On Saturday, July 1, 2017 at 4 p.m., family members and supporters of Iraqi immigrant detainees will caravan from Detroit and rally outside of the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio.
The Iraqi detainees were rounded up and arrested on June 11, 2017. Many of those detained are Chaldeans, and all are refugees who have lived in America for decades to escape from genocide and war in Iraq. They became Americans and raised American families. Due to the fact that they would face almost certain death in Iraq, these refugees have never been candidates for deportation - not until now. Not until Trump.
For the Chaldean and other immigrant communities, this is a life-and-death struggle. Increasingly, there is very little difference between a deportation and a death sentence. Syria, Mexico and Iraq had the highest casualties of all nations in 2016, and they show no signs of improvement. Only by building a mass, immigrant rights movement can we stop Trump's assault on immigrant communities," said Shanta Driver, attorney for several of the detainees and National Director of BAMN.
