detention

About 15 minutes is all it takes, maybe less. From Manhattan, you take the Holland Tunnel to New Jersey's Route 9/1, a left on to North Avenue and a quick right on to Dowd Avenue, and there: you've arrived at the Elizabeth Detention Center. You wouldn't be the wiser if you missed it, though.

To give you a lay of the land, the Elizabeth Detention Center is a windowless converted warehouse owned and operated by the for-profit Corrections Corporation of America, the largest private corrections company in the United States. The facility is huddled amongst the other masses of industrial buildings just down the street from the Anheuser Busch Company and across the street from the Newark International. It's hard to believe the inconspicuous facility houses 300 detained asylum seekers and other non-criminal non-citizens. These people are hidden but not forgotten.

Jared Malsin, Chief English Editor of Ma'an News Agency is being detained at Ben Gurion airport pending deportation. The deportation is being challenged in Israeli courts, and with a hearing scheduled for Sunday, January 17th, in Tel Aviv Central Court (though we still don’t know the time). His luggage has been released. He was permitted a brief phone call Friday afternoon during a visit by US consular staff. Castro Daoud, his lawyer, was given access to Jared by the Israeli authorities yesterday.

Jared’s friend, Faith Rowold, was deported at 6am Friday morning and is now in Prague.

Progressive activists have made comprehensive immigration reform a top legislative priority in the 2010 Congress. A key reason is the rapidly increasing harassment of immigrants. Different cultural communities are being targeted by governmental officials as well as nativist activists. Arab and Muslim peoples have experienced such discrimination since 2001, of course, but it is expected to increase in the wake of recent terrorism threats to the U.S.

Last week in Washington, new strict screening regulations against travelers from 14 so-called "terrorism prone nations" were enacted. To be carried out by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Obama administration's decision was condemned by Muslim Public Affairs Council as "religious and ethnic profiling at its worst."

This fairy tale begins with a giant silver purse. Visualize that purse being carried in a taxi through Beijing. Oh no, it did not glow. Despite all the brightness inside, the purse perfectly contained the light we were about to unfurl.

But wait, let me back track, just for a moment.

On Sunday, during the 2008 Olympic games’ closing ceremonies, the Chinese government deported 10 Tibet supporters. By 8pm Sunday night these ten citizen journalists and activists were on their way home. They had been sentenced to 10 days of prison; six of them were held for over five days. 

Arash and Kamiar Alaei are Iranian physicians whose lives and activities have been dedicated to honoring Iran.  Arash and Kamiar are experts on HIV/AIDS and have worked for many years on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment activities in Iran and internationally.  

They have been detained by the Iranian government with no explanation since June.  We, people of faith and conscience, are looking forward to seeing Arash and Kamiar back with us as soon as possible. 

Physicians for Human Rights has created a petition calling for their release.  Please click here to read and sign the petition now.