Stewart Detention Center, Lumpkin GA
July 19, 2007
We drove to Lumpkin GA, intending to visit Stewart Detention Center. On the way we carefully avoided Ft Benning, where John is permanently banned. Our advance information, that we could just show up and get a tour of Stewart was incorrect. So, we spent several hours waiting at the 4-Way BBQ, while Sarah exchanged inconclusive phone calls with Warden Vance Laughlin. Late in the afternoon, after checking CPT's record, and getting assurance that we would not chain ourselves to the fence, he offered us Friday or Monday, but our schedule did not allow us to stay. So we simply drove around the facility. It is about 1 ½ miles east of Lumpkin, with the usual double chain link fence, razor wire, and patrol road around it.
According to the May/June newsletter of Prison & Jail Project (pjp@sowega.net, contact John Cole Vodicka ) the prison is nearly full, with 1500 men locked inside. This is more than the population of Lumpkin itself (1284)! It is operated by Corrrections Corporation of America (CCA), and was opened Oct. 1, 2006. Shortly afterwards the ICE raids of workplaces around the country increased, and Stewart was soon filled. Like Raymondville, Stewart holds many people who have immigration violations that could be handled in less restrictive and less expensive ways. This is an emerging, widespread problem that we have observed on the CPT Border Witness Drive.
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For more on the Stewart "Detention" Center and efforts to get it shut down watch this 10 minute video on YouTube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvLcuGU82xI
I have 3 kids crying because daddy is retained at stewart detention center. my baby boy is 5 years old, he is already sick, he does not eat, he always cry, daddy was taken because he does not have a driver license, he was coming back from work...
as well as i do have a husband who was at that god forsaken place he was there for a very long stay and now he is out and hopefully stays out. all who are going thru this all i have to say is keep fighting and keep the faith. and never ever give up!!! be strong for your love ones at that place and for your kids. it"s very hard i know been there. my e-mail is: cpl_rogers@yahoo.com if you need to talk to someone. been in the same boat you have. keep fighting and keep the faith never give up !!!
I have a family friend who is in Stewart Detention Center now and it is heart breaking, he was arrested 2 weeks ago in Atlanta for driving with no license, he was on his way home from work. We visited him today at the center if that is what you want to call it and it was the most depressing and unprofessional place I have ever been in. It is out in the middle of no where so that makes it harder for people to visit. It only allows 1 hour visitation time once a week. I was not able to even leave a note or bible for our friend and to top that he has lost 10 pounds since he has been there. They are fed such small portions that he goes to bed hungry ever night there. He is not a criminal, that only crime he has done is to let his working visa expire therfore his drivers license expired. He is not a murdered or rapist yet is being treated like one. He has a hearing tomorrow at some point but we are feeling pretty hopeless, if anyone can give me some advice, helpful tips on dealing with this or gained knowledge I would appreciate it. His children cry every night. please reply to addicted2lattes@yahoo.com, thank you Cyndi
The funniest and dumbest thing is that the workers inside Stewart detention Ctr call that Administrative Hold when instead is pure hard prison. I was lucky enough to get out of there in only 37 long days opting for volontary removal to make my journey shorter. It takes from the Judge sentence at the most 72 hours to arrange your immediate release but the detention officers at Stewart love to take their sweet time ( sometimes they even go in vacation leaving you in in such jail without regards ) . In my case I had to wait over a week and as I said thank to the incessant initiative if my italian consulate and friends Iwas very lucky since I know of cases like Mr Flemming Steven, Miguel Antonio Galindo and Amin El Amba detained unfairly sometimes for over 13 months.
This is the shame of United States and the real criminals are the ones who allow such status be continued
Domenico, you mentioned Miguel Antonio Galindo, he is my brother in law and is detained at Stewart Detention Center. He has been there since early February without a court hearing. He has two young children at home and one on the way. Please if you know anyone that can help I would love to hear from them!
