The Toxic Truth - Organizing Against Migrant Child Detention, Militarism, and Environmental Racism in Homestead, FL
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THE I rl o J , tJ The Toxic Truth: Organizing Against Migrant Child Detention, Militarism, and Environmental Racism in Homestead, Florida Co-Authored by American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Earthjustice AFSC Authors: Emma Shaw Crane (Columbia University) Guadalupe de la Cruz, Lis-Marie Alvarado, and Mariana Martinez (AFSC). AFSC Contributors: Ronna Bolante. Earthjustice Authors: Dominique Burkhardt, Laura Arroyo, Ana Correa. Earthjustice Contributors: Rashmi Joglekar, Lisa Evans, Erin Fitzgerald. Special thanks to Jim Brinkman. AFSC Youth Artists: Noemi de la Cruz, José Dehorta, Steven Fisher, Javier Gamino, Princesa Gamino, Ana Morales, Yoana Morales, Ilse Moreno, Romero Ortiz, Renee Souvenir. Design: Design Action Collective. This publication is copyrighted under the Creative Commons. It may be freely shared for noncommercial purposes only. Credit must be given if the publication is quoted from, shared, or used. Published October 2021. Cover artwork features a photograph by Armando Carrada; migrant youth protesting environmental violence at the Homestead detention camp in 2021. Back cover features photograph by Lis-Marie Alvarado; mass rally demanding the closure of the detention center in 2019. Contents FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 HISTORY OF THE HOMESTEAD DETENTION CAMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 ONGOING EFFORTS TO OBTAIN INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 REPORT FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 The Superfund Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Contaminants and Potential Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Contaminated Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Contaminated Groundwater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Harms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Land Use Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Other Environmental Harms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Chronic Noise Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Research Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 ORGANIZING AGAINST INJUSTICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 OUR DEMANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Seeds of Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Painting Towards Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 ABOUT THE AUTHORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 £NI) CHILD DETENTION Youth organizers with the American Friends Service Committee of Florida visit Washington, D.C., to demand an end to child detention, 2019. Photographer: Lis-Marie Alvarado. FOREWORD B etween 2016 and 2019, thousands While open, the Homestead detention of migrant children were detained camp was the largest detention facility at the Homestead Temporary for children in the United States and Shelter for Unaccompanied Alien was the only private, for-profit detention Children in Homestead, Florida. Some facility for children in the country. The children detained in Homestead arrived detention camp was directly adjacent at the border without a parent or legally to the Homestead Air Reserve Base, a recognized guardian. Others were forcibly military base, and to a contaminated separated from their families by the Superfund site. Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policies. 2 The Toxic Truth In 2018 and 2019, the American Friends Service Committee of Florida (AFSC) led a coalition to shut down the detention camp in Homestead and end all child detention. As part of our campaign, we collaborated with researchers and lawyers from Earthjustice to document environmental conditions at the Research revealed that conditions at the camp posed potentially serious threats to the health and safety of children detained there. Homestead detention camp. Our research revealed that conditions exposed to noise from military jets taking at the camp posed potentially serious off and landing at the Homestead Air threats to the health and safety Reserve Base runway at levels associated of children detained there. These with developmental harm. dangers included possible exposure to toxic chemicals including arsenic, We demanded that the agencies lead, mercury, polycyclic aromatic responsible—the U.S. Department of hydrocarbons (PAHs), and trichloroethene Health and Human Services (HHS), from a military nearby Superfund site. the U.S. Environmental Protection Exposure to these toxicants is particularly Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Air Force— harmful to children and is linked to immediately conduct environmental developmental damage, cancer, damage testing to determine whether the to the kidneys, liver, heart, and immune facility was safe for children. As of system and anemia, among many other the publication of this report, we have serious and irreversible health effects. received no evidence that they have done 1 2 Children detained at the camp were also so. 1 Air Force Civil Engineer Center for the Environmental Protection Agency, Third Five-Year Review (FYR) Report for CERCLA Sites: SS034/OU-20, SS035/OU-21, OT022/OU-26, OT024/OU-28, OT026/OU-29, SS040/OU-30, and SS042/OU-31, Former Homestead Air Force Base (BRAC) Miami-Dade County, Homestead, Florida USEPA ID No. FL7570024037 (September 2016) (OUs 20, 21, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31 are contaminated with arsenic; OUs 26, 28, 29 are contaminated with lead; OUs 26, 28, 30, 31 are contaminated with PAH; OU 26 is contaminated with trichloroethene and mercury). 2 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Lead – ToxFAQs (August 2020), available at https://www. atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts13.pdf; ATSDR, Arsenic – ToxFAQs (August 2007), available at https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ substances/ToxSubstance.aspx?toxid=3; ATSDR, What Health Effects Are Associated With PAH Exposure?, https:// www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons/health_effects.html; Chiu, et al., Human Health Effects of Trichloroethylene: Key Findings and Scientific Issues, 121(3) Environmental Health Perspective 303-311 (2013); ATSDR, Mercury – ToxFAQs (April 1999), available at https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts46.pdf. The Toxic Truth 3 Our coalition organized protests, of Health and Human Services (HHS), marches, and petitions to demand the and other federal agencies, outlining closure of the detention camp and the the known environmental hazards at reunification of detained children with Homestead, calling on them to keep their waiting families and loved ones. the facility closed, and requesting We urged our elected representatives to environmental testing.4 end all migrant detention and honor the human right to mobility and refuge. In This report documents dangerous June of 2019, presidential candidates of environmental conditions at the detention the Democratic party joined us to protest camp in Homestead and reflects on our at the gates of the detention camp. Then campaign to end child detention and for Senator Kamala Harris called for the environmental and migrant justice. It camp to be shut down immediately. More demonstrates that the detention camp than a year of sustained organizing led at Homestead is an unsafe place for to the successful closure of the camp in children and demands an immediate October 2019. investigation into toxic and noise exposures. It is the result of a two-year Yet in February of 2021, the Biden collaboration between community administration announced plans to organizers, environmental justice lawyers, reopen the detention camp, renamed and researchers exploring every possible the Biscayne Influx Care Facility. No way to challenge migrant detention environmental testing was conducted and shut down the camp. It features before planning began to reopen the the artwork of youth activists engaged facility. AFSC again protested against in organizing against the camp and child detention and advocated to keep the demanding the freedom of all youth. We detention camp in Homestead closed. hope that it will provide an example of These efforts included sending a letter the power and possibility of collaborative with Earthjustice to the Environmental research and organizing. 