The government promptly and arbitrarily denied every request, without holding any hearing. The government sent the nine to prison, first in Florence, and then to the private prison run by the for-profit Corrections Corp. in Eloy. The nine remained there as of July 29, six of them in solitary confinement, with no action scheduled on their cases.
The Eloy prison has a horrific reputation as a savage place going back at least as far as 2007, when detainee deaths in Homeland Security custody drew attention even from the New York Times. Already this year there have been two more detainee deaths, apparent hanging suicides two men aged 24 and 40. At least one other prisoner, a U.S. military veteran, is currently being force-fed because he was on a hunger strike.
The website DREAM ACTIVIST, the "Undocumented Students Action & Resource Network offers brief biographies of some ht the Dream 9, whom some now consider prisoners of conscience or political prisoners:
" Claudia Amaro, 37, from Monterrey, Mexico moved to Colorado when
she was thirteen years old. Her mother fled Mexico after her father was
murdered and the family was threatened. In 2006, while living in Wichita,
Kansas, Claudia's husband was detained while driving to work. ICE detained
Claudia while interpreting for her husband.
Living in Mexico has
been hard for Claudia and her thirteen-year-old US citizen son. Finally, her
mother gained legal status last year and was able to visit her grandson for the
first time in seven years. Claudia is coming home to put the family back
together that deportation tore apart.
" Adriana Diaz, 22, from Mexico City, first came to Phoenix, Arizona
when she was just four months old. Adriana graduated from Crestview Preparatory
high school in 2010 with many accolades, including the Citizenship Award. To
this day, two of her murals decorate its walls. Adriana left Phoenix three
months before DACA was announced. She left because she was tired of living in
fear under [County Sheriff] Arpaio, not knowing each night if her mom was going
to come home.
Once in Nogales,
Adriana tried to go to school. Because she lived so long in the US, Mexico
recognized her as a foreign student and would not accept her US degree. Instead
of going to school, Adriana has been working with migrants at the Juan Bosco
shelter in Sonora. Adriana is coming home because she has no memories in
Mexico. Her entire life was in Phoenix--she has memories of school, birthdays,
going to prom--even her partner of four years lives in Phoenix. Everyone
deserves to come home.
" Luis Gustavo, 20, from Michoac????n, Mexico has lived in North
Carolina since he was five years old. He graduated from McDowell High School.
Luis left Marion, NC, in August 2011 with the hopes of being able to
finally go to school in Mexico. Luis, not being able to stand being away from
his family, tried to come home in June 2012 when the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was announced.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
