How social media can further a discussion about sexual assault, education for children with disabilities, the Cure's former drummer on life with Robert Smith
As Homeland Security rethinks private immigrant detention, a look at the boom in detainees
Many immigrants who are awaiting or fighting deportation around the U.S. are held by federal officials in privately run detention centers, a system that is coming under increasing scrutiny.
Federal Department of Homeland Security officials announced recently that they are weighing whether to continue using private prison companies to operate immigrant detention centers, after years of lawsuits and allegations of mistreatment of detainees.
The move followed an announcement in mid-August by the U.S. Department of Justice that it would phase out its use of private prisons, with officials stating in a memo that private prisons "do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources; they do not save substantially on costs...they do not maintain the same level of safety and security."
There are roughly 33,000 immigrants held in detention on any given day around the country. Today, Take Two explores how private contractors came to play a large role.
Why are so many immigrants held in detention? Who are they?
Most of those in detention are immigrants who the federal government says must be held because for several reasons, and are referred to as "mandatory detainees." Some committed a crime in the past and aren't eligible for bond. Others you'll find in detention are asylum seekers who have yet to show they have a credible reason to be fearful of returning home.
Has it always been this way?
No. A couple of decades ago, there were relatively few immigrants in detention. But a few things happened: Illegal immigration climbed in the 1990s and peaked in the early 2000s. Most importantly, U.S. immigration laws and policies changed, and became tighter.
The biggest change affecting immigrant detention occurred after the adoption of two pieces of legislation in 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IRARA) and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). Both made more immigrants deportable and detainable.
A broad range of criminal offenses were re-categorized into what are called “aggravated felonies,” including some misdemeanors. Immigrants convicted of an aggravated felony could be deported after serving their sentences. They became mandatory detainees, which meant they were detained while awaiting or fighting deportation. Included were legal residents, who lost much of their protection from deportation.
The detainee population continued to grow after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 as immigration policies grew tighter.
So where do the private detention contractors come in?
Private contractors have become a bigger part of the detention picture since 9/11. In the past, immigration officials were able to hold most detainees in what are called Service Processing Centers, a handful of government-operated facilities around the country.
But demand for bed space grew: In 2005, there were a little over 19,000 immigrants in daily detention. Now there are as many as between 33,000 and 34,000. So the federal government began relying increasingly on contracts to handle the needs of so many people.
The 2016 Homeland Security budget provides $3.3 billion for immigrant detention and removal.
Who is holding all these immigrants now?
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds immigrant detainees in a hodgepodge of more than 400 facilities around the U.S. Much of it is contracted space.
It's a mix: Detention space contracted directly from private prison companies, detention space in county or city jails contracted from local governments, or detention space contracted from a city or county, but run by a private contractor.
The latter arrangement exists at the Adelanto Detention Facility, the largest in the state, about 90 miles from Los Angeles. ICE contracts with the city, which in turn contracts with a private prison company that runs the detention center. The city gets a cut.
Detention contracts typically pay for what's called a "man-day," with a set fee per immigrant, per day. For example, as recently as April, ICE was paying $112.50 per detainee, per day at Adelanto.
The private facilities are mostly run by a few companies. Corrections Corporation of America and The GEO Group are the two biggest ones. GEO operates the detention center in Adelanto.
Why is Homeland Security reviewing its use of private detention contractors?
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson's statement didn't specify why. But there have been problems over the years, including lawsuits tied to issues like overcrowding and medical negligence.
Federal inspectors who have looked into detainee deaths and other issues have pointed out concerns as well. Private detention facilities aren't the only ones that have had problems, but these have been under the microscope.
ICE officials and their contractors say they have worked to make improvements. For example, in Adelanto, The Geo Group changed its medical provider this year after problems there.
What is happening related to immigrant detention in California?
In September, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have barred cities and counties from participating in detention contracts with private companies. This would have affected Adelanto and two other local governments in California that benefit from detention contracts.
In his veto message, Gov. Brown wrote that one reason he decided not to sign the bill is because the federal government is looking into private detention now.
What happens next?
A Homeland Security committee has until Nov. 30 to report back with recommendations on continued use of private detention contractors.
Meanwhile, ICE officials say they need these contractors – they say without them, it would cost billions more to build enough government detention centers.
In recent years, ICE has made more use of electronic monitoring, using ankle bracelets. But the agency holds that detention centers are necessary.
