Today is Ousman's 1,000th day in immigration jail. His case is an example of everything that is wrong about the deportation machine. #FreeOusman (thread)
Ousman was arrested on July 31, 2017 in a home raid. ICE is the only law enforcement agency in the US that thinks it can go to a family's home without a judicial warrant and slap them in cuffs. It's unconstitutional. immigrantdefenseproject.org/ice-home-and-c…
Five days after his arrest, Ousman's partner found out she was pregnant. ICE was detaining Ousman in its discretion-meaning even they agreed they had the power to let him go. ICE refused. His daughter is now 2 and has never known her father outside of an immigration jail.
ICE claimed Ousman was a danger because of his criminal record - one criminal conviction and some juvenile offenses for theft, for which he served his time and made amends. There's no statute of limitations on deportation and ICE didn't care that he was a changed man.
Coming after Ousman, a Black Muslim immigrant who grew up in the poorest district in the US and fell into its school-to-prison pipeline, was ICE's way of doubling down on punishment. Black immigrants are disproportionately targeted by these systems. stateofblackimmigrants.com
Ousman turned to the immigration courts (administrative courts run out of the DOJ) to protect him and his family but the immigration judge concluded there wasn't enough hardship to waive his deportation-even though Ousman's wife and child became homeless. vox.com/identities/201…
In other words, even though he's married to a U.S. citizen, has a U.S. citizen daughter, grew up here since he was 6, and has a legal path to citizenship (something our laws deprive many people of), ICE itself is blocking that path, and using an old criminal record to do it.
Ousman's family and community were outraged. They turned to @NYGovCuomo who granted Ousman a pardon, clearing the way for "redemption and rehabilitation" to win against a "politicized deportation policy." gothamist.com/news/bronx-man…
ICE STILL WOULD NOT LET HIM GO. They issued a one-page denial of release, citing as his sole criminal conviction as the reason for keeping him locked up, without even mentioning the pardon. That's what they do - no process, no review, no justice.
And then came COVID-19. First jail to report a person in ICE custody testing positive? Bergen County Jail. Where is Ousman detained? Bergen County Jail. Does ICE release the people it's holding at Bergen County Jail to prevent the outbreak? Nope. buzzfeednews.com/article/hameda…
We put in another request for release, this time based on COVID-19. No answer. We filed emergency papers in federal court.
In court, US Attorney's Offices in SDNY and DNJ have fought Ousman's release tooth & nail. They got one federal case transferred & then dismissed. DOJ's OIL is fighting the current case as we speak. Their argument? COVID-19 isn't an extraordinary circumstance.
To ICE&DOJ, it's not just about keeping Ousman locked up, it's about maintaining a system of control over all immigrants. Even in a pandemic they're claiming their work is necessary to protect public safety, when ICE is actually endangering public health. qz.com/1825593/why-ic…
The entire system is designed this way - to criminalize immigrants and to normalize the deportation machine, even in a pandemic. thenation.com/article/politi…
Immigration jails are designed to make people give up their cases but Ousman won't give up, even at risk to his own life, because he knows his wife and daughter and community need him. So scroll back up to the first tweet & make those calls. Take action. #FreeOusman #FreeThemAll
