There was no question that the immigration detention facilities and policies in this country are dehumanizing, but the latest news out of Arizona underscores it. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) jail is being called out for human rights abuses against female detainees. From the Inter Press Agency:

MCSO is currently under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department over alleged abuses of a section of immigration law known as 287(g) that allows the federal government to deputize local police to enforce immigration law.

"The abuse of these powers within the jails is worse than in the street," said Salvador Reza, an organizer with the pro-immigrant group Puente that has been monitoring the alleged mistreatment. "If we were able to stop torture in Guantanamo Bay, we should be able to do that in Maricopa County," he added.

On May 2, Reza's group organized a six-mile march to protest this situation from the offices of the sheriff in downtown Phoenix to the Estrella jail, a detention facility for women.

The march was in response to claims of abuse by an immigrant woman whose arm was allegedly broken by sheriff's office guards, and a letter by 13 others who also denounced mistreatment within the same jail. At the protest, 43 women inmates launched a hunger strike to make their point.

"Please help us, we're in a tunnel without end, treated like dogs," reads the letter obtained by Respect/Respet, a local organization that documents human and civil rights abuses. Among the signatories is an immigrant woman who claims the sheriff's deputies broke her jaw during a workplace raid.

I've written about this issue in the past. Not only is this whole thing a gross violation of human rights and a moral black mark on us all, but there is a giant business behind it that few are aware of. While this is a government jail, many women are being detained in private prisons (the biggest being in Texas) that make big money off of imprisoning innocent immigrants (including children).

I'm so glad to see people protesting this issues and trying to organize others to join them. Check out Grassroots Leadership if you want to learn more, especially about family detention. Here's a video they made:

Thanks to the Women's Media Center for the heads up.

2 Comments

May 7, 2009 1:47 PM

[0+]  Any Girl said:

This absolutely heartbreaking and beyond deplorable. I would say that I'm surprised our government allows this to continue, but after everything our government has been responsible for.. I'm really not.

I  Liked  Liked this comment  |  Reply |

May 13, 2009 3:45 PM

[0+]  nezua said:

Thanks for this post and followup information.

There are also many women of color online who have written on these matters extensively or years and are grounded in the communities written of here. I suggest readers poke around to find them, if interested in more material/information. It truly is heartbreaking, I agree. Immersing oneself in the communities involved in fighting back is very inspiring, as well.

I  Liked  Liked this comment  |  Reply |

Leave a comment

Comments (You may use HTML tags for style)