Protesters target excessive phone rates for immigrant detainees

The phone rates for calls made from detention centers are a cash cow for the facilities, and a hindrance for detainees to connect with the outside world -- with lawyers as well as family members and social supports.  “Fifty dollars gets about 15 minutes of actual talk time,” said Roberto dela Rosa, whose mother is currently being held at the West County Detention Facility in Richmond. Dropped calls and reconnection fees raise the cost of a single conversation to that of a monthly phone bill.  Activists, former inmates and family members gathered last Friday outside the prison, carrying signs that read, “Detained mothers have the right to call home.”  Read more on Richmond Pulse.