recent achievements:

• TIRRC has won one of the 2008 National Council of La Raza/Ford Motor Company Affiliate of the Year Awards.
• Due in large part to the efforts of TIRRC and its allies on Capitol Hill, Tennessee was the only southern state that didn't pass anti-immigrant legislation this year (more here).
• TIRRC's Welcoming Tennessee Initiative is the model for similar initiatives in 13 other states, including Welcoming Massachusetts and Welcoming Idaho, and also a newly formed Welcoming America initiative.

Congratulations to David Lubell, the outgoing executive director of TIRRC, and Stephen Fotopulos, the incoming executive director. Congratulations also to honorees Bill Purcell and Johnny Hayes. All were recognized for their significant contributions to TIRRC and for helping ensure that Tennessee is a place where newcomers are welcome.

Tim Chávez also posts about the event here. Chávez repeats Charles Bone's comment from the podium that among the 500+ present, around 200 were hearing about TIRRC for the first time, having come specifically to support honoree Johnny Hayes.

Labels: immigrants

Irish-American song "Harrigan" among tributes to USA

The Sunday before July 4, Covenant Presbyterian put on a 2-hour choral and orchestral Independence Day celebration, including some typical patriotic songs (1812 Overture, Lee Greenwood, etc.) and some atypical ones, as well, including "Sound of Music" and "Harrigan." The latter, by George M. Cohan, is an Irish-and-proud-of-it theme that reminds us, in the words of Schoolhouse Rock's "Great American Melting Pot,"

How great to be American
And something else as well.

The Covenant Pres concert doubled as a final performance for retiring choir director Tom Ashcraft, who can be forgiven for not including my generation's Saturday morning cartoon ballad in the program. That, and the theme from Superman. If you're going to include snippets from the Sound of Music in an Independence Day medley, you might as well throw in the triumphant procession of the Man of Steel's soundtrack.

For the curious, here are the lyrics to "Harrigan" and "Great American Melting Pot":

Harrigan

Who is the man who will spend or will even lend?
Harrigan, That's Me!
Who is your friend when you find that you need a friend?
Harrigan, That's Me!
For I'm just as proud of my name you see,
As an Emperor, Czar or a King, could be.
Who is the man helps a man every time he can?
Harrigan, That's Me!
H - A - double R - I - G - A - N spells Harrigan
Proud of all the Irish blood that's in me; Divil a man can say a word agin me.
H - A - double R - I - G - A - N, you see,
Is a name that a shame never has been connected with, Harrigan, That's me!
Who is the man never stood for a gad about?
Harrigan, That's Me!
Who is the man that the town's simply mad about?
Harrigan, That's Me!
The ladies and babies are fond of me,
I'm fond of them, too, in return, you see.
Who is the gent that's deserving a monument?
Harrigan, That's Me!
H - A - double R - I - G - A - N spells Harrigan
Proud of all the Irish blood that's in me; Divil a man can say a word agin me.
H - A - double R - I - G - A - N, you see,
Is a name that a shame never has been connected with, Harrigan, That's me!

Great American Melting Pot

My grandmother came from Russia
A satchel on her knee,
My grandfather had his father's cap
He brought from Italy.
They'd heard about a country
Where life might let them win,
They paid the fare to America
And there they melted in.

Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she's got
Is the great American melting pot.
The great American melting pot.

America was founded by the English,
But also by the Germans, Dutch, and French.
The principle still sticks;
Our heritage is mixed.
So any kid could be the president.

You simply melt right in,
It doesn't matter what your skin.
It doesn't matter where you're from,
Or your religion, you jump right in
To the great American melting pot.
The great American melting pot.
Ooh, what a stew, red, white, and blue.

America was the New World
And Europe was the Old.
America was the land of hope,
Or so the legend told.
On steamboats by the millions,
In search of honest pay,
Those 19th-century immigrants sailed
To reach the U.S.A.

Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she's got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.
What good ingredients,
Liberty and immigrants.

They brought the country's customs,
Their language and their ways.
They filled the factories, tilled the soil,
Helped build the U.S.A.
Go on and ask your grandma,
Hear what she has to tell
How great to be an American
And something else as well.

Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she's got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.

The great American melting pot.
The great American melting pot.

Labels: immigrants

"The officer was about to send me back"

"Free to fulfill the purpose of our lives in the United States of America"

The Tennessean published this story by Maria Pervatt, a new U.S. citizen from Costa Rica, in which she describes her immigration back to Gallatin and subsequent citizenship process. A harrowing close call is tucked in there:

The officer was about to send me back to Costa Rica, but was moved by my children's words, saying "We are Americans, and she is our mother."
...
Months later I got to return to my home sweet home in Gallatin, a place where I lived for years and had sold before I went back to Costa Rica. From here I continue working with my nephew's ministry, arranging meetings for him to spread the gospel worldwide and whose testimony is impacting today's youth.
...
This fourth of July, I got my own personal gift, freedom to travel as I finally received my own beautiful American passport.

