Rally for Ravi, and against ICE, at Foley Square
BY TEQUILA MINSKY
Over 150 supporters rallied with
immigrant rights activist Ravi
Ragbir at Foley Square on Jan.
23 before his 9:30 scheduled check-in
with ICE.
Two years ago, what was supposed
to be a standard check-in turned into
something much greater. Ragbir, Executive
Director of the New Sanctuary Coalition,
was detained, fainted, taken by
ambulance to hospital and then flown to
Krone Detention Facility in Miami while
supporters demonstrated, got arrested
and fought his deportation. There is a
stay in place to prevent his deportation,
but he still has to report to ICE, and has
to return on July 23.
Politicians and faith leaders with his
wife accompanied Ragbir into the Federal
Building while supporters circled
the Federal Building and prayed, and
accompanied him when he was released.
Ragbir’s attorney Alina Das responded
to ICE’s claims that his previous detention was for public
safety. “ICE targeted Ravi because he spoke out against
a cruel and unjust system. He is still here because the
public has spoken out for him. We are grateful that Ravi
is still with us, and we will continue to fight to protect
the rights of all immigrants.”
PHOTOS BY TEQUILA MINSKY
Ravi Ragbir returns after checking in with ICE.
Amy Gottlieb, his wife, spoke to supporters after his
check-in. “We are so grateful to have the support of our
legal team, our families, our friends, our elected officials,
our faith leaders, as ICE continues to try to exert power
over our lives. But we know that we will walk out each
time, and that our power as a united community will
overcome injustice and lead us to victory.”
Ragbir received his green card in
1994, but now faces the double punishment
of deportation based on a single
fraud conviction he received almost
twenty years ago. He was given a final
order of deportation in 2007 but was
placed on an order of supervision in
2008, allowing him to live and work in
the U.S. During that time, he became active
in the immigrant rights movement,
and paid the price for that activism when
ICE detained him on Jan. 11, 2018, and
tried to deport him.
A federal appeals court has recognized
that the First Amendment protects immigrants
from retaliation for their protected
political speech and has issued a temporary
stay of Ragbir’s deportation. The government
is deciding whether to appeal the
decision.
“I happen to have the privilege of being
a citizen,” said Public Advocate Jumaane
Williams at the rally. “And everybody who
has privilege has to use that to protect those
who don’t, those who are being abused and oppressed.
That is our duty to stand in the gap. It is our duty to make
sure we are lifting up those who have been oppressed
by a system…. How do you have a life when you have
to check in every six months and you don’t know what’s
going to happen?”
Sign up for low or no-cost health insurance today!
The annual Open Enrollment Period is from November 1, 2019 – January 31, 2020.
GetCoveredNYC is the City of New York’s official
health insurance outreach and enrollment program.
Get free in-person assistance in your language
to help you find and sign up for the
coverage that’s right for you!
Call 311
Text CoveredNYC to 877877
Visit nyc.gov/GetCoveredNYC
Not eligible for insurance? NYC Care
is available in the Bronx. Call 311.
10 January 30, 2020 Schneps Media
/GetCoveredNYC
/GetCoveredNYC
