More Detention Centers in California

THURSDAY, AUGUST 6
PROGRAM #11230 12:00 PM PT

More Detention Centers in California. 

The federal government has purchased two ICE detention facilities in California to advance its anti-immigrant agenda, as local authorities attempt to block immigrant detention centers across the state. Meanwhile, federal courts have condemned health conditions at California’s largest detention center, and reports of abusive treatment of recently released detainees are mounting. What is Washington’s plan? What is known about conditions inside these facilities? Who profits from detention? And who is watching over the rights of those held inside?

Fighting Drugs or Extrajudicial Killings? Over the past year, the Trump administration bombed more than 60 vessels and killed 221 people in the name of fighting drug trafficking. Yet new reports reveal that these attacks have not reduced drug availability, price, or purity. Instead, they illustrate how the president is deploying military force without congressional or judicial authorization, while cutting addiction treatment funding and failing to reduce domestic drug consumption or the internal drug market. How should this strategy be understood? What cross-border consequences exist? And what role does the U.S. play in the drug trafficking chain?

The Trauma of Surviving ICE Bullets. Carlos Iván Mendoza Hernández was on his way to work when ICE agents stopped him and shot him at close range in an agricultural town in California. He survived, but his life and his family’s have been shattered: he remains detained and faces prosecution, while his wife fights for his rights, raises their daughter alone, and struggles with deteriorating mental health. The violence embedded in immigration policy is generating a state of terror that experts are calling a public health emergency. Why is the Mendoza family’s case not an isolated one? What does it mean to survive an ICE attack? And how are the violent federal operations directly affecting the mental health of communities? This is a special report produced through the Ethnic Media Collaborative, with support from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism.

Mental Health and Faith Communities. A shortage of mental health professionals makes it difficult for families to access the care they need. To help close this gap, the American Psychiatric Association Foundation is strengthening its work with faith communities through partnerships with churches, mosques, and other religious organizations. The goal is to help their leaders recognize signs of mental illness and guide people toward support and resources. What is the role of religious leaders? How are faith and science being combined to address mental health? And what are the challenges in accessing specialized care?

Photo: ICE

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