On Dec. 12, a federal immigration court ordered the deportation of nationally known reproductive rights and immigrant rights activist Alejandra Pablos. Pablos and her legal team will file an appeal, but if they lose the appeal, she will be deported to Mexico.
Ale is in urgent need of support. Organizers feel that her only option to remain in the U.S. is a pardon from Arizona Governor Doug Ducey. They have launched a petition campaign demanding a pardon. Please sign her petition here.
Pablos is an organizer with Mijente, a digital and grassroots hub for Latinx and Chicanx movement building. She also worked as a Field Coordinator for the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. In this moment, we need activists like Ale more than ever to fight back against the Trump agenda and the attacks on the immigrant community.
Pablos was a baby when she first came to Arizona, and has always lived, worked and organized in the United States. Her parents are naturalized citizens. Her deportation proceedings began when she arrested and convicted of several charges when she was young. These charges include Driving Under the Influence and possession of drug paraphernalia. Under Arizona state law, some of these are felonies. Arizona has some of the harshest laws in the country.
In 2011, Ale spent two years at the Eloy Detention Center in Southern Arizona as a result of these convictions. She lost her residency and was placed in deportation proceedings. After being released, Ale dedicated her life to the struggle for immigrants rights and women’s liberation.
In March, Pablos was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a demonstration, in a clear effort to suppress political activity. In response, hundreds of thousands of people around the country mobilized to demand her release. More than 20,000 signatures were collected backing her right for asylum. Now that she has been denied asylum, mass support is needed once again to demand a pardon for this key activist and organizer.
Due to her political activism for immigrants rights, and in particular her activism around abortion rights, Ale fears she will be targeted and possibly killed if she is deported to Mexico. There is a serious right-wing backlash there against abortion activists, and many of those with power in Mexico, from CEOs to politicians, are dependent on support and funds from the U.S. government and Wall Street banks and multinationals.
A story shared by many immigrants
Ale’s story is shared by thousands of undocumented people across the U.S. Her case speaks to the continued criminalization of immigrants. Cities across the country consider many low-level, non-violent crimes to be felonies. This triggers the police to reach out directly to ICE to begin deportation proceedings. In New York City, low-level offenses such as jumping the turnstile to use the subway when one can’t afford the fare can trigger a deportation proceeding. Across the country, the police work hand in hand with ICE to break up families and destroy communities.
According to the Global Detention Project, the United States has the world’s largest immigration detention system, housing a reported 30,000 people in detention facilities across the country on any given day. The immigration detention system is under the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the government, and is not held accountable to laws that place some limits on the courts of the Justice Department. The thousands of people passing through the immigration system can be held in detention indefinitely and are not entitled to legal representation.
From Feb. 1 to June 30, ICE officials under the Trump administration removed and incredible 84,473 people — a rate of roughly 16,900 people per month. However, this pales in comparison to the rates of deportation seen under Obama — roughly 34,000 people a month. While Trump’s racist, anti-immigrant views are well known, the Democratic politicians have quietly deported even more people.
Your help is needed
Despite the Dec. 12 deportation decision, Ale is steadfast in her continued fight for her right to stay in her home. Hopeful for the future, Pablos moves forward into the New Year with determination and courage. Her situation is urgent. Now more than ever, she needs our support.
Keep Ale’s story alive! Sign her petition for a pardon. Share it, on social media. Get your friends to sign it!
For more information, and to sign up for updates on her case, visit KeepAleFree.org.
