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Immigration raid in Florida capital leaves families searching for loved ones

Immigration raid in Florida capital leaves families searching for loved ones

Yahoo04-06-2025

In the aftermath of what was deemed the largest immigration raid in Florida so far in 2025, family members and friends of the more than 100 construction workers detained say they have had trouble locating their loved ones.
Some of the laborers were sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Baker County, while some went to Miami's Krome Detention Center. Others were quickly flown to El Paso, Texas, and were still there awaiting removal as of June 3.
And some are already in Mexico, just five days after being detained and bused away from their job site in Tallahassee, Florida.
But others are still silent, and their friends and family are worried and waiting for a call to know where they are – and if they're safe.
Questions about where the detainees were headed and in which detention facilities they would be held have been pending with federal authorities since May 29. Questions about how often detainees are transferred are also pending.
"There's no apparent rhyme or reason to where people are sent," Florida-based immigration attorney Elizabeth Ricci said. Her firm, Rambana & Ricci, is representing clients who were detained in a May 29 ICE raid at a construction site of a seven-story mixed-use development called Perla at the Enclave in Tallahassee, the state capital.
It could be geography – a close location that's easy to send detainees to – but many of the county detention facilities in the state are at capacity, according to state records.
As for the feds sending people to Texas, immigration lawyers generally say it's because judges there are tougher and it's closer to the U.S.-Mexico border, making it easier for removal and harder for lawyers and families to track people down.
Some of the laborers were on their way to Texas as soon as the day after the raid, but not everyone could find friends and family, as ICE's Online Detainee Locator System has been unreliable in recent months, according to Ricci.
"It's very possible that we are on the (telephone) waiting to have a bond hearing that was scheduled, and unbeknownst to us, the person has been sent to another facility," Ricci said. If a detainee is sent to another court jurisdiction, the attorney has to file the client's paperwork in that district all over again.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders have criticized federal judges who have ruled against President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda, calling it 'lawfare,' referring to the use (or misuse) of legal systems to attack, discredit, or obstruct an opponent.
They've publicly denounced one Florida judge, who ruled one of the state's latest immigration laws unconstitutional, saying she ruled beyond her jurisdiction.
In the name of being the "toughest" state on immigration, Florida officials also asked the federal government for more leeway to establish its own brick-and-mortar facilities to detain and house more immigrants.
Waiving federal standards for detention would allow the state to house more people and for longer, they say, as ICE currently does not have the capability to keep up with the president's and Florida governor's mass deportation mandates.
According to the state's immigration enforcement operations plan: 'There is … a major chokepoint in terms of detention. At its current state, ICE is overwhelmed with the number of detainees that have been arrested prior to the state assisting with the process.'
Advocates say this has led to some detained immigrants being moved, some up to five times, from ICE detention to county jails, out of state and back in, because of occupancy issues in Florida facilities.
There were 1,984 open jail beds in county detention facilities at the end of March, according to a report on vacant beds from Larry Keefe, the executive director of the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, to Florida Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula.
But 27 of the facilities, some of which are the only detention facilities in their counties, have no vacant beds, according to the March 26, 2025, report.
Mariana Blanco, director of operations of the Guatemalan-Mayan Center in Palm Beach County, has been tracking detentions of people in her community since March. Blanco keeps track of their names, country of origin, where they were detained, if they had a criminal record or removal orders, and where they are being held.
At least one person fills out the form or calls Blanco to report another detention every day.
Blanco said many detainees are held at Krome, recognized as America's oldest immigration detention facility, for weeks and even months. But there is a growing number of detainees who are constantly being transferred from one detention facility to another, making it difficult to alert family or their lawyers, if they have one.
'We have folks who have been detained for months, and we have folks who, within 24 hours, them and their U.S. born-kids were already sent back to their country,' Blanco said.
'There is no way to keep track of the detentions and deportation work."
For example, according to Blanco's data, one client was held at Krome, then moved to a Broward County detention facility, and is now at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center. Another was held in Stuart, Florida, moved to Louisiana, then brought back to Krome to later be deported.
One client has been transferred nine times, Blanco said.
The constant transfers have allowed the government to place some immigrants on deportation flights before they could speak with family members or attorneys, Blanco added.
Most of her daily calls come from desperate families seeking help to locate their detained family members.
Before 8 a.m. many day, Ricci also gets frantic calls from clients who say a family member's hearing has been rescheduled for that day and they just found out, which leaves little time to prepare.
"That's all part of this intentional system to make it more difficult for people to have a defense," Ricci said.
Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com. Valentina Palm covers immigration in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, a member of the the USA TODAY Network – Florida. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: After Tallahassee ICE raid, families struggle to locate loved ones

