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ICE just gave a "child welfare" contract to MVM Inc. -- a contractor that has been accused of torture and enforced disappearance to track down undocumented children. They've also been sued for physically separating thousands of children from their parents using unmarked vehicles and makeshift detention centers. In one instance, they locked an immigrant woman and her baby inside a Chicago hotel for five days. ICE gave them a "child welfare" contract anyway, with the dollar amount redacted. Government agencies like ICE use contractor arrangements specifically to create distance between policy decisions and the consequences of those decisions. When something goes wrong with a private contractor, the accountability chain gets murky fast. Who gave the order? Who had authority? Which agency is responsible? That fog is a feature. And it's a pattern across ICE's shadow detention system. GEO Group, CoreCivic, CSI Aviation, now MVM. Each contract adds another layer of insulation between the people making these decisions and the children bearing the consequences. Eighteen companies bid for this contract. MVM won because it had the infrastructure to physically locate and abduct children at scale. Taxpayers are fronting the bill, but children are paying the price. Source: The Guardian

After the Civil War, the South turned to "convict leasing" as a legal way to continue enslaving Black people. White Southerners would wrongfully imprison Black people for made-up offenses and then lease them for profit. The "offenses" included loitering, vagrancy, breaking curfew, and not carrying proof of employment. These laws, called “Black Codes," explicitly only applied to Black people. Not even children were exempt. Children and adolescents who had been convicted of arbitrary crimes were bought by white people, including plantation owners, to perform unpaid labor up until the 1940s. Many authors have termed convict leasing as "slavery by another name" (Equal Justice Initiative). It was a loophole made possible by the Thirteenth Amendment, which outlawed slavery and forced servitude -- but only for people who have not been convicted of a crime. This loophole still exists today and is the reason why incarcerated people are forced to do hard labor for pennies or no pay at all. This system became “just another form of chattel slavery that would function to keep the black race in a subordinate position," according to UNLV professor Dr. Randall Shelden. Now Louisiana legislators and the Governor are pushing a new convict leasing bill. Their scheme is simple: make being houseless a crime, and sentence people caught sleeping outside with years in prison. Second offenders would be subject to two years in prison with unpaid hard labor. The bill would also try defendants in specific “homelessness courts.” Defendants, if not sent to prison, would be sent to private 'treatment' programs. The catch? They'd have to repay the costs of that treatment program at the end of their probation -- or perform unpaid labor 'for the benefit of the community' until the costs of their court-mandated 'treatment' is paid off. It is important to note that 60% of houseless people in Louisiana are Black, despite Black Louisianans only making up 30% of the state's population. In addition, the median income for Black residents is only $20,000 annually. The average rent in New Orleans is $19,200 per year (Capital B). This is what modern day Jim Crow looks like.

Meet Isaiah. Isaiah is one of our amazing case managers helping trans Kansans evacuate the state after it passed a transgender purge law. Operation Lifeboat is ran by volunteers like Isaiah who are dedicated to helping trans folks in need get to safety. If that sounds like you, sign up to volunteer today at translifeboat.org/volunteer. And if you are a trans Kansan in need of assistance, please head to translifeboat.org today. Our work is made possible by the generous contributions of people across the country. Please give today to support our on-the-ground work of getting trans Kansans to safety >> vist.ly/53ug5

While most Americans were taking their moms out to dinner yesterday, ICE was deporting a mother of two, Anna Catherine Delgado, to Venezuela -- the country she had fled to seek asylum. Seven armed agents had surrounded her while she was holding her four year old son's hand in San Antonio, Texas. Her one year old daughter is still breastfeeding. Now her husband is home alone trying to get their baby to accept store bought formula because she won't stop crying for her mother. Anna Catherine had attended every immigration appointment and she filed for political asylum from Venezuela. She still does not know what triggered her sudden arrest. She called her family from custody to tell them they were putting her on a plane Sunday. On Mother's Day.

DHS is retrofitting a warehouse at 16220 Wright Road in Williamsport, MD into an internment camp that will hold 1,500+ people captive at a time. Despite it only having the plumbing capacity for four toilets. Despite it being located near a town of 2,000, which does not have the sewer infrastructure to keep up with a doubled population.