Now the next time my girls and I will make that one stop at any immigration office, we all will be proud to say we are citizens of a nation under God and proud to be free to fulfill the purpose of our lives in the United States of America.

Photo by Daniel Lobo. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: costa rica, immigrants

American Dream Banquet July 10

"Together, we will create a better Tennessee"

Stephen Fotopulos will become Executive Director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) effective June 30, according to this announcement by Sharmila Murthy, President of the Board of Directors of the coalition:

On behalf of the TIRRC Board of Directors, I am pleased to inform you that Stephen Fotopulos will be the new Executive Director of TIRRC effective June 30, 2008. After an extensive national search, the Board realized that the best candidate for the Executive Director position was actually within our own midst! Stephen joined TIRRC in 2004, most recently serving as TIRRC's Policy Director. As Policy Director, Stephen became a nationally recognized expert on immigration policy. He also partnered with grassroots organizers and communities to translate complex policy positions into effective campaign strategies. We are excited that Stephen is ready to take on the challenge of serving as TIRRC's second Executive Director!

Stephen came to TIRRC in 2004 with an impressive background in public policy analysis, including a Master's degree in Public Administration from Cornell University, as well as significant experience in management within the public sector. While at TIRRC, Stephen quickly became a leader within the organization, substantially bolstering both programmatic and organizational work. During his tenure, Stephen worked with TIRRC's immigrant leaders to help them develop the tools and confidence needed to engage decision makers on the local, state and federal level. He also successfully integrated important allies from numerous sectors in all of TIRRC's policy efforts. Stephen is committed to TIRRC's mission, principles and goals. He believes that immigrants and refugees should lead the campaigns that TIRRC undertakes, and will make expanding immigrant leadership within the membership, staff and board a primary priority during his tenure as Executive Director.

As many of you know, the founding Executive Director of TIRRC, David Lubell, will be starting a Masters in Public Administration program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in August. He will be officially stepping down as Executive Director on June 30, 2008, and will be leaving Nashville in the middle of July. Over the past six months, the TIRRC Board of Directors has been working closely with David and the TIRRC staff to ensure preparedness for David's departure. Now that a new Director has been chosen, the Board has established a Transition Committee to ensure a smooth transition of leadership. The Transition Committee is chaired by Avi Poster, who has over thirty years of leadership experience, both as a former school principal and as a leader in social justice organizations. The Transition Committee also benefits from the guidance of Mary Ochs, an outside consultant who has been working closely with TIRRC for over six years. Mary helped facilitate TIRRC's strategic planning process last year and also served as an outside resource to the Board Executive Search Committee this past year.

I would like to thank TIRRC's Board of Directors, TIRRC's staff, and all of our friends and allies for supporting us throughout the search and transition process. I would also like to give special thanks to JJ Rosenbaum who chaired the Executive Search Committee.

Please join me in congratulating Stephen! I look forward to seeing you at the American Dream Banquet on Thursday, July 10, 2008, where we will have an opportunity to formally congratulate Stephen on his new role as TIRRC's Executive Director and also to celebrate David's great accomplishments as the founding Executive Director!

Best wishes,

Sharmila L. Murthy
President, Board of Directors

From Stephen Fotopulos:

A LETTER FROM THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: MR. STEPHEN FOTOPULOS

I am honored and excited to be selected as the new Executive Director of TIRRC. When my wife Susannah and I first moved to Nashville in 2004, we knew it would be a great place to raise a family. What we quickly learned was that Tennessee was home to one of the fastest growing immigrant communities in the country, and Nashville was becoming the international city of the South. I was drawn to TIRRC because of my graduate studies in immigration policy and the several years I spent living and working abroad. At TIRRC, I have had the unique opportunity to work hand-in-hand with our immigrant neighbors in the struggle to build a more just and equitable society. The past four years at TIRRC have been the most fulfilling work of my career.

TIRRC's mission is to empower immigrants and refugees in Tennessee to develop a unified voice and lead a statewide movement for positive change. Our success as a coalition depends on the increased capacity of emerging, immigrant-led organizations, the continued development of immigrant leadership, and the full participation of these leaders in every facet of our work. I look forward to working with all of you in the coming months, to discuss the ways in which the organization fulfills its mission and to better understand the ways in which we can build upon our strengths.

