RMIAN & Justice Campaign Attorneys Stopped Deportations of Cameroonian Asylum Seekers
Post by: Laura Lunn, Managing Attorney, Detention Program, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network and Karen Lucas, Immigration Justice Campaign Director
At 2 a.m. on January 29, two Cameroonian asylum seekers were told that they were being deported, taken from their rooms at the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, and transferred to Louisiana.
The men are represented by RMIAN and Immigration Justice Campaign pro bono volunteers Jesse Witt and Henry Hollithron, and supported by Colleen Cowgill, RMIAN Detention Program Pro Bono Coordinating Attorney.
The team worked through the weekend to file emergency legal motions so that their clients – both of whom face severe torture in Cameroon based on their political beliefs – would not be sent back to danger.
President Biden has directed the Department of Homeland Security to completely review its enforcement and detention practices. These cases demonstrate exactly why that review is urgent and necessary.
These men suffer from health conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Both have sponsors in the U.S. who stand ready to support their pursuits seeking safety outside of detention. They should never have been detained in the first place.
The welfare and safety of these men hang in the balance: Still detained. Still facing deportation. Still denied the health care they need to thrive.
Here is what you can do right now:
Watch this webinar “From Africa to Asylum: Black Africans Confront the U.S. Asylum System” and share it using the sample tweets below.
A huge thank you to all of our volunteers. There’s much more work to do to turn the promise of a more humane and just immigration system into a reality. You are on the front lines of making that change happen.
Sample tweets:
On Jan. 29, 2 Cameroonian asylum seekers were taken from their rooms at a Colorado #immigration detention center in the middle of the night and almost deported to near-certain death. Learn more about the challenges that African asylum seekers face: https://vimeo.com/463620778
Cameroonian #ImmigrationJustice Campaign and @RMIAN_org clients were almost deported to near-certain death on Jan. 29. We are calling on the Biden admin. to remember the challenges faced by African asylum seekers as they consider enforcement priorities: https://vimeo.com/463620778