Inside the Adelanto detention facility: Troubled history, vows for reform
California's largest privately run immigrant detention facility – and a key holding site for immigrants from Southern California – has recorded lapses in care during a four-year period when at least three detainees have died, according to documents obtained by KPCC and interviews with former detainees and their families.
Through a FOIA request, KPCC obtained contracts and memos between the City of Adelanto, where the facility is located, and GEO Group Inc., the private company that runs it. The report spans the period from the center's opening in 2011 to 2015.
The documents, when combined with government inspection reports and detainee accounts, shed light on a facility where thousands of immigrants are held each year while applying for asylum or contesting deportation.
"It was scary, really scary"
The Adelanto Detention Facility has the capacity to hold nearly 2,000 adult detainees. (The facility holds both men and women, but no families or children.) They include people convicted of a federal crime awaiting deportation, those applying for asylum, or detainees with a removal order awaiting an immigration court date.
Unlike prisoners in the criminal justice system, detainees are in a civil process, which means they often face an uncertain processing timeline without a guaranteed attorney.
That uncertainty led to a tense, stressful environment for Carlos Hidalgo, 49, who spent 12 months in Adelanto during two detentions, first in 2013 and again in 2015.
"It was scary, really scary," said Hidalgo, who first came to the U.S. in the early 1980s with his parents fleeing El Salvador's civil war. He came to the attention of immigration authorities after pleading to a theft charge. He says he was trying to cash a bad check. "You hear stories, but you don't know until you live it."
Upon arriving in Adelanto, Hidalgo said he faced multiple challenges, including access to legal materials, long wait times for medical care and the psychological stress of being far away from his children and parents. He also said the food was of poor quality and left him constantly hungry.
"It's humiliating, it's degrading that you have to beg for food," said Hidalgo. "Why do they have to degrade you that way?"
When asked about these accounts, ICE said in a statement that detainees are served three hot meals a day at Adelanto. The agency also would not confirm other details of Hidalgo's case, citing privacy issues. (Hidalgo shared personal documents with KPCC, including medical records, bond release papers and grievance filings during his time at Adelanto.)
"The daily menus are developed by a registered dietician, who ensures individuals’ unique health, dietary and religious needs are met," ICE said in the statement. "Additionally, detainees may purchase food and personal products through the commissary, including soft drinks and snack items."
Problems cited from the start
A 2012 inspection visit from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of Detention Oversight found 26 deficiencies at the facility, nine of which it called "priority components." Those included food service, access to law libraries and legal materials and prevention and reporting of sexual abuse and assault. On the last issue, the office said it found "wide inconsistencies" in policies and record keeping.
"Of greatest concern were the discoveries that ADF [Adelanto Detention Facility] does not report all allegations of sexual abuse and assault to ERO [ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations] and case files are not properly maintained," said the report.
The findings are at odds with the agreement drafted between the City of Adelanto and GEO Group. For example, according to the 2011 contract obtained by KPCC, GEO Group "shall develop and implement a comprehensive sexual abuse/assault prevention and intervention program."
When inspectors conducted another compliance visit two years later, they cited improvements, such as "full compliance" with an evaluation of use-of-force incidents, and in how staff handled 137 formal disciplinary actions with detainees. "Detainees were served with notice, hearings were conducted in a timely manner, and sanctions were within established guidelines," inspectors noted.
But in some cases, the findings of inspectors contrasted with what detainees described. For example, despite one out of three detainees complaining of poor food, inspectors found the food "well-balanced, with an adequate caloric count." Likewise, about half the detainees interviewed cited medical care complaints. But after reviewing the cases, inspectors found the care "appropriate and timely."
However, in reviewing the 2012 death of Fernando Dominguez-Valivia, a man from Guatemala, ICE faulted "several egregious errors committed by ACF medical staff." ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility said his death "could have been prevented and that the detainee received an unacceptable level of medical care while detained."
Another death in 2015 followed "lapses in care" at a different ICE facility preceding a detainee's death while at Adelanto. And a third death later in 2015 is under review.
History of a private prison operator
GEO Group is a Florida-based company that, according to its website, provides global "management and/or ownership of 104 correctional, detention and community reentry facilities encompassing approximately 87,000 beds, including idle beds in inventory and projects under development."
GEO Group is the second-largest for-profit prison company in the U.S., second to Corrections Corporation of America, but it ranks first in the number of immigrant detainees that move through its detention sites, according to government data at Syracuse University's TRAC. Last year, for example, more than 100,000 detainees were "booked out" through GEO Group facilities, according to the data. At Adelanto, 4,699 passed through the site.
