| SAVE THE DATE!! |
Mike Farrell
The ACLU of Georgia's National Civil Rights Awardee
October 8, 2009
Bill of Rights Luncheon
SAVE THE DATE!!
Though best known for his Emmy Award nominated performance as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt in the popular series M*A*S*H, Mike Farrell is also one of America's leading civil rights activists. Having been involved in public service for most of his life, Farrell is committed to the belief that responsible citizenship requires efforts to improve the lives of others. His record demonstrates his strong commitment to civil rights issues.
Currently, Farrell is president of Death Penalty Focus and member of the advisory board of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. He is a former co-chair of the California branch of Human Rights Watch and has served as a Good Will Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees. He has also received the prestigious Donald Wright Award from the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, being the 3rd recipient who is neither a lawyer or judge in it's 28 year history along with various awards from prominent civil liberties organizations.
In 2007, Farrell authored "Just Call Me Mike: A Journey From Actor to Activist" and went on a revolutionary book tour, partnering with various political organizations to speak to communities across the country about the civil rights issues in his autobiography. Traveling in a rental car he nicknamed "Mule," Farrell drew huge crowds to sometimes heated question and answer sessions focused on both national and community issues. Most recently, he has published "Of Mule and Man," a book describing his impressions of community issues and meetings with other prominent activists throughout his tour.
Farrell will be in Atlanta October 8, 2009 at the ACLU's Bill of Rights Luncheon. Details will be posted on www.acluga.org in August.
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The ACLU of Georgia Participates in Human Rights and Immigration Symposium
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by Silas W. Allard
ACLU of Georgia Law Clerk
Editor-in-chief, Emory International Law Review, JD/MTS Candidate, Emory University - 2011
Al Bronstein
Founding Executive Director
National Prison Project, ACLU
(pictured left)
On June 17th, Georgia State University's Center for Human Rights and Democracy sponsored a day long symposium to address the human rights implications of immigration policy and practice at its downtown Atlanta campus. The symposium brought together academics and civil society organizations working on immigration to foster dialogue on immigration as a human rights issue and human rights activism around immigration policy. The ACLU of Georgia's National Security/Immigrants' Rights Project partnered with the Center for Human Rights and Democracy to organize a roundtable discussion of immigration as a human rights issue and a panel discussing immigrant detention.
Deepa Iyer, Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together, opened the conference with a lecture entitled, "Charting a Path Forward-The Post 9/11 Backlash Against Immigrants and Human Rights Responses." Ms. Iyer focused her remarks on the difficulties that persons of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Muslim backgrounds in the United States continue to face in the wake of September 11th. These persons are subject to unwarranted discrimination and racial profiling by police and other officials who target their communities as heightened security risks. However, they also face enhanced difficulties with regard to immigration, including special registration for immigrant males from many predominately Muslim countries. Ms. Iyer used her discussion of the difficulties facing Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Muslim immigrants to call for broadening the discussion around immigration issues. She noted that the immigration discussion revolves around immigration from Latin America because Latin Americans make up a large majority of immigrants to the United States. Recognizing the importance of Latin American immigration, Ms. Iyer called for a broader understanding of the issues and communities implicated in any discussion of immigration, as the face of immigration to the U.S. is the face of the globe. Finally, she called on all of the different immigrant communities to work together because it will take a collaboration of communities, each drawing on its individual strengths, for immigrants to effectively demand and secure their human rights.
The first panel of the day was a roundtable discussion of immigration as a human rights issue, organized collaboratively by the Center for Human Rights and Democracy and the National Security/Immigrants' Rights Project. Panelists included Adelina Nicholls of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights; Human Rights Activist, Deepali Gokhale; Janvieve Williams Comrie of the Latin American & Caribbean Community Center; and the ACLU of Georgia's own Azadeh Shahshahani. The panelists presented accounts of human rights violations in immigrant communities, and how the communities had organized to stop the violations and demand their rights. The rights violations that the panelists highlighted included racial profiling, indefinite detention, and family separation, among others. The presentations were followed by a discussion with the audience that focused on how the lessons learned by immigrant communities and civil society organizations could be built upon to more effectively organize for an immigration policy and practice that respects human rights.
The ACLU of Georgia also collaborated with the Center for Human Rights and Democracy to organize an afternoon panel on immigrant detention. Participants included William Hoffman, Partner at the Law Offices of King and Spalding; America Gruner of the Coalition of Latino Leaders; Kathy Purnell, ACLU of Georgia's Immigration Detention Fellow; and Alvin Bronstein, Director Emeritus of the ACLU National Prison Project and currently Director of Penal Reform International - The Americas, as well as a good friend of the ACLU of Georgia. The panelists provided the audience with information on the myriad human rights abuses that occur in conjunction with immigrant detention. As Mr. Hoffman described, the violations begin with inappropriate and indefinite detention of persons with valid claims to asylum or relief from deportation. Immigrants who are not justifiably detainable are often held in violation of their rights as a result of inadequate staff and an indifferent system of review. Unfortunately, violations are compounded by the often deplorable conditions of immigrant detention facilities. Ms. Gruner and Ms. Purnell described the fundamental inadequacies of immigrant detention facilities including Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia; Etowah County Detention Center in Etowah County, Alabama; and the Atlanta Pretrial Detention Center in downtown Atlanta, GA. Violations include inadequate access to medical care, mistreatment of individuals with mental disabilities, inadequate access to personal hygiene facilities, and a generally degrading atmosphere. Many of these violations are discussed in greater detail in a recent report by Georgia Detention Watch on the December 2008 Humanitarian Visit to the Stewart Detention Center. Finally, Mr. Bronstein put the human rights violations occurring at immigrant detention facilities in Georgia and the Southeast into the larger perspective of detention practice in the U.S. and globally. Of particular note is the contract management of many of these facilities by private corporations including Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the Stewart Detention Center. Panelists' presentations were followed by a vigorous discussion of how communities could organize to demand that human rights standards are met for those in immigration detention.
The symposium also included panel discussions on the role of the growing Latino community in American society and the challenges of immigration, citizenship, and human rights in the European Union.
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Tearing Down the Wall - Stonewall Reflections
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by Nureen Gulamali, Summer Intern
PR/Rush Alpha Phi Omega (National Community Service Fraternity)
SMU Daily Campus Columnist
Southern Methodist University
Class of 2012
This summer, I've had the privilege of participating in many activating events during my internship at the ACLU of Georgia. During the weekend of June 26th, I attended the Stonewall 40 movie screening and march/rally, something I had also had the honor of helping to plan. The Stonewall 40 campaign was a Human Rights Atlanta (a coalition which includes the ACLU of Georgia) initiative that commemorated the 40th anniversary of the day the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans) community stood up for the rights they knew they deserved. The ACLU of Georgia helped with planning of the event and also played a large part in both the movie screening, as well as the actual march and rally.
Friday June 26th's event was a movie screening of "Unveiled", a foreign film documenting the struggles of both immigrants seeking asylum as well as people of transgender identity. I brought along an excited friend from high school and we both walked into Manuel's Tavern (the venue for the event) with an idea of about twenty people watching a film and then participating in a panel discussion afterwards. We both were pleasantly surprised to see a room filled with over 100 people - both with the LGBT community, as well as with allies such as myself. It was a wonderful sight to see so many people interested in educating themselves! The room was literally packed to the point where several people were left standing. Instead of getting up and leaving, however, they hung around and stood for the duration of the entire one and a half-long film. My heart warmed to the thought that we were truly making such a great difference in the community. The room remained absolutely silent during the film - there was a feeling of mutual respect and understanding that was unlike any other. The panelists were all absolutely wonderful and unique in each of their perspectives.
The next day (June 27th) was the big day that we had all worked so hard for - the Stonewall 40 March and Rally. I brought the same friend as the night before and he was even more anxious than the previous night. We both hoped the event would show all of the hard work that was put into it. It proved to be even more wonderful than anything we had expected! The Human Rights Atlanta and Stonewall 40 Committee members beautifully set up the many tables of information and a table for drinks and food. Encompassing the church were pictures and books about Stonewall and its significance in history.
After setting up, my friend and I set off to Freedom Park, where the pre-rally was being held and where we would begin our march for Transgender rights. There were some one hundred or so people waiting to make a difference in the world - little did they know, they already had. The marchers and rally attendees consisted of the LGBT community, allies, and supporting politicians alike. The speakers for the pre-rally were just what we all needed to get our blood pumping and the band began the march with their jiving music. We marched through the streets of Little Five Points, with one purpose, one cause. We held varying signs of splendid colors that held one message: We will not wait for equal rights any longer. We walked in unity and found that, instead of hatred and opposition finding us on the streets, the community embraced our message and took it in as their own mission. The support that we found that day warmed my heart like never before - for once, there was no hate. There was only the simple cause of human rights - something that no human should ever be denied. By the end of the march, we had over two hundred marchers - many of whom had joined us on the streets. It was awe-inspiring to see what one group of people managed to do and the impact it had on the community.
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| Religious Freedom an Unkept Vow in U.S. |
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By Azadeh Shahshahani
I have been watching with interest and apprehension the movement reverberating in my birthplace over the past few weeks. The cries of "Azadi" by the people who have poured out in the tens of thousands into the streets to demand greater freedom have defied the distance between us.
