California

News Article The Guardian July 14, 2016

Prosecutioin of illegal entry a driving force in mass incarceration in US

This article by Renee Feltz of the Guardian describes how the prosecution of individuals crossing the U.S. border for entry, a misdemeanor, and re-entry, a federal felony, has become a driving force behind mass incarceration as detailed in Justice Strategies' and Grassrooots Leadership's most recent book length report, Indefensible: A Decade of Mass Incarceration of Migrants Prosecuted for Crossing the Border, released July 13, 2016.  The book, book highlights, press release and an audio recording of our media and advocacy conference call are available for download free of charge, here on our website. 

News Article Univision July 13, 2016

Prosecuting Migrants is an Indefensible Failure

This Univsion Op-Ed by Justice Strategies' Judith Greene, Grassroots Leadership's Bethany Carson, and writer and lawyer Arjun Singh Sethi, makes the case for why Operation Streamline is a moral and policy failure, as described in detail in our most recently released book length report, Indefensible: A Decade of Mass Incarceration of Migrants Prosecuted for Crossing the Border.  The book, book highlights, our press release and an audio of our recent media and advocates conference call, are available free here on Justice Strategies website. 

JS Publication July 13, 2016

Indefensible: A Decade of Mass Incarceration of Migrants Prosecuted for Crossing the Border

"Indefensible,” a new book from Justice Strategies and Grassroots Leadership, examines the costs and failures of over a decade of criminalization of border migration. Operation Streamline was launched in 2005 and added criminal convictions to the previous civil removal process, and is known for the disturbing spectacle of mass courtroom proceedings in which up to 80 shackled migrants are arraigned, convicted and sentenced for misdemeanor improper entry charges. While the Streamline courts have been scaled back in several districts, the legacy continues in federal courts, and includes related massive immigration prosecutions for both improper entry and felony re-entry. In 2015, half (49 percent) of all federal prosecutions were made up of what is essentially a crime of trespassing, in the form of improper entry and re-entry prosecutions. Read more »

News Article Slate.com September 3, 2015

This is a Fundamentally Different Way of Policing

Judy Greene and Patricia Allard, co-authors of The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same, our report on policing practices in Los Angeles, are quoted as saying of that department's efforts at reforming policing practices under the tenure of Bill Bratton as being, "Business as usual, wrapped in a bow" in this Slate.com article about the challenges facing Susan Herman, the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner for Collaborative Policing, and the prospects for reversing the Department's troubled policing history with the City's minority communities.  

JS Blog Post September 11, 2015

Equal Protection for Incarcerated Fathers Ordered in California

Nestor Rios

In an important victory for incarcerated fathers in California, Judge Morrison C. England, of the US District Court, ruled on Sep. 9th that “California’s decision to open an alternative custody program to female inmates only and to permit them to apply for release up to two years prior to their earliest possible release date violates the Equal Protection Clause of Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.” Judge England also ordered the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to into immediately cease denying admission the ACP program on the basis that an applicant is male. Read more »

JS Blog Post July 31, 2015

Let Our Families Have a Future: A mother's story #4

Theresa Martinez

Theresa Martinez of Justice Now discusses empowerment in this, her fourth, video blog for Justice Strategies' Children of Incarcerated Parents Blog. Please visit Theresa's fourth blog post.

 

 

 

JS Blog Post July 23, 2015

Let Our Families Have a Future: A Mother's Story #3

Theresa Martinez

In her third video blog post, Theresa Martinez discusses how sterilization not only violates women's reproductive rights, but she also discusses how it undermines the right to family. Take a look at this latest video blog post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U4BJU585n0 

 

 

 

JS Blog Post July 16, 2015

Let Our Families Have a Future: A mother's story #2

Theresa Martinez

In this video, Theresa discusses the impact that familial seperartion has had on her daughter's well-being. Theresa's incarceration resulted in years of seperation from her daughter who was forced to live a challenging existence in the foster care system. Theresa also discusses how children of color in foster care - who miss their parents so much - are over-medicated in an effort to make them more manageable. Please view Theresa's second blog post

 

 

 

JS Blog Post June 30, 2015

Let Our Families Have a Future: A mother's story #1

Theresa Martinez
In this, the first of a four part video series, Theresa Martinez of Justice Now relates the story of her twenty-three years of incarceration in both youth and adult facilities, and her separation from her daughter. Listen in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPehSdIt9Tw
JS Blog Post April 15, 2015

Time for change: Jazree's story of parental incarceration

Patricia Allard

Brave New Films has created several short films exploring the impact of parental incarceration on children. In Jazree's Court: Growing Up With an Incarcerated Father, we meet Jazree who shares her experience of growing up without her dad. She shares some of her challenges, especially that of coming out. The film also shows the reunification between Jazree and her dad, and we can see an incredible bound of love, compassion and tenderness between them. Yet it is quite clear that the absence of her father made coming out among other trying times very daunting for Jazree.

The question remains: Are there alternatives to incarceration available in the US, which can honor family integrity for youth like Jazree? I believe there are opportunities for improvement.  We need not go to Mars to find solutions to this growing North American malaise – parental incarceration. In Australia, courts are already hearing and considering the impact of parental incarceration on children, and are afforded discretion with respect to sentencing a parent. An example of a legislative scheme in Australia can be found at: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca191482/s16a.html Read more »

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