By Brenda Lopez Romero
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Human Rights Watch report reviewed the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency practices and determined that the detention and transfer of non-citizens in the immigration detention system denied basic rights to non-citizens. It also concluded that both legal and unauthorized non-citizens are held unnecessarily. The report illustrated that some detainees from Philadelphia and Los Angeles are being transferred to Texas or Louisiana.

The information in the report was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) of Syracuse University. Alison Parker, director for the U.S. Human Rights Watch chapter, said “ICE is increasingly subjecting detainees to a chaotic game of musical chairs, and it’s a game with dire consequences.” The transfers seem to have at least some purpose as data indicate that the Federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas) is receiving the most transfers and it is also the jurisdiction that is most adverse to the non-citizen rights, has the lowest numbers of immigration lawyers, and has the most conservative judges.  

In a separate investigation, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security found that the transfers of detainees are haphazard, detainees are not offered notice of their charges, and are not being released even when they was been granted bond. The Inspector reported that these inappropriate transfers result in lack of access to legal counsel and evidence, add time to the detention, and cause “errors, delays and confusion for detainees, their families, legal representatives,” and the immigration courts. Moreover, the Inspector found that since 2003, detentions have more than doubled to over 442,000 people a year.

The Constitution Project, a bipartisan group, also called for broad changes in the immigration law to include access to appointed counsel particularly for unaccompanied minors. This move would add more constitutional safeguards similar to the criminal justice system, significantly reducing the burden of proof, and allow permanent legal residents to file a waiver of mandatory detention. Mr. Asa Hutchinson, Chair of the Constitution Project, defended the recommendation, because none “made should in any way compromise national security … It simply allows for a more humane and more efficient system.”

For more information, please see:

The Chronicle – Agency, advocates assail ICE on detainee transfers – 3 December 2009

The New York Times – Immigration Detention System Lapses Detailed – 3 December 2009

The Washington Independent – Immigrant Detention Doubles Since 1999 – 2

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

NEW YORK, United States – On Wednesday, the New York State Senate defeated legislation that would allow homosexuals to marry. The decisive defeat of the legislation ensures that the issue will not come up again until after the 2011 election when a new state legislature is elected.

After its passage in the New York Assembly, and with the approval of Governor David Paterson, the bill reached the State Senate. Supporters of the legislation hoped that they could garner enough votes to legalize same-sex marriage. However, the bill was defeated by a vote of thirty-eight to twenty-four. The vote was along party lines. All thirty Republican senators voted against the legislation. Those senators who were considered politically vulnerable also voted against the bill. The bill garnered most support from the senators representing New York City and Westchester County.

Supporters of the legislation expressed disappointment after defeat of the legislation. They believed that the bill had a good chance of being passed. The sponsor of the legislation, Senator Thomas Duane, felt betrayed in defeat. Senator Duane is New York’s first openly gay legislator. Governor Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg also expressed their disappointment in the defeat of the bill. State Senator Kevin S. Parker stated that “this is the worst example of political cowardice I’ve ever seen.”  

The reason why so many supporters believed that the bill could be passed and felt betrayed in defeat was the actions taken by some conservative members who promised their support before the vote. Many of the previous supporters switched their votes on the floor of the Senate when they saw that bill would not overwhelmingly pass. 

The opposition to the legislation was led by Senator Reuben Diaz, a conservative minister. Senator Diaz was the only senator opposing the bill to speak in debate on the legislation. Deputy Republican leader, Senator Tom Libous, believed that the issues surrounding the economy affected the vote.

Seven states have legalized same sex marriage since 2003. If New York passed the legislation, it would have become the eighth state. However, two of those states, California and Maine have rescinded their same-sex marriage laws. 

