Immigration and the Prison Industrial Complex
Andrew Moss | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-08
In the past year, the struggle over immigration rights continued along a broad array of fronts. There were significant setbacks, such as the implementation of the "Remain in Mexico" policy that made asylum nearly impossible to attain. But there were also victories, such as a federal judge's ruling in November that required the government to…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/08/immigration-and-the-prison-industrial-complex/
'Multiple calls' in hunt for more victims of serial rapist Reynhard Sinaga
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-01-08
Police are investigating further potential victims of Britain's worst serial rapist as Reynhard Sinaga's father said his son's punishment "fits his crimes". | The Indonesian student was jailed for life with a minimum term of 30 years on Monday after being convicted of drugging 48 men and filming himself sexually violating them in his Manchester city centre apartment after picking them up outside nightclubs near his home. | The 36-year-old was a "perpetual student", studying for a PhD in Manchester, thanks to his rich family — his father, reportedly a devout Catholic, is a wealthy banker in his home country…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/01/08/multiple-calls-in-hunt-for-more-victims-of-serial-rapist-reynhard-sinaga/
'Multiple calls' in hunt for more victims of serial rapist Reynhard Sinaga
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-01-08
Police are investigating further potential victims of Britain's worst serial rapist as Reynhard Sinaga's father said his son's punishment "fits his crimes". | The Indonesian student was jailed for life with a minimum term of 30 years on Monday after being convicted of drugging 48 men and filming himself sexually violating them in his Manchester city centre apartment after picking them up outside nightclubs near his home. | The 36-year-old was a "perpetual student", studying for a PhD in Manchester, thanks to his rich family — his father, reportedly a devout Catholic, is a wealthy banker in his home country…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/01/08/multiple-calls-in-hunt-for-more-victims-of-serial-rapist-reynhard-sinaga/
Canada issues travel warning on Iran and the Iran-Iraq border
yenisafak.com | 2020-01-08
Canada on Wednesday issued a travel warning asking its citizens to avoid "non-essential" travel to Iran, hours after Iran launched missile attacks on U.S.-led forces in Iraq.The statement from the Canadian government cited the ongoing volatile security situation, the regional threat of "terrorism" and the risk of arbitrary detention.Canada also asked http: //bit.ly/2TeEZFh its citizens to "avoid all travel" to the area within 10 kilometers of Iran's border with Iraq.Iran's attack came in retaliation for a U.S. drone strike on an Iranian commander whose killing has…
yenisafak.com/en/news/canada-issues-travel-warning-on-iran-and-the-iran-iraq-border-3509137
Activist Faces Jail for Resisting Massachusetts Sheriff's Collaboration With ICE
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-07
For 30-year-old Sherrie Andre, who has family and close friends that are undocumented, the politics of immigration hits close to home. | "I have a Southeast Asian identity and a mixed status family and Southeast Asian people are being deported at a pretty rapid rate right now," said Andre, a co-founder of the FANG Collective, an organization that has been working to raise public awareness of th…
truthout.org/articles/activist-faces-jail-for-resisting-massachusetts-sheriffs-collaboration-with-ice/
It Is Time for a New Way Forward
Madhuri Grewal | aclu.org | 2020-01-07
In 1996, at the height of the "tough on crime" era, President Bill Clinton signed two laws that dramatically changed the criminal legal system and radically altered the U.S. immigration system. Just as the 1994 crime bill instituted unjust mandatory minimum sentences and ballooned the prison population, the immigration bills of that same era led to similarly disastrous consequences for immigrants — an explosion in the growth of detention and unfairly harsh punishments for immigrants, including mandatory deportations for minor…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/it-is-time-for-a-new-way-forward
Israeli Military Court Rejects Appeal of Palestinian Prisoner on Hunger Strike for 107 Days
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-01-07
The Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission said that the Israeli military court of Ofer rejected an appeal submitted for the release of prisoner Ahmad, Zahran, who has been on an open-ended hunger strike for 107 consecutive days in protest of his detention without charge or trial, the Palestinian News and …
imemc.org/article/israeli-military-court-rejects-appeal-of-palestinian-prisoner-on-hunger-strike-for-107-days/
Iranian-Americans detained at US-Canada border in wake of Suleimani assassination
wsws.org | 2020-01-07
More than 60 US citizens were held at a border crossing in Washington state Saturday, subject to illegal detention and interrogation before being allowed to return to their own country.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/07/bord-j07.html
Longest Serving Palestinian Prisoners Have Spent 38 Years in Israeli Prison
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2020-01-07
The two longest-serving Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, cousins Karim and Maher Younis, have been behind bars for 38 years, on Monday, the Palestinian News and Info Agency reported. Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) said that the two, along with 24 other prisoners, were supposed to have been released in 2014 …
imemc.org/article/longest-serving-palestinian-prisoners-have-spent-38-years-in-israeli-prison/
Cyprus gang rape claim teen heading home after judge gives her a 'second chance'