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Interest in ‘elbows up' merchandise waning ahead of Canada Day, businesses say
Interest in ‘elbows up' merchandise waning ahead of Canada Day, businesses say

Hamilton Spectator

time39 minutes ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Interest in ‘elbows up' merchandise waning ahead of Canada Day, businesses say

When Rachael Coe decided to launch an 'elbows up' merchandise line at her store in Yarmouth, N.S., in March, she said it was an immediate bestseller. Within a week, Coe said her Timeless Memories shop had already made 400 sales. By the end of the first month, she had sold 2,500 products ranging from T-shirts to hoodies to car decals. Demand for items bearing Canada's rallying cry against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and annexation threats was so high that Coe launched a website to keep up with the surge. 'It was a response from all over Canada,' she said. 'We reached every single province then we started covering worldwide. Our 'elbows up' merch went everywhere.' Many Canadian businesses hopped on the patriotic trend that also saw Ontario Premier Doug Ford wearing a 'Canada is not for sale' ball cap ahead of a January meeting with Canada's premiers and prime minister. But Coe's sales started slowing down by May. And despite a slight boost ahead of Canada Day, she said the 'elbows up' line is now selling at similar rates to the classic red-and-white merchandise she sells every year around this time. Although business owners say they are selling more Canada-themed products this year leading up to July 1, many have also noted a decline in 'elbows up' merchandise sales. The rallying cry, initially embraced as a grassroots movement at the height of cross-border trade tensions and Trump's musings about making Canada the 51st state, has shifted to a more generic expression of Canadian pride amid continued tensions, retailers and experts say. Others note that the phrase 'elbows up' has increasingly been used in a partisan context, contributing to the marketing shift. Stephanie Tomlin, Toronto-based owner of the online business Shop Love Collective, said she saw an explosion in 'elbows up' merchandise sales in March, selling as many as 10 or 15 products per day. Similarly, her sales began to stagnate in May. Leading up to Canada Day, she said she's selling 'quite a bit more' merchandise compared with previous years, but that's due to interest in Canada-themed products across the board. 'I think the climate in Canada is a little bit more settled after the election and that … we feel like we will never be the 51st state,' Tomlin said, adding that Canadian patriotism is becoming less combative as annexation talks have died down. Howard Ramos, a professor of sociology at Western University, said 'elbows up' became 'more partisan than it used to be' when Prime Minister Mark Carney embraced the phrase in his election campaign ads in late March. 'It's just added to how the expression is dying down as a pan-Canadian claim,' he said. 'Now you see on social media, especially from Conservative handles, the use of 'elbows up' in a sarcastic way to criticize Mark Carney or Liberal policies.' Negative online comments about the 'elbows up' movement have discouraged Coe from promoting her products on Facebook. But when she's interacting with customers in her Yarmouth shop, she said the phrase isn't as divisive. 'It's not a political term, and it simply means that you're defending your country, and everyone should be defending our country, just like you would defend (against) a goal in hockey,' Coe said. Danielle McDonagh, owner of Vernon, B.C.-based Rowantree Clothing, said she stopped promoting her 'elbows up' merchandise on a large scale when she noticed the phrase being interpreted as an 'anti-Conservative' and 'boomer' movement. For McDonagh, increased concern about the political climate in the United States has also chipped away at the lightheartedness of the 'elbows up' movement. 'I think some of the levity is gone for me,' she said. While sales of her 'elbows up' products have dropped by about 90 per cent since hitting 1,000 in the first month, she said she continues to promote the merchandise in small batches at local markets in Vernon. Business owners say their customers continue to prioritize supporting the Canadian economy, as they are routinely answering questions about where their products are manufactured. And the push to buy Canadian isn't just coming from this side of the border. Coe said many American tourists arriving by ferry from Maine visit her shop in search of Canadian merchandise. '(Tourists) want to support us just as much as Canadians want to support us,' Coe said. McDonagh said her business sees similar interest from Americans. 'I'm shipping a lot of Canada-centric merchandise to the States, which I just love,' McDonagh said. 'People chat with me on my site and say … we're supporting you.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.