ICE contracts represent 18 percent of GEO Group's business, which yielded $1.84 billion in total revenue in 2015, according to the company's annual statement.
The company has run into problems at other sites. The same year that Adelanto entered into the contract in 2011, a jury in Oklahoma found GEO Group liable in an inmate's wrongful death case. (At the time, GEO said it disagreed with the decision and would "vigorously defend" itself in an appeal.) A 2015 audit from the DOJ's Office of Inspector General found issues with staffing, reimbursement rates and waste at a GEO Group-run facility in Texas.
GEO Group declined KPCC's request for an interview or for responses in writing to specific questions, but the company did send a statement that the Adelanto facility is accredited by the American Correctional Association and meets all the compliance requirements.
The company also said there are "full-time, on-site contract monitors” from ICE at the Adelanto facility who are there to make sure they comply "with all mandated standards." (The full statement is posted below.)
Vow for reforms
During a tour of the Adelanto Detention Facility last month, David Marin, deputy field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles, said that both ICE and GEO have sought to open the site to the public.
"When we contract with anyone, be it for detention services, providing copiers, whatever the case may be, we have to be transparent," said Marin.
That has led to improvements in several areas, including legal access and the grievance process for detainees, said Marin. Officials have also improved the intake system for detainees to make sure that proper health screening is taking place.
"Whenever there’s any type of medical issues, we’re always looking at what we can do to improve it, especially if there is an unfortunate incident like a death," said Marin. "What do we need to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?"
Some of the criticism of the facility is misplaced, he said. If Adelanto were to shut down, he pointed out, detainees from Southern California could be sent further away from their communities.
"There are things that we have to do. We have to apprehend people. We have to take them into custody. That's the law. That's what Congress has asked us to do," said Marin. "So when we do it, we try to do it close to where we know they have resources, where their family is."
Statement from GEO Group:
"GEO’s facilities have contracts in place to provide needed services for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pursuant to strict contractual requirements and national standards set by ICE as well as industry-leading standards set by independent accreditation entities such as the American Correctional Association (ACA) and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC). Furthermore, ICE employs several full-time, on-site contract monitors who have a physical presence at each facility to ensure compliance with all mandated standards. All of GEO’s facilities under contract with ICE are also audited and inspected by the agency on a routine and unannounced basis."
Office of Detention Oversight, 2012 Inspection of Adelanto Detention Facility (excerpt) by Southern California Public Radio on Scribd
Extension of contract between city of Adelanto and GEO Group for immigration detention facility, 2016 by Southern California Public Radio on Scribd
Death review for detainee Raul Ernesto Morales-Ramos, 2015 by Southern California Public Radio on Scribd
With contributions from Leslie Berestein Rojas.
A Nation Engaged: A Syrian star is reborn in Hollywood
Jihad "Jay" Abdo was a star of the Syrian silver screen until a twist of fate landed him in Southern California.
He returned to Take Two to share his story as part of the NPR collaboration titled "A Nation Engaged."
Syrian Kevin Spacey
In my country, as an actor, I was, for the American audience, like Kevin Spacey. For me, as one of the busiest actors in the Middle East, life was very comfortable. I was welcomed anywhere I went. I was in a situation that I could accept or not accept any offer for any TV show or film.
Coming to America
I was interviewed by a lady who worked for the LA Times, and she put my full name on the article when I criticized and accused the [Syrian] army, the security service, and the president, Bashar al-Assad of all the arrests and responded to the uprising. It became a little bit fearful for me and unsafe.
People stopped me in the streets. They went and smashed my car's window. I started receiving threatening phone calls, and I said to myself, I will leave for a while and then go back to my life, to my career, to my family.
The Road Back
At the end of 2013, they were looking for someone to play opposite Nicole Kidman, the role of her guide in Queen of the Desert. The director, Werner Herzog, didn't find what he was looking for and someone introduced me to him, saying 'Look at this guy, he's here, he's from Syria, he's what you're looking for, he speaks Levantine Arabic, and he has a huge body of work back home.'
He saw my demo reel, and he said, 'I like this guy, I want to meet with him.' From that day, everything changed in my life.
Dear Mr./Mrs. President
To be an American, for me, is to be safe because I wasn't safe back home: To have this freedom of speech that I didn't have back home. I can raise my voice and tell the whole world. I can spread the word around the globe about human rights.
