Congressional Staff & Interns: Disappearing People Is Not Normal

Actually this is to the young interns and staff in this office. What is happening in the United States right now is not normal. Never before in our lives have masked men disappeared people off the streets. We’ve heard about it happening in other countries, but not here. We used to criticize those countries, and now we celebrate ourselves for being like them. Rony Dieujuste, a 36-year-old Haitian immigrant and father of four, was arrested by ICE on May 30 in Florida for allegedly violating his terms of admission as a "nonimmigrant". Since then, his partner, Kléya Rice, has become his sole advocate, receiving calls from unknown numbers with limited information, and the usual caller location recording is absent. Dieujuste has been moved across states, from Florida to Texas (Fort Worth) and is currently held in California (Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico). His immigration attorney has attempted to schedule visits, only to find that he has been transferred again by the time a meeting is confirmed. This constant movement makes tracking and supporting detainees incredibly difficult and overwhelming. Dieujuste reported being shackled with other non-English-speaking, nonwhite men during his flight. The ICE custody transportation industry is known for overcrowding vans, taking extended routes, avoiding stops, and ignoring passengers' needs to guard their bottom lines. This can create inhumane conditions for shackled passengers. Dieujuste reported that officials tried to pressure him to sign papers to give up his rights and are still trying to get him to do so. Private immigration detention centers, like the one Dieujuste is in, suffer from many of the same problems as private prisons but hold people with even fewer rights, leading to potentially more abuse. The business model is driven by "more bodies, longer stays, and low costs". In my experience, politics is difficult career path and the people drawn to it possess a keen vision of the good life. I ask you to consider, Is a lack of government transparency going to make our lives better? A lack of government accountability? Do you want to build a country that allows private business to prey on the most vulnerable? Did you get into politics to withdraw human rights for all and redistribute those right to a privileged few? I encourage you to think carefully about your answers. After we, your elders, are dead, you too will be old someday and will have to explain to the younger version of yourself why you worked so hard to build the world you are leaving behind. No family should have to endure the uncertainty and heartbreak of their loved ones vanishing into the immigration system, unsure of their location, health, or even their next court date. It is time to end the practice of "disappearing" people and uphold the fundamental human rights of all individuals.