FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
CONTACT: Glory Kilanko, Director & CEO | 404-759-6419
La’Die Mansfield, Regional Organizer | 229-733-9615
Women Watch Afrika, Inc. and Statewide Partners Urge City Council to Protect and Defend Immigrant and Refugee Communities in Clarkston, Georgia
Women Watch Afrika, along with partner organizations such as Kaaley Walaalo, Project South, J20 Coalition, Hello Racism, Black Lives Matter and many more, urged the Clarkston City Council at last Thursday’s Public Safety Meeting to adopt a policy that would prevent local law enforcement from unconstitutionally prolonging the detention of people taken into custody on the sole basis of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer.
On Thursday, Clarkston City Council members promised to vote on the ICE Detainer Policy at this Tuesday’s City Council Meeting. They heard first hand testimony from Clarkston residents and legal counsel of the hardship and mental anguish that recent ICE raids and detainers have caused.
This Public Safety meeting was a result of an organized community call for City Council to vote on the ICE Detainer Policy in response to the new spate of ICE raids, pickups, and arrests of Somali refugees and immigrants in Clarkston over the past few weeks. Those detained included two youth, a father and brother, a woman and four men. All of those detained are Muslim.
It is important to note that refugees and displaced persons are in most cases fleeing conditions caused by American foreign policies in their countries of origin. Shutting the doors on some of the most vulnerable people in the world for the very same reason that they are fleeing their countries and seeking safety is morally wrong and shocking to the whole world. Targeting people based on their religion is wrong and unconstitutional. We must organize to protect and defend our people and our communities. We call on Clarkston City Council to keep its promise and pass the ICE Detainer Policy.
Video of the Clarkston Public Safety Meeting can be found HERE.
Glory Kilanko
Director & CEO
Women Watch Afrika, Inc.
http://www.womenwatchafrika.or g-