3 Protection Agency (EPA), the Department 4 3 Monique O. Madan and Alex Daugherty, “Exclusive: Homestead detention center for unaccompanied migrant teens to reopen under Biden,” Miami Herald, Feb. 23, 2021. Available at: https://www.miamiherald.com/article249449265.html. 4 Letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Children and Families, and the Environmental Protection Agency titled “Demand for Moratorium on Plans to House Unaccompanied Minors at the Homestead Detention Center / Biscayne Influx Care Facility and Immediate Need for Environmental Testing and Health Risk Assessment.” Signed by Dominique Burkhardt (Earthjustice), Laura Arroyo (Earthjustice), Guadalupe de la Cruz (AFSC), Lis-Marie Alvarado (AFSC), Mariana Martinez (AFSC) and Emma Shaw Crane (NYU). Sent March 24th, 2021. The Toxic Truth But while our efforts have been successful in preventing the camp from reopening, there is much more work to do. Today we are now working to keep the detention camp permanently closed—and to ensure that no one is detained in Homestead ever again. In October 2021, we filed a lawsuit against the Air Force, Department of Homeland Security, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement compelling a response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for records of environmental contamination and testing at Homestead. This facility must not be used for any purpose until comprehensive environmental testing is complete. We must continue our collective struggle to end the detention and incarceration of immigrant children—and work to build safer, more just futures for all people. Signed, Guadalupe de la Cruz Emma Shaw Crane American Friends Columbia University Service Committee - Florida Dominique Burkhardt Lis-Marie Alvarado Earthjustice - Florida Regional Office American Friends Service Committee - Florida Laura Arroyo Earthjustice - Florida Regional Office Mariana Martinez American Friends Ana Correa Service Committee - Florida Earthjustice - Florida Regional Office Dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of children and youth lost in the detention bureaucracies of the U.S. The Toxic Truth 5 Princesa Gamino, “An Abrupt Time in a Young Life” HISTORY OF THE HOMESTEAD DETENTION CAMP 6 The Toxic Truth Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, 2019. Photographer: Guadalupe de la Cruz. T he Homestead detention camp the land that is now the detention camp was once part of the Homestead was transferred to the U.S. Department of Air Force Base. In 1990, parts Labor (DOL).6 of the Air Force Base were placed on the Superfund National Priorities List.5 The Department of Labor used the In 1992, Hurricane Andrew destroyed land to open a Job Corps campus, a much of the base. After the hurricane, federal program that offers vocational the Air Force base underwent a Base training to youth. The Job Corp program Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process was managed by ResCare, a private and nearly two-thirds of the former base contractor. In 2015, a Job Corps student, was transferred to Miami-Dade County José Amaya Guardado, the son of and other government agencies. In 1996, refugees from El Salvador, was murdered 5 The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as the Superfund program, requires the federal government to clean up toxic contamination that is dangerous to public health or the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assesses these environmental hazards and oversees clean-up. 6 Department of Labor, “Request for Transfer of Excess Real and Related Personal Property,” Attachment #1, Item B: 52. June 29th, 1994. The Toxic Truth 7 on the Homestead campus. ResCare was found negligent and the Job Corps program in Homestead was closed. Following the closure of the Job Corps program, the Department of Labor signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Health and Human Services to use the site for the detention of migrant children. In 2016, the Obama administration reopened the former Job Corps campus as an “emergency influx shelter” for hundreds of migrant and refugee children. The Trump administration briefly closed the detention camp in 2017 but reopened it in March of 2018.7 Children held in detention Ana Morales, “Will We Ever Be Free?” in Homestead doubled from 1,570 in 8 June of 2018 to 3,234 in March of 2019. a private military contractor owned by DC By April of 2019, there were 3,728 children Capital Partners.9 They charged between detained in Homestead.8 $750 and $775 dollars per day per child.10 The detention camp was governed Children detained at the U.S. border by the Department of Health and without a parent or legal guardian are Human Services’ Office of Refugee considered “unaccompanied” by U.S. Resettlement (ORR) but administered by law. Unaccompanied children may be Comprehensive Health Services, Inc., a legally detained for up to 72 hours by subsidiary of Caliburn International LLC, the Department of Homeland Security 7 Patricia Mazzei, “What It’s Like To Tour a Children’s Detention Facility,” The New York Times. Available at: https://www. nytimes.com/2018/06/22/us/detention-center-children.html. June 18, 2018. 8 Center for Constitutional Law, “Facility Report for Flores vs. Barr Class Council: Homestead.” May 31st, 2019: 64. 9 The American Friends Service Committee, 2019. “The corporate interests behind the Homestead migrant youth detention center.” Available at: https://investigate.afsc.org/updates/homestead-detention-center. 10 Congressional Hearing, 116 Congress. “The Trump Administration’s Child Separation Policy: Substantiated Allegations of Mistreatment,” July 12, 2019. Serial No. 116-46. Available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-116hhrg37315/ html/CHRG-116hhrg37315.htm. Accessed October 21, 2019. The Toxic Truth I r--- I 1 Javier Gamino, “Penalty for Living” at a Customs and Border Patrol facility influx” shelters like the detention camp and then are transferred into the “care in Homestead. An “influx” or “overflow” and custody” of ORR. ORR is housed facility means youth are detained there within the Administration for Children and only when other, permanent youth Families in the Department of Health and detention facilities are at capacity. Influx Human Services. When the number of facilities are not subject to state or local detained children exceeds the capacity licensing or health and safety standards, of permanent and licensed ORR shelters, which means that care for children in they may be placed in “emergency Homestead was not regulated and the The Toxic Truth 9 Homestead avoided having to comply with the federal Flores Agreement—which specifies that children cannot be held in detention facilities for more than 20 days. consistently the largest group of young migrants entering the United States.13 Children from Guatemala are also disproportionately Indigenous Maya, and many speak only Indigenous languages. Though children who do not speak fluent Spanish are supposed to be placed in smaller facilities, Indigenous children who spoke only Mam, Q’eqchi, K’iche were facility was not licensed to care for children.11 The children detained in Homestead were mainly from Central America. Roughly 55% of all the children detained in Homestead were from Guatemala and the rest were from Honduras and El Salvador.12 Children from Guatemala are 10 detained at Homestead.14 Social workers and guards employed at the detention camp, as in other facilities across the country, were unable to communicate with many Indigenous children, further increasing their risk for mistreatment, separation from family members, and inadequate medical treatment.15 Across the United States, the children 11 Office of Refugee Resettlement, “Children Entering the United States Unaccompanied: Guide to Terms,” Available at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/policy-guidance/children-entering-united-states-unaccompanied-guide-terms#Influx%20 Care%20Facility. March 21, 2016. 12 A lawsuit filed against the detention camp states that roughly 55 percent of children processed through the camp were from Guatemala, about 27 percent were from Honduras, and 14 percent were from El Salvador. See Center for Constitutional Law, “Facility Report for Flores vs. Barr Class Council: Homestead,” May 24th, 2019: 63. 13 U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, “Stats and Summaries: FY 2000 to FY 2019,” Available at: https://www.cbp.gov/ newsroom/media-resources/stats. Though the U.S. Border Patrol does not make the ethnicity of detained children publicly available, 95% of migrant children deported from Mexico and the United States to Guatemala are Indigenous Maya (Guatemalan Secretary of Social Welfare, cited in Lauren Heidbrink, “The Coercive Power of Debt: Migration and Deportation of Guatemalan Indigenous Youth,” The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology 24(1), March 2019: 265. 