As a Syrian refugee who came to the United States, I would like to hear from the upcoming president that we will engage those people coming from all over the globe because they are good people, they are skilled, and they can't do what they do in the United States in their countries. America will be strong with them, and the American people will be happy with them. This is what I hope to hear from the American president and I will be proud of him or her.
Jay Abdo's career continues to flourish. He appears alongside Tom Hanks in the movie "A Hologram for the King."
Press the blue play button to hear Jay Abdo's story.
(Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.)
Series: A Nation Engaged
America is changing. The crosscurrents of demographic and cultural change are upending traditional voting patterns and altering the face of the American political parties in significant ways. As part of our collaborative project with NPR called "A Nation Engaged," this week we're asking: What does it mean to you to be an American?
Read more in this series and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on Facebook.
What social media can do to help sexual assault victims
It started with a simple hashtag last Friday night: #notokay.
Kelly Oxford, a writer and mother living in Los Angeles, had been thinking about the recording of Donald Trump on a bus in 2005 where the presidential candidate talked about groping and kissing women.
So she tweeted.
Women: tweet me your first assaults. they aren't just stats. I'll go first:
Old man on city bus grabs my "pussy" and smiles at me, I'm 12.
— kelly oxford (@kellyoxford)
Millions followed suit and tweeted their own stories, too, with #notokay.
Incidents of sexual assault are serious, however, and it can be difficult to get into the nuance of those stories within the limits of social media.
Take Two looks at the power of the internet and what it means to victims
Guests:
- Brian Pinero, VP of Victim Services at RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
- Esther Armah, host of the all female media podcast, "The Spin," which launched a series about sexual assault, called #theconsentconvo this week
How to get the best education for your kid with special needs
Finding a school for your child with special needs, and making sure they get access to all the resources they need is no easy undertaking.
Last week on The Brood, we heard from LA mom Sylvia Youngblood whose four kids each have special needs.
"It gets very stressful. It really does. And sometimes as parents you have a meeting at the school and you leave and you get in your car and you just cry," Youngblood said. "You're so overwhelmed, you're so angry, you have all these emotions, and it just takes over you. It just overwhelms you."
Finding schools that met her children's needs was an incredibly daunting task, but there are some resources out there.
Ines Kuperschmit is Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Learning Rights Law Center, an advocacy organization for disabled and at-risk youth in Los Angeles.
She offered this advice for parents and caregivers of children with special needs:
For many parents and caregivers, the first step is discovering that their child has some sort of learning or developmental disability. What resources are available just for that first step, in terms of an initial diagnosis or evaluation?
It partially depends on the age of the child when you realize that there might be a disability. There I encourage parents, if you suspect absolutely anything, just don't wait to answer the question about whether there might be a developmental delay.
Usually, if your child is younger than 5-years-old, you would start with your local Regional Center. They're there to provide lifelong services to Californians with disabilities. You can find your local Regional Center online. If your child is over the age of five, you'll probably be going straight to your school district if you suspect a disability. So you would start by requesting a psychoeducational assessment, in writing, from your local school district.
What's the best way to go about finding a school that meets your child's needs?
The special education system has this process where the school and the parents and a bunch of mandatory team members sit down and create what's called an IEP (an Individualized Education Program). The IEP is the document that's created, but it's also what they call the meeting. The idea is that everybody is supposed to sit down and figure out what that student needs in order to succeed. And really it's the start of the conversation. Many times the school districts will identify schools that could be appropriate through the IEP process, but a lot of times parents like to see what else is out there. A lot of times though, school districts aren't very good at raising the possibility of charter schools or magnet schools or even non-public schools, which are kind of segregated schools for children with learning disabilities.
What are some of the factors parents should consider when looking for the right school?
In a perfect world, the psychoeducational assessment that you get for your child would be a wonderful roadmap for what your child needs, and the assessor might even recommend schools. Typically, the psychoeducational assessors are district employees so their recommendations can often be pretty cookie-cutter. Some parents do go out and hire a private psychoeducational assessment.
Can parents send their kids to any public school they choose? Including charter schools and magnet schools?
Something that we're seeing in Los Angeles, and I'm sure the problem isn't isolated to here, is that although parents have a right to send their children to charter schools and to magnet schools, even if their child has a disability, we are seeing a lot of charter and magnet schools turning parents away-- either directly, or implicitly, by saying 'Well, we just really can't provide what your child needs,' or they may say you need to start with your district, and they make it very difficult. So I want all parents of children with disabilities to know that if you want to go to a charter school or a magnet school, that you have a right to send your child there. These are public institutions and they're supposed to be accessible for all children.
Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
To listen to the full interview, click the blue player above.
How to stay safe in a bear attack
This week, a hiker was attacked by a black bear in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains near Sierra Madre, California.
Thankfully the hiker survived but it is the second attack in the last few months, begging the question, what's going on with bears in the area?
For more on what's happening with human-bear relations and how to stay safe in a bear encounter, Take Two's Alex Cohen spoke with Andrew Hughan.
He is an information officer with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Interview highlights
How common are bear attacks in the San Gabriel mountains?
There are very, very few bear attacks. We've had two this summer unfortunately - we get a couple every couple of years. The good news is, there's never been a bear related fatality in California so, there really isn't a public safety threat here. This is a very popular trail - something like 100 people a day go up and down this trail. In this case, it was just bad luck. Wrong place, wrong time - both for the hiker and the bear.
We want to emphasize this was an extremely rare case if you hike there and in the San Gabriels.
What do you do if you come across a bear?
Look large, yell, throw a rock at it, stand your ground. Don't ever run away, that's the worst thing you can do. 99 times out of 100, the bear is going to run away.
Often they will "bluff charge" you and if you have the courage and don't make eye contact, look down and hold your ground, the bear will run up and make kind of this huffing sound and then run away.
For hikers, make lots of noise. Put something in your backpack. Put something that clinks. When you go camping, tap your camp stove or your metal cup. Make as noise as you can on the trail, talk and make lots of noise.
Don't use headphones. Be aware of your surroundings because if you hear them and make lots of noise, bears run away. If you have your headphones in, you're not going to hear the threat coming.
What if you find a mother and cub?
There's two steps to a mother and cub. Just stop, back up, don't make any sudden moves or noises.
What do you do if you are attacked by a bear?
If it comes to where you're attacked, fight back. Curl yourself up in a ball, put your hands over your neck - that's a vulnerable part. Make as much noise as you possibly can. Kick and do everything you can.
For more information, visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/keep-me-wild
*Quotes edited for clarity
To hear more, click the blue arrow above.
Space Brain: The Risk of Traveling to Mars
Mars by 2030.
That's the promise made today by President Obama in an op-ed published by CNN.
Just two weeks ago, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, unveiled his grand vision to build a civilization on the Red Planet.
With all this talk of space colonization, one might wonder: "Is all this risky for earthlings?"
Turns out the radiation that people will experience on a trip to Mars is one of NASA's biggest worries.
Deep space is full of cosmic rays that could have very harmful effects on the human brain. That's according to research published in the science journal NATURE.
Dr. Charles Limoli, a Professor of Oncology at the University of California, Irvine lead the research effort and joined Take Two with more.
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
New music from Solange, Moses Sumney and The Impressions
If you love music, but don't have the time to keep up with what's new, you should listen to Tuesday Reviewsday. Every week our critics join our hosts in the studio to talk about what you should be listening to in one short segment. This week A Martinez is joined by music supervisor Morgan Rhodes and Oliver Wang from Soul-Sides.com.
Artist: Solange
Album: "A Seat at the Table"
Songs: "Rise," "Don't Touch My Hair"
Artist: Moses Sumney
Album: "Lamentations - EP"
Song: "Proud to Be"
Artist: Bobby Oroza
Album: 7” and digital release
Song: "Your Love Part 1"
Artist: JONES
Album: "New Skin"
Song: "Waterloo"
Artist: The Impressions
Album: "The Best Impressions (1969)"
Song: "I’ve Been Trying"
'The Cure wasn't a band...it was a family,' Cure co-founder on the perils of stardom
The music of the '80s was dominated by the Second British Invasion. Bands such as Duran Duran and Culture Club dominated the radio and MTV airwaves.
The Cure was also part of that wave, hitting the peak of success in 1989 with the release of the album, Disintegration.
It was also a time of turmoil for the group as lead singer Robert Smith asked childhood friend Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst to leave the band they started together as kids. Tolhurst was battling drug and alcohol addiction, which led him to take legal action against the band he co-founded. Lol Tolhurst's tells his story in his new book "Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys".
It's been more than a quarter of a century since Lol left The Cure, but he explained why now was the best time to tell his story, how the music touched those who felt like outsiders and more.
To hear the full story, click the blue play button above.