police state

Today, June 24th, The Hill Reported that migrants separated from their children are being offered their children back upon their return to the country they are seeking asylum from if they sign a voluntary deportation order. They are not reunited with their children at the airport, and by the admission of the Federal government, many children are “lost” in the system. Earlier this week a federal judge was reported to have literally pounded his fist on the bench in anger at the practice screaming “when you go to jail and they take your wallet they give you a receipt.

Yesterday, June 23, concerned people held a demonstration at the Ursula Detention Center in McAllan Texas. This is a place where migrants, including those follow procedure to seek asylum in the United States, are brought for “processing” and detention. At least one bus, loaded exclusively with children, some appearing as young as three years old, was blocked from leaving. An anonymous source from within the temporary blockade provided pictures of sad, frightened and confused children pressed up against the bar studded windows.

On June 30th and number of political groups are calling for a national day of action at ICE facilities around the country in opposition to America's growing network of public and private concentration camps for both adults and children.

Today Donald Trump signed an executive order that will end the tearing of children from their families at the border and sending them to private prisons, where some of them are later trafficked in slave labor, raped by guards, or simply “lost.” Instead they will be detained with their families, indefintely. That means life in prison in a cage for whole families.

James Robinson was arrested on the night of May 8th. He was illegally held for seven days before his arraignment. His defense committee, after two weeks of attempts, finally got to meet with him. He did not even know that he had one. He did not know that money was being raised to get him something better a court appointed Attorney. The information he passed to his visitor was chilling. The amount of hours that went into getting someone to him was tremendous.

A picture went viral on the internet two days ago on May 27th. It was a shocking picture of a prison bus with car seats for toddlers. It was alleged that the bus was used to transport immigrant children after they were separated from their parents on the direct permanent orders of pro-segregation Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

When my grandparents came here as infants and toddlers in the early 1920s, the great lady of the harbor said “give me your tired, your poor huddled masses yearning to be free.” Today children are greeted at the border with a different refrain. According to the ACLU they are tossed into cages alone and told “Right now, we close the door, we rape you and fuck you.” by Border Patrol Agents.

Although the Trump Administration seems to be able to “loose” 1500 children in ICE detention separated from their parents, this author has never seen someone charged with a crime disappear with so much obvious coordination between so many agencies. In our search for James Robinson, this author along with Robinson's prison welfare attorney, contacted five prisons in two states, all of which either refused to admit he was a prisoner, or gave false information repeatedly.

On May 21st, FBI agents showed up on the doorsteps of at least two rank and file activists involved in recent protests against neo-nazi groups. The two separate incidents were the ones that were reported, but this appears to be part of a trend and it is unknown how many other people may have been targeted and either were not home, or did not talk about the visit. The known targets include a Quaker pacifist who was recently arrested at a demonstration and a younger activist.