Wow! The story of the torture of Mrs. Juana Villegas (DeLaPaz) and the abuse of her newborn son has now reached the editorial pages of the influential Boston Globe after making the news pages of The New York Times.
Below is what The Globe editorial board had to say about Nashville authorities and this city's endorsement of the heinous 287g deportation program. I'm beginning to feel like one of those '60s advocates who cried out during the 1968 Democratic National Convention: "The whole world's watching. The whole world's watching."
With Juana's case, the whole world is indeed beginning to watch. And the silence of Mayor Karl Dean and Congressman Jim Cooper to this inhumanity is telling. It's time pass on the word to the world: BOYCOTT NASHVILLE! as a place to visit. Don't buy its products, particularly country music.
If you are a person of conscience, stay away from here and let your absence make a deafening statement for human rights for all people.
Home / Globe / Opinion / Boston Globe Editorials - One week of Editorials Globe Editorial
Illegal, but inhumane
August 1, 2008
JUANA VILLEGAS is a Mexican immigrant who broke federal law. As The New York Times recently reported, she was deported in 1996, but she returned illegally to the United States. What is more troubling, however, is what happened to her in custody of law enforcement this month. Overzealous use of the law trampled decency.
On July 3, Villegas, nine months pregnant, was pulled over in a Nashville suburb and arrested after admitting that she did not have a license. At the county jail, Villegas's illegal status was discovered by a federal official. That official was there as part of the federal 287(g) program, which trains local police to enforce federal immigration laws.
Two days later, Villegas went into labor. At the hospital her foot was cuffed to the bed, and the cuffs were reportedly removed only for two hours before she gave birth and for six hours after. An officer stood guard in her hospital room.
After she left the hospital, Villegas was held in jail. She could not breastfeed her baby and was not allowed to use a breast pump. She says she developed a breast infection and her baby became jaundiced.
Needless to say, the 287(g) program wasn't intended to snare pregnant women. Rather, it is supposed to help officers "pursue investigations relating to violent crimes, human smuggling, gang/organized crime activity, sexual-related offenses, narcotics smuggling, and money laundering," according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Yet the perceived need for even local officials to crack down on illegal immigrants has become an obstacle to treating people humanely.
Villegas has been released to the custody of her family and faces deportation. Her case shows how much the country needs comprehensive immigration reform that deploys legal resources where they are most needed.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
So let the word go forth: BOYCOTT NASHVILLE!
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