For Immediate Release

***Media Advisory***

(New York, NY) On Thursday, October 25, the New Sanctuary Coalition and NYU Immigrant Rights Clinic will hold a teach-in about the First Amendment rights of immigrants who speak out against the injustices and inhumanity of our immigration system.

Hosted at a Brooklyn church founded as a “temple of abolition” against slavery, the teach-in will be held in anticipation of an upcoming First Amendment case, Ragbir v. Homan, that will be heard in the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit early next week. The plaintiffs of Ragbir v. Homan seek, among other things, a court order restraining the government from deporting and otherwise targeting immigrant activists based on their protected political speech.

Thursday’s teach-in will unpack immigrants’ constitutional right to free speech, even as the government lashes out against immigrant rights leaders and activists.

Ragbir v. Homan was filed by nationally recognized immigrant rights activist Ravi Ragbir, along with immigrant rights organizations New Sanctuary Coalition, CASA, Detention Watch Network, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and the New York Immigration Coalition (the “plaintiffs”).

Who: Speakers will include Congresswoman Yvette Clarke; Rev. Kaji Douša, Senior Pastor at The Park Avenue Christian Church; Ravi Ragbir, Executive Director of New Sanctuary Coalition; Ramya Krishnan, Staff Attorney at The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University; and William Perdue, Associate at Arnold & Porter. The teach-in will be followed by a Know Your Rights training for activists and public art program.

What: A First Amendment Teach-in, held in anticipation of a court hearing  about whether the government can retaliate by detaining and deporting people who speak out against immigration policies.

When: Thursday, October 25, 6:00PM – 9:00PM

Where: Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, a church founded as a temple of abolition in the 1850’s. 85 S. Oxford St, Brooklyn, NY 11217