For more information, please see:

AP – Gay-Marriage Opponents Welcome NY Bill’s Defeat – 3 December 2009

Huffington Post – New York State Senate Votes Down Gay Marriage – 2 December 2009

NY Times – New York Senate Rejects Gay Marriage Bill – 2 December 2009

By Brenda Lopez Romero
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO, D.F. – A protected witness was murdered by gun shots in a Starbucks in the Del Valle subdivision, south of Mexico City. Édgar Enrique Bayardo del Villar was former chief of the Federal Police and accused of working with the drug cartel Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. The prosecutor offered Bayardo del Villar witness protection in exchange for his testimony against the cartel. 

Bayardo del Villar had been a long time officer and after his arrest for bribery, he turned into a protected witness, with the alias “Tigre,” and a monthly salary of 50 mil pesos (approximately $5,000 U.S.D.). He formed part of the Clean Operation in 2008, one of the biggest political corruption scandals of the year. Bayardo del Villar was the lead witness against the Interim Commissioner, Gerardo Garay Cadena, of the Federal Police.

The Starbucks employees indicated that two men dressed in suits entered the location and one pulled out an automatic weapon and shot Bayardo del Villar. Then, they ran out towards a vehicle.

The District Attorney’s Office stated there is a full investigation into witnesses’ being murdered. They have reviewed the Starbucks surveillance cameras and are working with the Public Transportation System, because they believe that the assassins may have used the subway stations of the North Division and Zapata after they abandoned their green Isuzu vehicle. They have provided the public with sketches of the perpetrators.

The bodyguard, José Luis Castillo, is in the hospital in critical condition.

This is the second time in the last couple of days the State’s District Attorney’s Office has failed to protect its witnesses and have resulted in their deaths. Both witnesses had some connection to investigations into drug cartels in Sinaloa headed by “El Mayo.” On November 21, Jesús Zambada Reyes allegedly committed suicide while under witness protection.

For more information, please see:
Diario de Yucatán – Matan a testigo protegido – 2 December 2009

El Porvenir – Ejecutan en DF a testigo protegido – 2 December 2009

El Universal – Ser testigos de El Mayo los llevo a la muerte – 2 December 2009

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

GEORGIA, United States – Today the residents of Atlanta, Georgia will vote for a new mayor. This runoff election follows the November 4 general election that did not yield a clear winner. Mary Norwood, a white city council woman and Kasim Reed, a former African American state senator are the candidates competing for the mayoral office.

In 1973, Maynard Jackson became Atlanta’s first African American mayor. Since that election, Atlanta has elected only African Americans to its mayoral office. Norwood is the first serious non-African American contender to the office since the election of Jackson. 

Racial tensions are apparent in this mayoral election. In 2000, African Americans accounted for sixty-one percent of Atlanta’s population. In 2007, African American’s accounted for fifty-seven percent of the population. In the November 4 election, Reed and another African American candidate split the African American vote. This split allowed Norwood to gain the most votes in the November 4 election. However, Norwood did not receive a majority of votes to win the election. According to data acquired after the general election, Norwood received fifty-eight percent of her votes from Atlanta’s three predominately white districts.  Reed received fifty-seven percent of his votes from predominately African American districts. 

Similar to the general election, political pundits and political organizers believe that race will be a predominant factor in the runoff election. According to Michael Owens, a political science professor at Emory University, African Americans and whites have different views on the qualifications and issues that the new mayor needs to address. In August, two Clark University professors wrote a memo concerning the strategy of keeping African Americans in the mayoral seat. 

Despite the racial factor involved in the runoff election, some people believe that race is becoming less of a factor in voters selection of the next mayor of Atlanta. For example, Reverend Harrison Anderson, an African American, stated that he would be voting for Norwood. He cited Norwood’s commitment to help the poor and her visits to the poorer community in which he preaches as the reason for his vote. 

For more information, please see:

MSNBC – Race a Factor in Atlanta Mayor Vote – 1 December 2004

Atlanta Journal Constitution – Voting Along Racial Lines Mayor’s Race – 6 November 2009

Christian Science Monitor – Atlanta Mayoral Race 2009 Results are Murky on Race in Politics – 4 November 2009