Mainstream Media: Mexico police find migrants in trailers

This report is a great example of the lengths at which people have been going to, despite the risks, in order to cross the US/Mexico border:

(Al Jazeera)

Franc Contreras
05/18/2011


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A letter to a bastard journalist

The Yakima County Jail is soon to be the first in Washington State to use the FBI federal database to check the immigration status of people as they are brought in. This is just one jail of 1200 in 41 states using this system. This system is one more addition to the already rampant war on undocumented people. This particular method alone is accredited, by ICE, to the removal of as many as 72,000 undocumented people.

While reading the article attached below, written by Mark Morey of the Yakima Herald-Republic, I couldn’t help but be enraged. Mr. Morey refers to undocumented people as: “those people,” “criminal aliens,” and “violators that pose a risk to public safety.” He presents the usage of the new database in the Yakima County Jail without any critique or question, but with praise—conveniently forgetting that the “criminal aliens” he is referring to are people. People who have come to this country, quite often, out of financial necessity.
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Mainstream Media: Yakima jail first to use immigration database

(Yakima Herald-Republic)

Mark Morey
Saturday, April 23, 2011

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — The Yakima County jail is on track to become the state’s first to use a federal database to check inmates’ immigration status.

The system is expected to become available in the next month or two, the director of the county Department of Corrections, Ed Campbell, said Friday.

The database goes beyond state and FBI criminal databases to cover people who have had contact with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement or who are here illegally.

“We’ll get almost an immediate hit on those people,” Campbell said.
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Ode to preparedness

On April 18th, 2011, a week before the No Border! No Nation! Conference, a couple of us were interviewed by DJ Questionmark at Free Radio Olympia. We were not prepared. Expressing oneself in everyday conversation regarding topics as complex and multi-layered as immigration politics, borders, detention and deportation is a daunting task, but that’s no excuse—we should have been ready.   Below, some of the answers asked have been expanded upon as means of clarification. Lesson learned. Next time we’ll be on our toes:
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Immigration Policy + Private Prison Industry = $$

68% of GEO’s profit comes directly from their private prisons located in the United States. The Northwest Detention Center is one such prison. As of 2010 the capacity of this prison was expanded, and now has the capability of detaining as many as 1575 people at any given time.

The article below suggests that the average amount of money that private prison corporations (e.g. GEO & CCA) pull in daily, per person is around $200. Which suggests that the amount of profit GEO accumulates from the NWDC alone is roughly $315,000 daily– that is as much as $113,400,000 annually.

Alone these numbers mean absolutely nothing. However, when one begins to draw connections and dig deeper it is plain to see that capital is the impetus behind immigration polices and the virtually unstoppable private immigration prison industry.

These corporations are actively involved with legislature that pushes for tougher prison sentencing, more secure borders and severe immigration policies. The corporate heads hold hands with politicos in order to ensure a fat paycheck at the end of the day. They will not be stopped by begging for “friendlier” immigration policies, looser borders and more flexible prison sentencing.

-CYV

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