NOVIEMBRE 2010 •
NOVIEMBRE 2010
Incarcerated… With an immense joy, but great helplessness and shame that this should ever occur, we were visited by the Magaña Family, minutes before the deadline for the newspaper. With excitement they shared the good news: Julio Cesar Magaña Estrada has been released! Due to the evidence Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor presented against Julio, it seemed impossible that he would ever achieve his liberty. It was a miracle of tenacity, courage, and love that only a father like Francisco Magaña was able to attain. He fought an arduous battle, against corruption, death threats, and his internal fight to maintain a smile when in reality a river of tears flowed inside of him—he remained persistent and positive so that his wife and his son, Julio would never loose hope. “They were difficult times, both my son within the jail, and I received threats of all sorts, as well as acts of intimidation so that Julio would confess to a crime he never committed. We also faced all types of discrimination, racism, abuse, injustice, but my goal was to get my son out of there and I wasn’t letting anything stand on my way,” Mr. Magaña tells us. Julio Cesar Magaña Estrada, under the false claim for illegal possession of drugs was incarcerated during his vacation stay in New Jersey and was set free just a day before trial in Ocean County superior court. He testifies, “being incarcerated has been … a hard experience in my life … they treat us like dogs, with rage, with racism, in a way that I would never wish upon anyone.” “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people that believed in me. In my innocence. To those people who helped my father, including my attorney David Alcantara, because without their help, I wouldn’t be here,” Julio states. “From this experience, we learned a valuable concept that we would like to share with the entire Immigrant Community: In an apprehension remain silent, do not say anything without first consulting an attorney! If you ever encounter a problem with the authorities, do not let them break you, do not be afraid, you are innocent until proven guilty!” Mr Francisco Magaña shares. There are currently 101 Mexican detainees in Ocean County Jail –96 men and 5 women. They remain in jail in hopes that the Mexican justice system intervenes so that the victimization, detention, and injustice can be put to a stop.
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free
Unjustly Incarcerated For Two Years!
After 23 months behind bars and countless human rights violations, Julio Cesar Magaña Estrada was released without charges because the U.S. justice system was wrong!
¡Encarcelado Injustamente Por Dos Años!
Después de 23 meses tras las rejas, con un sin número de violaciones a sus derechos humanos, Julio Cesar Magaña Estrada es puesto en libertad sin cargo alguno, porque la justicia norteamericana ¡se equivoco! Con una inmensa dicha, pero también con una gran impotencia y vergüenza, por que esto, jamás debió suceder, recibimos la visita de la Familia Magaña en la redacción de este Periódico, minutos antes del cierre. Con gran emoción nos compartieron la buena noticia: Julio Cesar Magaña Estrada ¡esta libre! Debo confesarles que debido a las pruebas en su contra, que el Fiscal Asistente del Condado de Ocean Joseph Mackolin presentó, parecía imposible que Julio saliera en libertad, así que para quien les escribe, su liberación es un ¡verdadero milagro! Un milagro de tenacidad, de va-
lentía, de amor, que solamente un padre como Don Francisco Magaña ¡pudo lograr! porque fueron dos años de lucha constante, de enfrentar peligros, amenazas, de permanecer separado de su familia, de sonreír a pesar de llorar por dentro, para que su esposa y su hijo Julio jamás perdieran la esperanza. “Fueron tiempos muy difíciles, tanto mi hijo en la cárcel, como yo, recibimos amenazas de todo tipo, presiones para que se declarara culpable de un delito que no cometió. Sufrimos todo tipo de discriminación, de racismo, de atropello, de injusticias, pero mi hijo era mi objetivo, y no podía dejarme vencer” nos comenta Don Francisco.
Por su parte, Julio, quien fue encarcelado, durante sus vacaciones en Nueva Jersey, por supuesta posesión de drogas y fue puesto en libertad sin cargo alguno, un día antes de iniciarse el juicio en su contra, nos dice... “Estar en la cárcel ha sido la experiencia mas dura de mi vida, nos tratan como perros, con coraje, con odio, con racismo, es algo que no le deseo a nadie” “Quiero aprovechar este medio para agradecer a toda la gente que creyó en mi inocencia, a todas las personas que ayudaron a mi padre y mi abogado David Alcántara porque sin su ayuda, hoy nos estaría libre” asegura Julio. “De esta experiencia aprendimos algo muy importante que queremos
Victimization, Detention, & Injustice
Equality Should Not Only be a Concern for Women! Fátima Reynolds As I write this, I know that a young girl just like me is suffering somewhere in the world for no other reason than the fact that she is female. As you read this, there are women bleeding to death in childbirth, women dousing themselves with kerosene and lighting themselves on fi re to escape their husbands, women sold into prostitution by their own families, women risking their lives to attend school,
Monmouth • Ocean • Middlesex • Mercer
women being brutalized by boyfriends, husbands, fathers, soldiers and even women being murdered before they are born because expectant parents prefer a son. Despite advances in science, health, technology and the law women are still facing an endless array of debilitating problems, from job discrimination to genital mutilation … Continued on Page…8
compartir con toda la Comunidad Inmigrante ¡No digan nada, absolutamente nadie sin tener a un abogado! si tienen algún problema con las autoridades, no se dejen intimidar, no se asusten, ustedes son inocentes hasta que se les pruebe lo contrario... así que ¡cuidado con hablar sin un abogado presente!” nos comparte Don Francisco Magaña. En la Cárcel del Condado de Ocean, en este momento se encuentran 101 mexicanos prisioneros (96 hombres y 5 mujeres). Hacemos un llamado al departamento de protección del Consulado de México para que intervenga a favor de ellos y no sigan siendo víctimas de atropellos e injusticias.
“There’s no clear answer or help for us,” attests Jeni. Amidst an anti-immigrant climate, Jeni concludes that all people will degrade human beings who lack documentation in the United States. Her story exemplifies the maltreatment and abuse the undocumented population undergoes on a daily basis. Jeni Osorio Andrade, 30, like many others of Mexican origin, has faced the reality of residing in the United States. Her struggle to arrive to the Land of Opportunity cannot be compared to the struggles that were to come. Continued on Page…18
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