Gwinnett deportation ‘surge’

[evanovitch]

A nonprofit coalition called Georgia Detention Watch on Monday joined a growing chorus of disapproval over a program to <span style="font-weight: bold">deport illegal immigrants in the Gwinnett County jail.</span>

Other organizations such as Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment and the Concerned Black Clergy have also voiced opposition to federal immigration officials’ <span style="font-weight: bold">26-day “surge,” which begins today at the county detention center</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold">The surge is expected to help the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement figure out how many inmates would be handed over from Gwinnett</span>, should the county be allowed to participate in a federal program that trains local jailers to begin deportation paperwork.


A press release issued by Georgia Detention Watch said the organization “condemns in the strongest terms this effort of expulsion of immigrants, many of whom are hard-working members of our communities.”

“We call for an immediate cessation of this intensified deportation program, as it is prone to serious human rights violations such as insufficient legal representation and racial profiling,” the press release said. “We believe local enforcement of federal immigration laws leads to racial profiling as well as erosion of trust between immigrant communities and the police, making our communities less safe.

“Instead of these inhumane, short-term, and insufficient responses to a broken national system, we call for comprehensive immigration reform in order to restore dignity and fundamental human rights to all immigrants and make our communities safer.”

Proponents of the program say it will rid the jail of suspected criminals who are in the country illegally. Stacey Bourbonnais, spokeswoman for the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department, pointed out that it only targets people who have been arrested for allegedly committing a crime.

<span style="font-weight: bold">During the 26-day operation, federal immigration officials will be at the jail working in 15-person teams from 6 a.m. to midnight. Jail officials estimate that about 60 percent of the 14,084 foreign nationals that were booked into center the past year were here illegally.</span>

Georgia Detention Watch bills itself as a coalition of organizations and individuals that advocates to end the inhumane and unjust detention and law enforcement policies directed against immigrant communities. The organization says its coalition includes activists, community organizers, persons of faith and lawyers.

[Sinco01]

Re: Gwinnett deportation ‘surge’

pe nun ah my peeps nuh get caught up in dis ..

[evanovitch]

Re: Gwinnett deportation ‘surge’

Hundreds of Gwinnett County inmates who are in the country illegally will be fast-tracked for deportation once federal immigration officials begin a 26-day “surge” to screen foreign nationals.

<span style="font-weight: bold">The surge will begin Jan. 12, with federal immigration officials working in 15-person teams from 6 a.m. to midnight at the Gwinnett jail, said Stacey Bourbonnais, spokeswoman for the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department. </span>

The surge is the latest step in an effort to forge a partnership between the county and the federal government that would allow local jailers to begin deportation paperwork.

<span style="font-weight: bold">During the surge, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will check the immigration status of all foreign-born inmates booked into the jail regardless of their claim to citizenship. Inmates here illegally will be processed for removal to their home country,</span> Bourbonnais said.

Gwinnett has been waiting since March for approval from ICE to begin training deputies to flag illegal immigrants who are arrested —- no matter the offense —- for deportation.

“This hopefully will bring us one step closer in getting the green light on that program and will give ICE an idea of the approximate numbers they would be receiving from our jail,” said Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway. “I’m very pleased that ICE has committed these resources to Gwinnett County and our citizens.”

The Sheriff’s Department currently does not track inmates’ immigration status, but it does count which ones are foreign-born. So far this year, 14,084 foreign nationals have been booked into the jail, and department officials estimate that about 60 percent of them are here illegally. The Cobb, Whitfield and Hall County sheriff’s departments as well as the Georgia State Patrol are already participating in the program, known as 287(g).

Not everyone is in favor of the program. Pastor Carlos Alberto Gutierrez, minister of Mount Sinai Christian Church in Norcross, joined about 50 people earlier this month in demonstrating against the program at the Gwinnett jail.

“It’s not a good idea,” Gutierrez said. “A lot of families will be separated —- children from parents. We’re praying every day and every night.”

Because of the large number of foreign-born inmates booked into the Gwinnett jail each year, ICE has expressed concern about how many agents would be needed to provide oversight for Gwinnett, according to Bourbonnais.