For the last four years, I have benefited greatly from David Lubell's guidance and friendship, and I am humbled by the responsibility of leading the organization in his stead. The departure of a founding director poses healthy challenges for any organization. I am extremely fortunate to be joined by a dedicated, talented staff and an engaged, visionary board of directors in addressing these challenges. With the continued collaboration of community leaders, allies, and national partners, we will build on the momentum of David's leadership, carry out the organization's strategic plan, and ensure that TIRRC remains one of the most successful coalitions of its kind. Together, we will create a better Tennessee.

Thanks for your support.
Stephen

Statue of Liberty photo by Ian Foss. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: events, immigrants, justice

"How would this facility have been if no one found out about it?"

HQ's inner musings still a mystery

"Mommy, where is God that he doesn’t want to help us? Mommy, tell God to come and take us out of here and take us to our house"

With its cover story this week, the Nashville Scene becomes the first member of the local media to take Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America to task for its failings related to the imprisonment of immigrants.

HispanicNashville.com, in this story about the Hutto immigrant family detention center in Texas, and in this story about deaths of immigrants in CCA custody, followed extensive news coverage of CCA from various media outlets outside Nashville. The established Nashville media, however, have been noticeably absent from the coverage of their hometown corporation, until now.

The Scene story chronicles the pattern of CCA's "controversies" related to treatment of people in its facilities, including one incident that hadn't been reported before. Unfortunately, the Scene did not leverage its proximity to the company to give readers any insight as to how CCA is facing these issues (Have the executive team, the board, or the shareholders considered big-picture questions regarding the detainment of families and children in general? Has anyone at CCA headquarters asked whether, as Amnesty International asserts, child detention itself is improper? Was there a point when CCA's top attorney should have advised against the contracts to detain children at Hutto, as one letter to President Bush asserts?). Neither CCA nor its corporate insiders are quoted in the article; they refused to comment, and the Scene wasn't able to get anyone at the Burton Hills headquarters to talk about the big picture.

From the story:

In the last 18 months alone, CCA has been the target of several stinging lawsuits supported by detailed affidavits and third-party reports alleging dangerous and inhumane practices that have put inmates’ lives at risk. Whistle blowers, once in positions of trust at CCA, have emerged from the shadows to tell vivid tales of corporate misconduct. Federal authorities have castigated the publicly traded corporation for operating an immigration detention facility in Texas on the cheap. And at that CCA complex—which at one point forced children of immigrant detainees to dress in prison garb—dozens of incarcerated women and children have come forward with gut-wrenching tales of anguish and neglect.
...
Elsa and her children wore prison uniforms and spent hours in their pod, often with no toys or books for the kids. One day, Elsa and her family were in the doctor’s office, where all the kids were playing with crayons. Angelina drew a picture, but a guard grabbed the girl’s artwork. She cried a lot at Hutto, wondering what her family had done wrong.

“Mommy, where is God that he doesn’t want to help us? Mommy, tell God to come and take us out of here and take us to our house,” Elsa recalled her daughter saying. “Mommy, why do they have us as prisoners if we have never killed anybody?”
...
By all accounts, Hutto is no longer as oppressive as it was when Elsa and her family first arrived from Honduras. But why didn’t CCA get it right from the start? Or to put it more bluntly, why did a rich company—one with $388 million in revenues last quarter—have to be told by the ACLU to cease treating innocent children like criminals?

“The point I’d like to make is that none of these changes were done voluntarily,” says [Barbara] Hines, the attorney. “When you look at CCA and ICE, the question is, how would this facility have been if no one found out about it?”

Image copyright Nashville Scene. Used with permission.

Labels: business, immigrants, justice

Opened Basante's, father from Nicaragua

The Nashville City Paper published this profile of Luis Fonseca, the executive chef of the elite Nashville City Club. Fonseca's father was born in Nicaragua.

From the profile:

“My father put me in with his chefs when I was 17,” said Fonseca, who now serves as executive chef of the venerable Nashville City Club.

But long before then, the career of Nicaraguan-born Luis Fonseca Sr. impacted an impressionable lad.

“He used to come home at about 3 o’clock in the morning, wake me up, spend time with me, get a little sleep — and then go back to work,” the younger Fonseca said. “I remember my father working 16 to 17 hours a day. He was on his feet all the time.”

The physical toil eventually sidelined the banquet manager, a respected member of San Francisco’s diverse culinary community.

About that time, in the mid-1990s, Fonseca Jr. was pondering a move to Music City, lured by the opportunity to open with a relative what would become Basante’s.

Labels: business, food, immigrants, nicaragua

Familiar, fear-favoring English Forced is back

English Forced is the idea that it is a good idea to prevent foreign languages from being used by government officials, supposedly because it forces internationals to learn English. In reality, there are a variety of reasons folks support English Forced, some of them (but not all of them) being foolish or sinister, or both. Among the factions in favor of it: those who think that hearing foreign languages is "forcing" those languages on them (see here), those who have a generally negative attitude toward people who are different in any way (see here), those who make the mistaken assumption that speaking in another language is an indication of legal status (see here), and those who even scare 287(g)-wielding Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall "to death" (his words).