Olympian Fred Kerley is at a troubling juncture after allegations of violence
Olympian Fred Kerley is at a troubling juncture after allegations of violence

Washington Post

timean hour ago

  • Washington Post

Olympian Fred Kerley is at a troubling juncture after allegations of violence

Shortly after the new year, Fred Kerley walked with his girlfriend down a famous street in a glitzy section of Miami Beach, the kind of place that once had seemed so distant. Before Kerley sprinted in two Olympics and became one of the world's fastest men, he was raised by his aunt in a Texas home that at various points housed more than two dozen people. To remind himself of how far he had come, he had the word 'Bless' tattooed on his right arm, an identifying mark that would later appear in an arrest affidavit. Kerley and his girlfriend were returning to his car. They found it roped off behind a police scene. An argument with police erupted into a scuffle, body-cam footage shows, and quickly four police officers were on top of him, delivering blows to his head and ribs. 'Damn, I tried to get away from this life,' Kerley later said on the podcast 'The Pivot.' 'And this life got in front of me.' The altercation led to the first of a string of charges this year against Kerley, who has maintained his innocence while finding himself at a crossroads. Kerley transcended a tumultuous early life and became one of the most significant sprinters of his era, at one point carrying the unofficial title of world's fastest man. He now faces potential time behind bars in Florida. The charges include two misdemeanors and a felony stemming from an altercation with police that included him being Tasered; an allegation of domestic violence made in 2024 by his now-estranged wife, the mother of his three children, who said in an interview she feared for her life during the alleged incident; and a battery charge in connection with allegedly punching an Olympian ex-girlfriend at a hotel in Miami before a track meet from which he subsequently was expelled. 'I do feel bad for him,' said his wife, Angelica Kerley. 'We worked so hard for you to build this career, and him building his own image, for you to wait until you're 30 years old and destroy it.' Kerley has pleaded not guilty in all three cases, and his lawyer said in an interview that he believes all of the charges will be dismissed. Kerley, who declined to be interviewed for this story, has showed little outward concern, competing in professional races on three continents this season and posting frequently on social media. In one recent post, he accepted compliments for wearing Nike sneakers and a Louis Vuitton belt on a ranch. 'Legendary,' he wrote. 'I just don't think that someone gets to this level of athletic performance by being a quitter or by being someone that wallows in their suffering,' said Richard Cooper, Kerley's Miami-based attorney. 'He's focus-driven. He's going to continue doing what he does best.' In a statement, USA Track & Field indicated that Kerley remains eligible to compete in its national championships, which will begin July 31 in Eugene, Oregon. The U.S. championships are considered a 'protected competition,' which means the eligibility of athletes is covered by the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act and USOPC bylaws. 'USATF is monitoring Fred Kerley's ongoing legal situation carefully and although he faces serious allegations, he also has the right to compete in certain track and field meetings (protected competitions),' the statement read. 'USATF is determined to provide a safe environment for all our community with a zero tolerance policy on any form of violent behavior.' World Athletics, track and field's global governing body, did not provide any specific rationale for its decision to allow Kerley to compete in Diamond League events. When Kerley won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in the 100 meters last summer, a probable cause for his arrest on domestic violence charges sat in a law enforcement database. Back home, Angelica Kerley tried to avoid the race. People congratulated her, unaware of their separation, her allegations and her subsequent petition for divorce. She finds it odd that Kerley is still allowed to run. 'It's triggering to me even now,' Angelica said. 