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-01-07
A British teenager found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus can return home after a judge said he was giving her a "second chance" and suspended her prison sentence.The 19-year-old woman hugged her family and legal team and left court weeping, with her head in her hands, after she was sentenced for public mischief.The teenager's mother shouted "she's coming home" to supporters outside Famagusta District Court, telling reporters she feels "relieved".Her lawyer Lewis Power QC said she will be returning home later on Tuesday but said her legal team would be challenging her conviction and was prepared t…
thecanary.co/global/world-news/2020/01/07/cyprus-gang-rape-claim-teen-heading-home-after-judge-gives-her-a-second-chance/
Israeli Prosecution Indicts Five Jerusalemite Palestinian Political Prisoners
Saed Bannoura | imemc.org | 2020-01-07
The Israeli Prosecutors' office in occupied East Jerusalem filed, Monday, an indictment against five young Palestinian men from the al-Isawiya town, accusing them of violating the "nighty house arrest orders" which were issued against them previously. Lawyer Mohammad Mahmoud said the Israeli prosecutor filed the indictment against the five detained …
imemc.org/article/israeli-prosecution-indicts-five-jerusalemite-palestinian-political-prisoners/
Settlement reached in lawsuit against Detroit killer cops in Damon Grimes case
wsws.org | 2020-01-07
The family of Damon Grimes, a Detroit teen who died in an ATV crash after police tasered him from a moving vehicle, received a $12 million settlement.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/07/grim-j07.html
'This Is a Moment to Be Really Vigilant Against All Forms of Oppression' – CounterSpin interview with Audrey Sasson on antisemitism
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2020-01-07
Janine Jackson interviewed Jews for Racial and Economic Justice's Audrey Sasson about antisemitism for the January 3, 2020, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
fair.org/home/this-is-a-moment-to-be-really-vigilant-against-all-forms-of-oppression/
'This Is a Moment to Be Really Vigilant Against All Forms of Oppression' – CounterSpin interview with Audrey Sasson on antisemitism
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2020-01-07
Janine Jackson interviewed Jews for Racial and Economic Justice's Audrey Sasson about antisemitism for the January 3, 2020, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
fair.org/home/this-is-a-moment-to-be-really-vigilant-against-all-forms-of-oppression/
The right-wing weaponisation of last year's London Bridge attack needs calling out
Peter Bolton | thecanary.co | 2020-01-07
In 2019 the UK was convulsed by a shocking act of violence along London Bridge. On 29 November, two people were killed and another three injured in a stabbing attack committed by a radical Islamist who had previously served prison time for another terrorism offence. Predictably, the usual suspects in the right-wing media cynically used the attack and the background of the perpetrator to push their reactionary agenda. And as the 12 December election day neared, it was also inevitably used as ammunition for attacki…
thecanary.co/opinion/2020/01/07/the-right-wing-weaponisation-of-last-years-london-bridge-attack-needs-calling-out/
Venezuelan Government and Opposition Fraction Announce Release of 14 'Political Prisoners'
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2020-01-06
The National Roundtable for Peaceful Dialogue also offered its backing to the new National Assembly president, Luis Parra.
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14757
Former Head of Identity Evropa Taken Into Custody for Contempt of Court
splcenter.org | 2020-01-06
Elliott Kline, the onetime leader of Identity Evropa, is in federal custody after being found in contempt of court for failing to cooperate in a civil lawsuit stemming from the violent "Unite the Right" rally.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/01/06/former-head-identity-evropa-taken-custody-contempt-court
Trump Order Aimed at Palestine Solidarity, Not Antisemitism
Gregory Shupak | fair.org | 2020-01-04
Antisemitism is a very real problem–which Donald Trump is exploiting to advance an anti-Palestinian agenda. | President Donald Trump issued an executive order last month to deny funding to post-secondary schools that violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against Jewish people. The order notes that such bigotry is rooted in antisemitism, and says that it will determine whether discrimination has occurred by using the non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism adopted by the…
fair.org/home/trump-order-aimed-at-palestine-solidarity-not-antisemitism/
Trump Order Aimed at Palestine Solidarity, Not Antisemitism
Gregory Shupak | fair.org | 2020-01-04
Antisemitism is a very real problem–which Donald Trump is exploiting to advance an anti-Palestinian agenda. | President Donald Trump issued an executive order last month to deny funding to post-secondary schools that violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against Jewish people. The order notes that such bigotry is rooted in antisemitism, and says that it will determine whether discrimination has occurred by using the non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism adopted by the…
fair.org/home/trump-order-aimed-at-palestine-solidarity-not-antisemitism/
Headlines for December 31, 2019
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-31
Protests Rage Outside U.S. Embassy in Iraq After U.S. Airstrikes Kill 24, Hate Crime Charges Filed Against Suspect in Hanukkah Stabbing in NY, Texas Church Shooter Had Long Criminal History, NYT: Top Officials Failed to Convince Trump to Release Withheld Ukraine Aid, Death Toll from Crackdown on Protests in India Rises to 27, Five Kashmiri Political Leaders Released from Detention, Sudanese Court Sentences 29 to Death for Killing Teacher in Anti-Protest Crackdown, Thousands Flee to the Ocean to Escape Australia Wildfires, Former Nissan Head Flees Japan to Lebanon to Escape Trial on Financial Crimes, New York Sett…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/31/headlines
