Eli to be Freed! Time to March on ICE!
Posted Thu, 11/08/2018 - 5:21pm
Just a few days ago, we launched a campaign to #FreeEli, a young farmworker and Migrant Justice member who was profiled and arrested by Border Patrol at a gas station near his farm. Eli was detained despite the fact that he had already been released by an immigration judge and had his case closed! Meanwhile, his friend -- who possesses a valid visa -- was detained for hours without cause and threatened with deportation himself.
The response was overwhelming: nearly 1,300 of you wrote letters to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) denouncing this unconscionable abuse of power and demanding freedom for Eli. Fellow farmworkers shared photos supporting Eli's release. And the pressure worked: ICE will release Eli -- at this time tomorrow he should be home with his family and community!
As we celebrate this victory, we need to escalate our resistance to the deepening crisis of mass deportation. ICE and Border Patrol continue to terrorize immigrant communities; in Vermont, every week sees another immigrant farmworker detained -- at the store, in the street, or on the farm -- and thrown into deportation. Migrant Justice members like Eli have been especially targeted. The persecution of immigrants must end!
See you in the streets!
p.s. The immigration judge who heard Eli's case today ordered his bond dropped from $14,000 to the lowest possible amount allowed by law: $1,500. Thanks to the Vermont Freedom Bail Fund for posting Eli's bond!