**LISTENING ALERT**

War on Immigrants Report
February 16, 2012
10-12pm
WBAI Fund Drive Edition
 

WHAT: War on Immigrants Report, a segment of Global Movement, Urban Struggles on Pacifica Radio

WHEN & WHERE: February 16, 2012 10-12 PM on 99.5 WBAI Radio NY-tune in live throughout the NY tri-state area or streaming live at www.wbai.org
 
HOSTED THIS MONTH  BY: Abraham Paulos and Donald Anthonyson of Families for Freedom and Adem Carroll.
 
This month’s show focuses on Immigration detention… the conditions, the rationale,
the absurdities… all the above and then some.

Immigration detention is the practice of jailing people that the immigration authorities are trying to deport from the U.S. The detainees are imprisoned as if they are being punished for a crime. But being in the United States without permission is not a crime. It is a civil violation-the only one punishable by confinement. The courts argue that administrative detention is not punishment. Detainees are often subjected to arbitrary punishment, including shackling, solitary confinement, neglect of basic medical and hygienic needs, and verbal, physical and even sexual abuse.*
The number of people being held in immigration detention has exploded. On any given day, ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) detains over 33,000 immigrants; this is more than triple the number of people detained in 1996. In the last 5 years alone, the annual number of immigrants detained and the costs of detaining them has doubled: in 2009, 383,524 immigrants were detained, costing taxpayers $1.7 billion at an average of $122 a day per bed. Nearly 2.5 million individuals have passed through immigration detention facilities since 2003.**
Tonight we will bring voices of directly affected people who are both inside and out of this system along with guests who will shed light on the immigrant detention system and highlight some of the more egregious ways that detainees are treated.
We will be participating in WBAI’s fund drive and our premiums include The Politics of Immigration by Jane Guskin and David Wilson along with a year's subscription to the Monthly Review.  Both these premiums highlight issues of detention and we encourage listeners to call in and donate to support programs like this and quality community radio. The number to call is: (212)-209 2950.
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