I was born in Iran four days after the 1979 revolution. My name, Azadeh, means "free-spirited," signifying the great hopes that my parents and the many other parents who named their daughters Azadeh that year bore for the revolution. Their hopes were soon dashed, however, as the oppressive regime of the shah was replaced by a theocracy in which there are rules governing every aspect of people's lives in public, and even private, spaces. In this system, one's advancement in professional and especially official ranks depends in part on the extent to which one chooses to profess one's religiosity, as defined in a regime-dictated manner.
Faced with this backdrop, one of the freedoms that was most appealing to me when I came to the United States at age 16 was the right, free from governmental interference, to practice one's religion, or no religion at all. I learned that this right is among the most fundamental of the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. In my trips back to visit family and friends, I often boasted about the guarantee of religious freedom in the United States.
This fundamental right has been increasingly denied, however, to Muslim-Americans post-9/11, tarnishing America's reputation as a beacon of religious freedom.
Last week, the ACLU released a report demonstrating how American Muslims' right to practice zakat - charitable giving, which is one of the five pillars of Islam - has been violated. The ACLU report shows that U.S. terrorism finance laws and policies have had a chilling effect on Muslim charitable giving by creating an atmosphere of fear. These laws have authorized executive branch officials to target charities based on secret evidence, and without notice, charges, an opportunity to respond, or meaningful judicial review.
Closer to home, I recently joined Ms. Lisa Valentine and her husband before the Georgia Committee on Access and Fairness in the Courts. Ms. Valentine was there to testify about the experience she faced at a courthouse in Douglasville, Ga., where she was made to choose between her right to free exercise of religion and her right to access to court.
Ms. Valentine, also known by her Islamic name, Miedah, spoke about the experience of being denied the right to gain access to the courthouse on December 16, 2008, because she wore a headscarf. She found herself in handcuffs and in jail with her hijab removed after Judge Keith Rollins of the Douglasville Municipal Court sentenced her to 10 days in jail for contempt of court. Ms. Valentine and other Muslim women were denied access to the Douglasville Municipal Court, even after they expressly conveyed to court officials that the wearing of the headscarf is an expression of their faith.
Muslim-Americans, like all people in the United States, should have the right to express their religious beliefs free from discrimination or the jeopardizing of other important rights.
As eloquently stated by President Obama in his speech in Cairo on June 4th, "freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion." The President acknowledged the right of Muslim women and girls to wear the hijab and raised the issue of the adverse effect of terrorism finance laws on Muslim charitable giving.
The administration and governments on the state and local levels need to follow up on this premise by ensuring that our laws, policies, and practices are in fact consistent with American values of due process and religious freedom.
These freedoms are too important to be violated, as evidenced by the willingness of people in my birthplace to risk their lives to secure them.
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| Spotlight: Meet the ACLU of Georgia Family
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Natasha and Tariq ACLU Couple
Natasha and Tariq became engaged in January of 2009 and have definitely proven to be a dynamic duo. The two of them, though incredibly unique in their own ways, both spent a summer interning with the ACLU of Georgia working on immigrants' rights and national security issues. Natasha, who attended the University of Florida for undergrad - where the two met, majored in English and minored in Arabic. She is now a rising 3L at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Tariq, who also attended the University of Florida for undergrad, majored in Political Science and also minored in Arabic. He is now a rising 3L at the University of Florida's Levin College of Law. Both hope to pursue a career in public interest law in the future.
1. How did the two of you get your start in general activism/volunteerism?
Natasha: I was in college and it was my last year. I had been pre-med for three years before that and had NO time at all. Once I switched to pre-law, I had lots of time and focused on the issue of homelessness. Through the Muslim groups I was involved with, I was exposed to the social justice and community service aspect of it, as well.
Tariq: I was with CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) as an intern in college and also became very interested in civil rights after 9/11.
2. How did the two of you get involved with the ACLU?
Natasha: I met Azadeh Shahshahani at a conference in my first year of law school and that was my first contact with the ACLU. Then last year, I did an externship with the ACLU of North Carolina. They also focused on immigration policy, so that's what really pulled me in.
Tariq: I had heard of the ACLU before and knew their reputation as a civil rights organization. I applied to a couple chapters and tried to find out if there were places in FL and then applied to National, as well. Natasha told me that she met Azadeh and I heard there was an opening, so that's how I first got involved with the ACLU. I had been interested in them far before that, though.
3. What are your roles at the ACLU?
Natasha: I work for Azadeh as a law clerk and my main project is working on a report on the effects on 287(g) in Cobb County. I also worked on a privacy case and many other immigration-related issues with both Azadeh and Kathy Purnell (Immigration Fellow at the ACLU of Georgia).
Tariq: I did a lot of research on 287(g) and various anti-immigration bills that were coming up in Georgia legislature. Jay Haydar (another law clerk) and I worked together and were able to attend several community meetings.