An ICE deportation flight operated by Omni Air this week has held chained ICE captives on board for over 69 hours. Where were you Wednesday morning? Imagine being shackled at wrists, waists, and chains in a cramped airplane seat, unable to stand up, since then. These are elders, people with disabilities, people who agreed to leave voluntarily, people with no criminal record. 'They can’t even raise their arms above their shoulders,' wrote ICE Air reporter Gillian Brockell.

CoreCivic claims their staff treat the people they keep in cages 'humanely... with dignity and respect.' They made this claim during the first few minutes of their Q1 earnings call, where they boasted huge increases in revenue to their investors. Revenue increases "earned" by keeping children in cages and families apart. That claim couldn't be further from the truth. At CoreCivic's Dilley internment camp in Texas, they denied medical care to a two-month-old with RSV and bronchitis who became unresponsive, a child who hadn't had a bowel movement in 10 days, and a one-year-old who almost died from RSV and Covid-19. Families are fed moldy and worm-infested food. Covid-19, the measles, and RSV outbreaks have run rampant. Nothing has been done about them. ㅤ The water isn't drinkable, and families have to pay $30 or more to get bottled water. Mothers risk drinking the unsafe tap water so their children can drink whatever bottled water they can get their hands on. Guards snatch toys from small hands. People have to brace the rain, cold, and wind for hours to get a single pill. ㅤ Confused children are hitting themselves. Others wake up screaming or wet themselves while asleep. CoreCivic shut off access to video calls with the outside world at Dilley after being the subject of public backlash. ㅤ A one-year-old was on the 'brink of death' after weeks of deteriorating health before she was given medical attention. She needed to spend ten days in the hospital. ㅤ An infant, just two-months-old, was left to choke on his own vomit and even went unresponsive. His mother had no clean water to use for baby formula. He went for days without formula while battling bronchitis and RSV. Then, ICE deported him and his family to the middle of nowhere on the other side of the U.S.-Mexico border while he was still gravely ill. ㅤ Another child recently went ten days without a bowel movement -- a medical emergency. CoreCivic staff did nothing. ㅤ All the while, CoreCivic is bringing in massive profits. Cruelty is their business model.

Today Tennessee Republicans dismantled the state's only majority-Black congressional district in a racist power grab reflective of modern day Jim Crow. Now the Memphis district will be divided into three, meaning the electoral power of Black Tennesseans will be utterly erased. During the session, the State Rep for Memphis, Rep. Justin Pearson, was harassed by State Troopers. He was physically blocked from entering a committee hearing about the very district he represents by the Sargent at Arms. "Today’s vote to redraw the congressional districts in Tennessee set our state back over 150 years. It was a political lynching that violated the rights of every Tennesseean. This racist and reckless action was also an attack on Black political power that should appall everyone in the state, whether you are Black or not, a voter or not, live in Memphis or not, or are a Democrat or not," said Pearson. They also arrested his brother, KeShaun Pearson, while he was filming the vote from the gallery after the Speaker decided to clear the gallery without cause. This egregious display of racist gerrymandering will "strip [Memphis] of effective representation for decades," according the Congressman Steve Cohen, whose district was just erased.

REPORTER: Are Dreamers with DACA status deportation targets when you're talking about resuming mass deportations? TOM HOMAN: If you're in the country illegally, you got a problem. Amnesty is off the table.

George Zoley, the Greek-born CEO of the private prison operator GEO Group, boasted huge year-over-year boosts in revenue at yesterday's Q1 earnings call. This surge in profits was "earned" from holding immigrants captive in horrific conditions that sometimes amount to torture under international law. During that call, he complained about the lawsuits that his company is facing over "oversight of medical services, food services, general cleanliness, etc" (his words). He claims that those lawsuits are not only "unwarranted," but also "unconstitutional." If Zoley cares so much for the Constitution, why is his company detaining tens of thousands of people without due process -- in direct violation of the 5th and 14th Amendments? If he cares about the Constitution, why are his staff beating, starving, and SA'ing people? Why are they denying emergency medical care, and letting people die from treatable ailments at the ICE internment camps his company operates? Doesn't the Constitution forbid 'cruel or unusual punishment'? If Zoley cares about the Constitution, why did his staff falsify records related to the death of Frankline Okpu in their custody? Doesn't the 6th Amendment protect the right to know evidence? GEO Group is committing crimes against humanity. But in their CEO's point of the view, they're the victim of "unwarranted" and "unconstitutional" lawsuits over their cruel and inhumane treatment of human beings. In Zoley's eyes, it's unconstitutional to sue a company over human rights violations, but actually committing those human rights violations is just fine and dandy.