The movement is now aiming for a Nashville comeback after its 2007 defeat. The Nashville City Paper editorialized here against the whole idea, even offering tips to the opposition. Kay Brooks criticized Nashville Mayor Karl Dean for saying that he is troubled by certain language in the proposed amendment to the Metro Charter (see here) (hat tip: Kleinheider). The Enclave's Mike Byrd takes the City Paper to task for its article about the English Forced campaign that left unchallenged the spokesman's arguments that (1) English Forced helps immigrants learn English, and (2) being married to a Japanese woman insulates him from charges of "being either prejudiced toward Hispanics or from whipping up the uglier fringes of the racist right to go to the polls in November." (Hat tip: Kleinheider again).

I chimed in later, responding to Kay Brooks in the comments section below her post:

The tone of your post implies that we are in a new American era of "handing out rights," but the USA has a long tradition of balancing competing rights and goals. Some rights and goals are simply greater than English-related or immigration-related goals. If Nashville's mayor can tell in advance that an argument that "English trumps everything" is a loser, I'd say it's not such a bad thing that we have a lawyer as a mayor.

Just ask yourself, what "right" is the charter amendment trying to take away? If the focus of the amendment's ire is that Metro communicates in other languages at times, how does that create a "right"? Such a practice may reflect - but not create - long-standing Constitutional rights related to access to justice, for example, in which case Mayor Dean is correct to see in advance that we'd lose a fight to take away such rights. Or, a Metro department might use other languages simply to enhance its ability to fulfill its mission - seeing better results when using certain foreign languages in communications. Again, that choice by Metro does not create any rights on the part of the user; if anything, it is a convenience to the government and a courtesy to the recipient. So the "rights" language is either Constitutionally unopposable in certain circumstances, or it is a straw man, and in either case Mayor Dean is wise to be troubled by the proximity of such sloppy drafting to our city's charter.

If you see this issue through the eyes of Metro departments, at stake is their power to individually determine whether additional languages will better allow them to implement their missions. Micromanaging those departments by putting an English mandate over the entire city will handicap Metro (and thus all of us, if Metro's goals are our goals) and not just our city's international residents. In an English Forced world, this predetermination of priorities would win the day without any weighing of the costs and benefits in each situation. (And if the charter amendment doesn't make this change, what real practical effect is it supposed to have?) As I've said before, Metro currently implements a variety of multi-lingual communication strategies on topics including legal rights, a child's first day of school, domestic violence, recycling, rape victim resources, financial counseling, Homework Hotline, recidivism-reducing DUI education, pet ownership tips, access to health care, and tornado siren instructions - and none of the agencies responsible for those communications have been quoted in any of the articles on the English Forced movement.

By the way, when you comment about citizenship and English proficiency, why the exclusive focus on citizens? There are more people here than just citizens. Foreign spouses can move here years before they are eligible for citizenship.

Finally, you imply that multiple languages in this country is also a new thing that could cost us dearly ("wait until he sees the bill for this new right.") Germantown in Nashville had German-language church services, schools, and newspapers for decades. At the Centennial Exposition for which Nashville's Centennial Park was created, Nashville's German newspapers were rightly lauded as one of the best methods of integrating new German immigrants, because through communications in their mother tongue they could learn about current events even while they were still uncomfortable in English. It wasn't until WWI, cowered by fear of their fellow Americans' anti-German fervor, when the German-Americans scrubbed the German language out of Germantown.

If Dean prefers to maintain our city's welcoming tradition instead of yielding to a movement tinged with fear (or worse), maybe our mayor with the law degree studied a little history, too.

Labels: english, immigrants, justice

Tennessee withholds recognition of parenthood

At a time when American institutions are rightly realizing that immigration law has to be considered in a balance, and in that balance immigration can be and is often less important than other rights and legal responsibilities such as equal protection and the right to marry, the
Tennessean reports here that state rules currently put immigration ahead of identifying the parents of a newborn baby. Unvisaed single fathers are being barred from appearing on their newborn child's birth certificate:

In a flurry of pain, excitement and tears, her 7-pound, 1-ounce daughter, Christina, entered the world by emergency Caesarean section. Hours later, Baptist Hospital staff told Hernandez and her then-fiance that his name would not appear on Christina's birth certificate.

It wasn't the hospital's choice. State policy requires unmarried fathers to present government-issued identification or proof they're in the country legally to be listed on birth certificates. And in 2006, Tennessee stopped issuing driving certificates to illegal immigrants.

