I just read a transcript from a 2007 immigration court case + it has me HOT. 6th circuit denied this person's appeal bct they said he was "evasive" in immigration court. When you read the Q&A, there is no way you can characterize his testimony as evasive. He answers all questions directly + succinctly, despite awkwardness of interpreter.

It's the ICE attorney + IJ who don't understand things like the life of nomadic sheepherder, lack of documentation in Mauritania + even the names of places in Mauritania + Senegal.

I want to tell you about Saidu Sow, who is on a deportation plane to Mauritania, a country he fled decades ago. He had been in immig. jail for 3 years. In 2018, he called me from Butler Co. Jail. He carried a file of country evidence with him, knowing this day would come. Saidu was scared, but he's a fighter. My friend Don Sherman went to meet with him in the jail.

Saidu showed him his scars from the torture he bore in Mauritania. He said "there's no way I can go back there."

We said we'd fight with him to keep him safe.

EXCELLENT article from Charles Kamasaki about structural racism embedded in US immigration laws. brookings.edu/blog/how-we-ri… See excerpts below. @ErikaAndiola @mariauxpen you were talking about what it means to reimagine the U.S. immigration system. I'm not in favor of going back 100 years in policy, but it's really useful to see how the law used to work.

NEW from @MauritanianFor “'Land Slavery'” + Stolen Land - Another Tool for Oppression of Black Mauritanians." For decades, Mauritanian gov't has taken land, livestock, + water access from families. No consultation, no compensation. bit.ly/LandSlavery Property rights are HUMAN rights. Mauritania is rich in natural resources, but gov't chooses to take from the ppl + give to global corporations, fattening their own pockets, while whole villages disappear.

New bill by @gillibrandny would expand access to legal counsel for immigrants facing deportation. This is long overdue + the principles within it should be enacted by any means, legislative or administrative.

bit.ly/ImmigrantsNeed… My friend @Houleyeet23, Pres of @MauritanianFor, says: "decisions made in immigration court are often life-or-death matters. And where is your public defender? I know many people who fled Mauritania with nothing, because they were running for their lives...

“The message we want to get out is that we are humans + we’re being treated like, I wouldn’t even say animals. They wouldn’t offer us protection. I’m being singled out bc I’m saying we need to be treated like a human being.We’re supposed to have rights.That’s all I’m asking for.” 👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼That’s Karim Golding speaking from Etowah immigration jail, going on 5 years in ICE detention. al.com/news/birmingha…

S/O to local journalists who did a terrific job covering crisis at Morrow Co. Jail, which detained immigrants for ICE until Feb 2021. @goldsgracie @KenyonCollege wrote about intersection of internat'l, nat'l, + local politics in this real-life drama. thecollegianmagazine.com/inside-morrow-… .@goldsgracie interviewed my good friend, Saidu Sow, who has lived in this country for years + never experienced racism like what he's seen in Ohio county jails. He's been detained for ICE for over 2.5 years!

164 groups: "Given extreme nature of human rights crisis in Mauritania, immediate designation of #TPS or DED is warranted + necessary to safeguard vulnerable ppl in US." @JoeBiden @AliMayorkas @DHSgov @USCIS @SenSherrodBrown @senrobportman

civilrights.org/resource/163-o… This effort from @civilrightsorg @cliniclegal @MauritanianFor is so important, follows years documenting + exposing abuses from @Biram2019 @bektange @weddady @AmnestyWARO @nelliepeyton @UNHumanright @MiddleEastEye @UNPOintl @amnesty @MauritanianFor @_IRAUSA_ @iraMauritanie

ICE planning a final Jan. 19 deportation flight to Africa - last day of Trump presidency.

Djibril Coulibaly was recruited to US to teach French, after interpreting for Peace Corps. Now, he is facing imminent deportation. Help #Stand4djibril + $ here bit.ly/Stand4Djibril Email Diane Witte, the director of field operations at New Orleans ICE to express your support for Djibril Coulibaly and his family (diane.l.witte@ice.dhs.gov) @dioWLA #stand4djibril