This American Life explores the unintended consequences of Alabama’s immigration law

This week’s edition of WBEZ Chicago’s “This American Life” takes a look at Alabama’s immigration law. Listen in as they bring you stories of people affected by the legislation – and hear about what lawmakers are trying to do to untangle the unintended consequences of their actions.

Reap What You Sow, January 27, 2012

“Alabama’s new immigration law aims to make life so difficult for illegal immigrants that they will “self-deport.” And in a way it’s working. Immigrants are fleeing Alabama…but not just the illegal ones. And now some lawmakers are scrambling to reform the law they voted for. This and other stories of people living with the unintended consequences of their decisions.”

Editorial: Immigrant detainees deserve lawyers

The vast majority of detainees, including children and the mentally ill, are forced to represent themselves in immigration court. That could, and should, change soon, according to a recent editorial in the LA Times.

“In 2009, President Obama vowed to overhaul the nation’s immigration detention system. Since then, his administration has taken some steps to deliver on that promise, such as providing detainees improved access to medical care and closing troubled facilities. But it has yet to provide the most meaningful fix: ensuring that indigent immigrants in detention have access to legal counsel.”

More than 5,000 children currently living in foster care whose parents have been either detained or deported – DV survivors at particular risk of losing children

A press release from the Applied Research Center discusses research on the intersection between immigration enforcement and child welfare systems:

A new report from the Applied Research Center (ARC) estimates that there are more than 5,000 children currently living in foster care whose parents have been either detained or deported.  To date, there has been no national data available on the numbers of children impacted by the intersection of immigration enforcement and child welfare systems.

“Shattered Families” offers groundbreaking national research on the perilous intersection of immigration enforcement and the child welfare system. Historic levels of detention and deportation, combined with a clear lack of child welfare policies are resulting in the separation of thousands of families across the United States. These families face formidable barriers to reunification, and in many cases will be permanently separated. ARC projected that at least 15,000 more children will face these threats to reunification in the next five years, if the same rate holds true for new cases.

“Immigration enforcement greatly increases the chances that families will never see each other again,” said ARC President Rinku Sen. “Detaining and deporting parents shatters families and endangers the children left behind. It’s unacceptable, un-American, and a clear sign that we need to revisit our immigration policies.”

In fiscal year 2011, the United States deported a record-breaking 397,000 people and detained nearly that many. According to never before released federal data acquired by ARC through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, a growing number of deportees are parents. In the first six months of 2011, the federal government removed more than 46,000 mothers and fathers of U.S.-citizen children.

Key Findings

• Immigrant victims of domestic violence are at particular risk of losing their children.
• If nothing changes, 15,000 more children may face a similar fate in the next 5 years.
• This is a growing national problem, not one confined to border jurisdictions or states– ARC identified at least 22 states where these cases have emerged.
• Families are more likely to be separated where local police aggressively participate in immigration enforcement.
• ICE detention obstructs participation in Child Protective Services’ plans for family unity.
• Most child welfare departments lack systemic policies to keep families united when parents are detained or deported.

IFAP receives Take Action Award from the King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence

IFAP was honored to receive a Take Action Award from the King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence during their awards reception last evening. Award recipients were chosen from an inspiring group of nominees based on criteria including initiative in taking action, use of resources, the action’s impact, and whether the action was something that might inspire others.

IFAP was nominated for the award by Jorge Baron, NWIRP‘s executive director. IFAP’s continuing partnership with NWIRP effectively provides pro bono legal services to immigrant survivors of domestic violence and creates a win/win for everyone involved: eligible clients are moved off a long waiting list, law students get hands-on legal experience, and attorneys have the opportunity to supervise pro bono cases. IFAP is thankful to everyone who makes this partnership possible – especially the hundreds of immigrant survivors and their children who allow IFAP students and attorneys into their lives as they start new chapters free from violence.

