Shiu Ming Cheer

There are children immigrants crossing the border by themselves. Shiu Ming represents them after they are detained. They are treated as criminals. They receive detention after apprehension by immigration. Most are from Central America. Many are unaccompanied, as young as eight years old are in Florence. They ride across freight trains across Mexico and sneak across. If they are caught by Mexican immigration officials, they are beaten, face extortion and sexual assault.

United States policy of intervention in Central America has helped to create child immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. They are economic refugees. The situation of some has been created by the consequences of increased border surveillance. Their parent's can't make their annual journeys back home, and hire coyotes to try to bring their children to them in desperation.

6500 are in detention every year in the United States. Some are in a Phoenix shelter, some in a prior prison in Globe and some are in the prison in Florence. They are confined in solitary for the first 24 hours. Solitary is also used as punishment. They can go outside for one hour of the day, the prison staff is mostly non Spanish speaking. The children are treated like criminals and are in prison.

Lt. Robert Handy

The two biggest immigrant issues the Phoenix police department face are illegal smuggling of humans, the resulting kidnapping and extortion of them. They are on the look out for drop houses which are houses overfilled with humans awaiting transport. Robberies and home invasion are the second biggest issue, created by criminals knowing illegals hold save sums of cash to send back home, often they are many in a household saving money and not using a bank.

Police department does not seek to find out if a person is legal or not, that is The Immigration's Department job. The police want all people in the country to come to them for help and safety. They do not ask about a Spanish persons status.

They cannot and do not want to hold immigrants, if they go in a drop house and rescue immigrants in there, they will wait for INS for about two hours, then release the immigrants if INS does not come.

In 2003 20 different drop houses were raided, freeing 140 different individuals, who were being held against their will.

Coyotes armed with Ak 47's is the preferred method of guarding.

In 2003 P.P.D. worked on 100 kidnapping cases directly related to immigrant smuggling, 125 home invasion robberies with undocumented immigrants targeted, this is a dramatic increase.

This is a huge problem not only from a human standpoint but from an economic standpoint.

Here are some of ways Phoenix Police department is trying to help the situation.

Spanish speaking officers program-

Officers are trained in an ASU program

at the police departments cost, to learn

Spanish. They are sent to Mexico to three

week Spanish immersion classes.

This has increased their bilingual rate significantly.

Spanish speaking on the job earns the officer $10. Per hour extra while they are using Spanish.

Phoenix Police Department has created a Foreign prosecution unit specifically to work with Mexico in tracking border crossing fugitives.

Herald Hirt of the Department has lobbied congress for increased support.

Suzannah Maclay,

These are not detention sites, they are prisons with restraints. Eloy's 15% of immigrants are detained for an unspecified length of time. 20,000 persons annually are processed at Eloy, Arizona from all over the western United States. Florence, Arizona holds 1,000 - group rooms of 40 with bunk beds.

CCA is a private company which houses immigrants in with Wisconsin murderers and Hawaii's sex criminals. They all get the same treatment. 500 new beds are being created in Army tent barracks. Our system is expanding not curtailing practice of detention. Incarcerated until court date, no rights to council, no attorneys, can bond out at

$5,000 to $10,000.

Asylum seeker, who come through Mexico City, which is easy, is from Sudan, Sir leone, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, etc. "No government council is available , they have to present their case, to at best, benign and indifferent or overworked and hostile, judges. It is a problem that the asylum seeker has no lawyer."

Detainees are sometimes resident workers, some are veterans of the United States, both groups that have paid taxes here.

No council for them either.

9/11 John Ashcroft believes they ought to be held with no bond, they are National Security threats. Suzanne says, "Disturbing leaky rhetoric".

Predators / persons convicted of a sexual crime can be held indefinitely. There is one case of a man caught peeing in public, convicted of exposure. Now has been held for 12 years without bond. Will be held indefinitely.

Jose

Citizens and politicians refuse to accept economic global realties.

Outsourcing to India for example, computer specialists and telephone centers displaces local populations. Stores like Wal-Mart displace local populations.

3 isms - naturalism, patriotism, and cynicism

Emotions based on fears, like losing job

Stereotyping people who are trying to survive in a changing global economic system.

Governments trying to work with outdated polices created from late 1800's to early 1900's

Work centers brings dignity to neighbors and the day laborer.

Arizona dropout rates among highest in the country with Latinos being the biggest group.

Chicanos por la Causa help farm workers and their children, they have a women's health care center, run a domestic violence shelter for women, do counseling, help with job training and placement. They also have a food and nutrition program. A diabetics assistance program. Chicanos por la Causa also work with 4 other groups and run a work center.