December 2nd. More than 100 people packed the meeting room at St. Mathew’s Cathedral for a “listening session” on immigration with D.C. Attorney General Carl Racine. Much of the crowd was made up of undocumented immigrants. WES members, Patti Abshire, Katheryn O’Kester, Ross Wells, and WES supporter, Gabriela Santamaria, listened to testimonials from targeted immigrants and heard some strong commitments from the Attorney General.
Immigrants spoke of their desperate need for legal representation and the breaking up of their families. Some were undocumented parents of citizen children. Others were youths who were born in the U.S. and living under the threat of having their parents and siblings deported for being here “without papers.”
A.G. Racine gave a resounding “Si” to the following WIN “asks.” He will:
- Work with other AB’s to file your own lawsuit and announce it in WIN and Metro IAF
- Make a public commitment to work with WIN on increasing funding for non-profit-low cost legal defense for immigrants.
- Make public comment before 12/10 to be against the broadening of public charge.
Mr. Racine told his personal story of fleeing Haiti at age 3 to “meet” his parents, who had been granted asylum in the U.S. two years earlier. He said that the Trump administration was sowing fear of people with brown skin who are seeking shelter from horrific situations in their home countries. A.G. Racine left no doubt that he will be an outspoken ally of the undocumented and will work for justice for targeted immigrants.
Beginning in January, there will be additional opportunities to support targeted immigrants through WIN. Dates to be announced.
If you would like to received updates on immigration action, please e-mail:
rosswells@starpower.net
WES Immigration Support Team