The pair of unrelated policies is spawning broader emotional, legal and social implications.

Hernandez, a U.S. citizen who works in hospice care, said she doesn't see the correlation between immigration status and fatherhood.

"Now my daughter has a father who loves her and no legal rights where she is concerned, no legal responsibility and no legal recognition that he gave her life," she said.

Even the pundit who the Tennessean quotes as being in favor of the rule calls it "weird."

For related commentary, see The Misery Strategy, the Doomsday Clock, and the Great Immigration Panic.

Photo: from this scene in Back to the Future. The character on the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance floor who tries to separate George McFly from his future wife Loraine (thus threatening the existence of Michael J. Fox's character Marty McFly) is identified in the script as "Obnoxious Kid."

Labels: immigrants, justice

Was National Freshman of the Year, All-American, played for Team USA, tied for career school home runs with 49

Baseball financed education

Turned down six figures before attending Vandy

"Gut instinct I needed to come to college"

Family moved to USA from Dominican Republic

"El Toro," "El Matatan"

From Vanderbilt press release:

Pedro Alvarez, third baseman for the Commodores baseball team, was selected as the No. 2 draft pick in the country Thursday, June 5, in the Major League Baseball Draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates picked him after the first draft pick went to the Tampa Blue Rays.

Three years ago, Alvarez was offered almost a million dollars to play for the Boston Red Sox. But Alvarez, 18 at the time, turned down the money and honored his commitment to Vanderbilt--and to his own education--instead.

From the Nashville City Paper:

In 2006, he was named National Freshman of the Year. In 2007, he earned consensus All-America honors. In 2008, despite missing 23 games with a hand injury, he still hit nine home runs and finished in a tie for the career school lead with 49.

From ESPN.com:

At El Nuevo Caridad restaurant in Washington Heights, $12.95 can get you a special of ox tail, rice, pinto beans and lemonade, otherwise known as "the Pedro Alvarez." And though the dish is not quite as renowned as a "Manny Ramirez" (goat stew) or a "Pedro Martinez" (chicken stew with avocado) -- at least not yet -- it's special nonetheless to the baseball-loving owner who serves it.

"Pedro [Alvarez] is the heart of this community," says Miguel Montas, owner of Caridad. "If I've dedicated plates to people that I've met after they were in the big leagues, then why wouldn't I dedicate a plate to somebody I see as a son?"
...
"When I was choosing [whether] to go play baseball or come to college, I just had this gut instinct I needed to come to college," Alvarez says.
...
That judgment is a credit to Pedro Sr. and Luz, whose quiet demeanor was passed on to her son. The family, like many Hispanic families, is extremely close.

Video of Draft Day at home with the Alvarez family, from MLB.com:



From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

In the nearby Hall of Fame club, where a group of 125 season-ticket holders were invited to watch the event on TV, broke out into what one observer called "great applause."

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Nicknames are "El Toro" (The Bull) and "El Matatan" (The Man)
...
Alvarez's parents, Pedro Sr. and Luz, came to the United States from the Dominican Republic two decades ago. Alvarez was 1 year old when the family settled in the Washington Heights section of upper Manhattan.

From the New York Times:

The elder Alvarez handed his son a baseball bat at the age of 3, and Pedro has not let go. Like many others in their mostly Dominican neighborhood — an area that straddles Washington Heights and Inwood — the Alvarezes hoped their son’s skills on the baseball field, if carefully tended, might one day finance a college education.

His parents went to college in the Dominican Republic, but when financial responsibilities intervened, they took jobs and neither graduated. In 1981, Pedro Sr. arrived in New York. His wife and 1-year-old Pedro followed in 1988. Their daughter, Yolayna, was born a year later.

“He always wished that his first child would be a boy,” Yolayna Alvarez said recently, interpreting for her father, “and that he would be able to go to school because of baseball. And that’s exactly what happened.” She just finished her freshman year at St. John’s University, and she hopes to eventually attend law school.

Also from the New York Times:

“He was the only guy who could hit the ball over every single tree,” said Elbert Garcia, his friend since elementary school.

Labels: dominican republic, immigrants, sports

Immigrant coalition supports workers movement

Campaign aims for fair compensation and just treatment for day laborers

Launch of "The Nashville Movement"

From The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition sent out this notice of a "Rally to Launch The Nashville Movement: A Coalition for Economic and Racial Justice:"

Some of the hardest working yet lowest paid residents of our city will be accompanied by hundreds of students, community organizations and congregations in a march for living wage and workers rights

What: Rally followed by a march for living wage and worker’s rights

When: Thursday June 5th, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.

Where: Rally at 15th Ave. Baptist Church, 1203 9th Ave. North followed by a march to Metro Court House

Why: The poorest workers, from taxi drivers to cleaning workers at the Sommett Center, desperately need to have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives.

