An Inside Look into Immigration Court Proceedings

by Vadim Gerhsteyn
JCUA intern

JCUA’s Vadim Gershteyn sat as an observer in Immigration Detention Court as part of the “Court Watch” program. In this article he tells the stories he observed, including fathers separated from their children, trials conducted through computer screens, and detainees with no guaranteed legal representation.

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The immigrant experience in the United States is at the foundation of shared history and a place of special importance for the Jewish community. On Monday, November 26, 2012 I attended a Court Watch training that allowed him to be an non-partial observer in Detained Immigrant Courts. The program was set up by the “Sisters of Mercy” and “Sisters and Brothers of Immigrants” in order to allow people to bear witness to the trials and stand in solidarity with detained immigrants. Each year, more than 400,000 immigrants are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), many of whom have no criminal histories and are being detained on civil charges.

Self-Deportation

In one trial, a legal permanent resident (LPR) named Jose was applying for voluntary self-deportation after being arrested with fifteen grams of cocaine, a felony that includes intention to distribute. His wife’s moving testimony told the story of a good husband, caring father of four, and gainfully employed member of the community struggling with drug addiction. Now in drug treatment classes, and despite living in Illinois for over a decade, Jose was facing deportation. The judge gave Jose leniency for self-deportation, which allows him to leave on his own accord and reapply to enter the United States. However, reentry is not guaranteed, and the court may have separated Jose from his family (four of whom are U.S. citizens) due to the disease of addiction.

Marchers Trek from Chicago to Crete in Opposition to Detention Center

By Alyse Shields
JCUA Intern, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago

As we walked down the roads through the south suburban Crete last Sunday I was reminded of a movement that began in a similar fashion, just over 50 years ago.

Representing JCUA, Alyse Sheilds (center, carrying sign), marches with Crete residents in opposition to construction of a federal detention center.

The village of Crete does not see many demonstrations like this, and not everyone we came across that chilly afternoon welcomed our presence. However, when the Civil Rights Movement began in 1964, not all of those marchers were welcomed onto the streets of various towns across our nation either. Laws and policies that had been considered “natural” were being challenged. Like those that came together that Sunday, groups marched peaceably with one another not just to show solidarity, but also to challenge inhumane treatment of people in this nation.

Responding to requests from local leaders, the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs has been working since last fall to help them organize in opposition to construction of a federal immigrant detention center in Crete. This 750-bed facility would be built by Corrections Corporation of America.

On Sunday, April 1, those Crete residents welcomed a Chicago-based organization that undertook a three-day walk from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood more than 30 miles to Crete.

Angry Crete Residents Say: Education Not Incarceration

Residents of Crete attend a February meeting to protest a proposed immigrant detention center.

By Alyse Shields
JCUA Intern, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago

Echoes of “CCA go away” and “Education not Incarceration” were heard throughout the night as the organizers of the event spoke in depth about the impact of a private prison on property values, the identity of Crete, and the questionable history of CCA’s treatment of its detainees and employees.

Alyse Shields

It was Tuesday, February 28, and residents of Crete (a village south of Chicago) were meeting once again to discuss the impact of the proposed immigrant detention center on the small community in the south suburbs of Chicago, where Correction Corporation of America, Immigration Customs and Enforcement, and Crete officials still plan on constructing the center.

The crowd that gathered filled the gym at Crete Elementary, a space large enough to fit 300 people.  Those who attended listened intently and towards the end of the night many shared their own disbelief at the nature of such a project being brought to Crete, while others asked questions that only Crete officials have the inside knowledge to answer.

The Chicago Tribune has reported that plans for the center are moving ahead.

Clearly Crete officials and their large business partners are not as concerned with the voices of the residents of Crete. However, it is also clear that this crowd of determined citizens is not going anywhere, and that this meeting is not the last attempt to have their voices heard by those who are their elected leaders and representatives.

Crete Detention Center Update: Local Residents Remain Strong in their Opposition

By Emily Zucker Burns
JCUA Director of Organizing 

There’s a lot of activity to report about the proposal to build a large immigrant detention center in the village of Crete, about a one-hour drive south of  Chicago’s Loop.

On Monday, Jan. 23 more than 100 Crete residents  attended the village board meeting to get answers from the mayor and village trustees on the status of the proposed immigration detention center and to voice their opposition.

• Kadner: A display of democracy on detention camp plan

News later emerged that a portion of the proposed site for the detention center is located in a TIF district, which further challenges the claims that the facility will generate tax revenue that will benefit the town:

• TIF district could cut boost from Crete detention center

Congressmen Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Luis Gutierrez met last with with ICE officials in Washington to express their opposition for the construction of the detention center. As a result ICE has committed to holding a hearing on the issue after the Primary Elections:

• Federal officials to hold hearings in Crete on proposed immigration detention center

Residents of Crete and the surrounding communities remain strong in their efforts to oppose the detention center. The group will be holding a second public meeting prior to the Primary Elections.

Crete Detention Center: Many Questions, Few Answers

Alyse Shields

By Alyse Shields
JCUA Intern, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago

Emotions remain high in the south suburban village of Crete, the site of a proposed federal detention center.

Another 100 people attended at the latest Crete Village Board meeting held Jan. 23. The small room overflowed with residents, most standing against every available wall, eager to have their questions answered.

I attended the meeting as a representative of JCUA and the Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants.

Village Administrator Thomas Durkin opened the meeting by offering responses to questions that residents have been asking about the project. His mundane and perfunctory answers added little insight. Meanwhile, as Durkin spoke, a crowd of impassioned citizens outside the chamber chanted “No Crete Detention Center!”

Broken System, Broken Lives: The Importance of Immigration Reform

On Friday, July 29, 2011 leaders from JCUA joined some 160 other representatives of organizations that are part of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable at the White House for a policy briefing to exchange ideas on housing, healthcare, food justice and education. Below is a story Ira Azulay, chair of JCUA’s Immigrant Justice Action Team, will share on the importance of repairing our country’s broken immigration system.

In 2008, Adam Savitt, an immigrant from Guatemala, was sitting on the front porch of his home in Highland Park on a Monday morning, when eight federal immigration agents showed up. Within minutes, they had taken him into custody and handed his belt, keys and wallet to his wife of seven years, Julie Savitt. They did not show her a warrant and did not tell anyone why he was being detained.

Adam was taken to an immigration detention facility. It took his wife four days to find where he was. Though Julie gave the immigration agents his diabetes and depression medication, it took several days and the intervention of immigrants rights organizations, lawyers and his rabbi for him to receive them. Eventually, Adam was deported to Guatemala.