July NINSLETTER, Recipe and Updates
We are back with our July NINSletter, offering delicious news, updates and a special recipe from our past spice of the week kristelle!
Kristelle is an actress, dancer, award winning producer and choreographer. In addition to her creative work she also works as a Volunteer Child Advocate with The Young Center. Through this work she is able to be a supporting and loving companion to join children on their immigration odyssey, often a heartbreaking and terribly lonely landscape. Kristelle urges us to take a stance against this inhumane treatment at our borders and in our country. #EndChildSeparation - NOW.
She wanted me to share this letter from its founder, Maria Woltjen, with you all.
"The government’s failure to implement child-friendly policies at the border has created an unimaginable crisis for immigrant children. Children face months of detention and may now lose access to educational classes and recreational activities. They may be detained in military bases once used as internment camps. They continue to be accused of “exploiting loopholes” and now members of Congress have proposed legislation that would allow the indefinite detention of children and parents.
Since January, Young Center Child Advocates have been appointed to 120 children newly separated from their parents at the border. Many of the children are younger than six years old; they have been separated from their parents for months.
The Young Center continues to respond to these emerging crises. We’re advocating for the rights and best interests of hundreds of the most vulnerable unaccompanied and separated children. On the policy front, we're advocating for more humane laws and policies, but we need your help to sustain our work. With waiting lists of children who need Child Advocates at every single office, our resources and staff are constantly stretched thin. Please consider making a contribution to allow us to serve more children and fight for the humane treatment of immigrant children who are on their own.
Make a tax-deductible donation today to support the Young Center’s work for immigrant children."
Kristelle is currently directing and producing a feature documentary, Dancing Souls, A Journey back to Flamenco Roots, about the power of Flamenco to help at risk youth and adults overcome challenges. Please follow her journey at dancingsoulss.com or @dssfilm on Insta/Fbook.
If you want to catch her in a Burlesque Cabaret night, please stay tuned for her flamenco infused performance in August, by following her on IG @kristelleartiste and on Facebook @ Kristelle Monterrosa. Also check out her links below:
Kristelle’s favorite recipe to share is Gazpacho!
Ingredients:
2-3 carrots
3 very ripe tomatoes
1-2cloves of garlic
1/2-1 green pepper
1/2 English cucumber
To taste:
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Instructions:
Blend in Vitamix or Blender until smooth! Add a cut up boiled egg on top, or some bacon bits or veggie bacon or parsley then serve in pretty bowls!
Now for the news
June 2019 Immigration Articles Roundup
Cassandra Talley Esq.
This month I am focusing on the imprisonment of migrants both at the southern border and in other locations in our country. I’ve selected a few articles that dive into this issue to further explore the conditions, the profiteering, and the lack of supplies in these facilities.
Conditions at the Border
As the crisis on our southern border continues, lawmakers were recently granted access to a border facility in Texas. These articles details some of the horrifying conditions at this facility including the fact that one woman was told to drink out of a toilet. Part of the issue with these holding facilities is that there is no monitoring body or governing board to report on conditions inside (see the article below about how many of these facilities are run by private, for-profit corporations). The reports we do have are incomplete as CBP often doesn’t allow reporters to ask questions or speak to the inmates inside. In fact, there are reports that detention officers themselves are told they cannot speak to inmates—including children—in these facilities.
Making Profits Off of Incarceration
As you may know, many of our immigration holding/detention facilities are operated by private corporations including GEO Group and CoreCivic. This article points out that, last year, these two companies alone—there are several more that operate these kind of facilities—had over 4.1 billion in revenue between them. Injecting a profit motive into the immigration detention process is unimaginable if you want a clean, safe, and incident-free facility. Some things shouldn’t be privatized, and immigrant detention is one of them.
Soap and Toothpaste and What Constitutes “Safe”
This Slate article is less a news-piece are more a meditation on the basic items needed to feel safe, clean, and cared for. We take them for granted especially when the basic items being referenced are things as mundane as soap. As you may know, the Trump administration’s Justice Department was recently in court trying to defend their policy that children in border detention facilities don’t need soap and toothbrushes because these facilities are supposed to be “short term.” This argument totally ignores the fact that many, many detainees spend weeks and weeks in these facilities.
You can check out the government’s feeble justification on this topic right here (get ready…it’s a doozy)
Census 2020
Just as I was finished editing this, a news article popped up on the Washington Post: it’s being reported that the 2020 census will not include the citizenship question that has been much debated over the past several months. In case you’re unaware, the Trump administration had been arguing for a citizenship question on the upcoming census but it has been abandoned after the Supreme Court ruled on this issue.
However as of today (July 11) The trump administration is still considering an executive order to put a citizenship question on the census, though it is destined for legal challenges.
Dont forget to check in and follow us for upcoming events in july, august and definately mark your calendars for October 5!