18 May 2008

the visitor



on friday night i went to see this film. it's a powerful story about the impact one individual can have on another and how life offers one unexpected turn after another. i highly recommend that you run, not walk, to see it. (i'll even facilitate the process - click here to find show times in your area.)

the detention facilities run by the department of homeland security's immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) played a major role in the film. no doubt, you've heard of the most infamous of our detention facilities - abu ghraib and guantanamo bay, but did you know that our government operates these same types of facilities throughout the contiguous 48 states? i didn't. to be sure the purposes are certainly different - abu ghraib and guantanamo house enemy combatants, those that are so dangerous that they threaten our mere existence. and at the ICE facilities? well, there they -

... detain and remove criminal and other deportable aliens ... to deter illegal immigration and protect public safety [by] ... secur[ing] bed space in detention facilities, and monitor[ing] these facilities for compliance with national Detention Standards ...

and wouldn't it be nice if the facilities were actually in compliance with these standards? yeah, not so much. the washington post , the new york times, and the los angeles times have all published stories on the system of detention centers for undocumented immigrants. each series and story paints a different piece of the picture and, read together, that picture nears disturbing completion, but i'm still left wondering - why is this a national priority?

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