4. Do you two plan on continuing your involvement with the ACLU? In what ways?
Natasha: Absolutely. If I don't end up working for them, eventually, I'd still love to support policy change and volunteer at the ACLU. Political activism is something that is absolutely necessary to be a lawyer (or anyone, really), no matter what field you're in.
Tariq: I'd love to continue my involvement. At this point, I don't know what I'll be doing after law school, but I'd love to do some public interest law. The ACLU is an organization that I really respect and I'd love to work with them, if not for them.
5. How important has your experience at the ACLU been?
Natasha: Very important. The ACLU is a unique organization - especially the ACLU of Georgia. We're connected to so many other community organizations and we go beyond the mainstream legal research - we go above and beyond by truly making an impact on other peoples' lives.
Tariq: It's been really important - it was my first legal internship and my first time working with the law. In college I had done the internship with CAIR, but the ACLU is more involved and it really opened my eyes to what lobbying and legal advocacy can really be like. It was truly educational and made me want to continue my public interest career.
6. What has your experience at the ACLU contributed to the community?
Natasha: I hope that once the Cobb County report comes out, it not only raises awareness about 287(g), but also that the people that are directly affected by the struggles will feel more supported - no matter what their immigration status.
Tariq: I hope that we helped the ACLU be a proper resource to advocates and contribute to the efforts to connect others. I also hope it created a better resource in me for others. The work of the Immigrants' Rights Legislative Task Force is often supported by the ACLU's legal intern research and I think that really helped the effort as a whole. |
| Private Prisons for Immigrants Lack Accountability, Oversight |
(Originally posted on AJC.com)
On March 11, a 39-year-old man held in detention at the Stewart Detention Center, a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in southwest Georgia, died at a hospital in Columbus.
To this day, the immediate cause of Roberto Martinez Medina's death remains unclear (a press release pronounced the cause of death as "apparent natural causes").
Last month, Leonard Odom, 37, died at the Wheeler County Correctional Facility in south-central Georgia.
Both facilities are operated by Corrections Corp. of America, which has a contract with the Department of Homeland Security to operate the Stewart center and one with the Georgia Department of Corrections to operate the one in Wheeler County.
The DOC has not released additional information about the death of Odom, due to an ongoing investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
What sets apart the deaths of these two men held at CCA-operated facilities is the difference in official responses.
In the case of the death at the immigration detention facility, there have been no further explanations regarding what may have prompted the death - much less an official investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which was created as a part of Homeland Security in 2003 to consolidate immigration enforcement.
Medina's tragic death marks the latest in the mounting number of immigrant deaths in the custody of CCA, the largest corporation in the business of for-profit detention.
From October 2003 through Feb. 7, 2009, 18 people died in immigration detention custody in facilities operated by CCA alone, according to information from The New York Times.
Yet ICE has failed repeatedly to hold CCA accountable. Instead, the federal agency continues to reward CCA with additional contracts, most recently for operation of the North Georgia Detention Center in Hall County.
The CCA's track record should come as no surprise to those who read the report issued in April by Georgia Detention Watch, a coalition of several organizations and individuals advocating an end to unjust and inhumane immigration detention and local enforcement practices.
The report was based on interviews with 16 detainees during a humanitarian visitation coordinated by Georgia Detention Watch in December 2008. The report uses ICE's own Performance Based National Detention Standards to evaluate conditions at Stewart.
Even compared to ICE's own nonbinding standards, conditions at the CCA-operated facility can best be described as grossly inadequate.
Members of Georgia Detention Watch and partner organizations have requested on several occasions to meet with ICE to discuss the findings of the report, but have gotten no response.
Georgia Detention Watch is not alone in demanding answers and accountability for immigrant deaths in U.S. detention.
The United Nations Expert on Extrajudicial Killings, Philip Alston, who toured the United States on a fact-finding mission in June 2008 on a mandate to investigate killings in violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, recently released a report demanding greater transparency and swift and public investigations for deaths in immigration detention.
Today marks three months since the death of Medina. ICE has yet to provide any answers regarding why this man died in detention.
Neither have Georgia Detention Watch members been provided with an opportunity to meet with ICE representatives to discuss the mounting concerns regarding the treatment of immigrants at the CCA-run Stewart.
With the prospect for yet another CCA-run immigrant detention facility in Hall County, these concerns become especially urgent.
If ICE's oversight of the CCA operation of Stewart is any guide, we can expect yet another facility funded by taxpayers held to no standards at all.
I will join others in front of the ICE office in downtown Atlanta today to honor the memory of Medina and other immigrants who have died in CCA custody.
Georgia Detention Watch members will wear black T-shirts reading: "Why Did Roberto Martinez Medina Die in Detention?" Our message is clear: The era for impunity is over. ICE must hold CCA to account.
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