IFAP steering committe members with NWIRP's executive director, Jorge Baron

Video: Lost in Detention

“Lost in Detention” is a joint effort between PBS’s Frontline and the Investigative Reporting Workshop examining the Obama administration’s controversial get-tough immigration policy. This 16 minute video interviews advocates, members of the Obama administration, former officials, and other leading voices on immigration issues.

Free film screening Oct. 15: Maria en Tierra de Nadie (Maria in No Man’s Land)

Join KCTS 9 Vme and the Seattle Latino Film Festival for a free screening of Maria en tierra de nadie (Maria in No Man’s Land) at KCTS 9 Studios on October 15. A discussion and reception, featuring director Marcela Zamora Chamorro from El Salvador will follow the screening.  This event is free, but seating is limited. Please RSVP by signing up here.

About the film:
This human rights documentary shows the parallel immigration stories of three Salvadoran women on a journey through Mexico. Doña Inés, a 60-year-old woman, is searching for her daughter who went missing shortly after she decided to immigrate to the U.S. five years ago. Marta and Sandra, tired of the domestic violence they endured at home and hoping to overcome their impoverished lives, decide to make the trip through Mexico with only thirty dollars in their pockets. These women, Doña Inés’ daughter, and countless other immigrant women face prostitution, human trafficking, rape, kidnap, and even death on a journey not often brought up in immigration debates.

Director, Marcela Zamora Chamorro studied journalism in Costa Rica and went on to study film at the International School of Film and Television of San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba. Maria en tierra de nadie is her first feature documentary.

This screening is sponsored by the Seattle International Foundation and KCTS 9 Vme, and is held in conjunction with the 2011 Seattle Latino Film Festival.

Companies use worldwide immigration crackdowns to turn a profit

Immigration crackdowns are steadily increasing worldwide, and many of the  facilities used to house immigrant detainees and asylum seekers are owned and operated by private companies – many of whom are turning a profit. The New York Times delves into the myriad of issues surrounding private control over detention systems worldwide, including lack of government oversight, incidences of abuse, and ramifications on children. Read more here.

Bonus: “The Word” from The Colbert Report on Labor Chains and states’ attempts to discourage illegal immigrants from coming to the U.S.

Alabama immigration law upheld

From the New York Times: Federal judges upheld Alabama’s immigration law this week, including a section requiring state and local law enforcement officials to attempt to verify someone’s immigration status during routine traffic stops if there is “reasonable suspicion” that they are in the country illegally. Alabama’s law has been challenged by the Obama administration, and it includes sections that have been struck down in other states.

Read more in an LA Times opinion piece.

Registration live for October 21 CLE

Interested in partnering with law students during the 2011-2012 school year to provide immigration assistance to survivors of violent crime and domestic violence? Join us for a CLE on October, 21, 2011. Details here.

Resistance Widens to Obama Initiative on Criminal Immigrants

Recent news and opinion pieces address growing resistance to Secure Communities, a Department of Homeland Security initiative aiming to remove criminal immigrants from the U.S. A recent New York Times article explains:

“Under Secure Communities, the fingerprints of anyone booked into jail are checked against the F.B.I.’s criminal databases — long a routine police practice — and forwarded to the Department of Homeland Security to be run through its databases, which record immigration violations. If an immigration check yields a match, the immigration agency decides whether to detain the foreigner for deportation.

As a result of Secure Communities, Mayor Thomas Menino said, word is out in Boston that patrol officers are working with federal agents to deport immigrants for offenses as minor as traffic violations. ‘What’s happening is, we’re losing the trust of the immigrant community in Boston,’ he said.”

An opinion in the L.A. Times argues that Secure Communities “has a chilling effect on immigrants’ willingness to report crimes or assist authorities. Police must now persuade immigrants that officers are interested only in preventing crimes, not deporting them.”

A New York Times editorial sheds light on the frustration some local municipalities are expressing: “Infuriated police chiefs and other law-enforcement professionals say Secure Communities hurts community policing because it makes innocent immigrants fear the police and erodes the trust and cooperation of crime victims and witnesses.”