hate crimes, prejudices against muslims, their humiliation, scaring them, screwing up “ambiguous” and " discreet" laws against them, and rending them helpless and humiliated seems to be the norm.
in short, their survival in america as a viable place for Muslim immigrants is becoming morbid.
where do we go from this point onwards?
dushwari
January 16, 2007
Community Outraged at $35,000 Bond Set by Immigration Judge for Mother & Daughter of
Queens Family Arrested as Intimidation
For questions, contact: Fahd Ahmed, DRUM (940) 391-2660 or Kavitha Pawria,
718-216-0756
Despite frigid weather, a busload of family and community supporters from civil and
human rights organizations traveled to Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey today to
demonstrate their support for the Siraj family. Another chapter in a nightmare that has
ruined the lives of a tight-knit family unfolded as an Immigration Judge, in a hearing
closed to the public, set a forbidding bond in the amount of $20,000 for the mother and
$15,000 for the daughter.
Today’s hearing comes a week after Matin Siraj was sentenced to 30 years in prison for
false terrorism charges based on an NYPD-paid informant’s entrapment. Less than twelve
hours after sentencing, the Siraj family’s Queens home was raided by ICE at dawn and the
father, mother and daughter were arrested and jailed in New Jersey. Immediately after
today’s hearing, speaking to a crowd of supporters in a press conference organized by
DRUM, the family’s immigration lawyer, Mona Shah, reported that the bond hearing was
unusually lengthy, the bond amount was peculiarly high for a routine immigration matter,
and that the mother and daughter were visibly distraught. After hearing the Judge’s
decision at the support demonstration, a family member expressed, “The Judge has set a
prohibitive, unfair bond. I cannot make magic to raise this money and the family has
already broken their backs to fight a preposterous case against their son. The lives of an
innocent family are being destroyed.” While family and community members scramble to
raise funds, the family will be held at Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey. The father
will not receive a similar hearing and instead, is subject to an ICE Administrative decision
under an unspecified timeline.
An organizer of today’s demonstration in support of the family, Fahd Ahmed expressed,
“Setting such an unreasonable bond is clearly another political tactic to keep our
communities fearful and silent. The Siraj family, as another victim of the US government’s
“war on terror”, is being targeted for their outspoken cries for justice on behalf of their
son
they remain steadfast and courageous in speaking the truth as the government
continues to try to break their spirits”.
Given the high-profile media attention on their son’s case, in which there were many
underhanded legal irregularities and rights violations, these arrests and today’s
unreachable bond are being seen by the community as an attempt to silence and make an
example of the family through harassment. From detention, the mother recently said that
“this is a systematic targeting of Muslims, a political attack on a peaceful familyand we
have been caught in the middle of it. We have not gotten any justice and will continue to
speak the truth. We will continue to struggle with patience and courage.”
DRUM, as a community based organization that works with Muslim and South Asian
immigrants and has seen the targeting of this community before and especially after 9/11,
is calling on all concerned individuals and organizations to support the immediate release
of the Siraj family. DRUM, alongside countless civil and human-rights organizations and
concerned citizens will continue to expose the ongoing injustices of the “War on Terror”
against this family and all targeted communities.
ACTION ALERT!
TAKE A FEW URGENT STEPS IN THE NEXT 48-72 HOURS to…
STOP THE DEPORTATION OF A WHOLE FAMILY ARRESTED BY IMMIGRATION YESTERDAY
MORNING AS AN INTIMIDATION TACTIC!
What Happened:
At 5:30am Tuesday morning, January 9 th, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
arrested an entire Pakistani family - all active members of DRUM - from their home in
Queens, just hours after a federal court judge sentenced their twenty-four year old son,
Matin Siraj, to thirty years in prison for terrorism charges. The racist War on Terror is
destroying South Asian and Muslim communities and families. The migra is destroying all
immigrant communities! We must unite and act to put an end to it!
More complete coverage of Siraj Matin’s case, read yesterday’s interview on Democracy
Now
WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO:
CALL ICE Deportation Officers at 973-645-3666 (Ext.0, Ext.5101, or Ext.5017), or fax at
973-645-6124
- Demand that the Siraj family be released on recognizance or a reasonable bond for all
three (ICE officials have stated that that the father was picked up because his asylum case
appeal was denied, but in fact his appeal is still pending) - Demand that ICE, NYPD, and other enforcement agencies stop targeting immigrant
communities, in particular Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians
CALL Warden Charlotte Collins at Elizabeth Detention Center at 908-352-3776
- Demand that Elizabeth Detention Center and ICE officials provide urgent medical care
and medication for the mother and father for their ongoing, severe medical conditions - Demand that the Siraj family be kept together, and in particular the Mother and
daughter not be separated - Demand that the family be able to directly communicate and visit their son, Matin, who
is being held at Metropolitan Detention Center, and both detention facilities pro-actively
facilitate direct communication between members of a traumatized family
PLEASE, COME PACK THE COURT
for the bail bond hearing to show community support!
Date & Time & Location TBA
PRESS RELEASE
January 9, 2007
Entire Queens Family Arrested as Intimidation
For questions, contact: Fahd Ahmed, DRUM (940) 391-2660
At 5am on the morning of January 9th, 2007, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
raided the Queens home of and arrested three members (father, mother, and daughter) of
the Siraj family, a tight-knit Pakistani family that has been caught up in the U.S. “War on
Terror’s” most recent act of racial and religious profiling. Tuesday’s deplorable raid on the
home of an innocent family is amongst dozens of other targeted, prejudiced sweeps
across the country that are tearing Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities apart. The
arrests occurred less than 12 hours after their young son, Shahawar Matin Siraj, was
sentenced to 30 years in prison for alleged terrorism-related charges emerging from a
clandestine NYPD-paid informant’s entrapment.
ICE officials are currently falsely reporting that the family was arrested on immigration-
related charges and that the father’s appeal for an asylum case was “denied.” The reality is
that the father’s appeal is still pending in the Second Circuit Court and has not been
decided, and that the mother and teenage daughter do not have any immigration cases or
deportation orders pending against them. Given the high-profile media attention on their
son’s case, in which there were many underhanded legal irregularities and rights
violations, these arrests are being seen by the community as an attempt to silence and
make an example of the family through harassment. The family maintains that their son
was ensnared by an NYPD informant, evidence of which the court did not properly
consider, resulting in an unfair trial and sentencing. The family has filed a notice of appeal
for their son’s case.
Both the father and the mother have ongoing and severe medical conditions, and the
mother was only allowed to take two days of medicine at the time of the arrests. All family
members are currently being held at Elizabeth Detention Center in Elizabeth, NJ, but they
may be moved or separated to different facilities.
DRUM, as a community based organization that works with Muslim and South Asian
immigrants and has seen the targeting of this community before and especially after 9/11,
is calling on all concerned individuals and organizations to contact the ICE Field Office
Director, at 973-645-3666 ext. 0, and demand that (a) the Siraj family be immediately
released on their own recognizance or a reasonable bond, and, (b) that ICE stop targeting
immigrant communities, in particular Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians. DRUM is also
calling on all people of conscience to call Warden Charlotte Collins at Elizabeth Detention
Center, at 908-352-3776, to demand that (a) they provide urgent medical care and
medication for the mother and father, and (b) that the Siraj family be kept together,
particularly the mother and daughter not be separated, and, (c) to pro-actively facilitate
direct communication and visitation between the family and their son, Matin, who is being
held at Metropolitan Detention Center. DRUM, alongside countless civil and human-rights
organizations and concerned citizens will continue to expose the ongoing injustices of the
“War on Terror” against this family and all targeted communities.