On March 23, members of
the Syracuse community rallied outside Immigration and Customs
Enforcement headquarters to demand that ICE drop deportation charges
against Juan Mejia. Despite the springtime snow shower, dozens of
people showed up to support Mejia and his family.
Mejia is a father of two,
a worker and the breadwinner for his family. He came to this country
with his mother when he was 12 and has lived here ever since. At the
time of his detention, he was studying at Bryant & Stratton
College and volunteering in the Latino community. Mejia is known
throughout Syracuse as DJ Chino for volunteering his DJ talents at a
local radio station and cultural and political events.
On Oct. 5, 2010, Mejia was
the victim of a violent ICE raid as he was driving to school. The
raid was the result of a 10-year-old misdemeanor for which he had
successfully completed probation.
Rally organizer and emcee
Luz Encarnacion opened up the rally by speaking about the need for
comprehensive immigration reform and a system that does not terrorize
or punish immigrant communities. “ICE is a racist and violent
agency,” she said. “It exists to subdue the immigrant population
here.”
ICE’s terrorist
anti-immigrant tactics are affecting millions of workers across the
country, documented and undocumented. The capitalist system benefits
from anti-immigrant bigotry and secures a source of cheap labor by
intimidating the immigrant community into accepting lower wages under
threats of deportation. Mejia’s case is especially appalling to the
people of Syracuse because of his commitment to his family and the
community and his status as a legal permanent resident.
Rebecca Fuentes, of the
Detention Task Force, said that we have to continue to fight for all
immigrants. “What happened to Juan happens everyday in this city,”
she said. “Fathers go out to the grocery store to buy milk and
never come home.”
Mejia wrote a statement
for the rally that was read by his brother, Jose Guerrero. In it,
Mejia thanked everyone for their support. He talk about the tasks he
has accomplished in his life, including working with poor youth,
helping people find decent and affordable housing, becoming
proficient in English, and buying a home with his mother, Dana. Dana
has since received a foreclosure notice on their home because of
Mejia’s unjust detention.
Mejia’s lawyer, Jose
Perez, debunked the myth that ICE is only deporting criminals: “We
know that 90 percent of those they deport are not criminals. They are
decent, hardworking people.”
After the rally, as
demonstrators formed a picket line in front of the building,
organizers attempted to deliver a petition with hundreds of
signatures to ICE officials. The office, housed in an inconspicuous
private building, was protected by police and Homeland Security. When
the organizers, including the writer of this article, were let in, we
were stopped immediately by several guards, who refused to let us
deliver the petition. Signatures are still being collected for the
petition to be used for Mejia’s trial. You can find the petition at
www.answercoalition.org/freejuanmejia.
The rally was an inspiring
gesture on the part of the multinational Syracuse community. The
action was organized by the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and
End Racism), League of United Latin American Citizens, and the New
York Civil Liberties Union. It was endorsed by Disabled in Action,
NAACP, SU United Activists for Peace, and many other organizations.
The multinational character of the protest can be summed up by the
chant “Don’t give in to racist fear, immigrants are welcome
here!”
It will take committed
and united effort to stop the terrorist policies of ICE and reverse
anti-immigrant discrimination. While the capitalist system does not
care about Juan Mejia or any other working people or immigrants, the
people of Syracuse do. If you want to get involved in the struggle to
free Juan Mejia and achieve full rights for all immigrants, contact
the Syracuse branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation at
[email protected]
