Yesterday, Joanne Dautartas stood in front of over a hundred people at a church and shared her painful story, about what’s happening to her family:
“Our daughter’s fiancé, Ruben, was arrested three weeks ago and is being held for deportation. His only ‘crime’ was that his visa had expired. Our government won’t let my daughter marry her fiancé, and they won’t let him be by her side during her high risk pregnancy and delivery, despite the strong recommendation of her doctor. I can’t understand how our government can be so unfeeling. Ruben is a hard-working man who only wants to keep his job, pay his taxes, and be there for his family, and our government is closing the door on him and our family.”
Residents of Ashtabula, Ohio gathered at People’s Missionary Baptist Church in to condemn the broken immigration system and unjust enforcement tactics that terrorize and divide families. African American faith leaders were joined by Latino community members to describe the damage such enforcement has done to the community’s relationship with local law enforcement and public safety, and call on Congress and the President to pass real, comprehensive immigration reform as soon as possible.
Reverend German Womack told families facing deportation:
“We stand in unity with you and your struggles, and support you as you fight to remain with your families in the United States.”
In the past year, countless local Ashtabula families have been destroyed because of local enforcement of Federal immigration law. This crisis has not just affected undocumented workers; legal residents and even Latino U.S. citizens have also been detained and forced to prove their legal status.
At the church, speakers addressed the crowd, telling detailed stories of injustice, family separation and the toll local enforcement policies have taken on the hard-working Ashtabula community.
Peter Dautartas, Joanne’s husband:
“Our country spends billions of dollars advancing human rights in other countries, but we turn our heads when it comes to families right here in Ohio. We need to restore some humanity to our immigration laws.”
Steve Sargent , a leader in the local NAACP explained why he is an ally in the fight for immigration reform:
“I’m a strong advocate for immigration reform and I think it should be at the forefront of the agenda for this Administration. You can’t treat people like animals when they have not acted like animals. We are going to fight all the way to Washington to get this done.”
Not only was the inhumanity of our current immigration system on full display, but those who testified also spoke to the undermining of public safety that is a frequent affect of local immigration enforcement.
Veronica Dahlberg, Executive Director of HOLA (Organization of Hispanic Women in Lake and Ashtabula):
“When members of the community lose trust in local law enforcement, they are afraid to report crimes, and the entire community is less safe. Just the other day, a woman came to me as a victim of a robbery, but she refused to report it to police because she was worried that it could lead to the deportation of her loved ones. This is not a policy that benefits public safety. We need police to focus on their main job of fighting crime, and we need Congress and the President to keep their promise to pass comprehensive immigration reform.”
Categories: Ohio