'Knowing that the type of person he is, people are still publicly praising him.' Kerley's rise to the Olympics began in hardship. His father was imprisoned, and his mother, Kerley previously said in interviews, fell victim to drug addiction by the time he turned 2. Kerley moved from San Antonio to Taylor, Texas, where his aunt, Virginia, took in him and his siblings. He lived at times under a roof with 26 people. Two of his brothers, records show, have been either charged with or convicted of felony drug crimes. If not for track, Kerley said on 'The Pivot' in April: 'I don't know what I'd be doing. I definitely wouldn't be doing nothing legal.' His high school track coach recommended Kerley to South Plains College, a junior college in Levelland, Texas. Christopher Beene, the South Plains coach, watched Kerley at the Texas state meet his senior year. When he saw Kerley walk to his mark for the 4x400 relay, all long limbs and bulging muscles, Beene turned to his assistant and said, 'We're signing that kid.' In his telling, Kerley joined South Plains as a walk-on. Technically, that's true. But Beene was eager to offer Kerley a scholarship. He just didn't have to. Kerley was deemed a ward of the state, which meant Texas would pay for Kerley's room and board, tuition, books, everything. Kerley met a teammate then named Angelica Taylor. Over a year of Kerley's pursuit, she fell for him. He was persistent, she said. He was respectful when they were alone together. He had a generous heart. Another teammate, with whom he was not friendly, once asked Kerley to buy her a bag of chips. He obliged. 'Why would you do that if you don't like her?' Angelica asked Kerley. 'Because I know what it's like to go without eating,' Angelica recalled Kerley saying. 'And I don't want anyone else to have to feel like that.' Kerley treated track and field as a way out of his circumstances. He rarely spoke with coaches unless he had a question. 'If you told him, 'Let's go run through this wall,' Fred would say, 'Okay, how many times?'' Beene said. 'He would run until he'd fall down on the track. Then he'd get back up, and if he had another rep, he'd get it done.' An incident early in his sophomore year at South Plains threatened Kerley's career before it blossomed. According to Beene, Kerley went with a group of South Plains sprinters and basketball players to a dance club in a rough part of Lubbock. The South Plains athletes squabbled with another group of men. The basketball team's point guard escalated matters, Beene said, charging one of the other guys. Kerley grabbed the point guard and held him back. Once Kerley released him, the point guard channeled his anger at Kerley: He grabbed a piece of glass off the ground and slashed Kerley over the eye, according to Beene. 'Fred literally could have killed that guy right there,' Beene said. 'And Fred stopped, took a deep breath, trying to keep the blood from running into his eye. The other guys from the track team said, 'Come on, Fred, let's go.' So he backed off and walked away. That's the kind of person we were so proud of.' When the incident reached the South Plains administration, Beene said, he fought to maintain Kerley's place at the school. If he had been suspended, Kerley probably wouldn't have accumulated enough credit hours to transfer to a four-year school. 'He saved himself by acting right, and he allowed me a chance to save him later,' Beene said. With Beene's support, Kerley transferred to Texas A&M, a powerhouse where he set the collegiate record in the 400. The first time Angelica Kerley saw a violent streak in her future husband, she said, came shortly after they moved into their first apartment together in College Station, when their daughter was 1. Angelica recalled trying to help Kerley with an iPad. He snatched it away, and Angelica smacked it out of his grasp. Kerley stood up, Angelica said, and wrapped his hands around her neck. 'I got up, and I shoved him into the wall, and I told him he better never do that again,' Angelica said. It was not the only red flag. Angelica Kerley said that after the couple moved to Miami, while she was pregnant with their second child, they argued one morning about Kerley not walking their dog. She said Kerley grew upset and 'smacked' her in the back of her head. When provided a list of specific allegations made by his now estranged wife, Fred Kerley's lawyer said his client never abused Angelica Kerley. 'It's unsurprising that Mrs. Kerley is continuing with her slanderous fabrications but nevertheless disappointing,' Cooper wrote in a text message. 'Fred is an imperfect man, husband, and father, as we all are. However, my client categorically denies in the strongest way that he was ever physically, emotionally, or financially abusive to his family.' By 2019, Kerley had won the U.S. title in the 400. He entered the Tokyo Olympics cycle among the gold medal favorites, then sprained his ankle before the U.S. Olympic trials. Swelling prevented him from turning, but Kerley could still sprint straight. To the shock of track observers, Kerley announced he was switching from the 400 to the 100, the sport's marquee event. Kerley further stunned the track world when he captured the silver medal in the 100 in Tokyo. He left Nike, then his top sponsor, and signed a lucrative contract with Asics. Kerley's career continued its upward trajectory. His apex came at the world championships in 2022, where he won the 100 and earned the unofficial title of world's fastest man. 