14 Center for Constitutional Law, “Facility Report for Flores vs. Barr Class Council: Homestead.” May 31, 2019: 41. See also “Facility Report for Flores vs. Barr Class Council, Exhibit 7: Declaration of Dr. Ryan Matlow,” May 28, 2019: 86. 15 Americans for Immigrant Justice, “Do My Rights Matter? The Mistreatment of Unaccompanied Children in CBP Custody,” Available at: https://aijustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Do-My-Rights-Matter-The-Mistreatment-ofUnaccompanied-Children-in-CBP-Custody.pdf. October 2020: 16-25. The Toxic Truth and youth who die in detention are In addition to the environmental violence disproportionately Indigenous Maya.16 that this report documents, children detained at the camp were exposed to Detained children ranged from ages 13 to crowding, rampant sexual abuse, and 17 and spent an average of 67 days at the the trauma of prolonged separation from camp.17 Because of its classification as their families and communities.20 Children an “emergency temporary influx shelter” who turned 18 inside the facility were the detention center in Homestead transported to adult detention facilities avoided having to comply with the federal including nearby Krome. An unknown Flores Agreement—which specifies that number of children were deported before children cannot be held in detention they could be placed with their waiting facilities for more than 20 days. A boy families. from Guatemala was detained at the camp the longest, 122 days; a girl from One of the most challenging aspects Guatemala, 119 days. The camp was of our research was understanding not regulated by the state of Florida, who was responsible for environmental nor was it certified or inspected by conditions at the detention camp. The local authorities. Elected and appointed detention camp was built on former officials were repeatedly denied entrance military land owned by the Department to the camp.19 of Labor, was managed by the Office 18 16 Jakelín Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin, a seven-year old Maya Q’eqchi’ girl, died of sepsis related to a bacterial infection after she was refused timely medical attention in a Customs and Border Control detention facility at the border. Felipe Gómez Alonso, an eight-year old Maya Chuj boy, died of the flu on Christmas Eve of 2018 in Customs and Border Patrol custody. Carlos Hernández, a sixteen-year old Maya Achi boy, died of influenza in a Border Patrol facility in 2019. Juan de León Gutiérrez, a sixteen-year old Maya Ch’orti’ boy, died in Health and Human Services custody after symptoms related to an untreated puffy tumor in his frontal lobe were not adequately treated. For example, see The Mayan League, “Indigenous Children Are Dying At the U.S. Mexico Border.” May 16, 2019. Available at: https://issuu.com/mayanleague.org/docs/ indigenous_children_dying_at_the_bo. 17 John Burnett, “Inside the Largest and Most Controversial Shelter for Migrant Children in the U.S.,” National Public Radio. February 13, 2019. Available at: https://www.npr.org/2019/02/13/694138106/inside-the-largest-and-most-controversialshelter-for-migrant-children-in-the-u-. 18 Miriam Jordan, “Migrant Children are Spending ‘Months’ Crammed in a Temporary Migrant Shelter,” The New York Times, June 26, 2019. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/26/us/homestead-migrant-children-shelter.html. 19 Jerry Ianelli, “Lawmakers Denied Entry to Miami Compound Holding 1,000 Child Migrants,” The New Times, June 19, 2018. Available at: https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/video-miami-child-migrant-compound-denies-nelson-wassermanschultz-entry-10454112. 20 Amnesty International, “No Home for Children: End the Contract To Operate the Homestead ‘Temporary Emergency’ Facility,” July 17, 2019. Available at: https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/no-home-for-children-us-governmentdetention-of-children-at-homestead-facility-cruel-and-unlawful/. The Toxic Truth 11 of Refugee Resettlement, a division of the Administration for Children and Families, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, and was administered by a private military contractor, Caliburn International. Remediation at the military Superfund sites that surround the detention camp is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but carried out by the United States Air Force. The convoluted jurisdiction of the detention camp made it difficult to hold any single organization or entity responsible. This report is based on publicly available documents from the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Labor, Ilse Moreno, “Schools Not Prisons” and Miami-Dade County. With support from Earthjustice, AFSC filed a series Department of Health and Human of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Services (HHS), the government agency requests for further information. To date, responsible for the care of detained the FOIA request to the Air Force—the children. Following the letter we sent to agency we believe has key environmental HHS and other federal officials in March records sought—has not been fulfilled. 2021 outlining the known environmental We also have not received a response hazards at Homestead, HHS officials from the Department of Homeland cannot claim to be unaware of the Security (DHS) or Immigration and health and safety risks. Yet the Biden Customs Enforcement (ICE). Administration has not publicly rescinded its plans to reopen Homestead and as far The burden of proof with respect as we know, environmental testing has to health and safety of children at not taken place at the site. the detention camp belongs to the 12 The Toxic Truth Youth protesting the Biden administration’s announcement that the Homestead camp would be reopened, 2021. Photographer: Armando Carrada. ONGOING EFFORTS TO OBTAIN INFORMATION A FSC partnered with Earthjustice In 2019, we submitted FOIA requests to file a series of Freedom of to the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Information Act (FOIA) requests Homeland Security, the Department of seeking additional information about Labor, and the Department of Health and environmental conditions at the detention Human Services. In 2020, we submitted camp. a FOIA request to the Environmental The Toxic Truth 13 Protection Agency (EPA). Our request to This lack of transparency is deeply the Department of Homeland Security concerning and in violation of the FOIA was transferred to Immigration and statute’s requirement that agencies Customs Enforcement (ICE). The EPA, respond within 20 business days to a Department of Labor, and Department of records request. The failure to respond Health and Human Services responded within legally mandated time limits places to our FOIA requests; however, they did a burden on communities and advocates, not have in their possession the types who are left without access to crucial of records pertaining to environmental information. conditions or testing that we requested. Because key federal agencies have been According to the EPA, the Air Force—and evading their duty to respond to our FOIA not the EPA—would have more extensive requests, in October 2021, we filed suit records of environmental contamination against the Air Force, the Department of and testing at or near the detention camp, Homeland Security, and ICE seeking a because the Air Force has jurisdiction court order compelling their responses to over its own environmental matters. Yet, our requests. after two years, the FOIA request to the Air Force remains unanswered, despite numerous follow-ups.21 To date, we have not received a response from the Air Force, the Department of Homeland Security, or ICE. Moreover, we have not seen any evidence of environmental testing at the site of the detention camp.22 14 21 Letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Children and Families, and the Environmental Protection Agency titled “Demand for Moratorium on Plans to House Unaccompanied Minors at the Homestead Detention Center / Biscayne Influx Care Facility and Immediate Need for Environmental Testing and Health Risk Assessment,” Exhibit B: FOIA Request Dated 07/26/2019. 