A JCA Member Posts on Immigrant Rights
BLOOMINGTON -- A few sad remnants of a Minnesota family’s life traumatized by deportation were on display Sept. 29 near the entrance to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Bloomington.
About 30 people attended the news conference near the entrance to the building that houses ICE offices. Several of them signed a letter to the local ICE director requesting a meeting to discuss a moratorium on ICE’s deportation polices.
A child’s stuffed animal, bike and clothing were shown at news conference sponsored by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition (MIRAC) to dramatize a call for a moratorium on deportations until comprehensive immigration reform legislation is passed by Congress. Jewish Community Action of Minnesota is a member of the coalition that sponsored the news conference to also announce a one-day fast for immigrant justice Sept. 30 at the Federal Court House in downtown Minneapolis.
The displayed belongings were reclaimed from a garage by a friend and brought to the news conference. The deported woman was remembered as a Minnesotan who lived here 17 years and was a working journalist with two school age daughters born in this country. She was apprehended by a bounty hunter, jailed for five weeks in Ramsey County before being deported to Guatemala. The children have been reunited with their mother.
“There has been a large increase in workplace and household raids of undocumented immigrants in the past few months,” said Francisco Segovia of the MIRAC. This has caused undocumented people and their families all over the country to live in constant fear of deportation, he added. “This is unjust for when we are close to passing comprehensive legislation that would grant a pathway to citizenship to the same undocumented working immigrants who are the targets of these ICE raids,” Segovia said.
“We need to oppose deportations that split up families and support a just immigration reform. Immigrants are an important part of our communities and deserve basic human rights to live and work without fear,” Segovia said.
MIRAC is a grass roots immigrant rights organization that was founded as part of the immigrant rights protests this year that MIRAC helped organized. MIRAC supports immediate legislation and full equality for all undocumented immigrants in this country and opposes militarization of the border and guest worker programs.
-David Zarkin
About 30 people attended the news conference near the entrance to the building that houses ICE offices. Several of them signed a letter to the local ICE director requesting a meeting to discuss a moratorium on ICE’s deportation polices.
A child’s stuffed animal, bike and clothing were shown at news conference sponsored by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition (MIRAC) to dramatize a call for a moratorium on deportations until comprehensive immigration reform legislation is passed by Congress. Jewish Community Action of Minnesota is a member of the coalition that sponsored the news conference to also announce a one-day fast for immigrant justice Sept. 30 at the Federal Court House in downtown Minneapolis.
The displayed belongings were reclaimed from a garage by a friend and brought to the news conference. The deported woman was remembered as a Minnesotan who lived here 17 years and was a working journalist with two school age daughters born in this country. She was apprehended by a bounty hunter, jailed for five weeks in Ramsey County before being deported to Guatemala. The children have been reunited with their mother.
“There has been a large increase in workplace and household raids of undocumented immigrants in the past few months,” said Francisco Segovia of the MIRAC. This has caused undocumented people and their families all over the country to live in constant fear of deportation, he added. “This is unjust for when we are close to passing comprehensive legislation that would grant a pathway to citizenship to the same undocumented working immigrants who are the targets of these ICE raids,” Segovia said.
“We need to oppose deportations that split up families and support a just immigration reform. Immigrants are an important part of our communities and deserve basic human rights to live and work without fear,” Segovia said.
MIRAC is a grass roots immigrant rights organization that was founded as part of the immigrant rights protests this year that MIRAC helped organized. MIRAC supports immediate legislation and full equality for all undocumented immigrants in this country and opposes militarization of the border and guest worker programs.
-David Zarkin
posted by Jewish Community Action Staff at 12:50 PM
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