[Pnews] Rally at Northwest Detention Center Saturday, April 5th - Not 1More Deportation

[Prisoner News]

April 1, 2014

On April 5th, Puget Sound to Rally on National Day of Action

for Deportation Relief from President Obama and in Support of the Human 
Rights Leaders in the Northwest Detention Center

As Administration Nears Two Million Deportations,

Groups Say "Not One More," Urge White House Action

What: Rally, Workshops and March in Support of Human Rights Leaders in 
Detention and the National Campaign to Stop Deportations

When: April 5, Noon to 5

Where: The Northwest Detention Center

Who: Speakers include Families of Human Rights Leaders; Jose Moreno, 
hunger striker who has been released; Maru Mora Villalpando, Sandy 
Restrepo, Carino Barragan and Angelica Chazaro, leaders of the Feb. 24th 
action and strike support efforts

Visuals: Many artistically done banners and homemade signs in English 
and Spanish that say You are not alone; Not1More Deportation; Deferred 
Action for All; 2 Million 2 Many. Several hundred people gathered making 
enough noise to be heard by those held in the immigration prison.

As part of the national #Not1more Deportation campaign and in support of 
those held inside the Northwest Detention Center on strike and in 
solitary confinement, several hundred people will gather outside the 
Northwest Detention Center for an afternoon of protest and education 
about the conditions inside, how the current immigration practices are 
tearing apart families and destroying communities; and what the Obama 
administration can do to end the destruction.

The protest is prompted by the record deportations under the Obama 
administration which are anticipated to hit the milestone of two million 
removals since he took office. They say their families can't wait for 
relief and that the President doesn't have to wait for Congress or a 
review to use his executive authority to stop the suffering. He could 
expand the deferred action program he created for immigrant youth and 
suspend deportations immediately. The Blue Ribbon Commission 
Recommendations to the President will be unveiled. It is expected to 
outline eight steps that the President can take right now.

"We don't need a review, we need the President to stop separating our 
families" explains Maru Mora Villalpando, one of the national report's 
authors and event organizers. "If he feels our pain, he can give us 
relief with the stroke of a pen." Mora-Villalpando, a successful 
political strategist and consultant, came out as undocumented when she 
took to the streets on Feb. 24th to stop the deportation buses. The 25 
men locked in the immigration jail stated in their March 6 Call for 
Action: "Today we join ourselves to that effort and demand that the 
Federal Executive (Mr. President Barack Obama), use his presidential 
authority and order a total stop to the unjust deportations that are 
separating families, destroying homes, and bringing uncertainty, 
insecurity and unhappy futures to our children, our loved ones. We are 
being treated like the worst criminals, our freedom is limited in the 
name of laws that have no moral basis and that were in turn created 
during a moment of terror and confusion."

The organizers cite the Secure Communities (S-Comm) deportation quota 
program, first activated in parts of Washington State in April of 2012, 
as an engine behind separating local families who could benefit from 
reform. Since its activation, S-Comm deported more than 2,600 Washington 
State residents.

Several months ago the four organizers came together to explore ways to 
dramatize the need for reform. They invited a small group of immigration 
activists to join the planning and in the early morning hours of Feb. 
24th that blocked the buses and vans leaving the Northwest Detention 
Center, preventing the deportation of 120 people that day. Inspired by 
this expression of care, those held in the detention center decided to 
advocate for themselves and their families through a hunger strike. They 
begin it on Friday, March 7 and it continues. The Feb. 24th group with 
many new supporters have rallied around the human rights leaders inside 
the immigration prison and have a daily presence at the once ignored 
facility.

Retaliation was swift and both overt and subtle. Yet, the strike 
continues for an end to deportations and the separation of families, 
reasonable bonds, wholesome food, fair pay and respectful treatment. 
Their strike has received substantial local and even national coverage 
and sparked protests in Oregon, New York and Florida.

To stop deportations and immigration prisons, groups across the country 
are making April 5th a national day of action under the banner "Two 
Million Too Many," saying that the President's approach on immigration 
needs to change.

More information on activities across the nation can be found at: 
http://bit.ly/april5n1m and by following #not1more and #2million2many

###

Petition on behalf of Hunger Strikers and latest releases available at: 
www.notonemoredeportation.com/2014/03/10/detention-hunger-strike/ 
<http://www.notonemoredeportation.com/2014/03/10/detention-hunger-strike/>


Jolinda Stephens
jolindast at gmail.com <mailto:jolindast at gmail.com>

we came whirling
out of nothingness
scattering stars
like dust

the stars made a circle
and in the middle
we dance

Jalal ad-Din Rumi




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Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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