Karen DeVito is the first Canadian to finally be released from prison in Israel, after the Canadian Department Foreign Affairs sided with Israel in making her pay for her own deportation flight.

Canadians David Heap and Ehab Lotayef are still being held as political prisoners by Israel at Givon Prison.

Canadians and internationals aboard the Tahrir, as part of Freedom Waves to Gaza, were assaulted, tasered, beaten, kidnapped, robbed, strip-searched and imprisoned. These kinds of human rights abuses are daily occurrences in the occupied territories, and the Canadian Boat to Gaza is dedicated to challenging the impunity currently enjoyed by the government of Israel.

What better way to spend Thanksgiving Monday than to share food, solidarity and support for war resister Rodney Watson in Vancouver.

Rodney has been in sanctuary at First United Church for over two years, and Monday's event organized by Vancouver East MP Libby Davies, was a great show of support for Rodney and his struggle to get permanent residence in Canada.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last week that it had broken its own record for deportations, affirming the Obama administration's zeal for heavy-handed immigration enforcement. According to the announcement, deportations have increased by 70 percent since the Bush administration, totaling 392,000 in fiscal year 2010.

While the agency hailed this figure as a victory, others are taking a step back to examine the huge political, financial, and human costs associated with this administration's unapologetic and tough approach to immigration.

The human costs