Ihsan

ACTION ALERT!

TAKE A FEW URGENT STEPS IN THE NEXT 48-72 HOURS to...
STOP THE DETENTION & DEPORTATION OF A WHOLE FAMILY ARRESTED BY IMMIGRATION TUESDAY MORNING AS AN INTIMIDATION TACTIC!

What Happened:
At 5:30am Tuesday morning, January 9^th, upwards of ten ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) violently arrested an entire Pakistani family - all active members of DRUM - from their home in Queens, just hours after a federal court judge sentenced their twenty-four year old son, Matin Siraj, to 30 years in prison for (false) terrorism charges. The family has been in jail in New Jersey since Tuesday. The racist 'War on Terror' is destroying South Asian and Muslim communities and families. The migra is destroying all immigrant communities! We must unite and act to put an end to it!

For more coverage of Siraj Matin's case, read Democracy Now' s interview with the attorney
( http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/10/151203 )

WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO:

WRITE a letter in support of the family addressed to the Hon. Judge Tadal, and FAX it to 718-205-3037
We will collect all letters, and the lawyer will present them to the judge on the day of the hearing. The letters should indicate support for the family, politely request leniency from the judge, and that the family should be "released on their own recognizance or on reasonable bond."

CALL ICE at 973-645-3666 (Deputy Director - Ext.5010, or Supervising Deportation Officer - Ext.5017), or FAX at 973-645-6124 (leave messages if necessary)
1. Demand that the entire Siraj family be released on recognizance or a reasonable bond (ICE officials have stated that that the father was picked up because his asylum case appeal was denied, but in fact his appeal is still pending and the mother & daughter still have not had there day in court on asylum)
2. Demand that ICE, NYPD, and other enforcement agencies stop targeting immigrant communities, in particular Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians

CALL Warden Charlotte Collins at Elizabeth Detention Center at 908-352-3776, Press *2, Press 242# (leave messages if necessary)
1. Demand that Elizabeth Detention Center and ICE officials provide continuing medical care and medication for the mother and father for their ongoing, severe medical conditions
2. Demand that the Siraj family be kept together, and that the family be allowed to visit and see each other in the facility. Currently, the father is unable to see the mother and daughter who are in a separate room
3. Demand that the family be able to directly communicate and visit their son, Matin, who is being held at Metropolitan Detention Center, and both detention facilities pro-actively facilitate direct communication between members of a traumatized family

Support the family by contributing to their legal and support fund
For checks over $50 – tax-deductible – Send checks made out to our fiscal sponsor: The AJ Muste Memorial Institute, and write "DRUM – Siraj Family Fund" on the memo line. For checks under $50 – non-deductible – Make checks out to DRUM. Mail checks to DRUM, PO Box 720187, Jackson Heights, NY 11372

COME show support for the mother & daughter's Bail Bond hearing by demonstrating outside Elizabeth Detention Center before, during & after the hearing
1. The hearing is at 1pm on Tuesday, January 16^th at 625 Evans Street, Elizabeth , NJ 07201
2. DRUM is organizing a bus or vans (with limited seats) to take allies to the detention center: please plan to donate to help cover costs. CALL Kavitha, 718-216-0756, to reserve seats or for day-of info, OR e-mail: fahd@drumnation.org
*We plan to be back in NYC at approximately 3-4pm

Bus Meeting times:

10am at DRUM, 72-26 Broadway, Jackson Heights: EFVGR to Roosevelt; 7 to 74^th St
11am, Midtown: 327 W. 42^nd St between 8^th & 9^th Ave at Burger King

posted by malangbaba at 1/14/2007 01:28:00 PM