'I know today opened up many doors for me,' Kerley said that night. 'I'm thankful for that.' In Paris last summer, Kerley crossed the line in the final of the 100 near the front of a frenzied pack. He claimed bronze after a photo finish, making him the only man to medal in both post-Usain Bolt Olympic 100 races. It seemed he had fully separated himself from the difficulties of his childhood. Back in the United States, Angelica tried not to watch. 'People kept congratulating me,' she said, 'because nothing had hit the fan.' After 11 p.m. Jan. 2, Kerley walked with his girlfriend, Cleo Rahman, a musical artist known as DJ Sky High Baby, near Miami Beach's famed Ocean Drive. He discovered his car had been roped off inside a police scene and approached four Miami Beach police officers with 'an aggressive demeanor,' according to an arrest affidavit. Kerley argued with them, body-camera footage shows. One placed his hand on Kerley's chest, body-camera footage shows, which the arrest affidavit described as an attempt to create space from Kerley. Kerley slapped the hand away, then shoved the officer. A fracas ensued. Four officers wrestled Kerley to the ground and pummeled Kerley, according to the affidavit, with 'hammer fists toward the defendant's upper head area' and 'multiple diversionary strikes toward his rib cage, which were unsuccessful.' After roughly a minute, the officers backed off Kerley. When he stood, one officer Tasered Kerley for five seconds in his lower back. 'Full neuromuscular incapacitation (NMI) was achieved,' the affidavit reads. Body-camera footage shows Kerley falling onto his stomach. Kerley was arrested and charged with battery against a police officer, resisting an officer and disorderly conduct. At a bond hearing the next day, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer found no probable cause for the disorderly conduct charge and lightly admonished a Miami Beach police sergeant who appeared via videoconference. 'Sergeant,' she said, 'this could have been handled a different way.' Kerley's jail booking triggered an automatic alert to a detective with the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office who had been looking to arrest Kerley in connection with an unrelated incident six months earlier: Kerley's wife had called police and alleged he had strangled her. On May 7, 2024, according to an arrest affidavit, the couple got into an argument that, Angelica said, was far different from the violent flashes she had experienced in the past. 'I thought that the man was going to kill me,' Angelica said. Kerley began approaching Angelica in an 'aggressive demeanor,' according to the affidavit, and she told him to step back. Kerley did not, the affidavit reads, and out of fear Angelica punched him in the face. 'He took his arm, and he put it around my neck,' Angelica said. 'He's strangling me with his arm from behind. I couldn't even get out of it. He lifted up the top half of my body, squeezed in between his arms, where the frontside of your elbow is, and he choked me. He strangled me.' Their three children, now 9, 3 and 1, were in the room at the time, Angelica said. She still didn't know whether she should contact police. 'You don't want to call the cops on somebody that you love,' Angelica said. Ultimately she did, swayed by her daughter's account of what she had experienced. When officers arrived, according to the arrest affidavit, Kerley had fled. Because Kerley was no longer at the scene, the detective entered a notice into a law-enforcement database that Kerley was to be arrested on a charge of domestic battery, a sheriff's department spokesman told the Miami Herald in January. Kerley was aware of the complaint as he trained for and competed in the Olympics last summer. Cooper, his lawyer, said Kerley had been led to believe was in the clear. A detective 'even told me to tell Fred to break a leg in Paris,' Cooper said. Cooper called the allegation 'very serious' and expressed confidence Angelica's account will be proven false. 'I have no reason to lie,' Angelica said. 