Chris M
Hi my name is Sandra.
my brother is deteined in stewart center. and we dont know what to do he is been there for almost two monthts if some one know who do we need to contact or some info of what to do please in the name of god help me.my email address is bfuture4me@yahoo.com
Be very careful what kind of attorney or lawyer you get, especially in Charlotte, NC. Is better to get someone from Atlanta, GA but a good one.
It is just so unfair how things are now in days. My boyfriend which i love deary and been living with for a year now, was arrested, for driving without a license,he is a caring loving sweet person. But they don't see that all they see is that hes a criminal,something he is not. All I can say is hols on have faith and don't worry everything is going to be all right. I miss him but I know we'll be together again. Dry your eyes there's no need to cry. Be strong
1 Peter 2:13
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13Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
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Sneaking across the borders of this country is against the law, and no arguement can justify it. If good people want to some here and live and work, let them obey the laws. Anyone who helps them is just as guilty as they are.
hello my name is rocky iam 7 years old. i miss my dad very much. my little sister and little brother miss him too. my mom cant stop crying. i want to talk to the judge and ask him to let my father go. in school my teacher said that parents are supposed to be with their kids so why cant my dad be here. what did my dad do wrong. why cant they give him permission to stay here with us. please god help my dad come home.
I KNOW WAT IT FEELS LIKE TO SEE A GOOD,HARDWORKING FATHER IN THOSE PRISONS .I WAS ANGRY & COULDN`T STOP CRYING.IT`S NOT FAIR THAT THEY CAN COME & TAKE AWAY PARENTS OR ANYONE.MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS DON`T PAY TAXES BUT SOME ACTUALLY DO.THIS COUNTRY IS IGNORANT & SO IS ANYONE ELSE WHO SUPPORTS DEPORTATION .THIS PRISON IS HORRIBLE & IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE,IT`S EASY TO GET LOST BUT HARD TO GET OUT FROM. IT REMINDS ME OF THOSE CANNIBAL MOVIES.NO ONE DESERVES TO BE THERE!
I KNOW WAT IT FEELS LIKE TO SEE A GOOD,HARDWORKING FATHER IN THOSE PRISONS. I WAS ANGRY & COULDN`T STOP CRYING.IT`S NOT FAIR THAT IMMIGRATION CAN COME & TAKE AWAY PARENTS OR ANYONE.MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS DON`T PAY TAXES BUT SOME ACTUALLY DO.THIS COUNTRY IS IGNORANT & SO IS ANYONE ELSE WHO SUPPORTS DEPORTATION
Hi! I also have a loved one in Stewart Detention Center. He's my boyfriend and we have been together for almost 2 years and he was arrested for driving without a license. He has been detained for 6 long months and that is so unfair because he's not a criminal. I talk to him every once in a while but i miss him so much. He tells me to be strong and that we'll soon be together again. I pray to God every day that he's okay and that we can be together again.
If anyone can help me, give me advice or anyone I can get help from please e-mail me at nenita152007@hotmail.com
My husband is in Stewart detention center..we have a beautiful 21 month old daughter and it seems so unfair to me that a loving hard working father and husband has tobe in there ..am facing all the bills by my self now but thing here in NC just get worst every min. i need to get some info. on how to make his deportation process faster?? IF ANYONE KNOWS A GOOD LAWYER OR WAY THAT CAN HELP please let me KNOW AT aracely1123@yahoo.com this situation is getting so frustating for me when i here my baby asking for daddy every morning for the past month..ANYONE PLEASE LET ME KNOW SOME INFO. ASAP ILL WE WILL APPRECIATE AND THANK U FOREVER LIKE ANY OTHER FAMILY GOIN TRU THIS SITUATION..
hello iam looking 4 a good loyar 4 my huspand that he was deported 2 mex just 4 not taking a loyar with us at the time of the interview the loyar told us 2 go that there was no problem and my huspand ended up on stewart detention center just because he did understand question number nine that the imig officer ask him iam now all alone with 4 kids can someone please help me out with a good loyar that someone may know my email is ashley-joseph@hotmail.com thank u god bless you all
Once you have been moved from a local jail with an immigration hold, you may as well figure you are fighting a lost cause. The process now goes pretty quickly especially if you contact Stewart Detention. Once we did that, he was deported within 3 days.
