Thursday, June 26, 2008

A friends' life in FEAR...

...with all these details how can anyone live a normal life. Gaby is a great person, a leader, I met her at a conference in Kansas City early last year. I last saw her Washington, DC at a March and Rally in Defence of Family Unification and a Mock Graduation in mid-June. Unfortunately, Gaby and her family became ICE preys and are now facing unjust procedures like many other families and individuals. Her description below breaks my heart.

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Immigration is Criminalizing my Family!
Yesterday at 10:46am

Friends, I need your help!

Yesterday, after leaving immigration court, the trial attorney gave an ICE official dress in civilian clothes my family's four Alien numbers. When we heard her giving the numbers to him we knew there was something wrong!

Four ICE agents came towards us and said "where is Mr. Pacheco?" I asked the ICE agent why he was asking and he said they were going to put him on the ISAP program. I asked him why and told him my family was already on supervised release they have gone to every single appointment, they have never arrived late.

Our lawyers also spoke out and the ICE agents even asked them what Supervise Release was. They took my family in for 30 minutes to a room on the second floor of the 333 South Miami Drive building and then released them with stamp sign papers (Michael Rozos) saying they had to come back to the ISAP office in North Miami on Friday June 28, 2008 at 8:00 AM)

We went to Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Ballart's office yesterday after living the immigration court building to ask for support. We are a good moral character family as the immigration court judge said yesterday. Even though my sister Erika is 7 months pregnant, she is also being put in this program. This program is extremely detrimental to her health and the health of her baby. I fear what is going to happen to the moral of my family and what is going to happen to my sister. My mother cried the entire day yesterday.

We are asking the Diaz-Ballarts to please call Michael Rozos and ask him to take my family out of this program. Please help us in asking our congressmen to make that call and put pressure on Michael Rozos for him to do the right thing.

Let me tell you a little bit about the ISAP program. Please note that everything that is in quotations comes word for word from the ISAP handbook.

ISAP stands for "Intensive Supervision Appearance Program"ISAP services are delivered by BI Incorporated.

BI stands for Behavioral Interventions.The first page of the booklet says Welcome to ISAP as if this is such a wonderful thing to be part of.It states "You have been assigned to the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) as an alternative to detention. BI Incorporated has contracted with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to operate the ISAP program." ISAP is a community-based supervision program that will help you:

*Appear at your Immigration court hearings.
*Comply with immigration court requirements
*Follow your orders of supervision

WE HAVE APPEARED IN COURT THREE TIMES WITH NO PROBLEMS, WE HAVE COMPLIED WITH IMMIGRATION COURT REQUIREMENTS, AND WE HAVE FOLLOWED ALL THE ORDERS OF SUPERVISION!

ISAP has three phase- Intensive, Intermediate, and Regular.

Intensive Phase.
"During this time, you must meet with your Case Specialist at the ISAP office 12 times per month. Each month, your Specialist will make unscheduled visit(s) to your home, and will contact your employer (if you are allowed to work). During this time, you will be monitored with an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and/or random phone calls. "

In this phase you also have curfews, schedules, meet employment and residence requirement.
The time spent in the phase is at least 30 days.

"Service Plan-Authorized schedule-Your Case Specialist will work with you to establish a schedule that includes Court hearing, and meetings with legal services, ISAP staff, your guarantor, and community resources, etc. Your schedule may also include work hours (if you are allowed to work and have a job), guarantors meetings, doctors appointment, etc. Your must follow this schedule. Your DHS officer may also require that your case specialist use electronic monitoring to check if you are following your schedule.

"Procedures-Home Visits- Your Case Specialist will make unscheduled visits to your home. You must allow the Case Specialist to enter your home when he or she makes these visits. You must have your D card available for scanning.

Electronic Monitoring-
If your supervision includes electronic monitoring, your case Specialist will attach a transmitter around your ankle and give you a receiver to take home.Never remove your transmitter or tamper with it. You are required to wear it all the time, even in the shower and at night in bed. When you do not have to wear it anymore, your case specialist will remove it.

Always answer your phone after two rings.
The receiver has a red light (phone indicator) that flashes when it needs to use the phone. If you see the light flashing when you are on the phone, finish your conversation immediately and hang up.When the red light stays on, the receiver is using the phone, so do not pick up the phone. Wait until ten minutes after the light has gone off before you use the telephone.

THANK YOU!

Gaby

8 comments:

Richard said...

OMG – I am disgusted. Dehumanizing. I am infuriated. My heart aches for them.

Unknown said...

Am actually on the program for no reazon like gaby's family. The people from Isap dont help they jus made my life more dificult and miserable in united states, they treat immigrants like criminals.

Anonymous said...

My boyfriend is 40 years old now. His father was a FROGMAN (similar to a Navy Seal)in Vietname. When the war was happening, my boyfriend and his family was transported to the United States. His father died when he was 10. Being an 10 year old with a mother working 3 jobs just to support her three small kids, my boyfriend started hanging around the wrong crowd in California. He got into trouble as a juvenile and then also after the age of 18. He was convicted of money laundering in three different states. This automatically placed him in federal custody. When he SERVED his 13 years in prision- Homeland Security took away his citizenship. (even after him being in the U.S since he was 6 years old) Therefore, Homeland Security had rights over him. They wanted to deport him back to Vietname but Vietname is not accepting felons at this time but may in the future. (so he has to live his daily life knowing that he may have to give up all he has worked for the day that Vietname decides to start taking criminals back into their country).

Anonymous said...

Every year, DHS contracts this program out to the cheapest bidder. Therefore, each year, he has to start the whole process of establishing a relationship with a new "case specialist" (not even probation officers).