'I don't have any personal gain or publicity I'm trying to gain from this situation. It's domestic violence. Who wants to talk about that? Who wants that to be their image?' In January, Angelica filed for divorce in Florida. In her petition, she alleged Kerley had been unfaithful. She also asked for a restraining order, alleging Kerley 'has been harassing and/or abusing wife and her family, friends and acquaintances and wife fears that husband will irreparably harm wife unless restrained by this court.' Angelica Kerley claimed he has refused to financially support her and their children. She filed for child support in November, and she said Kerley refused to attend mediation. The divorce case is still pending in Miami-Dade court. Kerley's legal trouble expanded this spring. On May 1, he traveled to the Le Meridien hotel in Dania Beach, about 25 miles north of Miami Beach. He was preparing for the second event of Grand Slam Track, a new league started by Olympic legend Michael Johnson. It had made Kerley one of its stars, featuring him on its website. Olympic hurdler Alaysha Johnson, who dated Kerley for six months in 2024, according to a Broward County Sherriff arrest affidavit, also planned to compete in the Miami Grand Slam Track meet. She ran into Kerley at the hotel, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit, and they began to argue. According to the affidavit, Kerley shouted something along the lines of 'I'm going to f--- everyone up in here.' Kerley struck Johnson in the face, according to the affidavit, causing her nose to bleed. The affidavit noted that photographs showed injuries consistent with Johnson's telling. In a statement Kerley released days later, he acknowledged there had been a physical altercation but said he was arrested only because he chose not to talk with police without his attorney present. 'Frankly, Kerley is a little nervous around law enforcement given the absolute beating that he received at the hands of the Miami Beach police early this year,' Cooper said. 'He did the right thing. He invoked his rights immediately. Without a rebuttal story, the police arrested him.' Kerley's account differs from the affidavit, Cooper said. Cooper said that another man was present and that the fight occurred between him and Kerley. Johnson, Cooper said, was there 'instigating' the fight and was struck inadvertently. 'The idea that Fred would punch someone if he didn't have this nonsense domestic violence allegation, no one would even buy that for a second, that he would punch a random woman, an ex-girlfriend he saw in the hallway of a hotel,' Cooper said. 'That's so out of character, frankly. But because he has this other nonsense allegation, it does lend some credence in the eyes of the public, which is unfortunate. 'Eventually, that case will be dismissed. His case in Miami Beach will be dismissed. And this Broward case will be the outlier and will be considered outlier alleged conduct and will once again seem ridiculous. We've got to crush all these one at a time.' Through her track and field agent, Johnson declined to comment. Kerley's legal issues haven't stopped his career, but they have affected it. Since the most recent allegations, he has run in Diamond League meets in Morocco and, in early June, in Rome, where he finished fifth in the 100. The May altercation left Kerley suspended from Grand Slam Track until the conclusion of the legal case, a league spokesman said. It cost him a potential financial windfall: Kenny Bednarek, promoted to be his main rival in a video still on Grand Slam Track's website, won $100,000 in each of the two meets Kerley missed, plus another $100,000 season-long bonus. In March, Beene ran into Kerley at the Texas Relays. He had not seen his old junior college sprinter in years. When he saw Kerley, he hugged him and told him, 'If you ever need anything, I'm still here.' Beene had read media reports about Kerley's altercation with police in Miami Beach but not the domestic violence allegation. He wondered whether fame had brought malign influences into Kerley's life. But he also remembered the kid who came from nothing and backed away from a fight with blood trickling into his eye. 'Unless he's changed a lot toward the negative, the Fred Kerley I know would not have done it the way they said he did it,' Beene said. Angelica said she is not in love with Kerley anymore but has love for him because he is the father of their children. She is leaning against testifying against him at a potential trial. 'I really don't want Fred to be in prison because of our kids,' Angelica said. 'I had a dad that was in prison, and he missed some of our lives.' Angelica wonders now whether Kerley was ever really the kind, generous person she met at South Plains. 'Honestly, I'm just tired,' she said. '… I understand he moves these certain ways because of things he has had to go through in his past, as a child. I understand why he's this way. But it's not fair to me to have to deal with that.' David Ovalle contributed to this report.

