US Administration’s proposed abrogation of Flores Settlement threatens safety of children
New York, August 21, 2019 - The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds today to the United States’ proposed departure from the Flores Settlement, a landmark 1997 agreement which established minimum standards for the care, custody, and release of all children in immigration detention.
The Flores Settlement Agreement was reached following over a decade of litigation brought by children from Central America against the U.S. government in response to their prolonged detention and mistreatment in federal custody in the 1980s.
Jenn Piatt, Senior Director, Refugee Resettlement and Asylum Policy and Advocacy at the International Rescue Committee:
“At a time when the administration has argued children do not even deserve a toothbrush, it seeks to undermine the minimum protections in Flores. A departure from Flores will only exacerbate the dangerous conditions in detention centers revealed recently by the HHS Inspector General, further subject children to inhumane treatment, and possibly subject children to indefinite detention. Seeking asylum is legal, and nobody – least of all children – should be punished for doing so.
“The administration needs a history lesson. Flores was put into place because the government routinely demonstrated that it was incapable of treating children in civil immigration detention even remotely well. For decades in America, immigrant children were subjected to prolonged detention with unrelated adults and criminal offenders, simply for seeking safety. Further, these children were subject to sexually-invasive strip searches, denied basic food and water, and had inadequate access to educational services – all while languishing in detention for years in many cases.
“This rule does not uphold the spirit of Flores and should be swiftly challenged. Based on comments by DHS this morning, it appears the administration already knows this and instead of working to improve conditions for children, the administration seeks to offer its base red meat that it knows is legally insufficient and would not protect children.”
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For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact communications@rescue.org
ABOUT THE IRC
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is at work in over 40 countries and 26 offices across the U.S. helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future, and strengthen their communities. Learn more at www.rescue.org and follow the IRC on Twitter & Facebook.
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Revenue Restructure Task Force to Hold Study Phase Meeting at the Capitol
What:
The Utah State Legislature Tax Restructuring and Equalization Task Force will hold a study phase meeting on September 5th at the Utah State Capitol. The meeting will be live-streamed on le.utah.gov. Utahns are encouraged to continue to provide feedback throughout the process at StrongerFutures.utah.gov.
Who:
Members of the Tax Restructuring and Equalization Task Force
Where:
Utah State Capitol
House Building, Room 30
350 N State St.
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114
When:
Thursday, September 5, 2019, at 4:00 p.m.
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Dear Editor:
Please consider this helpful piece from educator Dr. Laura Finley on how teachers spend their summers "off." For PeaceVoice, thank you,
Tom Hastings
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Educators Actually Do “Work” in the Summer
by Laura Finley
405 words
I love what I do. Being an educator is interesting, creative, and rewarding. And it is also hard work. That’s why it is offensive as we head back to school to hear people say “must have been nice to have the summer off to do nothing.” Surely most do not intend to offend. I get that. But comments such as that are indicative of the low status educators hold in the U.S. and are a dramatic misunderstanding of what educators “do” in the summer.
K-12 teachers do not simply do nothing all summer. Rather, they spend time thinking about their upcoming year, creating new lesson plans and projects, going to school to make sure their classrooms are visually appealing and stimulating, and more. Many use this time for continued education so that they can remain credentialed. Further, many K-12 teachers incur not unsubstantial costs to ready their classrooms. A study published in the New York Times in May 2018 found that 94 percent of K-12 teachers spend their own money on their classroom, with the average amount at $479. Meanwhile, a growing percentage of teachers cannot even afford to live where they teach, owing to low salaries and a lack of affordable housing. I know a lot of educators and none of them spend the summer loafing. Many work extra jobs just to survive.
In higher education, the summer can be a really busy time. We are required to publish in academic journals, write other scholarly pieces, and present at academic conferences. There is little time to do this during the academic year, so most college professors use their summer, if they are actually off, to write and prepare presentations. As an example, I have completed writing and editing three full-length books, written two book chapters, and prepared for two presentations I will give this fall.
Many academics actually have no summer off. Those who piece together work as adjuncts often teach all summer, and because in some places professors’ salaries are low as well, they must teach summer courses to make a decent wage.
I do not mean this to be a woe-is-me diatribe. Again, I love my work. But perhaps people can think a little more before they comment about our so-called luxurious life. Or even better, simply ask what we did with the time. I’m certain every educator you know will share the work they did when they were supposedly “off.”
—30—
Laura Finley, Ph.D., syndicated by PeaceVoice, teaches in the Barry University Department of Sociology & Criminology.
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Jim,
The Gazette profiled me, talking about my campaign to secure a 'beachhead' in Iowa (here). I've been continuing to travel across Iowa - yesterday, I spoke at the Iowa AFL-CIO convention - but today I'm heading to San Francisco for the Democratic National Committee summer meeting, where I'll be meeting Democrats and also speaking on Friday around 11am.
I'll be back in Iowa for the 2nd Congressional District Democrats' Central Committee meeting on Saturday and the Clay County Democrats Steak Fry on Sunday - and organizing three "Cup of Joe on the Issues" events next week.
You'll find more details of my events below and also here.
Thursday, August 22nd:
Friday, August 23rd:
San Francisco, California: I will be speaking at the Democratic National Committee Summer Meeting’s “Meet the Candidates Session” at roughly 11am on August 23rd (event from August 22nd-24th) at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square Hotel (333 O’Farrell St, San Francisco, CA 94102).
Saturday, August 24th:
Sunday, August 25th:
Wednesday, August 28th:
Thursday, August 29th:
Friday, August 30th:
Riceville, Iowa: Howard County Democrats are hosting Joe for a Cup of Joe on the Issues event on healthcare on August 30th at 5pm (3091 75th St, Riceville, IA 50466-7139, United States). RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/359989654877396/
For more information, visit my site (here) to read more about who I am and where my campaign is going next, or contact my press team on press@joesestak.com.
Respectfully,
Joe Sestak
