Monthly Archives: January 2018

Saturday Jan. 27 in NYC: Velázquez, Crowley Call on ICE to End Target of Immigrant Activists

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1200px-Seal_of_the_United_States_Congress.svgContacts:

**MEDIA ADVISORY**

 SATURDAY: Velázquez, Crowley Call on ICE to End Target of Immigrant Activists

Action Comes After Detainment of High-Profile NYC Community Activist, Ravi Ragbir

 (New York, NY) –On Saturday, January 27th, Reps. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) and Joe Crowley (D-NY), Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, will join Amy Gottlieb, a community leader and wife of detained immigrant rights activist Ravi Ragbir, to denounce the targeting of immigrant activists by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Continue reading →

Press Release: Opposition Grows Against ICE’s Aggressive Targeting of Immigrant Rights Activists

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Community Organizations Across the U.S. Join Together To Condemn the Recent Actions of ICE and Demand the Department of Homeland Security Reverse the Agency’s Unlawful Operations

New York, NY:  Over 1,800 community organizations, immigrant rights groups, faith-based organizations, immigrant rights lawyers, professors, and community supporters from 50 states have submitted a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen condemning the targeting of leaders in the movement for immigrant rights in the United States. The letter calls for the immediate release of Ravi Ragbir and Eliseo Jurado Fernandez from immigration detention, the return of Jean Montrevil from Haiti, and a halt to the effort to deport Maru Mora-Villalpando, all immigrant rights leaders who have been targeted for deportation in recent weeks.

Ravi Ragbir is Executive Director of the New Sanctuary Coalition and was detained by ICE on January 11th. He is currently being held in the Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen, NY. Via phone, Ravi said “The powerful community response has inspired me. It is clear that this energy is not going to go away – we are going to grow and get stronger and continue fighting for fairness and humanity in our immigration policy and we will see a world in which all people are treated with dignity and respect.”

Jean Montrevil is co-founder of the New Sanctuary Coalition. He was arrested by Immigration and Customs officers on January 3rd and deported to Haiti on January 16. Jean stated, “My heart is broken. My family is broken. My kids life will never be the same. It is very sad to watch America moving to this direction. They came for me because I spoke out against injustice and broken immigration laws. Little did they know my supporters will continue to fight even more.”

Maru Mora-Villalpando leads Northwest Detention Center Resistance (NWDCR), a Tacoma organization that advocates for better treatment and conditions for detained immigrants and to stop the deportations that are tearing families apart. From Seattle, Maru said via text message, “I feel overwhelmed with love and support from so many, in so many different places. The reaction from our communities tells me we are in the path of liberation, that we are harvesting what we sow. People agree with us, these attacks are retaliation against our migrant justice work, and it won’t work because we all together will resist and ultimately win.”

Eliseo Jurado is the husband of immigrant rights activist Ingrid Encalada Latorre, who has taken sanctuary in Colorado churches since December 2016. Ingrid has publicly fought her own deportation based on a non-violent criminal offense.

The 1,800 organizations and individuals submitting the letter to DHS call for justice for these immigrant rights leaders, and an end to these practices. As the letter states, “DHS’s effort to silence political opposition through coercive government power sadly echoes some of the most shameful periods in our nation’s history. Our Constitution holds most dear the right of the people to come together and raise their voices in dissent. The viability of our democracy depends on the most robust protections for such dissent.”

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Ravi is back in New York. Now, let’s bring him home!

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unnamed (1)Thanks to your activism and support, Ravi has been transferred back to New York from Florida. He is being detained at Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen, NY.

If you would like to write to him, sending him love & encouragement, address your letter as follows*:

Ravidath RAGBIR (A# 044-248-862)
Orange County Correctional Facility
110 Wells Farm Road
Goshen, NY 10924
*Do not include paperclips or staples with your letter.

Let us celebrate this victory, but dedicate ourselves to bringing him home permanently. Here are actions you can take:

  1. Write letters & Mail postcards to ICE and your elected officials demanding Ravi’s release. You can find postcards & instructions here: bit.ly/ravi-postcards
  2. Continue to call ICE and your elected officials demanding Ravi’s release. There are new phone numbers listed below (you filled up the other mailboxes!).
  3. Keep tweeting & sharing Ravi’s story on social media using #IStandWithRavi. Consider sharing this video or this Op-Ed written by Amy, Ravi’s wife.

