This petition is jointly organized by Sanctuary DMV, the DMV Sanctuary Congregation Network, and LA RED/Faith in Action. Prince Gbohoutou of New Carrollton, MD is an asylum seeker from the Central African Republic (C.A.R.) who has been living in the U.S. for the past 12 years since he was brought here as a 14-year-old, is DACA-eligible, is married to a U.S. citizen, and has built a career as an artist. Prince was detained by ICE when he voluntarily appeared for his check-in on April 19, with his wife and two Sanctuary DMV accompaniers. On Thursday, May 24, two Baltimore ICE agents - without notifying Prince, his attorney, or his wife - took Prince from the Maryland jail where he was being held to their main office in Baltimore. They placed Prince in five-point shackles and drove him to JFK airport in New York. ICE planned to put him on a 9pm flight to Morocco on the way to the C.A.R. Prince repeatedly expressed his fear of returning to C.A.R., the country from which his deceased father had sought asylum and where his mother had been murdered by government officials. At JFK, the two Baltimore ICE agents who had driven Prince from Maryland called four to five additional agents to forcibly remove Prince from the van and into the airport. ICE agents beat his legs with nightsticks when he did not exit the vehicle. At the plane, Prince again expressed his fear to return to C.A.R. and the flight’s captain told ICE he would not take Prince on his plane. Thanks to Prince’s courageous actions and the captain’s refusal to be complicit in a deportation, Prince remains in the United States for now, where he can pursue his green card application through his United States citizen wife. Upon leaving the airport, ICE officers drove Prince back to Maryland, with one of the officers threatening that he would get no visits and no phone calls as a result of his actions. He was taken to the Frederick County Adult Detention Center (back in the jurisdiction of the Baltimore ICE field office), where he is being held now. Prince’s wife Shaniece and one of our organizers visited Prince at the jail on May 25, the day after his ordeal at JFK, and witnessed multiple bruises on both shins. Prince said he now has a minor limp as a result of his treatment as well. We’re outraged by the treatment of Prince and are deeply concerned about ICE retaliation against Prince for bravely asserting his fear of return even in the face of imminent deportation. We are requesting Prince’s immediate release, for his assault to be immediately investigated, and for the officers involved and their supervisors to be held accountable. ***** Con atencion a Dorothy Herrera-Niles, Directora de la Oficina de ICE de Baltimore Solicitamos la liberación inmediata del Sr. Prince Gbohoutou de la custodia del ICE. También solicitamos una investigación sobre los eventos del 24 de mayo, cuando oficiales de ICE golpearon al Sr. Gbohoutou mientras lo forzaban a tomar un avión para deportarlo (sin haber notificado a su abogado ni a su esposa). Los oficiales involucrados y sus supervisores deben ser considerados responsables de este abuso físico. Antecedentes: Prince Gbohoutou de New Carrollton, MD es un solicitante de asilo de la República Centroafricana (C.A.R.) que ha vivido en los EE. UU. durante los últimos 12 años desde que fue traído aquí cuando tenía 14 años de edad, es elegible para DACA, esta casado con una ciudadana estadounidense, y ha construido una carrera como artista. Prince fue detenido por ICE cuando se presentó voluntariamente para su registro el 19 de abril, con su esposa y dos acompañantes de Sanctuary DMV. El jueves 24 de mayo, dos agentes de ICE de Baltimore -sin notificar a Prince, su abogado o su esposa- lo sacaron de la cárcel de Maryland donde lo tenían detenido a la oficina principal de Baltimore. Le pusieron grilletes y lo llevaron al aeropuerto JFK en Nueva York. ICE planeó embarcarlo en un vuelo de las 9pm a Marruecos en camino a C.A.R. Prince expresó reiteradamente su temor a regresar a C.A.R., país del cual su padre ya fallecido había solicitado asilo y donde su madre fue asesinada por funcionarios del gobierno. En el aeropuerto JFK, los dos agentes de ICE de Baltimore que habían conducido a Prince desde Maryland llamaron de cuatro a cinco agentes adicionales para sacar a Prince por la fuerza de la furgoneta y llevarlo al aeropuerto. Los agentes de ICE lo golpearon en las piernas al negarse a salir del vehículo. En el avión, Prince nuevamente expresó su temor de regresar a C.A.R. y el capitán del vuelo le dijo a los agentes de ICE que no llevaria a Prince en su avión. Gracias a las valientes acciones de Prince y al rechazo del capitán a ser cómplice de una deportación, ICE se vio obligado a abandonar su intento de deportarlo. Lo condujeron de regreso a Maryland, con uno de los oficiales amenazandolo con no poder recibir visitas ni llamadas telefónicas como resultado de sus acciones. Fue llevado al Centro de Detención para Adultos del Condado de Frederick (de regreso en la jurisdicción de la oficina de campo del Baltimore ICE), donde se encuentra recluido hasta ahora. La esposa de Prince, Shaniece y uno de nuestras organizadoras visitaron a Prince en la cárcel el 25 de mayo, un día después de su calvario en el aeropuerto JFK, y presenciaron múltiples hematomas en ambas espinillas. Prince dijo que ahora también tiene una cojera menor como resultado de este trato. Estamos indignados por el trato a Prince y estamos profundamente preocupados por la represalia de ICE contra Prince por negarse a abordar el avión. Estamos solicitando la liberación inmediata de Prince, que se investigue inmediatamente su agresión y que los oficiales involucrados y sus supervisores rindan cuentas.

