Last October, the Obama administration’s announced their intention to reform the detention system -- to improve the management, medical care and accountability within detention centres, and make better use of low-cost alternatives to detention.

After decades of misguided policies and patchwork practices, the high human costs of our disordered immigration system are only starting to emerge. Stricter immigration policies and overcrowded detention centers aren’t making our streets safer or our social services more accessible.

Instead, mounting evidence shows that our immigration policies are just creating a space for immigrants to be brutalized—socially, financially and physically. From reports of sexual abuse inside of detention centers to news of legal residents being denied social services, the ineffectiveness of the prevailing system has never been more apparent, nor the need for reform so great.

Women and children sexually assaulted in detention centers

At 4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 26, while hundreds were left uninterrupted to wreak havoc throughout the city of Toronto, Chelsea 20, (white shirt), and her friend Bridie (tiedye) were attested during a peaceful protest on King just west of Yonge.

Chelsea (of Cleveland, Ohio) is a Political Science and Latin American studies student at the University of Toronto. She was protesting decisions made by the G20 and the poverty in the world. She sat down with hope that if everyone sat down together, the riot police would have to fall back. It turned out that this was not the case.

Ed. Note: After a brief hiatus, the Diaspora is back! We’re very excited to have Erin Rosa on board for this project. Please stay tuned for the latest developments around immigration reform every Thursday morning.

Fed up with Congress and frustrated with President Barack Obama’s brief mention of immigration reform in the State of the Union address, immigrant rights supporters are now organizing around the clock to push legislators to move on reform in 2010. It will not be an easy feat.

By Nezua, Media Consortium Blogger

On Tuesday, the worst earthquake in 200 years struck just off the coast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as The Nation reports. Bringing “catastrophic destruction” to the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, the disaster has spurred relief efforts worldwide. Crises like this are important reminders of how the treatment and protection of refugees must be a part of immigration reform.

Temporary protected status for Haitian refugees