ICE Arrests More U.S. Citizens: Immigration is “Tip of the Spear” for Violating Rights of Americans

Access online version of this press release HERE

Washington, DC — Important investigative reporting from ProPublica, “We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days,” spotlights how Americans’ rights and dignities are among the many harms of this administration’s mass deportation crusade. Among the key findings by ProPublica, who featured several of the stories America’s Voice recently spotlighted in our fact sheet about U.S. citizens’ detentions, include:

• “More than 20 citizens have reported being held for over a day without being able to call their loved ones or a lawyer. In some cases, their families couldn’t find them.”
• “Agents have arrested about 130 Americans, including a dozen elected officials, for allegedly interfering with or assaulting officers, yet those cases were often dropped,” continuing the pattern of this administration’s version of the truth often being more fiction than fact.
• “Among the citizens detained are nearly 20 children, including two with cancer. That includes four who were held for weeks with their undocumented mother and without access to the family’s attorney until a congresswoman intervened.”
• Open admissions of racial profiling: “A top immigration official recently acknowledged agents do consider someone’s looks. ‘How do they look compared to, say, you?’ Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino said to a white reporter in Chicago.”

The following is a statement from Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:

“This administration has made it increasingly clear that ‘the enemy within’ is American citizens exercising their Constitutional rights, along with deeply rooted immigrant families. None of this is about public safety. In fact, it’s about creating division, stoking fear, and perpetuating the illusion of a crisis to justify this administration’s abuse of power and militarization of our communities.

Rather than remain silent or scared, the American people are standing up and pushing back. From across the political spectrum, millions of Americans are coming together to denounce what we’re witnessing every single day. This weekend, across the country, ‘No Kings’ rallies will feature a cross-section of Americans joining in peaceful protest. While the White House is trying to falsely portray this weekend’s rallies, it cannot dismiss the criticism of the many federal judges, retired military voices and even Republican Governors who are criticizing the attempted military deployment in our cities. Or the steady moral compass of Pope Leo and other religious leaders who continue reminding us of the dignity of immigrants and the dangers of nativism. The Trump Administration also cannot pretend it has local support in the face of opposition from state elected leaders such as Illinois Senate Majority Whip Cristina Castro and Oregon State Rep. Ricki Ruiz and Civil Rights organizations like the NAACP.

We should all be energized by the growing chorus of voices speaking out and in favor of an America true to its values and where our leaders seek to unite us, not divide us.”

• Read the ProPublica story, “We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days”
• Access a recording of yesterday’s America’s Voice virtual event, featuring state elected officials from Illinois and Oregon, former ICE Chief of Staff Jason Houser, and NAACP leader Dominik Whitehead. Watch a recording HERE