This year, Cobb County had transferred more than 2,900 inmates to federal agents for deportation as of November. There is one ICE agent assigned to its jail to oversee the work of nine sheriff’s deputies. However, Gwinnett will have 18 deputies and it’s projected to have nearly double the number of deportations, between 4,000 and 6,000.

[MarieK]

Re: Gwinnett deportation ‘surge’

suh all like mi who nuh hole no greencyaad mi haffi guh travel wid di cerfitikit pan di wall?

[evanovitch]

Re: Gwinnett deportation ‘surge’

weh u green card deh? it was haaaaddddd fi mi gi up mine..fi real...haaaaaddd....but u haffi do whe u haffi do...

[diabolical_Tanya]

Re: Gwinnett deportation ‘surge’

January 11, 2009

Veteran gangster deported

Immigration board tosses out man arrested in local sting on grounds of organized crime

By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA


CALGARY - As police continue to battle gang members on city streets, government officials have succeeded in deporting one from the country.

Antonio Joel Findlater, a member of a Calgary gang known for coke dealing, intimidation and violence, was deported to Jamaica on Wednesday.

Immigration and Refugee Board documents show Findlater, a permanent resident since 1997, was deemed inadmissible on the grounds of &quot;organized criminality.&quot;

&quot;You are a member of a criminal organization known as the Clippers,&quot; board member Paul Kyba states in hearing transcripts.

Findlater, said to be a veteran gangster, was one of 18 people arrested in 2007 after an intensive 10-month investigation dubbed Operation Barbershop -- a bust cops said helped dismantle the gang.

Police seized handguns, cocaine, marijuana and the sting led to charges in connection with a shooting.

While Jamaican-born Findlater had just three criminal convictions for theft, possession of a weapon and uttering threats, police said he was a central member of the gang.

During deportation hearings Det. Colum Cavilla, now with the Integrated Response to Organized Crime unit, presented evidence of Findlater's gang-related activities, from a bar fight where he pulled out a knife, to intimidation, stabbings, drug dealing, a shoot-out at a church parking lot and even threatening his own aunt for raising his rent.

Findlater's lawyer argued his client was not a gang member and evidence against him was tainted and from untrustworthy sources, informants who made mistakes or have criminal backgrounds. But the board sided with police.

&quot;The fact you have not been convicted of most of the encounters you were witnessed to be engaged in does not render that evidence either as inadmissible or of no value,&quot; Kyba said.

&quot;I found officer Cavilla's evidence credible and trustworthy ... and sufficient to conclude on reasonable grounds ... you are a member of the Clippers.

&quot;Additionally, through your involvement in weapons, illicit drugs and threats and intimidation, you did, in my opinion, engage in organized crime activity.&quot;

In the last two years, 68 violent criminals have been deported from Calgary, Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman Lisa White said.

&quot;Our officers work hard and one of their mandates is to ensure dangerous individuals are removed from Canada,&quot; she said.

&quot;People who commit acts of violence are not welcome.&quot;

[evanovitch]

Re: Gwinnett deportation ‘surge’

dat is all we need..fi real..alll we need...mi juss read bout a man an him ooman whe get killed a yaad tru him sell smaddy flour fi coke an wen dem come bak fi dem money, ole fool no have none so dem get duss awf

[Sinco01]

Re: Gwinnett deportation ‘surge’


happens more ofte dan you would think ..

bandoolu deh all bout dese days ..

why him neva move ..

[evanovitch]

Re: Gwinnett deportation ‘surge’

if u fool enuff fi a sell flour fi coke a yaad u a go fool enuff fi no expek dem fi come bak wid dem gun

[Gen]

Re: Gwinnett deportation ‘surge’

yuh get one passport likkle most mi bawl when mi gie up di cyard, at least mi have one owl one fi memries

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">weh u green card deh? it was haaaaddddd fi mi gi up mine..fi real...haaaaaddd....but u haffi do whe u haffi do... </div></div>

[evanovitch]

Re: Gwinnett deportation ‘surge’

Gen, fi mi own so ole di picture had mi wid low afro an young an sprucy u see...ah sah...fi dat alone mi did hate giving it up...an it neva green, it did blue ...