As far as the emails above go, most, if not all are seemingly bogus and later will spam you with viruses attached so be warned and careful!
You may want to view these two weblinks below for questions concerning your specific case:
http://www.immigrantbondfund.org/nibf/main/default.aspx
http://www.bailfish.com/
Good luck and God Bless!
My husband has been in Lumpkin for 5 months now. We have 4 us born children and I am a us born citizen and we retained a lawyer for a bond motion only to loose 2,500.00 because the judge did'nt have all issues reviewed before the case and said we could resubmit the motion at a later date but costing yet another 2,500.00. But the judge granted bond and release for someone who was there on drug-related charges and my husband is only guilty for supporting his us citizen family. Since he has been locked inside this worse than prison place, we have since lost our home and I have become unemployed. The only thing I have left is our car and 4 children missing their daddy. We can have his deportation stopped from a cancelation of removal but the lawyers want from 8,000 to 10,000 dollars for the case. How can criminals only pay hundreds of dollars for lawyers to get out of criminal charges but the ice wants thousands of dollars for people who only crime is being responsible for their families and most cases losing the case anyway and still being deported. Stewart is an awlful place and I have never missed court or visits and mostly being treated like a criminal too from the officers and treating my children even worse. But people say that their loved ones are there too long but others seem to be in and out. This all depends on the individual and the case, my husband only remains because we were fighting a losing battle. Anyone who thinks ICE is doing a good thing never has had to go through it. It is very unfair and they do treat the people very badly saying this only from experience. My husband may be facing deportation and I will be going with him knowing his country would not treat me(a non-citizen of his country) as badly as the U.S treats immigrants(poor ones anyway) here. And only one of our 4 children would be able to join us. Yes leaving the U.S. GOV. to support the other 3 until OUR return!!!!
They say that Stewart is'nt a prison but I have visited prisons that treat the prisoners alot better than Stewart does their "detainies", not prisioners as they argue. My many visits their I too was treated badly as if I was a criminal. They have issued dirty laundry to the "detainers" only writing them up if they complain, waiting 3 or 4 days to give them medical care and God help them if they order something (food, stamps, ect.) and the "system" losing their money or order. They have less rights there than a dog at the pound has, ICE is extremely unfair and only caters to those who have money to put into their pockets they care less for seperating families, with u.s citizens involved or not. And the lawyers only see dollars signs, not compasion for the case, they make the money reguardless the outcome. With anyone who is this situation, God bless......
my husband came to the us when he was 17 years old, 13 years ago and has worked for the same company for over 10 years now paying taxes. he was arrested for driving with expired liscense and taken to the local jail where they told me i could pay his bond of 800 dollars and he would be released until court. i paid at 10pm, at 230am he was still not out and they informed me he was being taken to the stewart center and i couldnt recieve the bond money back. he has been there for awhile now and they still havent filed a case with immigration for him yet. i sent him money and he didnt get it for over a week due to the fact that the a number they issused on his id tag and i was given was not correct with what was in their computer. we have 2 children both us citizen born as well as myself. our daughter is 2 and will be having another surgery in a few weeks. if anyone knows or has any information on how to get a bond hearing for him or anything i can do please email me at constance.brown80@yahoo.com. i am trying to stay strong for our kids but im losing faith, the center there doesnt care or want to help you in any way. he has been sick for over a week now and they still havent let him see the nurse. i dont know what else to do, so please any information would be greatly helpful.. wishes everyone else who has a loved one being held there the best.
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