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News :: Protest Activity
Protest the Dept.of Justice Friday Jan 17
What: Protest against the racist and discriminatory policies of the INS & DOJ
Where: Dept. of Justice Washington DC – 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
When: Friday January 17th, 2003 at 2:00pm
Where: Dept. of Justice Washington DC – 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
When: Friday January 17th, 2003 at 2:00pm
--PRESS RELEASE--
Washington D.C. – On Friday, January 17, 16Azar, a group of local Iranian student activists, will sponsor a protest and demonstration at the Department of Justice in solidarity with the weekend of resistance in D.C. The emphasis will not only be to protest the INS detentions and deportations, but also on the administrations current policies that have violated the civil liberties of numerous immigrant and nonimmigrant communities.
The group opposes the racist and discriminatory policies carried out by the INS, Department of Justice, and local law enforcement agencies against immigrants and people of color. Racial profiling, illegal detainments, humiliating treatment, and denial of constitutional rights are just some of the issues the group will address on the 17th.
The second deadline for the INS “Special Call-in Registration Requirements” has just passed. Men from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen living in the U.S. were required to register (unless they are citizens of the United States, or permanent residents). Men from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, and Syria were required to register by December 16, 2002 and men from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have a February 21st deadline to register.
2500 people were detained after the December 16 deadline, most of which were in the U.S. legally and arrested without appropriate arrest warrants. Many were also denied bail, proper hearing or due process, and have been slated for deportation for non-deportable offences. Most of the arrests were made due to the INS’s own failure to properly process 200,000 change of address cards which are currently sitting in an abandoned mine outside of Kansas City, Missouri.
The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee and other civil rights groups have filed a class action lawsuit against the Department of Justice. The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Immigration Lawyers Association have called for the registration programs to be scrapped. Senators Russel Feingold, Edward Kennedy, and John Conyers have written to Jon Ashcroft to demand that the registration programs be suspended.
16Azar is calling for this demonstration in response to these discriminatory policies all too reminiscent of the treatment of Japanese during World War II. 16Azar is an Iranian student activist organization representing the concerns for human rights and social justice both globally and locally. We oppose the Bush administration’s call for war in Iraq, their support for Sharon’s Palestinian genocide, and backing of their neighboring corrupt elites since they are all barriers to an economically self-sustaining and democratic region. And we recognize the parallels between the struggles of all immigrant communities and people of color. Locally, we can no longer bear the shame of ‘guilt by association’ - being singled out in airports, kicked out of universities, or deported simply because of our physical appearance or ethnicity.
Therefore We Demand:
• Ending the surveillance and persecution of immigrants and people of color in the US regardless of their political beliefs, country of origin, ethnicity, class, or religion and releasing those who were detained on such arbitrary grounds.
• An end to corporate backed foreign fiscal policies that destabilize third world countries ultimately causing massive migration influxes.
• No longer coercing academic institutions to turnover information regarding foreign-born students
The following is a list of co-sponsors and endorsers for the January 17th action; however this list is expected to grow:
Global Exchange
SUSTAIN
Left Turn
University of Maryland Students for Justice in Palestine
Washington D.C. – On Friday, January 17, 16Azar, a group of local Iranian student activists, will sponsor a protest and demonstration at the Department of Justice in solidarity with the weekend of resistance in D.C. The emphasis will not only be to protest the INS detentions and deportations, but also on the administrations current policies that have violated the civil liberties of numerous immigrant and nonimmigrant communities.
The group opposes the racist and discriminatory policies carried out by the INS, Department of Justice, and local law enforcement agencies against immigrants and people of color. Racial profiling, illegal detainments, humiliating treatment, and denial of constitutional rights are just some of the issues the group will address on the 17th.
The second deadline for the INS “Special Call-in Registration Requirements” has just passed. Men from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen living in the U.S. were required to register (unless they are citizens of the United States, or permanent residents). Men from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, and Syria were required to register by December 16, 2002 and men from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have a February 21st deadline to register.
2500 people were detained after the December 16 deadline, most of which were in the U.S. legally and arrested without appropriate arrest warrants. Many were also denied bail, proper hearing or due process, and have been slated for deportation for non-deportable offences. Most of the arrests were made due to the INS’s own failure to properly process 200,000 change of address cards which are currently sitting in an abandoned mine outside of Kansas City, Missouri.
The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee and other civil rights groups have filed a class action lawsuit against the Department of Justice. The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Immigration Lawyers Association have called for the registration programs to be scrapped. Senators Russel Feingold, Edward Kennedy, and John Conyers have written to Jon Ashcroft to demand that the registration programs be suspended.
16Azar is calling for this demonstration in response to these discriminatory policies all too reminiscent of the treatment of Japanese during World War II. 16Azar is an Iranian student activist organization representing the concerns for human rights and social justice both globally and locally. We oppose the Bush administration’s call for war in Iraq, their support for Sharon’s Palestinian genocide, and backing of their neighboring corrupt elites since they are all barriers to an economically self-sustaining and democratic region. And we recognize the parallels between the struggles of all immigrant communities and people of color. Locally, we can no longer bear the shame of ‘guilt by association’ - being singled out in airports, kicked out of universities, or deported simply because of our physical appearance or ethnicity.
Therefore We Demand:
• Ending the surveillance and persecution of immigrants and people of color in the US regardless of their political beliefs, country of origin, ethnicity, class, or religion and releasing those who were detained on such arbitrary grounds.
• An end to corporate backed foreign fiscal policies that destabilize third world countries ultimately causing massive migration influxes.
• No longer coercing academic institutions to turnover information regarding foreign-born students
The following is a list of co-sponsors and endorsers for the January 17th action; however this list is expected to grow:
Global Exchange
SUSTAIN
Left Turn
University of Maryland Students for Justice in Palestine
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