Democracy Now! on Detainee Medical Care, Private Prisons, and

Tuesday, August 19, 2008.  Syndicated radio and television news hour, Democracy Now! publicized the T. Don Hutto story internationally back in 2007.  Host Amy Goodman interviewed Kevin Yourdkhani and his father, Majid, while they were detained at Hutto.  Since then, the deaths of 82+ detainees in ICE custody has drawn widespread scrutiny, including a new bill called the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act sponsored by Senator Lofgren (D, California).  A half hour is devoted to detainee medical care, ending with Renee Feltz, the co-author of The Business of Detention, discussing the role of the private corrections industry in immigration detention.  This section includes an interview with the Santibanez family, who have experienced Texas' immigration detention system firsthand.

Read the transcripts, stream the show, or download the podcast here.

For more on the Detainee Basic Medical Care Bill, download this summary from the Detention Watch Network.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008. Keeping with yesterday's coverage, today's DN! goes to Postville, Iowa, the small town with the rare distinction of hosting ICE's largest workplace raid in history.  This 3,000 person town lost 300 of its members in May, as ICE raided the Agriprocessors, Inc. plant located there.  Now, families of detained workers are barred from leaving Postville and are monitored with ankle bracelets.  Calling Postville "an open air prison," many women were left without support after their spouses were arrested and imprisoned.  Left as single mothers, they worry about buying school supplies, feeding their children, and finding relief, but it's an uphill battle, as Monica Ramirez of the ACLU and Paul Ouderkirk of St. Bridget's Catholic Church report.  It's not Hutto, but family detention is taking new forms.  

Please watch, download, or read the show, click here.

For extensive New York Times coverage of the Postville raid, click here.

For extensive archives on detention news, the Detention Watch Network provides a wealth of information in their database.  Search, read, learn, take action!