Immigration Forum

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Comment by Agbedam Jules DAGAN on March 28, 2009 at 3:11pm

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Comment by Glen Peterson on February 24, 2009 at 10:42pm

See response opportunity below.

More information:


Ariz. sheriff puts illegal-alien inmates in tents

By TERRY TANG Associated Press Writer
Feb 4th, 2009 | PHOENIX -- The self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in
America" has announced plans to keep illegal immigrants separate from
the rest of the inmate population at tents in Phoenix that house
prisoners.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio accompanied about 200 inmates --
along with members of the media -- from an area jail to Tent City on
Wednesday.

"This is a population of criminals more adept perhaps at escape,"
Arpaio said in a news release. "But this is a fence they won't want to
scale because they risk receiving quite a shock, literally," he said,
referring to the electric fence that surrounds the area.

Arpaio said housing the illegal immigrants separately would save
money, although he did not explain how other than to say it's cheaper
to house inmates in tents than at traditional jails.

He said his office has received $1.6 million funding from the state
that will go toward tackling illegal immigration.

"I expect more arrests," Arpaio said. "I expect to put more tents up."

Arpaio said the move will be more convenient for consulate officials
visiting foreign inmates and for Immigration and Customs Enforcement
agents charged with deporting the inmates after they have served
sentences in county jails.

Aside from their residency status, he said the inmates will be treated
just like everyone else housed in the tents.

A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to
comment.

Arpaio's announcement has appalled some officials in the area.

Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox said she thinks Arpaio
could potentially be violating the immigrants' rights by keeping them
separated, and that she'd like to talk to the Justice Department and
have staff there issue an opinion.

"Any time you treat people differently for no reason, you stand to
violate rights," she said. "We treat people equally in America. I
think it's wrong."

She said the move is a publicity stunt and that Arpaio has done
nothing to show the supervisors how it would save money.

Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona,
said although Wednesday's move wasn't unconstitutional, it was
degrading and unnecessary to shepherd prisoners in front of media.

"You're sort of giving the message that it's OK to treat these inmates
differently. It's OK to treat them like circus animals," Soler Meetze
said. "He didn't have to make a spectacle. He could've moved them on
buses."

She said her organization would look for any constitutional concerns
in the future treatment of the segregated inmates.

The Tent City is part of a tough atmosphere that made Arpaio
nationally famous. His jails also feature chain gangs and pink
underwear for male inmates. Arpaio was recently featured in a Fox
Reality Channel show called "Smile ... You're Under Arrest!

------

Comment by Glen Peterson on February 24, 2009 at 10:40pm

My friend Ian Danley who is a youth pastor and community organizer in Phoenix Arizona made a plea for help to national Christian organizations and people of faith regarding the behavior of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Ian spoke passionately about this on a conference call organized by Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform to national faith leaders yesterday to help make this situation known and call for action. Sojourners has set up a response website where people can send a message to the US Attorney General asking that there be an investigation:

http://go.sojo.net/campaign/arpaio

America's Voice has a similar tool and further information here:

http://www.americasvoiceonline.org/page/content/sheriff

Additionally, Ian and others will be doing a workshop on Immigration at the Sojourners Mobilization to End Poverty Event in Washington DC, April 26-29. More information here: http://tinyurl.com/ajexnq


Glen Peterson
http://blog.sojo.net/author/glen_peterson/

Comment by Kate Kooyman on February 18, 2009 at 10:58am

Check out our cool immigration vigil -- www.micahcenter.blogspot.com.

Comment by Kate Kooyman on October 21, 2008 at 12:13pm

Check out the upcoming event in Chicago 11/10 and 11/11 on protecting immigrant workers.

Comment by Beth DeGraff on October 9, 2008 at 8:58am

The Christianity Today enews posted an article this week about a shift in immigrating refugees away from Africa (where a blood relative in the US is now required), to a greater influx of refugees from Iraq and Burma. The article is herehttp://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/november/2.17.html?start=1:. What do you think of this shift? Do you feel insecure about Iraqi refugees entering the US, and/or do you feel irritated that the article says that Iraqis have to "adjust their standard of living downward" when they enter the US...And what about shifting the focus away from Africa?

Comment by Jack Kooyman on July 25, 2008 at 9:32am

Check out the column in USA Today (07/25/2008) by guest commentator Marisa Trevino. She is clearly an ally and an advocate for undocumented students who want to pursue a college eduction in the U.S. She also has publishes Latina Lista, a blog about "anything and everything from a Latina perspective.

Comment by Kate Kooyman on July 24, 2008 at 4:24pm

Here's an article from Prism which I thought was interesting.

Comment by Kate Kooyman on June 10, 2008 at 9:49am

Here's a link to an article about a San Antonio parish who is part of the New Sanctuary movement... thoughts?

Comment by Kate Kooyman on June 9, 2008 at 3:48pm

Good questions, van den Bosch! This is a forum about both "immigration" and "illegal immigration"... it's a place for people of faith from all sides of the issue to practice dialogue, listening, and learning from one another.

In that spirit, I wonder if I can push back a bit on your comment about the CRC's founding by "legal immigrants." My understanding of our country's immigration policies is that, at the time of the CRC's founding, "any alien, being a free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States" according to the Naturalization Act of 1790. Since the Dutch were white, it seems they would have had absolutely no barriers to citizenship. So I'm wondering if it's helpful to compare that situation to the situation today, when the system is so much more complex and the barriers to citizenship so much more prevalent.

What do others think -- is the CRC a church of "legal" immigrants?

(Of course it goes without saying that there is likely a member of the CRC -- and of the larger body of Christ -- for whom any label would fit, including "illegal." So, regardless of who founded the church, we are growing in diversity. Thanks be to God!)

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