22 Letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Children and Families, and the Environmental Protection Agency titled “Demand for Moratorium on Plans to House Unaccompanied Minors at the Homestead Detention Center / Biscayne Influx Care Facility and Immediate Need for Environmental Testing and Health Risk Assessment.” Signed by Dominique Burkhardt (Earthjustice), Laura Arroyo (Earthjustice), Guadalupe de la Cruz (AFSC), Lis-Marie Alvarado (AFSC), Mariana Martinez (AFSC) and Emma Shaw Crane (NYU). Sent March 24th, 2021. The Toxic Truth REPORT FINDINGS The Superfund Site B ased on publicly available to what is the Homestead Air Force information, the Homestead Base National Priority Superfund site. detention camp is directly adjacent The camp is within 2/3 of a mile of 16 Cutout Parcel 11-E Homestead Air Reserve Base Homestead Air Reserve Base Runway Homestead Temporary Sheller for Unaccompanied ~grant Children Parcel 11 Boundary Superfund OUs (shaded red) near the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Minors (shaded yellow). Map by Jim Brinkman, expert in the field of environmental remediation. The map was created by layering information from Environmental Protection Agency and Miami-Dade County reports with a map of the detention camp and military base.‡ ‡ Environmental Protection Agency, “HSWA [Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments] Corrective Action Permit Renewal Application,” Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida. February 2016: 25 and Clerk of the Court, Miami-Dade County. September 30th, 2004. “Indenture between the United States of America and Miami-Dade County Regarding Parcel D-4,” CFN 2005R0212582, Recorded 03/03/2005, Harvey Ruvin, Clerk of the Court, Miami-Dade County, Florida. Page 5. The Toxic Truth 15 sources of contamination, known as The proximity of these known Operable Units, or “OUs.”23 These OUs contaminated sites to the Homestead became contaminated after military use detention camp poses a threat to the for the storage of hazardous materials, children who lived there while indefinitely including munitions and industrial waste, detained. Testing and analysis of the and for aircraft maintenance, testing, and groundwater, soil, surface water, and disposal. air quality at the Homestead detention center site is critically important to The Environmental Protection Agency determine if it is a safe place for children (EPA) reported in 2016 that these OUs to live. are “located in an unpopulated area, with no residences located on the site or nearby.”24 But these sites are in fact directly adjacent to the detention camp, where thousands of migrant children Contaminants and Potential Exposure lived, studied, played, and received The cluster of OUs closest to the medical care. As of 2021, this Superfund detention camp are contaminated site is still contaminated and is “not yet with arsenic, lead, mercury, polycyclic ready” for reuse and redevelopment. aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and 25 As far as we know, no testing has taken trichloroethene.26 These contaminants place at the site of the detention camp. can cause cancer; damage to the kidneys, liver, and immune system; 23 The American Friends Service Committee, Health At Risk Potential Toxic and Noise Exposure Endangering Children at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Migrant Children (2019).. Appendix A maps and describes the 16 OUs closest to the Homestead Detention center (data compiled from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Assessment for Homestead Air Force Base, Homestead AFB, Dade County, Florida, Cerclis No. FL7570024037 (Sept. 30, 1998) and AGEISS, Inc., HSWA Corrective Action Permit Renewal Application, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida EPA (February 2016). 24 Air Force Civil Engineer Center for the Environmental Protection Agency, Third Five-Year Review (FYR) Report for CERCLA Sites: SS034/OU-20, SS035/OU-21, OT022/OU-26, OT024/OU-28, OT026/OU-29, SS040/OU-30, and SS042/OU-31, Former Homestead Air Force Base (BRAC) Miami-Dade County, Homestead, Florida USEPA ID No. FL7570024037 (2016: xvi). 25 Environmental Protection Agency, “Homestead Air Force Base Cleanup Progress,” Available at: https://cumulis.epa.gov/ supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.schedule&id=0404746. 26 Air Force Civil Engineer Center for the Environmental Protection Agency, Third Five-Year Review (FYR) Report for CERCLA Sites: SS034/OU-20, SS035/OU-21, OT022/OU-26, OT024/OU-28, OT026/OU-29, SS040/OU-30, and SS042/OU-31, Former Homestead Air Force Base (BRAC) Miami-Dade County, Homestead, Florida USEPA ID No. FL7570024037 (September 2016) (OUs 20, 21, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31 are contaminated with arsenic; OUs 26, 28, 29 are contaminated with lead; OUs 26, 28, 30, 31 are contaminated with PAH; OU 26 is contaminated with trichloroethene and mercury). At Homestead Detention Center, children can spend weeks, even months in custody, which can cause lasting trauma and incalculable costs to children, families, and our communities. Photo in the public domain. anemia; developmental harm, especially if accidentally consumed, breathed in, in children; and other serious health or comes into contact with the skin. problems. Children could come into contact with 27 contaminated soil or groundwater via Contaminated Soil dust, flooding, playing outdoors, or storm surge from tropical storms. Chemicals unearthed in remedial activities like soil Soil sample data from the OUs closest removal could also evaporate into the air, to the detention camp show arsenic and creating, in high enough concentrations, PAHs in the shallow soils surrounding vapor intrusion into the camp. the detention camp. This type and concentration of soil contamination can Some OUs have shown an increase in produce particulate matter that is harmful contamination. OU 26, for example, was 27 The Toxic Truth Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Lead – ToxFAQs (August 2020), available at https://www. atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts13.pdf; ATSDR, Arsenic – ToxFAQs (August 2007), available at https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ substances/ToxSubstance.aspx?toxid=3; ATSDR, What Health Effects Are Associated With PAH Exposure?, https:// www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons/health_effects.html; Chiu, et al., Human Health Effects of Trichloroethylene: Key Findings and Scientific Issues, 121(3) Environmental Health Perspective 303-311 (2013); ATSDR, Mercury – ToxFAQs (April 1999), available at https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts46.pdf. 17 used for aircraft maintenance, and is contaminated with PD-680, a solvent that contains ethylbenzene. At OU 26, southeast of the detention camp, an increase of tetrachloroethylene contamination was detected in 2013.28 The most recent report from the EPA calls for additional remedial action and states that only industrial use is appropriate at the OUs.29 Contaminated Groundwater There is also contamination present in the groundwater surrounding the detention camp. The two closest OUs, 20 and 21, are directly southeast of the camp. OU 21 was once a building Romero Ortiz, “Human” used to store flammable chemicals, acids, and other hazardous waste. Arsenic contamination at OU 21 has increased over time—suggesting that legacy contamination is not being properly contained. The monitoring wells that registered this increase are only 130 and 140 feet from the detention center.30 18 28 Air Force Civil Engineer Center/Environmental Protection Agency 2016: (xvi). 29 Air Force Civil Engineer Center/Environmental Protection Agency 2016: (xiv). 30 Air Force Civil Engineer Center for the Environmental Protection Agency Third FYR at xiv and 31 (explaining increase in arsenic contamination at OU 21) and Figure 5-1 (showing location of monitoring wells at OU 21, with MW-16 and MW-A being approximately 130 and 140 feet from the detention center). The Toxic Truth Harms The contaminants present in soil and groundwater near the Homestead camp are dangerous to the health and development of children: Arsenic Arsenic is a toxic heavy metal and known human carcinogen.31 Longterm arsenic exposure has been linked to an increased risk of skin cancer and cancer in the liver, bladder, and lungs, and neurodevelopmental harm. Low levels of arsenic exposure can cause sore throat, irritated lungs, nausea, vomiting, decreased production of red and white blood cells, abnormal heart rhythm, and damage to blood vessels.32 - Lead is a toxic heavy metal that is a neurotoxin and probable human Lead - - carcinogen.33 There is no known safe level of lead in the human body. Even - - -..;F at low levels of exposure, lead can cause damage to the brain, kidneys, and reproductive organs. The developing bodies of children are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning,34 and exposure to low levels of lead during early life can result in irreversible neurological harm, impaired cognitive function, and neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD.35 - Mercury - - -- - = ------- Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that primarily affects the nervous system; at high levels of exposure, mercury can damage the brain and kidneys and “irritability, shyness, tremors, 31 The International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization designates arsenic as carcinogenic to humans. See https://monographs.iarc.who.int/list-of-classifications. 