ICE is separating children from their mothers at the border, and have "lost track of" up to 1500 child migrants. The fact that this is happening goes so far beyond the bounds of human decency that it is intolerable to anyone with a shred of morality.

I understand we've had issues with immigration, but listening and reading about mothers and fathers being separated from their children is gut-wrenching and a heartless practice. I sincerely don't recognize our country. It has become a divisive tactic by our President.

I am a kindergarten teacher. This could permanently traumatize the babies and children. This is being used to punish immigrants which is what our country was built on. So sad.

I've heard from community members and activists about how this sheriff has defied SB54, declaring California a sanctuary state, by publishing the identifying information and discharge dates so that ICE can intervene before immigrants are released and start deporting them. He called the appointment of Judge Diana Becton, a woman of color, to the position of Acting District Attorney, "appointing her would be a slap in the face of law enforcement.' He has also banned CIVIC, a volunteer organization working in the ICE detention center, from their work in the jail, in retaliation for their reporting of abuse and medical neglect. He is running unopposed, largely because he intimidates potential opponents. Let's send a signal about our concern and opposition: Write in NO CONFIDENCE for Sheriff on June 5th.

Almost 12,000 spouses of active duty, reserve, and veteran military personnel are currently in deportation proceedings. Many of them have U.S. citizen children. We should not be tearing these families apart. H.R. 5593, the Patriot Spouses Protection Act, recently introduced in the House of Representatives, would enable these families to stay together.

Indianapolis has a history of welcoming anyone who comes into our beautiful city. It is time that we shut the door on ICE and continue that heritage of welcome by welcoming our immigrant brothers and sisters.

Karla came to the United States from Mexico right before her third birthday. She used to be ashamed and afraid of being undocumented. But everything changed in November 2012 when she was able to obtain Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Because of DACA, Karla was able to work as an intern at the University of Houston Law Center Immigration Clinic, where she began to champion her fellow immigrants by organizing DACA clinics, participating in actions, and organizing legislative campaigns to protect undocumented students just like her. This month, Karla graduated from law school and will continue to be a champion for immigrants as an immigration attorney. Congress has had MONTHS to act, yet they’ve still failed to pass a Dream Act that would protect Dreamers like Karla, and hundreds of thousands of young immigrants like her. They are as American as anybody else in their graduating class, yet they may face deportation if Speaker Paul Ryan and Congressional Republicans don’t act. Tell Speaker Ryan: allow a vote on the Dream Act now! We cannot keep putting the future of Dreamers on hold.