Faith leaders: We cannot be silent about what is happening in America
Faith leaders: We cannot be silent about what is happening in America

Chicago Tribune

timean hour ago

  • Chicago Tribune

Faith leaders: We cannot be silent about what is happening in America

'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.' These words, which fill a popular meme set against the profile of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., occupy our thoughts. We fear that day is arriving on American shores along with nothing short of an onslaught against our basic human rights. While the boldest headlines tell how people are literally snatched off the streets, are being disappeared to foreign prisons, news that often receives less attention reveals that our civil liberties are also being snatched up, one by one. In Selma, Alabama, a day after Bloody Sunday in 1965, a brutal assault by local law enforcement on nonviolent marchers, King spoke about the need to raise our voices: 'Deep down in our nonviolent creed is the conviction there are some things so dear, some things so precious, some things so eternally true, that they're worth dying for.' There are so very many precious things under attack in this American moment; consider the bronze bust of King that the president recently had removed from the Oval Office. Eerily reminiscent of that time 60 years ago, many of these attacks are being coordinated by those in charge of the purported enforcement of the law. As much as this is a time of existential concern, it is also a great — and we believe mandatory — opportunity to stand up for that which is right. But first, we must understand the severity of all that is wrong. To begin with, the very due process of law is under attack. We are witnessing expedited deportations — including those of children who are U.S. citizens — along with the intentional bypassing of immigration courts paired with limiting access to legal counsel. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are unlawfully detaining citizens, notably including California U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla. Chicago police officers have reportedly aided ICE officers, in violation of Chicago statute, a move that is prompting further investigation. Furthermore, ICE agents are widely wearing masks and refusing to identify themselves, a likely violation of our Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure. Violations of habeas corpus aside — that's how this administration functions, it seems — the rule of law in general is under attack. The attacks on law firms and lawyers, even as Chicago's own Jenner & Block bravely resists, has nonetheless led to other firms with major offices in our city simply capitulating out of avarice or cowardice. Such 'comply in advance' legal actions line up in complicity with an administration that is disregarding court orders, threatening the impeachment of judges, and eroding the checks and balances of an independent judiciary. Our fundamental freedom of speech is also experiencing sustained assault. Travelers' social media feeds are subject to inspection at the border, and students coming the U.S. to study are having their feeds examined for ominous (and vague) 'indications of hostility.' Protesters in Los Angeles — who overwhelmingly were demonstrating peacefully — compelled the federal administration to deploy the National Guard against the advice of the governor and then mobilized the Marines to police citizens. Furthermore, there is a sustained effort to undermine the freedom of the press by targeting journalists, suing media outlets, pulling funding and even politicizing the White House press pool. LGBTQ+ rights are under assault, and Black and Latino communities — along with other minorities — are being further marginalized through sustained attacks on education inclusion, all in the land of 'e pluribus unum.' Given this state of affairs, it should not be surprising that objective measurements of freedom and democracy in the United States have eroded since January. Three months ago, the United States was added to the Civicus Monitor watchlist, which identifies countries that the global watchdog believes are experiencing a rapid decline in civic freedoms. We are not deluded: What we see is what is happening. And listing this doesn't capture the sheer violation of humanity: ripping babies away from their mothers, damaging trans kids by denying them access to medical care, and abetting food apartheid by working to eliminate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. That is why we cannot be silent. These things — human rights, civil liberties, basic human dignity — matter. In preparing this essay, we learned that King never precisely said: 'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.' Although that was his message, his actual words are even more profound and challenging: 'A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true. 'So we're going to stand up amid horses. We're going to stand up right here in Alabama, amid the billy clubs. We're going to stand up right here in Alabama amid police dogs, if they have them. We're going to stand up amid tear gas! We're going to stand up amid anything they can muster up, letting the world know that we are determined to be free!' So should we stand up, amid ICE agents and Marines. Committed to nonviolence, dedicated to the proposition that we must love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we're going to stand up right here in Chicago, amid even billy clubs and dogs and tear gas. We are going to stand up amid anything they can muster, letting the world know we are determined to be free. Join us. Chicago faith leaders Rabbi Seth Limmer, the Rev. Otis Moss III, the Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain and the Rev. Michael Pfleger joined the Tribune's opinion section in summer 2022 for a series of columns on potential solutions to Chicago's chronic gun violence problem. The column continues on an occasional basis.

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