To join the mailing list, click here.

To receive text updates, text ISTANDWITHRAVI to 41411unnamed

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Sign On Letter to the Secretary of DHS Condemning the Targeting of Immigrant Rights Leaders & Individuals Associated with the Sanctuary Movement

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[Updated 1/24/18 with names of organizational and individual signers]

Download PDF of letter of letter here.

Kirstjen M. Nielsen                                                                          January 22, 2018
Secretary of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528

Dear Secretary Nielsen,

We are community organizations, immigrant rights groups, faith-based organizations, and immigrant rights lawyers, professors, and activists writing to condemn the Department of Homeland Security’s (“DHS”) recent targeting of leaders of the sanctuary and immigrant rights movement and to call for the immediate release of Ravi Ragbir and Eliseo Jurado, the return of Jean Montrevil, and a halt to the effort to deport Maru Mora-Villalpando. Continue reading →

Detained Immigrant Rights Leader Ravi Ragbir To Be Transferred to a Facility in the New York Region, Community Continues to Demand His Release

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JANUARY 17, 2018

Following massive peaceful demonstrations in New York City protesting the detention of New York-based immigrant rights leader Ravi Ragbir in Krome Detention Facility in Miami, Florida, federal immigration officials agreed today to return Mr. Ragbir to the New York area, where he will remain detained pending the outcome of his legal case.

Mr. Ragbir was detained on January 11, 2018, while reporting to the New York Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Field Office for a routine check-in.  Without notice to his family or his attorneys, Mr. Ragbir was taken to Krome Detention Facility in Miami, Florida late that afternoon. The same day he was detained, Mr. Ragbir’s attorneys at the NYU Immigrant Rights Clinic filed a lawsuit challenging his detention and obtained a federal court order issuing a temporary stay of deportation and preventing the government from transferring him outside of the New York area pending consideration of his case. ICE refused to bring him back, and a hearing was held on January 16, 2018, to determine whether ICE must be ordered to comply with the decision. At the hearing, the judge urged the government to consider returning Mr. Ragbir to a detention center closer to his family and counsel.

On January 17, 2018, counsel for ICE wrote to the court stating that they would exercise discretion to bring Mr. Ragbir back to the New York area. Another hearing on the lawfulness of detention is scheduled for the end of January.

“The last five days have been a nightmare for me,” said Amy Gottlieb, wife of Mr. Ragbir. “The government took my husband away from me and for a time no one would tell me where he was. When we learned he was taken to an immigration prison over a thousand miles away, I was both heartbroken and outraged. They never should have taken him away from his community in the first place, and I will not rest until he is free.”

Mr. Ragbir is the Executive Director of the New Sanctuary Coalition, a faith-based coalition devoted to immigrant rights. He is one of several immigrant rights leaders who have been targeted for deportation by ICE in recent days.  Jean Montrevil, a co-founder of the New Sanctuary Coalition, was deported to Haiti on Tuesday, January 16, 2018.

“We will call for action in our places of worship, in the streets, and in the courts until we receive justice for Ravi, Jean, and all others who face this inhumane system,” said New Sanctuary Coalition Co-Chair Rev. Kaji Dousa, Senior Pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church. “As people of faith, we must stand united against the targeting of our immigrant rights leaders.”

The New Sanctuary Coalition will be holding its weekly Jericho Walk at 26 Federal Plaza on Thursday January 18, 2018, at 11am, and at 201 Varick Street at 5pm, in support of justice for all immigrants, including Mr. Ragbir and Mr. Montrevil.

Ravi’s Letter From an Immigration Jail

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Ravi Ragbir dictated the following to Rhiya Trivedi:

I’m doing ok. It was a wild and crazy ride. Every moment was uncertain except the certainty that they wanted me gone. I’m still here because of all of you. Thank you.

I miss everyone. I feel very heartbroken to see how many of you are suffering for me; how people were abused during the process. I feel heartbroken that care for someone evokes violence.

I want everyone to stand strong. At the moment, we need to speak about changing the system so that no one has to face this type of harm. Not just for me but for all the families who face being torn apart.

Until we get reform, we need to repeal the act that criminalizes immigrants – that makes us less than human because of a document.

