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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2016)
Page 10 Commentary Street Roots • Nov. 18-24, 2016 Our tax money is funding private prisons; let’s fix this approximately 1,000 immigrants, 10 percent of them youths, were transferred to the Northwest Detention Center from oday there are 2.3 million people in Portland in 2015. prison and 4.7 million on probation Northwest Detention Center is owned or parole in the U.S. There are a and operated by the private for-profit record-high 41,000 people in immigrant corporation GEO Group, under a per- detention centers and 53,000 immigrants person, per-day contract with the federal wearing ankle monitors. Every one of government Prison corporations like GEO these people has family, has loved ones. Group not only nm prisons and detention Thousands of us are residents in this city. centers like the one in Tacoma; they also I’d like to share the story of one lobby heavily for policies that funnel Portlander who came to the United States people to these facilities. from Guatemala at just 10 years old. In 2014, GEO Group and CoreCivic Despite entering with refugee status, he (formerly Corrections Corporation of was later detained for three years at America), the two largest prison Northwest Detention Center, a private for- corporations in the U.S., spent $5.9 profit immigration detention center in million on lobbying and campaign Tacoma, Wash. David (not his actual name) contributions. Their investment has paid shared his experience: off. Private corporations now control 73 “I was put in solitary confinement percent of immigrant detention beds, and multiple different times, at one point for a GEO subsidiary has an exclusive contract six continuous months. I had little to no with ICE for electronic ankle monitoring. interaction with other people and was Women with their children as young as subject to verbal and physical abuse daily. infants are now being detained. Some In the general population, the rooms were people are held for one, two, three years, constantly overcrowded with people even with no criminal charges against sleeping on the floors. The guards would them. physically force people who didn’t speak In the criminal system, prisons have English to sign deportation releases lobbied for mandatory minimums like without their consent, and use excessive Oregon’s Measure 11, three-strikes laws violence without any repercussions. and truth in sentencing laws, which “I would work hard manual labor for up disproportionately impact communities of to eight hours and get paid only $1 a day. color, particularly black communities. On top of that, the prices of the products Increased criminalization makes in commissary were all extremely shareholders more money, at the expense expensive. A 15-minute phone call would of people’s lives. cost $10; collect calls were $2.50 a minute. Whose money is fueling all of this? ... I asked if I could have a few GED books Ours. The city of Portland’s. to study, but they refused and, in fact, said Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and a that immigrants should not be allowed to handful of other banks are major investors get an education, especially because they and lenders in prisons. The city of shouldn’t been in the U.S. in the first Portland currently holds millions in place.” corporate bonds from these banks, and no Despite rolling hunger strikes and screen is available to prevent our money unlivable conditions, it’s estimated that BY AMANDA AGUILAR SHANK CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST T Amanda Aguilar Shank is deputy director at Enlace, an international alliance of organizations fighting for immigrant and low-wage worker rights, and convener of the national Prison Divestment Campaign. FARMERS’ MARKET P^^E»^ WEDNESDAYS 2-7PM from being invested in prison expansion. Wells Fargo is also implicated as a major funder of the Dakota Access Pipeline that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and allies are courageously blocking in North Dakota, as well as in a widespread scandal that opened millions of false "Portland can do better than bank accounts. Portland this. The money we pay in can do better than this. taxes to onr cities should not The money we pay in taxes to our cities should be turned back on us to fuel not be turned back on us a system that dehumanizes to fuel a system that us, defrauds us, destroys our dehumanizes us, natural resources and locks us defrauds us, destroys our away." natural resources and locks us away. Soon, prison divestment will be up for a vote at the Portland City Council. We have the opportunity to set a national precedent that other cities will follow, to help financially isolate the prison industry and to stop its growth. Like many of you, I am still reeling from Trump’s victory with a campaign rooted in racism and xenophobia. He has pledged to deport 2 million to 3 million immigrants “immediately,” to expand the use of private prisons, to make Muslims join a government registry - to name but a few of his deplorable policy objectives. In this context, the actions that the City Council takes will ring especially loud, particularly in the ears of Portland’s immigrant community and communities of color. Dozens of community groups stand with the Prison Divestment Coalition and will be testifying from 2 to 5 p.m. on Nov. 30 at City Hall. We call on the public to join us with signs and support, to let City Council know that we support them in cutting our city’s ties with the prison industry. How do you share health? At Health Share, we believe good health is more than what happens inside your doctor's office. Good health starts in your community and includes staying active, eating healthy food and getting regular check-ups. Share your healthy habits with family and friends. We can all have better health when we share it together. UP TO $10 MATCH WITH EBT CARD We're passionate about helping our community access healthy food that they can trust. 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