Kevin González, 18, has terminal colon cancer and only days left to live. Yet DHS is denying his parents humanitarian parole that would allow them to see their son one last time. Even though Kevin is in Mexico right now, and releasing them would mean their voluntary exit from the States. Please speak up and demand Kevin's parents be released from ICE captivity before it's too late. Call your representatives in the House of Reps and the Senate and share this family's story far and wide. If you live in Illinois or Arizona, please call your state representatives as well. “I want to see my parents, even if it’s for the last time,” he said. “I’m asking you to do whatever you can to release them. I just want to spend my last days with them.”

ICE shackled and loaded at least ten crew members of a Disney Magic cruise ship into a white van after the ship docked in San Diego in late April. Several vacationers witnessed them being detained, still in their crew uniforms. “He was full in uniform, which was in a blazer, tie. Some of the other employees were still in their chef’s uniforms with their name tags on it,” said a passenger who witnessed the arrests. A total of fourteen crew members across two ships were detained at the Port of San Diego between April 23 and 25. Their current whereabouts are unknown.

Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez was shot by ICE seven times in California, yet is now facing flagrant federal charges for assault on federal agents. That could mean 20 years in prison. Even though a witness’s dash cam footage proves he did not assault an ICE agent. The father and fiance is being held at California City Detention Facility, where he is being starved. On the day of his arraignment, when he was transported for twelve hours total to appear in court, he was given one piece of hard bread and an apple. Because he was shot in the mouth, he can only eat soft food, meaning he had nothing to eat that whole day. Another day, he was fed nothing from 6 am to 7 pm. His dressings have gone over a week at a time without being changed. They are denying him the pain killers he should take every four hours. He was told he needs more surgeries because there are still rubber bullets in his body, but has since received no update on that. DHS is even falsely claiming Carlos has gang affiliations to justify not only the near-deadly violence enacted on him by ICE, but also the federal charges they are attempting to place on him. A similar story happened in the fall in Chicago, when teacher Marimar Martinez was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent. She then faced federal charges for "domestic terrorism." That Border Patrol agent, Charles Exum, is on paid administrative leave now. The government is using this same tactic. Paint Carlos as a criminal to avoid accountability for their reckless, near-deadly assault of another innocent person. Carlos should be home recovering from his multiple injuries and surgeries with his fiancee and two-year-old daughter. Instead he's facing 20 years in prison despite literally being the victim of ICE violence. ✍️ Sign the petition and stand with Carlos and his family: sign.moveon.org/petitions/ice-… If you can give to support him and his family, please do: gofund.me/b5d1fc94c His court date is July 27th. Please speak up and use your voice to demand Carlos be freed and acquitted. #JusticeForCarlos Sources: Jocelyn Yanet, L.A. Taco, Izzy Ramirez, Ian Lightfoot, Sam Levin, AP

Donations will support the work of @translibertypac's Operation Lifeboat. They expect ~2000 individuals were affected by having their IDs or birth certificates revoked, and believe the need will continue to grow.

There are 55 trans Kansans who need help leaving Kansas since SB 244 voided their driver's licenses and birth certificates without warning. Your donation, no matter the amount, provides direct support to our trans siblings across Kansas 👉

CORRECTION: We along with other sources misidentified the man in this photo. This photo does NOT depict Denny Adán González; at this time there is no publicly available, confirmed photograph or obituary.