I call upon immigrants: if you need help, reach out the New Sanctuary Coalition and they will fight for you as they do for me. I call upon citizens to answer the call for immigrants who are afraid and who need help standing up. Please accompany them at every step.

I know that I will see you soon.

Remarks by Rev. Kaji Douša at 1/15 Press Conference

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The Rev. Kaji Douša is Senior Minister of Park Avenue Christian Church:

It used to be that I spent my days commemorating Dr. King’s birth on the path of least resistance: participating in interfaith park cleanups and the like. This felt safest to organizers. 50 years after Dr. King was murdered, we understand that the safe road is no longer viable. We understand that we indeed must resist. My grandfather stood shoulder to shoulder with Dr. King, stood on the dais for the March on Washington. My mother dodged bullets with King in rural Mississippi. The work of the activist is, unfortunately but necessarily dangerous. Continue reading →

Press Release: Two hundred, including Faith leaders and Elected Officials, Gather in Solidarity for Release of Immigrant Rights Leaders Ravi Ragbir and Jean Montrevil on MLK Day

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New York, NY: [Hundreds] gathered at a vigil in Washington Square Park and Judson Memorial Church to show solidarity with all those affected by the deportation machine, including immigrant rights leaders Ravi Ragbir and Jean Montrevil. Mr. Ragbir is the Executive Director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, and Jean Montrevil is one of its founders. Mr. Ragbir was detained on Thursday January 11, one week after ICE detained Mr. Montrevil. Today, faith leaders, elected officials, and immigration and legal advocates gathered in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to condemn the institutional oppression of marginalized communities and held a “Jericho Walk” in Washington Square Park, around Ai Wei Wei’s “Arch” migration sculpture.

New Sanctuary Coalition and Judson Memorial Church just became aware this morning that Jean Montrevil’s final appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) was denied on January 12. We believe he may be deported to Haiti imminently. We were not informed of the BIA decision directly, but encountered it by chance on the BIA website today. Mr. Montrevil’s lawyer has filed a petition for review (appeal) with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. His legal team has reason to believe that an official from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New York inappropriately influenced the timing of this decision, if not the outcome of the decision itself and that this interference was improper. His lawyer is also filing an emergency motion for stay in the same court, as well as with the Federal District Court.

For press photos and video, please visit: http://bit.ly/mlk-day-ragbir-montrevil

Amy Gottlieb, Mr. Ragbir’s wife and Associate Director at the American Friends Service Committee, said, “After seeing my husband through a plexiglass window at Krome Detention Center yesterday, I felt inspired as I walked out of the visitation room by his willingness to continue fighting against injustice. As I feel the trauma and violence of having Ravi torn away from me, and see that this is retaliation against him and others around the country, I share his commitment to keep up the struggle and win.”

Janay Cauthen, Mr. Montrevil’s former wife and mother of his children, said, “ICE abruptly and unnecessarily took Jean away from his family without warning. Antoine, Janiah, Jahsiah & Jamya deserve to have their dad with them NOW! Bring Jean Home Now! Jean should not continue to be dehumanized by unjust immigration laws. Why must ICE punish him over and over for something that happened almost 3 decades ago for which he already served his sentence?”

Rev. Kaji Douša, Co-Chair of the New Sanctuary Coalition and Senior Minister, Park Avenue Christian Church, said, “Deportation is an act of evil perpetrated by our government, primarily against people who come from the countries that the President has so shamelessly recently disparaged. Mass detention and deportation may be presented as inevitable, but in truth it is the result of choice. Our activism is all about igniting and inspiring different choices. We choose justice over unjust laws. We choose humans over the mechanisms of evil. God is watching and so are we. We are joined in solidarity to ensure the government makes the right choice.”

Donna Schaper, Senior Minister, Judson Memorial Church, said, “We now have reason to believe that Jean will be deported tomorrow, having abruptly and mysteriously lost his Board of Immigration Appeals case. We are looking into the possibility of undue and inappropriate influence by ICE in this decision. Pray with me that ICE will find a way to do the right thing and keep Jean with his congregation and his children.”