32 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Arsenic – ToxFAQs (August 2007), available at https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ substances/ToxSubstance.aspx?toxid=3. Accessed April 13, 2021. 33 The International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization designates lead as probably carcinogenic to humans. See https://monographs.iarc.who.int/list-of-classifications. 34 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Childhood Lead Poisoning (July 2021), available at https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/tracking/ topics/ChildhoodLeadPoisoning.htm. 35 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Lead – ToxFAQs (August 2020), available at https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ toxfaqs/tfacts13.pdf; see also Braun, et al., “Exposures to Environmental Toxicants and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in U.S. Children,” Environmental Health Perspectives 114(12): 1904-1909 (2006). The Toxic Truth 19 changes in vision or hearing, and memory problems”36 may result from damage to the brain. Young children are more sensitive to mercury exposure than adults, and exposure during early life is linked to irreversible neurodevelopmental harm, including irreversible neurodevelopmental harm, “incoordination, blindness, seizures, and inability to speak.”37 Polycyclic aromatic Hydrocarbons Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, are a toxic class of chemicals found in fossil fuels and generated during the combustion of coal, gas, wood, tobacco, and other materials. Several PAHs are carcinogenic to humans. Long-term exposure has been linked to skin, lung, bladder, and gastrointestinal cancers and “heritable genetic damage” in humans, meaning that this genetic damage be passed down to future generations.38 Trichloroethylene Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a volatile and toxic solvent used to remove grease from metal parts, and is a known human carcinogen39. Short-term exposure to TCE can lead to searing chemical burns, headaches, and dizziness. At very high levels of exposure, TCE can lead to coma and even death. Long-term exposure has been linked to an increased risk of liver, kidney, and blood cancers as well as autoimmune disease and reproductive harm. Exposure to TCE during pregnancy can harm the developing fetus and lead to neurodevelopmental harm, low birth weight, and congenital heart defects.40 20 36 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Mercury-ToxFAC (April 1999), available at https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ toxfaqs/tfacts46.pdf. 37 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Mercury-ToxFAC (April 1999), available at https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ toxfaqs/tfacts46.pdf. 38 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR,) What Health Effects Are Associated with PAH Exposure?, Available at: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons/health_effects.html; Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR,) Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Key Concepts, available at https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/polycyclic-aromatichydrocarbons/health_effects.html#key_points. 39 The International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization designates trichloroethylene as probably carcinogenic to humans. See https://monographs.iarc.who.int/list-of-classifications. 40 Chiu, et al., “Human Health Effects of Trichloroethylene: Key Findings and Scientific Issues,” Environmental Health Perspectives 121(3): 303-311 (2013); Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Trichloroethylene-ToxFAC (June 2019), available at https:// www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts19.pdf. The Toxic Truth An image taken by drone of the detention camp and military base. The four central buildings are dormitories used by the detention camp. The base tarmac and runway are visible beyond the camp. In the upper right corner are the new SOCSOUTH headquarters. Homestead, Florida. April 2021. Image courtesy of Christine Kane. Land Use Restrictions The Environmental Protection Agency EPA and other government agencies (EPA) says that these sites are not safe establish use restrictions. for people to live. The EPA Soil Cleanup Target Levels (SCTLs) for these OUs are Most of the property surrounding the industrial, not residential.41 Residential detention camp was transferred from screening levels are significantly more the Air Force to Miami-Dade County protective than industrial screening levels, in 2005 with an environmental use which means remediation to industrial restrictive covenant that prohibits the levels does not provide protection for use of the property for “permanent residential use. In order to prevent these residential purposes, hospitals for sites from being used for residence, the human care, public or private schools 41 The Toxic Truth See, for example, Air Force Civil Engineer Center for the Environmental Protection Agency, Third Fifth Year Review (2016) at xiv, xvi. 21 for persons under 18 years of age, or day care centers for children.”42 These restrictions apply to property that is directly north and south of the detention camp. In 2014, the U.S. military Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH) completed a new headquarters constructed roughly 1,000 \) ~b ' - b ~ feet southwest of the detention camp. These headquarters are subject to strict environmental use restrictions. José Dehorta, “Hell in Disguise” The federal government prohibits the use of the new facility or the land surrounding it for “permanent residential structures, hospitals, public or private schools, or day care centers” in order to “avoid accidental exposure to arsenic contamination in soils and groundwater onsite.” 43 Yet this building is farther away from the contaminated OUs than the detention camp. 22 42 For example, Clerk of the Court, Miami-Dade County. September 30th, 2004. “Indenture between the United States of America and Miami-Dade County Regarding Parcel D-4,” CFN 2005R0212582, Recorded 03/03/2005, Harvey Ruvin, Clerk of the Court, Miami-Dade County, Florida. Page 5. Parcel D-4 is 211.02 acres, directly north of what is now the detention camp (beginning below 280th St. and 127th Ave). 43 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. June 2011. “Final Environmental Assessment, Construction and Operation of U.S. Special Operations Command South Headquarters Adjacent to Homestead Air Reserve Base”, p. ES-8. Available at: https://apps. dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a611154.pdf. The Toxic Truth An image taken by drone of the detention camp. The tarmac and runway of the Homestead Air Reserve Base are visible beyond the detention camp dormitories. Homestead, Florida. April 2021. Image courtesy of Christine Kane. Other Environmental Harms A 2018 Environmental Assessment, warned that a 1992 study found elevated accessed via FOIA request, documented levels of radon present in some buildings. toxins including asbestos, lead-based The assessment also reports that radon paint, and mold in the decaying buildings levels in some buildings “have not been of the former Job Corps campus, mitigated or retested since 1992.”45 The which were repurposed into parts of the EPA reports that radon causes lung detention camp.44 The same assessment cancer and children are “considerably 44 Department of Labor. “Environmental Assessment: Homestead Job Corps Center Proposed Disposal and Reuse, Homestead, Florida,” November 2018. Obtained via FOIA request from the Department of Labor. 