Vanishing Act Thousands Are Being Deported Without a Chance to Appear Before an Immigration Judge
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
VOLUME 42 NUMBER 3 MAY/JUNE 2013 $5 Vanishing act Thousands are being deported without a chance to appear before an immigration judge. page 8 CHICAGOREPORTER.COM INSIDE May/June Founded in 1972, the Reporter is an investigative bimonthly that identifies, analyzes and reports on the social, eco- nomic and political issues of metropolitan Chicago with a focus on race and poverty. It is supported by grants from The Chicago Community Trust; Chicago Tribune Foundation; Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; Ford Foundation; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; The Fund for Investigative Journalism; IRE Data Journalism Fund, sponsored by Google Ideas; McCormick Foundation; Open Society Foundations; Woods Fund of Chicago; and by subscriptions and individual contributions. FOUNDER John A. McDermott INTERIM PUBLISHER Laura S. Washington INTERIM EDITOR In recent months, several rallies in support of immigration reform have sprung up across the Rui Kaneya country. Yet, any reform measure that emerges may not benefit thousands of immigrants who have been deported without a judicial hearing. Photo by Lucio Villa. PRESENTATION EDITOR Christine Wachter REPORTERS Angela Caputo On the cover María Inés Zamudio Save the date 8 Speedy removals On Thursday, June 20, The WEB EDITOR Cassandra West The government is bypassing judicial Chicago Reporter will host a hearings in an attempt to swiftly deport reception at DreamBox Foto BLOGGER/REPORTER thousands of immigrants each year. Studio, 2415 W. North Ave., in Yana Kunichoff Humboldt Park, to showcase COPY EDITOR Also inside the work of photojournalism James Tehrani fellows Jonathan Gibby and 15 Ready to pull the trigger Lucio Villa. Make sure to PHOTOGRAPHY FELLOWS Will mandatory prison time for gun subscribe to our weekly e-blast Jonathan Gibby possession make Chicago safer? at www.chicagoreporter.com Lucio Villa to ensure that you’re up to INTERNS 16 Her daughter, her legacy date on all the ways we’re Natasha Hemley Hadiya Pendleton’s mother was thrust into celebrating our 40th year. James Reddick the spotlight following the death of her Leah Varjacques young daughter. Now she’s working to make some good come out of the tragedy. EDITORS & PUBLISHERS EMERITI Got a news tip? Kimbriell Kelly The Chicago Reporter brings Alden K. Loury Other departments injustice to the forefront in the Alysia Tate areas of criminal justice, labor, Laura S. Washington Publisher’s Note/News.................... 3 housing, health, immigration Roy Larson Q & A................................................... 4 and government. If you have a In Focus.............................................. 18 tip, call (312) 427-4830, ext. 332 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 500 4040, or send an email to Chicago, Illinois 60604 [email protected]. (312) 427-4830 Fax: (312) 427-6130 COVER PHOTO BY LUCIO VILLA. [email protected] www.chicagoreporter.com We’re blogging daily. www.chicagonow.com/chicago-muckrakers ISSN 0300-6921. © 2013 Community Renewal Society 2 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2013 PUBLISHER’S NOTE Reporter News A victory against bigotry The “I-Word” is becoming ment, USA Today followed deport,” was made infamous an endangered species. This suit. The New York Times and last year by Mitt Romney, in is one creature we don’t want other major publications are the Republican presidential to save. considering the change as primary campaign. The Unit- For years, immigrant ad- well. ed States should enact im- vocates have been lobbying More than 15 years ago, migration laws so harsh that news organizations to cease the Reporter began using the undocumented immigrants using the term, “illegal im- term, “undocumented immi- would “self-deport” them- migrant.” grant,” on its pages. No hu- selves, he proposed. Rom- “Illegal” took a welcome man being should be labeled ney went on to become the blow last month when the “illegal.” 2012 Republican presidential Associated Press announced Words—and how we use nominee. it was dropping the term from them—can profoundly impact Meanwhile our May/June its iconic stylebook. “The AP public policy. Anti-immigrant cover story has uncovered a Stylebook,” a guide for gram- organizations have wielded real, and just as pernicious, mar, punctuation and usage, Laura S. Washington, the term “illegal alien” as a deportation policy. Hundreds is a staple in many American Interim Publisher weapon to undercut the cause of thousands of immigrants newsrooms, including The Opinions expressed by the of immigration reform. have been deported from the Chicago Reporter. interim publisher are her own. Advocates of all political United States without the “Illegal Immigrant No stripes have fought to elimi- opportunity to appear be- More,” announced the April 2 We welcome letters. Send them nate other offending words fore an immigration judge, blog post. “The Stylebook no to [email protected] once considered “acceptable”: reporter María Inés Zamudio longer sanctions