Prison gave me a greater will to fight
Luiz ignacio lula Da silva | zcomm.org | 2019-12-28
Interview on the reality that Brazil is experiencing and the social protests that have occurred in several Latin American countries…
zcomm.org/zvideo/prison-gave-me-a-greater-will-to-fight/
Across the Country Harsh Sentencing Laws are Tearing Apart Families and Communities
Nicole Zayas Fortier | aclu.org | 2019-12-24
During the holiday season, in the picturesque town of Petoskey, Michigan, Kimiko Uyeda, and her son Marshall celebrate with an annual tradition of selecting a new ornament to add to their tree. Year after year, Kimiko and Marshall add to their collection of ornaments as a part of their tradition. | For years, however, they were separated from one another and unable to enjoy this holiday tradition together. It all began in 2013 when Kimiko was arrested for filing what the local sheriff believed to be a false police report. Because of broken sentencing laws, the prosecutor in the case was able to add four additi…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/across-the-country-harsh-sentencing-laws-are-tearing-apart-families-and-communities
Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year
Leila Rafei | aclu.org | 2019-12-20
It isn't news that the Trump administration has kept ACLU attorneys working at breakneck speed for the past three years. In 2019 alone, we saw historic moments and victories–from defeating the citizenship question on the 2020 census and bringing the first trans civil rights case to the Supreme Court, to blocking a wave of abortion bans and many of the administration's attempts to dismantle the asylum system. To name a few. | Here are some of our attorneys' takes on 2019 and the year ahead–what's changed for the better and for the worse, and how the outcome of the 2020 presidential election will a…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/four-lawyers-four-projects-one-non-stop-year
A Fair Chance at Opportunity: The U.S. Government Bans the Box
Kanya Bennett | aclu.org | 2019-12-20
When Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) reintroduced the Fair Chance Act earlier this year, he | said: "This bill would give individuals who are reentering society from prison | a fair chance at truly achieving the American dream." The Fair Chance Act would | ban the box that employers use to ask about arrest and conviction history on | job applications. It also requires that federal agencies and contr…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/a-fair-chance-at-opportunity-the-u-s-government-bans-the-box
A Secret CBP Team is Targeting and Detaining Innocent Travelers. We're Suing
Tarek Ismail | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is deploying secret teams that target, detain, and interrogate innocent travelers. We're suing to expose their activities. | In November 2018, three CBP officers detained Andreas | Gal, a former chief | technology officer at Mozilla Corporation and current Apple employee, at San | Francisco International Airport after he landed from a business trip to Sweden. | Andr…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/a-secret-cbp-team-is-targeting-and-detaining-innocent-travelers-were-suing
A Tennessee City Banned Surgical Abortion Within the City Limits. We're Taking Them to Court
Melissa Grant | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
For 30 years, I have | worked in reproductive health care. In my current role as Chief Operating | Officer of carafem, a nonprofit with a national network of health centers, I | know the difference compassionate and comprehensive reproductive health care | makes in the lives of our clients. I have witnessed the personal impact when | people who have the legal right to have a child or to have an abortion are denied | those rights due to outrageous societal barriers. Abortion providers are used | to opposition, but we've never experienced the kind of explicit targeting we | received from politicians in the city…
aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/a-tennessee-city-banned-surgical-abortion-within-the-city-limits-were-taking-them-to-court
A Little-Known Privacy Battle Is Being Waged Over Encrypting the Nuts and Bolts of the Internet
Daniel Kahn Gillmor | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
An important fight is brewing over the nuts and bolts of the | Internet that has significant implications for the privacy and security of all Internet | users. The fight has already pitted Google and Cloudflare against American | telecommunications companies, which are lobbying | Congress | to complain about the search giant. The fight is complicated, but at its core | are questions about c…
aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/a-little-known-privacy-battle-is-being-waged-over-encrypting-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-the-internet
He spent 36 years in prison because he stole $100 in cash and $4 in food stamps. Now Willie Parker is free
Will Tucker | splcenter.org | 2019-12-16
It was pouring rain the day Willie Parker left William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility after 36 years in prison.
splcenter.org/news/2019/12/17/he-spent-36-years-prison-because-he-stole-100-cash-and-4-food-stamps-now-willie-parker-free
Weekend Read: Amid Alabama's prison crisis, the voices of the people living through it should be heard
splcenter.org | 2019-12-13
For years, Alabama's prison system has been under a microscope. Harsh sentencing laws coupled with chronic underfunding have led to horrific conditions for people behind bars.
splcenter.org/news/2019/12/13/weekend-read-amid-alabamas-prison-crisis-voices-people-living-through-it-should-be-heard