Please read this post if you care about what's happening to detained travelers right now. Per Mitch Ryan -- a friend working with Stephen Rooke and Stef Coyle at JFK -- says CBP agents are putting travelers (mothers, students) back on planes in defiance of the court's stay. Mitch's report is stunning.
From Mitch Ryan:
"Hi everyone,
I just returned from JFK and want to give everyone an update on the current situation before I crash.
i.) There is still a decent number of individuals with valid visas being detained by CBP -- although they refuse to tell us how many are detained or who they are. More are expected to be detained as flights begin coming in this morning and throughout the day.
So many of these stories are both heartbreaking and enraging. Yesterday I worked with an individual who had emigrated from one of the banned countries a decade ago and has served in the U.S. military for several years (and is still active duty now). His elderly mother was finally approved for permanent legal resident status, and he flew to New York to meet her when her plane landed in America. But he has not seen her. Instead, she has been detained and told she will be sent back to her country. The court order stopped her from being put on a flight back to the Middle East last night, but her situation is still very much up in the air.
Let that sink in. This person has given years of service to our country, and his own mother is being detained and turned away from the country he has fought for. Even though the United States has already approved her visa.
ii.) Unfortunately, U.S. Customers and Border Protection is frequently ignoring the federal injunction staying deportation of the detainees. There are a number of detainees who have been told they will be put on flights this morning to depart the United States.
And last night, after earlier assurances from the Terminal 7 CBP supervisor that he had personally read Judge Donnelly’s order and that CBP would ensure that they complied with it, Terminal 7 CBP forced a PhD student from a NYC college who was legally present in the U.S. with a valid F-1 Visa to board a midnight flight to Ukraine against her will. Thanks to some miraculous emergency lawyering by a team that leapt into action, they were able to compel the plane to abort its takeoff while on the tarmac and return to the gate to allow the student to de-plane into CBP’s custody. She is now back in detention at JFK; given CBP's prior conduct, it's anyone's guess for how long.
iii.) All yesterday and throughout last night, CBP officers have been pressuring detainees, for many of whom writs of habeas corpus have already been submitted, to sign documents abandoning their attempts for admission to the U.S. without allowing the detainees to speak to their attorneys. This is completely unacceptable.
------------
Unfortunately folks, this battle is just starting. It is not going to be easy, and it is not going to be quick. A huge thank you to so many of you across the country who have already answered the call for attorneys, including Stef Coyle, Stephen Rooke, Leah Casto, Caitlin Annatoyn, and anyone else I missed or who is signed up to do so soon.
For anyone looking for ways you can help further, here are a couple suggestions:
1.) If you are an attorney near an airport with detainees and you are able to assist, please sign up with IRAP to volunteer (let me know if you need the link). Anyone who can speak Arabic or Farsi would be incredibly helpful, but no language skills are necessary at all. If you are in NYC and are admitted to EDNY, that would also be very helpful. If you have immigration experience, that would be super helpful (but again, not necessary).
If you do join, please be sure to bring your computer, a charger, and a power strip (if possible) with you.
2.) Many people have already mentioned this, but IRAP and the ACLU (along with countless other organizations) have done absolutely miraculous work over the past 24 hours spearheading the on-the-ground efforts at airports across the country. They are fighting tooth and nail for these detainees. They are fighting for all of us who believe that this nation of immigrants is better because of it. There will be many more detainees to come, and their detention at the airport is just the first step. These organizations need whatever support you can offer.
IRAP: https://refugeerights.org/donate
ACLU: https://action.aclu.org/secure/donate-to-aclu
3.) Please call your elected representatives and any other officials who have not spoken out forcefully against the implementation of this executive order. Detaining and denying entry to individuals who hold valid immigration visas, all of whom have been thoroughly vetted and many of whom have already made lives here for years, should never, ever, ever be a partisan issue. Nor should CBP's failure to comply with the federal court order staying deportations.
4.) Please keep speaking out publicly and on social media. If there are marches forming today, please consider attending; if there is not one near you, consider starting your own.
