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Migrant Detainees Charged $8.00/ Minute to Use the Phone. Donate to Give Them a Voice.

By Adriana Herrera @adriana_herrera · On June 22, 2018

Donate Here:
https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/family-reunification-phone-project

Why…

Migrant Detainees Charged $8.00/ Minute to Use the Phone
How is it possible to charge immigrant detainees, asylum seekers, and refugees $8.00/ minute to use the phone? They are being held in for-profit corporate prisons.

Phone Calls Are Used as a Way to Silence Migrant Prisoners
1.) By making the phone calls so expensive migrant prisoners “cannot contact legal counsel or inform the public about the atrocities occurring within the prisons”.

2.) ICE uses this tactic, alongside many others, to isolate prisoners from their families. Isolation is a tactic to emotionally wear down detainees and force them to accept “voluntary” deportation.

Who Owns the For-Profit Prisons?
CoreCivic and The Geo Group are the two largest for-profit prisons in the United States.

How do the Prisons Make Money on Migrant Detainees?
When migrant detainees are detained they are housed in prison facilities despite it NOT currently being a crime to enter the United States without documentation. Detainees are denied reasonable access to legal services and can be held indefinitely. Profits are made by:

* “The services” provided to detainees

* $8.00/ call phone charges

* $5.00+ fees to add to detainees accounts

* Prison slave labor where detainees are paid $0.25/ hour

Can You Visit a Migrant Detainee Instead of Call?
A request to visit a migrant detainee can be made if you know the identification number given to them. Without the prison specific identification number there is no other way to identify them. A name or other form of identification does not suffice. ICE has removed names making it even harder to identify and reunite families.

Who Funds the For-Profit Prisons?
Bank of America, Chase Bank, Wells Fargo, American Express, HSBC (who owns most in store credits cards such as a Best Buy credit card), and many more “too big to fail” corporations.

37 Migrant Detainees Bravely Share Poor Conditions and Treatment
Inside the Otay Mesa Detention Center 37 migrant detainees write a letter bringing awareness as to what is really happening inside the prisons (despite possible retaliation).

Here is their “statement condemning discrimination, poor conditions and lack of medical care in the detention center along with the government’s policies of indefinite detention and recent immigrant deaths at the hands of border patrol and of their Caravan companion Roxana in ICE custody.”

https://www.facebook.com/PuebloSF/posts/2183506608342695

Donate. Help Raise the $10,000 Needed to Make Phone Calls.
The cost to make a phone call is outrageous. The number of courageous migrant detainee mobilizers in Otay Mesa Detention Center and Cibola County Correctional Center have grown to 100 individuals who have taken on leadership roles.

Pueblo Sin Fronteras seeks to deposit $100.00 into each of their phone accounts so that they can continue to bring awareness to what is happening inside the prisons and to access legal help.

Pueblo Sin Frontera’s mission is to provide shelter and safety to migrants and refugees in transit, accompany them in their journey, and together demand respect for our human rights.

Donate Here:
https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/family-reunification-phone-project

To Learn More About Pueblo Sin Fronteras Visit:
http://www.pueblosinfronteras.org/
https://www.facebook.com/PuebloSF/

——– **Note** ——–

Information in this post comes from attending a community meeting hosted by Border Angels, on Thursday, June 21, 2018. Many additional ways were shared on how to help migrant detainees. Some of these ways include:

* Signing up to visit migrant detainees: http://www.firstuusandiego.org/solace

* Volunteering time and talents: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdGGQbOzjN6rBqtLgnYh53kg0cjhfZC4Fy7TblqO_syOUrhXA/viewform

* Donating teddy bears for children being detained (contact information coming soon)

* Building shelters for migrants in Tijuana (contact information coming soon)

* Researching and making transparent who is funding/ making money off migrant detainees (contact information coming soon)

* Desert water drops with Border Angels, https://www.borderangels.org/desert-water-drops/

As I get contact information for the additional ways to help I will post.

About Border Angels
Border Angels is a “non profit organization that advocates for human rights, humane immigration reform, and social justice with a special focus on issues related to issues related to the US-Mexican border”.

To learn more about Border Angels visit:
https://www.borderangels.org/
https://www.facebook.com/BorderAngels/

 

“The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

 

Si Se Puede!

 

human rightsimmigrationmigrantmigrant detainees
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Adriana Herrera

Adriana Herrera is a tech entrepreneur, tree hugger, and geek in stilettos. She spends her time building EpicHint.com, surfing, and cooking with family.

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About

Adriana Herrera
Hi my name is Adriana Herrera. I'm an entrepreneur. I've founded companies in tech and outside of tech. I taught myself to code while drinking wine one summer. I wear stilettos and have a closet full of dresses I love! I've written columns in publications like The New York Times. I was named a Top 20 Latino Innovator by NBC/ NBC Latino. Yup, I'm Mexican. I'm very proud of my heritage and the amazing cooking skills passed down to me by my mother and abuelita.

I love reading blogs. I've found that most of the blogs I read are written by men so I thought I'd start my own, Open Bubbles. I write about what I know...building a startup, PR, marketing, data, and developing product. I like conversation and new friends. So feel free to comment, 'Connect', and follow.

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Adriana Herrera
adriana@openbubbles.com

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