Volunteer monitors needed: Flores interviews with immigrant minors detained at Texas Border Patrol facilities

The California Federation of Interpreters Local 39000 CWA-TNG often gets requests of this nature, and this is an opportunity to give our members a chance to support social justice causes – we believe that linguistic access to the justice system is a basic human right, and this is the only path to make the motto “equal treatment under the law” meaningful.

The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law is a respected justice partner with whom our Local can collaborate. Our hope is that our members respond to the volunteer and donation information and help in the areas where the Center is attempting to provide legal services to detained immigrant children being held in squalid conditions. (El Paso & Río Grande Valley, Texas)

Being part of a Union means being a key element in the community for improving working and social conditions wherein we live and work; volunteerism for social justice is a one of the legs of the CWA Triangle; I have done some pro bono written translations for social justice agencies in California, and from what I’ve seen, this situation could easily be called the Dachau of our times.

Local 39000 stands ready to begin to participate in Social Justice … it’s what we do every day in the courts. This Local encourages all its members to go forth and see how  we can be of service to the greater whole of communities and society in which we live.

All my best, in solidarity

Michael Ferreira, President

Please forward to colleagues who may be interested.
Dear volunteer lawyers, doctors, paralegals, and interpreters,
We have a motion pending regarding the treatment of detained minors in the RGV and El Paso Sectors. The motion is now in court ordered mediation with a further mediation scheduled for September 11, 2019. We would like a small number of volunteer monitors to interview class members at CBP facilities in the RGV and El Paso Sectors onSeptember 05-06, 2019. We are writing to invite interested lawyers, doctors, paralegals, and interpreters to participate on one or both days at either of the CBP sectors. The purpose of these monitoring visits is solely to gather updated information regarding CBP's compliance with the terms of the Flores settlement that require the humane treatment and prompt processing of minors in border patrol custody. To volunteer, please register or sign in to reunify.org, where you can select the dates you wish to participate.
We'd like monitors to visit McAllen/Ursula, Weslaco and Brownsville in the RGV Sector and the El Paso Station, Clint, and Santa Theresa in the El Paso Sector. You may volunteer to interview class members on September 5 or 6, 2019, or on both days, and in either the El Paso or RGV Sectors.

 

Please log in or sign up at reunify.org to register to volunteer for an upcoming detention site inspection. Those wishing to participate in site visits must upload, unless they have already done so for previous visits, the following documentation:
  1. A PDF or JPEG scanned copy of a government issued photo ID - you must upload this at the “Upload ID and Consent” tab. 
  2. A PDF or JPEG scanned copy of a signed ICE Code of Conduct form - you must upload this on the “Upload ID and Consent” tab. (New form required for all participants regardless of previous participation)
  3. A PDF or JPEG scanned copy of your State Bar Membership Card (required only for attorneys).
  4. A PDF or JPEG scanned copy of a medical license or other certificate (required only for doctors and child welfare experts)
In addition to registering at the web site, please also email me the days and locations you wish to interview class members and attach copies of the documents mentioned above that you upload to the website.
We will promptly email those who respond to let you know if you have been selected to join a visit this time around, provide an interview form, and schedule an orientation conference call probably Tuesday next week.
If you cannot volunteer, please go to the website and make a donation to support the work of defending detained children from relentless attacks by this Administration.
Please feel free to forward this email to others who may want to support the ongoing efforts aimed at protecting the rights of detained children and securing their release from federal custody as promptly as possible.
Thank you.
Peter Schey
President
Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law