We cannot relent or become complacent in the days to come. Right now there are many detainees and their families and friends who are sleeping in American airports waiting for loved ones who may never come. Your public support for these detainees is invaluable, greatly needed, and greatly appreciated."
From Mitch Ryan:
"Hi everyone,
I just returned from JFK and want to give everyone an update on the current situation before I crash.
i.) There is still a decent number of individuals with valid visas being detained by CBP -- although they refuse to tell us how many are detained or who they are. More are expected to be detained as flights begin coming in this morning and throughout the day.
So many of these stories are both heartbreaking and enraging. Yesterday I worked with an individual who had emigrated from one of the banned countries a decade ago and has served in the U.S. military for several years (and is still active duty now). His elderly mother was finally approved for permanent legal resident status, and he flew to New York to meet her when her plane landed in America. But he has not seen her. Instead, she has been detained and told she will be sent back to her country. The court order stopped her from being put on a flight back to the Middle East last night, but her situation is still very much up in the air.
Let that sink in. This person has given years of service to our country, and his own mother is being detained and turned away from the country he has fought for. Even though the United States has already approved her visa.
ii.) Unfortunately, U.S. Customers and Border Protection is frequently ignoring the federal injunction staying deportation of the detainees. There are a number of detainees who have been told they will be put on flights this morning to depart the United States.
And last night, after earlier assurances from the Terminal 7 CBP supervisor that he had personally read Judge Donnelly’s order and that CBP would ensure that they complied with it, Terminal 7 CBP forced a PhD student from a NYC college who was legally present in the U.S. with a valid F-1 Visa to board a midnight flight to Ukraine against her will. Thanks to some miraculous emergency lawyering by a team that leapt into action, they were able to compel the plane to abort its takeoff while on the tarmac and return to the gate to allow the student to de-plane into CBP’s custody. She is now back in detention at JFK; given CBP's prior conduct, it's anyone's guess for how long.
iii.) All yesterday and throughout last night, CBP officers have been pressuring detainees, for many of whom writs of habeas corpus have already been submitted, to sign documents abandoning their attempts for admission to the U.S. without allowing the detainees to speak to their attorneys. This is completely unacceptable.
------------
Unfortunately folks, this battle is just starting. It is not going to be easy, and it is not going to be quick. A huge thank you to so many of you across the country who have already answered the call for attorneys, including Stef Coyle, Stephen Rooke, Leah Casto, Caitlin Annatoyn, and anyone else I missed or who is signed up to do so soon.
For anyone looking for ways you can help further, here are a couple suggestions:
1.) If you are an attorney near an airport with detainees and you are able to assist, please sign up with IRAP to volunteer (let me know if you need the link). Anyone who can speak Arabic or Farsi would be incredibly helpful, but no language skills are necessary at all. If you are in NYC and are admitted to EDNY, that would also be very helpful. If you have immigration experience, that would be super helpful (but again, not necessary).
If you do join, please be sure to bring your computer, a charger, and a power strip (if possible) with you.
2.) Many people have already mentioned this, but IRAP and the ACLU (along with countless other organizations) have done absolutely miraculous work over the past 24 hours spearheading the on-the-ground efforts at airports across the country. They are fighting tooth and nail for these detainees. They are fighting for all of us who believe that this nation of immigrants is better because of it. There will be many more detainees to come, and their detention at the airport is just the first step. These organizations need whatever support you can offer.
IRAP: https://refugeerights.org/donate
ACLU: https://action.aclu.org/secure/donate-to-aclu
3.) Please call your elected representatives and any other officials who have not spoken out forcefully against the implementation of this executive order. Detaining and denying entry to individuals who hold valid immigration visas, all of whom have been thoroughly vetted and many of whom have already made lives here for years, should never, ever, ever be a partisan issue. Nor should CBP's failure to comply with the federal court order staying deportations.
4.) Please keep speaking out publicly and on social media. If there are marches forming today, please consider attending; if there is not one near you, consider starting your own.
We cannot relent or become complacent in the days to come. Right now there are many detainees and their families and friends who are sleeping in American airports waiting for loved ones who may never come. Your public support for these detainees is invaluable, greatly needed, and greatly appreciated."
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