A Proposal For:
"BETWEEN THE FENCES"
INSIDE AN U.S. IMMIGRATION CAMP
Author: TONY HEFNER
This is the only book ever written about life, death, and abuse inside a U.S. holding facility for illegal aliens. Based on Tony Hefner’s experiences through six years as a camp guard at Bayview, Texas, this story is true. It includes depositions and interviews with many of the victims. After Tony is "black-listed" and loses his job, five more years pass in his struggle to bring the abuses to light. A legal battle ensues. Now, finally, the whole story can be told.
Tony Hefner
P.O. Box 115
Rapid City, Michigan 49676
BETWEEN THE FENCES
BY TONY HEFNER
Overview
Something at the Texas detention camp was terribly wrong, and Tony Hefner knew it. But guards were instructed, time after time, not to speak of anything they witnessed inside the camp. Those who did were replaced.
In the Rio Grande Valley, one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the United States, good jobs are scarce, and the competition for them fierce. The Bayview detention camp paid the best wages for 100 miles. The guards followed orders and kept quiet about the abuse.
Silence was the key that enslaved the victims and locked decency out of the camp.
From the hordes of detainees entering the camp, male immigration officers and guards identified their victims. They intimidated the women—both detainees and other guards—until they got what they wanted. Tony watched as the young, attractive women and even some men, were singled out for the officers’ sexual pleasure. Older women were sometimes preyed upon as well. Male guards were required to keep quiet, take part, or serve the officers in some other way.
Tony, warned to stay out of it, eventually lost his job.
For two years he struggled before winning back his position, and then resolved to gather as much information as possible to help the abused people regain their dignity.
Over the years Tony information network grew as did his notebooks. Guards kept him informed of new developments and often asked for his help when they became victims. The abuse and illegal drug activities continued ...
A suspicious death occurred after an inmate was kicked and was refused medical treatment.
A government cover-up protected a top official from prosecution in Mexico for possession of cocaine. Other officers were found to be peddling marijuana to the detainees.
Civil Rights abuses included random destruction of detainees’ personal property. Tony watched helplessly while INS officers dressed in riot gear slapping black sticks in their hands steal money from detainees’ beds and take away their precious few possessions.
Intimidation and mental abuse were regular practices at the camp.
One detainee who showed serious signs of mental illness was kept naked in a wire-covered isolation cell. The floor lay covered with putrid water and feces. Used paper plates littered the fly infested cage. Instead of getting help for his mental illness, the man was quietly dropped off near the border; presenting a danger to himself and others.
BETWEEN THE FENCES is the first book from an insiders view of the tyranny and corruption in one of the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) Detention Camps. The abuse in this book assaults the senses. No "Whistleblower’s Act" exists inside a detention camp to protect those who speak out.
This shrouded empire is managed by a handful of men who involve enough people in unspeakable activities to weave a protective web of conspiracy around them. Nobody dares talk lest they implicate themselves, or at the very least, lose their job. The web is tightly woven, with involvement at all levels—investigators, attorneys, and local police are involved.
These officers prey upon the very people whom they are sworn to protect. Victims include illegal aliens, children and guards who must submit to every command—including sex on demand.
This book is about men, women, and children caught between the fences with the U.S. government on one side, and security companies on the other. It’s about employees who lost their jobs trying to stop the corruption.
This true story details a litany of complaints that have been heard by Texas Senator Phil Gramm; Attorney General Janet Reno; the FBI; the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and former Texas Governor, Ann Richards.
Between The Fences targets everyone interested in justice—a worldwide market. Immigrants—to this country or another; Civil rights supporters; political activists; Republicans, Democrats; government officials; and anyone who has been detained against their will. A Spanish publication would be well received, because most detainees were Hispanic. A television documentary or feature film is likely.
The number two book on the New York Times best seller’s list is "Sleepers",, written by Lorenzo Curcaterra. Another is "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil", which deals with the mysterious death of a young man in Savannah, Georgia. "The Real War on Crime" "Criminal Justice" is about the legal system vs. individual responsibility.
The Finished Manuscript is 19 chapters, 95,000 word. Photographs and official government letters and depositions are included in a separate folder. A second book will follow.
To promote the Book, Tony Hefner has already appeared on Inside Edition, Univision Portada, Ocurrio Asi Show, Maria Laria Show, Primer Impaco, and the Cristina Show. NBC News Dateline,ABC Primetime Live, 20/20, Geraldo Rivera Show, and Current Affairs, has asked for personal interviews. Tony Hefner has been contacted by the Village Voice, and Associated Press. Mexico City tabloids have made repeated phone calls. Recently, Tony has been contacted by U.S.Congressman Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio. Who also serves on the House Immigration Sub-committee Chairman, asking when the Book will be published?
About the Author: Tony Hefner and his wife started a ranch ministry in Southern Texas in 1981, for local Hispanic children. Tony has worked with children all of his life through boy-scouts, explorers, church Sunday-school activities, and ministries. He is a graduate of Milford, Ohio’s "School of the Scriptures." To support their ministry (The Bearing Precious Seed Ranch) in San Benito, Texas, Tony began working at Bayview Immigration Detention Camp. Their main goal was to teach children to stay off drugs, stay off the streets, and live productive lives. Tony’s income as a guard helped them with their mission.
After beginning his fight for justice, the Hefner’s received numerous death threats, and were eventually forced to leave their beloved Rio Grande Valley. They have since moved to Michigan where Tony writes this documentary.