45 Department of Labor. “Environmental Assessment: Homestead Job Corps Center Proposed Disposal and Reuse, Homestead, Florida,” Obtained via FOIA request from the Department of Labor. November 2018: 5-21. The Toxic Truth 23 more sensitive to the carcinogenic coating, stripping chemicals, waste oils, effects” of radon than adults.46 waste paint-related materials, and other universal wastes.”47 Finally, the normal operation of the Homestead Air Reserve Base generates As of October of 2021, we have not “pesticides, herbicides, POL (petroleum, seen any evidence of environmental oil, and lubricants), flammable solvents, testing to determine whether the contaminated fuels and lubricants, paint/ detention camp site is safe for children. Chronic Noise Exposure The detention camp is not only toxic, and Urban Development (HUD), human it is also loud. The camp is adjacent to residence is “normally unacceptable” in the Homestead Air Reserve base, which areas exposed to between 65 and 75 routinely flies F-16C fighter jets. Children decibels.48 A 2017 Miami-Dade County detained at the camp were exposed to memorandum placed the site of the chronic noise at levels associated with detention camp partially in a 65-decibel cognitive injury and developmental harm. zone, relying on a fourteen-year-old, outdated study.49 An updated, 2017 24 According to the U.S. Air Force, the study places the detention camp almost Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), completely in the 65 to 69 decibel zone, and the U.S. Department of Housing due to expanded aircraft use at the 46 United States Environmental Protection Agency, Health Risks of Radon, available at https://www.epa.gov/radon/healthrisk-radon#iowa. See also Branco et al, “Children’s Exposure to Radon in Nursery and Primary Schools,” International Journal of Environmental and Public Health, April 2016: 13(4): 386. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC4847048/. 47 Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command. February 2007. “Environmental Assessment for 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Actions at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida,” 3-57. 48 Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command, Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ) Study for the Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida (October 2007) at 3-1, available at https://www.homestead.afrc.af.mil/Portals/134/Documents/ Homestead%20ARB%202020%20AICUZ%20Public%20Brochure%20Booklet.pdf. 49 Miami-Dade County 2017, 20. For the 2007 AICUZ study, see: Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command, Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ) Study for the Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida (October 2007) at 3-1, available at https://www.homestead.afrc.af.mil/Portals/134/Documents/Homestead%20ARB%202020%20AICUZ%20Public%20 Brochure%20Booklet.pdf. The Toxic Truth ,. ... rt s~ /ID ~q /,;.'~ o,; < -s c'1: .c ~.... 5 £:! II, < .:: Qj > !ii (/) n:il "' < £ ~ N ~ S\-..' 2 f'l e ton I ,-. ;::: < 268 h W 2(• I N M W , ld 3 Ill Or 15 1 dBA S '/;,5 lh SI W 288 th SI ,:, 65~9 dBA ti, "~ • 70-74 dBA ii/ 3001 SW O l!h I S\/1/ 3 121h St Sound exposures at Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Minors. The pink shading indicates decibel level. The camp is mostly within the 65 to 69 decibel range, with a small part of property in the 70-74 decibel range. Map created by Emma Shaw Crane, using publicly available ESRI ArcGIS data.50 Homestead Air Reserve Base.51 particularly related to tasks involving central processing and language, such The World Health Organization argues as reading comprehension, memory, and that chronic environmental noise attention.52 Exposure to chronic noise exposure is linked to impaired cognition during childhood can potentially “impair and neurodevelopment in children, development and have a lifelong effect 50 ESRI ArcGIS. 2017. “Noise Study Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ) Informational (Public Access): 2014 to 2017 Noise Study Comparison, Homestead Air Reserve Base.” Available at: https://arcg.is/1O05yv. 51 ESRI ArcGIS. 2017. “Noise Study Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ) Informational (Public Access): 2014 to 2017 Noise Study Comparison, Homestead Air Reserve Base.” Available at: https://arcg.is/1O05yv. 52 World Health Organization, Burden of disease from environmental noise (2011) at 45-48, available at https://www.euro. who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/136466/e94888.pdf. The Toxic Truth 25 RESIDENTIAL AREA DETENTION CAMP 70·74DBA HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BAS 65-69 OBA N A Noise exposure at the Homestead detention camp. Designer: Heather Sourwine 2021. on educational attainment.”53 Studies hospitals, barracks, apartment buildings suggest that an estimated 30% of and religious facilities or other buildings children routinely exposed to noise at 65 of public assembly” in zones of 65 to dB experience cognitive impairment.54 75 decibels.55 Certain residential uses are also prohibited, including “residential Miami-Dade County prohibits “schools, 26 uses in excess of 1 dwelling unit per 5 53 World Health Organization, Burden of disease from environmental noise (2011) at 45-48, available at https://www.euro. who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/136466/e94888.pdf. 54 The percentage of children who experience cognitive impairment as a result of chronic noise exposure increases from 10% at 55 decibels to 30% at 65 decibels and 55% at 75 decibels. World Health Organization, Burden of disease from environmental noise (2011) at 45-48, available at https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/136466/e94888. pdf. 55 Miami-Dade County. January 24th, 2017. “Memorandum: Ordinance pertaining to zoning and real property transactions in the vicinity of Homestead Air Reserve Base (HARB),” Section 33-295, 18. The Toxic Truth acres.”56 All new buildings within such zones are required to incorporate “at least a 25-decibel outdoor-to-indoor Noise Level Reduction into the design and construction of the structure.”57 There are no records that anyone carried out a Noise Risk Assessment at the detention camp or took any such measures to protect the children detained at the camp. Research Conclusions According to parameters established by the EPA, the U.S. Air Force, and Miami- CoS-Co 1 Dec\~/s N013e- \0Jels due. -b f llo f+s Dade County, the property surrounding the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Alien Children is unsuitable for residential use, schools, childcare, or hospitals. The detention camp is directly adjacent to active and unremediated Superfund Operable Units (OUs) that remain contaminated at levels exceeding what is allowed for residential use. Given the lack of data available Leonardo, a formerly detained youth, protesting chronic noise exposure and the potential reopening of the Homestead detention camp. In early 2021, the AFSC organized to prevent the Biden administration from reopening the camp and demanded environmental testing at the detention camp site. Credit: Armando Carrada about conditions at the detention camp itself and the decades-long presence Noise levels at the detention camp of harmful contaminants, we are are estimated to be in the 65-69 dBA concerned that hazardous materials at (decibel) range, which is “normally unsafe concentrations are present in the unacceptable” for human residence. detention camp area. An estimated thirty percent of children 56 Miami-Dade County. January 24th, 2017. “Memorandum: Ordinance pertaining to zoning and real property transactions in the vicinity of Homestead Air Reserve Base (HARB),” Section 33-295, Use Restrictions, (e), 18. 57 Miami-Dade County. January 24th, 2017. “Memorandum: Ordinance pertaining to zoning and real property transactions in the vicinity of Homestead Air Reserve Base (HARB),” Section 33-295, (e), 18. The Toxic Truth 27 A local farmworker from partner organization the Farmworker Association of Florida joins an action against the Homestead detention camp. Photographer: Adam Barkan. exposed to 65-69 decibel noise children. Following the letter we sent to experience cognitive impairment.58 We HHS and other federal officials in March do not know if the buildings used to 2021 outlining the known environmental house detained children were adequately hazards at Homestead, HHS officials soundproofed, as required by Miami- cannot claim to be unaware of the Dade County. Moreover, child detainees health and safety risks. Yet the Biden were spending large parts of their days in Administration has not publicly rescinded tents, where noise exposure is potentially its plans to reopen Homestead and greater. meanwhile, we can find no evidence that environmental testing has taken place at The burden of proof with respect the site. to health and safety of children at the detention camp belongs to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the government agency responsible for the care of detained 58 28 World Health Organization, Burden of disease from environmental noise (2011) at 45-48, available at https://www.euro. who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/136466/e94888.pdf. The Toxic Truth Interfaith protest demanding the closure of the Homestead detention camp, 2018. Photographer: Adam Barkan. ORGANIZING AGAINST INJUSTICE I n recent years, AFSC and Earthjustice hazards surrounding the Homestead have been organizing against the detention camp, the city of Homestead is harmful forces of militarism and also a heavily policed community. Local environmental racism in Homestead and police will set up roadblocks at busy in the U.S. immigration system nationally. intersections and check drivers’ licenses, which undocumented people cannot In addition to the known environmental The Toxic Truth obtain in Florida. Between 2016 and 29 Guadalupe de la Cruz leads protestors at an interfaith vigil and protesting demanding the closure of the Homestead detention camp, 2018. Photographer: Adam Barkan. 