This new one just left our house today and I was mad as hell. We smoke in our house and have two small dogs. Now, the questions she asked him was (in order) and YOU tell me if this sounds appropriate for a "visitation from a probation officer".

She first told him "oh, this is a nice neighborhood". "you have a nice house". "i like it". "its not even that far away from the downtown" (where she works- not him)

Then she asked "what kind of dog is that?" "do you just have the one or do you have more?" "whats the breeds on them?" "how many bedrooms do you have?" "is it three or just two?" "oh, thats nice. do you have two full bathrooms?" "does it have a full car garage?" "are you buying this house or just leasing it" "so its yours- its financed or is it paid for?" "do you smoke? i thought so because thats the first thing I smelled when I walked in."


NOW, I was born in America. White as hell. Most of my family is either nurses or in a branch of the military. I use to have the utmost respect for this country.

I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE HEARD OF SUCH NONSENSE AS I, MYSELF, (NOT BEING ON PROBATION) HAD TO DEAL WITH. I HAVE NEVER BEEN INSULTED IN MY OWN HOUSE BEFORE TODAY. I AM HIGHLY PISSED BUT CAN NOT DO A DAMN THING ABOUT IT BECAUSE OF THE FACT IF YOU LOOK BACK IN TIME- WHAT RIGHTS DO THESE INDIVIDUALS HAVE IN LIFE??

Whoever is associated with these individuals have no rights either.

Plain and Simple. I would bet my boyfriend/friends morals, values, respect, honesty, dignity, honor and so on AGAINST anyone in CONGRESS or in ANY JUDICIAL SYSTEM!

This was a man who hit rock bottom after his father died and had NO ONE to show him the correct way in life. HE PAID HIS DUES AND OVER TIME GREW INTO A MAN AND WILL PAY HIS DUES TIL THE DAY HE DIES BECAUSE OF THIS COUNTRY. I HAVE NO RESPECT WHATSOEVER FOR THIS COUNTRY ANYMORE IN LIFE SINCE I HAVE MET THIS MAN AND I SEE WHERE HE MUST HAVE BEEN AND WHAT HE HAS ACHIEVED IN JUST A SHORT TIME SINCE HE HAS BEEN OUT.

I want you to just think of living this life. Not being able to have kids. Not ever being able to adopt. (I cant have kids to a drunk driver hitting my vehicle when I was young). My boyfriend will never know what it feels like to be a father. To be able to say what he really wants to. To be able to fly across the world. To be able to go to bed each night in complete peace.

WHAT individual would want a "life" as this? You said it- NO ONE. I, myself, honestly does not know how it does it at times. I would have killed myself already!!

BUT GOD BLESS AMERICA- WE HAVE TO GET HIS TAX MONEY EVERY YEAR!!!! (I am going to be bold and say that Uncle Sam gets over 20 grand a year from him- each year) Nice right? For a man that can not even call this country his home and a country that has never let him fully live.


Thank you for listening. I really had to vent. These "case specialist" aka "probation officers" should have to abide by policies and procedures. And, if they need a Sugar Daddy- the fucking whore house is down the street. It should not be conducted in Texas probation programs!!!!!

Anonymous said...

WE HAD A CASE SPECIALIST MAKE HER FIRST VISIT LAST NIGHT AND SHE WAS A BITCH TO SAY THE LEAST. SHE STATED THAT OUR HOUSE SMELT LIKE CIGARETTE SMOKE.

SHE CONTINUALLY ASKED US QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR HOUSE SUCH AS HOW MANY BEDROOMS, HOW MANY BATHS, DID MY BOYFRIEND OWN IT OR LEASE IT, DID IT HAVE A 2 CAR GARAGE.

SHE KEPT ON STATING TO MY BOYFRIEND (WHO IS THE ONE ON PROBATION AND OWNS THE HOUSE) HOW NICE THE HOUSE WAS, HOW IS WAS CLOSE TO HER JOB AND HOW THIS WAS SUCH A NICE COMMUNITY.

TO TOP IT OFF SHE WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT OUR DOGS. WHAT BREEDS THEY WERE, HOW MANY WE HAD. (WE HAVE 2 SMALL DOGS WHO LIVE INSIDE AND IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT SHE DID NOT LIKE THAT THEY LIVE INSIDE ALTHOUGH I AM A GOOD HOUSEKEEPER)

THE QUESTIONS SHE WAS ASKING SEEMED LIKE SHE WAS SEARCHING FOR HER NEXT SUGAR DADDY.

SHE FIRST TOLD HIM SHE HAD TO COME OUT AND TO VERIFY THAT HE LIVED THERE AT THAT ADDRESS. (THE BANK LOAN WAS NOT SUFFICIANT ALONG WITH THE ALL THE BILLS AND BANK ACCOUNTS ADDRESSED TO THE SAME ADDRESS)

Anonymous said...

Please contact me if you are on this ankle bracelet program and feel it is dehumanizing. If you have no criminal record and have been going to all court hearings..etc but they still put this on you let me know. contact me. jennifer.hauser@turner.com. I want to do a story on this for cnn Thanks

Anonymous said...

I guess I am not seeing what the problem is. I think it's a good progr4am for a person who has to be on supervised probation/parole rather than being locked up. True, everyone makes mistakes, but when you do, you have to have consequences. I know a number of of people, family and friends, who asked to be on the program so they could be home with thier family and freinds. I don't think making small talk is a horrible thing. Better than having someone come in and telling you to drop your pants and spread your cheeks for a cavity check! Seriously now! The people who are managing your case didn't put you in the situation you are in - you did. Why on earth be pissed at them?

Anonymous said...

This is a GREAT program. More power to them. Get Illegals out of the country so that my tax dollars dont have to pay for you 10 kids that you cant support