As a refugee, I feel like we need to stand up for these people. They are people that escaped home due to violence and persecution

Nationwide, the Trump Administration is attacking immigrants and separating families in a series of policies that are wasteful and wrong. California has stood up to these policies through laws like the California Values Act. Not surprisingly, the Trump Administration opposes these efforts and is suing California. San Rafael’s City Council needs to show its support for our state’s pro-immigrant laws by signing on to a "friend-of-the-court" brief. The laws the Administration is challenging received strong support in the California legislature and broad endorsement by labor, faith and civil and immigrant rights organizations throughout the state. Immigrants are a vital part of our state's heart and soul, and our local governments should not be involved in painful deportations that separate families and further undermine confidence in law enforcement. Tell the San Rafael City Council to sign onto an amicus brief for the California Values Act today!

Nationwide, the Trump Administration is attacking immigrants and separating families in a series of policies that are wasteful and wrong. California has stood up to these policies through laws like the California Values Act. Not surprisingly, the Trump Administration opposes these efforts and is suing California. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors needs to show its support for our state’s pro-immigrant laws by signing on to a "friend-of-the-court" brief. The laws the Administration is challenging received strong support in the California legislature and broad endorsement by labor, faith and civil and immigrant rights organizations throughout the state. Immigrants are a vital part of our state's heart and soul, and our local governments should not be involved in painful deportations that separate families and further undermine confidence in law enforcement. Tell the Monterey County Board of Supervisors to sign onto an amicus brief for the California Values Act today!

My Husband, Luis Enrique Gonzalez-Ortiz has been in the country for 12 years. A role-model resident, self-employed creator of jobs, neighborhood revitalizer, and positive contributor to the community - and not a criminal - Enrique must be permitted to stay in the U.S. With an approved marriage to U.S. Citizen, Harlon J. Wilson, and more than a decade of working hard, paying income taxes, and contributing to his community, we should be permitted the necessary time to complete our application for the green card and waiver. With an application to renew our "Stay" denied and an ICE-requested travel itinerary to return to the dangers of El Salvador, extreme hardship would be caused both to me as the U.S. Citizen spouse as well as to my spouse, Enrique who would become the target of gang recruitment. Thankfully, the courts have recently agreed to hear our case although immigration judge's hands are tied with the recent unilaterally policy shifts of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. We need an Administrative Closure or Continuance until our green card is received. Sessions recent mandates of immigration judges make our case all the more concerning as we remain caught in limbo. As gay males with a same-sex marriage, we both would be in grave danger if returned to El Salvador, a nation that does not currently protect discrimination against gays nor recognize gay marriage. If U.S. immigration deports Enrique, we will stay together. It is likely I as a white American male would be the target of hate, discrimination, violence, extortion, and possibly death if forced to leave this country to be with my husband in his native homeland of El Salvador. Our full story is available at: http://deportinglove.com. Please review the details to learn of how U.S. immigration officials got it all wrong in this case. Enrique was seeking relief from the dangers of his land but did not know and adequately understand the communication at the border. While in processing, border officers refused to retrieve his Indiana-based Uncle's U.S. postal address from the pocket of the jacket that officials had locked away. Thus, it is unclear where a 2006 Notice to Appear was sent. Without receipt of the notice, he was unaware of a court date and did not appear to a 2006 hearing. A deportation was ordered at that time. We did not discover the order until our 2014 marriage and subsequent filing for legalization. Please consider hearing our story as we work towards changing laws. Immigration must be reformed to be more human-centered including amnesty for those already living in and contributing to the country. Please Stop the Deportation of Luis Enrique Gonzalez Ortiz. Please use every means, including the creation of a "Personal Bill," injunction, or every other possible option to remove Enrique's unjust deportation order. Please help us Stop the Deportation of my husband. Learn More at: http://www.deportinglove.com/2018/05/in-news-local-station-shares-our-story.html