Is Barack Down With 287(g)?

By Kleinheider Posted on July 28, 2008 at 2:50 pm

Tim Chavez wants someone to ask the candidate if he will shut down a controversial deportation plan by executive order upon his election to the presidency:

Sadly, the one question that needed to be asked was not. Would a President Obama in the first hours of his first day of his first term as president make a phone call or sign an order to stop 287g deportation programs in 57 U.S. communities and two states(N. Carolina and Tennessee) across the country and halt ICE raids of workplaces?

Comprehensive immigration reform will take many months and perhaps another year to pass and enact. Relief from 287g and ICE raids are needed now to stop the inhumanity against heads of households and pregnant mothers such as Juana Villegas (DeLaPaz) in Nashville.

The only certainty in this presidential race is that it will be a referendum on Obama’s fitness to be president. It is his race to lose.

SEE ALSO: Sean Braisted

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Tags: 287(g), Juana Villegas DeLaPaz, Nashville  

287(g)

By Kleinheider Posted on at 9:56 am

Nat Rau gives the controversial federal immigration proposal instituted by the Davidson County Sheriff the full treatment in this morning’s City Paper:

If Delgado is the sheriff’s office poster child for how 287(g) prevents dangerous criminals from slipping through the cracks, then the opposition’s counterpart is Juana Villegas DeLaPaz.

Stopped by Berry Hill Office Tim Coleman, a candidate for Metro’s school board, Villegas was arrested instead of being cited on July 3 for driving without a license.

At nine months pregnant, Villegas was found to be an illegal immigrant once she was in custody of the sheriff’s office 287(g) deputies. Villegas gave birth to her fourth child while in custody and was bound to her hospital bed for portions of her stay in the delivery room.

Although the sheriff’s office maintains Villegas was treated appropriately — pointing out the shackles were not restrictive and were removed in the lead-up to and after birth — local advocates are outraged. All told, Villegas was in custody for six days before her release and is now waiting immigration charges.

“The fatal flaw of the sheriff’s program is that any person with a civil immigration violation is treated like a dangerous criminal when they’re not,” Fotopulos said. “To see [sheriff’s office spokeswoman Karl Weikal’s] statements that the way Juana was treated was appropriate… it’s shocking.

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Tags: 287(g), Juana Villegas DeLaPaz  

The Previously Deported Juana Villegas DeLaPaz

By Kleinheider Posted on July 23, 2008 at 8:37 am

Nate Rau injects a bit of sanity and reason into the story of Juana Villegas DeLaPaz, the previously deported illegal immigrant who gave birth in the custody of the Davidson County Sheriff after being picked up in accordance with the 287(g) program:

A background check performed by the Sheriff’s Office in accordance with the 287(g) program showed that DeLaPaz was an illegal immigrant who had been deported already in 1996 out of San Diego.

After that DeLaPaz was turned over to ICE custody, and she then went into labor on July 5.

Weickal gave a slightly different account from the Times report of how DeLaPaz was treated by deputies while in labor. Weickal emphasized DeLaPaz was not handcuffed at all during her hospital stay.

Although DeLaPaz was shackled to her hospital bed, Weickal said the restraints did not restrict her movement any more than being bed-ridden would.

“The restraints worked as such that she could roll over and was not limited in her movement while she was in the bed,” Weickal said, adding that DeLaPaz was not restrained two hours before giving birth and six hours afterwards.

The Times’ story said DeLaPaz was away her newborn for “two days” after being released from the hospital. Weickal said DeLaPaz was away from her child for 34 hours.

SEE ALSO:
The New York Times
Tim Chavez
Tiny Cat Pants
Rachel Walden

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Tags: , 287(g), Berry Hill, Davidson County Sherrif, deported, ICE, Juana Villegas DeLaPaz, San Diego  

Eager To Hit That 287(g) Pinata

By Kleinheider Posted on July 11, 2008 at 7:31 am

Tim Chavez recounts a horrible incident involving police and a Hispanic non-citizen. According to Chavez, Juana Villegas DeLaPaz was pulled over by the Berry Hill Police Department as she left a prenatal clinic. She had a current car registration and a matricular card but no license. She was arrested. The mom gave birth in custody and was taken back to jail.

A terrible story, if true. But do we really have enough information to blame 287(g) for this, as Chavez and others do? Or could we be jumping to conclusions here?

SEE ALSO:
Ginger Snaps
Aunt B.
More from Chavez

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Tags: 287(g), Juana Villegas DeLaPaz, Matricular