The Nashville Movement is a growing coalition, of workers, community organizations, students, and congregations, committed to ending poverty, and winning respect, with and for the poorest workers in Nashville. The coalition was formed in 2007 by the Middle Tennessee Jobs with Justice, Nashville Homeless Power Project, the Urban Epicenter, and Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

The Nashville Movement is picking up in the successful legacy of the 1960’s civil rights struggle in Nashville. But now we’re not just organizing for a seat at the lunch table, we want to be able to afford what’s on the menu. The Nashville Movement is laying the ground work for a broad based worker rights movement that can win lasting improvements for the poorest workers.

According to the web site of The Nashville Movement, one of the group's campaigns will focus on day laborers:

Day laborers in Nashville are some of the hardest working, most exploited, least paid workers in the city. This campaign is resolved to make sure their hard work is compensated fairly and that they are treated justly by their employers.

Labels: events, immigrants, justice

The Nashville Opera Raise Your Glasses fundraising campaign prominently features Manuel, Nashville's Mexican-American tailor to the stars, in a variety of web ads and billboards.

Manuel recently turned 76 with a birthday bash covered by the Tennessean in this story and this set of photos.

From the birthday story:

Legendary couturier Manuel celebrated his 76th birthday with one of his famous all-day fiestas atop the mountain at his Triune-area home.

The event welcomed hundreds of friends, family and well-wishers, with impromptu performances from some of his singer-songwriter pals. Rosie Florez dedicated the tune "Hot Dog" to Manuel's daughter, Morelia,who also served as hostess and emcee for the event. Joshua Black Wilkins also performed, as did Danny Salazar, Rachel Rodriquez and Pino Squillace, who together roused the audience of margarita lovers with a bit of Latin flair.

From the Nashville Opera press release:

Nashville Opera ushered in a new era of drama, spectacle and artistic distinction today as the company unveiled plans for the Noah Liff Opera Center and the Fund for Artistic Excellence. The Opera's $12 million Raise Your Glasses capital campaign will fund the visionary $6 million opera center, the first-ever permanent home for the community-supported nonprofit organization, which has established a reputation for eminence in the 400-year-old art form here in the nation's Music City.

The Raise Your Glasses campaign, which has already garnered three-fourths of its $12 million goal, will also provide for the Fund for Artistic Excellence. The Fund will augment the organization's ability to expand its education and outreach programs and enhance the artistic quality of its productions.

Labels: arts, business, fashion, immigrants, mexico

Click here for the original story.

Labels: arts, events, immigrants, mexico

Second censure for discriminatory conduct

"Perceived predetermination as to Hispanic individuals"

Violations of Canons of Judicial Ethics, U.S. Constitution, TN Constitution

Short of removal, censure is "highest degree of judicial discipline authorized by law"

In balance of laws and rights, equal protection trumps immigration

The Tennessee Court of the Judiciary issued a public censure and this letter formally reprimanding Dickson County Juvenile Court Judge A. Andrew Jackson for his habit of issuing rulings against juveniles based solely on the real or perceived immigration status of the children and parents appearing before him. This includes a "perceived predetermination as to Hispanic individuals."

Jerry Gonzalez, who filed the complaint against Judge Jackson and was profiled by the Nashville Scene in 2004 (story here), explained the problem to the American Bar Association Journal as one of Sippenhaft, or kin liability:

"The judge would rule the juvenile was unruly if he found the parents to be disrespectful of the law," the lawyer, Jerry Gonzalez is quoted saying. "Under the statute, being unruly has nothing to do with the parents. They could be drug dealers and it doesn't mean you are."

According to the July 2007 Tennessee Bar Journal, this is the second time in two years that Judge Jackson has received this level of censure for discriminatory conduct:

On May 24, the Court of the Judiciary issued a public censure to Judge A. Andrew Jackson of Dickson County for inappropriate behavior at an August 2006 Juvenile Justice Conference in Memphis. On the evening of Aug. 7, Jackson overindulged in the consumption of alcohol to the extent that he was unable to remember some of the evening’s events. An African-American conference attendee, however, remembers asking Jackson about job opportunities in his area and that Jackson responded with disparaging references about the man’s race and ethnicity. Shortly thereafter, Jackson profanely referred to a conference attendee from Pennsylvania and physically pushed the person. Later that night, Jackson endeavored to coax a female conference attendee to join him on the dance floor. When she resisted, Jackson made a crude sexual remark.

