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For Immediate Release
January, 08 2016, 10:15am EDT
Contact:
Dan Lindner (Grijalva), (202) 225-2435
Brett Morrow (Ellison), (202) 225-4755
CPC Co-Chairs Letter to President Obama Regarding ICE Raids and Deportations
The co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Reps. Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN), have sent the following letter to President Obama urging him to stop the aggressive raids and deportations being conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. A signed copy of the letter can be found here.
Dear President Obama:
WASHINGTON
The co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Reps. Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN), have sent the following letter to President Obama urging him to stop the aggressive raids and deportations being conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. A signed copy of the letter can be found here.
Dear President Obama:
We write today to express opposition to the raids that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has carried out across the country over the weekend, resulting in the arrest and detention of 121 Central American children and mothers. Countless reports have documented how many of these women and children are fleeing extreme violence and poverty in their home countries. It is inhumane for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials to disregard these threats and cause fear and anguish for immigrant families.
As Co-Chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) we understand our nation's need to enforce immigration laws, but we must not sacrifice the values that compel us to help those in need. According to recent reports, the Board of Immigration Appeals has delayed the deportations of some of the families who were granted emergency stays of removal because of ineffective assistance of counsel. We are deeply concerned that families are not getting the legal assistance they deserve.
We ask that your Administration end these immigration raids immediately. This practice is immoral and does not reflect who we are as a country. We should ensure these women and children have an opportunity to present their asylum claims in court, with full access to counsel and due process protections prior to deportation.
Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your assurance that immigrants fleeing extreme violence and poverty are receiving the humane treatment in our country they deserve.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is made up of nearly 100 members standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. Since 1991, the CPC has advocated for progressive policies that prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and advance civil liberties.
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In an effort to call attention to the company's planet-wrecking drilling projects, several Greenpeace International campaigners on Tuesday boarded and occupied a Shell-contracted platform in the Atlantic Ocean as it headed toward a major oil and gas field in the U.K. North Sea.
Greenpeace said in a press release that the platform is "a key piece of production equipment that will enable Shell to unlock eight new wells in the Penguins North Sea oil and gas field," an extraction effort that the climate group has attempted to block in court.
Four Greenpeace activists—Carlos Marcelo Bariggi Amara from Argentina, Yakup Çetinkaya from Turkey Imogen Michel from the U.K., and Usnea Granger from the U.S.—managed to board the Shell vessel using ropes after reaching the platform in three boats deployed from Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise ship.
Greenpeace Southeast Asia executive director Yeb Saño, who tried and failed to board the platform, said in a statement that Shell "must stop drilling and start paying."
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A Shell spokesperson claimed in a statement that the Greenpeace campaigners' demonstration is "causing real safety concerns, with a number of people boarding a moving vessel in rough conditions."
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Greenpeace's latest direct action came days before Shell's earnings report, which will follow the banner profit announcements of competing oil and gas giants such as Chevon and ExxonMobil.
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