2018, the number of charges related to required local law enforcement to do the drivers’ licenses nearly tripled.59 The vast work of federal immigration agents. majority of traffic-related charges are related to driving without a license. These Migrant detention is just one example of police roadblocks, along with immigration how militarism impacts our communities. raids, are often used to detain and deport In order to build safe and healthy undocumented migrants. In 2019, Florida communities, we need to organize Governor Ron De Santis signed SB 168 against all forms of state violence. into law, an “anti-sanctuary city” bill that 59 30 Community Justice Project. 2019. “Driving Without a License,” Report produced for WeCount! Homestead, Florida. The Toxic Truth The harmful environmental conditions at the detention camp are a problem of environmental racism. But this is not the only example of environmental racism faced by community members in We see other examples of environmental racism in detention and incarceration of people across the U.S. Homestead. The town is an agricultural community, home to vegetable and fruit crops and to nurseries for ornamental plants and palms. Farmworkers are the Northwest Detention Center outside regularly exposed to environmental of Tacoma, Washington; and the Federal hazards, such as extreme heat (being Correctional Complex in Victorville, made worse by climate change) and toxic California, a federal prison that doubles pesticides, that lead to long-term health as an ICE detention facility on what used harms. For years, AFSC has helped to be the George Air Force Base. The migrant farmworkers and low-income detention camp in Tornillo, Texas, and community members organize to better the Karnes County Residential Center protect themselves in the workplace. in South Texas are both proximate to environmental hazards, including We see other examples of environmental contaminated soil, air, and groundwater.61 racism in detention and incarceration of people across the U.S. The detention Following the Trump administration’s camp for migrant children at Fort Bliss, “zero-tolerance” immigration policy in Texas, the largest military base in the 2018, Earthjustice submitted Freedom United States, is adjacent to a military of Information Act (FOIA) requests Superfund site. Other detention camps to the U.S. Army and the Air Force to on or near Superfund sites include obtain information about the military camps at the Lackland Air Force Base bases where the Departments of and Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas; Homeland Security (DHS) and Health 60 60 Global Environmental Justice Project. 2019. “Toxic Detention: The Trend of Contamination in the American Immigration System,” UC Santa Barbara. Report available at: https://gejp.es.ucsb.edu/sites/secure.lsit.ucsb.edu.envs.d7_gejp2/files/ sitefiles/publication/GEJP%20Special%20Report%202019.pdf. 61 Global Environmental Justice Project. 2019. “Toxic Detention: The Trend of Contamination in the American Immigration System,” UC Santa Barbara. Report available at: https://gejp.es.ucsb.edu/sites/secure.lsit.ucsb.edu.envs.d7_gejp2/files/ sitefiles/publication/GEJP%20Special%20Report%202019.pdf. See also Earthjustice, Toxic Cages: Toxic contaminants at Goodfellow Air Force Base put children’s health at risk, February 2019. Available at: https://earthjustice.org/sites/default/ files/files/Goodfellow_report_2019-02-11.pdf. The Toxic Truth 31 Interfaith organizing allies from Temple Beth Shalom deliver letters to youth detained at the Homestead detention camp, 2019. Photographer: Lis-Marie Alvarado. 32 and Human Services (HHS) proposed government immediately provide the the construction of temporary facilities requested information. For Fort Bliss to detain unaccompanied children and Goodfellow, the records obtained and families. The sites identified, Fort from litigation revealed that during the Bliss and Goodfellow Air Force Base, clean-up remediation process, some of shared a common characteristic: these their sites were deemed adequate for bases have known toxic waste sites industrial or commercial use, but not like radiological contaminants and for residential use, which is alarming hazardous chemicals that put human information if temporary detention health at risk. In 2020, Earthjustice centers were to be constructed nearby or also submitted a FOIA request to DHS on these sites. The records also revealed and HHS for records pertaining to the that logistically, searching for potential Tornillo detention center expansion and detention centers sites in military bases the safety and environmental analysis is a yearly recurring process, and while of the site. The lack of timely responses DHS ultimately decided not to pursue to the FOIA requests resulted in temporary detention on these military Earthjustice filing FOIA lawsuits between bases in 2018 because of the monetary 2018 and 2020, demanding that the expense, HHS remains willing to continue The Toxic Truth to pursue this option, as demonstrated by and lobbying efforts. Local coalition their decision in 202162 to move forward members traveled to Washington, D.C. to with a temporary detention center at protest in the capital. AFSC also helped Fort Bliss. For Tornillo, the process of train and prepare our youth leaders in receiving records through litigation is Homestead to advocate for their detained currently ongoing. peers.63 Injustices like these have gone on for far Through the campaign, organizers were too long—and communities across the responsible for the behind-the-scenes U.S. are taking a stand to end them. In work of actions and communications, Homestead, AFSC has supported young and community members stepped up people and other community members in to mobilize more people. Faith leaders organizing against detention, militarism, talked with others at their centers of and environmental racism. worship, gathering them to join protests and rallies outside the detention center. As part of our efforts to shut down Youth leaders collected handwritten the detention camp in Homestead, we letters of support for the youth detained brought together communities of faith and spoke during a youth-led press in South Florida—and connected with conference. advocacy on the national level. We helped establish the #EndChildDetention These efforts paid off. In October 2019, campaign with local and national the detention camp in Homestead was partners. Locally, immigrant rights closed. Today we must ensure that the organizations, environmentalists, Homestead facility remains closed for medical professionals, teachers, LGBTQ+ good. And that we continue to support groups, faith allies and youth were part young people and other community of the coalition in Homestead. On the members organizing against detention, national level larger immigrant rights militarism, and environmental racism in organizations and progressive policy their communities. groups assisted in constructing policy 62 Earthjustice. 2021. “Groups: Biden Needs to End Child Detention at Fort Bliss Now,” Available at: https://earthjustice.org/ news/press/2021/groups-biden-needs-to-end-child-detention-at-fort-bliss-now. 63 Mariana Salome Martinez. 