Black Africans Confront the U.S. Asylum System
Washington, DC – On September 30, the last day of National African Immigrant Heritage Month, learn about the journey many Black Africans make to the U.S. to escape persecution–and the journey some are forced to make back via deportation.
WHO: Gladness, whose sister Josephine is facing deportation to Cameroon and was detained in Irwin County Detention Center (Illinois); Houleye Thiam, a Mauritanian community leader (Ohio); Pastor Ben, who spent five years in immigration jail after fleeing Nigeria (Georgia); and Jennie Guilfoyle of the Immigration Justice Campaign. Sylvie Bello of the Cameroon American Council will moderate the discussion.
WHAT: Conversation with African immigrants and leaders about how Black immigrants are affected by the dismantling of the U.S. asylum system; detention; and deportation.
WHEN: September 30, 2020, noon EDT
WHERE: Register here to get the Zoom info bit.ly/AfricatoDeportation; see the Facebook Event page for updates: https://bit.ly/AfricaToDeport
Thousands of miles on foot, bus, and train; trapped in camps in Mexico or caged in the United States; applying for asylum with limited access to legal support and almost no interpreters; confronting an Immigration Court that does not understand their cultures and says they are “not credible”; and, months or even years later, a plane “home” with expired or potentially fake travel documents, shackled the whole time, refugees again. The cycle is deadly, and it has to stop. What are the solutions?
Hosted by: Cameroon American Council, Immigration Justice Campaign, Interfaith Immigration Coalition, AFSC, and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. Register: http://bit.ly/AfricatoDeportation
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 55 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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