Community Leaders and Congressional Representatives Cite Family Stories in Emphasizing Call for Administrative Action on Immigration
Watch video of the press conference
Download the FIRM letter to President Obama requesting a meeting with affected families
Washington – At a press conference this morning, leaders of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) stood with Members of Congress in calling on the Obama Administration to take administrative action to deal with the immigration crisis. Affected families took center stage as they told their stories of separation, deportation and living in constant fear of family members being taken away by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Brittney Babo, whose husband Serge was deported last August, told her story: “On May 12, 2010 Serge was picked up by ICE officials while doing dishes at our home. He was put in immigration detention and after three long months, deported to his native Cameroon.” Babo also laid out their family’s extreme hardship: “You can’t imagine how devastating this was for me and for our family. Since he was deported I have struggled to care for my two sons. I work 10-hour night shifts with a lot of overtime just to make enough money to support my family.”
Deepak Bhargava, the Executive Director of the Center for Community Change, represented FIRM at the press conference and spoke about the president’s recent push for immigration reform. “He has had many important meetings… with many key stakeholders. But there’s been a notable absence, which is hearing directly from the families that have been separated and destroyed because of the enforcement-only policies that this Administration is pursuing.” Continue Reading…
