Amy Goodman: We’ll Lock Up Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free

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from Truthdig:


We’ll Lock Up Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free

Posted on Feb 27, 2007
By Amy Goodman

“I want to be free. I want to go outside, and I want to go to school,” pleaded a 9-year-old boy, on the phone from prison. This prison wasn’t in some far-off country, some dictatorship where one would expect children to be locked up. He is imprisoned in the United States.

The boy, Kevin, is imprisoned in Taylor, Texas, at the T. Don Hutto Residential Facility. His parents are also locked up there. The tale of how this family became imprisoned is just one example of how broken our immigration policies are in this country. It is a tale of children left behind, of family values locked up, of your tax dollars at work.

The parents are Iranian and spent 10 years in Canada seeking asylum. Kevin, their son, was born in Canada during that time. Their request for asylum was eventually denied, and they were deported back to Iran. Majid, the father, said he and his wife were jailed and tortured there. They soon fled to Turkey and bought Greek passports. They hoped to reapply for asylum in Canada, armed with proof of the torture they suffered in Iran.

On a plane back to Canada, a fellow passenger suffered a heart attack, requiring an unscheduled landing in Puerto Rico. Although they never had any intention of entering the U.S., because the plane touched down here, their passports were questioned and they were detained. The family was shipped off to Hutto. They have been there for more than three weeks.

Immigration detention places the family in a legal limbo that could leave them imprisoned indefinitely, perhaps only to be deported back to more torture in Iran. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070227_well_lock_up_your_tired_your_poor_your_huddled_masses/

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1. the story in audio from CBC radio

http://www.cbc.ca/aih/latestshow.html

IRANIAN-CDN. FAMILY


In 1995, they fled to Canada from their homeland Iran, seeking asylum and a new life. But now, more than twelve years later, their lives are in a state of limbo -- more uncertain than ever before.

The family, which has chosen to remain anonymous, lived in Canada for ten years -- where they raised their Toronto-born son, now nine years old. While he is a Canadian citizen, his parents are not. Just over two years ago, they learned their refugee claim wasn't successful. The family was then deported back to Iran. Upon their return, the father alleges he was tortured while in custody. Eventually, they were able to flee, travelling first to Turkey, then Guyana. This month, they boarded a flight -- using fake passports -- hoping to make another run for political asylum in Canada. But their efforts were thwarted by random circumstance. A passenger suffered a heart-attack, forcing the plane to land in Puerto Rico. Now, all three of them are in American custody at the Hutto Family Detention centre in Taylor, Texas.

Their lawyer is Barbara Hines. She is a law professor at the University of Texas, and she's in Austin.

I heard this interview last night. The link will expire at about 6:30p.m. when today's show is broadcast.
It'll get bumped to http://www.cbc.ca/aih/logs.html.

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2. Thanks for the link.

:hi: