Four families that have been detained in raids launched by the Department of Homeland Security have had a temporary pause in their deportation. Thanks to the work of allies and lawyers, the 12 people detained so far have avoided deportations that many believe would be a death sentence.
Attorneys for the families have made a case that the families did not receive all of their due process, that they had received ineffective legal counsel, and that several mistakes were made in their legal proceedings. While these four families escaped deportation for now, more than 121 people have already been captured and are awaiting deportation.
DHS quietly announced during the holidays that they would be ushering in the New Year by rounding up and deporting hundreds of children, families and workers, who arrived in the United States fleeing and seeking asylum from the atrocious violence in Central America. Women and children have been the main target of DHS in their hunt of immigrant families.
The first weekend of 2016 saw the implementation of this plan, devised by the Obama administration in response to the growing number of children and families that have been fleeing the extreme violence in the region. There are many immigrant advocate groups that have provided evidence that the deportation of Central American asylum seekers often leads to certain death upon being returned to their home countries.
British newspaper The Guardian confirms this sentiment when it reported late last year that over “83 US deportees … have been murdered on their return to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras since January 2014.”
The Obama administration has deported more families than any other acting president in recent memory.
Last year the U.S. saw a huge spike in arrivals, mostly women and children, from Central America particularly El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The
U.S. responded by attempting to deport these individuals, refusing them the legal right to have their case heard in court, which is blatant illegal. Luckily their deportations were blocked in court and the Obama administration is currently trying to appeal the decision today.
Many of the families that were detained last year were kept in horrible conditions many times without legal counsel, proper medical care, and in unsanitary conditions. Only after a national outcry and demonstrations in solidarity with those detained did the deportations halt, but too many were not so lucky and as a result many were killed shortly after arriving in their home countries.
It has been reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are using deceptive tactics in order to illegally enter into the homes of immigrant families. It has been recommended that families at risk of being detained to not allow agents into their household without a signed warrant.
Earlier this week in the New York City borough of Queens, members of Queens Neighborhood United, Jackson Heights Cop Watch and allies went out on patrol on the lookout for ICE and informing community members of their rights if confronted by ICE agents, the patrols will continue into the week. Members of the NYC branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation also participated in these patrols and are spreading the word throughout the city.
It is no surprise to see that the nations that many of the asylum seekers are fleeing from are the same countries that were targeted by the U.S. government in the 1980s in their hopes of crushing popular uprisings against their brutal right-wing dictatorships. It is also no surprise that when these uprisings were murderously put to a halt many of these same nations became indebted to the world financial institutions through coercive international loans. Today many of the weapons that flood through the streets of Central America are U.S.-manufactured weapons, either those from the dirty wars of the 80s or the U.S.-made weapons funneled in from Mexico in response to the so-called War on Drugs.
In the 1980s the U.S. covertly intervened on behalf of the most brutal dictatorships of Central America in order to “bring peace and prosperity,” where is the promised peace or prosperity? In their attempts to suppress national uprisings against brutal tyranny, the U.S. has plunged the region further into poverty and violence, and that very arrogant and uncaring attitude is reflected in the inhumane way that these families are being treated.
All progressive and revolutionary people should stand with those families in working class solidarity and internationalism in saying ¡YA BASTA! to all deportations and detainments!