The text of the formal letter of reprimand for the immigration-related conduct is here:

May 16, 2008

PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL

A. Andrew Jackson
Dickson County General Sessions Judge
4000 Highway 48
North Suite 1
Charlotte, TN 37036

FORMAL LETTER OF REPRIMAND

In re: Complaint of Jerry Gonzales against Judge A. Andrew Jackson
File No. 07-3154

Dear Judge Jackson:

This shall serve as a public censure pursuant to your agreement with the Investigative Panel of this court and in compliance with Tenn. Code Ann. § 17-5-301 (f) (5). This reprimand relates to your actions as the Dickson County Juvenile Court Judge in hearing cases in which children appeared before you who were illegal aliens, children of illegal aliens, or perceived by you as being illegal aliens. In juvenile cases in which the defendant juvenile had illegal or questionable legal status in the United States, you consistently determined that the child was dependent and neglected when the petition before you did not seek to have the child declared dependent and neglected and that you also when informed that this was inappropriate conduct, determined each child to be unruly, jailing these juveniles as a result of their status, their parents’ status or your perceived view of the status. This course of conduct was demonstrated in hearings held before you March 14, 2007, April 18, 2007 and May 2, 2007 in the case of a juvenile identified for the purpose of this letter as R. I. so as to protect that juvenile’s identify. In those proceedings you repeatedly asked counsel and the child “if he was illegal.” You announced to counsel your predetermination of the case when you stated “Mr. Taylor, you know what I’m going to do on that don’t you, might as well go on and get your appeal set up.” These statements led to laughter in the courtroom and because of your perceived predetermination as to Hispanic individuals appearing before you. You also in this hearing told the representatives of the child to “Get on over there and get Birch to sign it. It always just irritates me to no end,” referring to the requirement of counsel to seek an immediate appeal from your predetermined judgments and incarceration for juveniles in matters dealing in this particular case with a charge of speeding, expired permit and a seat belt violation.

Your actions in this and other juvenile cases violated Supreme Court Rule 10, Canon 1 requiring a judge to uphold the integrity and independent of the judiciary, Canon 2 requiring a judge to respect and comply with the law, Canon 3 B (2) requiring a judge to be faithful to the law and to maintain professional competence in it, Canon 3 B (5) requiring a judge to perform his judicial duties without biased and prejudice and your conduct in dealing with these juveniles deprived those individuals of equal protection of the law as required by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the equal protection provisions of the Tennessee Constitution. In addition to the violations of the Canons of Judicial Ethics and state and federal constitutional rights, your conduct detrimentally affects the integrity of the Tennessee judiciary and undermines public confidence in the administration of justice.

This public censure represents the highest degree of judicial discipline authorized by law short of the Court seeking a judgment recommending your removal as a judge from office. In the future, you are to accord all persons who appear before you equal protection of the law and to decide their case on an independent and fair basis.

Sincerely,

Don R. Ash
Presiding Judge
Court of the Judiciary

DRA/cg
cc. Investigative Panel
Disciplinary Counsel

Photo by Michael Galkovsky. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: immigrants, justice

"Challenged by isolation and barriers unknown to many Nashvillians"

Explores Nashville’s status as "destination city"

First installment, tonight: Little Kurdistan, USA

The Tennessean published this story about the new, original documentary from Nashville Public Television: Next Door Neighbors: Little Kurdistan, USA. Airing Wednesday at 8pm, it is the first in a series about immigrants in Nashville.

Just yesterday, NBC's Today Show identified Nashville as one of the "5 friendliest cities in America." Nashville's reputation for hospitality is often intertwined with the welcome the city extends to immigrants (see story here).

From the NPT press release:

Over the past thirty years, Kurdish immigrants in Nashville have started the first Kurdish Mosque in the United States and opened businesses, restaurants, markets and bakeries, building what is now the largest Kurdish population in North America. On Wednesday, May 28 at 8:00 p.m., Nashville Public Television (NPT) introduces the city to this thriving community with the premiere of NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA, the first in a new series of documentary programs under the NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS banner.

“As refugees, Kurds have overcome significant barriers to survive and flourish in Nashville,” says Will Pedigo, the program’s writer, producer and director. "They arrive as outsiders; estranged from their homeland and strangers in their new home. With this documentary, and the future installments in the Next Door Neighbors series, we hope to encourage Nashville to make strides towards a greater awareness of its diversity and provide an avenue for interaction among all our neighbors.”

The first significant wave of Kurds arrived in Nashville in 1976. They have since established a vibrant community recognized by Kurds nationally for its strong cultural and traditional heritage. The half-hour NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA examines how these Kurds have adapted to life in Nashville and provides insight into the struggles refugees face as they build new lives in a new home. The documentary explores what it means to be Kurdish, and reflects on the journey Kurds make as they become Kurdish-Americans trying to assimilate into American culture and still hold on to their traditions. In addition to meeting a variety of Kurdish immigrants and Kurdish-Americans, viewers will also visit Azadi International Foods for fresh-baked Kurdish bread, go inside the Salahadeen Center, the first Kurdish Mosque in the United States, and hear about life in Nashville from younger generations of Kurds.

The NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS series looks at Nashville’s status as a new destination city for refugees and immigrants, and explores the rich diversity of people now calling Nashville home. Across the United States, mid-sized cities like Nashville are experiencing unprecedented growth in their international populations. Together these communities are redefining the traditional international city on a smaller local scale.

“As our new neighbors rebuild their lives in Nashville,” says Pedigo, “their experiences, contributions and conflicts impact the city. They are also challenged by isolation and barriers unknown to many Nashvillians. How Nashville addresses its changing demographic will be important for the future of similar communities across the country.”

The NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS series will include in-depth web content at wnpt.net, public forums and feature a panel discussion after each of the four programs.

NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA is made possible through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s My Source initiative and is supported by The HCA Foundation on behalf of HCA and the TriStar Family of Hospitals. A partnership with the Vanderbilt University Center for Nashville Studies provided valuable research and community outreach.

Labels: education, immigrants

"Fundamental right" restored

Davidson County Clerk forever holds his peace, at least for now

The Tennessean reports here that a state law that requires proof of immigration status to get a marriage license is an overreaching into the "fundamental right" of people to marry each other, at least according to the Tennessee Attorney General and the Davidson County Clerk.

The Tennessean says that the bride-to-be at the heart of the story, Nashville lawyer Vanessa Saenz, sued Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen on April 21, challenging the Tennessee law that was the basis of the Davidson County Clerk's refusal to issue Saenz a certificate to marry "the man of her choice." The Tennessee Attorney General then issued an opinion siding with Saenz - echoing federal courts going back to 1967 that have said that the government cannot use certain reasons to restrict the individual right to marry. The Davidson County Clerk reversed its policy in light of the TN AG decision, and because Saenz was no longer barred from marrying the "man of her choice," the State of Tennessee moved for dismissal of Saenz's litigation against Governor Bredesen.

Theresa Harmon of Tennesseans for Responsible Immigration Policy told the Tennessean that she's "had to do some hard soul-searching on these kinds of issues." (Another comment from Harmon framed the immigration debate as a fight for legitimacy; see this post from Nashville blogger Aunt B.)

Prior to the Saenz case, Nashville congregations with unvisaed churchgoers had organized trips to Kentucky to wed, since the Bluegrass State did not have the immigration-related barriers that were found here in Tennessee. The Tennessean reports that last year, for example, St. Edward Catholic Church "coordinated a trip for 20 mostly Hispanic couples to obtain marriage licenses and legally wed in Kentucky, where clerks don't require immigration-related paperwork. [Rev. Joseph] Breen then married them in the church when they returned." (Question - could driving the couples to Kentucky have constituted a federal crime?)

Update 5/28/08: As a result of the AG position, "[a]ll Tennessee counties were told Tuesday they must follow Davidson County's lead and begin issuing marriage licenses to would-be brides and grooms without regard to their immigration status," according to this story in the Tennessean.

Photo by Tim Forbes. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: faith, immigrants, justice

Jose Jasso-Cuevas "convicted of the same federal crime in 2004"

"Unrealistic immigration laws encourage the black market"

The Nashville City Paper reported here on the arrest on I-40 in Dickson County of a man driving a vanload of 18 unvisaed passengers. The man was paid $550 per passenger for taking them to various parts of the country, including Tennessee.

Catalina Nieto, public awareness coordinator for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, was quoted by the Tennessean as saying, "Our unrealistic immigration laws encourage the black market for immigrant workers." (story here)

From the City Paper:

The van was driven by a man named Jose Jasso-Cuevas, and this was not his first cross-country trip.

Cuevas is now somewhere in the federal prison system, charged with a violation of federal code for transporting illegal aliens, according to court documents. It is an act federal officials and others involved in combating the practice refer to colloquially as human smuggling.

[ICE Agent Stephen] McCormick’s affidavit and other paperwork in the federal prosecution of Cuevas state there were 18 passengers crammed into the non-descript van, which Cuevas told authorities he had driven to Tennessee on behalf of a “transport company” in Houston. It was not Cuevas’ first trip for that company or in this line of work.

He told authorities he had made three or four trips on behalf of the same company, and that each undocumented persons on board was to pay him $550 once they were delivered to places across the South — Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Apparently, the system for delivering the illegal immigrants was to call a telephone number when he arrived in various states to get the information about where to drop each passenger.

It would not have been Cuevas’ first time in South Carolina. He was convicted of the same federal crime in 2004 there that he is now charged with in Nashville. Court records show he was released with a sentence of time served.

Photo by Mo Riza. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: immigrants, justice