Denny Adán González, a 33-year-old immigrant from Cuba, died while in ICE custody at the Stewart Detention Center, 120 miles south of Atlanta, on April 28th. ICE claims his death was a “suspected suicide” despite there being no investigation into the cause of his death when they made that claim. This tactic, of painting a death in ICE custody as a suicide before the facts are even analyzed, is unfortunately common. It is ICE’s way of preemptively skewing the public narrative so people and mainstream media do not question the dubious circumstances of an ICE captive’s death. ICE has labeled 5 of the 18 deaths in ICE custody so far this year as suicides. For example, the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at the Camp East Montana internment camp in El Paso earlier this year was first called a suicide by ICE. However, it was later ruled a homicide by the El Paso County Medical Examiner. Less than two weeks after the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled that death a homicide, another man, Victor Manuel Diaz, died in the same camp. ICE claimed his death was also a suicide, yet brought his body to an army base rather than the Medical Examiner. At the army base, autopsy reports are not released to the public. Why did ICE shirk procedure and deny the El Paso Coroner the ability to perform Diaz's autopsy, less than two weeks after that very Coroner ruled Lunas Campos's death a homicide? When ICE claims a death in their custody was a "suicide," we should all be suspicious. Denny Adán González, and every person who has died in ICE custody, should still be alive today. ICE kills, and it must be abolished.

Texas murdered James Broadnax, an innocent man, yesterday after Governor Greg Abbott and the U.S. Supreme Court both refused to halt his execution. Even though someone else had confessed to the crime. Even though there was no DNA evidence to suggest Broadnax was guilty. Even though Texas deliberately excluded several Black jurors from sitting on his jury. Even though new information on his case hadn't been considered. Even though 88,000 people took action to urge the State not to execute him. James Broadnax was innocent. Texas killed him anyway. These were his final words: "To the family I prayed for years that any of my choices would create heaviness in your heart and burdens on your spirits. I prayed to God for your forgiveness. Despite what you think about me, I hope to God that prayer was answered. But no matter what you think about me, Texas got it wrong. I’m innocent, the facts of my case should speak for itself period. Let this moment be what finally sparks the revolution that will be televised, none of it was worth it. Queen Emmit, I love you, my promise still stands, it always will. Keep fighting, stay strong, keep God first, never stop believing. I love you forever and a day. I love you Queen. Peace, love, and light, that’s what I stand for. God bless everybody." Rest in power, James. We will honor your life, your artistry, your work and your memory in the fight for justice and freedom for all. Read the statement written by James's wife and legal team in honor of James: jamesbroadnax.org

ICE agent Jonathan Ross murdered Renée Good in broad daylight on January 3rd. Now he's back to "work." Instead of a transparent, independent investigation, Ross was placed on administrative leave for only three days – then quietly relocated to another state and put back in the field. And the FBI investigation into Good's killing has been effectively frozen. Justice has been completely denied. Kash Patel directed agents to reframe the entire inquiry, recasting Good as a suspect rather than a victim while her murderer walks free. DHS and the FBI’s hide-the-ball strategy on Renée Good, Alex Pretti, and Ruben Ray Martinez has been visible since day one. The changed causes of death, the fabricated paperwork, the tampered evidence, the investigations handed off to agencies with no intention of pursuing them, the refusal to cooperate with state investigators… Now a dangerous murderer is back to working for our government, with a gun and a green light from the Trump administration to do whatever he pleases. "Absolute immunity," is what JD Vance said. We call it an absolute denial of justice. Jonathan David Ross should not be walking free. The last thing our government should do is enable, arm, and pay him to continue committing deadly violence. This is who the Trump administration protects. Not children. Not communities. They protect murderers.

One day left to save James Broadnax! Tell Gov. Abbott to grant a 30-day reprieve! Texas residents: (800) 843-5789 Residents of Austin and anyone who doesn't live in Texas: (512) 463-1782

We have 55 trans Kansans who need help leaving Kansas since SB 244 voided their driver's licenses and birth certificates without warning. Without a valid ID you can't drive to work, board a plane, cash a check, or vote. Thousands of American citizens are now undocumented in their own country. That's why we launched Operation Lifeboat, a trans-led emergency evacuation and support operation. Veterans and disaster response professionals with decades of experience in refugee & evacuation operations around the world are supporting our national trans organizers with a full, 100% volunteer incident management team. Right now, we have 55 requests for assistance, and they keep coming. We've already mobilized 53 volunteers in Kansas and across the country to support the mission, but every case is complex and resource-intensive. Your donation, no matter the amount, provides direct support to our trans siblings across Kansas. 👉 Give today at secure.actblue.com/donate/close55… We are not going to let anyone face this alone. If you are a trans Kansan who needs help, or wants to volunteer: translifeboat.org #OperationLifeboat