Alina Das, Co-Director of the NYU Immigrant Rights Clinic and counsel to Mr. Ragbir, said, “People of conscience should be deeply disturbed by the targeting of immigrant rights leaders like Ravi Ragbir and Jean Montrevil. While we challenge the government’s unlawful actions in the courts, the most important struggle is the one that Ravi and Jean have championed themselves—bringing communities together to support the rights of all people living in this country.”

Sara Gozalo, Supervising Coordinator at the New Sanctuary Coalition, said, “Ravi and Jean represent what the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency fear most, leaders who refuse to live in the shadows and continue to shed a bright light into their injustice and racism. The intimidating and oppressing tactics of ICE will not deter the New Sanctuary Coalition’s staff, our immigrant community, our faith leaders nor our volunteers from our unapologetic efforts to stop detentions and deportations. The New Sanctuary Coalition  stands publicly in solidarity with families and communities resisting detention and deportation.”

New York City Councilmember, Jumaane Williams, one of the 18 arrested on Thursday January 11 after ICE arrested Ravi, said, “Trump’s recent comments have made clear what we’ve always known—he opposes all immigrants from black and brown countries. The detaining of Jean Montrevil and Ravi Ragbir by Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency stands as a human example of this attitude. Those that find the President’s words, and the views that portray, abhorrent should take a stand. Not to do so is to tacitly condone the overt racism of the President of the United States. “

Ben Ndugga-Kabuye of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), said, “Jean Montrevil and Ravi Ragbir represent thousands every day whose human rights are taken by the largest immigration detention system in the world. Respecting and expanding the rights of immigrants is the first step towards justice and we join hands with all who commit to this journey.”

To learn more about Mr. Ragbir’s story and advocacy,  visit ravidefense.wordpress.com/ and listen to the Indefensible Podcast here: immdefense.org/indefensible-episode-5/

To learn more about Mr. Montrevil’s story and advocacy, visit: bit.ly/freejeannow

www.democracynow.org/2017/7/19/activist_father_of_four_faces_deportation

To join the conversation on social media, please use hashtags #IStandwithRavi
and #FreeJeanNow.

 

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Mon. 1/15 in NYC: MLK Solidarity Day for the Release of Immigrant Rights Leaders Ravi Ragbir and Jean Montrevil

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US-ART-CHINA-AI WEIWEI

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

 MLK SOLIDARITY DAY FOR THE RELEASE OF IMMIGRANT RIGHTS LEADERS RAVI RAGBIR AND JEAN MONTREVIL

 Vigil to Be Held at Washington Square Park

Press Conference to Follow at Judson Memorial Church

WHAT: Rally to call for the immediate release of immigrant rights leaders, Ravi Ragbir, Executive Director of New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, and Co-Founder Jean Montrevil. Mr. Ragbir was detained on Thursday while reporting to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for a routine check-in. Mr. Ragbir’s detention comes just one week after ICE detained Jean Montrevil, another immigrant rights leader.

In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., faith leaders, elected officials, and immigration and legal advocates will come together to condemn the institutional oppression of marginalized communities and hold a “Jericho Walk” in Washington Square Park, around Ai Wei Wei’s “Arch” migration sculpture. A press conference will be held following the vigil to call for Mr. Montrevil and Mr. Ragbir’s release, and to honor the 18 people who were arrested putting their bodies on the line in the tradition of peaceful civil disobedience in defense of Mr. Ragbir.

In the face of Trump’s unprecedented assault on immigrant communities and blatant racism, the fight for the rights and dignity of immigrants is more important than ever.  Trump’s recent disparaging remarks about immigrants from Caribbean, Central American, and African countries highlight the critical need for continued resistance and unity.

SPEAKERS: New York City Councilmembers Jumaane Williams and Ydanis Rodriguez, who were among the 18 people arrested in an act of civil disobedience during Thursday’s solidarity vigil; Rev. Kaji Douša, whose grandfather stood with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial; Rev. Donna Schaper, civil rights leader and senior minister at Judson Memorial Church; Alina Das, Professor at New York School of Law and legal counsel to Ravi Ragbir; and loved ones of Jean and Ravi.

WHERE: Washington Square Arch & Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square S, New York, NY 10012 

WHEN: Monday, January 15

Media are also invited earlier events at the church the same day:

To join the conversation on social, please use hashtags #IStandwithRavi and #FreeJeanNow.

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