the term ‘il- or 332 S. Michigan Ave., Suite words like “Negro,” “Oriental,” reveals. legal immigrant’ or the use of 500, Chicago, IL, 60604. Please “Polack,” “homosexual,” “re- These “fast-track” depor- ‘illegal’ to describe a person,” include name, address and a day- tard” and “cripple.” tations by the U.S. Depart- wrote AP Senior Vice Presi- time phone number. Letters may I thought the term “wet- ment of Homeland Security dent and Executive Editor be edited for space and clarity. back” was on that list. That is, deprive immigrants of due Kathleen Carroll. “Instead, it until U.S. Rep. Don Young of process, advocates argue. tells users that ‘illegal’ should site that covers racial issues, Alaska used it during a recent The good news: U.S. Rep. describe only an action, such launched the effort in 2010, radio interview to describe Luis Gutierrez of Illinois’ 4th as living in or immigrating to aiming to eliminate a “racially workers who once picked to- Congressional District, has a country illegally.” charged slur that confuses the matoes on his father’s farm. pledged to address the issue The AP decision followed immigration debate and fuels He quickly apologized. as part of the legislation hard lobbying by the “Drop violence,” wrote Jorge Rivas Destructive words can currently being considered the I-Word” campaign. Color- for Colorlines.com. come from high places. For in Congress. We will be lines.com, a daily news web- After the AP announce- instance, the term, “self- watching. n tend a three-day symposium focusing Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Reporter News on the nation’s ongoing immigration Journalism. The winners will be The Chicago Reporter’s search for debate. announced on May 3. its next editor and publisher is in full Megan Cottrell has left the The Reporter will end its yearlong swing. A nine-member search commit- Reporter staff to pursue new 40th Anniversary celebration with two tee is interviewing candidates and aims professional interests. For three years, special events. to make a selection by late spring. Cottrell wrote prolifically as a blogger On May 13, the Reporter will host Reporter María Inés Zamudio is for Chicago Muckrakers. Melanie an Immigration Forum, featuring U.S. one of 18 journalists nationwide to Coffee, the Reporter’s valued Web Rep. Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois’ 4th receive a grant from the Fund for editor, has also moved on to explore Congressional District. The forum will Investigative Journalism. The grant new opportunities. be held at Lincoln United Methodist subsidized Zamudio’s reporting trip Tyler Stabile and Juan Labreche Church, 2242 S. Damen Ave., from to Mexico, where she interviewed have joined the Reporter team as part 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. migrants who had been deported from of its summer-long photojournal- The Reporter’s 40th Anniversary the United States. The fund, a Wash- ism program. The program produces Fundraiser will be held on June 13. The ington, D.C.-based nonprofit, has sup- high-quality photography, as well as event includes a reception and live ported public service reporting projects compelling multimedia journalism. taping of the popular National Public since 1969. More kudos: The Reporter staff Radio show, “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Zamudio has also won a New York has received 13 nominations in the Me!” For tickets and more information, Times fellowship. In May, she will at- Chicago Headline Club’s 36th annual visit www.chicagoreporter.com/40th. WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 3 Q & A Colleen Lawson For many Chicago residents, gun control is a personal issue. Gun violence, or the threat of it, pervades everyday life. As the debate over how to curb gun violence takes center stage at the national level and the Illinois statehouse, Chicago finds itself at the center of attention. The city has become a leading example of gun violence in urban America and the testing ground for expansive gun-control proposals. The Chicago Reporter sat down with two activists on opposite sides of the issue. While their opinions differ sharply, the inspiration for their views is rooted in the same place—the safety of their children. Passion for protection After Supreme Court success, activist champions right to self-defense. By James Reddick that a 1982 ban on handgun ownership in Chicago prevented her from doing so. “Someone told me that, ‘No, I couldn’t have something that would allow me to defend myself,’” she said. olleen Lawson is not your typical gun-rights activist. “That’s what got me.” Lawson’s husband, David, got in touch Over a cup of tea in her Jefferson Park home, she explains with Alan Gura, the lead prosecutor in District of Columbia v. Cthat, among other things, she helps at-risk youth in Heller, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned a Chicago “hear their own voice again” amid the cacophony of similar ban in Washington, D.C. voices pressuring them on the streets. She speaks in soft tones Two years later, the Lawsons, along with co-plaintiffs Otis well-suited for her job as a hypnotherapist.