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From
the DataCenter's Prison Industrial
Complex Program, Winter 2002:
Activists
Challenge Immigrant Prison Proliferation
Southwest
Alliance to Resist Militarization, California Prison Moratorium
Project and Critical Resistance are fighting to stop immigrant
prisons in Arizona and California. Their goal is to halt the
violation of immigrants' rights and the expansion of the prison
industrial complex.
The
number of imprisoned immigrants has soared since 1994. There
were 35,629 non-citizens serving criminal sentences in federal
prison alone on June 7, 2001 - up from 18,929 only seven years
ago, according to Judith Greene, a criminal justice policy
analyst ("Bailing
Out Private Jails," American Prospect, Vol.
12, Issue 16).
The
reason for the exploding immigrant prisoner rate is not crime,
but legislation: including the Anti-Terrorism and Effective
Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and the Illegal Immigrant Reform
and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA), both passed in
1996 in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing. These new federal
laws mandate incarceration for non-citizens, including lawful
permanent residents, ever convicted in the U.S. of most major
and minor crimes with no possibility of release, and greatly
expand the scope of deportable felonies - to include non-violent
crimes like shoplifting and check kiting. According to the
Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 1.5% of federal immigrant
detainees were sentenced for violent crimes, compared to 15%
of U.S. citizens incarcerated in federal prison.
Citing
current and projected growth in its immigrant inmate population,
the Federal Bureau of Prisons has solicited nearly 20,000
new prison beds for immigrants nationally, including Requests
For Proposals in New Mexico, Arizona, California, Alabama,
Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, Delaware, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia
and West Virginia. Private prison corporations are proposing
18 immigrant prison sites in Arizona and California alone.
The
DataCenter compiled corporate profiles on each of the prison
corporations that proposed sites. In addition, we investigated
the connection between the increase in the immigrant prison
population and the proliferation of private prisons. We provided
the information to the Southwest Alliance to Resist Militarization
and its allies, as well as to groups working to stop immigrant
prisons in the South (Grassroots Leadership) and North (Prison
Moratorium Project, New York). The information has also been
disseminated by Global Exchange to a new coalition of immigrant
rights and prison activist groups.
In
Arizona, the Southwest Alliance to Resist Militarization used
DataCenter research to develop its campaign strategy, to mobilize
targeted communities, and to educate local officials who make
the decisions about prison siting. SWARM found that frequently
officials' and community members' only source of information
about the issue came from prison corporations that were proposing
sites. In at least one instance, a county board member voted
against the proposed immigrant prison after reviewing SWARM's
information.
Over
the summer, the Supreme Court ruled that some provisions of
AEDPA and IIRAIRA were unconstitutional, including indefinite
detention of immigrants awaiting deportation. In the current
political climate, justice for immigrant detainees has become
even more urgent.
SWARM
is continuing to build allies in the small, rural communities
targeted for private prisons - communities whose populations
are predominantly Latino working class, with white political
leadership -- and plans to use DataCenter research and other
information resources to support local opposition to prisons.
The group is also monitoring the BOP's and prison corporations'
environmental compliance. In addition, SWARM will release
a report that documents the stories of men and women immigrants
who have spent time in federal prisons to build awareness
about the issue among the prison activist community and the
public.
For
further information or to get involved, contact:
South
West Alliance to Resist Militarization
California
Prison Moratorium Project
Critical
Resistance
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