2020. “Case Study: Campaign to shut down the Homestead Child Detention Center,” Thesis submitted for the degree of master’s in education, Community and Social Change, School of Education and Human Development, University of Miami. The Toxic Truth 33 Lis-Marie Alvarado " Lis-Marie Alvarado presents to elected officials on the End Child Detention Campaign. Photographer: Bryan Vana. I do not want Homestead to be treated like a garbage dump for Superfund sites, nuclear plants and the Air Reserve Base. I no longer want harsh pesticides to be used in fields that poison our water resources, wildlife, and people. The situation in Homestead is infuriating since it is a place that enriches Miami-Dade County, the state and private companies that profit from agricultural work. Yet the workers and their families in the area are very often seen as disposable and treated as lesser humans. I would like for Homestead to be remembered not as a place that is used to detain immigrant children but as a place where the community shut down the largest for-profit detention center and set children free. I would like for people to know there are organizations like AFSC who organize those directly impacted by environmental racism and structural oppression. Collectively we are building local alternatives that center people’s power, ecological resilience and respect for immigrants. Homestead for me is a beautiful, thriving place, where nature and community can live together, prosper, and inspire others to take action.” 34 The Toxic Truth Guadalupe De La Cruz Guadalupe de la Cruz speaks to protestors at a car caravan in April 2021 protesting the public announcement to reopen the Homestead Detention Center. Photographer: Carrie Feit. “ For years we’ve been organizing just around farmworker and labor rights issues and training people how to really protect yourself in the workplace. We in South Florida are Ground Zero…our organizing intentionally highlights the intersection of climate change and migration, because climate change affects farmworkers, who face hotter days every year. Climate change also affects the crops—these disasters destroy crops and livelihoods. And the conditions that people live and work in causes longterm health hazards, including from pesticides. And we are seeing that our government designates toxic and contaminated land to house and to hold migrants; it’s not just Homestead, we have seen detention centers in and around toxic places, these detention centers on toxic lands, these jails and prisons on toxic land. Our work is about making these connections and understanding how environmental injustice affects immigrant, undocumented, and people of color.” The Toxic Truth 35 ' ree · i hem . . . ~ 'iberenPS . Mariana Martinez speaking outside the US Capitol in Washington DC during a press conference with members of Congress and faith leaders advocating against child detention in 2019. Photographer: Lis-Marie Alvarado. Mariana Martinez “ 36 I am proud and inspired by the leadership in our community and organizations that took on this monster of a fight. We created local change that saved lives and put pressure on national policy.” The Toxic Truth OUR DEMANDS We demand that the Biden administration: 1. Permanently close the Homestead detention camp, guaranteeing that no person will ever be detained or incarcerated there again. 2. Carry out comprehensive soil, groundwater, and air testing at the site of the Homestead detention camp, so that the children detained, their families, and the public can fully understand the hazards and risks faced at the camp. All environmental testing should evaluate exposure and toxicity against a baseline that is protective of children’s health. 3. Conduct an assessment of noise exposure to show how children detained at the camp may have been affected. All environmental testing should evaluate exposure and toxicity against a baseline that is protective of children’s health. END ALL DETENTION OF MIGRANT CHILDREN Not here, not anywhere Decriminalize and de-stigmatize the presence of migrant children in the U.S. Reunite children with their families or place them in the care of sponsors as quickly as possible; fund and implement community-based alternatives that comply with the rights of children at all stages when in the custody and care of the federal government. Enact any and all immigration policies that uphold the rights, dignity, and humanity of all people. Migrant children should be in nurturing, safe environments designed for their wellbeing. &Jill 21 The Toxic Truth I ijZ 37 fl Youth protester at the gates of the Homestead detention center, 2018. Photographer: Adam Barkan. NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US Two projects that are key in our work in Homestead are: Seeds of Resistance The AFSC organized impacted We organize youth to prepare a new communities to resist environmental generation of creative, community- violence, militarism, and detention. engaged leaders for the immigrant rights This means working closely with movement in Homestead and South undocumented people and youth. To Florida. Art is a key component of our build power and fight for the community organizing. Many of the artists featured in we want. this report were key leaders in organizing to successfully shut down the detention camp, twice. 38 The Toxic Truth Yoana of the AFSC leading a protest at the Homestead detention center, 2019. Photographer: Guadalupe de la Cruz. Painting Towards Freedom Led by organizer Guadalupe de la Cruz, the youth came together and created art about their lives, the challenges they face, their families, and their communities. Our organizing provided a platform for youth to find healing, community, and power in the process of making art. Youth connected their own experiences of environmental racism, militarism, and immigration to the detention camp. Together, we created a vision of our community, and organized to bring that vision into the world. The Toxic Truth 39 40 The Toxic Truth Steven Fisher, “Hope” Page 40, clockwise from top left: Noemi de la Cruz, “The Lost One” Yoana Morales, “Children don’t belong in cages” Renee Souvenir, “Forgotten Children” The Toxic Truth 41 Top: AFSC youth from South Florida showcasing art done to support the closure of Homestead detention center in Washington, D.C., 2018. Photographer: Guadalupe de la Cruz. Bottom left: “Children don’t belong in cages.” AFSC youth prepare for an action demanding the closure of the Homestead detention center and freedom for all children, 2018. Photographer: Guadalupe de la Cruz. Bottom right: AFSC youth organizers create art as part of the Painting Towards Freedom workshops. Photographer: Guadalupe de la Cruz. 42 The Toxic Truth ABOUT THE AUTHORS The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization that promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. We work with communities and partners worldwide to challenge injustice and build sustainable peace with justice. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light of each person, we focus on advancing peacebuilding, just economies, healing justice approaches, and humane immigration responses so all people can flourish. The AFSC works for a world where migrants, refugees, and internally displaced people have the power to determine where they live and the opportunity to thrive in society. We work to address both the economic and political drivers of migration in multiple countries as well as to support migrants and refugees, whether they are in transit or settled in new communities. These efforts include legal services, training, human rights monitoring, humanitarian relief, and immigrant-led organizing and advocacy for just immigration policies. Earthjustice is the nation’s premier nonprofit public interest environmental law organization. We wield the power of the law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, and to advance clean energy and combat climate change. Earthjustice believes the law is one of the best tools we have to create lasting change. Earthjustice works in partnership with client organizations and allies to ensure the right to a healthy environment, to hold the powerful accountable, and to enforce and advocate for strong environmental laws. Earthjustice’s Florida Regional Office works for a healthy and safe environment for detained migrants and other vulnerable communities, to protect and restore our unique waterways and ecosystems, and for climate justice and a just transition to clean energy. AFSC Florida builds the power of refugees and immigrants in Florida through leadership development, community education, cultural work, art, coalition building, and campaigns for immigrant rights. We also accompany individuals and families through the complex immigration system by assisting clients in the process of becoming legal residents or naturalized citizens. The Toxic Truth 43 AFSC youth organizers in hazmat suits protest environmental violence at the Homestead detention camp and demand that the detention camp remain closed, 2021. Photographer: Armando Carrada. a "' .. .. o, Jt, .,.,... .. YE'5, WECARE<'•'":' . ~ "' A 10 (Dfru. 0 ~• <is No ts-rA' '-A lj,. ..,111,.. 0l)E PllfO~ f~l American Friends Service Committee G) EARTHJUSTICE